To Amun

Epistula ad Amun

1Athanasius tells the monk Amun that involuntary bodily emissions are no sin, since God made the body good, and distinguishes lawful marriage from immorality, and marriage from the higher way of virginity.

About this work

Author: Athanasius of Alexandria
Attribution: authentic · Generally accepted as Athanasius's.
Standing: Honoured by the Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant traditions. Honoured as a saint or in a church calendar by: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant.
Older English translation: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 4 (1892) (public domain, at CCEL; for comparison: our translation is made from the original first and checked against it afterwards)
Date: before 356 (approximate)
Written at: Egypt (approximate)
Language: Greek
Genre: letter
Reference system: chapter, as in Migne and NPNF
SBL abbreviation: Ep. AmunNot yet checked
Clavis: CPG (number not yet checked)
Text from: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca 26 (Paris: Migne, 1857), Epistula ad Amun (reprinting the Benedictine edition of B. de Montfaucon, Paris, 1698) (Printed edition in the public domain; OCR transcription of public-domain page images)
Critical editions: Hans-Georg Opitz et al., eds., Athanasius Werke, vol. 2 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1935–) (cited, not reproduced)