MONASTICISM 



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MONASTICISM 



monasticism, where it was an unforeseen de- 

 velopment of hermit life. Among the many 

 solitary travelers up the valley of the Nile was 

 one Saint Anthony, who established himself in 

 an old deserted fort, where he lived in seclusion 

 for nearly twenty years. As others came to 

 know of this saintly man they begged him to 

 be their teacher. He did not effect any sort of 

 organization, but was only the spiritual leader 

 of his followers. They lived alone, or two or 



three dwelt together in any convenient hut, 

 doing only such work as was necessary for their 

 daily bread, and giving the greater part of 

 their time to religious devotion. Saint Anthony 

 is known as the father of Christian monasticism. 



In the southern part of Egypt about A. D. 

 315-320, Saint Pachomius not only gathered 

 about him numbers of religious hermits, but 

 organized- the first Christian cenobium, or mon- 

 astery. The members lived together, and the 

 life of each individual of this community was 

 regulated by rules. Saint Pachomius himself 

 was the spiritual leader, or abbot, exercising 

 authority in every matter. About 410 the fol- 

 lowers of Saint Pachomius numbered nearly 

 seven thousand. He also founded other monas- 

 teries, among them one for women. 



Since the invasion of Northern Africa by 

 Mohammedans, these monasteries have gradu- 

 ally decreased until at the present time very 

 few remain, and these are of little importance. 

 With its decline in Egypt, monasticism spread 

 into Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor 



and Armenia. There it took the form of a 

 strange sort of self-denial, of which the penance 

 of Saint Simeon Stylites, immortalized by Ten- 

 nyson's poem of that name, is a well-known 

 example : 



Let this avail, just, dreadful, mighty God, 



This not be all in vain, that thrice ten years, 



Thrice multiplied by superhuman pangs, 



In hungers and in thirsts, fevers and cold, 



In coughs, aches, stitches ulcerous, throes and 



cramps, 



A sign betwixt the meadow and the cloud, 

 Patient on this tall pillar I have borne 

 Rain, wind, frost, heat, hail, damp, and sleet, and 



snow. 



Saint Basil, who lived during the same period, 

 became known as the father of monasticism in 

 the East through his founding of monasteries 

 in Pontus and Cappadocia. In the early part 

 of the sixth century Saint Benedict reformed 

 the old rules, eliminating Oriental asceticism, 

 made the abbot of the monastery as well as the 

 monks subject to rule, and denied the members 

 the privilege of wandering about from one mon- 

 astery to another, emphasizing the bonds of 

 their community life and the value of work. 



Saint Benedict organized corresponding com- 

 munities for women, called convents, and placed 

 his sister, Saint Scholastica, in charge of the 

 first. Under the Benedictine rule the monas- 

 teries and convents of Europe during the Mid- 

 dle Ages held high the torch of religious faith 

 and were the "cities of refuge" where a troubled 

 world could find sanctuary. In them were pre- 

 served the manuscripts of the earliest Christian 

 writings and much of classical and medieval 

 literature. 



Some of the most important Orders which 

 adopted the Benedictine rule were the Cluny, 

 Cistercian and Trappist. The Knights Hospi- 

 talers of Saint John, the Knights Templar and 

 the Teutonic Knights were military orders 

 growing out of the Crusades against the Mo- 

 hammedans. The mendicant Orders, the Fran- 

 ciscans, the Dominicans and the Augustinian 

 Hermits, were organized in the first half of the 

 thirteenth century. The Jesuits, the last great 

 Order founded in Europe, became an important 

 agency in preventing the spread of Protestant- 

 ism and in establishing Church schools for the 

 children of Roman Catholics. The Paulist 

 Fathers were organized in 1858 for missionary 

 work in the United States. 



The principal monastic vows are poverty, 

 chastity and obedience. Saint Francis' Imita- 

 tion of Christ and other similar writings of 

 pious monks have been beacon lights to those 



