   #copyright

Christian monasticism

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History 1500 and
before (including Roman Britain); Religious movements, traditions and
organizations

   The Order of Friars Minor is a major mendicant movement founded by
   Saint Francis of Assisi.
   The Order of Friars Minor is a major mendicant movement founded by
   Saint Francis of Assisi.

   Monasticism in Christianity is a family of similar traditions that
   began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, modeled
   upon scriptural examples and ideals, but not mandated as an institution
   by the Scriptures.

   While most people think of Christian or Catholic monks or nuns as
   "something to do with living in a monastery", from the Church's point
   of view the focus has nothing to do with living in a monastery or
   performing any specific activity, rather the focus is on an ideal
   called the religious life, also called the state of perfection. This
   idea is expressed everywhere that the things of God are sought above
   all other things, as seen for example in the Philokalia, a book of
   monastic writings. In other words, a monk or nun is a person who has
   vowed to follow not only the commandments of the Church, but also the
   evangelical counsels (e.g., vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience).
   The words of Jesus which are the cornerstone for this ideal are "be ye
   perfect like your heavenly Father is perfect".

Precursor models of the Christian monastic ideal

   The ancient models of the modern Christian monastic ideal are the
   Nazirites and the prophets of Israel. A Nazirite was a person
   voluntarily separated to the Lord, under a special vow.

          2 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If a man or woman
          wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the LORD as
          a Nazirite, 3 he must abstain from wine and other fermented
          drink... 5 During the entire period of his vow of separation no
          razor may be used on his head. He must be holy until the period
          of his separation to the LORD is over; he must let the hair of
          his head grow long. 6 Throughout the period of his separation to
          the LORD he must not go near a dead body.... 8 Throughout the
          period of his separation he is consecrated to the LORD.' (
          Numbers 6, NIV)

   The prophets of Israel were set apart to the Lord for the sake of a
   message of repentance. Some of them lived under extreme conditions,
   voluntarily separated or forced into seclusion because of the burden of
   their message. Other prophets were members of communities, schools
   mentioned occasionally in the Scriptures but about which there is much
   speculation and little known. The pre-Abrahamic prophets, Enoch and
   Melchizedek, and especially the Jewish prophets Elijah and his disciple
   Elisha are important to Christian monastic tradition. The most
   frequently cited "role-model" for the life of a hermit separated to the
   Lord, in whom the Nazarite and the prophet are believed to be combined
   in one person, is John the Baptist. John also had disciples who stayed
   with him and, as may be supposed, were taught by him and lived in a
   manner similar to his own.

          1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert
          of Judea… 4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had
          a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild
          honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and
          the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they
          were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ( Matthew 3, NIV)

   The female role models for monasticism are Mary the mother of Jesus and
   the four virgin daughters of Philip the Evangelist:

          7 On finishing the voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais,
          greeted the brothers, and stayed with them for one day. 8 The
          next day we left and came to Caesarea. We went to the home of
          Philip the evangelist, one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9
          He had four unmarried daughters who could prophesy. ( Acts 21,
          NIV)

   The monastic ideal is also modeled upon the Apostle Paul, who is
   believed to have been celibate, and a tentmaker:

          7 I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own
          gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. 8 Now to the
          unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay
          unmarried, as I am. ( 1 Corinthians 7, NIV)

   But, the consummate prototype of all modern Christian monasticism,
   communal and solitary, is Jesus:

          5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6
          Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with
          God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking
          the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8
          And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and
          became obedient to death—even death on a cross! ( Philippians 2,
          NIV)

   The first Christian communities lived in common, sharing everything,
   according to Acts of the Apostles.

Origins of Christian monasticism

   Institutional Christian monasticism seems to have begun in the deserts
   in AD 4th century Egypt as a kind of living martyrdom. Scholars such as
   Lester K. Little attribute the rise of monasticism at this time to the
   immense changes in the church that had been brought about by
   Constantine's conversion and the acceptance of Christianity as the main
   Roman religion. This ended the position of Christians as a small group
   that believed itself to be the godly elite. In response a new more
   advanced form of dedication was developed to preserve a nucleus of the
   dedicated. The end of persecution also meant that martyrdom was no
   longer an option to prove one's piety. Instead the longterm "martyrdom"
   of the ascetic became common.

   Others point to historical evidence that individuals were living the
   life later known as monasticism before the legalization of
   Christianity. In fact it is believed by the Carmelites that they were
   started by the Jewish prophet Elias. Anthony the Great ( 251 - 356) and
   Pachomius were early monastic innovators in Egypt, although Paul the
   Hermit is the very first Christian historically known to have been
   living as a monk. Eastern Orthodoxy looks to Basil of Caesarea (ca. 330
   - January 1, 379) as a founding monastic legislator, as well as the
   example of the Desert Fathers. Benedict of Nursia is often credited
   with being the 'father of Western monasticism'.

   From a very early time there were probably individuals who lived a life
   in isolation—hermits—in imitation of Jesus' 40 days in the desert. They
   have left no confirmed archaeological traces and only hints in the
   written record. Anthony of Egypt lived as a hermit and developed a
   following of other hermits who lived nearby but not in community with
   him. On the other hand, Paul the Hermit lived not very far from Anthony
   in absolute solitude, and was looked upon even by Anthony as a perfect
   monk. This variety of monasticism is called eremitical or
   "hermit-like". Pachomius, a follower of Anthony, also acquired a
   following; he chose to mould them into a community in which the monks
   lived in individual huts or rooms (cellula in Latin, "cell", which has
   a different connotation in modern English) but worked, ate, and
   worshipped in shared space. This method of monastic organization is
   called cenobitic or "community-based." All the familiar monastic orders
   are cenobitic in nature. In Catholic theology, this community based
   living is considered superior because of the obedience practiced and
   because one is less likely to err than one would be by oneself. The
   head of a monastery came to be known by the word for "Father" in
   Syriac, Abba, in English, "Abbot".

Early History

   The first efforts to create a proto-monastery were by Saint Macarius,
   who established individual cells, an example Kellia founded in 328,
   known as "larvae", the purpose of which was to bring together
   individual ascetics who, although pious, did not have the physical
   ability or skills to live a solitary existences in the desert like that
   of Saint Anthony. These cells were put together as a large single
   monastic community by Saint Pachomius around 323 in upper Egypt at
   Tabenna. Guidelines for daily life were created, and separate
   monasteries created for men and women. He was hailed as Abba ("father",
   from which we get the word Abbot). This one community was so successful
   he was called in to help organize others and by one count by the time
   he died in 346 there were thought to be 3000 such communities dotting
   Egypt, especially the Thebaid. Within the span of the next generation
   this number increased to 7000. From there monasticism quickly spread
   out first to Palestine and the Judean Desert, Syria, North Africa and
   eventually the rest of the Roman Empire where it became a central
   aspect of life during the Middle Ages. Monasteries were initially seen
   by the Church Bishops and imperial governments in Constantinople and
   Rome as operating outside the authority of the official Church
   governance, not to mention the Emperor. There existed a tension between
   the lay clergy and the monastic orders. Eventually over the course of
   the Early Middle Ages the influence of monastics came to play an
   important role in the Church. Some would date the golden age of
   Christian monasticism from about the eighth to the twelfth century.

Eastern Monasticism

   Analavos worn by Eastern Orthodox Schema-Monks.
   Analavos worn by Eastern Orthodox Schema-Monks.

   Orthodox monasticism does not have Religious Orders as in the West, so
   there are no formal Monastic Rules (Regulae); rather, each monk and nun
   is encouraged to read all of the Holy Fathers, and apply them to his or
   her religious life. There is also no division between the "active" and
   "contemplative" life. Orthodox monastic life embraces both active and
   contemplative aspects.

   There exists in the East three types of monasticism: eremitic and
   coenobitic (as mentioned above), and a "third way" called the skete.
   The skete is a very small community, often of two or three ( Matthew
   18:20), under the direction of an Elder. They will pray privately for
   most of the week, then come together on Sundays and Feast Days for
   communal prayer, thus combining the best aspects of both eremitic and
   coenobitic monasticism.

Types of Monks

   There are also three levels of monks: The Rassaphore, the Stavrophore,
   and the Schema-Monk (or Schema-Nun). Each of the three degrees
   represents an increased level of asceticism. In the early days of
   monasticism, there was only one level—the Great Schema—and even Saint
   Theodore the Studite argued against the establishment of intermediate
   grades, but nonetheless the consensus of the church has favored the
   development of three distinct levels.

   When a candidate wishes to embrace the monastic life, he will enter the
   monastery of his choice as a guest and ask to be received by the
   Hegumen (Abbot). After a period of at least three days the Hegumen may
   at his discretion clothe the candidate as a novice. There is no formal
   ceremony for the clothing of a novice; he (or she) would simply be
   given the Podraznik, belt and Skoufos.

   After a period of about three years, the Hegumen may at his discretion
   Tonsure the novice as a Rassaphore monk, giving him the outer garment
   called the Rassa (Greek: Rason). A monk (or nun) may remain in this
   grade all the rest of his life, if he so chooses. But the Rite of
   Tonsure for the Rassaphore refers to the grade as that of the
   "Beginner," so it is intended that the monk will advance on to the next
   level. The Rassaphore is also given a klobuk which he wears in church
   and on formal occasions. In addition, Rassaphores will be given a
   prayer rope at their Tonsure.

   The next rank, Stavrophore, is the grade that most Russian monks remain
   all their lives. The name Stavrophore means "cross-bearer", because
   when Tonsured into this grade the monastic is given a cross to wear at
   all times. This cross is called a Paramand—a wooden cross attached by
   ribbons to a square cloth embroidered with the Instruments of the
   Passion and the words, "I bear upon my body the marks of the Lord
   Jesus" ( Galatians 6:17). The Paramand is so called because it is worn
   under the Mantle (Greek: Mandyas; Slavonic: Mantya), which is a long
   cape, which completely covers the monk from neck to foot. Among the
   Russians, Stavrophores are also informally referred to as "mantle
   monks." At his Tonsure, a Stavrophore is given a wooden hand cross and
   a lit candle, as well as a prayer rope.
   St. Anthony of Kiev wearing the Great Schema.
   St. Anthony of Kiev wearing the Great Schema.

   The highest rank of monasticism is the Great Schema (Greek:
   Megaloschemos; Slavonic: Schimnik). Attaining the level of Schemamonk
   is much more common among the Greeks than it is among the Russians, for
   whom it is normally reserved to hermits, or to very advanced monastics.
   The Schemamonk or Schemanun wears the same habit as the Rassaphore, but
   to it is added the Analavos (Slavonic: Analav) a garment shaped like a
   cross, covering the shoulders and coming down to the knees (or lower)
   in front and in back. This garment is roughly reminiscent of the
   scapular worn by some Roman Catholic orders, but it is finely
   embroidered with the Cross and instruments of the Passion (see
   illustration, above). The Klobuk worn by a Schemamonk is also
   embroidered with a red cross and other symbols. the Klobuk may be
   shaped differently, more rounded at the top, in which case it is
   referred to as a koukoulion. The skufia worn by a Schemamonk is also
   more intricately embroidered.

   The religious habit worn by Orthodox monastics is the same for both
   monks and nuns, except that the nuns wear an additional veil, called an
   apostolnik.

   The central and unifying feature of Orthodox monasticism is Hesychasm,
   the practice of silence, and the concentrated saying of the Jesus
   Prayer. All ascetic practices and monastic humility is guided towards
   preparing the heart for theorea or the "divine vision" that comes from
   the union of the soul with God. It should be noted, however, that such
   union is not accomplished by any human activity. All an ascetic can do
   is prepare the ground; it is for God to cause the seed to grow and bear
   fruit.

Historical Development

   Even before Saint Anthony the Great (the "father of monasticism") went
   out into the desert, there were Christians who devoted their lives to
   ascetic discipline and striving to lead an evangelical life (i.e., in
   accordance with the teachings of the Gospel). Communities of virgins
   who had consecrated themselves to Christ are found at least as far back
   as the 2nd century. There were also individual ascetics, known as the
   "devout", who usually lived not in the deserts but on the edge of
   inhabited places, still remaining in the world, but practicing
   asceticism and striving for union with God. Saint Anthony was the first
   to specifically leave the world and live in the desert as a monk.

   As monasticism spread in the East from the hermits living in the
   deserts of Egypt to Palestine, Syria, and on up into Asia Minor and
   beyond, the sayings (apophthegmata) and acts (praxeis) of the Desert
   Fathers came to be recorded and circulated, first among their fellow
   monastics and then among the laity as well.

   Among these earliest recorded accounts was the Paradise, by Palladius,
   Bishop of Helenopolis (also known as the Lausaic History, after the
   prefect Lausus, to whom it was addressed). Saint Athanasius of
   Alexandria (whose Life of Saint Anthony the Great set the pattern for
   monastic hagiography), Saint Jerome, and other anonymous compilers were
   also responsible for setting down very influential accounts. Also of
   great importance are the writings surrounding the communities founded
   by Saint Pachomius, the father of coenobiticism, and his disciple Saint
   Theodore, the founder of the Skete form of monasticism.

   Among the first to set forth precepts for the monastic life was Saint
   Basil the Great (d. 379), a man from a professional family who was
   educated in Caesarea, Constantinople, and Athens. Saint Basil visited
   colonies of hermits in Palestine and Egypt, but was most strongly
   impressed by the organized communities developed under the guidance of
   Saint Pachomius. Saint Basil's ascetical writings set forth standards
   for well-disciplined community life and offered lessons in what became
   the ideal monastic virtue: humility.

   Saint Basil wrote a series of guides for monastic life (the Lesser
   Asketikon the Greater Asketikon the Morals, etc.) which, while not
   "Rules" in the legalistic sense of later Western rules, provided firm
   indications of the importance of a single community of monks, living
   under the same roof, and under the guidance--and even discipline--of a
   strong abbot. His teachings set the model for Greek and Russian
   monasticism, but had less influence in the Latin West.

   Of great importance to the development of monasticism is the Monastery
   of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai. Here the Ladder of Divine Ascent was
   written by Saint John Climacus (c. 600), a work of such importance that
   many Orthodox monasteries to this day read it publicly either during
   the Divine Services or in Trapeza during Great Lent.

   At the height of the East Roman Empire, numerous great monasteries were
   established by the Emperors, including the twenty "sovereign
   monasteries" on the Holy Mountain, an actual "monastic republic"
   wherein the entire country is devoted to bringing souls closer to God.
   In this milieu, the Philokalia was compiled.

   As the Great Schism between East and West grew larger and larger,
   conflict arose over misunderstandings about Hesychasm. Saint Gregory
   Palamas, bishop of Thessalonica, himself an experienced Athonite monk,
   defended Orthodox spirituality against the attacks of Barlaam of
   Calabria, and left a number of very important works on the spiritual
   life.

Monasticism Today

   Monastic centers thrive to this day in Greece, Russia, Romania, the
   Holy Land, and elsewhere in the Orthodox world. Since the fall of the
   Iron Curtain, a great renaissance of monasticism has occurred, and many
   previously empty or destroyed monastic communities have been reopened.

   Monasticism continues to be very influential in the Eastern Orthodox
   Church, even to this day. According to the Sacred Canons, all Bishops
   must be monks (not merely celibate), and feast days to Glorified
   monastic saints are an important part of the liturgical tradition of
   the church. Fasting, Hesychasm, and the pursuit of the spiritual life
   are strongly encouraged not only among monastics but also among the
   laity.

Western Monasticism

Monasticism in Gaul

   The earliest phases of monasticism in Western Europe involved figures
   like Martin of Tours (ca. 316 - 397) , who after serving in the Roman
   legions converted to Christianity and established a hermitage near
   Milan, then moved on to Poitiers where he gathered a community around
   his hermitage. He was called to become Bishop of Tours in 372, where he
   established a monastery at Marmoutiers on the opposite bank of the
   river Loire, a few miles upstream from the city. His monastery was laid
   out as a colony of hermits, rather than as a single integrated
   community.

   John Cassian (ca. [[360] - ca. 435) began his monastic career at a
   monasteries in Palestine and Egypt (ca. 385) to study monastic practice
   there. In Egypt he had been attracted to the isolated life of hermits,
   which he considered the highest form of monasticism, yet the
   monasteries he founded were all organized monastic communities. About
   410 he established two monasteries near Marseilles, one for men, one
   for women. In time these attracted a total of 5000 monks and nuns.

   Most significant for the future development of monasticism were
   Cassian's Institutes, which provided a guide for monastic life and his
   Conferences, a collection of spiritual reflections. Although he founded
   monasteries at the request of bishops, he did not value their form of
   life. He urged monks to "flee women and bishops" and considered
   clerical office a "diabolical temptation" that monks must avoid.<fact>

   Honoratus of Marseilles (d. 429) was a wealthy Gallo-Roman aristocrat,
   who after a pilgrimage to Egypt, founded the Monastery of Lérins, on an
   island lying off the modern city of Cannes. The monastery combined a
   community with isolated hermitages where older, spiritually-proven
   monks could live in isolation.

   One Roman reaction to monasticism was expressed in the description of
   Lérins by Rutilius Namatianus, who served as prefect of Rome in 414:

                      A filthy island filled by men who flee the light.
                      Monks they call themselves, using a Greek name.
                      Because they will to live alone, unseen by man.
                      Fortune's gifts they fear, dreading their harm:
                      Mad folly of a demented brain,
                      That cannot suffer good, for fear of ill.

   Lérins became, in time, a centre of monastic culture and learning and
   many later monks and bishops would pass through Lérins in the early
   stages of their career. Honoratus, himself, was called to be Bishop of
   Arles and was succeeded in that post by another monk from Lérins.
   Lérins was aristocratic in character, as was its founder, and was
   closely tied to urban bishoprics.

Monasticism in Italy

   We know little about the origins of the first important monastic rule
   (Regula) in Western Europe, the anonymous Rule of the Master (Regula
   magistri), which was written somewhere south of Rome around the year
   500. The rule adds legalistic elements not found in earlier rules,
   defining the activities of the monastery, its officers, and their
   responsibilities in great detail.

   Benedict of Nursia (ca. [[480] - 546 × 550) is the most influential of
   Western monks. He was educated in Rome, but soon sought the life of a
   hermit in a cave at Subiaco, outside the city. He then attracted
   followers with whom he founded the monastery of Monte Cassino (ca.
   520), between Rome and Naples. His Rule is shorter than the Master's,
   somewhat less legalistic, but much more so than Eastern rules.

   His Rule:
     * specified a course of seven prayers during the day beginning hours
       before dawn and ending with evening prayer,
     * specified a diet which provided no meat except for the sick, but
       several different vegetables, bread, and wine for the main meal,
     * emphasized work as a valuable act in itself (some modern historians
       see this as the source of the Western work ethic),
     * required monks to engage in "spiritual reading," which required a
       library that was often extended to include a wide range of books on
       secular topics,
     * and emphasized the idea of submission to the Rule and to the
       jurisdiction of monastic superiors as an essential step on the
       ladder of humility.

   In time, largely under the inspiration of the Emperor Charlemagne,
   Benedict's Rule would become the basic guide for Western monasticism,
   but this did not occur until the ninth century.

Irish Monasticism

   The first non-Roman area to adopt monasticism was Ireland, which
   developed a unique form closely linked to traditional clan relations, a
   system that later spread to other parts of Europe, especially France.

   The earliest Monastic settlements in Ireland that we know of emerged at
   the end of the fifth century. The first identifiable founder of a
   monastery (if she was a real historical figure) was Saint Brigit (d.
   ca. 525), a saint who ranked with Patrick as a major figure of the
   Irish church. The monastery at Kildare was a double monastery, with
   both men and women ruled by the Abbess, a pattern which we see in other
   monastic foundations.

   Commonly Irish monasteries were established by grants of land to an
   abbot or abbess, who came from a local noble family. The monastery
   became the spiritual focus of the tribe or kin group. Successive abbots
   and abbesses were members of the founder’s family, a policy which kept
   the monastic lands under the jurisdiction of the family (and
   corresponded to Irish legal tradition, which only allowed the transfer
   of land within a family).

   Ireland was a rural society, of petty kings living in the countryside.
   There was no social place for urban leaders, such as bishops. In Irish
   monasteries the abbot (or abbess) was supreme, but in conformance to
   Christian tradition, bishops still had important sacramental roles to
   play (in the early Church the bishops were the ones who baptized new
   converts to bring them into the Church). In Ireland, the bishop
   frequently was subordinate to (or co-equal with) the abbot and
   sometimes resided in the monastery under the jurisdiction of the abbot.

   Irish monasticism maintained the model of a monastic community, while,
   like John Cassian, marking the contemplative life of the hermit as the
   highest form of monasticism. Saints' lives frequently tell of monks
   (and abbots) departing some distance from the monastery to live in
   isolation from the community.

   Irish monastic rules specify a stern life of prayer and discipline in
   which prayer, poverty, and obedience are the central themes. Yet Irish
   monks did not fear pagan learning. Irish monks needed to learn a
   foreign language, Latin, which was the language of the Church. Thus
   they read Latin texts, both spiritual and secular, with an enthusiasm
   that their contemporaries on the continent lacked. By the end of the
   seventh century, Irish monastic schools would be attracting students
   from England and even from the continent.

   Irish monasticism spread widely, first to Scotland and Northern
   England, then to Gaul and Italy. Columba ( 521- 597) and his followers
   established monasteries at Bangor, on the northeastern coast of
   Ireland, at Iona, an island northwest of Scotland, and at Lindisfarne,
   which was founded by Aidan, an Irish monk from Iona, at the request of
   King Oswald of Northumbria.

   Columbanus (ca. 530- 615), an abbot, from a Leinster noble family
   traveled (ca. 590) to Gaul with twelve companions. Columbanus and his
   followers spread the Irish model of monastic institutions established
   by noble families to the continent. A whole series of new rural
   monastic foundations on great rural estates under Irish influence
   sprang up, starting with Columbanus's foundations of Fontaines and
   Luxeuil, sponsored by the Frankish King Childebert II (reigned 575-
   595). After Childebert's death Columbanus traveled east to Metz, where
   Theudebert II (reigned 595- 613) allowed him to establish a new
   monastery among the semi-pagan Alemanni in what is now Switzerland. One
   of Columbanus's followers founded the monastery of St. Gall on the
   shores of Lake Constance, while Columbanus continued onward across the
   Alps to the Kingdom of the Lombards in Italy. There King Agilulf
   (reigned 590-616) and his wife Theodolinda granted Columbanus land in
   the mountains between Genoa and Milan, where he established the
   Monastery of Bobbio.

Later medieval monastcism

   This activity brought considerable wealth and power. Wealthy lords and
   nobles would give the monasteries estates in exchange for the
   conduction of a mass for a loved one. Though this was likely not the
   original intent of Benedict, the efficiency of his cenobitic Rule in
   addition to the stability of the monasteries made such estates very
   productive; the general monk was then raised to a level of nobility,
   for the serfs of the estate would tend to the labor, while the monk was
   free to study. The monasteries thus attracted many of the best people
   in society and during this period the monasteries were the central
   storehouses and producers of knowledge.

   The system broke down in the eleventh and twelfth centuries as religion
   began to change. Religion became far less a preserve of the religious
   elite. This was closely linked to the rise of mendicant orders such as
   the Franciscan friars, who were dedicated to spreading the word in
   public, not in closed monasteries. Religious behaviour changed as
   common people began to take communion and actively participate in
   religion. The growing pressure of the nation states and monarchies also
   threatened the wealth and power of the orders.

   Monasticism continued to play a role in Catholicism, but after the
   Protestant reformation many monasteries in Northern Europe were shut
   down and their assets seized. (see Dissolution of the Monasteries).

   The legacy of monasteries outside remains an important current in
   modern society. Max Weber compared the closeted and puritan societies
   of the English Dissenters, who sparked much of the industrial
   revolution, to monastic orders. Many Utopian thinkers (starting with
   Thomas More himself) felt inspired by the common life of monks to apply
   it to the whole society (an example is the falansterium).

   Modern universities have also attempted to ape Christian monasticism.
   Even in the new world universities are built in the gothic style of
   twelfth century monasteries. Communal meals, dormitory residences,
   elaborate rituals and dress all borrow heavily from the monastic
   tradition.

   Today monasticism remains an important part of the Catholic, Eastern
   Orthodox and Anglican faith. Vatican II saw major changes to Catholic
   monasticism including allowing nuns and monks to shed their habits.

Nature of monasticism

   Christian monasticism was and continued to be a lay condition—monks
   depended on a local parish church for the sacraments. However, if the
   monastery was isolated in the desert, as were many of the Egyptian
   examples, that inconvenience compelled monasteries either to take in
   priest members, to have their abbot ordained, or to have other members
   ordained. A priest-monk is sometimes called a hieromonk. In many cases
   in Eastern Orthodoxy, when a bishopric needed to be filled, they would
   look to nearby monasteries to find suitable candidates, being good
   sources of men who were spiritually mature and generally possessing the
   other qualities desired in a bishop. Eventually, among the Orthodox
   Churches it became established by canon law that all bishops must be
   monks.

Secular influence

   In traditional Catholic societies, monastic communities often took
   charge of social services such as education and healthcare; to the
   latter they were so closely linked that nurses are often called
   "sisters."

   In the Middle Ages, monasteries conserved and copied ancient
   manuscripts in their scriptoria, their pharmacies stored and studied
   medicaments and they aided the development of agricultural techniques.
   The requirement of wine for the Mass led to the development of wine
   culture, as shown in the discovery of the méthode champenoise by Dom
   Perignon. Several liquors like Bénédictine and the Trappist beers were
   also developed in monasteries. Even today many monasteries and convents
   are locally renowned for their cooking specialties.

   Christian monks cultivated the arts as a way of praising God. Gregorian
   chant and miniatures are examples.

   The status of monks as apart from secular life (at least theoretically)
   served a social function. Dethroned Visigothic kings were tonsured and
   sent to a monastery so that they could not claim the crown back. Around
   the change of millennium, monasteries became a place for second sons to
   live in celibacy so that the family inheritance went to the first son;
   in exchange the families donated to the monasteries. Some orders were
   favored by monarchs and rich families to keep and educate their maiden
   daughters before arranged marriage. This however did not bar seducers
   like the fictional Don Juan and the real Giacomo Casanova from
   assaulting convents and novices.

   The monasteries also provided refuge to those sick of earthly life like
   Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor who retired to Yuste in his late years.

Western monastic orders

   A number of distinct monastic orders developed within Roman Catholicism
   and Anglicanism. Eastern Orthodoxy does not have a system of orders,
   per se.

Roman Catholic

     * Augustinians, founded in 1256, which evolved from the canons who
       would normally work with the Bishop: they lived with him as monks
       under St. Augustine's rule
     * Benedictines, founded in 529 by St. Benedict at Monte Cassino,
       stresses manual labor in a self-subsistent monastery. They less of
       a unified order than most other orders.
     * Bridgettines, founded c. 1350
     * Camaldolese, founded c. 1000
     * Carmelites, founded between 1206 and 1214, a Contemplative Order
     * Carthusians
     * Celestines
     * Cistercians, founded in 1098 by St. Bernard of Clairvaux
     * Conventuals
     * Cluniacs, a movement with a height c. [[950]-c. [[1130]
     * Discalced Carmelites
     * Dominicans, founded in 1215
     * Franciscans, founded in 1209 by St. Francis of Assisi
     * Jesuits
     * Melanesian Brotherhood
     * Olivetans
     * Premonstratensians, also known as Norbertines.
     * Silvesterines
     * Trappists, began c. 1664
     * Vallombrosans
     * Visitation Sisters

Anglican Communion

   A small but hugely influential aspect of Anglicanism is its religious
   orders of monks and nuns, Brothers and Sisters. Shortly after the
   beginning of the revival of the Catholic Movement in the Church of
   England, there was felt to be a need for some Anglican Sisters of
   Charity. In 1848 Mother Priscilla Lydia Sellon became the first woman
   to take the vows of religion in communion with the See of Canterbury
   since the Reformation. In October 1850 the first building specifically
   built for the purpose of housing an Anglican Sisterhood was consecrated
   at Abbeymere in Plymouth. It housed several schools for the destitute,
   a laundry, printing press and soup kitchen. A series of letters were
   exchanged publicly between her and the Rev. James Spurrell, Vicar of
   Great Shelford, Cambs., who, along with others, criticized Miss
   Sellon's Sisters of Mercy. From the 1840s and throughout the next one
   hundred years, religious orders for both men and women proliferated in
   the UK and the United States, as well as in various countries of
   Africa, Asia, Canada, India and the Pacific.

   Anglican religious life at one time boasted hundreds of orders and
   communities, and thousands of religious. An important aspect of
   Anglican religious life is that most communities of both men and women
   lived their lives consecrated to God under the vows of poverty,
   chastity and obedience (or in Benedictine communities, Stability,
   Conversion of Life, and Obedience) by practicing a mixed life of
   reciting the full eight services of the Breviary in choir, along with a
   daily Eucharist, plus service to the poor. The mixed life, combing
   aspects of the contemplative orders and the active orders remains to
   this day a hall mark of Anglican Religious Life.

   Since the 1960's, there has been a sharp falling off in the numbers of
   religious in most parts of the Anglican Communion. Many once large and
   international communities have been reduced to a single convent or
   monastery comprised of elderly men or women. In the last few decades of
   the 20th century, novices have for most communities been few and far
   between. Some orders and communities have already become extinct.

   There are however, still several thousand Anglican religious working
   today in approximately 200 communities around the world.

   The most surprising growth has been in the Melanesian countries of
   Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. The Melanesian
   Brotherhood, based at Tabalia, Guadalcanal, in 1925, by Ini Kopuria, is
   now the largest Anglican Community in the world with over 450 Brothers
   in Solomons Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and the
   United Kingdom. The Sisters of the Church, started by Mother Emily
   Ayckbowm in England in 1870, has more Sisters in the Solomons than all
   their other communities. The Community of the Sisters of Melanesia,
   started in 1980 by Sister Nesta Tiboe, is a growing community of women
   throughout the Solomon Islands. The Society of Saint Francis, founded
   as a union of various Franciscan orders in the 1920s, has experienced
   great growth in the Solomon Islands. Other communities of religious
   have been started by Anglicans in Papua New Guinea and in Vanuatu.
   Lydia Sellon herself traveled to the Sandwich Islands, better known now
   as Hawaii, in 1864 where she and her sisters founded a school. Most
   Melanesian Anglican religious are in their early to mid 20s, making the
   average age 40 to 50 years younger than their brothers and sisters in
   other countries. This growth is especially surprising because celibacy
   was not regarded as a Melanesian virtue.

Protestant Monasticism

   The tradition of monasticism in the Protestant tradition remotes from
   John Wycliffe who organized the Lollard Preacher Order (the "Poor
   Priests") to promote his reformation views.

   During the Reformation the teachings of Luther led to the end the
   monasteries, but a few Protestants followed monastic lives. Since the
   19th century there have been a renewal in the monastic life among
   Protestants.

   In 1946 Roger Schutz, known as Brother Roger, founded in France an
   independent Interdenominational Protestant Religious Order, a.k.a.
   Taizé Community. They are redefined as "Ecumenical", rather than as a
   "Protestant" Community.

   In 1947 Mother Basilea Schlink and Mother Martyria founded the
   Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, in Darmstadt, Germany. This movement is
   largely considered Evangelical or Lutheran in its roots.

   In other Lutheran traditions "The Congregation of the Servants of
   Christ" was established at St. Augustine's House (
   http://www.staugustineshouse.org/) in Oxford, Michigan, U.S.A., in 1958
   when some other men joined Father Arthur Kreinheder in observing the
   monastic life and offices of prayer. These men and others came and went
   over the years. The community has always remained small; at times the
   only member was Father Arthur himself. During the 35 years of its
   existence over 25 men tested their vocations to monastic life by living
   at the house for some time, from a few months to many years, but at
   Father Arthur's death in 1989 only one permanent resident remained. At
   the beginning of 2006, there are 2 permanent professed members and 2
   long-term guests. Strong ties remain with this community and their
   brothers in Sweden ( http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/klostren/OSTANENG.htm)
   and in Germany ( http://www.st-wigberti.com/).

   Around 1964, Reuben Archer Torrey III, an Episcopal missionary,
   grandson of R. A. Torrey, founded Jesus Abbey as a missionary community
   in Korea. It is has some links with the Episcopal Church and hold an
   Evangelical doctrine.

   In 1999 an independent Protestant order was founded named The Knights
   of Prayer Monastic Order. The community maintains a number of monks in
   its Portland, Oregon, cloister; and has an international network of
   associated lay people. It is not affiliated with any particular
   congregation.

   In February, 2001 the United Methodist Church organized the Saint
   Brigid of Kildare Monastery is a Methodist-Benedictine residential
   monastery for women in Collegeville, MN.

   The Order of Ecumenical Franciscans (OEF) is a religious order of men
   and women devoted to following the examples of Saint Francis of Assisi
   and Saint Clare of Assisi in their life and understanding of the
   Christian gospel: sharing a love for creation and those who have been
   marginalized.

   An example of Christian ecumenism, the OEF includes members of many
   different denominations, including Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and the
   whole range of Protestant traditions. The OEF understands its charism
   to include not only ecumenical efforts and the traditional emphases of
   the Franciscans in general, but also to help to develop relationships
   between the various Franciscan orders.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_monasticism"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
