Columba Stewart Translator

James Ashdown CJN is a poet, theologian, and Licensed Lay Minister in West Dorset. With his wife he founded Tree of Life, a ministry of hospitality inspired by the Desert Fathers and Mothers. His writing, including Sayings of the Urban Fathers and Mothers (SLG Press, 2023), explores the continuing relevance of contemplative wisdom in contemporary life and seeks to translate ancient monastic insights into a modern setting. Columba Stewart OSB is a monk of Saint John’s Abbey, Minnesota, Professor of Theology at Saint John’s University, and Executive Director of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library. A leading scholar of monastic history and Christian mysticism, his publications include Working the Earth of the Heart (1991) and Prayer and Community (1998). His work has been particularly influential in the study of early monasticism and the transmission of Christian manuscripts.