DiscoverThe Thomistic InstituteA Feeble Plant in the Breeze: Personal and Social Forms of Acedia – Prof. Carl Vennerstrom
A Feeble Plant in the Breeze: Personal and Social Forms of Acedia  – Prof. Carl Vennerstrom

A Feeble Plant in the Breeze: Personal and Social Forms of Acedia – Prof. Carl Vennerstrom

Update: 2025-11-19
Share

Description

Prof. Carl Vennerstrom explores personal and social forms of acedia, tracing its origins from ancient monasticism to contemporary life and illuminating how distraction, restlessness, and identity crisis threaten fulfillment and virtue in the digital age.


This lecture was given on April 11th, 2025, at Dominican House of Studies.


For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events.


About the Speakers:


Dr. Vennerstrom specializes in eastern patristic theology. Of particular interest are monasticism, scriptural interpretation, and the writings of Evagrius of Pontus. He earned his PhD in Early Christian Studies at the Catholic University of America and teaches courses in church history, theology, and Greek at the Augustine Institute Graduate School in St. Louis, Missouri.


Keywords: Acedia, Desert Monasticism, Digital Distraction, Ennui, Evagrius Of Pontus, Existentialism, Frenzied Activity, Identity Crisis, Noonday Demon, Restlessness In Modernity

Comments 
In Channel
loading
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

A Feeble Plant in the Breeze: Personal and Social Forms of Acedia  – Prof. Carl Vennerstrom

A Feeble Plant in the Breeze: Personal and Social Forms of Acedia – Prof. Carl Vennerstrom

The Thomistic Institute