Discretio Vera in Collatio (“Conference”) 2 by John Cassian († ca. 435)

“Conferences” (“Collationes”) is the biggest and the most valuable (as literature and theology) work by John Cassian († ca. 435). Researchers pay special attention to “Conference” 13 about the Divine grace and free human will, but there are also many other valuable and interesting dialogues. One of them is “Conference” 2, the second conference of John Cassian and his friend and fellow traveler Germanus with abba Moses. By Moses’s opinion and by the cited words of St. Anthony the Great († 356), the most important virtue of a monk is “discretio”, or “discretio vera”, that means “(ability for) distinction”, “(ability for) (a right) distinction”. This article examines the context and literary features of John Cassian’s “Conferences” and seeks the place of “discretio vera” in monastic and Christian life. The nature and characteristics of this Christian quality are also explained.