Editing Monastery (section)

==Christianity==
{{Main|Christian monasticism}}
[[File:Poustevník v jeskyni - Lochotínský park Plzeň.jpg|thumb|''Hermit in the cave'' – Lochotín park in [[Plzeň]]]]

According to tradition, [[Christian monasticism]] began in [[Egypt]] with [[Anthony the Great]]. Originally, all Christian monks were [[hermit]]s seldom encountering other people.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goswami |first=Anita |date=2005 |title=Hermit to Cenobitic: A Study in Early Christian Monasticism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44145947 |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=66 |pages=1329–1335 |jstor=44145947 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref>

A transitional form of monasticism was later created by [[Saint Amun|Ammonas]] in which "solitary" monks lived close enough to one another to offer mutual support as well as gathering together on Sundays for common services.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brakke |first=David |date=2001 |title=The Making of Monastic Demonology: Three Ascetic Teachers on Withdrawal and Resistance |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3654409 |journal=Church History |volume=70 |issue=1 |pages=19–48 |doi=10.2307/3654409 |jstor=3654409 |issn=0009-6407}}</ref>

It was [[Pachomius the Great]] who developed the idea of [[cenobitic monasticism]]: having renunciates live together and worship together under the same roof. Some attribute his mode of communal living to the [[barracks]] of the [[Roman Army]] in which Pachomios served as a young man.<ref>Dunn, Marilyn. The Emergence of Monasticism: From the Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers, 2000. p. 29.</ref> Soon the Egyptian desert blossomed with monasteries, especially around Nitria ([[Wadi El Natrun]]), which was called the "Holy City". Estimates are that upwards of 50,000 monks lived in this area at any one time.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}} Eremetism never died out though, but was reserved only for those advanced monks who had worked out their problems within a cenobitic monastery.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

The idea caught on, and other places followed:
* Upon his return from the [[Council of Serdica]], [[Athanasius of Alexandria]] established [[Monastery of Saint Athanasius|the first Christian monastery in Europe]] circa 344 near modern-day [[Chirpan]] in [[Bulgaria]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liternet.bg/publish10/eshopova/manastiryt.htm|title=Манастирът в с. Златна Ливада – най-старият в Европа|publisher=LiterNet|language=bg|date=30 April 2004|access-date=18 May 2012}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=November 2024}}
* [[Mar Awgin]] founded a monastery on [[Mount Izla]] above [[Nusaybin]] in [[Mesopotamia]] (~350), and from this monastery the cenobitic tradition spread in Mesopotamia, [[Persia]], [[Armenia]], Georgia and even India and China.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
* [[Mar Saba]] organized the monks of the [[Judaean Desert]] in a monastery close to [[Bethlehem]] (483), and this is considered the mother of all monasteries of [[Eastern Orthodoxy]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
* [[Benedict of Nursia]] founded the monastery of [[Monte Cassino]] in Italy (529), which was the seed of [[Roman Catholic]] monasticism in general, and of the [[Order of Saint Benedict]] in particular.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
* The [[Carthusians]] were founded by [[Bruno of Cologne]] at the [[Grande Chartreuse]], from which the religious Order takes its name, in the eleventh century as an eremitical community, and remains the [[motherhouse]] of the Order.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
* [[Jerome]] and [[Paula of Rome]] decided to go and live a hermit's life in [[Bethlehem]] and founded several monasteries in the Holy Land. This way of life inspired the foundation of the [[Hieronymites]] in [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]]. The [[Monastery of Santa María del Parral]] in [[Segovia]] is the [[motherhouse]] of the Order.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

===Western Christianity===
[[File:Monte Cassino Abbey.jpg|thumb|left|[[Abbey]] of [[Monte Cassino]], originally built by [[Benedict of Nursia]], shown here as rebuilt after World War&nbsp;II]]
In the [[Western Christianity|Western Christian Church]], the life of prayer and communal living was one of rigorous schedules and self-sacrifice. Prayer was their work, and the Office prayers took up much of a monk's waking hours – [[Matins]], [[Lauds]], [[Prime (liturgy)|Prime]], [[Terce]], daily Mass, [[Sext]], [[None (liturgy)|None]], [[Vespers]], and [[Compline]]. In between prayers, monks were allowed to sit in the cloister and work on their projects of writing, copying, or decorating books. These would have been assigned based on a monk's abilities and interests. The non-scholastic types were assigned to physical labour of varying degrees.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

The main meal of the day took place around noon, often taken at a [[refectory table]], and consisted of the most simple and bland foods e.g.,&nbsp;poached fish, boiled oats. While they ate, scripture would be read from a pulpit above them. Since no other words were allowed to be spoken, monks developed communicative gestures. Abbots and notable guests were honoured with a seat at the high table, while everyone else sat perpendicular to that in the order of seniority. This practice remained when some monasteries became universities after the first millennium, and can still be seen at [[Oxford University]] and [[Cambridge University]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

Monasteries were important contributors to the surrounding community. They were centres of intellectual progression and education. They welcomed aspiring priests to come and study and learn, allowing them even to challenge doctrine in dialogue with superiors. The earliest forms of [[musical notation]] are attributed to a monk named [[Notker of St Gall]], and was spread to musicians throughout [[Europe]] by way of the interconnected monasteries. Since monasteries offered respite for weary [[pilgrim]] travellers, monks were obligated also to care for their injuries or emotional needs. Over time, lay people started to make [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimages]] ''to'' monasteries instead of just using them as a stopover. By this time, they had sizeable libraries that attracted learned tourists. Families would donate a son in return for blessings. During the [[Plague (disease)|plague]]s, monks helped to till the fields and provide food for the sick.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

A Warming House is a common part of a [[medieval]] monastery, where monks went to warm themselves. It was often the only room in the monastery where a fire was lit.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

====Catholic====
[[File:Mont-Saint-Michel vu du ciel.jpg|thumb|Mont-Saint-Michel vu du ciel]]
[[File:Henrykow former Cistercian abbey 2019 P05 aerial view.jpg|thumb|[[Cistercian Monastery Complex in Henryków]].]]
[[File:595viki Lubiąż. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg|thumb|[[Lubiąż Abbey]].]]
[[File:Krzeszow 03.jpg|thumb|[[Krzeszów Abbey]].]]

A number of distinct [[monastic order]]s developed within Roman Catholicism:

* [[Camaldolese]] monks
* [[Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross]], priests and brothers, all of whom live together like monks according to the [[Rule of St. Augustine]];
* [[Hermits of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel|Carmelite hermits]] and [[Carmelites|Carmelite nuns]] (from the Ancient Observance and [[Discalced Carmelites|Discalced branch]]);
* [[Cistercians|Cistercian Order]], with monks and nuns (both of the Original Observance and of the [[Trappist]] reform);
* [[Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno|Monks and Sisters of Bethlehem]]
* [[Minim (religious order)|Order of Minims]], founded by [[Francis of Paola]]
* [[Order of Saint Benedict]], known as the Benedictine monks and nuns, founded by [[Benedict of Nursia]] with [[Scholastica]], stresses manual labour in self-subsistent monasteries. See also: [[Cluniac Reforms]];
* [[Poor Clares|Order of Saint Claire]], best known as the Poor Clares (of all the observances);
* [[Hieronymites|Order of Saint Jerome]], inspired by [[Jerome]] and [[Paula of Rome]], known as the Hieronymite monks and nuns;
* [[Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit]], known as the Pauline Fathers;
* [[Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary]], also known as Sisters of the Annunciation or Annociades, founded by [[Joan of France, Duchess of Berry|Joan of France]];
* [[Carthusians|Order of the Carthusians]], a hermitical religious order founded by [[Bruno of Cologne]];
* [[Order of the Immaculate Conception]], also known as the Conceptionists, founded by [[Beatrice of Silva]];
* [[Order of the Most Holy Annunciation]], also known as Turchine Nuns or Blue Nuns, founded by [[Maria Vittoria De Fornari Strata]];
* [[Bridgettines|Order of the Most Holy Savior]], known as Bridgettine nuns and monks, founded by [[Bridget of Sweden]];
* [[Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary]], known as the Visitandine nuns, founded by [[Francis de Sales]] and [[Jane Frances de Chantal]];
* [[Passionist]]s
* [[Premonstratensian|Premonstratensian canons]] ("The White Canons")
* [[Tironensian|Tironensian monks]] ("The Grey Monks")
* [[Valliscaulian|Valliscaulian monks]]

While in English most [[mendicant Order]]s use the monastic terms of monastery or [[priory]], in the [[Romance languages|Latin languages]], the term used by the [[friar]]s for their houses is [[convent]], from the [[Latin language|Latin]] ''conventus'', e.g.,&nbsp;({{langx|it|convento}}) or ({{langx|fr|couvent}}), meaning "gathering place". The [[Franciscans]] rarely use the term "monastery" at present, preferring to call their house a "friary". {{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

====Lutheran====
After the foundation of the [[Lutheran Church]]es, some monasteries in Lutheran lands (such as [[Amelungsborn Abbey]] near [[Negenborn]] and [[Loccum Abbey]] in [[Rehburg-Loccum]]) and convents (such as [[Ebstorf Abbey]] near the town of [[Uelzen]] and [[Bursfelde Abbey]] in [[Bursfelde]]) adopted the Lutheran Christian faith.<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>

In 1947 Mother [[Basilea Schlink]] and Mother Martyria founded the [[Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary]], in [[Darmstadt, Germany]]. 

In 1948, [[Bavaria]]n Lutheran priest Walter Hümmer and his wife Hanna founded the [[Communität Christusbruderschaft Selbitz]].

In 1958, [[Arthur Kreinheder]] established The Congregation of the Servants of Christ at St. Augustine's House in [[Oxford, Michigan]]. It is a Lutheran monastery in the Benedictine tradition.<ref name="Fischer1990">{{cite book |last1=Fischer |first1=Linda Kristine |title=The Geography of Protestant Monasticism |date=1990 |publisher=University of Minnesota |page=274 |language=English}}</ref> Strong ties remain with this community and their brothers in Sweden ([[Östanbäck Monastery]]) and in Germany the ([[Priory of St. Wigbert]]).<ref>[http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/klostren/OSTANENG.htm Östanbäck monastery] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813114047/http://www.svenskakyrkan.se/klostren/OSTANENG.htm |date=13 August 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wigberti.de/ |title=Priorat St. Wigberti: Unser Kloster |access-date=29 August 2011 |archive-date=27 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110827033038/http://www.wigberti.de/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

In Germany, [[Communität Casteller Ring]] is a Benedictine Lutheran community for women.<ref>[http://www.schwanberg.de/index.php/communitaet-casteller-ring-ev.html Communität Casteller Ring] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911174924/http://www.schwanberg.de/index.php/communitaet-casteller-ring-ev.html |date=11 September 2011 }}</ref>

===Anglican===
In the 19th-century monasticism was revived in the [[Church of England]], leading to the foundation of such institutions as the [[House of the Resurrection]], [[Mirfield]] ([[Community of the Resurrection]]), [[Nashdom Abbey]] ([[Benedictine]]), [[Cleeve Priory]] ([[Community of the Glorious Ascension]]) and [[Ewell Monastery]] ([[Cistercian]]), [[Benedictine]] orders, [[Franciscan]] orders and the Orders of the Holy Cross, Order of St.&nbsp;Helena.

=== Eastern Orthodox ===
<!-- This section is linked from [[Canonical hours]] -->
{{main|Eastern Christian monasticism|Degrees of Eastern Orthodox monasticism}} 

[[File:Meteora Monastery - panoramio (1).jpg|thumb|The [[Monastery of Varlaam]] in [[Meteora]], Thessaly, Greece.]]
[[File:Athos 13.jpg|thumb|[[Mount Athos]].]]

In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and [[Eastern Catholic Church]], both monks and nuns follow a similar [[ascetic]] discipline, and even their [[religious habit]] is the same (though nuns wear an extra veil, called the ''[[apostolnik]]''). Unlike [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] monasticism, the Eastern Orthodox do not have distinct religious orders, but a single monastic form throughout the Eastern Orthodox Church. Monastics, male or female, live away from the world, in order to pray for the world.

Monasteries vary from the very large to the very small. There are three types of monastic houses in the Eastern Orthodox Church:
* A [[cenobium]] is a monastic community where monks live together, work together, and pray together, following the directions of an abbot and the elder monks. The concept of the cenobitic life is that when many men (or women) live together in a monastic context, like rocks with sharp edges, their "sharpness" becomes worn away and they become smooth and polished. The largest monasteries can hold many thousands of monks and are called ''[[lavra]]s''. In the cenobium the [[daily office]], work and meals are all done in common.
* A [[skete]] is a small monastic establishment that usually consist of one elder and two or three disciples. In the skete most prayer and work are done in private, coming together on Sundays and [[feast day]]s. Thus, skete life has elements of both solitude and community, and for this reason is called the "middle way".
* A [[hermit]] is a monk who practises asceticism but lives in solitude rather than in a monastic community.

One of the great centres of Eastern Orthodox monasticism is [[Mount Athos]] in [[Greece]], which, like [[Vatican City]], is self-governing. It is located on an isolated peninsula approximately {{convert|20|mi|km}} long and {{convert|5|mi|km}} wide, and is administered by the heads of the 20 monasteries. Today the population of the Holy Mountain is around 2,200 men only and can only be visited by men with special permission granted by both the Greek government and the government of the Holy Mountain itself.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

===Oriental Orthodox===
[[File:Haghpat monastery 04.JPG|thumb|[[Haghpat Monastery]], Armenia]]
[[File:Betremariam Monastery (Tana) Entrance.jpg|thumb|Betremariam Monastery (Tana) Entrance]]

The [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox]] churches, distinguished by their [[Miaphysitism|Miaphysite]] beliefs, consist of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]], [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]] (whose Patriarch is considered first among equals for the following churches), [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church]], [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church]], [[Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church|Indian Orthodox Church]], and [[Syriac Orthodox Church]] of Antioch.

The monasteries of St. Macarius (''[[Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great|Deir Abu Makaria]]'') and St. Anthony (''[[Monastery of Saint Anthony|Deir Mar Antonios]]'') are the oldest monasteries in the world and under the patronage of the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Slackman |first=Michael |date=2005-09-29 |title=In Egyptian desert, cells of earliest monks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/29/world/africa/in-egyptian-desert-cells-of-earliest-monks.html |access-date=2024-05-04 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Others===
The last years of the 18th&nbsp;century marked in the Christian Church the beginnings of growth of monasticism among [[Protestant]] denominations. The center of this movement was in the United States and Canada beginning with the [[Shakers|Shaker]] Church, which was founded in England and then moved to the United States. In the 19th&nbsp;century many of these monastic societies were founded as Utopian communities based on the monastic model in many cases. Aside from the Shakers, there were the [[Amana Colonies]], the [[Anabaptist]]s, and others. Many did allow marriage but most had a policy of [[celibacy]] and communal life in which members shared all things communally and disavowed personal ownership.

Among [[Conservative Anabaptists]] are the [[Bruderhof Communities]], which have experienced extensive growth around the world.

Other Protestant Christian denominations also engage in monasticism, including other [[Reformed Christianity|Reformed]] (Continental Reformed, Presbyterian and Congregationalist) denominations. In the 1960s, experimental monastic groups were formed in which both men and women were members of the same house and also were permitted to be married and have children{{snd}}these were operated on a communal form.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

=== Trends ===

There is a growing Christian [[New Monasticism|neo-monasticism]], particularly among evangelical Christians.<ref>Bill Tenny-Brittian, ''Hitchhiker's Guide to Evangelism'', p. 134 (Chalice Press, 2008). {{ISBN|978-0-8272-1454-5}}</ref>