'Eastern Christian Monasticism' is the life followed by
monks and
nuns of
Eastern Orthodoxy,
Oriental Orthodoxy and
Eastern Catholicism. Some authors will use the term "Basilian" to describe Eastern monks; however, this is incorrect, since the Eastern Church does not have
religious orders, as in the West, nor does Eastern monasticism have monastic Rules, as in the West.
History
Monasticism began in the East, and it is in the East that it continues to this day to have the strongest influence on the daily life of the local Christian communities.
The early Church
The mystical and other-worldly nature of the Christian message very early laid the groundwork for the ascetical life. The example of the
Old Testament Prophets, of
John the Baptist and of
Jesus himself, going into the wilderness to pray and fast set the example that was readily followed by the devout. In the
early Christian literature evidence is found of individuals who embraced lives of celibacy and mortification for the sake of the
Kingdom of Heaven, these individuals were not yet monks, as they had not renounced the world, but lived either in towns or near the outskirts of civilization. We also read of communities of virgins living a common life committed to celibacy and virtue. The accounts of some of these virgins are preserved in the
martyrologies of the day.
The Founders
The beginning of monasticism per-se comes right at the end of the
Great Persecution of
Diocletian, and the founder is
Saint Anthony the Great (
251 -
356). As a young man he heard the words of the
Gospel read in church: ''If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me'' (). St. Anthony was the first to leave the world and go to seek God in silence and seclusion in the Egyptian desert. Around him gathered many disciples, whom he guided in the spiritual life. These first monks were
anchorites, solitaries who battled temptation alone in the wilderness.
As time went on, monks began to congregate into closer communities.
Saint Pachomius (ca.
292 -
348) is regarded as the founder of
cenobitic monasticism, wherein all live the common life together in a single place under the direction of a single
Abbot The first such monastery was in
Tabennisi, Egypt.
Saint Theodore of Egypt, the principle disciple of St. Pachomius, succeeded him as head of the monastic community at Tabennisi. He would later go on to found a third type of monastic institution, the
skete, as a "middle road" between anchorites and cenobites. A skete is composed of individual monastic dwellings surrounding a common church. Each monk lives by himself, or with one or two others, coming together only on Sundays and
feast days. The rest of the time they spend working and praying alone.
On this threefold foundation all subsequent Christian monasticism was built.
Coptic monasticism
As the birthplace of monasticism, Egypt has continued the monastic tradition unbroken until the present day. After the
Council of Chalcedon, the
Alexandrian Patriarchate broke communion with those churches which accepted the council, and became what today is known as the
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Like the Byzantines, monasticism has continued to play a crucial role in the life of the church, and bishops are always chosen from among the ranks of monks. After the
Islamic invasion in
639, the Egyptian Christians found themselves dispossessed in their own land. However, despite persecutions and intense pressure to convert, Coptic monasticism has survived, and some of the most ancient monastic communities in the history of Christianity continue to be inhabited to this day. A number of Coptic monasteries have also been established in the
New World.
Ethiopia was one of the first nations to accept Christianity, officially converting in
341.
King Abreha became the first sovereign in the world to engrave the
Sign of the Cross on his
coins. From the year 341 it was subject to the Patriarch of Alexandria, gaining its independence only in
1959. The church is officially known as the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. In
480 the Nine Saints came from the Mediterranean world to establish Ethiopian monasticism which has continued to flourish despite wars and persecutions. Ancient and inaccessible monasteries are still occupied to this day throughout the Christian regions of the country. The Ethiopian Church also maintains monasteries in the
Holy Land, most notably one on the roof of the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem.
Syrian monasticism
The monastics of
Armenia,
Chaldea, and of the
Syrian countries in general were influenced by neither the ecclesiastical nor imperial authority of Byzantium, and continued those observances which were known among them from the time of St. Anthony.
Monasticism was very popular in early Syrian and Mesopotamian Christianity, and originally all monks and nuns there were hermits. But in about
350 Mar Awgin founded the first cenobitic monastery of Mesopotamia on Mt. Izla above the city of
Nisibis and monastic communities began to thrive.
Under pressure from their
Zoroastrian rulers, the
Synod of Beth Lapat in
484 declared that the teaching of
Nestorius was to be the official doctrine the
Assyrian Church of the East, and decreed that all monks and nuns should marry. This severely weakened the church and spiritual life declined. Some opponents to this decision left altogether and joined the newly-established
Monophysite church.
This decision was reverted in
553, and in
571 Abraham the Great of Kashkar founded a new monastery on Mt. Izla with strict rules. The third abbot of this monastery was his student
Babai the Great (
551 -
628). Babai finally drove out the married monks from Mt. Izla, and as "visitor of the monasteries of the north" ensured that the monastic ideal was taken seriously throughout northern Mesopotamia.
Syriac Orthodox Church
Armenian monasticism
In
301,
Armenia became the first sovereign nation to officially accept Christianity as a state religion.
[1] The
Armenian Apostolic Church eventually became a great defender of Armenian nationalism.
In
451 the Armenian church rejected the
Council of Chalcedon.
[2] and today is a part of the
Oriental Orthodox communion (not to be confused with the Eastern Orthodox communion). The first
Catholicos of the Armenian church was Saint
Gregory the Illuminator.
[3] St. Gregory soon withdrew to the desert to live as a hermit, and his youngest son, Aristakes, was ordained a Bishop and appointed head of the Armenian Church.
In the 5th century, the
Sassanid Shah
Yazdegerd II tried to impose the
Zoroastrian religion on his Christian Armenian subjects.
[4] As a result, a rebellion broke out with
Vartan Mamikonian as the leader of the rebels. Eventually, the Treaty of Nvarsak (
484), guaranteed religious freedom to the Armenians.
[5]
In
591, the great Byzantine warrior and Emperor
Maurice defeated the Persians and recovered much of the remaining territory of Armenia into the empire. The conquest was completed by the Emperor
Heraclius in
629.
In
645, the
Muslim Arab armies of the
Caliphate attacked the country, which fell before them. Armenia, which had at times been under the contol of its own rulers and at other times been under Persian and Byzantine control, now passed into the hands of the Caliphs.
After the fall of the kingdom in
1045, and the subsequent
Seljuk conquest of Armenia in
1064, the Armenians established a kingdom in
Cilicia, where they established cordial relations with the Europeans and prolonged their existence as an independent entity until
1375.
Greater Armenia was later divided between the
Ottoman Empire and
Imperial Russia. Armenians then suffered in the
genocide that was inflicted on them by the Ottomans. As a result, 1.5 million Armenians were killed, and the rest of the Western Armenians were dispersed throughout the world via
Syria and
Lebanon. Armenia, from then on corresponding to much of
Eastern Armenia, once again gained independence in
1918, with the establishment of the
Democratic Republic of Armenia, and then in
1991, with the
Republic of Armenia. Throughout the waxing and waning of the Armenian's political vicissitudes, monasticism remained a central aspect of their spiritual life.
The Armenian church has both married (secular) and monastic (celibate) clergy. Armenian monks follow much the same monastic tradition as the Coptics and Byzantines, but are much stricter in the matter of fasting. The novitiate lasts eight years. Interestingly, the abbot is often not a monk at all, but a married secular priest who leaves his office to his son by hereditary right.
A
Hieromonk, or celibate priest, declares a vow of celibacy the evening of the same day he is
ordained and is given a ''veghar'', a special head-cover, which symbolizes his renunciation of worldly things. A celibate priest is given the title of Monk (
Armenian: ''Abegha''). Upon successful completion and defense of a written thesis, on a topic of his choosing, the Monk receives the rank of
Archimandrite (''Vardapet''). This indicates that he is a “Doctor” of the Church and receives the right to carry the staff of an Archimandrite. A higher rank of Senior Archimandrite (''Dzayraguyn Vardapet'') can be granted after completing and defending a doctoral thesis. The rank can only be granted by Bishops who themselves have attained the rank of Senior Archimandrite. The bishops are elected from among those celibate priests who have achieved the rank of archimandrite.
Most Armenian bishops live in monasteries.
Etchmiadzin, the residence of the
Catholikos of all Armenians, is the spiritual center of the Armenian Church. There is also a
Catholicos of Cilicia, who resides in
Antilyas in
Lebanon, and leads the churches belonging to the
Holy See of Cilicia. Since
1461 there has been an
Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople. The Armenians possess the huge monastery of St. James, the centre of the
Armenian Quarter of
Jerusalem, where their
Patriarch of Jerusalem lives, and the convent of Deir asseituni on
Mount Zion with numerous nuns.
At present, there are three monastic brotherhoods in the Armenian Church: the Brotherhood of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, the Brotherhood of St. James at the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and the Brotherhood of the Holy See of Cilicia. Each Armenian celibate priest becomes a member of the brotherhood in which he has studied and ordained in or under the jurisdiction of which he has served. The brotherhood makes decisions concerning the inner affairs of the monastery. Each brotherhood elects two delegates who take part in the National Ecclesiastical Assembly.
The
Mechitarists (Armenian: Մխիթարեան), also spelled Mekhitarists, are a congregation, founded in
1712 by
Mechitar, of Armenian
Benedictine monks in communion with the Catholic Church. They are best known for their series of scholarly publications of ancient Armenian versions of otherwise lost ancient Greek texts.
Byzantine monasticism
St. Basil the Great
Saint Basil the Great (c.
330 -
379) is one of the most important influences on both Byzantine and Western monasticism. Before forming his own monastic community, he visited Egypt,
Mesopotamia,
Palestine and
Syria, observing the monastic life and learning both from the positive and negative examples he encountered. He later composed his ''Asketikon'' for the members of the monastery he founded about the year
356 on the banks of the
Iris river in
Cappadocia. St Basil's work entailed two sets of monastic regulations: the ''Lesser Asketikon'' and the ''Greater Asketikon''. Correspondence exists between him and St.
Gregory Nazianzen which gives further insight into the type of monastic life he established.
St. Theodore the Studite
St Theodore the Studite: 11th-century mosaic from Nea Moni Monastery,
Chios
The monks, as a rule, enjoyed the favor of the emperors and patriarchs, but during the
iconoclastic persecution they suffered terribly for the orthodoxy of their faith; the stand they took in this aroused the anger of the imperial powers and many were martyred for the faith, monasticism itself (not merely individual monks) became the target of the heretical emperors. Many of them were condemned to exile, and some took advantage of this condemnation to reorganize their religious life in
Italy. Ironically, St.
John of Damascus, living in a Moslem nation was independent of the iconoclast emperors and could defend the faith from afar.
The second half of the
8th century seems to have been a time of very general decadence; but about the year
800 St. Theodore the Studite (c.
758 - c.
826)—destined to be the one of the most creative names in Eastern monasticism—became abbot of the monastery of St. John the Baptist, called the "
Studium" (founded at
Constantinople in the
fifth century). He set himself to reform his monastery and restore St. Basil's spirit in its primitive vigour. But to effect this, and to give permanence to the reformation, he saw that there was need of a more practical code of laws to regulate the details of the daily life, as a supplement to St Basil's teachings. He therefore drew up constitutions, afterwards codified, which became the norm of the life at the Studium monastery, and gradually spread thence to the monasteries of the rest of the
Eastern Roman Empire. At the same time the monastery was an active center of intellectual and artistic life and a model which exercised considerable influence on monastic observances in the East. Thus to this day the ''Asketikon'' of Basil and the Constitutions of Theodore, along with the
canons of the
Councils, constitute the chief part of Greek and Slavic monastic tradition.
Later Byzantine monasticism
Monastic life on
Mount Athos was founded towards the close of the
10th century through the aid of the Emperor
Basil the Macedonian and became the largest and most celebrated of all the monastic centers of the Eastern Roman Empire. The peninsula is actually an independent monastic republic, governed by twenty "Sovereign Monasteries", with its own elected president (''protos'') and governing council. Mount Athos is the site of innumerable priceless cultural and spiritual treasures, and up to this day it is considered the capital of Orthodox monasticism.
The
Monastery of St. Catherine on
Mount Sinai, was inhabited by hermits from the early days of monasticism. But the monastery as it is now was built by order of Emperor
Justinian I between
527 and
565, enclosing the Chapel of the
Burning Bush which had been built by
St. Helena, the mother of
St. Constantine the Great, at the site where
Moses is supposed to have seen the burning bush. The site has been inhabited by monks every since, and is sacred to three major world religions -
Judaism,
Christianity, and
Islam. Many sacred
icons there escaped the ravages of iconoclasm because of the remoteness of the location. Probably the most well-known item to come from the monastery is the ''
Codex Sinaiticus'', a
4th century manuscript of the
Septuagint which is of enormous value for textual research of the scriptures.
Saint Gregory Palamas (
1296 -
1359) defended
Hesychasm
Saint Paisius Velichkovsky (
1722 -
1794), responsible for the renewal of monastic life in the 18th century, on
Mount Athos,
Romania and
Imperial Russia.
Leontius of Byzantium (d. 543), author of a treatise against the
Nestorians and
Eutychians
St.
Sophronius,
Patriarch of
Jerusalem, one of the most vigorous adversaries of the
Monothelite heresy
[6]
St.
Maximus the Confessor, Abbot of
Chrysopolis (d. 662), the most brilliant representative of Byzantine monasticism in the seventh century; in his writings and letters St. Maximus steadily combated the partisans of the erroneous doctrines of
Monothelitism.
[7]
St. John Damascene together with St Theodore the Studite, defended of the veneration of icons. His works include theological, ascetic, hagiographical, liturgical, and historical writings.
[8]
The Byzantine monasteries furnish a long line of historians who were also monks:
John Malalas, whose ''hronographia''
[9] served as a model for Eastern chroniclers;
Georgius Syncellus, who wrote a "Selected Chronographia"; his friend and disciple Theophanes (d.
817), Abbot of the "Great Field" near
Cyzicus, the author of another ''Chronographia'';
[10] the Patriarch
Nicephorus, who wrote (
815 -
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