The rise of monasticism within christianity assignment

Men went to live by themselves to pray, to renounce the wickedness of the present life, and to dedicate themselves to Christ. ” This gives a positive face to monasticism and at best it appears to be a worthy endeavor. The first monks were men given to an ascetic lifestyle of self-denial. Some scholars have said, “ It is the oldest form of Christian religious life which exists today. ” At best this statement seems to be at fought when the Bible in its entirety is surveyed. There is no doubt that the Bible encourages some ascetic practices but they are limited to certain activities and seasons of each individual life.

An example would be Jesus praying in the wilderness for forty days and then departing to carry out another aspect of His mission. One can also see several examples of believers in the book of Acts practicing short periods of time devoted to prayer. The Beginning of Christian Monasticism The beginnings of early monasticism were seen outside of the city of Alexandria. The Egyptian monks had humbly embraced a quiet life, living in the desert. Alexandria had become a very pagan place and monasticism was an escape from all the worldliness and hype of the day.

And for this very reason Protestantism is the end of the monastic life. ” One will see that monasticism brought about the positive result, resulting in the protestant reformation. The progress of monasticism gave men due time to study the Word of God, live without distractions in a solitary environment and progressively rise up and bring a revival of the truth. The question must arise as to who these early desert fathers are and the impact they have had must be explored. SST. ANTHONY The first monk to have a profound impact in shaping Christian monasticism was SST. Anthony.

Anthony is held in most cases as being the Father of Christian monasticism. Although he was a hermit, his impact is nothing short of being profound. Harmless records a letter written from Serration saying, “ that the death of Anthony tore everything apart, for Anthony was a man of much prayer to the point of praying for the whole world. ” For a man to been as a singular prayer warrior living in a life of asceticism and known in this way is profound as to how the church saw Him as a man. It was as if some people respected Him as divine although there is no evidence of this.

Pistachios is the one history exposes as the culprit of the Christian monastery. Pistachios saw the value of living a monastic life but saw it as a life to be lived with others. He valued the social aspect of humanity. Harmless points out that Pistachios was, “ an organizational Genius. ” Then, in 313, he visited the aged hermit Palermo, to learn from him the way to perfection. Palermo would teach and influence Pistachios in light of a deeper life into asceticism. In 325 Pistachios felt led to begin a monastery on Tenant Island.

In this monastery life would be social; the monks would be classified by rank. Chaff notes, “ Rigid vows were not yet enjoined. With spiritual exercises manual labor was united, agriculture, boat building, basket making, mat and coverlet weaving, by which the monks not only earned their own living, but also supported the poor and the sick. ” It is also seen in observing the contributions of Pistachios that he did not have an issue with women or men, He would go on and start a cloister of nuns.

VESUVIUS PONTIFIC Vesuvius Pontific began as a lecture in Basil and ultimately found his way to a few different monasteries for extended stays. Vesuvius was a monk and a writer and thinker. Beardsley observes, “ Vesuvius provided the most thorough theological and practical interpretation of the asceticism which lies behind the sayings of the desert fathers. And even goes further to promote what Buyer has said, “ His works on prayer and ascetic discipline have been truly foundational in the development of OTOH Eastern and Western Christian spirituality. Vesuvius promoted a total distance from the world and all things to practice the purpose of prayer, scholars have come together to investigate this and seen this at play in his writing, Vesuvius taught, “ a person praying must dispel all thoughts from his mind, since God cannot be identified with anything that is thought. ” It is believed that this is only made possible through a completely ascetic lifestyle lived out in a monastery. In the area of spiritual hunger Vesuvius taught, our soul desires different foods, then confine it to bread and water.

It can be seen that monasticism is very rigid in its teaching citing that even food can become a distraction to ones purist of truth. Harmless speaks of the danger that confronted Vesuvius, “ For Vesuvius, Acadia is a sort of restless boredom, a listlessness, and beneath that, discouragement. ” This indicates a boredom that can come upon a man and take him by surprise in the practice of an ascetic life. It’s something that arises out of seeking in vain repetition. Perhaps in Vesuvius mind it was because of the demons that come to attack the person living with in an ascetic community.

A good case could be made today that it was what begin in early monastic life that gave birth to the great Protestant reformation. Chaff notes, “ The influence of monasticism upon the world, from Anthony and Benedict to Luther and Loyola, is belly marked in all branches of the history of the church. Here, too, we must distinguish light and shade. ” Some have said it is impossible to survey the entirety of influence monasticism has had upon the Christian church, like all things there is the good and the bad.

It would do one Justice to read some of the work on the eight sins that Audacious wrote about, one could probably see those sins as prevalent as men came and went from the monasteries. Chaff says it best, “ It was Christianity in monasticism which has done all the good, and used this abnormal mode of life as a means for carrying forward its mission of love and peace. In proportion as monasticism was animated and controlled by the spirit of Christianity, it proved a blessing; while separated from it, it degenerated and became at fruitful source of evil. Early monasticism would be a portrait of hospitality as they would welcome in the traveling. CONCLUSION One could take Just a short glance at monasticism as it relates to Christianity and at first find it to be repulsive but if one was to dive into a complete study of the roots it laid down early on in Christian life, one would see that it is a world waiting to be discovered. As the writer of this paper has found that season of monastic practice an help one renew their spirit as the world is quieted and the Lord speaks.