Anastasius (correspondent of Nilus of Ancyra)

Anastasius is known only as a correspondent of Nilus of Ancyra, the ascetic writer and spiritual director active in the Ancyra (modern Ankara) milieu of Galatia in the early 5th century. The honorifics in the letters' addresses are inconsistent across the collection (one is headed to "Anastasius the Bishop," another to "Anastasius the Presbyter," and a third to "Anastasius the Monk"), so it is uncertain whether a single man or several share the name; the most sustained thread of letters treats him as a monk under Nilus's direction, praised for taking up "the apostolic life," self-control, and the putting off of the passions. In these letters Nilus offers spiritual exhortation grounded in scripture, urging Anastasius not to lose heart when he passes from the calm of desert solitude into the "arena" of ascetic trials, to keep hope fixed on Christ amid testing, and to benefit others by joining teaching to humility. He is otherwise unattested as an independent historical figure.