CHRISTIAN MONKS
Ethiopian monk
Monks are males who voluntarily retreat into solitary life or a communal life with other monks in order to achieve communion with God. They often make a vow of poverty, obedience and chastity and follow a strict set of rules. The 10th century theologian Symeon wrote: "He who is a monk walks forever with God alone." The goal of every monk as St. Paul put it is to "pay without ceasing" even during times of rest when the body may be asleep but the "heart is awake."
The word "monk" comes from the Latin word “monachus” , meaning "one who lives alone." The first monks were ascetics, some of whom lived for years in caves on nothing but bread and water. Over time, monks became men organized into religious communities where everyone was equal, but were led by abbots (monk leaders) and then priors. Friars are a kind of monk that traditionally have not lived in monasteries but have traveled around preaching, meeting and helping people and getting by by working and begging. Most are Franciscans or Dominicans. Some are Carmelites and Augustinians.
Abbots are the superiors of abbeys of monks. The word abbot comes from the Armenian word “abha”, for “papa”. They typically wear a ring and a pectoral cross and dress in crowled robes, black for Benedictines and white for Cistercians (“black friars” and “white friars”).
In the Catholic Church becoming a monk or nun is often referred to as “taking holy orders,” a reference to the fact they obey orders or rules that govern their daily lives. Groups of monks are called holy orders. Members of these orders are not part of the regular church hierarchy of priests and bishops. Instead they are regarded as “living symbols of the holiness of the church.” Monasticism is arguably holds a higher position in the Eastern Orthodox Church. According to the Sacred Canons, all Bishops must be monks (not merely celibate), and feast days to monastic saints are an important tradition. Fasting and the pursuit of the spiritual life are strongly encouraged not only among monastics but also among the laity.
The religious life practiced by monks and nuns is not a sacrament, but rather a state of consecration to God, which is prepared for a noviate before the church, which receives them in the name of God. Candidates profess perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience with other vows required by certain religious communities. The various monastic and religious orders are successors to the Church’s early communities of hermits.
Books: “The Frontiers of Paradise: A Study of Monks and Monasteries” by Peter Lev (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
Websites and Resources on Christianity BBC on Christianity bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity ; Candida Moss at the Daily Beast Daily Beast Christian Answers christiananswers.net ; Christian Classics Ethereal Library www.ccel.org ; Sacred Texts website sacred-texts.com ; Internet Medieval Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Saints and Their Legends: A Selection of Saints libmma.contentdm ; Lives of the Saints - Orthodox Church in America oca.org/saints/lives ; Lives of the Saints: Catholic.org catholicism.org ;
Early Monks, Ascetics and Monasteries
Saint Anthony
Ascetic sects arose in early days of Christianity. They made vows of poverty, obedience and chastity and headed to the deserts of Egypt to seek solitude and communion with God. Some lived for years in caves on nothing but bread and water. The most famous of these hermits was Paul of Thebes who reportedly lived for 112 years in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The word “hermit” is derived from the Greek word “eremites” , meaning “desert dweller.”
The “desert fathers.” who lived hermetic lives in caves of Egypt in the early centuries of Christianity laid the ground work for monks and nuns with their vows of celibacy and poverty. Modern studies of self-inflicted suffering in religious observances suggests there are two main purposes: 1) to gain mastery over some perceived weakness or fault, such as lust and desire; and 2) induce a trance-like state that is believed to bring one closer to the divine.
From Egypt monasticism spread to Syria and Asia Minor.Around 360, St. Basil established a great monastery near Neo-Caesarea in Pontus on the Black Sea. Later, from Egypt and Asia Minor monasticism spread to Italy and then parts of the European continent and Britain and Ireland. Over time some monasteries became quite wealthy: they owned huge amounts of land and even had armies of soldier monks to protects them.
Monasteries
Monasteries are places where monks live, pray and work. Unlike Christian churches, which are often hierarchical institutions that emphasize community worship and social service, monasteries are generally democratic and anti-authoritarian institutions run for monks by monks, who keep the monastery going with donations and money earned from their work.
Monasteries are not communal places for ordinary people to worship; they are self-contained communities set aside for people who have decided to devote themselves entirely to God. Each monastery has traditionally had choirs, where monks chanted and prayed; altars where Mass could be performed; open places where Sunday processions could be held; cloisters, where monks worked and studied; a refractory, where the monks ate
Most monasteries are divided into abbeys and priories, of which the abbey church is the central building. It in turn is surrounded by other buildings which include prayer rooms, libraries, schoolrooms, rooms for religious objects, cells or dormitories where the monks live, and often an infirmary that treated the sick and aged, an inn for travelers, workshops, and alms houses for the poor. Within the monastery compound have traditionally been fields and gardens for growing crops and herbariums are providing medicinal plants.
Monasteries have traditionally played a role in helping to educate people, providing medical care and giving orphans places to live. Over time some monasteries became quite wealthy: they owned huge amounts of land and even had armies of soldier monks to protects them. Through gifts and patronage some were able to mass great wealth and property. Some large monasteries resemble estates or college campuses. Others are like modest villages. Only some are open to the public.
Monks and Scholarship
Monks have traditionally said prayers and devoted their time to learning and engaging is some kind of work activity. They have developed music, copied manuscripts, written theological treatises, built abbeys, brought innovation to architecture, music and art, founded the first European universities, and clarified arguments in theology and philosophy For many centuries monks were practicably the only people who could read and write. They also developed the finest schools in the Middle Ages. Charlemagne brought the monk Alcuin from England to set up an education system in the Holy Roman Empire.
Monks have helped to preserve ancient civilization by copying ancient Greek and Roman texts many of which they obtained through their connections with Jewish and Muslim scholars. We can thank medieval monks for the fact we can read Plato, Aristotle and Pliny and the Bible today. If they didn't copy these works by hand there is a good chance that would have been lost. Most of the historical information we know is based on the written word. That is why we no virtually nothing about Druids, who had no written language, and we know tons about the Greeks who did.
Almost every monastery has a library. One monk went as far as saying that a "monastery without a library was like a castle without an armory.” In addition to the Holy Scriptures, a monastery library often has works by Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Roger Bacon and Augustine. Some have even had an "inter-library loan" that allowed the secular public to check out books. For the most part however monastery libraries have been very security conscious—just think of how valuable the books were based on all the time and work that went into copying each manuscript by hand. Some monasteries had their books chained so they wouldn't be taken and others recited special curses directed at those who defaced or stole them. [Source: Daniel Boorstein, “The Discoverers”]
Manuscripts and Monks
Many monasteries had a scriptorium, where scribes copied books by hand. They used a quill and ink and were free to copy any books they wanted to since there were no royalty payments or copyright laws in the Middle Ages. Historian Daniel Boorstein wrote "the book was not expected to be, nor dared be, a vehicle for new ideas carrying messages from contemporary to contemporary. Instead it was device to preserve and amplify the treasured revolving funds of literary works." [Source: Daniel Boorstein, “The Discoverers”]
The scribes labored for hours at their copying tasks. On monk described their duty as "not of his own free will but under compulsion, bound by fetters, just as a runaway and fugitive has to be bound." One abbot motivated his scribes by telling them the story of a monk who was saved from damnation when God saw his huge folio of manuscripts and told him each letter he wrote would give him absolution for one sin. When his sins and letters were tallied up he made it into heaven by just one letter.
Monks working at monasteries in Germany, Bulgaria and Italy produced manuscripts of "unexcelled beauty." The most expensive Flemish manuscript ever sold at auction is the Book of Hours, illuminated around 1505 with 67 full page miniatures, which sold a Christies auction in July 1999 for $13.4 million.
Monk Life
Monks chose a life of prayer and “joyful” self-denial so they could live religious life to the full. Many monks have traditionally believed that "idleness is the enemy of the soul.” They stay busy by praying, doing manual labor, studying, fasting and observing silence. Sometimes their only relief from their Spartan regimen is a weekly walk around the monastery.
Franciscan monks in Jerusalem
Monks have their own cultures and generally follow strict codes of behavior established by their founders. Traditionally monks followed an austere life and renounced all personal possessions. Some monks vow to give up all possessions other than their sandals, their robes and own a handful of personal items. Their hair is short to symbolize the renunciation of the worldly life. They also are supposed to eat only simple foods.
Monks typically follow a strict code which includes refraining from drugs, alcohol, entertainment, dancing, swearing, stealing, lying, sacrilegious acts, sex, and making money. Some monks take vows of silence, which strictly limits when and to whom they can talk. In many places even touching a woman is taboo. Offenses can result in a reprimand, suspension or expulsion from the monastery.
Why would anyone want to be a monk? Most monks will tell you that they are emulating Jesus and early Christians like St. Paul and serving God and their fellow man by renouncing worldly pleasures and devoting themselves to prayer, good deeds and work. Monks who enter monasteries first serve as postulants and then novices, a kind of testing period that usually lasts a few years. After that they make their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. After this they are declared professionals, on the basis that they have made a profession a faith.
In 10th century Cluny monks got around their vow of silence using hand signals and gestures: “It soon emerged that some monks using their in-house sign language were as chatty, garrulous, and prone to gossip as they would have been if they were allowed to speak.”
Monk Daily Routine
Greek Orthodox monk at Galaktofrofousa monastery in Cyprus
The daily routine of monks varies from sect to sect, but the patterns are similar: most monks wake up early, live simply, do chores around the monastery and spend many hours meditating and praying.
Most monasteries are connected with the Catholic church. In accordance with Catholics rules, monks are required to chant the canonical hours, fixed forms of prayer that Catholic priests are required to recite everyday. These consists of vigils (late night) matins and lauds (before sunrise), prime (at sunrise), tierce (morning), sext (noon time), none (afternoon), vespers (evening), and compline (night). These prayers are delivered as chants such as Gregorian chats.
Monks have traditionally followed a regimented routine that often began before dawn, sometimes as early as 2:00 or 3:00am. Daily prayers were said at strictly set times (the first clocks were developed so there was no confusion about these times). Between the prayers monks read scriptures, ate meals, and performed their chores and duties. There was often little time for socializing and relaxing except during meals.
Monk Duties
The life of a monk is not all quiet meditation, teaching, praying and studying. Monks sometimes perform blessings and baptisms although these are usually performed by priests. In some places, monks are called in to offer advice and consul to people who are depressed, contemplating suicide or suffer from mental illness. They also help reform juvenile delinquents and cure drugs addicts of their affliction.
Monks have traditionally taught reading and writing to young girls and boys, and morals, philosophy and theology to older students. They also the help the poor by providing medical care, setting up soup kitchens and delivering food to needy people.
These days many monks and nuns work in monastery and nunnery run schools. Many monasteries are having difficulty recruiting enough new monks to keep their facilities going. Their schools are often staffed by lay people, some of whom are not even Catholics. Some monks work a parish priests. Many monasteries make money by leasing out their land to farmers or timber companies. Some are nearly bankrupt after making bad investments.
Monk Attire and Haircuts
Monks have traditionally worn or habit, or tunic, covered by a scapular, a sleeveless and often hooded overall or cape that protects the habit. There are often winter scapulars made of thick cloth and summer scapulars made of thin cloth. Some habits have deep pockets which monks can use to store their stuff. Many monks were a cross pendant. Different orders wear habits with different styles and colors.
Different ordered have different ways of vesting or securing their robes. Benedictines wear a belt with a piece or rope or leather attached to it. Many orders wear rope belts that have knots that represent the vows they have taken
In the old days some monks shaved their heads with a tonsured fringe. Tonsure is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp, as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word tōnsūra (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in medieval Catholicism, abandoned by papal order in 1972. he Roman, or St. Peter’s, tonsure involved the shaving either of the whole head, with the exception of a fringe of hair supposed to symbolize the crown of thorns, or of a small round area at the crown of the head. In the Greek (Eastern, or St. Paul’s) tonsure the whole head was shaved, but the more recent practice in the Eastern church has considered the tonsure adequate when the hair is merely shorn close. [Source: Wikipedia, Encylopedia Britannica]
Celibacy
Priests reportedly are men and celibate because Jesus's apostles were men and reportedly celibate. However there is a reference in the Gospel Matthew to Peter having a mother-in-law, which implies he had a wife. Many scholars believe that Paul, who encouraged Christians to be celibate, had a wife that he divorced before his conversion at the age of 40.
In A.D. 306 the regional Council of Elvira in Spain decreed that all priests and bishops, married or not, should be celibate. The Qunisext Council in 692 highlighted the split between Eastern and Western churches and concluded only bishops need to abstain from sex. The second Latheran Council in 1139 abolished clerical marriage and established the Roman Catholic church’s official position on celibacy. Throughout history there have been many example of priests and popes giving in to the temptations of the flesh. In 1525 Reformation leader Martin Luther renounced his celibacy vow, and married an ex-nun.
Origen castrating himself
Celibacy is said to have it roots in the belief that abstaining from sex was en expression of commitment to church and worries that offspring might try to claim church property. Some historians have suggested that the Catholic Church insisted that priests be celibate to remove the temptation of seeking favors for their families. The method didn't always work: the word "nepotism" is derived from "nephews," who priests favored instead.
Castration and Celibate Marriages
For many centuries men castrated themselves to resist sexual temptation. "There be eunuchs," reads a passage in the Gospel of St. Matthew, "which have made themselves the better to enter the kingdom of heaven." A sect of eunuchs founded by Church Father Origen (A.D. 185?-254) persisted into the 20th century.
Celibate marriages were common among devout Christian men in the 2nd to 6th century. Alexandrian Ammonious was forced to marry in the 3rd century. He coerced his wife to move into the Egyptian desert with him and live in a separate huts. They ate only bread and water and never took their clothes off. Gregory, the bishop Tours in the 3rd century, married a woman who wanted to remain a virgin after marriage and convinced her husband to pledge to the same. The couple reportedly remained virgins until their deaths. They were buried side by side in separate tombs which reportedly moved together and became one in the middle of the night.
During this period "spiritual marriages" between priests and virgins (agapeta) were also common. Among those who had their doubts about these unions was St. Jerome, who once wrote, "From what source has this plague of 'dearly beloved sisters' found its way into the church? They live in the same house with their male friends; they occupy the same room, often the same beds]; yet they call us suspicious if we think that anything is wrong." Leontius, the bishop of Antioch, had himself castrated so he could keep his agapeta and remain above suspicion. Irish monks and nuns shared the same houses until the end of the 6th century.
Nuns
Cisterian nuns
Nuns have traditionally lived in communities and taken vows similar to those of monks and followed similar rules, performed similar duties and followed a similar daily routine. Nunneries are run by abbesses, female equivalent of abbots.
Some nuns refer to themselves as "brides of Christ." They even wore wedding rings to symbolize their union with him. Nuns are similar to monks except they are females. The origin of the word nun is not clear. It may have been derived from the Sanskrit word “nana” ("mother"), the Latin term “nonna” ("child nurse"), Greek “nanna” ("aunt"), or Coptic “nana” ("good"). The word "habit" (nun’s clothes) comes from Latin “habitus” ("appearance" or 'dress").
Nuns usually wear a full length, long sleeve dress that often covers heavy underskirts and is designed to hide a woman’s sexuality. These garments are often very hot in the summer and wearing them is regarded as an act of penitence. Most orders of nuns wear some kind of head covering. Some nuns cut their hair short so men will not find them attractive.
St. Catherine's Monastery
Paromeos Monastery, found in 326
St. Catherine's Monastery is the oldest Christian monastery the world and the oldest unrestored example of Byzantine architecture. Built in the 6th century under the Byzantine emperor Justinian in an area used by cave-dwelling Christian monks, it is a combination fortress and shrine, nestled in between the slopes of Mt. Sinai. It is the traditional site of the Burning Bush, where God spoke to Moses and told him to take the Israelites to the Promised Land. Among its visitors were Emperor Justinian and Ivan the Terrible of Russia. Some even said Mohammed came here.
Known officially as the Imperial Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai, St. Catherine’s occupies an area about the size of a city block and resembles a small town with paved streets, small courts and whitewashed buildings piled on top of one another. The buildings are constructed of granite quarried from Mt. Sinai and some its neighboring peaks. Some of the churches have domes and others have corrugated metal roofs.
The monastery's 10-meter (34-foot) -high, two-meter (six-foot) -thick granite walls were never breached. They have holes used for firing arrows. The main landmarks there include the Basilica Church (founded by Justinian in A.D. 527), the long narrow Refectory, the Library, a Fatimid-era mosque, a 72̊C sulfur spring known as the Pharaohs bath, the Chapel of arain, the Gabal Serbal pilgrimage sight, and the 1½-mile-long Moses chain. The skull room has piles of bones and skulls from dead monks.
See Separate Article: ST. CATHERINE MONASTERY: ITS HISTORY, SIGNIFICANCE, BUILDINGS, ICONS AND MANUSCRIPTS africame.factsanddetails.com
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Internet Medieval Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File); “ Encyclopedia of the World’s Religions” edited by R.C. Zaehner (Barnes & Noble Books, 1959); King James Version of the Bible, gutenberg.org; New International Version (NIV) of The Bible, biblegateway.com; Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ccel.org , Frontline, PBS, Wikipedia, BBC, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Live Science, Encyclopedia.com, Archaeology magazine, Reuters, Associated Press, Business Insider, AFP, Library of Congress, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
Last updated March 2024