Cenobitic monasticism

Last updated
Coptic icon of Pachomius the Great, the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism StPakhom.jpg
Coptic icon of Pachomius the Great, the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism

Cenobitic (or coenobitic) monasticism is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in the West the community belongs to a religious order, and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a religious rule, a collection of precepts. The older style of monasticism, to live as a hermit, is called eremitic. A third form of monasticism, found primarily in Eastern Christianity, is the skete.

Contents

The English words cenobite and cenobitic are derived, via Latin, from the Greek words koinos (κοινός, lit. 'common'), and bios (βίος, lit. 'life'). The adjective can also be cenobiac (κοινοβιακός, koinoviakos) or cœnobitic (obsolete). A group of monks living in community is often referred to as a cenobium. Cenobitic monasticism appears in several religious traditions, though most commonly in Buddhism and Christianity.

Origins

The word cenobites was initially applied to the followers of Pythagoras in Crotone, Italy, who founded a commune not just for philosophical study but also for the "amicable sharing of worldly goods." [1]

Judaic monasticism

In the 1st century AD, Philo of Alexandria (c. 25 BC – c. 50 AD) describes a Jewish ascetic community of men and women on the shores of Lake Mareotis in the vicinity of Alexandria, Egypt which he calls the Therapeutae. [2] Members of the community lived apart from one another during six days of the week, studying the Hebrew Bible during the daytime and eating during the evening, whereafter on the Sabbath they hoped to dream visions informed by their studies. Members of the community composed books of midrash, an allegorical method of interpreting scripture. Only on the Sabbath would the Therapeutae meet, share their learning, eat a common, albeit simple, meal of bread and spring water, and listen to a lecture on the Torah given by one of the venerable members of the community. Every seventh Sabbath, or High Sabbath, was accorded a festival of learning and singing, which climaxed in an egalitarian dance.

The 3rd-century Christian writer Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 263–339), in his Ecclesiastical History , identified Philo's Therapeutae as the first Christian monks, identifying their renunciation of property, chastity, fasting, and solitary lives with the cenobitic ideal of the Christian monks. [3]

Christian monasticism

The organized version of Christian cenobitic monasticism is commonly thought to have started in Egypt in the 4th century AD. Christian monks of previous centuries were usually hermits, especially in the Middle East; this continued to be very common until the decline of Aramean Christianity in the Late Middle Ages. This form of solitary living, however, did not suit everyone. Some monks found the eremitic style to be too lonely and difficult; and if one was not spiritually prepared, the life could lead to mental breakdowns. [4] : 7 

For this reason, organized monastic communities were established so that monks could have more support in their spiritual struggle. While eremitic monks did have an element of socializing, since they would meet once a week to pray together, cenobitic monks came together for common prayer on a more regular basis. [5] The cenobitic monks also practised more socializing because the monasteries where they lived were often located in or near inhabited villages. For example, the Bohairic version of Dionysius Exiguus' The Life of Saint Pachomius states that the monks of the monastery of Tabenna built a church for the villagers of the nearby town of the same name even "before they constructed one for themselves." [6] This means that cenobitic monks did find themselves in contact with other people, including lay people, whereas the eremitic monks tried to keep to themselves, only meeting for prayer occasionally.

Saint Pachomius

Cenobitic monks were also different from their eremitic predecessors and counterparts in their living arrangements. Whereas eremitic monks (hermits) lived alone in a monastery consisting of merely a hut or cave (cell), cenobitic monks lived together in monasteries comprising one or a complex of several buildings. In the latter case, each dwelling would house about twenty monks, and within the house there were separate rooms or cells that would be inhabited by two or three monks. [7] To early generations of historians, the style of housing maintained by cenobitic monks was attributed to the man usually hailed the "father of cenobitic monasticism," Saint Pachomius, who was believed to have found the idea for such quarters during the time he spent in the Roman army, as the style was "reminiscent of army barracks." While this impression may have been to some extent mythologized by the bishop and historian Palladius of Galatia, [8] communal barracks-like desert dwellings known as cenobia came to exist around the early 4th century. [9] : 28 

Though Pachomius is often credited as the "father of cenobitic monasticism," it is more accurate to think of him as the "father of organized cenobitic monasticism", as he was the first monk to take smaller communal groups that often already existed and bring them together into a federation of monasteries. [10] He continued this work until his death in 347 at Pbow, a monastic center that he had founded ten years before.

Palladius' Lausiac History claims that Pachomius was given the idea to start a cenobitic monastery from an angel. [11] Though this is an explanation of his reasoning for initiating the cenobitic tradition, there are sources that indicate there were already other communal monastic groups around at that time and possibly before him. Three of the nine monasteries that joined Pachomius' federation "clearly had an independent origin", meaning he was not the first to have such an idea. [12]

Melitians and Manichaeans

The ground plan of the monastery of St. Gall in Switzerland, providing for all of the monks' needs within the monastery walls Saint Gall planta.PNG
The ground plan of the monastery of St. Gall in Switzerland, providing for all of the monks' needs within the monastery walls

Besides the monasteries that joined Pachomius' federation of cenobitic monasteries, there were both Christian and non-Christian cenobitic groups who decided not to join him, such as the Melitians and Manichaeans. [13]

Before Pachomius had begun organizing monastic communities, the Melitians as a group were already recruiting members. They were a heretical Christian sect founded by Melitius of Lycopolis. They "heard of Pachomius' monastic aspirations and tried to recruit him" to join their community. [14] : 118 

Some scholars believe the Manichaeans, founded by Mani, were the "pioneers of communal asceticism in Egypt," [15] rather than Pachomius. Mani himself was influenced to begin cenobitic monasticism from other groups, including Buddhists and Jewish-Christian Elkasites. [15]

Later cenobitic communities

The cenobitic monastic idea did not end with these early groups, and inspired future groups and individuals:

In both the East and the West, cenobiticism established itself as the primary form of monasticism, with many foundations being richly endowed by rulers and nobles. The excessive acquisition of wealth and property led to several attempts at reform, such as Bernard of Clairvaux in the West and Nilus of Sora in the East.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Bernard, R. W., Pythagoras, the Immortal Sage (Pomeroy, WA: Health Research Books, 1958), p. 25.
  2. ↑ Philo of Alexandria. De vita contemplativa (On the Contemplative Life).
  3. ↑ Scouteris, C. B., University of Athens (source), "The semianchoritic character of the Therapeutae community, the renunciation of property, the solitude during the six days of the week and the gathering together on Saturday for the common prayer and the common meal, the severe fasting, the keeping alive of the memory of God, the continuous prayer, the meditation and study of Holy Scripture were also practices of the Christian anchorites of the Alexandrian desert."—C. B. Scouteris, "The Therapeutae of Philo, and the Monks as Therapeutae according to Pseudo-Dionysius", 2012
  4. ↑ C. H. Lawrence, "Chapter 1: The Call of the Desert" in Medieval Monasticism, 3rd edition, (Toronto: Pearson Education Limited, 2001), p. 7.
  5. ↑ James E. Goehring, "Withdrawing from the Desert: Pachomius and the development of Village Monasticism in Upper Egypt," Harvard Theological Review 89 (1996), p. 275.
  6. ↑ Goehring, "Withdrawing from the Desert," p. 282.
  7. ↑ Dunn, M., "Chapter 2: The Development of Communal Life" in The Emergence of Monasticism: From the Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages , (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2000), p. 30.
  8. ↑ Dunn, p. 29.
  9. ↑ Fanning, S., Mystics of the Christian Tradition (London & New York: Routledge, 2001), p. 28.
  10. ↑ Dunn, p. 26.
  11. ↑ Paul Halsall, "Chapter XXXII: Pachomius and Tabennesiots" in Palladius: The Lausiac History, September 1998. Internet Medieval Sourcebook. 15 February 2007 <https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/palladius-lausiac.asp Archived 2014-08-14 at the Wayback Machine >.
  12. ↑ Attridge, H. W., & Hata, G., "The Origins of Monasticism" in Ascetics, Society, and the Desert : Studies in Egyptian monasticism, (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1999), p. 28.
  13. ↑ Lundhaug, H., & Jenott, L., The Monastic Origins of the Nag Hammadi Codices (Heidelberg: Mohr Siebeck, 2015), pp. 234–262.
  14. ↑ Harmless, W., "Chapter 5: Pachomius" in Desert Christians - An Introduction to the Literature of Early Monasticism. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 118.
  15. 1 2 Dunn, 25
  16. ↑ "Basilian | Byzantine Rite Monasticism & History | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  17. ↑ Hannick, C., "Hymnographie et hymnographes sabaïtes," in Patrich, J., ed., The Sabaite Heritage in the Orthodox Church from the Fifth Century to the Present Archived 2017-01-09 at the Wayback Machine , Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 98 (Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2001), pp. 217–228.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony the Great</span> Egyptian Christian monk and hermit (died 356)

Anthony the Great was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is distinguished from other saints named Anthony, such as Anthony of Padua, by various epithets: Anthony of Egypt, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Anthony the Hermit, and Anthony of Thebes. For his importance among the Desert Fathers and to all later Christian monasticism, he is also known as the Father of All Monks. His feast day is celebrated on 17 January among the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches and on Tobi 22 in the Coptic calendar.

Monasticism, also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially in the Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican traditions as well as in other faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. In other religions, monasticism is generally criticized and not practiced, as in Islam and Zoroastrianism, or plays a marginal role, as in modern Judaism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pachomius the Great</span> Egyptian saint

Pachomius, also known as Saint Pachomius the Great, is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Coptic churches celebrate his feast day on 9 May, and Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches mark his feast on 15 May or 28 May. In Lutheranism, he is remembered as a renewer of the church, along with his contemporary, Anthony of Egypt on 17 January.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monastery</span> Complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplace(s) of monks or nuns

A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may be a chapel, church, or temple, and may also serve as an oratory, or in the case of communities anything from a single building housing only one senior and two or three junior monks or nuns, to vast complexes and estates housing tens or hundreds. A monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, dormitory, cloister, refectory, library, balneary and infirmary, and outlying granges. Depending on the location, the monastic order and the occupation of its inhabitants, the complex may also include a wide range of buildings that facilitate self-sufficiency and service to the community. These may include a hospice, a school, and a range of agricultural and manufacturing buildings such as a barn, a forge, or a brewery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermit</span> Person who lives in seclusion from society

A hermit, also known as an eremite or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian monasticism</span> A Christian religious way of life

Christian monasticism is a religious way of life of Christians who live ascetic and typically cloistered lives that are dedicated to Christian worship. It began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, modeled upon scriptural examples and ideals, including those in the Old Testament. It has come to be regulated by religious rules and, in modern times, the Canon law of the respective Christian denominations that have forms of monastic living. Those living the monastic life are known by the generic terms monks (men) and nuns (women). The word monk originated from the Greek μοναχός, itself from μόνος meaning 'alone'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Therapeutae</span> Religious sect

The Therapeutae were a religious sect which existed in Alexandria and other parts of the ancient Greek world. The primary source concerning the Therapeutae is the De vita contemplativa, traditionally ascribed to the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria. The author appears to have been personally acquainted with them. The author describes the Therapeutae as "philosophers" and mentions a group that lived on a low hill by the Lake Mareotis close to Alexandria in circumstances resembling lavrite life. They were "the best" of a kind given to "perfect goodness" that "exists in many places in the inhabited world". The author was unsure of the origin of the name and derives the name Therapeutae/Therapeutides from Greek θεραπεύω in the sense of "cure" or "worship".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert Fathers</span> Early Christian hermits, ascetics, and monks, third century AD

The Desert Fathers were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt, beginning around the third century AD. The Apophthegmata Patrum is a collection of the wisdom of some of the early desert monks and nuns, in print as Sayings of the Desert Fathers. The first Desert Father was Paul of Thebes, and the most well known was Anthony the Great, who moved to the desert in AD 270–271 and became known as both the father and founder of desert monasticism. By the time Anthony had died in AD 356, thousands of monks and nuns had been drawn to living in the desert following Anthony's example, leading his biographer, Athanasius of Alexandria, to write that "the desert had become a city." The Desert Fathers had a major influence on the development of Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skete</span> Type of monastic settlement

A skete is a monastic community in Eastern Christianity that allows relative isolation for monks, but also allows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection. It is one of four types of early monastic orders, along with the eremitic, lavritic and coenobitic, that became popular during the early formation of the Christian Church.

Tabenna is a Christian community founded in Upper Egypt around 320 by Saint Pachomius. It was the motherhouse of a federation of monasteries known as the Koinonia. At the time of Pachomius's death in 346, there were nine establishments for men and two for women, along with two or three thousand "Tabennesites". It is considered the first major model of cenobitic monasticism in early Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Christian monasticism</span> An Eastern Christian religious way of life

Eastern Christian monasticism is the life followed by monks and nuns of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Church of the East and some Eastern Catholic Churches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Isidora</span>

Saint Isidora, or Saint Isidore, was a Christian nun and saint of the 4th century AD. She is considered among the earliest fools for Christ. While very little is known of Isidora's life, she is remembered for her exemplification of the writing of St. Paul that “Whosoever of you believes that he is wise by the measure of this world, may he become a fool, so as to become truly wise.” The story of Isidora effectively highlights the Christian ideal that recognition or glory from man is second to one's actions being seen by God, even if that means one's actions or even one's self remains unknown or misunderstood. This ideal was extremely important to the early Desert Fathers and Mothers who recorded Isidora's story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coptic monasticism</span> Claimed to be the original form of monasticism

Coptic monasticism was a movement in the Coptic Orthodox Church to create a holy, separate class of person from layman Christians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodorus of Tabennese</span>

Theodorus of Tabennese, also known as Abba Theodorus and Theodore the Sanctified was the spiritual successor to Pachomius and played a crucial role in preventing the first Christian cenobitic monastic federation from collapsing after the death of its founder.

Monasticism is a way of life where a person lives outside of society, under religious vows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chariton the Confessor</span> 4th-century Anatolian Christian saint

Chariton the Confessor was an early Christian monk. He is venerated as a saint by both the Western and Eastern Churches. His remembrance day is September 28.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desert Mothers</span> Early Christian ascetics, 3rd–5th centuries AD

Desert Mothers is a neologism, coined in feminist theology as an analogy to Desert Fathers, for the ammas or female Christian ascetics living in the desert of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. They typically lived in the monastic communities that began forming during that time, though sometimes they lived as hermits. Monastic communities acted collectively with limited outside relations with lay people. Some ascetics chose to venture into isolated locations to restrict relations with others, deepen spiritual connection, and other ascetic purposes. Other women from that era who influenced the early ascetic or monastic tradition while living outside the desert are also described as Desert Mothers.

Pbow was a cenobitic monastery established by St. Pachomius in 336-337 AD. Pbow is about 100 km (62 mi) north of Luxor in modern Upper Egypt. It was one of the nine Pachomian monasteries.

Tbew was an Egyptian Coptic Orthodox monastery that was established in the mid-4th century. It was one of the Pachomian monasteries.

The Pachomian monasteries or the Koinonia of Upper Egypt were a group of Christian cenobitic monasteries founded by Pachomius the Great during the 4th century A.D. Altogether, by the mid-300s A.D., nine Pachomian monasteries formed a network or federation of monasteries known as the Koinonia. All of the nine historical Pachomian monasteries are now defunct.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.