Transcript Roots of Monasticism

Roots of Monasticism
and the Rule of St
Benedict
Christian Monasticism
 Christianity began and spread as a city religion
 All-consuming materialism, gross sexual promiscuity, political
corruption, etc.
 Once the Christians figured out that they would be
around for a while, they realized that it would be
difficult to live the Christian life in the midst of the
decadence
 They rejected the values of Roman society
 Many religious believed that Roman clergy sacrificed
morality in exchange for wealth and prosperity
 “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself
and take up his cross and follow me” Mark 8:34
4th and 5th Centuries
 Christians went from being the persecuted
minority to the state-affiliated majority
 Martyrdom disappeared for the most part and a
new brand of it developed
 Extreme asceticism
 St Anthony of Egypt became the father of
monasticism
 Established Eremitical Monasticism
 He went to Alexandria during the last persecution to
strengthen the faith of the martyrs and probably to
be martyred himself but he survived
Eremitical Monasticism
 Small colonies of men and women who lived in the
desert as hermits
 No way to know for sure how many there were
because they wanted to have a hidden life known only
to God
 This was a break from the traditional view of religion as
an urban social existence
 Soon these monks and nuns were sought out as holy
people and spiritual guides
 Saint Pachomius in Egypt
 His sister Mary set a convent up in 320
Evolution of Monasticism
 As monasticism spread to Europe it was modified
because of cold winters which discouraged isolated
living
 Dense woods with wandering Teutonic tribes also
contributed to the adjustment
 Also, if hermits could communicate directly with god,
what good was the church and its priests?
 St Basil opposed eremitical life because it did not
provide the opportunity for charity, self-sufiecience was
impossible, it led to excessive individualism
 Saint Basil, Bishop of Caesaria established a rule that made
monasteries self-suffiecient
Coenobitic Monasticism
 Communal living in monasteries
 Experiments in Gaul, Italy, England, and
Ireland
 St. Martin of Tours established a monastery in Gaul
to convert pagan peasants
 In 540 the Roman Senator Cassiodorus retired
and built a monastery on his estate that was
intended to be a center of culture and learning
and had a scriptorium
 Monks copied both sacred and secular texts
 Developed into a lasting medieval tradition
St Benedict of Nursia
 Aristocratic Roman Family- well educated
 Experimented with both forms of monasticism
 Established a monastery in Monte Cassino
between Rome and Naples
 Created the Rule of St Benedict which became
the foundation for religious life in the Roman
Church
 Strict discipline and regulations
 Eliminated excessive individualism
 Spend the day in prayer- Opus Dei
The Rule
 Chanting and praying, manual labor, study
 Vows
 Stability- to prevent wandering
 Conversion of manners- improve oneself in order to be
closer to God
 Obedience- complete surrender of will to the abbot
 Reveal the Roman spirit in Christianity
 Logic, organization, law
 Egalitarian- “the abbot should avoid favoritism…. A
man born free is not to be given higher rank than a
slave who becomes a monk.”
Women and Monasticism
 Women took part in eremitical monasticism but
early monasteries were for men only
 Soon after convents were formed where the
brothers would be in charge of the material
needs of the community but couldn’t eat or
sleep there
 Double monasteries
 Beguines, anchorites, and anchoresses
Saint Augustine
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Profoundly influenced the course of western civilization
Born n North Africa and attended school at Carthage
Trying to find meaning in a world ridden by evil
First turns to Manichaeism but gives up and turns to
philosophy
 Inspired by the sermons of Saint Ambrose
 Wrote the City of God
 Response to the crisis of the Roman Empire like Plato’s Republic
was a response to the crisis of the Athenian polis
 The earthy city was the opposite of the heavenly city but
Christians cannot reject the earthly city
 The city that would rise out of the ruins of Rome would have to
based on Christian principles
 The Church must guide the state to protect its citizens from their
sinful nature
A New Worldview
 For Socrates, individuals could arrive at
standards of good and evil through reflection
 For Augustine, reason alone could not get us
there
 “to live according to oneself is sin”
 Reason was not the enemy of faith
 Faith and reason integrated with revelation was
the key to wisdom
 This sets up a new paradigm and gives the
church a new mission