Editing Monk (section)

===Western Christianity===
{{Main|Christian monasticism#Western Christian orders in the modern era}}

====Catholicism====
[[File:Sodoma - Life of St Benedict, Scene 4 - The Monk Romanus Dresses Benedict (detail) - WGA21567.jpg|thumb|Investiture of Saint Benedict, scene from the fresco cycle on the life of St. Benedict in Monte Oliveto Maggiore]]

Within [[Catholicism]], a monk is a member of a [[Religious order (Catholic)|religious order]] who lives a communal life in a [[monastery]] under a monastic rule of life. [[Benedict of Nursia]], (480-543 or 547 AD) is considered to be the originator of western monasticism. Benedict's [[Rule of Saint Benedict|rule]],<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10487b.htm Thurston, Herbert. "Monk." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 12 March 2023 {{PD-notice}}</ref> is the foundation for the [[Order of Saint Benedict|Benedictines]] and all of its reform groups such as the [[Cistercians]] and the [[Trappists]]. Benedict founded the great [[Monte Cassino]] in 529.

[[File:Cloisters of Moissac Abbey.jpg|thumb|left|The [[cloister]]s of [[Moissac Abbey]] in France]]
Benedict pointed out in his rule stability, conversion of life and obedience as promises.<ref>''Concerning the disciple of those to be received as brethren'' in ''The Rule of Saint Benedict'', LVIII</ref> Obedience calls for the monk to obey Christ, as represented by the superior person of the monastery, which is an [[abbot]] or a [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|prior]]. Conversion of life means, generally, that the monk converts himself to the way of a monk, which is death to self and to the world and life to God and to his work. A monk is to be an instrument of God's work. Stability entails that the monk commit himself to the monastery for the remainder of his life, and so, upon death, will be buried at its cemetery. The vow of stability ''(stabilitas loci)'' is unique to Benedictines.

[[File:Jan Petr Molitor - Cistercian monks, murals Cistercian Abbey Osek.jpg|thumb|Fresco of Cistercian monks at the murals the murals of the Chapter house of Osek abbey in [[Bohemia]]]]
The [[solemn vows]] in other religious orders were eventually established as vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Poverty requires that they renounce any ownership of property or assets, except for items that were allowed to them by their superior (such as a [[religious habit|habit]], books etc.), and to live meekly, sharing whatever they might have with the poor. Chastity requires that since they were willing to dedicate their lives to God, they sacrificed the love between men and women and stay either virginal or chaste.

To become a monk, one first must be accepted by a community as a [[postulant]]. During the time of postulancy the man lives at the monastery to test his vocation, to get to know the community and the community to get to know him. If the postulant and the community agree that the postulant should become a [[novice]], he is received as such. At this time he is usually given the habit and a [[religious name]]. Both the community and the novice evaluate further whether the man is called to become a monk and he begins to participate more fully in the life of the community. As a postulant and [[novitiate|novice]], the man is free to leave the community at any time or the institute can dismiss him.<ref>CIC can. 653 §1</ref> Following the novitiate, which must last at least one canonical year (but not longer than two years) in the community of the novitiate<ref>CIC can. 648, §2,3</ref> the novice may profess first vows, if he is accepted to do so. After a few years (usually three) the monk makes [[solemn vow]]s, which are binding for life.
[[File:Chartreuse-de-la-Verne-Unterkunft.JPG|thumb|left|Monastic cell in the La Verne Charterhouse, now resettled by the [[Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno]]]]
The monastic life generally consists of prayer in the form of the [[Liturgy of the Hours]], also known as the Divine Office, reading of the divine scriptures (''[[lectio divina]]'') and labor. Among most religious orders, monks live in simple, austere rooms called [[monastic cell|cells]] and come together daily to celebrate and to recite the Liturgy of the Hours and the [[Conventual Mass|Mass]]. Usually, the monks take their meals together in the [[refectory]]. Many communities have a period of silence lasting from evening until the next morning and some others restrict talking to only when it is necessary for the monks to perform their work and during weekly recreation.

Monks who have been or will be [[Ordination#Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches|ordained]] into [[Holy Orders]] as [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|priests]] or [[deacons]] were traditionally referred to as "choir monks". Those monks who are not ordained into Holy Orders are referred to as [[lay brothers]]. In most monastic communities today, little distinction exists between the lay brothers and the choir monks, as they all have the obligation to celebrate the entire Divine Office daily in [[Choir (architecture)|choir]]. However, historically, the roles of the two groups of monks within the monastery differed. The work of the choir monks was considered to be prayer, chanting the hours of the Divine Office, whereas the lay brothers provided for the material needs of the community by growing food, preparing meals, maintaining the monastery and the grounds. This distinction arose historically because generally those monks who could read [[Latin]] typically became choir monks, while those monks who were illiterate or could not read Latin became lay brothers. The lay brothers would instead recite at least some of the liturgical hours prayers such as the [[Lord's Prayer]] or the [[Hail Mary]]. Since the [[Second Vatican Council]], the distinction between choir monks and lay brothers has been deemphasized, as the council allowed the Liturgy of the Hours to be celebrated in the vernacular language, effectively opening participation to all of the monks.

Within western monasticism, it is important to differentiate between monks and [[friars]]. Monks generally live a contemplative life of prayer confined within a monastery while friars usually engage in an active ministry of service to the outside community. The monastic orders include all [[Benedictines]] (the [[Order of Saint Benedict]] and its later reforms including the [[Cistercians]] and the [[Trappists]]) and the [[Carthusian]]s, who live according to their own statutes. Orders of friars include the [[mendicant orders]] (primarily [[Order of Friars Minor]], [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchins]], [[Order of Preachers|Dominicans]], [[Carmelites]], and [[Augustinians]]). Although the [[canons regular]] (such as the [[Norbertines]]) and the [[clerics regular]] (such as the [[Jesuits]]) live in community, they are neither monks nor friars as they are characterized by their [[cleric|clerical state]] and not by any monastic vows.

====Lutheranism====
:''Further: [[Template:Lutheran orders|Lutheran religious orders]]''
[[File:Kloster Loccum.jpg|thumb|left|[[Loccum Abbey]] continued as a Lutheran monastery since the 16th century A.D.]]
[[Loccum Abbey]] and [[Amelungsborn Abbey]] have the longest traditions as Lutheran monasteries; after the Reformation, many monasteries and [[convent]]s were received into the Lutheran Church and continued religious life, existing to this day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medievalhistories.com/kloster-ebstorf-convent-bad-bevensen-near-luneburg/|title=Kloster Ebstorf|work=Medieval Histories |date=8 August 2014|language=en|access-date=20 November 2017|quote=The monastery is mentioned for the first time in 1197. It belongs to the group of so-called Lüneklöstern (monasteries of Lüne), which became Lutheran convents following the Protestant Reformation. […] It is currently one of several Lutheran convents maintained by the Monastic Chamber of Hanover (Klosterkammer Hannover), an institution of the former Kingdom of Hanover founded by its Prince-Regent, later King George IV of the United Kingdom, in 1818, in order to manage and preserve the estates of Lutheran convents. |last1=Histories |first1=Medieval }}</ref>

Since the 19th and 20th century, there has been a renewal in the monastic life among Lutheranism. Lutheran religious orders in the Franciscan, Benedictine and other traditions exist, with some Lutheran monasteries having [[third order]]s and accepting [[oblate]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ev. Oblates of St. Benedict |url=http://www.lutheranmountaineer.org/oblates/ |publisher=Lutheran Campus Ministry at WVU |access-date=28 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://icdb.org/show.php?r=osb&PHPSESSID=8ed75cc0dbee7b113b0e220ce70deacd |access-date=2010-01-13 |title=Order of Saint Benedict |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726165008/http://icdb.org/show.php?r=osb&PHPSESSID=8ed75cc0dbee7b113b0e220ce70deacd |archive-date=2011-07-26}}</ref>

In American Lutheran traditions, "The Congregation of the Servants of Christ" was established at St. Augustine's House in [[Oxford, Michigan]], in 1958 when some other men joined Father [[Arthur Kreinheder]] in observing the monastic life and offices of prayer. These men and others came and went over the years. The community has always remained small; at times the only member was Father Arthur.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070604192849/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,829997,00.html The Lonely Lutheran Monk], [[Time (magazine)|TIME Magazine]] (March 1, 1963). Retrieved 13-01-10.</ref> During the 35 years of its existence over 25 men tested their vocations to monastic life by living at the house for some time, from a few months to many years, but at Father Arthur's death in 1989 only one permanent resident remained. At the beginning of 2006, there was 2 permanent professed members and 2 long-term guests. Strong ties remain with this community and their brothers in Sweden ([[Östanbäck monastery]]) and in Germany ([[Priory of St. Wigbert]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.staugustineshouse.org/|title=Staugustineshouse.org}}</ref>

There is also the [[Order of Lutheran Franciscans]], a religious community of friars and sisters within the tradition of the [[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]].

====Anglicanism====
{{Further|Anglican religious order}}
Monastic life in [[England]] came to an abrupt end when [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]] broke from the [[Catholic Church]] and made himself the [[Supreme Governor of the Church of England|head]] of the [[Church of England]]. He initiated the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]], during which all of the [[monastery|monasteries]] within [[England]] were destroyed. A large number of monks were executed. Others fled to continental [[Europe]]an monasteries where they were able to continue their monastic life.

Shortly after the beginning of the [[Anglo-Catholicism|Anglo-Catholic Movement]] in the Church of England, there was felt to be a need for a restoration of the monastic life. In the 1840s, the then Anglican priest and future Catholic Cardinal [[John Henry Newman]] established a community of men at [[Littlemore]] near [[Oxford]]. From then on, there have been established many communities of monks, [[friar]]s and other religious communities for men in the [[Anglican Communion]]. There are Anglican [[Benedictine]]s, [[Franciscan]]s, [[Cistercian]]s,<ref>[http://www.trushare.com/0200%20January%202012/29%20cistercian_revival_in_the_church.htm The founding of the Anglican Cistercian Association is fully reported here].</ref> and in the [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal Church]] in the United States, [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]]. There are also uniquely Anglican monastic orders such as the [[Society of Saint John the Evangelist]] and the [[Community of the Resurrection]] at [[College of the Resurrection|Mirfield]].

Some Anglican religious communities are contemplative, some active, but a distinguishing feature of the monastic life among Anglicans is that most practice the so-called "mixed life". Anglican monks recite the Divine Office in choir daily, either the full eight services of the [[Breviary]] or the four offices found in the [[Book of Common Prayer]] and celebrate the [[Eucharist]] daily. Many orders take on external works such as service to the poor, giving religious retreats, or other active ministries within their immediate communities. Like Catholic monks, Anglican monks also take the monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

In the early 20th century when the [[Oxford Movement]] was at its height, the Anglican Communion had hundreds{{citation needed|date=October 2015}} of orders and communities and thousands of religious followers. However, since the 1960s there has been a sharp falling off in the numbers of religious in many parts of the Anglican Communion. Many once large and international communities have been reduced to a single convent or monastery composed of elderly men or women. In the last few decades of the 20th century, novices have for most communities been few and far between. Some orders and communities have already become extinct.

There are however, still several thousand Anglican monks working today in approximately 200 communities around the world. The most growth has been in the [[Melanesia]]n countries of the [[Solomon Islands]], [[Vanuatu]] and [[Papua New Guinea]]. The [[Melanesian Brotherhood]], founded at [[Tabalia]], [[Guadalcanal]], in 1925 by [[Ini Kopuria]], is now the largest Anglican community in the world with over 450 brothers in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the [[Philippines]] and the [[United Kingdom]].

====Methodism====
The [[Saint Brigid of Kildare Monastery]] is a [[double monastery]] of the [[United Methodist Church]] rooted in the Benedictine tradition, being located in [[Collegeville, Minnesota]].<ref name="Lefevere">{{cite book|author=Patricia Lefevere|title=Methodist woman founds monastery|url=http://www.natcath.org/NCR_Online/archives/022103/022103v.htm|quote=St. Brigid’s oblate group has grown to 16 members since the dedication of the monastery on St. Brigid’s feast in 2000. Besides Stamps, it counts another 13 United Methodists, one Catholic and one Disciples of Christ member. The ages of group members range from 23 to 82. One-third of them are men; half are ordained. The community continues to grow.|publisher=[[National Catholic Reporter]]|access-date=27 July 2020|date=21 February 2003}}</ref> Besides monastic orders, the [[Order of Saint Luke]] is a dispersed religious order within Methodism, though being [[ecumenical]], it accepts believers of other Christian denominations.

====Reformed Christianity====
The Emmanuel Sisters is a [[convent]] of the [[Presbyterian Church in Cameroon]] that was founded by Magdaline Marie Handy.<ref name="Boyce2014"/> These nuns are engaged in prayer, teaching, and healthcare.<ref name="Boyce2014">{{cite web |last1=Boyce |first1=Sandy |title=A focus on Emmanuel Sisters, Cameroon |url=http://diakoniapresident.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-focus-on-emmanuel-sisters-cameroon.html |publisher=Diakonia |access-date=28 July 2020 |language=en |date=26 July 2014}}</ref>