Christian monasticism
Christian monasticism is a religious way of life of Christians who live ascetic and typically cloistered lives that are dedicated to Christian worship. It began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, modeled upon scriptural examples and ideals, including those in the Old Testament. It has come to be regulated by religious rules and, in modern times, the Canon law of the respective Christian denominations that have forms of monastic living. Those living the monastic life are known by the generic terms monks and nuns. The word monk originated from the Greek , itself from meaning 'alone'.
Christian monks did not live in monasteries at first; rather, they began by living alone as solitaries, as the word monos might suggest. As more people took on the lives of monks, living alone in the wilderness, they started to come together and model themselves after the original monks nearby. Quickly, the monks formed communities to further their ability to observe an ascetic life. According to Christianity historian Robert Louis Wilken, "By creating an alternate social structure within the Church they laid the foundations for one of the most enduring Christian institutions..." Monastics generally dwell in a monastery, whether they live there in a community, or in seclusion.
Life for monks and nuns
Monasticism, in all its varieties, involves withdrawal from society. Monastic life is distinct from the "religious orders" such as the friars, canons regular, clerks regular, and the more recent religious congregations. The latter involves a special work or aim, such as preaching, teaching, liberating captives, etc., which occupies a large place in their activities. While monks have variously labored, in every case this work is extrinsic to the essence of the monastic state. Monks and friars are two distinct roles. In the thirteenth century "...new orders of friars were founded to teach the Christian faith," because monasteries had declined.Both ways of living out the Christian life are regulated by the respective church law of those Christian denominations that recognize it. Christian monastic life does not always involve communal living with like-minded Christians. Christian monasticism has varied greatly in its external forms, but, broadly speaking, it has two main types: the eremitical or secluded, the cenobitical or city life. St. Anthony the Abbot may be called the founder of the first and St. Pachomius of the second.
A priest-monk is sometimes called a hieromonk.
History
Biblical precedent
First-century groups such as the Essenes and the Therapeutae followed lifestyles that could be seen as precursors to Christian monasticism. Early Christian monasticism drew its inspiration from the examples of the Prophet Elijah and John the Baptist, who both lived alone in the desert, and above all from the story of Jesus' time in solitary struggle with Satan in the desert, before his public ministry. Another monastic precedent in Bible would be Nazirites as they practiced tonsure, followed a certain diet as a form of fasting, lived consecrated lives and they followed a certain practice concerning hygiene. However, the case of Nazirites is usually defined as a form of a historical Jewish vow or oath instead of being a direct precedent of monastic orders because of the historical context concerning Israelites and the importance of private rituals concerning vow making in historical Israelite religion.Early Christianity
Early Christian ascetics have left no confirmed archaeological traces and only hints in the written record. 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. In ante-Nicene asceticism, a man would lead a single life, practice long and frequent fasts, abstain from meat and wine, and support himself, if he were able, by some small handicraft, keeping of what he earned only so much as was absolutely necessary for his own sustenance, and giving the rest to the poor.An early form of "proto-monasticism" appeared as well in the 3rd century among Syriac Christians through the "Sons of the covenant" movement. Eastern Orthodoxy looks to Basil of Caesarea as a founding monastic legislator, as well to as the example of the Desert Fathers.
Eremitic Monasticism
Eremitic monasticism, or solitary monasticism, is characterized by a complete withdrawal from society. The word 'eremitic' comes from the Greek word eremos, which means desert.File:Monasterio de El Parral, Segovia.JPG|thumb|right|240px|The Monastery of Saint Mary of Parral of the Hieronymite hermit monks
Paul the Hermit is the first Christian historically known to have been living as a monk. In the 3rd century, Anthony of Egypt lived as a hermit in the desert and gradually gained followers who lived as hermits nearby but not in actual community with him. This type of monasticism is called eremitical or "hermit-like".
Another option for becoming a solitary monastic was to become an anchorite, someone who lived apart from society. In later times, those who wanted to live in monastic solitude but were unable to live alone could request that a bishop perform the rite of enclosure. These anchorites would live alone in a room that typically had a window that opened into a church so they could receive communion and participate in church services. There were two other windows that allowed food to be passed in and people to come to seek advice. The most well-known anchoress was Julian of Norwich who was born in England in 1342.
Cenobitic monasticism
While the earliest Desert Fathers lived as hermits, they were rarely completely isolated, but often lived in proximity to one another, and soon loose-knit communities began to form in such places as Egypt's Desert of Nitria and the Desert of Skete. Saint Macarius established individual groups of cells such as those at Kellia, founded in 338. These monks were anchorites, following the monastic ideal of St. Anthony. They lived by themselves, gathering together for common worship on Saturdays and Sundays only.In Egypt, St Pachomius established the first cenobitic and "bio" ) Christian monastery. At Tabenna in Upper Egypt, sometime around 323 AD, Pachomius decided to mold his disciples into a more organized community in which the monks lived in individual huts or rooms, but worked, ate, and worshipped in shared space. The intention was to bring together individual ascetics who, although pious, did not, like Saint Anthony, have the physical ability or skills to live a solitary existence in the desert. This method of monastic organization is called cenobitic or "communal". Catholic theological teaching regards this community-based living as superior because of the obedience practiced and the accountability offered. The head of a monastery came to be known by the word for "Father"—in Syriac, Abba; in English, "Abbot".
Guidelines for daily life were created, and separate monasteries were created for men and women. St Pachomius introduced a monastic Rule of cenobitic life, giving everyone the same food and attire. The monks of the monastery fulfilled the obediences assigned them for the common good of the monastery. Among the various obediences was the copying of books. St Pachomius considered that an obedience fulfilled with zeal was greater than fasting or prayer.
A Pachomian monastery was a collection of buildings surrounded by a wall. The monks were distributed in houses, each house containing about forty monks. There would be thirty to forty houses in a monastery. There was an abbot over each monastery and provosts with subordinate officials over each house. The monks were divided into houses according to the work they were employed in: thus there would be a house for carpenters, a house for agriculturists, and so forth. But other principles of division seem to have been employed: there was a house for the Greeks, for example. On Saturdays and Sundays, all the monks assembled in the church for Mass; on other days the Office and other spiritual exercises were celebrated in the houses.
Monasteries thus functioned as industrial communities in which almost every kind of trade was practised. Monks had ships of their own on the Nile to distribute their agricultural produce and manufactured goods to the market and then bring back what the monasteries required.
The community of Pachomius was so successful he was called upon to help organize others, and by one count by the time he died in 346 there were thought to be 3,000 such communities dotting Egypt, especially in the Thebaid. From there monasticism quickly spread out first to Palestine and the Judean Desert, Syria, North Africa and eventually to the rest of the Roman Empire and beyond.
In 370, Basil the Great, monastic founder in Cappadocia, became bishop of Caesarea and wrote down his principles of ascetic life. Eastern monastic teachings were brought to the western church by Saint John Cassian. As a young adult, he and his friend Germanus entered a monastery in Palestine, and then journeyed to Egypt to visit the eremitic groups in Nitria. Many years later, Cassian founded a monastery of monks near Marseille. He wrote two long works, the Institutes and Conferences. In these books, he provided a view of Christian monasticism that had a strongly evangelical and theological basis.
At the time of his conversion in Mediolanum in the years 386–387, Augustine was aware of the life of Saint Anthony in the desert of Egypt. Upon his return to Africa as a Christian in the year 388, however, Augustine and a few Christian friends founded at Thagaste a lay community. They became cenobites in the countryside rather than in the desert.
Saint Benedict lived for many years as a hermit in a cave near Subiaco, Italy. He was asked to be head over several monks who wished to change to the monastic style of Pachomius by living in a community. Between the years 530 and 560, he wrote the Rule of Saint Benedict as a guideline for monks living in community.
Some scholars attribute the rise of monasticism to the immense changes in the church brought about by Constantine's legalization of Christianity in the Edict of Milan in 313. The subsequent transformation of Christianity into the main Roman religion ended the position of Christians as a minority sect. In response, a new form of dedication developed.