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55-401: Buggingen lies in the western part of the pre-Black Forest mountains. It is home to many vineyards and is a largely agricultural center. It also is home to Germany's largest tech mail order company. Buggingen administratively also includes Seefelden and Betberg, which is the site of a Protestant retreat centre . The village was first referred to in 778. It was mentioned in the "Urkundebuch" of

110-560: A monastery . Some retreats for advanced practitioners may be undertaken in darkness , a form of retreat that is common as an advanced Dzogchen practice in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism . Spiritual retreats allow time for reflection , prayer , or meditation . They are considered essential in Buddhism , having been a common practice since the Vassa , or rainy season retreat,

165-630: A different connotation in Sufi terminology in which it refers to the act of self-abandonment in desire for the Divine Presence. In complete seclusion, the Sufi continuously repeats the name of God as a highest form of remembrance of God meditation . In his book, Journey to the Lord of Power, Muhiyid-Did ibn Arabi (1165-1240 A.D.) discussed the stages through which the Sufi passes in his khalwa . Ibn Arabi suggested: "The Sufi should shut his door against

220-564: A discourse collected in the Philokalia on Abba Philimon, a Desert Father. Hesychast prayer was a meditative practice that was traditionally done in silence and with eyes closed—"empty of mental pictures" and visual concepts, but with the intense consciousness of God's presence. The words hesychast and hesychia were frequently used in 4th and 5th century writings of Desert Fathers such as Macarius of Egypt , Evagrius Ponticus , and Gregory of Nyssa . The title hesychast

275-441: A room. They supported themselves by weaving cloth and baskets, along with other tasks. Each new monk or nun had a three-year probationary period, concluding with admittance in full standing to the monastery. All property was held communally, meals were eaten together and in silence, twice a week they fasted, and they wore simple peasant clothing with a hood. Several times a day they came together for prayer and readings, and each person

330-480: A time when it was no longer a risk to be a Christian. The solitude, austerity, and sacrifice of the desert was seen by Anthony as an alternative to martyrdom, which was formerly seen by many Christians as the highest form of sacrifice. Anthony quickly gained followers eager to live their lives in accordance with this solidarity and separation from material goods. From these prohibitions, it is recorded by Athanasius that Anthony received special privileges from God, such as

385-808: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Religious retreat The meaning of a spiritual retreat can be different for different religious communities. Spiritual retreats are an integral part of many Buddhist, Christian and Sufi communities. There are many different types of spiritual retreats such as wellness retreats, mindfulness retreats, spa retreats, adventure retreats, detox retreats, yoga retreats, and religious retreats. In Buddhism, meditative retreats are seen by some as an intimate way of deepening powers of concentration and insight. Retreats are also popular in Christian churches, and were established in today's form by St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556), in his Spiritual Exercises . Ignatius

440-772: Is an annual three-day movement (held at the Araneta Coliseum ) founded in 1983 by Msgr. Cesar B. Pagulayan and organized by Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) Parish under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao . Spiritual retreats were introduced to the Church of England by priests of the Anglo-Catholic Society of the Holy Cross in 1856, first for clergy, and then also for laity. These retreats lasted five days. The Society of

495-466: Is from surat al-Baqarah. Khalwa is still practiced today amongst authorized Sheikhs, such as Mawlana Sheikh Nazim Al-Haqqani , Lefka , Cyprus . Meditation courses or retreats, either in a group or solo, are a common part of many meditation traditions. [REDACTED] Media related to Retreats (spiritual) at Wikimedia Commons Desert Fathers The Desert Fathers were early Christian hermits and ascetics , who lived primarily in

550-521: Is that by which everything is created, none other than God most High.) The practice of khalwah is regularly followed by the Sufis, with the permission and the supervision of a Sufi authority. The Sufis base the assigning of forty days of khalwa period on the forty days Allah had appointed for Musa (Moses) as a fasting period before speaking to him, as mentioned in different chapters in the Qur'an. One of them

605-690: The Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt , beginning around the third century AD . The Apophthegmata Patrum is a collection of the wisdom of some of the early desert monks and nuns , in print as Sayings of the Desert Fathers . The first Desert Father was Paul of Thebes , and the most well known was Anthony the Great , who moved to the desert in AD ;270–271 and became known as both

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660-603: The Society of Jesus (Jesuits), whose founder, St. Ignatius of Loyola , as a layman began, in the 1520s, directing others in making (participating in) the exercises. Another form the Exercises came in, which became known as the nineteenth "Observation", 'allowed continuing one's ordinary occupations with the proviso of setting aside a few hours a day for this special purpose.' The spiritual exercises were intended for people wanting to live closer to God's will for their life. In

715-655: The 17th century, retreats became much more widespread in the Catholic Church. Retreats were not originally seen as suitable for women, but in 1674 Catherine de Francheville ( fr ), supported by the Breton Jesuit Vincent Huby ( fr ), founded a retreat house for women in Vannes . This developed into a community of laywomen, who also founded a daughter house in Quimper , but were dispersed by

770-437: The 19th century, in order to promote spiritual renewal, far from the city and in nature. These camps were an opportunity to pray, sing and listen to sermons for several days. Various church associations have also established campgrounds or conference centers in isolated locations, which provide retreat times for children and adults. The translation of khālwa (from Arabic الخلوة) is seclusion or separation, but it has

825-406: The Desert Fathers. Paul of Thebes is often credited with being the first hermit monk to go to the desert, but it was Anthony the Great who launched the movement that became the Desert Fathers. Sometime around AD 270, Anthony heard a Sunday sermon stating that perfection could be achieved by selling all of one's possessions, giving the proceeds to the poor, and following Jesus. He followed

880-685: The Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection ). This collection contains about a thousand items. The same editors also recognised a number of anonymous sayings and tales of the Desert Fathers and Mothers that were popularly circulated. This material was gathered into a collection now known as the Anonymous Patrum Apophthegmata ( Anonymous Sayings of the Desert Fathers ). These sayings were loosely ordered by subject (for instance: humility, charity etc.). The collection now known as

935-671: The French Revolution. Some however came together to found schools, and additional communities were established in England, and later in Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. These developed in the course of the 19th century, under the name of La Retraite ( fr ), into a religious Congregation of nuns. The active involvement of the sisters in retreats was curtailed later in the 19th century, but blossomed again after

990-572: The Great , Poemen , Macarius of Egypt , Moses the Black , and Syncletica of Alexandria . Other notable Desert Fathers include Jerome , Pachomius , Abba Or , and Shenouda the Archimandrite , and many individuals who spent part of their lives in the Egyptian desert, including Athanasius of Alexandria , John Chrysostom , Evagrius Ponticus , and Hilarion . John Cassian 's works brought

1045-405: The Holy Cross's first retreats were held in secrecy. The practice was spread by Anglo-Catholic priests such as Francis Henry Murray , Alexander Forbes , and Thomas Thellusson Carter . The Oxford Movement further spread the practice of retreats to many devout men and women, borrowing upon Catholic practices. Their retreats were typically 3–4 days, and featured much silence and prayer. At

1100-616: The Second Vatican Council, involving among other activity an extension of the community into Chile, South Africa, Cameroon and Mali. Following the growth of the Cursillo movement in Spain in the 20th century, similar retreats have become popular, either using licensed Cursillo material or independent material loosely based on its concepts, leading to the development of the three day movement . The Family Lenten Retreat

1155-416: The ability to heal the sick, inspire others to have faith in healing through God, and even converse with God on occasion. Around this time, desert monasticism appeared nearly simultaneously in several areas, including Egypt and Syria , and some of the Desert Fathers's Coptic traditions also spread to Nubia . Over time, the model of Anthony and other hermits attracted many followers, who lived alone in

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1210-639: The advice and made the further step of moving deep into the desert to seek complete solitude. Anthony lived in a time of transition for Christianity—the Diocletianic Persecution in AD 303 was the last great formal persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire . Only ten years later, Christianity was made legal in Egypt by Diocletian 's successor Constantine I . Those who left for the desert formed an alternate Christian society, at

1265-463: The ascetic practices that were so dominant in the Desert Fathers' lives. The lives of the Desert Fathers that were organized into communities included frequent recitation of the scriptures—during the week they chanted psalms while performing manual labour and during the weekends they held liturgies and group services. The monk's experience in the cell occurred in a variety of ways, including meditation on scripture. Group practices were more prominent in

1320-409: The commandments were not seen as being easy—many of the stories from that time recount the struggle to overcome negative emotions such as anger and judgment of others. Helping a brother monk who was ill or struggling was seen as taking priority over any other consideration. Hermits were frequently seen to break a long fast when hosting visitors, as hospitality and kindness were more important than keeping

1375-454: The community and the responsibility of looking after each other's welfare. The new approach grew to the point that there were tens of thousands of monks and nuns in these organized communities within decades of Pachomius' death. One of the early pilgrims to the desert was Basil of Caesarea , who took the Rule of Pachomius into the eastern church. Basil expanded the idea of community by integrating

1430-636: The desert (as with the Desert Fathers ), or in a monastery, is nearly as old as Christianity itself, the practice of spending a specific time away with God is a more modern phenomenon, dating from the 1520s and St. Ignatius of Loyola 's composition of the Spiritual Exercises. The fasting of Jesus in the desert for forty days is used as a biblical justification of retreats. The retreat was popularised in Roman Catholicism by

1485-413: The desert or in small groups. They chose a life of extreme asceticism , renouncing all the pleasures of the senses, rich food, baths, rest, and anything that made them comfortable. They instead focused their energies on praying, singing psalms, fasting, giving alms to the needy, and preserving love and harmony with one another while keeping their thoughts and desires for God alone. Thousands joined them in

1540-402: The desert, mostly men but also a handful of women. Religious seekers also began going to the desert seeking advice and counsel from the early Desert Fathers. By the time of Anthony's death, there were so many men and women living in the desert that it was described as "a city" by Anthony's biographer. The Desert Fathers advocated three main approaches to monasticism. One was the austere life of

1595-566: The early monastic development in the Byzantine world and eventually in the western Christian world. John Cassian played an important role in mediating the influence of the Desert Fathers to the West. This can be seen, for example, in the Rule of Saint Benedict , where Benedict of Nursia urged his monks to read the writings of John Cassian on the Desert Fathers. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

1650-404: The end of the 19th century, and in the first years of the 20th century, retreats began to spread among the working classes and beyond those of notable devotion. These retreats were less ascetic in character, and included more conversation and leisure. They typically lasted 1–3 days. In Evangelical Christianity , times of spiritual retreat were encouraged by the development of camp meetings of

1705-413: The father and founder of desert monasticism. By the time Anthony had died in AD 356, thousands of monks and nuns had been drawn to living in the desert following Anthony's example, leading his biographer, Athanasius of Alexandria , to write that "the desert had become a city." The Desert Fathers had a major influence on the development of Christianity. The desert monastic communities that grew out of

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1760-630: The fourteenth century Byzantine meditative prayer techniques, when it was more closely identified with the Prayer of the Heart , or "Jesus Prayer". The prayer's origin is also traced back to the Desert Fathers—the Prayer of the Heart was found inscribed in the ruins of a cell from that period in the Egyptian desert. The earliest written reference to the practice of the Prayer of the Heart may be in

1815-615: The hermit, as practiced by Anthony and his followers in lower Egypt. Another was the cenobitic life, communities of monks and nuns in upper Egypt formed by Pachomius . The third was a semi-hermitic lifestyle seen mostly in Nitria , Kellia and Scetis , west of the Nile, begun by Saint Amun . The latter were small groups (two to six) of monks and nuns with a common spiritual elder—these separate groups would join in larger gatherings to worship on Saturdays and Sundays. This third form of monasticism

1870-453: The informal gathering of hermit monks became the model for Christian monasticism , first influencing the Coptic communities these monks were a part of and preached to. Some were monophysites or believed in a similar idea. The eastern monastic tradition at Mount Athos and the western Rule of St. Benedict both were strongly influenced by the traditions that began in the desert. All of

1925-508: The initial letter of the Abba's name in the order of the Greek alphabet, resulting in the editors starting with Anthony the Great, Arsenius and Agathon, and concluding with Cheremon, Psenthaisius and Or. These editors were the first to use the word apophthegms (meaning: saying, maxim or aphorism ), resulting in this collection being known as Apophthegmata Patrum Alphabetica ( The Sayings of

1980-610: The monasteries in Lorsch, St. Blasien, Tennenbach, St. Peter, St. Trudpert, Sulzburg, Kappel, Neuenburg, Adelhausen, Sitzenkirch und Sölden. In 1934, 86 people were killed in an accident at a salt mine near Buggingen. The site of the mine, which was opened in 1904 and closed in 1973, is now a museum. Perhaps the largest business in the town is a computer mail order catalog company called, Pearl, which also has an outlet store in Auggen . This Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald location article

2035-451: The monastery of Lorsch as "Buchinger marca". In 940 the village shifted to the control of the Bishop of Constance . As far as can be ascertained, Buggingen has been associated with vineyards throughout its history. The settlement of Buggingen has its origins in the alemannische. As a number of documents confirm, the majority of the property was in the hands of the church. Property owners were

2090-796: The monastic revivals of the Middle Ages looked to the desert for inspiration and guidance. Much of Eastern Christian spirituality, including the Hesychast movement, has its roots in the practices of the Desert Fathers. Even religious renewals such as the German evangelicals and Pietists in Pennsylvania, the Devotio Moderna movement, and the Methodist Revival in England are seen by modern scholars as being influenced by

2145-408: The monks and nuns into the wider public community, with the monks and nuns under the authority of a bishop and serving the poor and needy. As more pilgrims began visiting the monks in the desert, influence from the monastic communities began spreading. Latin versions of the original Greek stories and sayings of the Desert Fathers, along with the earliest monastic rules coming out of the desert, guided

2200-414: The need for a more formal structure, established a monastery with rules and organization. His regulations included discipline, obedience, manual labour, silence, fasting, and long periods of prayer—some historians view the rules as being inspired by Pachomius' experiences as a Roman soldier. The first fully organized monastery with Pachomius included men and women living in separate quarters, up to three in

2255-402: The organized communities formed by Pachomius. The purpose of these practices were explained by John Cassian , a Desert Father, who described the goal of psalmody (the outward recitation of scripture) and asceticism as the ascent to deep mystical prayer and mystical contemplation. There are many different collections of sayings of the Desert Fathers. The earliest writings were simply ordered by

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2310-453: The rest to the poor. When members of the church began finding ways to work with the Roman state, the Desert Fathers saw that as a compromise between "the things of God and the things of Caesar." The monastic communities were essentially an alternate Christian society. The hermits doubted that religion and politics could ever produce a truly Christian society. For them, the only Christian society

2365-710: The veil and the unveiling. The degree of the Divine Presence is made clear to him, the garden (of Eden) and Hell are revealed to him, then the original forms of the son of Adam, the Throne of Mercy. If it is appropriate, he will know his destination. Then he will reveal to him the Pen, the First Intellect (as it is called by Sufi philosophers), then the Mover of the Pen, the right hand of the Truth. (The "Truth" as defined by al-Jeeli

2420-415: The wide disparity of dates for the sayings attributed to Abba Poemen, some scholars believe that "Poemen" was a generic name for a combination of different unnamed Abbas. Others conclude that the sayings attributed to Abba Poemen are accurate, based on a notable and historical Abba Poemen. Among the notable Desert Fathers and Mothers with sayings in the book, in addition to Anthony the Great , were Arsenius

2475-473: The wisdom of the Desert Fathers into a wider arena. The legalization of Christianity by the Roman Empire in 313 gave Anthony a greater resolve to go out into the desert. Nostalgic for the tradition of martyrdom, he saw withdrawal and asceticism as an alternative. He insisted on selling all his material possessions—he left his younger sister a small amount of money to live her life in a convent, and donated

2530-409: The world for forty days and occupy himself with remembrance of Allah, that is to keep repeating, "Allah, Allah..." Then, "Almighty God will spread before him the degrees of the kingdom as a test. First, He will discover the secrets of the mineral world. If he occupies himself with dthikr, He (God) will unveil to the secrets of the vegetable world, then the secrets of the animal world, then the infusion of

2585-464: The world of life-force into lives, then the "surface sign" (the light of the Divine Names, according to Abdul-Karim al-Jeeli, the book's translator), then the degrees of speculative sciences, then the world of formation and adornment and beauty, then the degrees of the qutb (the soul or pivot of the universe-see #16) Then he will be given the divine wisdom and the power of symbols and authority over

2640-564: Was also widely read in the early Benedictine monasteries. Many of the monks and nuns developed a reputation for holiness and wisdom, with the small communities following a particularly holy or wise elder, who was their spiritual father ( abba ) or mother ( amma ). The individual Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers are mostly known through The Sayings of the Desert Fathers , which included 1,202 sayings attributed to twenty-seven abbas and three ammas . The greatest number of sayings are attributed to Abba "Poemen", Greek for "shepherd". Because of

2695-421: Was established by the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha . In Zen Buddhism retreats are known as sesshin . The Christian retreat can be defined most simply as a definite time (from a few hours in length to a month) spent away from one's normal life for the purpose of reconnecting, usually in prayer, with God. Although the practice of leaving one's everyday life to connect on a deeper level with God, be that in

2750-440: Was expected to spend time alone meditating on the scriptures. Programs were created for educating those who came to the monastery unable to read. Pachomius also formalized the establishment of an abba (father) or amma (mother) in charge of the spiritual welfare of their monks and nuns, with the implication that those joining the monastery were also joining a new family. Members also formed smaller groups, with different tasks in

2805-461: Was later to be made patron saint of spiritual retreats by Pope Pius XI in 1922. Many Protestants , Catholics and Orthodox Christians partake in and organize spiritual retreats each year. Meditative retreats are an important practice in Sufism , the mystical path of Islam . The Sufi teacher Ibn Arabi 's book Journey to the Lord of Power (Risālat al-Anwār) is a guide to the inner journey that

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2860-413: Was published over 700 years ago. A retreat can either be a time of solitude or a community experience. Some retreats are held in silence , and on others there may be a great deal of conversation, depending on the understanding and accepted practices of the host facility and/or the participant(s). Retreats are often conducted at rural or remote locations, either privately, or at a retreat centre such as

2915-467: Was responsible for most of the sayings that were compiled as the Apophthegmata Patrum ( Sayings of the Desert Fathers ). The small communities founded by the Desert Fathers were the beginning of Christian monasticism . Initially Anthony and others lived as hermits, sometimes forming groups of two or three. Small informal communities began developing, until the monk Pachomius , seeing

2970-455: Was spiritual and not mundane. Hesychasm (from the Greek for "stillness, rest, quiet, silence") is a mystical tradition and movement that originated with the Desert Fathers and was central to their practice of prayer. Hesychasm for the Desert Fathers was primarily the practice of "interior silence and continual prayer." It did not become a formal movement of specific practices until

3025-458: Was used in early times synonymously with hermit , as compared to a cenobite who lived in community. Hesychasm can refer to inner or outer stillness, though in The Sayings of the Desert Fathers it referred to inner tranquility. The Desert Fathers gave a great deal of emphasis to living and practicing the teachings of Jesus, much more than theoretical knowledge. Their efforts to live

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