In the Spiritual Meadow, we come to writings with a very different atmosphere from those of the earlier Fathers of the 3rd and 4th Centuries. John Moschus' dates are c.550-619, and by the time he was writing the church had been through various theological turmoils which are reflected very clearly in this book.

Big difference from the earlier books is the picture one gets of the monastic scene in this later century. The hermits and anchorites are still there, but set very much against the main picture of large settled monasteries. The ascetic life of the desert is not so much in the forefront as the lives of monks and devout seculars living in cities such as Constantinople, Jerusalem and Alexandria.