Christian Monasticism

Christian Monasticism

Christian Monasticism is a way of life either individual or communal that is dedicated to separating the individual from the physical world and perfecting performances that make the individual worthy for God who manifests through Jesus Christ. With the legalization of Christianity in 313CE and its subsequent dominance throughout the Roman Empire, many Christians rejected the growing Christian populism and entered the desert in search of God. These eremites or “one who lives in the dessert” abandoned the dominant social system and instead focused on a life to God through anachoresis or “withdrawal.” Overtime, hermits gathered in cloistered communities to be monos or “alone” together, influencing the English term “monk”.

As monasticism became more popular throughout the centuries, orders became heavily intertwined with Church politics and supremacy.
Christian Monasticism originates from various sources prior to its collective organization in the 300s. Musonius Rufus (30-100CE), a Roman ascetic philosopher, promoted a lifestyle that privileged action over theory. In his Lectures, Musonius lays out a list of precepts that cultivate discipline and promote the true understanding reality. Some of those precepts include eating simple foods, wearing basic clothing, and living in modest shelter, all actions that are refined in subsequent monastic communities. Another source that came before written accounts about Jesus, was On the Contemplative Life. Philo of Alexandria (25BCE-50CE) was a Hellenized Jew who wrote about a Jewish ascetic community living on the outskirts of Alexandria, Egypt, that abandoned their families and ties to the dominant culture. This group called the Therapeutie lived in individually isolated shelters and performed scriptural reflection, meditation, extreme fasting, and modest dressing. Every Sabbath, all members would unite for a communal sermon performed by the leader, and on special occasion, they would unite for the Symposium where they would recite religious hymns and stories until dawn. This community resembles much of the future monastic community from the spiritual hierarchy to the various ascetic practices.
After the death of Jesus around 30 CE, the first author to write about Christ was Paul (d. 60CE). After reportedly experiencing a vision from Jesus himself, Paul, a pharisaic Jew, created Christian communities across the Mediterranean Sea. Two of these Paul’s letters to these communities, 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians, function as important foundations to Christian understandings about sexuality and heavily influence monasticism. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul condemns fornication and lustful passions and calls for ‘sanctification’ in Christ. In 1 Corinthians, Paul champions virginity as superior to marriage, for the virgin is free from the anxieties of a spouse and masters self-control. Both of these themes, abstinence and celibacy, would become staples of monasticism. When the gospels of the life of Jesus developed in the late first century, they maintained the reclusive and ascetic nature of Jesus. For example, all three of the Synoptic Gospels tell the story of Jesus venturing out into the wilderness for forty days, where he was tested by Satan. This story would operate as a guiding text for monks, who sought to mimic Jesus and fight against the forces of evil (See Matt. Ch.4, Mark Ch.1, and Luke Ch.4). Besides this example, Jesus declares poverty and renunciation of physical goods and social ties as necessary requirements for the kingdom of God.
Another more heterodox source for Christian Monasticism is the Gospel of Thomas. Written in Syria at the beginning of the second century, Thomas is a collection of saying from Jesus, who serves as the distributor of divine knowledge for those seeking self-knowledge. In order to acquire this knowledge, one must pursue physical and social renunciation and embrace the solitary life, much like monks would do. Another Syrian source from around the third century that promoted proto-monasticism is the Acts of Thomas. In this apocryphal text, Thomas convinces Mygdonia and Tertia, both wealthy, prominent women in India, to forsake their husbands and worldly wealth to join him in a life devoted to Christ. Another Christian text that encapsulates these same themes is the Acts of Paul and Thecla. Written in the late second century, this text tells the story of Thecla, who is inspired by the teachings of Paul to abandon her fiancé, family, and wealth, and accept celibacy and a life in Christ. All three women embody the ideal of Christian commitment to forsaking social conventions and adopting a celibate, simple life in Christ even at the risk of persecution from the state. Overall, these sources mentioned above served as good resources for the later development of formalized Christian Monasticism.
With the legalization of Christianity and its promotion to the state-sponsored religion in the fourth century, Christians entered into an entire new Christian age, and classic monastic communities became more prolific. Three important figures that promulgated monastic ideals were Basil of Caesarea (330-379CE) Gregory of Nyssa (335-394CE) and St. Macrina (324-379CE). From the Roman area of Cappadocia, today the region of Turkey, these three were siblings, who grew up in a rich Christian family; however, after the death of their father, they became more invested in asceticism. During his early adulthood, Basil travelled all across Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, and Egypt visiting monastic settlements. Although both Gregory and Basil became bishops in the church hierarchy, they were staunch proponents of the ascetic life. In Basil’s Letter 2 to Gregory of Nazianzus, he tells Gregory of the importance of abandoning society and living the solitary life in order to concentrate on perfecting performances dedicated to God such as renunciation, silence, and contemplation. In addition to Basil’s actual writings, there are letters falsely attributed to him, such as the Homily on Virginity, in which Basil supposedly tells a community about the importance and value of virginity and why members should convince their children to become virgins. Both of these pieces highlight ascetic values which would be honed in monasteries. Basil’s brother, Gregory of Nyssa, actually wrote a piece about his sister called The Life of Saint Macrina. In this hagiographical biography, Gregory recalls of how his sister organized a strict religious community for women on the family estate similar to that of a monastery. He depicts her as this Stoic sage who embraces God through reason and has mastered self-discipline and renunciation, goals that future monks share.
As Christians became dissatisfied with the dominant culture, many went to the desert in search of a purer Christian life. One of the most prominent dessert monks during this time period was Antony (251CE-356CE). Antony, a wealthy Egyptian whose parents had died while he was young, committed to the ascetic life after being inspired by a scripture reading in church that recalled Jesus’s teaching to abandon possessions and welcome him. Immediately, Antony adopted the hermit lifestyle and entered the dessert. In his Letter 1, he describes the struggles against the dessert evils and how to harness spiritual perfection. Another piece of literature dedicated to Antony is The Life of Antony. Written by the Egyptian bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius (300CE-373CE), this hagiographical biography emphasizes Antony’s ascetic practices of fasting and renunciation, his unwavering commitment to Athanasius’s clerical authority, and his struggle against fighting physical demons. While Anthony fought a cosmological battle, Symeon (390-459CE) obtained angelic status among his peers in Syria. Written by Theodoret, The Life of Symeon tells the story of Symeon who embraces the solitary life to become an ascetic hermit. After being rejected by other ascetics for his unconventional practices of self-mortification and extreme fasting, he chains himself to the top of a pillar, performs divine favors for pilgrims and foreign leaders who come see him, and lives as an angel and divine mediator.
As ascetic communities became more prevalent, ascetic leaders established official monastic codices for their followers. The first of these codebooks was Pachomius’s Rules. Pachomius (292CE–346CE) was an Egyptian, ex-soldier, and Christian convert, who adopted the hermit lifestyle until he received a message from God to start a monastic community. As his communities became more popular, he wrote an official rulebook for his members. While fairly simple, this book provided prescriptions that regulated nearly every aspect of the monk’s life from working to cleaning to practicing silence and harnessed the monk’s discipline.
While monasticism became increasingly popular, church leaders and other attempted to extend their influence over these ascetic performances.

For example, after the fall of Rome in 410CE, Demetrius, the daughter of one of the most influential families of Rome, evacuated to the city of Carthage in North Africa and eventually dedicated herself to the virgin life. Many times Demetrius, her mother, and grandmother receive letters from various ascetic masters, hoping to teach their daughter in the ways of Christian asceticism. Jerome (347-420CE), Pelagius (350-425CE), and Augustine of Hippo (354-430CE) all prized the virgin life as the prime state of life to be with God. Nevertheless, the three disagreed on more doctrinal issues concerning grace. Pelagius, a British monk, thought Christians had the choice to choose actions that granted one grace. Augustine, however, in Letter 188 rebuked Pelagius’s claims saying that grace comes from God alone and not human action. Either way, ascetic actions become necessary in order to reach the kingdom of

God.
As monasticism began flourishing in medieval Europe, many different types of communities arose.

Benedict of Nursia (480–540 CE) who was influenced by Basil of Caesarea and Pachomius, wrote The Rule of Saint Benedict, which became the most influential monastic text of the medieval period due to its accessibility and its support by the emerging Roman Catholic Church. Raised in Italy by a wealthy family, he abandoned his family and peers and emulated the life of Antony. After earning persistent followings, he formed monastic communities across Italy, and overtime, hundreds of Benedictine monasteries were established in Europe. Much like Antony, these groups of monks were considered demon fighters and the authentic religious community. Another person who embodied the cloistered life was Julian of Norwich (1342-1426CE). She was an English anchorite who lived in an enclosed cell attached to the Church of St. Julian in Norwich, England. At the age of thirty, she suffered a serious illness that led to her receiving visions directly from Christ. After these experiences, she recorded what happened to her in The Short Text and The Long Text. Her mystical experiences reflected another development within Christianity. While Julian was loyal to the Church, she claimed to have received an individualized experience with God, where she discovered sacred knowledge. Just like those monks before her, through ascetic impulse and individual determination, she receives power bestowed by

God.
With the Benedictine monasteries progressively getting wealthy, many monastic reform movements responded to the opulence. After having a mystical encounter with Christ, one of these reformers named Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) adopted radical poverty. He then created the Franciscan Order, where members were required to accept poverty, beggary, obedience, humility, and other prescriptions in The Earlier Rule and The Later Rule. The primary purpose of this order was to convert non-Christians and evangelize the Eucharist. Inspired by Francis’s devotion, Clare of Assisi (1194-1253) began her own following called the Order of Saint Clare. Unlike the Franciscans, the Poor Clares primarily focused on monastic enclosure and other laborious tasks, some of which are laid out in The Rule of Saint Clare. Both of these orders and many others were supported by the Catholic popes and served as tools for solidifying catholic hegemony.
After examining the historical context of Christian Monasticism, there is a direct and mutual relationship between asceticism and monasticism. Christian monasticism began because of ascetic impulses caused by the disdain for the growing orthodoxy and conformity of Christianity. Even until the 1500s, monks fulfilled the three basic functions of asceticism that Valantasis lays out. Monks and all of the characters mentioned engaged in performances intended to inaugurate a new identity by rejecting the dominant culture through adopting the cloistered, individually sufficient life, forsaking their social relationships with family and friends, and inducting a new symbolic understanding of the world. Because of this fulfillment, monasticism is always ascetic in nature.