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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 13 January 2025. 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 ...
A religious (using the word as a noun) is, in the terminology of many Western Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, and Anglican Communion, what in common language one would call a "monk" or "nun".
St. Sabbas the Sanctified organized the monks of the Judean Desert in a monastery close to Bethlehem (483), now known as Mar Saba, which is considered the mother of all monasteries of the Eastern Orthodox churches. Saint Catherine's Monastery was founded between 527 and 565 in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, by order of Emperor Justinian I.
But the Roman Catholic view of the papacy is considered antichristian. [ 29 ] In many European churches where Lutheranism was the state religion , the clergy were also civil servants , and their responsibilities extended well beyond spiritual leadership, encompassing government administration, education, and the implementation of government ...
Members of religious communities may be known as monks or nuns, particularly in those communities which require their members to live permanently in one location; they may be known as friars or sisters, a term used particularly (though not exclusively) by religious orders whose members are more active in the wider community, often living in smaller groups.
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.
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 (Matthew 19:21).