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Monasticism

Monasticism (from Ancient Greek μοναχός (monakhós) 'solitary, monastic'; from μόνος (mónos) 'alone'), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially in the Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican traditions as well as in other faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism.[1] In other religions, monasticism is criticized and not practiced, as in Islam and Zoroastrianism, or plays a marginal role, as in modern Judaism.

Many monastics live in abbeys, convents, monasteries, or priories to separate themselves from the secular world, unless they are in mendicant or missionary orders.

one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world.

Monastery of Saint Anthony

founded a monastery on Mt. Izla above Nisibis in Mesopotamia (c. 350), and from this monastery the cenobitic tradition spread in Mesopotamia, Persia, Armenia, Georgia and even India and China.

Mar Awgin

St. organized the monks of the Judean Desert in a monastery close to Bethlehem (483), now known as Mar Saba, which is considered the mother of all monasteries of the Eastern Orthodox churches.

Sabbas the Sanctified

was founded between 527 and 565 in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt by order of Emperor Justinian I.

Saint Catherine's Monastery

Monasticism in Christianity, which provides the origins of the words "monk" and "monastery", comprises several diverse forms of religious living. It began to develop early in the history of the Church, but is not mentioned in the scriptures. The precise origins of the movement are obscure but it seems that it originated in more than one place with Egypt and Syria as important early centres.[5] It has come to be regulated by religious rules (e.g. the Rule of St Basil, the Rule of St Benedict) and, in modern times, the Church law of the respective apostolic Christian churches that have forms of monastic living.


The Christian monk embraces the monastic life as a vocation from God. His objective is to imitate the life of Christ as far as possible in preparation for attaining eternal life after death.


Titles for monastics differ between the Christian denominations. In Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism, monks and nuns are addressed as Brother (or Father, if ordained to the priesthood) or Mother, Sister, while in Eastern Orthodoxy, they are addressed as Father or Mother. Women pursuing a monastic life are generally called nuns, religious sisters or, rarely, canonesses, while monastic men are called monks, friars or brothers.


During the fourth and fifth century monasticism allowed women to be removed from traditional lifestyles such as marriage and childbearing to live a life devoted to God. Guided by daily rules and lifestyle guidelines, monasticism afforded women great spiritual autonomy. Women also played a crucial role in promoting and financing the monastic movement.[6] Monasteries served as a space for communal living for monks and nuns many operated under different ranges of severity for rules and punishment of disobedience towards practices that largely originated from the Desert Fathers, these parameters were administer by a superior (Father/Mother). While the practices of female monastic communities varied, they were united by a commitment to a life of prayer, contemplation, and service to others.


Teachings from Shenoute of Atripe, an influential figure in the development of the monastic tradition in Egypt and for his writings on monastic life were also implemented throughout monasteries. Sometimes written in the masculine gender as if exclusively applicable to the male congregations, despite the fact Shenoute commanded a federation that included both male and female congregations.


Later, during 379 CE the first monastery for women was founded in Jerusalem by Saint Melania the Elder. This was a significant moment in history: before then, female monasteries were solely adjunct to male monasteries, although the history of female ascetics predates even the earliest recognized female ascetic pioneers, such as Saint Mary of Egypt, who lived during the 5th century CE.


In fourth century Egypt, Christians felt called to a more reclusive or eremitic form of living (in the spirit of the "Desert Theology" for the purpose of spiritual renewal and return to God). Saint Anthony the Great is cited by Athanasius as one of the early "Hermit monks". Especially in the Middle East, eremitic monasticism continued to be common until the decline of Syriac Christianity in the late Middle Ages.


Around 318 Saint Pachomius started to organize his many followers in what was to become the first Christian cenobitic or communal monastery. Soon, similar institutions were established throughout the Egyptian desert as well as the rest of the eastern half of the Roman Empire. Notable monasteries in the East include:


In the West, the most significant development occurred when the rules for monastic communities were written down, the Rule of St Basil being credited with having been the first. The precise dating of the Rule of the Master is problematic. It has been argued that it antedates the Rule of Saint Benedict created by Benedict of Nursia for his monastery in Monte Cassino, Italy (c. 529), and the other Benedictine monasteries he had founded as part of the Order of St Benedict. It would become the most common rule throughout the Middle Ages and is still in use today. The Augustinian Rule, due to its brevity, has been adopted by various communities, chiefly the Canons Regular. Around the 12th century, the Franciscan, Carmelite, Dominican, Servite Order (see Servants of Mary) and Augustinian mendicant orders chose to live in city convents among the people instead of being secluded in monasteries. St. Augustine's Monastery, founded in 1277 in Erfurt, Germany is regarded by many historians and theologians as the "cradle of the Reformation", as it is where Martin Luther lived as a monk from 1505 to 1511.[7]


Today new expressions of Christian monasticism, many of which are ecumenical, are developing in various places such as the Bose Monastic Community in Italy, the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem throughout Europe, the Anglo-Celtic Society of Nativitists, the Taizé Community in France, the Eastern Orthodox monasteries of New Skete, New York, and the mainly Evangelical Protestant New Monasticism.

owning personal property apart from a bowl, a cup, two sets of clothing and medical aids such as eyeglasses;

having any contact with, looking at, thinking of or even being in the presence of women;

eating for pleasure;

possessing or even touching money or valuables in any way, shape or form;

maintaining personal relationships.

In their quest to attain the spiritual goal of life, some Hindus choose the path of monasticism (Sannyasa). Monastics commit themselves to a life of simplicity, celibacy, detachment from worldly pursuits, and the contemplation of God.[9] A Hindu monk is called a sanyāsī, sādhu, or swāmi.[10] A nun is called a sanyāsini, sādhvi, or swāmini. Such renunciates are accorded high respect in Hindu society, because their outward renunciation of selfishness and worldliness serves as an inspiration to householders who strive for mental renunciation. Some monastics live in monasteries, while others wander from place to place, trusting in God alone to provide for their physical needs.[11] It is considered a highly meritorious act for a lay devotee to provide sadhus with food or other necessaries. Sādhus are expected to treat all with respect and compassion, whether a person may be poor or rich, good or wicked. They are also expected to be indifferent to praise, blame, pleasure, and pain.[12] A sādhu can typically be recognized by his ochre-colored clothing. Generally, Vaisnava monks shave their heads except for a small patch of hair on the back of the head, while Saivite monks let their hair and beard grow uncut.


A sādhu's vow of renunciation typically forbids him from:

has both monks and nuns (i.e. celibate male and female acharyas or missionaries) as well as a smaller group of family acharyas. The monks and nuns are engaged in all kinds of direct services to society, so they have no scope for permanent retreat. They do have to follow strict celibacy, poverty and many other rules of conduct during as well as after they have completed their training.

Ananda Marga

is believed to have a rich monastic history. Bön monasteries exist today, and the monks there practice Bön-Buddhism.

Bön

had two types of followers, the auditors, and the elect. The elect lived apart from the auditors to concentrate on reducing the material influences of the world. They did this through strict celibacy, poverty, teaching, and preaching. Therefore, the elect were probably at least partially monastic.

Manichaeism

maintains a "fraternal order" called the Sea Organization or just Sea Org. They work only for the Church of Scientology and have signed billion year contracts. Sea Org members live communally with lodging, food, clothing, and medical care provided by the Church.

Scientology

and the Baháʼí Faith both specifically forbid the practice of monasticism. Hence there are no Sikh or Baháʼí monk conclaves or brotherhoods.

Sikhism

of Taoism has monks and nuns[32][33]

Quanzhen School

sect of Zhaijiao.[34]

Way of Former Heaven

The sponsors two monastic groups: the Thousand-Headed Purusha for men and the Mother Divine for women.[35] The US residences for the groups were in Heavenly Mountain, North Carolina.[35] There is also a Purusha program at an ashram in Uttarkashi, India.[36] The Global Mother Divine Organization describes itself as the women's wing of the Global Country of World Peace.[37]

Transcendental Meditation movement

Asceticism

Double monastery

Guru

Hermit

Mendicant

Religious order

Sādhanā

Fafinski, Mateusz, and Jakob Riemenschneider. Archived 16 April 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Elements in Late Antique Religion 2. Cambridge: Camabridge University Press, 2023.

Monasticism and the City in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages

Fracchia, Charles. Living Together Alone: The New American Monasticism. Harper & Row, 1979.  0-06-063011-6.

ISBN

Gruber, Mark. 2003. Sacrifice In the Desert: A Study of an Egyptian Minority Through the Lens of Coptic Monasticism. Lanham: University Press of America.  0-7618-2539-8

ISBN

Johnston, William M. (ed.). 2000. Encyclopedia of Monasticism. 2 vols., Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers.

Knowles, David. Christian Monasticism. London: World University Library, 1969

Lawrence, C. H. 2001. Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life in Western Europe in the Middle Ages (3rd Edition). New York: Longmans.  0-582-40427-4

ISBN

1985. "The Monastic World: The Contributions of the Orders". pp. 36–66, in Evans, Joan (ed.). 1985. The Flowering of the Middle Ages. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd.

Zarnecki, George.

Archived 21 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine

The Hermits by Charles Kingsley (Gutenberg)

Archived 24 February 2005 at the Wayback Machine

Links to Coptic Orthodox Monasteries of Egypt and the world

Archived 2 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine

Historyfish.net: texts and articles regarding the Western Christian monastic tradition.

Archived 23 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine

Abbot Gasquet's English Monastic Life. Full Text + Illustrations.

Archived 4 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine

Public Domain Photochrom photographs, Abbeys, Cathedrals, Holy Sites and the Holy Land.

Archived 28 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine

History of Monasticism

Archived 14 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine Immaculate Heart of Mary's Hermitage

Monasticism

 – An eastern point of view

"Woman" – The correct perspective for the monastic

Archived 30 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine

American Benedictines