... sake of being close to god is generally an alien idea to the majority of today's population, as the extent of globalisation, communication and transportation make it very difficult to be in isolation in the world of today. The unique role of the holy man in a world of religious turmoil is hard to investigate, as "This was an age of respect for the dead saint rather than for the living holy man, as an attentive reading of the period's encomiastic hagiography will show. The most popular saints remained the early Christian martyrs, the first hermits, and the confessors persecuted for opposing Arianism.2" This quote from Treadgold illustrates the lack of knowledge of the holy men from their contemporise. "Moreover, the great mass of the people never saw a living hermit, while practically everyone had heard of the earlier saints and visited their shrines.3" This quote also illustrates the possible ...

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