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The word monk originated from the Greek μοναχός (monachos, 'monk'), itself from μόνος (monos) meaning 'alone'. [1] [2] Christian monks did not live in monasteries at first; rather, they began by living alone as solitaries, as the word monos might suggest. As more people took on the lives of monks, living alone in the wilderness ...
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 19 December 2024. Member of a monastic religious order For other uses, see Monk (disambiguation) and Monks (disambiguation). Portrait depicting a Carthusian monk in the Roman Catholic Church (1446) Buddhist monks collecting alms A monk (from Greek: μοναχός, monachos, "single, solitary" via Latin ...
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek μοναχός (monakhós) 'solitary, monastic'; from μόνος (mónos) 'alone'), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work.
This view is generally accepted by major Christian churches, including the Catholic Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Episcopal Church (United States), and some other mainline Protestant denominations; [3] virtually all Jewish denominations; and other religious groups that lack a literalist stance concerning some holy scriptures.
All of the monks live lives of silence. The Carthusians do not engage in work of a pastoral or missionary nature. Unlike most monasteries, they do not have retreatants, and those who visit for a prolonged period are people who are contemplating entering the monastery. [9] As far as possible, the monks have no contact with the outside world.
From the beginning, the monks used a system of lay brothers and employees to operate their farms; monks and priests were busy with their liturgical and sacramental duties. The lay brothers formed a body of men who lived alongside of the choir monks, but separate from them, not taking part in the canonical office, but having their own fixed ...
The male religious are also sometimes called the Black Monks, especially in English speaking countries, after the colour of their habits, although some, like the Olivetans, wear white. [2] They were founded by Benedict of Nursia , a 6th-century Italian monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule.
Accordingly, they were often skeptical of Catholic mystical practices, which seemed to them to downplay the role of grace in redemption and to support the idea that human works can play a role in salvation. Thus, Protestant theology developed a strong critical attitude, oftentimes even an animosity towards Christian mysticism. [173]