Editing Monasticism (section)

==Christianity==
{{Main|Christian monasticism}}

[[File:Trappist praying 2007-08-20 dti.jpg|thumb|[[Trappist]] monk praying in his [[monastic cell|cell]].]][[File:St. Anthony's Monastery 2006.jpg|thumb|The [[Monastery of Saint Anthony]] in Egypt, built over the tomb of [[Anthony the Great|Saint Anthony]], the "Father of Christian Monasticism"]]

Monasticism in Christianity, which provides the origins of the words "monk" and "monastery", comprises several diverse forms of religious living. It began to develop early in the history of the Church, but is not mentioned in the scriptures. The precise origins of the movement are obscure but it seems that it originated in more than one place with Egypt and Syria as important early centres.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Helvétius |first1=Anne-Marie |title=Re-Reading Monastic Traditions: Monks and Nuns, East and West, from the Origins to c. 750 |date=2020 |work=The Cambridge History of Medieval Monasticism in the Latin West |pages=40–72 |editor-last=Beach |editor-first=Alison I. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-medieval-monasticism-in-the-latin-west/rereading-monastic-traditions-monks-and-nuns-east-and-west-from-the-origins-to-c-750/BD59F58B5A2CBB8379FF54923FB1BA8D |access-date=2024-04-12 |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781107323742.003 |isbn=978-1-107-04211-7 |last2=Kaplan |first2=Michel |last3=Boud'hors |first3=Anne |last4=Debié |first4=Muriel |last5=Lesieur |first5=Bénédicte |last6=Boynton |first6=Susan |editor2-last=Cochelin |editor2-first=Isabelle |archive-date=17 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617080046/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-medieval-monasticism-in-the-latin-west/rereading-monastic-traditions-monks-and-nuns-east-and-west-from-the-origins-to-c-750/BD59F58B5A2CBB8379FF54923FB1BA8D |url-status=live }}</ref> It has come to be regulated by religious rules (e.g. the Rule of St Basil, the Rule of St Benedict) and, in modern times, the Church law of the respective apostolic Christian churches that have forms of monastic living.

The Christian monk embraces the monastic life as a vocation from God. His objective is to imitate the life of Christ as far as possible in preparation for attaining eternal life after death.

[[File:Coptic monks.jpg|thumb|right|Coptic monks between 1898 and 1914]]

Titles for monastics differ between the Christian denominations. In Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism, monks and nuns are addressed as Brother (or Father, if ordained to the priesthood) or Mother, Sister, while in Eastern Orthodoxy, they are addressed as Father or Mother. Women pursuing a monastic life are generally called nuns, religious sisters or, rarely, canonesses, while monastic men are called monks, friars or brothers.

During the fourth and fifth century monasticism allowed women to be removed from traditional lifestyles such as marriage and childbearing to live a life devoted to God. Guided by daily rules and lifestyle guidelines, monasticism afforded women great spiritual autonomy. Women also played a crucial role in promoting and financing the monastic movement.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fafinski |first1=Mateusz |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/abs/monasticism-and-the-city-in-late-antiquity-and-the-early-middle-ages/38CBB3E9ED81B916BB54A6FF4037C778#element |title=Monasticism and the city in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages |last2=Riemenschneider |first2=Jakob |date=2023 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-98931-2 |series=Cambridge elements elements in religion in late antiquity |location=Cambridge |pages=12–14 |access-date=13 April 2024 |archive-date=16 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416192023/https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/abs/monasticism-and-the-city-in-late-antiquity-and-the-early-middle-ages/38CBB3E9ED81B916BB54A6FF4037C778#element |url-status=live }}</ref> Monasteries served as a space for communal living for monks and nuns many operated under different ranges of severity for rules and punishment of disobedience towards practices that largely originated from the Desert Fathers, these parameters were administer by a superior (Father/Mother). While the practices of female monastic communities varied, they were united by a commitment to a life of prayer, contemplation, and service to others.

Teachings from Shenoute of Atripe, an influential figure in the development of the monastic tradition in Egypt and for his writings on monastic life were also implemented throughout monasteries. Sometimes written in the masculine gender as if exclusively applicable to the male congregations, despite the fact Shenoute commanded a federation that included both male and female congregations.

Later, during 379 AD the first monastery for women was founded in Jerusalem by Saint Melania the Elder. This was a significant moment in history: before then, female monasteries were solely adjunct to male monasteries, although the history of female ascetics predates even the earliest recognized female ascetic pioneers, such as Saint Mary of Egypt, who lived during the 5th century AD.

In fourth century Egypt, Christians felt called to a more reclusive or [[Hermit|eremitic]] form of living (in the spirit of the "Desert Theology" for the purpose of spiritual renewal and return to God). Saint [[Anthony the Great]] is cited by [[Pope Athanasius I of Alexandria|Athanasius]] as one of the early "Hermit monks". Especially in the Middle East, eremitic monasticism continued to be common until the decline of [[Syriac Christianity]] in the late Middle Ages.

Around 318 Saint [[Pachomius]] started to organize his many followers in what was to become the first Christian [[Cenobium|cenobitic]] or communal [[monastery]]. Soon, similar institutions were established throughout the Egyptian desert as well as the rest of the eastern half of the Roman Empire. Notable [[Monastery|monasteries]] in the East include:
* [[Monastery of Saint Anthony]], one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world.
* [[Mar Awgin]] founded a monastery on [[Mt. Izla]] above [[Nisibis]] in [[Mesopotamia]] (c. 350), and from this monastery the cenobitic tradition spread in Mesopotamia, Persia, Armenia, Georgia and even India and China.
* St. [[Sabbas the Sanctified]] organized the monks of the Judean Desert in a monastery close to [[Bethlehem]] (483), now known as [[Mar Saba]], which is considered the mother of all monasteries of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] churches.
* [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] was founded between 527 and 565 in the [[Sinai Peninsula]], [[Egypt]], by order of Emperor [[Justinian I]].

In the West, the most significant development occurred when the rules for monastic communities were written down, the Rule of St Basil being credited with having been the first. The precise dating of the [[Rule of the Master]] is problematic. It has been argued that it antedates the Rule of Saint Benedict created by [[Benedict of Nursia]] for his monastery in [[Monte Cassino]], Italy (c. 529), and the other [[Benedictine]] monasteries he had founded as part of the [[Order of St Benedict]]. It would become the most common rule throughout the Middle Ages and is still in use today. The [[Augustinian Rule]], due to its brevity, has been adopted by various communities, chiefly the [[Canons Regular]]. Around the 12th century, the [[Franciscan]], [[Carmelite]], [[Dominican Order|Dominican]], [[Servite Order]] (see [[Servants of Mary]]) and [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] [[mendicant order]]s chose to live in city [[convent]]s among the people instead of being secluded in monasteries. [[St. Augustine's Monastery (Erfurt)|St. Augustine's Monastery]], founded in 1277 in [[Erfurt]], Germany is regarded by many historians and theologians as the "cradle of the [[Reformation]]", as it is where [[Martin Luther]] lived as a monk from 1505 to 1511.<ref name=extapp>[http://www.welterbe-luther.de/en/extension-application/augustinian-monastery-erfurt UNESCO World Heritage. Augustinian Monastery, Erfurt extension application] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804013636/http://www.welterbe-luther.de/en/extension-application/augustinian-monastery-erfurt |date=4 August 2017 }} (Accessed: 29 May 2017)</ref>

Today new expressions of [[Christian monasticism]], many of which are [[ecumenical]], are developing in various places such as the [[Bose Monastic Community]] in Italy, the [[Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem]] throughout Europe, the Anglo-Celtic Society of Nativitists, the [[Taizé Community]] in France, the Eastern Orthodox monasteries of [[New Skete (New York)|New Skete]], New York, and the mainly Evangelical [[Protestant]] [[New Monasticism]].