In his Commentary on Abba Isaiah, Dadisho Qatraya presents a creative fusion of two earlier ascetical trajectories that deal with the theme of perfection. In the first trajectory, as described by the Acts of Thomas, Pseudo-Clementine Letters to Virgins, and, most importantly, the anonymous Book of Steps, perfection is tied to physical itinerancy. For a monk to be perfect, he needs freedom to pursue itinerancy: in practical terms, he needs to be celibate. In the second trajectory, expressed by Ephrem and John the Solitary, perfection is associated with the inward reception of knowledge. Dadisho's most thorough and obvious attempt to combine these two trajectories occurs in his discussion of the concept of itinerancy. Dadisho defines itinerancy as something more than physically wandering on this earth; rather, the real meaning of itinerancy is the ability of the mind to wander into heaven and receive spiritual insights. Dadisho ironically declares that internal itinerancy of mind and spirit depends on rest.D However, he teaches that the rest necessary for internal itinerancy is best found, not in external rest, but in external itinerancy. In other words, physical itinerancy enables the mind to find the necessary rest to pursue mental itinerancy. When a monk is not attached to a specific location, he remains free to meditate on heavenly objects.
