Western Monasticism

Though seldom mentioned in the modern world, monasticism has played an important role not only in the history of the Church, but in the history of the West. Though similar institutions have existed in other religious traditions, such as Buddhism, Christian monasticism is a unique institution, founded in a deep sense of religious conviction and patterned after the admonitions of Christ as well as the lifestyle of the Early Church. To be a Christian monk is to follow the call in Matthew 19:21, to “sell your possessions and give to the poor” and to follow Christ. Though monasticism is a special case of Christian life, the exception not the rule, it has been vastly popular throughout Christian history since its introduction in the late third century. Though the pattern of monastic life has evolved, the key tenets of prayer, work, obedience, and asceticism have remained constant. Today, we can trace to origins of modern monastic communities from its origins in the desert in Alexandria through the spread of monasticism to the West and the

This, then, would seemingly lead to the conclusion that Western monasticism is merely a subset of the Eastern tradition, but this would be patently false. Rather, though Western monasticism grew out of the Eastern tradition, it has its own history and forms which cause it to be set apart from the Eastern tradition.8 Unlike Eastern monasticism, Western monasticism began as an institution promoted by the nobility and affiliated with a church.9 Though monasticism spread gradually to the West, the establishment of Western monasticism relied heavily on the work and writings of men such as Jerome, Ambrose of Milan, and Augustine of