2C6 



MONACHISM 



long and seized 



females to the monasteries of men. To such a 

 length is this carried in the Greek Church that in 

 the celebrated enclosure of Mount Athos not only 

 women, but all animals of the female sex are 

 rigorously excluded. The first condition of admis- 

 sion to a monastic order is the approval of the 

 superioi . after which the candidates remain for a 

 short time as postulants. After this preliminary 

 trial, they enter on what is called the iiuritltttr, tlie 

 length of which in ditlerent orders varies from one 

 to three years; and at its close they are admitted 

 to the profession, at which the solemn vows are 

 taken. The age for profession has varied at differ- 

 ent times and in different orders ; the Council of 

 Trent, however, hits fixed sixteen as the minimum 

 age. Originally all monks were laymen ; but after 

 a time the superiors, and by degrees other more 

 meritorious meniliers, were admitted to holy orders. 

 Amongst the mendicants, those in priest's orders 

 were called ' father,' the lay brothers ' brother ' 

 only. In either cose, where the order is one of 

 those solemnly approved by the church, the engage- 

 ment taken at the final profession is life-long 

 "revocable. ^^ 



"The TTsrneTnonastery, in its most strict accepta-/ 

 tion, is confined to the residences of monks, pro- 

 perly so called, or of nuns of the cognate orders 

 (as the Benedictine), and as such it comprises two 

 great classes, the Abbey and the Privry. The 

 former name was given only to establishments of 

 the highest rank, governed by an abbot, who was 

 commonly assisted by a prior, sub-prior, and other 

 minor functionaries (see ABBOT). A Priory sup- 

 posed a less extensive and less numerous com- 

 munity. It was governed by a prior, and was 

 originally, although by no means uniformly (at 

 least in later times), subject to the jurisdiction of. 

 an abliey. The distinction of alilx-y and priory is 

 found equally among the Benedictine nuns. In the 

 military orders the name of Commandery and Pre- 

 ceptory corresponded with those of abliey and priory 

 in the monastic orders. The establishments of the 

 mendicant and, in general, of the modern orders 

 are sometimes, though less properly, called monas- 

 teries. Their more characteristic ap|iella(ion is 

 Friary or Convent, and they are commonly dis- 

 tingiilshed into Professed Houses (called also' Resi- 

 dences), Novitiates, and Colleges or Scholastic 

 Houses. The names of the sii|>erior8 of such 

 houses differ in the different orders. The common 

 name is Hector, but in some orders the superior is 

 called Guardian (as in the Franciscan), or Master, 

 Major, Father Superior, \-c. The houses of females 

 except in the Benedictine or Cistercian orders 

 are called indifferently Coin-cut and A '//.- 

 their head is si \ led Mother Superior or Reverend. 

 Mother. Tin- monastic institute, fl'IIMI llleTcry 

 tarllcsttline, included women as well as men. The 

 former were called in Greek by the name minis or 

 iii.i, mi. and in Latin nuiiini (from which the Knglish 

 Ann ), as also Ai/.7//)/<//<i//.. The general clmr- 

 acterislii-s of the monastic institute for females are 

 substantially identical with those of (he male orders. 

 It w.-is to be expected that the monastic founda- 

 tions in England would not long survive the national 

 rejection of the papal power which was their main 

 snpjxirt. The monasteries hail mostly outlived 

 their days of usefulness, and \ery inadei|iiatelv 

 fulfilled the objects of their institution. A general, 

 though mil universal decay of religious fervour, and 

 the revelation from time to time of grave scandals 

 within their walls dis|HMcd many prudent men to 

 mud them \\ith little favour. But the immediate 

 cause of their downfall was their accumulated 



lib with which Cromwell tempted tl vctous- 



ness of Henry VIII. The dissolution of monastci ies 

 was indeed no new idea, for Cardinal \Volscvseveral 

 years before had obtained bulb from the pope 



enabling him to suppress certain religions houses 

 and appropriate their funds for oilier purpose-. 

 Henry s proceedings were, however, as unworthy as 

 his motives. He appointed unprincipled agents to 

 visit and report ii|M>n the state of all the religious 

 houses in the kingdom. These men )>erfornied 

 their work in indecent haste, and upon obviously 

 insufficient evidence brought against the monks 

 generally charges of gross immorality which were 

 embodied in the so called Black Hook, now hist. 

 The king at first acted with considerable craft. 

 He appealed to the selfishness of the greater 

 ablxits who had seats in the House of Lords, and 



silenced their opposition by declaring that in the 

 eries 'religion was right well kept,' 



larger monasteries 



pt, 



and proposed the confiscation only of the smaller 

 houses (870 in number) with a revenue of less than 



200 a year. This ensured the passing of the Act 

 of Suppression in February 1536. But the turn of 

 the 645 greater monasteries soon came. Certain 

 abbots Implicated in the rising of the 'Pilgrimage 

 of Grace ' were convicted of treason and their houses 

 seized. Then followed another general visitation, 

 and, by bribes, intimidation, and violence, the re- 

 maining monastic communities were one by one 

 Induced in 1539 to 'surrender' their property to the 

 king. The revenue accruing to the mown bv the 

 confiscation is estimated at over 130,000. \Vith 

 this fund six new episcopal sees ami certain collegi- 

 ate churches and grammai --schools wen; founded, 

 and a few castles built for the defence of the coast. 

 But the greater part of the property fell through 

 purchase or gift into the hands of the nobility and 



jentry ; and the policy which thus interested power- 

 mi laymen in maintaining the new order of things 

 effectually barred the way to the restoration of 

 jnonosticism in the reactionary reign of Marv. 

 Fresh light has been thrown upon this whole sub- 

 ject by Canon Oixon in his recent Ilixtnrti nf the 

 Church of Kii'ilniiil, and again more fully by Father 

 Gasquet, O.S.B., in 7/o/cy I'///. ntl //" Kmjlish 

 Jfofuuferw (9 rob. 188!); 4th ed. 1890). 



In some of the German states the tcni]>oralitie8 

 of the suppressed monasteries were retained at the 

 Reformation, and were granted at pleasure by the 

 sovereign, to lie enjoyed together with the titular 

 dignity. Some of the German churches, however, 

 in later times, have revived the institution, especi- 

 ally for women (see DEAI - HM->S|.. In England 

 there was the religions community of Little Gid- 

 ding ( Ki2.")-47), founded by Nicholas Ferrar ( <[.v. ) ; 

 ami in ISO.) a sort of Anglican mission order, the 

 Cowley Fathers, was established at Oxford ; but 

 here, too, Sisterhoods (i|.v.) arc tar more numerous. 

 In all these Protestant revivals of monachism, the 

 engagement is revocable at the will of the in- 

 dividual. At the French Revolution the monastic 

 establishments of France were utterly suppressed ; 

 and in most of the other Catholic eonntiies of 

 Europe the example has bee'i followed to a greater 

 or les. extent. After the Restoration a re\ ivnl of 

 many of the orders tixik place in Fiance. In 1835 

 Spain suppressed 900 monasteries, and the rest 

 soon (hereafter: Portugal dissolved all its religious 

 houses in is:tl. In Relgluni, Austria, and Switzer- 

 land, rnomisteiic-. are numerous in Belgium there 

 are 'J<H> communities, in Austiia i without Hungary) 

 4.VI, in Swit/erland **. In Italy, Sardinia put an 

 end to the' monasteries in ISIili. and the same meas- 

 ure was extended to the whole kingdom after INTO, 

 the orders lieing expropriated, and their houses made 

 national property; in all upwards of S'JtK) house* 

 were suppressed. In l*7"> Prussia dissolved all 

 orders save those devoted to sick-nursing (at that 

 date t Ill-re were in all Germany 'J.'iSS monks and 

 l(i,H4fi nuns), but in 1887 readmitted all those orders 

 engaged in pastoral duty, Christian cJiarily, or the 

 contemplative life. The French decree of 1880, 



