Introduction by John Coffman Among the Desert Fathers (and others) the instruction to build up virtue in the soul is likened to the building of a house. Abba Dorotheos of Gaza (one of the most celebrated Desert Fathers whose Instructions the Church’s monastic tradition receives as a basic spiritual handbook) goes into much analogous detail on this. The theme teaches us that just like one would not randomly build portions of a house, but build it from the bottom to the top, so