Forced monasticism is the practice of compelling a person to enter a monastic life without their consent. Historically, it was practiced within Christendom in some places during the Middle Ages as a way to neutralize political rivals. In Russian tsardom and Russian empire it survived well into the Modern era, and most Russian Orthodox Church monasteries were built as prisons, as such they were employed later by the Soviet authorities to serve the country's Gulag system [1] .
Monasticism usually entails people separating themselves from the world in a spiritual sense, by foregoing marriage, property and some personal freedom, in order to more greatly pursue religious devotion and service. Monks and nuns may feel a calling that inspires them to pursue this kind of spiritual life. Usually this choice is made freely without compulsion, however, this has not always been the case in practice.
Among the Merovingians, long hair was a sign of royalty, while in contrast, clerics were tonsured and wore their hair short. In medieval Gaul, if one removed the long hair of a king, you removed his claims to kingship as well. [2] Tonsuring was seen as a more humane method of dealing with rivals or rebels than the death penalty, the decision being left to the clemency or political judgment of the monarch.
During the time of the early Frankish kingdoms, the Merovingian dynasty employed forced monasticism against their enemies, including members of their own family. [3]
After the death of Chlodomer, King of Orleans, his brothers Chlothar and Childebert coveted his kingdom and determined to kill Chlodomer's three young sons. The two eldest were murdered, but loyal members of the household were able to bring the youngest, Clodoald to safety. He came to prefer the solitude of life as a hermit rather than the hazards of life at court. When he was twenty he had his hair cut in a public ceremony by the Bishop of Paris, thus demonstrating to his uncles that he sought no part of his father's kingdom and posed no threat. [9]
Forced monachization was a phenomenon of the early modern period in which elite families would consign a younger sibling to a monastery. This was generally done for economic purposes in order to keep the family estate intact for a primary heir. The individual confined could appeal to church authorities to be released from their vows. [10] The idea of a woman being forced into monastic life has become a trope in nunsploitation films. [11]
Children vowed and given by their parents to the monastic life, in houses under the Rule of St. Benedict, were commonly known by the name "oblate" during the century and a half when the custom was in vogue. Often the offering was made in completion of a vow, along with a donation towards the child's support. In many cases the family may have already had a connection to the monastery chosen, with a family member serving as abbot or prioress. There the child would be educated. Not professed monks or friars, the Council of Toledo (656) forbade their acceptance before the age of ten and granted them free permission to leave the monastery, if they wished, when they reached the age of puberty. [12] The term puer oblatus (used after that Council) labels an oblate who had not yet reached puberty and thus had a future opportunity to leave the monastery, [13]
A number of the Russian Orthodox Church monasteries were employed by the NKVD as prisons for the Soviet prison system, with minor or no refurbishments:
With Solovetsky and Optina Monastery being the most populous prisons, containing tens of thousands of inmates.)
The Merovingian dynasty was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gallo-Romans under their rule. They conquered most of Gaul, defeating the Visigoths (507) and the Burgundians (534), and also extended their rule into Raetia (537). In Germania, the Alemanni, Bavarii and Saxons accepted their lordship. The Merovingian realm was the largest and most powerful of the states of western Europe following the breakup of the empire of Theodoric the Great.
Chlothar I, sometime called "the Old", also anglicised as Clotaire, was a king of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty and one of the four sons of Clovis I.
Childebert I was a Frankish King of the Merovingian dynasty, as third of the four sons of Clovis I who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clotilda, born at Reims. He reigned as King of Paris from 511 to 558 and Orléans from 524 to 558.
A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their founders, and have a document describing their lifestyle called a rule of life. Such orders exist in many of the world's religions.
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 tonsura and referred to a specific practice in medieval Catholicism, abandoned by papal order in 1972. Tonsure can also refer to the secular practice of shaving all or part of the scalp to show support or sympathy, or to designate mourning. Current usage more generally refers to cutting or shaving for monks, devotees, or mystics of any religion as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem.
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.
Sigismund was King of the Burgundians from 516 until his death. He was the son of king Gundobad and Caretene. He succeeded his father in 516. Sigismund and his brother Godomar were defeated in battle by Clovis's sons, and Godomar fled. Sigismund was captured by Chlodomer, King of Orléans, where he was kept as a prisoner. Later he, his wife and his children were executed. Godomar then rallied the Burgundian army and won back his kingdom.
A monk is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions and in philosophy.
Chlodomer, also spelled Clodomir or Clodomer was the second of the four sons of Clovis I, King of the Franks.
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'.
Sigebert III was the Merovingian king of Austrasia from 633 to his death around 656. He was described as the first Merovingian roi fainéant —do-nothing king—, in effect the mayor of the palace ruling the kingdom throughout his reign. However he lived a pious Christian life and was later sanctified, being remembered as Saint Sigebert of Austrasia in the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church.
In Christianity, an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God and to God's service.
Nilus of Sora was a Russian Orthodox monk, spiritual writer, theologian, and the founder of the Sora Hermitage. He is best known as the founder of a tendency in the Russian Orthodox Church known as the non-possessors (nestyazhateli) which opposed ecclesiastic landownership. The Russian Orthodox Church venerates Nilus as a saint, marking his feast day on the anniversary of his repose on 7 May.
The Optina Pustyn is an Eastern Orthodox monastery for men near Kozelsk in Russia. In the 19th century, the Optina was the most important spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church and served as the model for several other monasteries, including the nearby Shamordino Convent. It was particularly renowned as the centre of Russian Orthodox eldership (staretsdom).
Godomar II, son of king Gundobad, was king of Burgundy. He ruled Burgundy after the death of Sigismund, his elder brother, in 524 until 534.
The Battle of Vézeronce was fought on 25 June 524 AD near Vézeronce-Curtin, now in Isère, France, between the Franks led by King Chlodomer and the Burgundians commanded by King Godomar.
Clodoald, better known as Saint Cloud, was a Merovingian prince, grandson of Clovis I and son of Chlodomer, who preferred to renounce royalty and became a hermit and monk. Clodoald found a hill along the Seine, two leagues below Paris, in a place called Novigentum. Here, among the fishermen and farmers, he led a life of solitude and prayer, and built a church, which he dedicated in honor of Martin of Tours.
The degrees of Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic monasticism are the stages an Eastern Orthodox monk or nun passes through in their religious vocation.
The Glinsk Hermitage is a stavropegial monastery of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church located in the village of Sosnivka, near the Russian border. In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was a major spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church, and many of its elders have been recently canonized as saints. The monastery is under the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the diocese of Konotop and Hlukhiv.
Hieroschemamonk Leonid (Nagolkin) of Optina, also Leo of Optina, was a venerable elder of Optina Monastery and a founder of Optina's eldership.
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