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64-462: The centre of the village is dominated by a monastery (Klosterbau), dedicated to the Virgin Mary The monastery was founded in 1186 by Margrave Henry of Ronsberg to house a community that had grown up around a local hermit . It came close to collapse in the 14th century, when the community was reduced to a single monk , and was saved only by the intervention in 1373 of Anna von Ellerbach,

128-580: A Jewish ascetic community of men and women on the shores of Lake Mareotis in the vicinity of Alexandria, Egypt which he calls the Therapeutae . Members of the community lived apart from one another during six days of the week, studying the Hebrew Bible during the daytime and eating during the evening, whereafter on the Sabbath they hoped to dream visions informed by their studies. Members of

192-502: A dwaitha philosopher. Jainism , founded by Mahavira c.  570 BC , had its own monasteries since 5th century BC. Islam discourages monasticism, which is referred to in the Quran as "an invention". However, the term "Sufi" is applied to Muslim mystics who, as a means of achieving union with Allah, adopted ascetic practices including wearing a garment made of coarse wool called "sf". The term " Sufism " comes from "sf" meaning

256-415: A monastery consisting of merely a hut or cave ( cell ), cenobitic monks lived together in monasteries comprising one or a complex of several buildings. In the latter case, each dwelling would house about twenty monks, and within the house there were separate rooms or cells that would be inhabited by two or three monks. To early generations of historians, the style of housing maintained by cenobitic monks

320-672: A firm doctrinal basis to the Vishishtadvaita philosophy which had existed since time immemorial. He ensured the establishment of a number of mathas of his Sri Vaishnava creed at different important centres of pilgrimage. Later on, other famous Sri Vaishnava theologians and religious heads established various important mathas such as Nimbarka Sampradaya of Nimbarkacharya is popular in North, West and East India and has several important Mathas. Ashta matha (eight monasteries) of Udupi were founded by Madhvacharya (Madhwa acharya),

384-779: A further list of Buddhist monasteries see list of Buddhist temples . Buddhist monasteries include some of the largest in the world. Drepung Monastery in Tibet housed around 10,000 monks prior to the Chinese invasion in 1950–1951. As of 2020 the relocated monastery in India houses around 8,000. According to tradition, Christian monasticism began in Egypt with Anthony the Great . Originally, all Christian monks were hermits seldom encountering other people. A transitional form of monasticism

448-480: A long time, and with them, their respective monasteries, called mathas . Important among them are the chatur-amnaya mathas established by Adi Shankara which formed the nodal centres of under whose guidance the ancient Order of Advaitin monks were re-organised under ten names of the Dashanami Sampradaya . Ramanuja heralded a new era in the world of Hinduism by reviving the lost faith in it and gave

512-487: A monastery is called a wat . In Burma , a monastery is called a kyaung . A Christian monastery may be an abbey (i.e., under the rule of an abbot ), or a priory (under the rule of a prior ), or conceivably a hermitage (the dwelling of a hermit ). It may be a community of men ( monks ) or of women ( nuns ). A charterhouse is any monastery belonging to the Carthusian order. In Eastern Christianity ,

576-470: A monk named Notker of St Gall , and was spread to musicians throughout Europe by way of the interconnected monasteries. Since monasteries offered respite for weary pilgrim travellers, monks were obligated also to care for their injuries or emotional needs. Over time, lay people started to make pilgrimages to monasteries instead of just using them as a stopover. By this time, they had sizeable libraries that attracted learned tourists. Families would donate

640-494: A place reserved for prayer which may be a chapel , church , or temple , and may also serve as an oratory , or in the case of communities anything from a single building housing only one senior and two or three junior monks or nuns, to vast complexes and estates housing tens or hundreds. A monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, dormitory , cloister , refectory , library , balneary and infirmary , and outlying granges . Depending on

704-465: A portion of their yearly crop to the resident monks in the monastery, just as they would to a feudal landlord. In Sri Lanka and in Tibetan Buddhism , the ownership of a monastery often became vested in a single monk, who would often keep the property within the family by passing it on to a nephew ordained as a monk. In Japan , where civil authorities permitted Buddhist monks to marry,

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768-915: A respected elder teacher. While the wandering lifestyle practised by the Buddha and by his disciples continues to be the ideal model for forest-tradition monks in Thailand , Myanmar , Sri Lanka and elsewhere, practical concerns - including shrinking wilderness areas, lack of access to lay supporters, dangerous wildlife, and dangerous border conflicts - dictate that increasing numbers of "meditation" monks live in monasteries, rather than wandering. Tibetan Buddhist monasteries or gompas are sometimes known as lamaseries , with their monks sometimes (mistakenly) known as lamas . Helena Blavatsky 's Theosophical Society named its initial New York City meeting-place "the Lamasery". Famous Buddhist monasteries include: For

832-553: A similar ascetic discipline, and even their religious habit is the same (though nuns wear an extra veil, called the apostolnik ). Unlike Roman Catholic monasticism, the Eastern Orthodox do not have distinct religious orders, but a single monastic form throughout the Eastern Orthodox Church. Monastics, male or female, live away from the world, in order to pray for the world. Monasteries vary from

896-538: A son in return for blessings. During the plagues , monks helped to till the fields and provide food for the sick. A Warming House is a common part of a medieval monastery, where monks went to warm themselves. It was often the only room in the monastery where a fire was lit. A number of distinct monastic orders developed within Roman Catholicism: While in English most mendicant Orders use

960-588: A very small monastic community can be called a skete , and a very large or important monastery can be given the dignity of a lavra . The great communal life of a Christian monastery is called cenobitic , as opposed to the anchoretic (or anchoritic) life of an anchorite and the eremitic life of a hermit . There has also been, mostly under the Osmanli occupation of Greece and Cyprus, an "idiorrhythmic" lifestyle where monks come together but being able to own things individually and not being obliged to work for

1024-461: A week to pray together, cenobitic monks came together for common prayer on a more regular basis. The cenobitic monks also practised more socializing because the monasteries where they lived were often located in or near inhabited villages. For example, the Bohairic version of Dionysius Exiguus ' The Life of Saint Pachomius states that the monks of the monastery of Tabenna built a church for

1088-516: A young man. Soon the Egyptian desert blossomed with monasteries, especially around Nitria ( Wadi El Natrun ), which was called the "Holy City". Estimates are that upwards of 50,000 monks lived in this area at any one time. Eremetism never died out though, but was reserved only for those advanced monks who had worked out their problems within a cenobitic monastery. The idea caught on, and other places followed: The life of prayer and communal living

1152-455: Is a somewhat more specific definition of the term and many related terms. Buddhist monasteries are generally called vihara ( Pali language el). Viharas may be occupied by men or women, and in keeping with common English usage, a vihara populated by females may often be called a nunnery or a convent. However, vihara can also refer to a temple . In Tibetan Buddhism, monasteries are often called gompa . In Cambodia , Laos and Thailand ,

1216-587: Is often referred to as a cenobium . Cenobitic monasticism appears in several religious traditions, though most commonly in Buddhism and Christianity . The word cenobites was initially applied to the followers of Pythagoras in Crotone, Italy , who founded a commune not just for philosophical study but also for the "amicable sharing of worldly goods." In the 1st century AD, Philo of Alexandria ( c.  25 BC  – c.  50 AD ) describes

1280-486: Is socially separate from the surrounding populace can also vary widely; some religious traditions mandate isolation for purposes of contemplation removed from the everyday world, in which case members of the monastic community may spend most of their time isolated even from each other. Others focus on interacting with the local communities to provide services, such as teaching, medical care, or evangelism . Some monastic communities are only occupied seasonally, depending both on

1344-551: The Greek word μοναστήριον , neut. of μοναστήριος – monasterios from μονάζειν – monazein "to live alone" from the root μόνος – monos "alone" (originally all Christian monks were hermits); the suffix "-terion" denotes a "place for doing something". The earliest extant use of the term monastērion is by the 1st century AD Jewish philosopher Philo in On The Contemplative Life, ch. III. In England,

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1408-590: The Reformation , and its Chapter preserves elements of the Benedictine tradition. See the entry cathedral . They are also to be distinguished from collegiate churches, such as St George's Chapel, Windsor . The term monastery is used generically to refer to any of a number of types of religious community. In the Roman Catholic religion and to some extent in certain branches of Buddhism , there

1472-533: The sangha . Over the years, the custom of staying on property held in common by the sangha as a whole during the vassa retreat evolved into cenobitic monasticism , in which monks and nuns resided year-round in monasteries. In India , Buddhist monasteries gradually developed into centres of learning where philosophical principles were developed and debated; this tradition continues in the monastic universities of Vajrayana Buddhists , as well as in religious schools and universities founded by religious orders across

1536-618: The Buddhist world. In modern times, living a settled life in a monastery setting has become the most common lifestyle for Buddhist monks and nuns across the globe. Whereas early monasteries are considered to have been held in common by the entire sangha, in later years this tradition diverged in a number of countries. Despite vinaya prohibitions on possessing wealth, many monasteries became large landowners, much like monasteries in medieval Christian Europe. In Chinese Buddhism , peasant families worked monastic-owned land in exchange for paying

1600-655: The Christian Church the beginnings of growth of monasticism among Protestant denominations. The center of this movement was in the United States and Canada beginning with the Shaker Church, which was founded in England and then moved to the United States. In the 19th century many of these monastic societies were founded as Utopian communities based on the monastic model in many cases. Aside from

1664-675: The Holy Cross at St Augustine's House in Michigan is a Lutheran order of monks and there are Lutheran religious communities in Sweden and Germany. In the 1960s, experimental monastic groups were formed in which both men and women were members of the same house and also were permitted to be married and have children – these were operated on a communal form. There is a growing Christian neo-monasticism , particularly among evangelical Christians. In Hinduism, monks have existed for

1728-640: The Manichaeans, founded by Mani , were the "pioneers of communal asceticism in Egypt," rather than Pachomius. Mani himself was influenced to begin cenobitic monasticism from other groups, including Buddhists and Jewish-Christian Elkasites . The cenobitic monastic idea did not end with these early groups, and inspired future groups and individuals: In both the East and the West, cenobiticism established itself as

1792-643: The Resurrection ), Nashdom Abbey ( Benedictine ), Cleeve Priory ( Community of the Glorious Ascension ) and Ewell Monastery ( Cistercian ), Benedictine orders, Franciscan orders and the Orders of the Holy Cross, Order of St. Helena. Other Protestant Christian denominations also engage in monasticism, particularly Lutherans in Europe and North America. For example, the Benedictine order of

1856-678: The Shakers, there were the Amanna , the Anabaptists , and others. Many did allow marriage but most had a policy of celibacy and communal life in which members shared all things communally and disavowed personal ownership. In the 19th-century monasticism was revived in the Church of England , leading to the foundation of such institutions as the House of the Resurrection , Mirfield ( Community of

1920-735: The West the community belongs to a religious order , and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a religious rule , a collection of precepts. The older style of monasticism , to live as a hermit, is called eremitic . A third form of monasticism, found primarily in Eastern Christianity , is the skete . The English words cenobite and cenobitic are derived, via Latin , from the Greek words koinos ( κοινός , lit.   ' common ' ), and bios ( βίος , lit.   ' life ' ). The adjective can also be cenobiac ( κοινοβιακός , koinoviakos ) or cœnobitic (obsolete). A group of monks living in community

1984-467: The buildings of a community of monks. In modern usage, convent tends to be applied only to institutions of female monastics (nuns), particularly communities of teaching or nursing religious sisters . Historically, a convent denoted a house of friars (reflecting the Latin), now more commonly called a friary . Various religions may apply these terms in more specific ways. The word monastery comes from

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2048-793: The center hosts the Kunstleben, an annual art festival, organised by the Schwabenakademie in co-operation with the University of Augsburg . It was whilst teaching on this in 2007 that the painter Clive Head and art theorist Michael Paraskos began to formulate the New Aesthetics movement in art. Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics , monks or nuns , whether living in communities or alone ( hermits ). A monastery generally includes

2112-408: The common good. In Hinduism monasteries are called matha , mandir , koil , or most commonly an ashram . Jains use the Buddhist term vihara . In most religions, life inside monasteries is governed by community rules that stipulate the gender of the inhabitants and require them to remain celibate and own little or no personal property. The degree to which life inside a particular monastery

2176-755: The community composed books of midrash , an allegorical method of interpreting scripture. Only on the Sabbath would the Therapeutae meet, share their learning, eat a common, albeit simple, meal of bread and spring water, and listen to a lecture on the Torah given by one of the venerable members of the community. Every seventh Sabbath, or High Sabbath , was accorded a festival of learning and singing, which climaxed in an egalitarian dance. The 3rd-century Christian writer Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 263–339), in his Ecclesiastical History , identified Philo's Therapeutae as

2240-542: The contemporary abolition of monasticism in France in the wake of the French Revolution . Convents for female monastics, or nunneries, were often portrayed as punishments for women unable or unwilling to marry. In the 1880 novel The Brothers Karamazov , Fyodor Dostoyevsky was heavily inspired by real-life accounts of Orthodox monasticism. Parts of the novel focus in particular on the controversy surrounding

2304-825: The correspondence between Valentin Faltlhauser and Georg Hensel, a senior physician at the Kinderheilstätte Mittelberg near Oy im Allgäu from 1939 to 1946 who carried out TB tests on disabled children in Kaufbeuren-Irsee. In 2009, three stumbling blocks by the Cologne artist Gunter Demnig were moved in front of the Irsee Abbey. Representing all the patients murdered in Irsee were Maria Rosa Bechter, Anna Brieger, and Ernst Lossa. In 1972

2368-428: The day took place around noon, often taken at a refectory table , and consisted of the most simple and bland foods e.g., poached fish, boiled oats. While they ate, scripture would be read from a pulpit above them. Since no other words were allowed to be spoken, monks developed communicative gestures. Abbots and notable guests were honoured with a seat at the high table, while everyone else sat perpendicular to that in

2432-564: The decline of Aramean Christianity in the Late Middle Ages . This form of solitary living, however, did not suit everyone. Some monks found the eremitic style to be too lonely and difficult; and if one was not spiritually prepared, the life could lead to mental breakdowns. For this reason, organized monastic communities were established so that monks could have more support in their spiritual struggle. While eremitic monks did have an element of socializing, since they would meet once

2496-504: The early 4th century. Though Pachomius is often credited as the "father of cenobitic monasticism," it is more accurate to think of him as the "father of organized cenobitic monasticism", as he was the first monk to take smaller communal groups that often already existed and bring them together into a federation of monasteries. He continued this work until his death in 347 at Pbow , a monastic center that he had founded ten years before. Palladius' Lausiac History claims that Pachomius

2560-537: The first Christian monks, identifying their renunciation of property, chastity, fasting, and solitary lives with the cenobitic ideal of the Christian monks. The organized version of Christian cenobitic monasticism is commonly thought to have started in Egypt in the 4th century AD. Christian monks of previous centuries were usually hermits , especially in the Middle East ; this continued to be very common until

2624-682: The first to have such an idea. Besides the monasteries that joined Pachomius' federation of cenobitic monasteries, there were both Christian and non-Christian cenobitic groups who decided not to join him, such as the Melitians and Manichaeans . Before Pachomius had begun organizing monastic communities, the Melitians as a group were already recruiting members. They were a heretical Christian sect founded by Melitius of Lycopolis . They "heard of Pachomius' monastic aspirations and tried to recruit him" to join their community. Some scholars believe

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2688-560: The following churches), Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church , Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church , Indian Orthodox Church , and Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. The monasteries of St. Macarius ( Deir Abu Makaria ) and St. Anthony ( Deir Mar Antonios ) are the oldest monasteries in the world and under the patronage of the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The last years of the 18th century marked in

2752-550: The former institution recalls these events. In the mid-1990s, a memorial for the victims of Nazi "euthanasia" was set up in the former morgue of the Irsee Health and Care Institute. In the anteroom is the large triptych , I would like to ask you even more politely to answer the following questions (1996) created by the Munich artist Beate Passow. She combined three of the perpetrators' photographs of victims with excerpts from

2816-537: The fourth century BCE from the practice of vassa , a retreat undertaken by Buddhist monastics during the South Asian wet season . To prevent wandering monks and nuns from disturbing new plant-growth or becoming stranded in inclement weather, they were instructed to remain in a fixed location for the roughly three-month period typically beginning in mid-July. These early fixed vassa retreats took place in pavilions and parks that wealthy supporters had donated to

2880-504: The hospital was closed. The local authorities of the district of Schwaben began the restoration of the buildings in 1974, which opened as the Schwäbische Tagungs- und Bildungszentrum Kloster Irsee ("Kloster Irsee Swabian Conference and Training Centre") in 1984. The Conference Centre is home to the Schwabenakademie and is used for a variety of events. The annual Irseer Pegasus writers' conference takes place every January, and

2944-535: The institution of "elderhood" in Orthodox Monasticism. Dostoyevsky's understanding of the tradition of elderhood is taken largely from Life of Elder Leonid of Optina by Father Kliment Zeder-gol'm, from which he quotes directly in chapter 5, book 1 of the Brother's Karamazov. Cenobium Cenobitic (or coenobitic ) monasticism is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in

3008-472: The later 17th century, and at length in 1694 was granted Imperial immediacy , becoming an Imperial abbey (German Reichsabtei ). The monastery was dissolved in the German mediatization of 1802, when its lands became a part of Bavaria . The greater part of the library was moved to Metten Abbey . In 1812 accommodation for a parish priest and local officials was set up in the monastery buildings. From 1849

3072-402: The location, the monastic order and the occupation of its inhabitants, the complex may also include a wide range of buildings that facilitate self-sufficiency and service to the community. These may include a hospice , a school , and a range of agricultural and manufacturing buildings such as a barn , a forge , or a brewery . In English usage, the term monastery is generally used to denote

3136-579: The monastic terms of monastery or priory , in the Latin languages , the term used by the friars for their houses is convent , from the Latin conventus , e.g., ( Italian : convento ) or ( French : couvent ), meaning "gathering place". The Franciscans rarely use the term "monastery" at present, preferring to call their house a "friary". In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church , both monks and nuns follow

3200-511: The order of seniority. This practice remained when some monasteries became universities after the first millennium, and can still be seen at Oxford University and Cambridge University . Monasteries were important contributors to the surrounding community. They were centres of intellectual progression and education. They welcomed aspiring priests to come and study and learn, allowing them even to challenge doctrine in dialogue with superiors. The earliest forms of musical notation are attributed to

3264-631: The person, who wears "sf". But in the course of time, Sufi has come to designate all Muslim believers in mystic union. Matthew Lewis ' 1796 Gothic Novel The Monk has as parts of its setting both a fictional monastery and nunnery in Spain at the time of the Inquisition . Many have interpreted Lewis' novel as a critique of Catholicism . Jane Austen sets the latter half of her 1818 novel Northanger Abbey in an out of use monastery, reflecting on Henry VIII 's abolition of monasticism in England and

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3328-612: The population of the Holy Mountain is around 2,200 men only and can only be visited by men with special permission granted by both the Greek government and the government of the Holy Mountain itself. The Oriental Orthodox churches, distinguished by their Miaphysite beliefs, consist of the Armenian Apostolic Church , Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (whose Patriarch is considered first among equals for

3392-589: The position of head of a temple or monastery sometimes became hereditary, passed from father to son over many generations. Forest monasteries – most commonly found in the Theravada traditions of Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka – are monasteries dedicated primarily to the study and cultivation of Buddhist meditation , rather than to scholarship or ceremonial duties. Forest monasteries often function like early Christian monasteries, with small groups of monks living an essentially hermit-like life gathered loosely around

3456-531: The premises were used as an asylum and hospital for the mentally ill . Between 1939 and 1945 more than 2,000 patients, both adults and children, were transported by the Nazi regime from Irsee and Kaufbeuren to death camps, or were killed in Irsee by starvation or injection. The then prison director and psychiatrist Valentin Faltlhauser was held responsible for this. Since 1981 a sculpture by sculptor Martin Wank in

3520-786: The religion, which in the past formed the traditional support of monasteries. There has been a long tradition of Christian monasteries providing hospitable, charitable and hospital services. Monasteries have often been associated with the provision of education and the encouragement of scholarship and research, which has led to the establishment of schools and colleges and the association with universities. Monastic life has adapted to modern society by offering computer services, accounting services and management as well as modern hospital and educational administration. Buddhist monasteries, known as vihāra in Pali and in Sanskrit , emerged sometime around

3584-589: The second founder, sister of the Bishop of Augsburg , and her appointee, abbot Conrad III, known for his extreme frugality. After severe losses during both the German Peasants' War in 1525 and the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century, including on both occasions the destruction of the library and on the second occasion of the archives, the abbey was finally able to put itself back on a stable footing in

3648-412: The traditions involved and the local climate, and people may be part of a monastic community for periods ranging from a few days at a time to almost an entire lifetime. Life within the walls of a monastery may be supported in several ways: by manufacturing and selling goods, often agricultural products; by donations or alms ; by rental or investment incomes; and by funds from other organizations within

3712-551: The very large to the very small. There are three types of monastic houses in the Eastern Orthodox Church: One of the great centres of Eastern Orthodox monasticism is Mount Athos in Greece , which, like Vatican City , is self-governing. It is located on an isolated peninsula approximately 20 miles (32 km) long and 5 miles (8.0 km) wide, and is administered by the heads of the 20 monasteries. Today

3776-468: The villagers of the nearby town of the same name even "before they constructed one for themselves." This means that cenobitic monks did find themselves in contact with other people, including lay people , whereas the eremitic monks tried to keep to themselves, only meeting for prayer occasionally. Cenobitic monks were also different from their eremitic predecessors and counterparts in their living arrangements. Whereas eremitic monks (hermits) lived alone in

3840-415: The word monastery was also applied to the habitation of a bishop and the cathedral clergy who lived apart from the lay community. Most cathedrals were not monasteries, and were served by canons secular , which were communal but not monastic. However, some were run by monasteries orders, such as York Minster . Westminster Abbey was for a short time a cathedral, and was a Benedictine monastery until

3904-450: Was attributed to the man usually hailed the "father of cenobitic monasticism," Saint Pachomius , who was believed to have found the idea for such quarters during the time he spent in the Roman army , as the style was "reminiscent of army barracks." While this impression may have been to some extent mythologized by the bishop and historian Palladius of Galatia , communal barracks -like desert dwellings known as cenobia came to exist around

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3968-399: Was given the idea to start a cenobitic monastery from an angel. Though this is an explanation of his reasoning for initiating the cenobitic tradition, there are sources that indicate there were already other communal monastic groups around at that time and possibly before him. Three of the nine monasteries that joined Pachomius' federation "clearly had an independent origin", meaning he was not

4032-444: Was later created by Ammonas in which "solitary" monks lived close enough to one another to offer mutual support as well as gathering together on Sundays for common services. It was Pachomius the Great who developed the idea of cenobitic monasticism : having renunciates live together and worship together under the same roof. Some attribute his mode of communal living to the barracks of the Roman Army in which Pachomios served as

4096-530: Was one of rigorous schedules and self-sacrifice. Prayer was their work, and the Office prayers took up much of a monk's waking hours – Matins , Lauds , Prime , Terce , daily Mass, Sext , None , Vespers , and Compline . In between prayers, monks were allowed to sit in the cloister and work on their projects of writing, copying, or decorating books. These would have been assigned based on a monk's abilities and interests. The non-scholastic types were assigned to physical labour of varying degrees. The main meal of

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