Christianity Monastery

1 christianity

1.1 western medieval europe

1.1.1 catholic


1.2 orthodox
1.3 oriental orthodox
1.4 others
1.5 trends

christianity


dayro d-mor gabriel founded in 397 mor shmu el (samuel) , student mor shem un (simon) on ruins of ancient assyrian temple.



the mor hananyo monastery, 1 of many monasteries of mt. izla



the monastery of santa maría de valdediós, spain

according tradition, christian monasticism began in egypt st. anthony. originally, christian monks hermits seldom encountering other people. because of extreme difficulty of solitary life, many monks failed, either returning previous lives, or becoming spiritually deluded.

a transitional form of monasticism later created saint amun in solitary monks lived close enough 1 offer mutual support gathering on sundays common services.

it st. pachomios developed idea of having monks live , worship under same roof (coenobitic monasticism). attribute mode of communal living barracks of roman army in pachomios served young man. egyptian desert blossomed monasteries, around nitria (wadi el natrun), called holy city . estimates upwards of 50,000 monks lived in area @ 1 time.

hermitism never died out though, reserved advanced monks had worked out problems within cenobitic monastery. idea caught on, , other places followed:

upon return council of sardica, saint athanasius established first christian monastery in europe circa 344 near modern-day chirpan in bulgaria.
saint eugenios founded monastery on mt. izla above nisibis in mesopotamia (~350), , monastery cenobitic tradition spread in mesopotamia, persia, armenia, georgia , india , china.
saint saba organized monks of judean desert in monastery close bethlehem (483), , considered mother of monasteries of eastern orthodox churches.
saint benedict of nursia founded monastery of monte cassino in italy (529), seed of roman catholic monasticism in general, , of order of saint benedict in particular.
the carthusian order founded saint bruno @ la grande chartreuse, religious order takes name, in 11th century eremitical community, , remains motherhouse of order.
saint jerome , saint paula decided go live hermit s life in bethlehem , founded several monasteries in holy land. way of life inspired foundation of order of saint jerome in spain , portugal. monastery of saint mary of parral, in segovia, motherhouse of order.

western medieval europe

abbey of monte cassino, built saint benedict, shown here rebuilt after world war ii

the life of prayer , communal living 1 of rigorous schedules , self-sacrifice. prayer work, , office prayers took of monk s waking hours – matins, lauds, prime, terce, daily mass, sext, none, vespers, , compline. in between prayers, monks allowed sit in cloister , work on projects of writing, copying, or decorating books. these have been assigned based on monk s abilities , interests. non-scholastic types assigned physical labour of varying degrees.

the main meal of day took place around noon, taken @ refectory table, , consisted of simple , bland foods i.e., poached fish, boiled oats. while ate, scripture read pulpit above them. since no other words allowed spoken, monks developed communicative gestures. abbots , notable guests honoured seat @ high table, while else sat perpendicular in order of seniority. practice remained when monasteries became universities after first millennium, , can still seen @ oxford university , cambridge university.

monasteries important contributors surrounding community. centres of intellectual progression , education. welcomed aspiring priests come study , learn, allowing them challenge doctrine in dialogue superiors. earliest forms of musical notation attributed monk named notker of st gall, , spread musicians throughout europe way of interconnected monasteries. since monasteries offered respite weary pilgrim travellers, monks obligated care injuries or emotional needs. on time, lay people started make pilgrimages monasteries instead of using them stop over. time, had sizeable libraries attracted learned tourists. families donate son in return blessings. during plagues, monks helped till fields , provide food sick.

a warming house common part of medieval monastery, monks went warm themselves. room in monastery fire lit.

catholic

melk abbey, austria



passionist monastery in monte argentario, tuscany, italy

a number of distinct monastic orders developed within roman catholicism:

camaldolese monks
canons regular of order of holy cross, priests , brothers, of whom live monks according rule of st. augustine;
carmelite hermits , carmelite nuns (from ancient observance , discalced branch);
cistercian order, monks , nuns (both of original observance , of trappist reform);
monks , sisters of bethlehem
order of minims, founded st. francis of paola
order of saint benedict, known benedictine monks , nuns, founded st. benedict st. scholastica, stresses manual labour in self-subsistent monasteries. see also: cluniac reforms;
order of saint claire, best known poor clares (of observances);
order of saint jerome, inspired st. jerome , st. paula, known hieronymite monks , nuns;
order of saint paul first hermit, known pauline fathers;
order of annunciation of blessed virgin mary, known sisters of annunciation or annociades, founded st. joan of france;
order of carthusians, hermitical religious order founded st. bruno of cologne;
order of immaculate conception, known conceptionists, founded st. beatrice of silva;
order of holy annunciation, known turchine nuns or blue nuns, founded bl. maria vittoria de fornari strata;
order of holy savior, known bridgettine nuns , monks, founded st. bridget of sweden;
order of visitation of holy mary, known visitandine nuns, founded st. francis de sales , st. jane frances fremyot de chantal;
passionists
premonstratensian canons ( white canons )
tironensian monks ( grey monks )
valliscaulian monks


bassac abbey (12th -18th centuries), bassac, charente, france

while in english mendicant orders use monastic terms of monastery or priory, in latin languages, term used friars houses convent, latin conventus, e.g., (italian: convento) or (french: couvent), meaning gathering place . franciscans use term monastery @ present, preferring call house friary .

orthodox

trinity monastery in chernihiv, ukraine, reconstructed in 1649.




simonopetra monastery on mount athos



rila monastery in bulgaria, unesco world heritage site



manasija monastery in central serbia

in eastern orthodox church , eastern catholic church, both monks , nuns follow similar ascetic discipline, , religious habit same (though nuns wear veil, called apostolnik). unlike roman catholic monasticism, orthodox not have separate religious orders, single monastic form throughout orthodox church. monastics, male or female, live away world, in order pray world.

monasteries vary large small. there 3 types of monastic houses in orthodox church:

a cenobium monastic community monks live together, work together, , pray together, following directions of abbot , elder monks. concept of cenobitic life when many men (or women) live in monastic context, rocks sharp edges, sharpness becomes worn away , become smooth , polished. largest monasteries can hold many thousands of monks , called lavras. in cenobium daily office, work , meals done in common.
a skete small monastic establishment consist of 1 elder , 2 or 3 disciples. in skete prayer , work done in private, coming on sundays , feast days. thus, skete life has elements of both solitude , community, , reason called middle way .
a hermit monk practises asceticism lives in solitude rather in monastic community.

one of great centres of orthodox monasticism mount athos in greece, which, vatican state, self-governing. located on isolated peninsula approximately 20 miles (32 km) long , 5 miles (8.0 km) wide, , administered heads of 20 monasteries. today population of holy mountain around 2,200 men , can visited men special permission granted both greek government , government of holy mountain itself.

oriental orthodox

saint catherine s monastery on mount sinai, 6th century



the monastery founded in 363 hermit mar mattai had fled persecution in amid under roman emperor julian apostate.

the oriental orthodox churches, distinguished miaphysite beliefs, consist of armenian apostolic church, coptic orthodox church of alexandria (whose patriarch considered first among equals following churches), ethiopian orthodox tewahedo church, eritrean orthodox tewahedo church, indian orthodox church, , syriac orthodox church of antioch. extinct church of caucasian albania fell under group.

the monasteries of st. macarius (deir abu makaria) , st. anthony (deir mar antonios) oldest monasteries in world , under patronage of patriarch of coptic orthodox church.

others

the last years of 18th century marked in christian church beginnings of growth of monasticism among protestant denominations. center of movement in united states , canada beginning shaker church, founded in england , moved united states. in 19th century many of these monastic societies founded utopian communities based on monastic model in many cases. aside shakers, there amanna, anabaptists, , others. many did allow marriage had policy of celibacy , communal life in members shared things communally , disavowed personal ownership.

in 19th-century monasticism revived in church of england, leading foundation of such institutions house of resurrection, mirfield (community of resurrection), nashdom abbey (benedictine), cleeve priory (community of glorious ascension) , ewell monastery (cistercian), benedictine orders, franciscan orders , orders of holy cross, order of st. helena. other protestant christian denominations engage in monasticism, particularly lutherans in europe , north america. example, benedictine order of holy cross @ st augustine s house in michigan lutheran order of monks , there lutheran religious communities in sweden , germany. in 1960s, experimental monastic groups formed in both men , women members of same house , permitted married , have children—these operated on communal form.

trends

buckfast abbey, devon, england, , surrounding monastery, rebuilt in 20th century.

there growing christian neo-monasticism, particularly among evangelical christians.