View source for Christian monasticism

{{Short description|A Christian religious way of life}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Christian mysticism}}
[[File:'St. Paul the Hermit Fed by the Raven', after Il Guercino, Dayton Art Institute.JPG|thumb|''St. [[Paul the Hermit]] Fed by the Raven'', after [[Guercino|Il Guercino]] (17th century), [[Dayton Art Institute]]]]

'''Christian monasticism''' is a religious way of life of [[Christians]] who live [[Asceticism#Christianity|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 (e. g., [[the Rule of Saint Augustine]], [[Anthony the Great]], [[Pachomius the Great|St Pachomius]], the [[Rule of St Basil]], the [[Rule of St Benedict]]) and, in modern times, the [[Canon law]] of the respective [[Christian denomination]]s that have forms of monastic living. Those living the monastic life are known by the generic terms [[monk]]s (men) and [[nuns]] (women). The word ''monk'' originated from the [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] {{wikt-lang|grc|μοναχός}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|monachos}}, 'monk'), itself from {{wikt-lang|grc|μόνος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|monos}}) meaning  'alone'.<ref>{{OEtymD|monk}}</ref><ref>Corbishley, Mike. Monks lived a very strict and regulated life. Life in a monastery included prayer, manual work, and this promoted the idea of the dignity and labour. Cultural Atlas for Young People The Middle Ages Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004, page 38.</ref>

Christian monks did not live in monasteries at first; rather, they began by living alone as [[solitaries]], as the word {{lang|grc-Latn|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.<ref>Rowling, Marjorie. Everyday Life in Medieval Times. London: Jarrold and Sons Ltd, 1968, page 125.</ref> 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..."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wilken|first1=Robert Louis|title=The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity|date=27 November 2012|publisher=Yale University Press|location=New Haven and London|isbn=978-0-300-11884-1|pages=100}}<!--|access-date=8 March 2016--></ref> Monastics generally dwell in a [[monastery]], whether they live there in a community ([[cenobitic monasticism|cenobite]]s), or in seclusion ([[recluse]]s).

==Life for monks and nuns==
[[File:Nun procession ceremony.jpg|thumb|205px|right|Nun profession ceremony for a new nun, admitted to the cloister (behind the half door).]]
Monasticism, in all its varieties, involves withdrawal from society. Monastic life is distinct from the "religious orders" such as the [[friar]]s, [[canons regular]], [[clerks regular]], and the more recent [[religious congregation]]s. 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.<ref name=huddleston>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10459a.htm |title=Huddleston, Gilbert. "Monasticism." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 31 May 2013 |access-date=21 August 2009 |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506180500/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10459a.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Macdonald, Fiona 1995, page 37">Macdonald, Fiona. How would you survive in the Middle Ages?. New York: Franklin Watts, 1995, page 37.</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=December 2023}}

Both ways of living out the Christian life are regulated by the respective church law of those Christian denominations that recognize it (e.g., the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]], the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], the [[Anglican Church]], or the [[Lutheranism|Lutheran Church]]). 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: (a) the [[Hermit|eremitical]] or secluded, (b) the [[cenobitical]] or city life. [[Anthony the Great|St. Anthony the Abbot]] may be called the founder of the first and [[St. Pachomius]] of the second.<ref name=trappist>{{Cite web |url=http://www.trappist.net/EarlyMonasticism |title="Early Monasticism", Monastery of the Holy Spirit |access-date=19 July 2013 |archive-date=5 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130705053848/http://www.trappist.net/EarlyMonasticism |url-status=live }}</ref> {{citation needed span|date=December 2023|The monastic life is based on [[Jesus]]'s teaching to "be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 5:48). This ideal, also called the [[state of perfection]], can be seen, for example, in the ''[[Philokalia]]'', a book of monastic writings. Their manner of self-renunciation has three elements corresponding to the three [[evangelical counsels]]: [[poverty]], [[chastity]] and [[Vow of obedience|obedience]].}}

A priest-monk is sometimes called a [[hieromonk]].

==History==
{{See also|Chronology of early Christian monasticism}}

===Biblical precedent===
{{Original research section|date=December 2023}}
First-century groups such as the [[Essenes]] and the [[Therapeutae]] followed lifestyles that could be seen as precursors to Christian monasticism.<ref>[[Eusebius of Caesarea]], in his ''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Ecclesiastical History]]'', describes Philos Therapeutae as the first Christian monks, identifying their renunciation of property, chastity, fasting, solitary lives with the cenobitic ideal of the Christian monks. Professor Constantine Scouteris, [http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/patrology/scouteris_theraputae.htm Source] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125142751/http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/patrology/scouteris_theraputae.htm |date=25 January 2021 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="ocso">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ocso.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=150&Itemid=182&lang=en |title="Early Christian Monasticism", Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance |access-date=1 June 2013 |archive-date=29 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929193701/http://www.ocso.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=150&Itemid=182&lang=en |url-status=live }}</ref> Another monastic precedent in Bible would be [[Nazirite]]s as they practiced tonsure,<ref>Numbers 6:5-18</ref> followed a certain diet as a form of fasting,<ref>[[Mishneh Torah]] 5:1-7</ref> lived consecrated lives<ref>{{bibleverse|Numbers|6:5|HE}}</ref><ref>{{bibleverse|Numbers|6:8|HE}}</ref> and they followed a certain practice concerning hygiene.<ref>Numbers 6:6-7</ref> 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 [[Yahwism|Israelite religion]].{{sfn|Bennett|2002|p=83}}{{Failed verification|date=December 2023}}

===Early Christianity===
[[File:Saint Anthony The Great.jpg|thumb|[[Icon]] of [[Saint Anthony the Great]], an early, well-known Christian monastic]]
{{Main|Christian monasticism before 451}}
Early Christian ascetics have left no confirmed archaeological traces and only hints in the written record{{Citation needed|date=January 2025|reason=There is no information provided to support this claim and no acknowledgement from the author that the statement is unsupported.}}. 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.<ref name=bacchus/>

An early form of "proto-monasticism" appeared as well in the 3rd century among [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac Christians]] through the "[[Sons of the covenant]]" movement. [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]] looks to [[Basil the Great|Basil of Caesarea]] as a founding monastic legislator, as well to as the example of the [[Desert Fathers]].

====Eremitic Monasticism====
{{Main|Hermit}}
Eremitic monasticism, or solitary monasticism, is characterized by a complete withdrawal from society. The word 'eremitic' comes from the Greek word {{Lang|grc-Latn|eremos}}, which means desert.<ref name="Idiorrythmic Monasticism">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Idiorrythmic Monasticism|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/281997/idiorrhythmic-monasticism|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.|access-date=9 October 2012}}</ref> 

[[File:Monasterio de El Parral, Segovia.JPG|thumb|right|240px|The [[Monastery of Santa María del Parral|Monastery of Saint Mary of Parral]] ([[Spain]]) of the [[Hieronymites|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]] (252–356) 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.<ref name=Anchoress>{{cite web |title=Anchoress|url=http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/anchoress.htm|work=The Middle Ages Website|access-date=9 October 2012}}</ref> The most well-known anchoress was [[Julian of Norwich]] who was born in England in 1342.<ref name="Juliana of Norwich">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Gardner|first=Edmund|title=Juliana of Norwich|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08557a.htm|encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopaedia Vol. 8|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|access-date=9 October 2012}}</ref>

====Cenobitic monasticism====
{{Main|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 [[Nitrian Desert | Desert of Nitria]] and the [[Wadi El Natrun | Desert of Skete]].<ref name=ocso/> [[Macarius of Egypt|Saint Macarius]] established individual groups of cells such as those at [[Kellia]] (in the Nitrian Desert), 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.<ref name=greek>[http://orthodoxbahamas.com/?page_id=986 "Monasticism", Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Nassau, Bahamas] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025155947/http://orthodoxbahamas.com/?page_id=986 |date=25 October 2013 }}</ref>

In 346 in Egypt, [[St Pachomius]] established the first cenobitic (from the Greek words "koine" (common) and "bio" (life)) Christian monastery.<ref name=ocso/> 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 ({{langx | la | singular: {{lang | la | cellula}}), 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 language|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 Pachomius | 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.<ref name=oca>{{Cite web |url =http://oca.org/saints/lives/2013/05/15/101384-venerable-pachomius-the-great-founder-of-coenobitic-monasticism |title ="Venerable Pachomius the Great, Founder of Coenobitic Monasticism", Orthodox Church in America |access-date =1 June 2013 |archive-date =1 May 2021 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20210501063040/https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2013/05/15/101384-venerable-pachomius-the-great-founder-of-coenobitic-monasticism |url-status=live }}</ref>

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 (liturgy) | Mass]]; on other days the [[Daily Office | Office]] and other spiritual exercises were celebrated in the houses.<ref name=bacchus/>

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<ref name=bacchus>{{Cite web |url =http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10464a.htm |title =Bacchus, Francis Joseph. "Eastern Monasticism Before Chalcedon (A.D. 451)". ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 31 May 2013 |access-date =1 June 2013 |archive-date =7 May 2021 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20210507153231/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10464a.htm |url-status =live }}</ref>

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 (region)|Palestine]] and the [[Judean Desert]], [[Syria]], [[North Africa]] and eventually to the rest of the [[Roman Empire]] and beyond.
 
In 370, [[Basil of Caesarea|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 [[John Cassian|Saint John Cassian]] ({{circa|360}} – {{circa|435}}). As a young adult, he and his friend [[Saint Germanus of Auxerre|Germanus]] entered a monastery in Palestine, and then journeyed to Egypt to visit the eremitic groups in [[Nitria (monastic site)|Nitria]]. Many years later, Cassian founded a monastery of monks (and probably also one of nuns) 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.<ref name=ocso/>

At the time of his conversion in [[Mediolanum]] (present-day Milan) 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.<ref name=augnet>[http://www.augnet.org/default.asp?ipageid=1113&iparentid=1112 "Monasticism", Augnet] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012002816/http://www.augnet.org/default.asp?ipageid=1113&iparentid=1112 |date =12 October 2013 }}</ref>

[[Benedict of Nursia|Saint Benedict]] ({{circa}} 480 – 547 AD) lived for many years as a hermit in a cave near [[Subiaco, Lazio|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.<ref name=augnet/>

Some scholars{{which?|date=May 2025}} attribute the rise of monasticism to the immense changes in the church brought about by [[Constantine I (emperor)|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.

=== Opposition ===
[[File:Jovinianus.jpg|thumb|Jovinian was the most influential early opponent of monasticism<ref name="ccel.org">{{Cite web|title=Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Volume III: Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 311–600 – Christian Classics Ethereal Library|url=https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc3/hcc3.iii.vii.xix.html|access-date=2022-02-22|website=ccel.org}}</ref>]]
There were opponents of Monasticism in the early days of the church. Among the first opponents to Monasticism were [[Helvidius]], [[Jovinian]], [[Vigilantius]] and [[Aerius of Sebaste]]. Most of them were rebutted by [[Jerome]], a priest and theologian who defended monastic and ascetic ideas.<ref name="ccel.org"/><ref>{{Cite web|title=Philip Schaff: History of the Christian Church, Volume III: Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity. A.D. 311–600 – Christian Classics Ethereal Library|url=https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/hcc3/hcc3.iii.vii.xx.html|access-date=2022-02-22|website=ccel.org}}</ref> Monasticism was also opposed by some [[Arianism|Arians]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Robertson |first=J. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytRaDwAAQBAJ&dq=Arians+perpetual+virginity&pg=PA122 |title=A Short History of Christianity |date=2018-05-15 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-3-7326-7204-2 |language=en}}</ref>

==Eastern Christian monasticism==
{{Main|Eastern Christian monasticism}}
{{See also|Monk#Eastern Christianity}}
[[File:megaloschema.svg|thumb|200px|right|''Analavos'' worn by Eastern Orthodox Schema-Monks.]]

Orthodox monasticism does not have religious orders as in the West,<ref>One may hear Orthodox monks referred to as "Basilian Monks", but this is really an inappropriate application of western categories to Orthodoxy.</ref> therefore there are no formal Monastic Rules (''[[Regulæ Juris|Regulae]]''); rather, each monk and [[Nun#Eastern Orthodox|nun]] is encouraged to read all of the [[Saints|Holy Fathers]] and emulate their virtues. There is also no division between the "active" and "contemplative" life. [[Orthodoxy|Orthodox]] monastic life embraces both active and contemplative aspects.

Within the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], there exist three types of monasticism: eremitic, cenobitic, and the [[skete]] (see also [[lavra]]). The skete is a very small community, often of two or three ({{bibleverse||Matthew|18:20}}), under the direction of an [[Starets|Elder]]. They pray privately for most of the week, then come together on Sundays and Feast Days for communal prayer, thus combining aspects of both eremitic and coenobitic monasticism.

===Historical development===
{{More citations needed|section|date=December 2023}}
Even before Saint [[Anthony the Great]] (sometimes called 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).
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]] and [[Desert Mothers]] 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 of Galatia]], [[Bishop of Helenopolis]] (also known as the ''[[Lausiac 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 [[cenobite|cenobiticism]], 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 of Caesarea|Basil the Great]], a man from a professional family who was educated in [[Caesarea Maritima|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 [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] on [[Mount Sinai]] in [[Egypt]]. 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 [[Canonical Hours|Divine Services]] or in [[Refectory|Trapeza]] during [[Great Lent]].

At the height of the [[Byzantine Empire|East Roman]] Empire, numerous great monasteries were established by the emperors, including the twenty "sovereign monasteries" on the [[Mount Athos|Holy Mountain]],<ref>Both Mount Sinai and Mount Athos are referred to as "the Holy Mountain" in Orthodox literature,</ref> 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 [[East-West Schism|Great Schism]] between East and West grew, conflict arose over misunderstandings about [[Hesychasm]]. Saint [[Gregory Palamas]], bishop of [[Thessalonica]], an experienced Athonite monk, defended Eastern Orthodox spirituality against the critiques of [[Barlaam of Calabria]], and left numerous important works on the spiritual life.

[[File:Konstantin Savitskiy Inok 1897.jpg|thumbnail|[[Konstantin Savitsky]], monk 1897]]

===Present===
{{Citations needed|section|date=December 2023}}
Candidates for the Office of Bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Church are still required by [[canon law]] to be unwed/widowed and to take monastic vows if they have not previously done so.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Consecration (Ordination) Of An Orthodox Bishop |url=https://www.acrod.org/orthodox-christianity/articles/spirituallife/episcopal-consecration#:~:text=Candidates%20for%20the%20Office%20of,Deacon,%20then%20as%20a%20Priest. |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese of North America |language=en}}</ref>

Monastic centers thrive to this day in [[Bulgaria]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Greece]], [[North Macedonia]], [[Russia]], [[Romania]], [[Serbia]], the [[Holy Land]], and elsewhere. The [[Monastic community of Mount Athos|Autonomous Monastic State of Mount Athos]] remains the spiritual center of monasticism for the Eastern Orthodox Church. 

Monasticism continues to be influential in the Eastern Orthodox Church. [[Fasting]], [[Hesychasm]], and spiritual life are strongly encouraged not only among monastics but also among the [[laity]].

===Types of Eastern Orthodox monks===
{{Main|Degrees of Eastern Orthodox monasticism}}{{Citations needed|section|date=December 2023}}[[File:Prokudin-Gorskii-39.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|Orthodox monks farming potatoes in [[Russia]], c. 1910]]

There are three levels of monasticism: the [[Rassophore]], the [[Stavrophore]], and the [[Schema monk|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]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=- The Monastic Grades |url=https://www.stots.edu/article/The+Monastic+Grades |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=www.stots.edu}}</ref>  There is no formal ceremony for the clothing of a novice; he or she would simply be given the [[cassock#Eastern practice .28Orthodox and Eastern Catholic.29|''Podraznik'']], belt and ''[[skoufos]]''. 

After a period of about three years, the Hegumen may at his discretion [[tonsure]] the novice as a ''Rassophore'' monk, giving him the outer garment called the Rassa (Greek: ''Rason''). A monk or nun may remain in this grade for the rest of his or her life, if they so choose. The Rite of Tonsure for the Rassophore refers to the grade as that of the "Beginner." The Rassophore is also given a [[klobuk]] which he wears in church and on formal occasions. In addition, Rassophores 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 title 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 [[Passion (Christianity)#Instruments of the Passion|Instruments of the Passion]] and the words, "I bear upon my body the marks of the Lord Jesus" ({{bibleverse||Galatians|6:17}}). The Paramand is so-called because it is worn under the [[Mantle (vesture)|Mantle]] (Greek: ''Mandyas''; [[Church Slavonic language|Church Slavonic]]: ''Mantya''), which is a long cape which completely covers the monk from neck to foot.

[[File:St Anthony of Kiev.jpg|thumb|left|St. [[Anthony of Kiev]] wearing the Great Schema.]]
The highest rank of monasticism is the ''Great Schema'' (Greek: ''Megaloschemos''; Church Slavonic: ''Schimnik''). The ''Schema monk'' or ''Schema nun'' wears the same habit as the Rassophore, with the addition of the ''[[Analavos of the Great Schema|Analavos]]'' (Church Slavonic: ''Analav''). The Analavos is a garment shaped like a cross, covering the shoulders and coming down to the knees (or lower) in the front and back. This garment is roughly reminiscent of the [[scapular]] worn by some Roman Catholic orders, but it is finely embroidered with the Cross and [[Arma Christi|instruments of the Passion]]. The [[Klobuk]] worn by a Schema monk 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 [[religious habit]] worn by Eastern 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 Eastern Orthodox monasticism is [[Hesychasm]], the practice of silence, and the concentrated saying of the [[Jesus Prayer]]. Monastic humility is guided towards preparing the heart for ''[[theoria]]'' or the "divine vision" that comes from the union of the soul with God.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Orthodox Faith - Volume II - Worship - The Sacraments - Monasticism |url=https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/worship/the-sacraments/monasticism#:~:text=In%20the%20Orthodox%20Tradition%20the,life%20dedicated%20solely%20to%20God. |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=www.oca.org}}</ref>

==Western Christian monasticism==
===History===
[[File:Francisco de Zurbarán 043.jpg|thumb|right|[[Jerome|St. Jerome]], [[Paula of Rome|Paula]] and [[Eustochium]] by [[Francisco de Zurbarán]], 1638-1640).]]
The introduction of monasticism into the West may be dated from about A.D. 340 when St. Athanasius visited Rome accompanied by the two Egyptian monks Ammon and Isidore, disciples of St. Anthony. The publication of the "Vita Antonii" some years later and its translation into Latin spread the knowledge of Egyptian monachism widely and many were found in Italy to imitate the example thus set forth. The first Italian monks aimed at reproducing exactly what was done in Egypt and not a few—such as [[Jerome|Saint Jerome]], [[Tyrannius Rufinus|Rufinus]], [[Paula of Rome|Paula]], [[Eustochium]] and the two Melanias ([[Melania the Elder|Elder]] and [[Melania the Younger|Younger]])—actually went to live in Egypt or Palestine as being better suited to monastic life than Italy.<ref name=huddleston/>

The earliest phases of monasticism in Western Europe involved figures like [[Martin of Tours]], who after serving in the Roman legions converted to Christianity and established a hermitage near [[Milan]], then moved on to [[Poitiers]] where a community gathered around his hermitage. He was called to become [[Bishop of Tours]] in 372, where he established a monastery at [[Marmoutier Abbey, Tours|Marmoutier]] on the opposite bank of the [[Loire]], a few miles upstream from the city. His cell was a hut of wood, and round it his disciples, who soon numbered eighty, dwelt in caves and huts. His monastery was laid out as a colony of hermits rather than as a single integrated community. The type of life was simply the Antonian monachism of Egypt.<ref name=huddleston/>

[[Honoratus|Honoratus of Marseille]] was a wealthy [[Gallo-Roman]] aristocrat, who after a pilgrimage to Egypt, founded the [[Lérins Abbey|Monastery of Lérins]] in 410, 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. Lérins became, in time, a center of monastic culture and learning, and many later monks and bishops would pass through Lérins in the early stages of their career.<ref name=Gilbert>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10472a.htm Huddleston, Gilbert. "Western Monasticism." The Catholic Encyclopedia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063747/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10472a.htm |date=4 March 2016 }} Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 18 December 2015</ref> Honoratus was called to be [[Bishop of Arles]].

[[John Cassian]] began his monastic career at a monastery in Palestine and Egypt around 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 415 he established two monasteries near [[Marseille]],<ref name=Gilbert/> one for men, one for women. In time these attracted a total of 5,000 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.

====Celtic monasticism====
It seems that the first Celtic monasteries were merely settlements where the Christians lived together—priests and laity, men, women, and children alike—as a kind of religious clan.<ref name=Gilbert/> According to James F. Kenney, every important church was a monastic establishment, with a small walled village of monks and nuns living under ecclesiastical discipline, and ministering to the people of the surrounding area.<ref>Kenney, J.F., ''The Sources for the Early History of Ireland'', New York, 1929</ref> Monastic spirituality came to Britain and then Ireland from Gaul, by way of Lérins, Tours, and Auxerre. Its spirituality was heavily influenced by the Desert Fathers, with a monastic enclosure surrounding a collection of individual monastic cells.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.orthodoxchurch.co.uk/Celtic_Monasteries.html |title="Celtic Monasteries", Orthodox Christian Contact Wales |access-date=19 December 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222151643/http://www.orthodoxchurch.co.uk/Celtic_Monasteries.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The British church employed an episcopal structure corresponding closely to the model used elsewhere in the Christian world.<ref>Corning, Caitlin. ''The Celtic and Roman Traditions: Conflict and Consensus in the Early Medieval Church''. Macmillan. (2006) {{ISBN|1-4039-7299-0}}</ref> [[Illtud]], [[Saint David|David]], [[Gildas]], and [[Deiniol]] were leading figures in 6th-century Britain.

According to [[Thomas O'Loughlin]], "Each monastery should be seen, as with most monasteries of the period, as an individual response to the monastic impulse by someone who had experienced monasticism and then went off to establish either a hermitage to which others later came or a cenobitic community."<ref name=oloughlin>[https://books.google.com/books?id=iepJAgAAQBAJ&dq=celtic+monasticism&pg=PT300 "Celtic Monasticism", ''Encyclopedia of Monasticism'', (William M. Johnston, ed.), Routledge, 2013] {{ISBN|9781136787164}}</ref> The monasteries were organized on a family basis. Next in importance to the abbot was the scribe, in charge of the scriptorium, the teaching function of the monastery, and the keeping of the annals. The role of scribe was often a path to the position of abbot.<ref>Hughes, Kathleen. "The Distribution of Irish Scriptoria and Centres of Learning from 730 to 1111", ''Studies in the Early British Church'', (N. Chdwick et sl, eds.), Cambridge, 1958</ref> Hereditary right and relationship to the abbot were factors influencing appointment to monastic offices.

Buildings would generally have been of wood, wattle, and thatch. Monasteries tended to be cenobitical in that monks lived in separate cells but came together for common prayer, meals, and other functions. Celtic monasticism was characterized by a rigorous asceticism and a love for learning.<ref name=mcgonigle>[https://books.google.com/books?id=h2pUXP-Ps2QC&dq=celtic+monasticism&pg=PA121 McGonigle, Thomas C., McGonigle, Thomas D., and Quigley, James F., "A History of the Christian Tradition", Paulist Press, 1988] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211181947/https://books.google.com/books?id=h2pUXP-Ps2QC&pg=PA121&lpg=PA121&dq=celtic+monasticism&source=bl&ots=yCQiMIpdPU&sig=eBLd5q43GF-k9_7UXXC483xvdI4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj1ofPRmOfJAhUFLyYKHSn-BRY4MhDoAQgvMAM#v=onepage&q=celtic%20monasticism&f=false |date=11 December 2022 }} {{ISBN|9780809129645}}</ref>

Some more austere ascetics became hermits living in remote locations in what came to be called the "green martyrdom".

==== Double monasteries ====
The monastery of [[Brigid of Kildare|Brigit of Kildare]] at [[Kildare]], Ireland, was a double monastery, with both men and women, supervised by an Abbess, a pattern found in other monastic foundations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bateson |first=Mary |date=December 1899 |title=Origin and Early History of Double Monasteries |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/transactions-of-the-royal-historical-society/article/abs/origin-and-early-history-of-double-monasteries/BB33E3D90890DC2869E2DC2C6A6D5171 |journal=Transactions of the Royal Historical Society |language=en |volume=13 |pages=137–198 |doi=10.2307/3678130 |jstor=3678130 |issn=1474-0648|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==== Scotland ====
Around 397, [[Ninian]], a Briton probably from the area south of the Firth of Clyde, dedicated his church at [[Whithorn]] to St. Martin of Tours. According to [[Bede]], Ninian evangelized the southern Picts.<ref name=Addleshaw>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Rqh4ZnOXHQkC&dq=celtic+monasticism&pg=PA8 Addleshaw, George William Outram. "The Pastoral Structure of the Celtic Church in Northern Britain", Borthwick Publications, 1973] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211181947/https://books.google.com/books?id=Rqh4ZnOXHQkC&pg=PA8&dq=celtic+monasticism&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjDje2UnefJAhUBzCYKHco0A4w4ChDoAQgqMAE#v=onepage&q=celtic%20monasticism&f=false |date=11 December 2022 }} {{ISBN|9780900701375}}</ref>

[[Saint Mungo|Kentigern]] was an apostle of the British Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late 6th century and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow. Due to anti-Christian sentiment, he re-located for a time to Wales, where he established a monastery at [[St Asaphs|St. Asaph's]]. Here he divided the monks into three groups. The unlettered was assigned to the duty of agriculture, the care of cattle, and the other necessary duties outside the monastery. He assigned 300 to duties within the cloister of the monastery, such as {{clarify|date=June 2019|text=doing the ordinary work}}, preparing food, and building workshops. The remaining monks, who were lettered, he appointed to the celebration of divine service in church by day and by night.

==== Wales ====
[[Cadoc]] founded [[Llancarfan]] in the latter part of the fifth century. He received the religious habit from an Irish monk, St. Tathai, superior of a small community near Chepstow, in Monmouthshire. Returning to his native county, Cadoc built a church, and monastery, which was called Llancarfan, or the "Church of the Stags". There he also established a college and a hospital.<ref name=Chandlery>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15585a.htm Chandlery, Peter. "Welsh Monastic Foundations." The Catholic Encyclopedia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308000401/http://newadvent.org/cathen/15585a.htm |date=8 March 2012 }} Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 18 December 2015</ref> His legend recounts that he daily fed a hundred clergy and a hundred soldiers, a hundred workmen, a hundred poor men, and the same number of widows. When thousands left the world and became monks, they very often did so as clansmen, dutifully following the example of their chief. Bishoprics, canonries, and parochial benefices passed from one to another member of the same family, and frequently from father to son. Their tribal character is a feature which Irish and Welsh monasteries had in common.<ref name=newell>[https://archive.org/stream/historywelsh00neweuoft/historywelsh00neweuoft_djvu.txt Newell, E.J., ''A History of the Welsh Church to the Dissolution of the Monasteries'', Chapter III, Elliot Stock, London, 1895]</ref>

[[Illtyd]] spent the first part of his religious life as a disciple of Cadoc at Llancarfan. He founded the monastery at [[Llanilltyd Fawr]]. One of his students was [[Paul Aurelian]], a key figure in Cornish monasticism.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15582b.htm |title=Thurston, Herbert. "Welsh Church." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 19 Nov. 2013 |access-date=19 December 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222120518/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15582b.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Gildas]] the Wise was also a student at Llanilltyd Fawr,<ref name=Chandlery/> as was [[Samson of Dol]]. Samson founded a monastery in an abandoned Roman fort near the river Severn and lived for a time the life of a hermit in a nearby cave before going to [[Seven founder saints of Brittany#Religion|Brittany]].

St David established [[St David's Cathedral|his monastery]] on a promontory on the western sea, well placed to be a centre of Insular Christianity. His establishment became known for its austerity and holiness, more than as a centre of learning,<ref name=woods>[https://books.google.com/books?id=qMbqBgAAQBAJ&dq=celtic+monasticism&pg=PT312 Woods, Richard J., ''Christian Spirituality'', Orbis Books, 2015] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211181947/https://books.google.com/books?id=qMbqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT312&dq=celtic+monasticism&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwie3ImIt-nJAhVEuhoKHREvDY04HhDoAQgzMAM#v=onepage&q=celtic%20monasticism&f=false |date=11 December 2022 }} {{ISBN|9781608334261}}</ref> although when [[King Alfred]] sought a scholar for his court, he summoned [[Asser]] of St David's. Contemporary with David were [[Teilo]], [[Cadoc]], [[Padarn]], [[Beuno]] and [[Tysilio]] among them.

==== Cornwall ====
Many early medieval settlements in the region were occupied by hermitage chapels which are often dedicated to [[Michael (archangel)|St Michael]] as the conventional slayer of pagan demons, as at [[St Michael's Mount]].

==== Ireland ====
[[File:Clonmacnois Round Tower 2003 09 02.jpg|thumb|Clonmacnois Round Tower]]
The earliest monastic settlements in Ireland emerged at the end of the fifth century. It was from Illtud and his colleagues that the Irish sought guidance on matters of ritual and discipline. [[Enda of Aran]] is called the "patriarch of Irish monasticism".<ref name=woods/> A warrior prince of Oriel, upon the death of his betrothed he decided to study for the priesthood. He first joined [[Ailbe of Emly|St Ailbe]] at Emly, before traveling to Ninian's [[Candida Casa]] in Scotland, where he was ordained. About 484 he established the first Irish monastery at Killeaney on Aran Mor. [[Finnian of Clonard]] is said to have studied under Cadoc at [[Llancarfan]] in [[Glamorganshire]].<ref name=early>{{Cite web |url=http://www.earlychristianireland.org/Specials/Irish%20Monasticism/ |title="Irish Monasticism", Early Christian Sites in Ireland |access-date=5 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313065058/http://www.earlychristianireland.org/Specials/Irish%20Monasticism/ |archive-date=13 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Finnian of Moville]] studied under [[Colman of Dromore]] and Mochae of Noendrum, before he too went to Candida Casa.<ref name=grattan>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06077a.htm |title=Grattan-Flood, William. "St. Finnian of Moville." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 19 Jul. 2013 |access-date=20 December 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222142150/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06077a.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
Ireland was a rural society of chieftains living in the countryside. As in Wales, if a clan chieftain accepted Christianity so did those he ruled.<ref name=Duckett>[https://archive.org/details/gatewaytomiddlea00duck/page/62 <!-- quote=celtic monasticism. --> Duckett, Eleanor Shipley. ''The Gateway to the Middle Ages: Monasticism'', University of Michigan Press, 1988] {{ISBN|9780472060511}}</ref> 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).
In Ireland, the abbot was often called "coarb", a term designating the heir or successor of the founder.<ref name=Addleshaw/>

The abbots of the principal monasteries— such as Clonard, Armagh, Clonmacnoise, Swords, etc.—were of the highest rank and held in the greatest esteem. They wielded great power and had vast influence. The abbot usually was only a presbyter, but in the large monasteries, there were one or more resident bishops who conferred orders and discharged the other functions of a bishop. The abbot was superior of the house, and all were subject to him.<ref name=ohalloran/>

The Irish rule was rigorous. The daily routine of monastic life was prayer, study, and manual labor. With regard to food, the rule was very strict. Only one meal a day, at 3 o'clock p.m., was allowed, except on Sundays and Feast days. Wednesdays and Fridays were fast days, except the interval between Easter and Whit Sunday. The food allowed was barley bread, milk, fish, and eggs. Flesh meat was not allowed except on great feasts.<ref name=ohalloran>{{Cite web |url=http://www.libraryireland.com/WestCorkHistory/Monasteries.php |title=O'Halloran, W., ''Early Irish History and Antiquities and the History of West Cork'', Chapter XI, 1916 |access-date=6 May 2014 |archive-date=6 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140506045458/http://www.libraryireland.com/WestCorkHistory/Monasteries.php |url-status=live }}</ref>

In Ireland, a distinctive form of [[Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)|penance]] developed, where confession was made privately to a priest, under the seal of secrecy, and where penance was given privately and ordinarily performed privately as well.<ref>''Medieval Handbooks of Penance'', eds. John T. McNeil and Helena M. Gamer (New York, Columbia University Press, 1938), p. 28</ref> Penance was considered therapeutic rather than punitive.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=cY1SymrAGeEC&dq=celtic+monasticism&pg=PA231 Hinson, E. Glenn. ''The Church Triumphant: A History of Christianity Up to 1300'', Mercer University Press, 1995] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211181947/https://books.google.com/books?id=cY1SymrAGeEC&pg=PA231&dq=celtic+monasticism&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiHzdXKzunJAhUFWhoKHQnhDWQ4KBDoAQhCMAc#v=onepage&q=celtic%20monasticism&f=false |date=11 December 2022 }} {{ISBN|9780865544369}}</ref> Certain handbooks were made, called "[[penitential]]s", designed as a guide for confessors and as a means of regularising the penance given for each particular sin. According to Thomas Pollock Oakley, the penitential guides first developed in Wales, probably at St. David's, and spread by missions to Ireland.<ref name=Oakley>[https://books.google.com/books?id=W802krXYf3oC&dq=penitentials&pg=PA18 Oakley, Thomas Pollock. ''English Penitential Discipline and Anglo-Saxon Law in Their Joint Influence'', p.28, The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 2003] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211181947/https://books.google.com/books?id=W802krXYf3oC&pg=PA18&dq=penitentials&hl=en&sa=X&ei=E61-VIz8EMaqgwSn3oDgBA&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=penitentials&f=false |date=11 December 2022 }} {{ISBN|9781584773023}}</ref>

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.

Irish monks learned Latin, the language of the Church. Thus they read Latin texts, both spiritual and secular. Subjects taught included Latin, Greek, Hebrew, grammar, rhetoric, poetry, arithmetic, chronology, the Holy Places, hymns, sermons, natural science, history and especially the interpretation of Sacred Scripture.<ref name=ohalloran/> In 544 AD, [[Ciarán of Clonmacnoise|St Ciarán]] founded a monastery at [[Clonmacnoise]], which became one of the most important centers of learning and religious life in Ireland.  Contrary to common practice, the title of abbot {{ndash}} which included the title "[[Comarba]] of Saint Ciarán" {{ndash}} at the community was not hereditary, which reflected the humble origins of its founder. In 557, [[Brendan the Navigator|St Brendan]] founded a monastery at Clonfert.

By the end of the seventh century, Irish [[monastic school]]s attracted students from England and Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-04 |title=Ireland - Early Christianity, Monasteries, Saints {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Ireland/Early-Christianity |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

Irish monastic achievements of [[insular art]], in [[illuminated manuscript]]s like the [[Book of Kells]], [[high cross]]es, metalwork like the [[Ardagh Chalice]] and the   [[Cross of Cong]] and manuscript decoration had a profound influence on Western medieval art.<ref>{{cite book |last=De Breffny |first=Brian |author-link= |date=1983 |title=Ireland: A Cultural Encyclopedia |url= |location=London |publisher=Thames and Hudson |page=153|isbn=}}</ref> The manuscripts were produced by and for monasteries, and evidence suggests that metalwork was produced in both monastic and royal workshops.<ref>"'The Work of Angels', Masterpieces of Celtic Metalwork", (Susan Youngs, ed.) London: British Museum Press. 1989, {{ISBN|0-7141-0554-6}}</ref>

==== Culdees ====
{{Main|Culdees}}

The Culdees ({{langx|ga|Céilí Dé}}, <small>{{abbr|lit.|Literally}}</small>&nbsp;"Spouses of God") were members of ascetic [[Celtic Christianity|Christian]] [[monastic]] and [[hermit|eremitical]] communities of [[Ireland]], [[Scotland]], [[Wales]] and [[England]] in the [[Middle Ages]]. Appearing first in Ireland and subsequently in Scotland, attached to cathedral or collegiate churches, they lived in monastic fashion though not taking monastic vows.<ref name="Dalton">D'Alton, Edward Alfred (1908). "[[wikisource:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Culdees|Culdees]]". In ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. '''4'''. New York: Robert Appleton Company.</ref>

==== Hiberno-Scottish mission ====
Irish monasticism spread widely, first to [[Scotland]] and [[Northern England]], then to Gaul and Italy. [[Columba]] and his followers established monasteries at [[Bangor Abbey|Bangor]], on the northeastern coast of Ireland, at [[Iona Abbey|Iona]], an island north-west of Scotland, and at [[Lindisfarne]], which was founded by Aidan, an Irish monk from Iona, at the request of King [[Oswald of Northumbria]]. Abbots of Iona were normally appointed from the founders kin, with an abbot often naming his successor.<ref name=Addleshaw/>

[[Columbanus]], an abbot from a Leinster noble family, traveled to Gaul in the late 6th century with twelve companions. Columbanus and his followers spread the Irish model of monastic institutions to the continent. A whole series of new monastic foundations under Irish influence sprang up, starting with Columbanus's foundations of [[Luxeuil]] and [[Fontaine-lès-Luxeuil]] and, sponsored by the Frankish King [[Childebert II]]. After Childebert's death Columbanus traveled east to Metz, where Theudebert II 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]] and his wife [[Theodolinda]] granted Columbanus land in the mountains between [[Genoa]] and Milan, where he established the monastery of [[Bobbio]]. From about 698 until the reign of Charlemagne in the 770s, the Hiberno-Scottish efforts in the Frankish Empire were continued by the [[Anglo-Saxon mission]]. The rule of St. Columbanus, which was originally followed in most of these monasteries, was eventually superseded by that of St. Benedict.

====Benedictine monasticism====
[[File:Heiligenkreuz.St. Benedict.jpg|thumb|170px|[[Saint Benedict]] by Herman Nieg, Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Austria]]

[[Benedict of Nursia]] is the most influential of Western monks and is called "the Father of Western Monasticism". He was educated in Rome but soon sought the life of a hermit in a cave at [[Subiaco, Italy|Subiaco]], outside the city.  He then attracted followers with whom he founded the monastery of [[Monte Cassino]] around 520, between Rome and [[Naples]]. He established the [[Rule of St Benedict]], adapting in part the earlier anonymous [[Rule of the Master]] (''Regula magistri''), which was written somewhere south of Rome around 500, and defined the activities of the monastery, its officers, and their responsibilities. By the ninth century, largely under the inspiration of the Emperor [[Charlemagne]], Benedict's Rule became the basic guide for Western monasticism.

While the Celtic monasteries had a stronger connection to the semi-eremitical tradition of Egypt via Lérins and Tours, Benedict and his followers were more influenced by the cenobitism of St [[Pachomius]] and [[Basil of Caesarea|Basil the Great]]. Early Benedictine monasteries were relatively small and consisted of an oratory, refectory, dormitory, scriptorium, guest accommodation, and out-buildings, a group of often quite separate rooms more reminiscent of a decent-sized Roman villa than a large medieval abbey. A monastery of about a dozen monks would have been normal during this period.

Medieval monastic life consisted of prayer, reading, and manual labor.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/medieval-monastery.htm |title=Middle-ages.org.uk |access-date=17 February 2010 |archive-date=24 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924035202/http://middle-ages.org.uk/medieval-monastery.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Prayer was a monk's first priority. Apart from prayer, monks performed a variety of tasks, such as preparing medicine, lettering, reading, and others. Also, these monks would work in the gardens and on the land. They might also spend time in the [[cloister]], a covered colonnade around a courtyard, where they would pray or read. Some monasteries held a [[scriptorium]] where monks would write or copy books. 

The efficiency of Benedict's cenobitic Rule in addition to the stability of the monasteries made them very productive. The monasteries were the central storehouses and producers of knowledge.  Vikings started attacking Irish monasteries famous for learning in 793. One monk wrote about how he did not mind the bad weather one evening because it kept the Vikings from coming: "Bitter is the wind tonight, it tosses the ocean's white hair, I need not fear—as on a night of calm sea—the fierce raiders from Lochlann."<ref>Rowling, Marjorie. Everyday Life in Medieval Times. London: Jarrold and Sons Ltd., 1968, page 114</ref>

In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the growing pressure of monarchies and the nation-states undermined 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 [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|were shut down]] and their assets seized.

===Military orders===
In the twelfth century, traditional monastic orders in [[Outremer]] evolved into military orders, initially for the purpose of defending pilgrims, although they later became larger military forces that played a key role in combating Muslim efforts at reconquest and propping up continued Christian rule in the region. These orders included the [[Knights Templar]] and the [[Knights Hospitaller|Hospitallers]]. In large part, the notion of military monasticism was popularised because of the advocacy of [[St. Bernard of Clairvaux]], who believed that existing Christian methods of serving the Church's ends in the war were inadequate and that a group of dedicated warrior monks, who achieved spiritual merit and served God through waging war, was necessary. In his view, advancing the cause of Christendom was an end that justified means that might fall outside the bounds of [[just war]].<ref>Christiansen, Eric. The Northern Crusades. London: Penguin Books. pg. 75.</ref> These orders largely declined with the loss of Outremer in the 1200s - except for the [[Teutonic Order]], which transferred itself to the [[Baltic region|Baltic]] where it took up a major role in the [[Baltic Crusades]].

===Western Christian orders in the modern era===
Many distinct monastic orders developed within [[Roman Catholic religious order|Roman Catholicism]] and [[Protestantism]]. Monastic communities in the West, broadly speaking, are organized into orders and congregations guided by a particular religious rule, most commonly the [[Rule of St Benedict]]. 

====Roman Catholicism====
{{canon law}}
{{Main|Religious order (Catholic)}}

* [[Benedictine]]s, founded in 529 by Saint Benedict at [[Monte Cassino]], stresses manual labor in a self-sufficient monastery. They are an order of independent monastic communities.
* [[Cluniacs]], a branch of the Benedictines, at its height c.950-c.1130
* [[Camaldolese]], a branch of the Benedictines, founded c.1000 Saint Romuald of Ravenna.
* [[Vallombrosans]], a branch of the Benedictines, founded c. 1038 by Saint Gualberto Visdomini.
* [[Carthusians]], also known as the Order of Saint Bruno, founded 1084 by Saint [[Bruno of Cologne]]. Open to both sexes; combines eremitical and cenobitic life.
* [[Cistercians]], the Order of Cîteaux, sometimes referred to as the Order of Saint Bernard, founded in 1098 by Saint [[Robert of Molesme]].
* [[Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit|Paulines]], founded in [[Hungary]] in 1225 by Blessed Eusebius.
* [[Celestines]], founded in 1244 and originally called Hermits of Saint Damiano, or Moronites (or Murronites). Became known as Celestines after their founder was elected Pope and took the name [[Celestine V]].
* [[Olivetans]] or the Order of Our Lady of Mount Olivet, a branch of the Benedictines, founded in 1313 by [[Bernardo Tolomei]] (born Giovanni Tolomei) along with two of his friends from the noble families of Siena, Patrizio Patrizi and Ambrogio Piccolomini.
* [[Bridgettines]], founded in 1344 by Saint Bridget of Sweden.
* [[Hieronymites]], founded in Spain in 1364, by an [[Hermits|eremitical]] community formally known as the Order of Saint Jerome.
* [[Conceptionists]], formally the Order of the Immaculate Conception, founded in 1484 by [[Saint Beatrice of Silva]].
* [[Order of the Most Holy Annunciation|Turchines]], formally the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, founded in 1604 by Blessed [[Maria Vittoria De Fornari Strata]]
* [[Visitandines]]: the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, an order of women. Members of the order are also known as the Visitation Sisters. The Order was founded in 1610 by [[Saint Francis de Sales]] and [[Saint Jane Frances de Chantal]] in Annecy, Haute-Savoie, France.
* [[Trappists]], a Cistercian reform, begun c. 1664.
* [[Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno|Monastic Brothers and Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem]], who practice Carthusian spirituality and were founded in consequence of the influence on a small group of French pilgrims of the promulgation of the [[Roman Catholic dogma|dogma]] of the [[Assumption of Mary|Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven]]  on November 1, 1950, in [[St. Peter's Square]], in [[Vatican City]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bethleem.org/naissance.php |title=The beginnings of the Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno |access-date=16 November 2022 |archive-date=16 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116163338/https://www.bethleem.org/naissance.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The Monastic Sisters were founded in [[France]], soon after the event, and the Monastic Brothers in 1976.

====Lutheran Church====
[[File:Kloster Loccum.jpg|thumb|400px|[[Loccum Abbey]] has been a Lutheran monastery since the 16th century A.D.]]

After the foundation of the [[Lutheran Church]]es, some monasteries in Lutheran lands (such as [[Amelungsborn Abbey]] near [[Negenborn]] and [[Loccum Abbey]] in [[Rehburg-Loccum]]) and convents (such as [[Ebstorf Abbey]] near the town of [[Uelzen]] and [[Bursfelde Abbey]] in [[Bursfelde]]) adopted the Lutheran Christian faith.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medievalhistories.com/kloster-ebstorf-convent-bad-bevensen-near-luneburg/|title=Kloster Ebstorf|work=Medieval Histories |date=8 August 2014|language=en|access-date=20 November 2017|quote=The monastery is mentioned for the first time in 1197. It belongs to the group of so-called Lüneklöstern (monasteries of Lüne), which became Lutheran convents following the Protestant Reformation. […] It is currently one of several Lutheran convents maintained by the Monastic Chamber of Hanover (Klosterkammer Hannover), an institution of the former Kingdom of Hanover founded by its Prince-Regent, later King George IV of the United Kingdom, in 1818, in order to manage and preserve the estates of Lutheran convents. |last1=Histories |first1=Medieval }}</ref>

[[Loccum Abbey]] and [[Amelungsborn Abbey]] have the longest traditions as Lutheran monasteries.
Since the 19th century, there has been a renewal in the monastic life among Protestants. There are many present-day Lutherans who practice the monastic teaching of the Catholic Church.

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

In 1948 [[Bavaria]]n Lutheran pastor Walter Hümmer and his wife Hanna founded the [[Communität Christusbruderschaft Selbitz]].

In 1958, men joined Father [[Arthur Kreinheder]] in observing the monastic life and offices of prayer and "The Congregation of the Servants of Christ" was established at St. Augustine's House<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.staugustineshouse.org/ |title=Saint Augustine's House |access-date=29 August 2011 |archive-date=3 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903033657/http://www.staugustineshouse.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in [[Oxford, Michigan]]. These men and others came and went over the years. The community has remained small; at times the only member was Father Arthur. 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 two permanent professed members and two long-term guests. Strong ties remain with this community and their brothers in Sweden ([[Östanbäck Monastery]])<ref>[http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/klostren/OSTANENG.htm Östanbäck monastery] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813114047/http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/klostren/OSTANENG.htm |date=13 August 2011 }}</ref> and in Germany the ([[Priory of St. Wigbert]]).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wigberti.de/ |title=Priorat St. Wigberti: Unser Kloster |access-date=29 August 2011 |archive-date=27 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827033038/http://www.wigberti.de/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

In Germany, [[Communität Casteller Ring]]<ref>[http://www.schwanberg.de/index.php/communitaet-casteller-ring-ev.html Communität Casteller Ring] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911174924/http://www.schwanberg.de/index.php/communitaet-casteller-ring-ev.html |date=11 September 2011 }}</ref> is a Lutheran Benedictine community for women. 

In 2011, an Augustinian religious order, the Priestly Society of St. Augustine (Societas Sacerdotalis Sancti Augustini) was established by the [[Anglo-Lutheran Catholic Church]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161219073059/http://www.sssa-us.org/Home_Page.html Priestly Society of St. Augustine]</ref>

In Lutheran [[Sweden]], religious life for women had been established by 1954, when Sister Marianne Nordström made her profession through contacts with The [[Order of the Holy Paraclete]] and Mother Margaret Cope (1886–1961) at St Hilda's Priory, [[Whitby]], Yorkshire.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was founded through the merger of three churches in 1988.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.elca.org/about/history |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=www.elca.org}}</ref>

====Anglican Communion====
{{Main|Anglican religious order}}
In England, [[John Wycliffe]] organized the [[Lollard]] Preacher Order (the "Poor Priests") to promote his views, many of which resounded with those held by the later Protestant Reformers.

Monastic life in England came to an abrupt end with [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] during the reign of [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]]. The property and lands of the [[monastery|monasteries]] were confiscated and either retained by the King, sold to landowners, or given to loyal [[nobility]]. [[Monk]]s and [[nun]]s were pensioned off and retired or some were forced to either flee for the continent or to abandon their vocations. For around 300 years, there were no monastic communities within any of the [[Anglican]] churches.

Shortly after the [[Oxford Movement]] began to advocate restoring [[catholic]] faith and practice to the [[Church of England]] (see [[Anglo-Catholicism]]), there was felt to be a need for a restoration of the monastic life. Anglican [[Priest (Catholic Church)|priest]] [[John Henry Newman]] established a community of men at [[Littlemore]] near [[Oxford]] in the 1840s while he was vicar of [[Church of St Mary and St Nicholas, Littlemore]]. From then forward, there have been many communities of [[monk]]s, [[friar]]s, sisters, and [[nun]]s established within the [[Anglican Communion]]. In 1848, Mother [[Priscilla Lydia Sellon]] founded the Anglican Sisters of Charity and became the first woman to take religious vows within the [[Anglican Communion]] since the [[English Reformation|Reformation]]. In October 1850 the first building specifically built for the purpose of housing an [[Sisterhoods (Modern Anglican)|Anglican Sisterhood]] was consecrated at Abbeymere in [[Plymouth]]. It housed several schools for the destitute, a laundry, a printing press, and a soup kitchen. From the 1840s and throughout the following 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]].

Some Anglican religious communities are contemplative, some active, but a distinguishing feature of the monastic life among Anglicans is that most practice the so-called "mixed life", a combination of a life of contemplative prayer with active service. Anglican religious life closely mirrors that of [[Roman Catholicism]]. Like Roman Catholic religious, Anglican religious also take the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Religious communities live together under a common rule, reciting the [[Canonical hours|Divine Office]] and celebrating the [[Eucharist]] daily.

In the early 20th century when the [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholic movement]] was at its height, the [[Anglican Communion]] had hundreds of orders and communities, and thousands of religious. However, since the 1960s there has been a sharp falling off in the numbers of religious in many parts of the Anglican Communion, most notably in the United Kingdom and the United States. 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 thousands of Anglican religious working today in religious communities around the world. While vocations remain few in some areas, Anglican religious communities are experiencing exponential growth in [[Africa]], [[Asia]], and [[Oceania]].

Around 1964, Reuben Archer Torrey III, an Episcopal missionary, grandson of [[Reuben Archer Torrey|R. A. Torrey]], founded Jesus Abbey as a missionary community in [[Korea]]. It has some links with the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] and holds an [[Evangelical Anglicanism|Evangelical doctrine]].

====Methodist Churches====
In February 2001, the [[United Methodist Church]] organized the [[Saint Brigid of Kildare Monastery]]. It is a Methodist-Benedictine residential [[double monastery]] in [[Collegeville, Minnesota]]. Besides monastic orders, the [[Order of Saint Luke]] is a dispersed religious order within Methodism.

====Presbyterian Churches====
[[The Community of the Sisterhood Emmanuel]] was founded in 1973 in [[Makak, Cameroon]], in the Centre Province by Mother Marie, one of the first female Pastors of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon. In 1975, she moved the community to Agyati in Bafut. In 2019, the sisters relocated to Foumbot.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Evangelical Sisterhood "Emmanuel Sisters" |url=https://www.mission-21.org/en/partner/evangelical-sisterhood-emmanuel-sisters/ |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Mission 21 |language=en-US}}</ref> The Sisters are trained in strong collaboration with the sister Institutes of the Catholic Church.

====Anabaptism====
[[Anabaptist]] Christians "retained many elements of the monastic understanding of a 'holy life' that followed true faith".<ref name="RedekopKrahn1994">{{cite book|last1=Redekop|first1=Calvin Wall|last2=Krahn|first2=Victor A.|last3=Steiner|first3=Samuel J.|title=Anabaptist/Mennonite Faith and Economics|year=1994|publisher=University Press of America|language=en|isbn=9780819193506|page=15}}</ref> The [[Hutterites]] and [[Bruderhof]], for example, live in intentional communities with their big houses having "ground floors for common work, meals and worship, the two-storey attics with small rooms, like monastic cells, for married couples".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://christlife.org/blog/learning-from-the-bruderhof-an-intentional-christian-community|title=Learning from the Bruderhof: An Intentional Christian Community|work=ChristLife|access-date=2018-08-27|language=en}}</ref>

====Quakerism and Shakerism====
The [[Shakers]], who are also known as the "Shaking Quakers", have been characterized as a "Protestant monastic order providing refuge and otherworldly compensation".<ref name="Hammond1985">{{cite book|last=Hammond|first=Phillip E.|title=The Sacred in a Secular Age: Toward Revision in the Scientific Study of Religion|url=https://archive.org/details/sacredinseculara00hamm|url-access=registration|year=1985|publisher=University of California Press|language=en |isbn=9780520053434|page=[https://archive.org/details/sacredinseculara00hamm/page/28 28]}}</ref> They practice a celibate and communal lifestyle, [[pacifism]], and their model of [[equality of the sexes]], which they institutionalized in their society in the 1780s. They are also known for their simple living, architecture, and furniture. Sincere newcomers are invited to become Shakers:
{{blockquote|If someone wants to become a Shaker, and the Shakers assent, the would-be member can move into the dwelling house. If the novices, as they are called, stay a week, they sign an articles of agreement, which protects the colony from being sued for lost wages. After a year, the Shakers will take a vote whether to allow the novice in, but it takes another four years to be granted full Shaker status in sharing in the colony’s finances and administrative and worship decisions.<ref name="Williams2015">{{cite web|url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/5/3/last-shakers-hope-novice-can-revive-communal-society.html|title=A few good Shakers wanted|last=Williams|first=Kevin|date=3 May 2015|publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]|language=en|access-date=19 June 2017}}</ref>}}
Currently, there are two remaining Shakers, Brother Arnold Hadd and Sister June Carpenter, though they hope that others will join them at the only remaining Shaker community, the [[Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/shakers-left-live-maine-community-article-1.2934694|title=The only two Shakers left live in Maine community|last=Gibbs|first=Constance|date=4 January 2017|work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York|language=en|access-date=19 June 2017}}</ref>

==Ecumenical expressions==
Christian monasticism is experiencing renewal in the form of several new foundations with an 'inter-Christian' vision for their respective communities.

In 1944 [[Frère Roger|Roger Schütz]], a pastor of the [[Swiss Reformed Church]], founded a small religious brotherhood in France which became known as the [[Taizé Community]]. Although he was partly inspired by the hope of reviving monasticism in the Protestant tradition, the brotherhood was interdenominational, accepting Roman Catholic brothers, and is thus an ecumenical rather than a specifically Protestant community.

The [[Order of Ecumenical Franciscans]] 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. It includes members of many different denominations, including Catholics, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox, and a range of Protestant traditions. The Order 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.

Additional expressions of ecumenical monasticism can be seen in the [[New Monasticism]] movement arising from Protestant Evangelicalism. 

==Contributions==
[[File:ZCHronskýSvätýBeňadikKostol.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A monastery in [[Hronský Beňadik]] ([[Slovakia]]).]]
In traditional Catholic societies, monastic communities often took charge of social services such as [[education]] and [[healthcare]].  

[[Max Weber]] compared the closeted and [[Puritan]] societies of the [[English Dissenters]], who sparked much of the [[Industrial Revolution]], to monastic orders. 

Many [[Utopianism|Utopian]] thinkers (starting with [[Thomas More]]) felt inspired by the common life of monks and sought to apply it to society as a whole (an example is the [[phalanstère]]). 

Today, monasticism remains a part of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Anglican faiths.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Salgado |first=Soli |title=The rise of monasticism in a modern world |url=https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/spirituality/news/rise-monasticism-modern-world |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=www.globalsistersreport.org |language=en}}</ref>

===Education===
The capitulary of 789 reads: "Let every monastery and every abbey have its school, in which boys may be taught the Psalms, the system of musical notation, singing, arithmetic, and grammar."<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03349c.htm Turner, William. "Carolingian Schools."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211090845/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03349c.htm |date=11 February 2015 }} The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 11 February 2015</ref>

In the Middle Ages, monasteries conserved and copied ancient manuscripts in their [[scriptorium|scriptoria]]. A prospective monk first learned grammar, logic, and oratory. Later, he would take up mathematics, astronomy, and music. The students would use a stylus on wax. Later, when their handwriting improved, they would be given ink and parchment. Eventually, many of those schools became universities.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://historymedren.about.com/cs/monasticism/a/keepers_2.htm |title=Historymedrend.about.com |access-date=18 February 2010 |archive-date=9 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809094930/http://historymedren.about.com/cs/monasticism/a/keepers_2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Monks in scriptoria copied texts of Greece and Rome, as well as religious texts, and kept these manuscripts from being lost during the Middle Ages.

===Medicine===
[[File:Soutra Aisle.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=A picture of the hospital of [[Soutra Aisle]].|The hospital at [[Soutra Aisle]].]] Monastic [[pharmacy|pharmacies]] stored and studied [[medicament]]s. Some of the works that the monks copied were by medical writers, and reading and copying these works helped create a store of medical knowledge. Monasteries had infirmaries to treat the monks, travelers, the poor, old, weak and sick. In 2005, archeologists uncovered waste at [[Soutra Aisle]] which helped scientists figure out how people in the Middle Ages treated certain diseases, such as scurvy; because of the vitamin C in watercress, patients would eat it to stop their teeth from falling out. The same archeological group discovered hemlock, a known pain killer, in the drains of the hospital.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3745498.stm | work=BBC News | title=The medical world of medieval monks | last = Elliott | first = Jane | date=6 August 2005 | access-date=30 April 2010 }}</ref>

Monasteries also aided in the development of agricultural techniques. The requirement of [[wine]] for the Mass led to the development of [[enology|wine culture]], as shown in the discovery of the ''[[méthode champenoise]]'' by [[Dom Pérignon (person)|Dom Perignon]]. Several liquors like ''[[Bénédictine]]'' and the [[Trappist beer]]s were also developed in monasteries. Even today many monasteries and convents are locally renowned for their cooking specialties.

The consequence of this centralisation of knowledge was that they initially controlled both public administration and education, where the [[Trivium (education)|trivium]] led through the [[quadrivium]] to [[theology]]. Christian monks cultivated the arts as a way of praising God. [[Gregorian chant]] and [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniatures]] are examples of the practical application of quadrivium subjects.

The status of monks as separate from secular life (at least theoretically), also served a social function. Dethroned [[Visigothic Kingdom|Visigothic kings]] were [[tonsure]]d and sent to a monastery so that they could not reclaim the crown. Monasteries became a place for [[second son]]s to live in celibacy to ensure that a family's inheritance went to [[primogeniture|the first son]]; and in exchange the families donated to the monasteries. Many cities had a [[Saint Giles|St Giles]] house for lepers outside the walls, and a [[Magdalene asylum|Magdalene house]] for prostitutes and other "[[Fallen woman|fallen women]]" within the walls.

Monasteries also provided refuge to those like [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]] who retired to [[Yuste]] in his late years, and his son [[Philip II of Spain]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Asceticism]]
* [[Chronology of early Christian monasticism]]
* ''[[Clasau]]''—the early Welsh monasteries
* [[Consensoria Monachorum]]
* [[Coptic monasticism]]
* [[Hermit]]
* [[Intentional community]]
* ''[[Into Great Silence]]''—the award-winning documentary of life within the Carthusian monsastery of La Grande Chartreuse by Philip Groning
* [[List of monastic houses in England]]
* [[Mount Athos]]
* [[New Monasticism]]
* [[Oblate]]
* [[Order of Watchers]]—a French Protestant fraternity of Hermits
* [[Pachomius]]—an early example of a monastic organizer
* [[Poustinia|Pustynia]]
* [[Rule of St Benedict]]
* [[Third order]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes, references, and sources==
=== References ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Sources ===
* {{Cite book |title=Saints and Sinners in Early Christian Ireland: Moral Theology in the Lives of Saints Brigit and Columba |last=Ritari |first=K. |year= 2009 |publisher= Brepols Publishers |location=Turnhout |isbn=978-2-503-53315-5}}
* {{Cite book |title= Medieval Monasticism |last= Lawrence |first=C. H. |year= 2001 |publisher= Pearson Education |location=Harlow |edition=3rd |isbn=0-582-40427-4 }}
* {{Cite book |title=The Desert a City: An Introduction to the Study of Egyptian and Palestinian Monasticism Under the Christian Empire |last=Chitty |first=D. J. |author-link=Derwas Chitty  |year=1966 |publisher=Basil Blackwell |location=Oxford }}
* {{Cite book |title=St. Athanasius: The Life of Anthony |last=Meyer |first=R. T. |year=1950 |series=ACW 10 |publisher=Newman Press |location=Westminster, Md. }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |title=Idiorrhythmic Monasticism|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/281997/idiorrhythmic-monasticism|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.|access-date=9 October 2012}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Butler|first=Edward Cuthbert|title=St. Anthony|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01553d.htm|encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 1|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|access-date=9 October 2012}}
* {{cite web |title=Anchoress|url=http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/anchoress.htm|work=The Middle Ages Website|access-date=9 October 2012}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Gardner|first=Edmund|title=Juliana of Norwich|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08557a.htm|encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 8|publisher=Robert Appleton Company, 1910|access-date=9 October 2012}}
* {{cite web |title=Mendicant Orders in the Medieval World|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mend/hd_mend.htm|work=Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History|publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art|access-date=9 October 2012}}
* {{Cite book|last=Thomas|first=John P.|title=Private Religious Foundations in the Byzantine Empire|year=1987|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Dumbarton Oaks|isbn=9780884021643|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jCAl9udu8IwC}}
* {{cite book
|last = Bennett
|first = Harold V.
|title = Injustice Made Legal: Deuteronomic Law and the Plight of Widows, Strangers, and Orphans in Ancient Israel
|publisher = Eerdmans
|year = 2002
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2wunawFdWaMC&pg=PA83
|isbn = 978-0-8028-3909-1
}}

==External links==
* [https://cloisteredlife.com/mens-communities Directory of Contemplative Men's Monasteries in the United States]
* [https://cloisteredlife.com/directory Directory of Contemplative Women's Monasteries in the United States]
* [http://doc0mr.tripod.com/id23.html "Catholic Hermitage"] – Christian Perspective on Monasticism
* [https://staugustines.house/about/#Community Congregation of the Servants of Christ at St. Augustine’s House] - Lutheran information on monasticism
* [http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/monasticism.aspx Eastern Christian Monasticism] orthodoxinfo.com
* [http://www.orders.anglican.org Anglican religious orders and communities] Anglican information on monasticism
* [http://www.americanbenedictine.org American Benedictine monastics]
* [http://www.communityofjesus.org Community of Jesus]
* [https://thelaymonastic.com/ The Lay Monastic] – Benedictine lay monasticism
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42614 English Monastic Life] (1904)

{{Catholic religious institutes}}
{{RC consecrated life}}
{{History of Catholic theology}}
{{History of the Catholic Church}}
{{Catholicism}}
{{History of Christianity}}
{{Christianity footer}}
{{Middle Ages}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian Monasticism}}
[[Category:Christian monasticism| ]]
[[Category:Asceticism]]
[[Category:Christian radicalism|Monasticism]]
[[Category:Christian terminology|Monasticism]]
[[Category:Hesychasm]]
[[Category:History of Catholic monasticism]]