Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen teaches courses in early and medieval Christianity and Islam, and specific topics in historical theology and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Her research is focused primarily on the social ethics found in the writing of fourth-century Cappadocian authors and in monastic and spiritual texts of Orthodox Christianity during the age of the Byzantine Empire. Dr. Ihssen's publications include 'Smashing God's Face: Art, Theology and Violence in the Byzantine Empire,' in ARTS: The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies, 'Strip the Rich Right Down to Their Shirts': St. John the Almsgiver and the Transformation of the City,' in Ekklesiastikos Pharos, and the forthcoming 'They Who Give From Evil'; the Response of the Eastern Church to Money-lending in the Early Christian Era' (Wipf and Stock, 2012).

Contents: Foreword; Preface; Introduction; Monks in The Meadow: proving and improving the ascetic program; Money in The Meadow: coin, cost and conversion; Medical management in The Meadow: curing, enduring and identity formation; Mortality in The Meadow: dying, death and predetermination; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.