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EARLY CHRISTIAN MONKS AND ASCETICS
Saint Anthony
Monks are males who voluntarily retreat into solitary life or a communal life with other monks in order to achieve communion with God. They often make a vow of poverty, obedience and chastity and follow a strict set of rules. The 10th century theologian Symeon wrote: "He who is a monk walks forever with God alone." The goal of every monk as St. Paul put it is to "pay without ceasing" even during times of rest when the body may be asleep but the "heart is awake." The word "monk" comes from the Latin word “monachus” , meaning "one who lives alone." The first monks were ascetics, some of whom lived for years in caves on nothing but bread and water. Over time, monks became men organized into religious communities where everyone was equal, but were led by abbots (monk leaders) and then priors.
Ascetic sects arose in early days of Christianity. They made vows of poverty, obedience and chastity and headed to the deserts of Egypt to seek solitude and communion with God. Some lived for years in caves on nothing but bread and water. The most famous of these hermits was Paul of Thebes who reportedly lived for 112 years in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The word “hermit” is derived from the Greek word “eremites” , meaning “desert dweller.”
The “desert fathers.” who lived hermetic lives in caves of Egypt in the early centuries of Christianity laid the ground work for monks and nuns with their vows of celibacy and poverty. Modern studies of self-inflicted suffering in religious observances suggests there are two main purposes: 1) to gain mastery over some perceived weakness or fault, such as lust and desire; and 2) induce a trance-like state that is believed to bring one closer to the divine.
From Egypt monasticism spread to Syria and Asia Minor.Around 360, St. Basil established a great monastery near Neo-Caesarea in Pontus on the Black Sea. Later, from Egypt and Asia Minor monasticism spread to Italy and then parts of the European continent and Britain and Ireland. Over time some monasteries became quite wealthy: they owned huge amounts of land and even had armies of soldier monks to protects them.
Books: “The Frontiers of Paradise: A Study of Monks and Monasteries” by Peter Lev (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
Websites and Resources on Christianity BBC on Christianity bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity ; Candida Moss at the Daily Beast Daily Beast Christian Answers christiananswers.net ; Christian Classics Ethereal Library www.ccel.org ; Sacred Texts website sacred-texts.com ; Internet Medieval Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Saints and Their Legends: A Selection of Saints libmma.contentdm ; Lives of the Saints - Orthodox Church in America oca.org/saints/lives ; Lives of the Saints: Catholic.org catholicism.org ; Early Christianity: PBS Frontline, From Jesus to Christ, The First Christians pbs.org ; Elaine Pagels website elaine-pagels.com ; Sacred Texts website sacred-texts.com ; Gnostic Society Library gnosis.org ; Guide to Early Church Documents iclnet.org; Early Christian Writing earlychristianwritings.com ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Christian Origins sourcebooks.fordham.edu ;
Egypt — the Birthplace of Christian Monasticism
Candida Moss wrote in the Daily Beast: Egypt is the birthplace of monasticism. Beginning in the third and fourth centuries, Christians began to yearn for a more austere and holy existence where they could be closer to God. Their solution was to flee to the desert. One of the first—and certainly the most influential—of these was St. Anthony, whose biography inspired many wealthy young men to leave behind their lives of privilege. Hermetic or anchorite monks would shelter in natural caves, survive on minimal amounts of food, spend their days in prayer and spiritual battles with demons, and, for those who were semi-hermetical (‘half-hermits’), often only congregate for religious worship. [Source: Candida Moss, Daily Beast, August 11, 2018]
Over time, more organized forms of monasticism developed, again in Egypt. Coenobitic monasticism, that is living in communities, began in Egypt under the influence of founding figure Pachomius. A former follower of Anthony’s, Pachomius went on to found his own monastery and it was here that the first rules to govern community living were developed. Both St. Benedict and Friar Tuck are the heirs of Pachomius.
Ancient Christians were intrigued and curious about the monks and would visit the hermits looking for inspiration. Dr. Christine Luckritz Marquis, a professor of Church History at Union Presbyterian Seminary, told me that “Most pilgrims, whether to important sites or to visit monks, only traveled locally or regionally” and that “the impetus for the travel often might influence how far one was willing to journey. Those who traveled further did so either out of great need (illness not cured by the local saints or monks), deep religious devotion (visits of monks to other monks), or because of access to wealth.”
Philo on 1st Century Ascetics in Egypt
In the A.D. 1st century, Philo of Alexandria wrote: “I. Having mentioned the Essenes, who in all respects selected for their admiration and for their especial adoption the practical course of life, and who excel in all, or what perhaps may be a less unpopular and invidious thing to say, in most of its parts, I will now proceed, in the regular order of my subject, to speak of those who have embraced the speculative life, and I will say what appears to me to be desirable to be said on the subject, not drawing any fictitious statements from my own head for the sake of improving the appearance of that side of the question which nearly all poets and essayists are much accustomed to do in the scarcity of good actions to extol, but with the greatest simplicity adhering strictly to the truth itself, to which I know well that even the most eloquent men do not keep close in their speeches. [Source: Philo of Alexandria, Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co., 1907), Vol. III: The Roman World, pp. 355-369, sourcebooks.fordham.edu */]
“Nevertheless we must make the endeavor and labor to attain to this virtue; for it is not right that the greatness of the virtue of the men should be a cause of silence to those who do not think it right that anything which is creditable should be suppressed in silence; but the deliberate intention of the philosopher is at once displayed from the appellation given to them: for with strict regard to etymology, they are called therapeutae and therapeutrides, either because they profess an art of medicine more excellent than that in general use in cities (for that only heals bodies, but the other heals souls which are under the mastery of terrible and almost incurable diseases, which pleasures and appetites, fears and griefs, and covetousness, and follies, and injustice, and all the rest of the innumerable multitude of other passions and vices, have inflicted upon them), or else because they have been instructed by nature and the sacred laws to serve the living God, who is superior to the good, and more simple than the one, and more ancient than the unity with whom, however, who is there of those who profess piety that we can possibly compare? Can we compare those who honor the elements, earth, water, air, and fire? to whom different nations have given names, calling fire Hephaestus, I imagine because of its kindling, and the air Hera, I imagine because of its being raised up, and raised aloft to a great height, and water Poseidon, probably because of its being drinkable, and the earth Demeter because it appears to be the mother of all plants and of all animals. */
“II. But since these men infect not only their fellow countrymen, but all that come near them with folly, let them remain uncovered, being mutilated in the most indispensable of all the outward senses, namely, sight. I am speaking here, not of the sight of the body, but of that of the soul, by which alone truth and falsehood are distinguished from one another. But the therapeutic sect of mankind, being continually taught to see without interruption, may well aim at obtaining a sight of the living God, and may pass by the sun, which is visible to the outward sense, and never leave this order which conducts to perfect happiness. But they who apply themselves to this kind of worship, not because they are influenced to do so by custom, nor by the advice or recommendation of any particular persons, but because they are carried away by a certain heavenly love, give way to enthusiasm, behaving like so many revelers in bacchanalian or corybantian mysteries, until they see the object which they have been earnestly desiring. */
“Then, because of their anxious desire for an immortal and blessed existence, thinking that their mortal life has already come to an end, they leave their possessions to their sons or daughters, or perhaps to other relations, giving them up their inheritance with willing cheerfulness: and those who know no relations give their property to their companions or friends, for it followed of necessity that those who have acquired the wealth which sees, as if ready prepared for them, should be willing to surrender that wealth which is blind to those who themselves also are still blind in their minds. */
John the Baptist in the Desert
“When, therefore, men abandon their property without being influenced by any predominant attraction, they flee without even turning their heads back again, deserting their brethren, their children, their wives, their parents, their numerous families, their affectionate bands of companions, their native lands in which they have been born and brought up, though long familiarity is a most attractive bond, and one very well able to allure any one. And they depart, not to another city as those do who entreat to be purchased from those who at present possess them, being either unfortunate or else worthless servants, and as such seeking a change of masters rather than endeavoring to procure freedom (for every city, even that which is under the happiest laws, is full of indescribable tumults, and disorders, and calamities, which no one would submit to who had been even for a moment under the influence of wisdom), but they take up their abode outside of walls, or gardens, or solitary lands, seeking for a desert place, not because of any ill-natured misanthropy to which they have learned to devote themselves, but because of the associations with people of wholly dissimilar dispositions to which they would otherwise be compelled, and which they know to be unprofitable and mischievous. */
“III. Now this class of persons may be met with in many places, for it was fitting that both Greece and the country of the barbarians should partake of whatever is perfectly good; and there is the greatest number of such men in Egypt, in every one of the districts, or nomes, as they are called, and especially around Alexandria; and from all quarters those who are the best of these therapeutae proceed on their pilgrimage to some most suitable place as if it were their country, which is beyond the Maereotic lake, lying in a somewhat level plain a little raised above the rest, being suitable for their purpose by reason of its safety and also of the fine temperature of the air. */
Houses of 1st Century Ascetics in Egypt
Philo of Alexandria wrote: “For the houses built in the fields and the villages which surround it on all sides give it safety; and the admirable temperature of the air proceeds from the continual breezes which come from the lake which falls into the sea, and also from the sea itself in the neighborhood, the breezes from the sea being light, and those which proceed from the lake which falls into the sea being heavy, the mixture of which produces a most healthy atmosphere. [Source: Philo of Alexandria, Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co., 1907), Vol. III: The Roman World, pp. 355-369, sourcebooks.fordham.edu */]
Monestary of Saint Anthony, the oldest part dates to AD 256
“But the houses of these men thus congregated together are very plain, just giving shelter in respect of the two things most important to be provided against, the heat of the sun, and the cold from the open air; and they did not live near to one another as men do in cities, for immediate neighborhood to others would be a troublesome and unpleasant thing to men who have conceived an admiration for, and have determined to devote themselves to, solitude; and, on the other hand, they did not live very far from one another on account of the fellowship which they desire to cultivate, and because of the desirableness of being able to assist one another if they should be attacked by robbers. */
“And in every house there is a sacred shrine which is called the holy place, and the house in which they retire by themselves and perform all the mysteries of a holy life, bringing in nothing, neither meat, nor drink, nor anything else which is indispensable towards supplying the necessities of the body, but studying in that place the laws and the sacred oracles of God enunciated by the holy prophets, and hymns, and psalms, and all kinds of other things by reason of which knowledge and piety are increased and brought to perfection. */
“And there are two kinds of covering, one raiment and the other a house: we have already spoken of their houses, that they are not decorated with any ornaments, but run up in a hurry, being only made to answer such purposes as are absolutely necessary; and in like manner their raiment is of the most ordinary description, just stout enough to ward off cold and heat, being a cloak of some shaggy hide for winter, and a thin mantle or linen shawl in the summer; for in short they practice entire simplicity, looking upon falsehood as the foundation of pride, but truth is the origin of simplicity, and upon truth and falsehood as standing in the light of fountains, for from falsehood proceeds every variety of evil and wickedness, and from truth there flows every imaginable abundance of good things both human and divine. */
Practices of Pre-Christian Ascetics in Egypt
Philo of Alexandria wrote: “Therefore they always retain an imperishable recollection of God, so that not even in their dreams is any other subject ever presented to their eyes except the beauty of the divine virtues and of the divine powers. Therefore many persons speak in their sleep, divulging and publishing the celebrated doctrines of the sacred philosophy. And they are accustomed to pray twice a day, at morning and at evening; when the sun is rising entreating God that the happiness of the coming day may be real happiness, so that their minds may be filled with heavenly light, and when the sun is setting they pray that their soul, being entirely lightened and relieved of the burden of the outward senses, and of the appropriate object of these outward senses, may be able to trace out trust existing in its own consistory and council chamber. And the interval between morning and evening is by them devoted wholly to meditation on and to practice virtue, for they take up the sacred scriptures and philosophy concerning them, investigating the allegories as symbols of some secret meaning of nature, intended to be conveyed in those figurative expressions. [Source: Philo of Alexandria, Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co., 1907), Vol. III: The Roman World, pp. 355-369, sourcebooks.fordham.edu */]
“They have also writings of ancient men, who having been the founders of one sect or another, have left behind them many memorials of the allegorical system of writing and explanation, whom they take as a kind of model, and imitate the general fashion of their sect; so that they do not occupy themselves solely in contemplation, but they likewise compose psalms and hymns to God in every kind of meter and melody imaginable, which they of necessity arrange in more dignified rhythm. Therefore, during six days, each of these individuals, retiring into solitude by himself, philosophizes by himself in one of the places called monasteries, never going outside the threshold of the outer court, and indeed never even looking out. */
Gathering of desert fathers
Gatherings of 1st Century Ascetics in Egypt
Philo of Alexandria wrote:“But on the seventh day they all come together as if to meet in a sacred assembly, and they sit down in order according to their ages with all becoming gravity, keeping their hands inside their garments, having their right hand between their chest and their dress, and the left hand down by their side, close to their flank; and then the eldest of them who has the most profound learning in their doctrines comes forward and speaks with steadfast look and with steadfast voice, with great powers of reasoning, and great prudence, not making an exhibition of his oratorical powers like the rhetoricians of old, or the sophists of the present day, but investigating with great pains, and explaining with minute accuracy the precise meaning of the laws, which sits, not indeed at the tips of their ears, but penetrates through their hearing into the soul, and remains there lastingly; and all the rest listen in silence to the praises which he bestows upon the law, showing their assent only by nods of the head, or the eager look of the eyes.
“And this common holy place to which they all come together on the seventh day is a twofold circuit, being separated partly into the apartment of the men, and partly into a chamber for the women, for women also, in accordance with the usual fashion there, form a part of the audience, having the same feelings of admiration as the men, and having adopted the same sect with equal deliberation and decision; and the wall which is between the houses rises from the ground three or four cubits upwards, like a battlement, and the upper portion rises upwards to the roof without any opening. on two accounts; first of all, in order that the modesty which is so becoming to the female sex may be preserved, and secondly, that the women may be easily able to comprehend what is said, being seated within earshot, since there is then nothing which can possibly intercept the voice of him who is speaking. */
“IV. And these expounders of the law, having first of all laid down temperance as a sort of foundation for the soul to rest upon, proceed to build up other virtues on this foundation, and no one of them may take any meat or drink before the setting of the sun, since they judge that the work of philosophizing is one which is worthy of the light, but that the care of the necessities of the body is suitable only to darkness, on which account they appropriate the day to the one occupation, and a brief portion of the night to the other; and some men, in whom there is implanted a more fervent desire of knowledge, can endure to cherish a recollection of their food for three days without even tasting it, and some men are so delighted, and enjoy themselves so exceedingly when regaled by wisdom which supplies them with her doctrines in all possible wealth and abundance, that they can even hold out twice as great a length of time, and will scarcely at the end of six days taste even necessary food, being accustomed, as they say that grasshoppers are, to feed on air, their song as I imagine, making their scarcity tolerable to them. */
“And they, looking upon the seventh day as one of perfect holiness and a most complete festival, have thought it worthy of a most especial honor, and on it, after taking due care of their soul, they tend their bodies also, giving them, just as they do to their cattle, a complete rest from their continual labors; and they eat nothing of a costly character, but plain bread and a seasoning of salt, which the more luxurious of them do further season with hyssop; and their drink is water from the spring; for they oppose those feelings which nature has made mistresses of the human race, namely, hunger and thirst, giving them nothing to flatter or humor them, but only such useful things as it is not possible to exist without. On this account they eat only so far as not to be hungry, and they drink just enough to escape from thirst, avoiding all satiety, as an enemy of and a plotter against both soul and body.” */
Agape feast in the Catacombs of Domitilla
Saint Anthony, Pachomius and St. Basil
Saint Anthony is credited with launching the greatest monastic movement in religious history. A healer, sufferer, pioneer of monasticism in Christianity, he promulgated celibacy and asceticism and spent most of his life praying and fasting in the desert, where it was said he was tempted many times by the devil, who often appeared dressed as a woman. There is now an Anonite order of monks.
St. Anthony was born in Egypt in 251. Following the admonitions of Matthew, he sold all of his possession, gave his money to the poor so the at he could find the treasure of heaven. He fled to the deserts of Egypt, where he took up an austere life. Others followed his example and a monastic colony arose around his cave in the mountains. Since the Middle Age St. Anthony has been acknowledged as the patron saint of domestic animals. The day of the saint is celebrated with bonfires in communities across Spain.
Pachomius founded first true monastery on Tabenna, an island in Nile, in A.D. 340. The difference between the monks here and their predecessors is that the monks associated with one another and performed daily chores and work in the fields in addition to praying, reading the scriptures and meditating.
St. Basil (358-64) composed monastic rule and is regarded as founder of the Christian monastic movement. Around 360, he established a great monastery near Neo-Caesarea in Pontus on the Black Sea and established the creed that a monk must not only live for himself but must also help his fellow man. He discouraged extreme asterism and established schools, hospitals, hospices and orphanages in conjunction with his monasteries.
Cassiodorus was a 6th century monk who established a monastery called the Vivarium and insisted that making books was an essential part of a monk’s life.
Ancient Christian Monasteries in Egypt
Candida Moss wrote in the Daily Beast: Those who want to (temporarily) walk in Anthony’s footsteps can visit the Monastery of St. Anthony (for its wall paintings) and hike the 2-km climb up to the tiny cave in which he lived. For the full experience, be sure to take a copy of Thomas Merton’s Sayings of the Desert Fathers, a compendium of sayings attributed to these Christian hermits that is sure to both inspire the spiritual and intrigue the budding historian. If nothing else, you will be shocked by how infrequently these late antiquity heroes mention the Bible.
If St. Anthony’s cave in the Red Sea Mountain area is too far off the beaten path, there are four still-operating monasteries in Wadi El-Natrun, a short journey from Cairo. The wall paintings in the Monastery of the Syrians have been restored and all four monasteries can be strung together into a day trip. [Source: Candida Moss, Daily Beast, August 11, 2018]
If you can visit only one monastery however, it should probably be St. Catherine’s, in Sinai. An active Eastern Orthodox monastery to this day that is easily accessible from the tourist resorts at Sharm El-Sheik, St. Catherine’s contains a remarkable library that was the site of discovery of some of the world’s most significant and important Biblical manuscripts. It is located at the base of the sharp mountain that is believed to be the biblical Mt. Sinai.
St. Catherine's Monastery
St. Catherine's Monastery is the oldest Christian monastery the world and the oldest unrestored example of Byzantine architecture. Built in the 6th century under the Byzantine emperor Justinian in an area used by cave-dwelling Christian monks, it is a combination fortress and shrine, nestled in between the slopes of Mt. Sinai. It is the traditional site of the Burning Bush, where God spoke to Moses and told him to take the Israelites to the Promised Land. Among its visitors were Emperor Justinian and Ivan the Terrible of Russia. Some even said Mohammed came here.
Known officially as the Imperial Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai, St. Catherine’s occupies an area about the size of a city block and resembles a small town with paved streets, small courts and whitewashed buildings piled on top of one another. The buildings are constructed of granite quarried from Mt. Sinai and some its neighboring peaks. Some of the churches have domes and others have corrugated metal roofs.
The monastery's 10-meter (34-foot) -high, two-meter (six-foot) -thick granite walls were never breached. They have holes used for firing arrows. The main landmarks there include the Basilica Church (founded by Justinian in A.D. 527), the long narrow Refectory, the Library, a Fatimid-era mosque, a 72̊C sulfur spring known as the Pharaohs bath, the Chapel of arain, the Gabal Serbal pilgrimage sight, and the 1½-mile-long Moses chain. The skull room has piles of bones and skulls from dead monks.
See Separate Article: ST. CATHERINE MONASTERY: ITS HISTORY, SIGNIFICANCE, BUILDINGS, ICONS AND MANUSCRIPTS africame.factsanddetails.com
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Internet Medieval Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File); “ Encyclopedia of the World’s Religions” edited by R.C. Zaehner (Barnes & Noble Books, 1959); King James Version of the Bible, gutenberg.org; New International Version (NIV) of The Bible, biblegateway.com; Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ccel.org , Frontline, PBS, Wikipedia, BBC, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Live Science, Encyclopedia.com, Archaeology magazine, Reuters, Associated Press, Business Insider, AFP, Library of Congress, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.
Last updated March 2024