5th century
Saint Diadochos of Photiki
A fifth-century bishop of Photiki and spiritual writer, a forerunner of the Hesychast movement.
Biography
Diadochos was bishop of Photiki in Old Epirus and lived in the fifth century, renowned for his eloquence and skill as a writer. Among his works are the 'Hundred Gnostic Chapters,' a text monks read eagerly.
In it he set out ten 'terms' of the spiritual life—faith, hope, patience and other virtues—which deeply influenced later writers such as Maximus the Confessor and John Climacus, and he is regarded as a forerunner of the Hesychast movement.