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119-411: A monk ( / m ʌ ŋ k / ; from Greek : μοναχός , monachos , "single, solitary" via Latin monachus ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery . A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation . The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions and in philosophy. The Greek word for "monk" may be applied to or women. In English, however, "monk"
238-431: A habit , books etc.), and to live meekly, sharing whatever they might have with the poor. Chastity requires that since they were willing to dedicate their lives to God, they sacrificed the love between men and women and stay either virginal or chaste. To become a monk, one first must be accepted by a community as a postulant . During the time of postulancy the man lives at the monastery to test his vocation, to get to know
357-577: A basis for coinages: anthropology , photography , telephony , isomer , biomechanics , cinematography , etc. Together with Latin words , they form the foundation of international scientific and technical vocabulary ; for example, all words ending in -logy ('discourse'). There are many English words of Greek origin . Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European language family. The ancient language most closely related to it may be ancient Macedonian , which, by most accounts,
476-558: A fairly stable set of consonantal contrasts . The main phonological changes occurred during the Hellenistic and Roman period (see Koine Greek phonology for details): In all its stages, the morphology of Greek shows an extensive set of productive derivational affixes , a limited but productive system of compounding and a rich inflectional system. Although its morphological categories have been fairly stable over time, morphological changes are present throughout, particularly in
595-560: A faster, more convenient cursive writing style with the use of ink and quill . The Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters, each with an uppercase ( majuscule ) and lowercase ( minuscule ) form. The letter sigma has an additional lowercase form (ς) used in the final position of a word: In addition to the letters, the Greek alphabet features a number of diacritical signs : three different accent marks ( acute , grave , and circumflex ), originally denoting different shapes of pitch accent on
714-540: A foreign language. It is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, " Homeric Greek is probably closer to Demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English ". Greek is spoken today by at least 13 million people, principally in Greece and Cyprus along with a sizable Greek-speaking minority in Albania near
833-436: A great deal of serious commitment. Within the cenobitic community, all monks conform to a common way of living based on the traditions of that particular monastery. In struggling to attain this conformity, the monastic comes to realize his own shortcomings and is guided by his spiritual father in how to deal honestly with them. For this same reason, bishops are almost always chosen from the ranks of monks. Eastern monasticism
952-663: A high level of spiritual excellence reach the final stage, called the Great Schema . The tonsure of a Schemamonk follows the same format as the Stavrophore, and he makes the same vows and is tonsured in the same manner. But in addition to all the garments worn by the Stavrophore, he is given the Analavos (Church Slavonic: Analav ) which is the article of monastic vesture emblematic of the Great Schema. For this reason,
1071-486: A large impact on the spread of practice of Traditional Chinese and Japanese Martial Arts in English-speaking countries. Martial arts films have been produced all over the world, but the genre has been dominated by Hong Kong action cinema , peaking from 1971 with the rise of Bruce Lee until the mid-1990s with a general decline in the industry, until it was revived close to the 2000s. Other notable figures in
1190-485: A leather belt is fastened around his waist. His habit is usually black (an archaic synonym for "monk" was Russian : чернец , romanized : chernets , lit. 'black one'; the female equivalent is Russian : черница , romanized : chernitsa ), signifying that he is now dead to the world, and he receives a new monastic name . Although the Rassophore does not make formal vows, he
1309-500: A life of full dedication to spiritual pursuits, is the highest stage of life in the varnasrama society. It is permanent and one cannot give it up. A Sannyasi is given the title Swami . Older grihastha with grown-up children are traditionally expected to accept vanaprastha (celibate retired) life. Greek language Greek ( Modern Greek : Ελληνικά , romanized : Elliniká , [eliniˈka] ; Ancient Greek : Ἑλληνική , romanized : Hellēnikḗ )
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#17327651383501428-533: A light for monks, monks are a light for laymen" ( St. John Klimakos ). Eastern Orthodox monastics separate themselves from the world in order to pray unceasingly for the world. They do not, in general, have as their primary purpose the running of social services, but instead are concerned with attaining theosis , or union with God. However, care for the poor and needy has always been an obligation of monasticism, so not all monasteries are "cloistered". The level of contact will vary from community to community. Hermits, on
1547-546: A monastery begin their lives as novices. After coming to the monastery and living as a guest for not less than three days, the revered abbot or abbess may bless the candidate to become a novice. There is no formal ceremony for the clothing of a novice, he or she simply receives permission to wear the clothing of a novice. In the Eastern monastic tradition, novices may or may not dress in the black inner cassock (Greek: Anterion , Eisorasson ; Church Slavonic: Podriasnik ) and wear
1666-431: A novice chooses to leave during the period of the novitiate, no penalty is incurred. He may also be asked to leave at any time if his behaviour does not conform to the monastic life, or if the superior discerns that he is not called to monasticism. When the abbot or abbess deems the novice ready, he is asked if he wishes to join the monastery. Some, out of humility, will choose to remain novices all their lives. Every stage of
1785-509: A predominantly monastic group but nowadays the majority of members live as lay persons. Many of them, however, spent some time as monks. New persons joining ISKCON as full-time members (living in its centers) first undergo a three-month Bhakta training, which includes learning the basics of brahmacari (monastic) life. After that they can decide if they prefer to continue as monks or as married Grihasthas . Brahmacari older than 50 years (per ISKCON rule) can become sannyasi . Sannyasa ,
1904-465: A priest, or if the monastic community is a convent, a hieromonk will perform the service. The abbot or hieromonk who performs a tonsure must be of at least the rank he is tonsuring into. In other words, only a hieromonk who has been tonsured into the Great Schema may himself tonsure a Schemamonk. A bishop, however, may tonsure into any rank, regardless of his own. Novice ( Church Slavonic : Poslushnik ), lit. "one under obedience"— Those wishing to join
2023-493: A significant movie genre in themselves. Like westerns for Americans, they have become an identity of Chinese cinema. As the most prestigious movie type in Chinese film history, kung fu movies were among the first Chinese films produced and the wuxia period films (武俠片) are the original form of Chinese kung fu films. The wuxia period films came into vogue due to the thousands of years popularity of wuxia novels (武俠小說). For example,
2142-717: A subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently featured in training scenes and other sequences in addition to fights. Martial arts films commonly include hand-to-hand combat along with other types of action, such as stuntwork , chases, and gunfights . Sub-genres of martial arts films include kung fu films , wuxia , karate films, and martial arts action comedy films, while related genres include gun fu , jidaigeki and samurai films . Notable actors who have contributed to
2261-547: A water strainer. In Vajrayana Buddhism, monkhood is part of the system of 'vows of individual liberation'; these vows are taken in order to develop one's own personal ethical discipline. The monks and nuns form the (ordinary) sangha . As for the Vajrayana vows of individual liberation, there are four steps: A lay person may take the 5 vows called 'approaching virtue' (in Tibetan ' genyen ' < dge snyan >). The next step
2380-587: Is a dispersed religious order within Methodism, though being ecumenical , it accepts believers of other Christian denominations. The Emmanuel Sisters is a convent of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon that was founded by Magdaline Marie Handy. These nuns are engaged in prayer, teaching, and healthcare. In Eastern Orthodoxy , monasticism holds a very special and important place: "Angels are
2499-804: Is also found in Bulgaria near the Greek-Bulgarian border. Greek is also spoken worldwide by the sizable Greek diaspora which has notable communities in the United States , Australia , Canada , South Africa , Chile , Brazil , Argentina , Russia , Ukraine , the United Kingdom , and throughout the European Union , especially in Germany . Historically, significant Greek-speaking communities and regions were found throughout
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#17327651383502618-461: Is also known as the Little Schema , and is considered to be a "betrothal" to the Great Schema. At this stage, the monk makes formal vows of stability, chastity, obedience and poverty . Then he is tonsured and clothed in the habit, which in addition to that worn by the Rassophore, includes the paramandyas (Church Slavonic: paraman ), a piece of square cloth worn on the back, embroidered with
2737-773: Is an Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece , Cyprus , Italy (in Calabria and Salento ), southern Albania , and other regions of the Balkans , Caucasus , the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor , and the Eastern Mediterranean . It has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records. Its writing system
2856-479: Is an Indo-European language, but also includes a number of borrowings from the languages of the populations that inhabited Greece before the arrival of Proto-Greeks, some documented in Mycenaean texts ; they include a large number of Greek toponyms . The form and meaning of many words have changed. Loanwords (words of foreign origin) have entered the language, mainly from Latin, Venetian , and Turkish . During
2975-949: Is applied mainly to men, while nun is typically used for female monastics. Although the term monachos is of Christian origin, in the English language monk tends to be used loosely also for both male and female ascetics from other religious or philosophical backgrounds. However, being generic, it is not interchangeable with terms that denote particular kinds of monk, such as cenobite , hermit , anchorite , hesychast , or solitary. Traditions of Christian monasticism exist in major Christian denominations, with religious orders being present in Catholicism, Lutheranism, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Reformed Christianity (Calvinism), Anglicanism and Methodism. Indian religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, also have monastic traditions as well. In Theravada Buddhism, bhikkhu
3094-621: Is considered revolutionary in American cinema for raising the standard of fight scenes in western cinema. In the Chinese-speaking world, martial arts films are commonly divided into two subcategories: the wuxia period films (武俠片), and the more modern kung fu films (功夫片, best epitomized in the films of Bruce Lee ). However, according to Hong Kong film director, producer, and movie writer Ronny Yu , wuxia movies are not to be confused with martial arts movies. Kung fu films are
3213-587: Is death to self and to the world and life to God and to his work. A monk is to be an instrument of God's work. Stability entails that the monk commit himself to the monastery for the remainder of his life, and so, upon death, will be buried at its cemetery. The vow of stability (stabilitas loci) is unique to Benedictines. The solemn vows in other religious orders were eventually established as vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Poverty requires that they renounce any ownership of property or assets, except for items that were allowed to them by their superior (such as
3332-408: Is found in three distinct forms: anchoritic (a solitary living in isolation), cenobitic (a community living and worshiping together under the direct rule of an abbot or abbess), and the "middle way" between the two, known as the skete (a community of individuals living separately but in close proximity to one another, who come together only on Sundays and feast days, working and praying the rest of
3451-498: Is likewise called a monastery. Many (but not all) Eastern Orthodox seminaries are attached to monasteries, combining academic preparation for ordination with participation in the community's life of prayer, and hopefully benefiting from the example and wise counsel of the monks. Bishops are required by the sacred canons of the Eastern Orthodox Church to be chosen from among the monastic clergy. The requirement
3570-768: Is now the largest Anglican community in the world with over 450 brothers in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and the United Kingdom . The Saint Brigid of Kildare Monastery is a double monastery of the United Methodist Church rooted in the Benedictine tradition, being located in Collegeville, Minnesota . Besides monastic orders, the Order of Saint Luke
3689-519: Is protected and promoted officially as a regional and minority language in Armenia, Hungary , Romania, and Ukraine. It is recognized as a minority language and protected in Turkey by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne . The phonology , morphology , syntax , and vocabulary of the language show both conservative and innovative tendencies across the entire attestation of the language from the ancient to
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3808-834: Is sometimes called aljamiado , as when Romance languages are written in the Arabic alphabet. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Greek: Transcription of the example text into Latin alphabet : Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English: Proto-Greek Mycenaean Ancient Koine Medieval Modern Martial arts film Martial arts films are
3927-426: Is specifically that they be monastics, not simply celibate (see clerical celibacy ). Monks who have been ordained to the priesthood are called hieromonks (priest-monks); monks who have been ordained to the diaconate are called hierodeacons (deacon-monks). A Schemamonk who is a priest is called a Hieroschemamonk. Most monks are not ordained; a community will normally only present as many candidates for ordination to
4046-526: Is spoken by at least 13.5 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey , and the many other countries of the Greek diaspora . Greek roots have been widely used for centuries and continue to be widely used to coin new words in other languages; Greek and Latin are the predominant sources of international scientific vocabulary . Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around
4165-500: Is still morally obligated to continue in the monastic estate for the rest of his life. Some will remain Rassophores permanently, without going on to the higher degrees. Stavrophore (Church Slavonic: Krestonosets ), lit. "Cross-bearer"—The next level for Eastern monastics takes place some years after the first tonsure when the abbot feels the monk has reached an appropriate level of discipline, dedication, and humility. This degree
4284-708: Is still used internationally for the writing of Ancient Greek . In Greek, the question mark is written as the English semicolon, while the functions of the colon and semicolon are performed by a raised point (•), known as the ano teleia ( άνω τελεία ). In Greek the comma also functions as a silent letter in a handful of Greek words, principally distinguishing ό,τι ( ó,ti , 'whatever') from ότι ( óti , 'that'). Ancient Greek texts often used scriptio continua ('continuous writing'), which means that ancient authors and scribes would write word after word with no spaces or punctuation between words to differentiate or mark boundaries. Boustrophedon , or bi-directional text,
4403-650: Is the Greek alphabet , which has been used for approximately 2,800 years; previously, Greek was recorded in writing systems such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary . The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin , Cyrillic , Coptic , Gothic , and many other writing systems. The Greek language holds a very important place in the history of the Western world. Beginning with
4522-701: Is the equivalent of the Pali term bhikkhuni ; bhikkhu is the word used in Theravada Buddhism (Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand). Chinese Buddhist monks have been traditionally and stereotypically linked with the practice of the Chinese martial arts or Kung fu , and monks are frequently important characters in martial arts films . This association is focused around the Shaolin Monastery . The Buddhist monk Bodhidharma , traditionally credited as
4641-502: Is the term for monk. Their disciplinary code is called the patimokkha , which is part of the larger Vinaya . They live lives of mendicancy , and go on a morning almsround ( Pali : pindapata ) every day. The local people give food for the monks to eat, though the monks are not permitted to positively ask for anything. The monks live in monasteries, and have an important function in traditional Asian society. Young boys can be ordained as samaneras . Both bhikkhus and samaneras eat only in
4760-404: Is the token of a consecrated life, and symbolizes the cutting off of their self-will. The process of becoming a monk is intentionally slow, as the vows taken are considered to entail a lifelong commitment to God, and are not to be entered into lightly. In Eastern Orthodox monasticism, after the completion of the novitiate there are three ranks of monasticism. There is only one monastic habit in
4879-403: Is to enter the monastic way of life (Tib. rabjung ) which includes wearing monk's or nun's robes . After that, one can become a 'novice' (Pali samanera , Tib. getshül ); the last and final step is to take all vows of the 'fully ordained monk' ( gelong ). This term 'gelong' (Tib. < dge long >, in the female form gelongma ) is the translation of Skt. bikshu (for women bikshuni ) which
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4998-736: The American Film Institute , the success of Bloodsport (1988), starring Van Damme, helped the resurgence of the martial arts film genre in the United States. In the 2000s, Thailand's film industry became an international force in the genre with the films of Tony Jaa and the cinema of Vietnam followed suit with The Rebel (2007) and Clash (2009). In more recent years, the Indonesian film industry has offered Merantau (2009) and The Raid: Redemption (2011). The Middle East has also participated in
5117-772: The Catholic Church and made himself the head of the Church of England . He initiated the Dissolution of the Monasteries , during which all of the monasteries within England were destroyed. A large number of monks were executed. Others fled to continental European monasteries where they were able to continue their monastic life. Shortly after the beginning of the Anglo-Catholic Movement in
5236-527: The Cistercians and the Trappists . Benedict founded the great Monte Cassino in 529. Benedict pointed out in his rule stability, conversion of life and obedience as promises. Obedience calls for the monk to obey Christ, as represented by the superior person of the monastery, which is an abbot or a prior . Conversion of life means, generally, that the monk converts himself to the way of a monk, which
5355-495: The Eastern Mediterranean , in what are today Southern Italy , Turkey , Cyprus , Syria , Lebanon , Israel , Palestine , Egypt , and Libya ; in the area of the Black Sea , in what are today Turkey, Bulgaria , Romania , Ukraine , Russia , Georgia , Armenia , and Azerbaijan ; and, to a lesser extent, in the Western Mediterranean in and around colonies such as Massalia , Monoikos , and Mainake . It
5474-717: The Episcopal Church in the United States, Dominicans . There are also uniquely Anglican monastic orders such as the Society of Saint John the Evangelist and the Community of the Resurrection at Mirfield . Some Anglican religious communities are contemplative, some active, but a distinguishing feature of the monastic life among Anglicans is that most practice the so-called "mixed life". Anglican monks recite
5593-644: The Greater Asketikon and Lesser Asketikon of St. Basil the Great and the Philokalia , which was compiled by St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth. Hesychasm is of primary importance in the ascetical theology of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Most communities are self-supporting, and the monastic's daily life is usually divided into three parts: (a) communal worship in
5712-516: The Indo-Iranian languages (see Graeco-Aryan ), but little definitive evidence has been found. In addition, Albanian has also been considered somewhat related to Greek and Armenian, and it has been proposed that they all form a higher-order subgroup along with other extinct languages of the ancient Balkans; this higher-order subgroup is usually termed Palaeo-Balkan , and Greek has a central position in it. Linear B , attested as early as
5831-865: The Kingdom of Heaven . Among the Greeks, the mantle is added at this stage. The paramandyas of the Megaloschemos is larger than that of the Stavrophore, and if he wears the klobuk, it is of a distinctive thimble shape, called a koukoulion , the veil of which is usually embroidered with crosses. In some monastic traditions the Great Schema is only given to monks and nuns on their death bed, while in others they may be elevated after as little as 25 years of service. Eastern Orthodox monks are addressed as "father" even if they are not priests; but when conversing among themselves, monks will often address one another as "Brother". Novices are always referred to as "Brother". Among
5950-646: The Mingxing Film Company . The film pioneered the martial arts film genre, and was the first kung fu action film ever created. The film is based on the popular Chinese novel "The Romance of the Red Lotus Temple", which is set in the Qing Dynasty and tells the story of a group of martial artists who band together to defend their temple from raiders. The film is notable for its action sequences and fight scenes, which were groundbreaking for
6069-690: The Norbertines ) and the clerics regular (such as the Jesuits ) live in community, they are neither monks nor friars as they are characterized by their clerical state and not by any monastic vows. Loccum Abbey and Amelungsborn Abbey have the longest traditions as Lutheran monasteries; after the Reformation, many monasteries and convents were received into the Lutheran Church and continued religious life, existing to this day. Since
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#17327651383506188-488: The catholicon (the monastery's main church); (b) hard manual labour; and (c) private prayer, spiritual study, and rest when necessary. Meals are usually taken in common in a sizable dining hall known as a trapeza (refectory), at elongated refectory tables . Food is usually simple and is eaten in silence while one of the brethren reads aloud from the spiritual writings of the Holy Fathers . The monastic lifestyle takes
6307-492: The nominal and verbal systems. The major change in the nominal morphology since the classical stage was the disuse of the dative case (its functions being largely taken over by the genitive ). The verbal system has lost the infinitive , the synthetically -formed future, and perfect tenses and the optative mood . Many have been replaced by periphrastic ( analytical ) forms. Pronouns show distinctions in person (1st, 2nd, and 3rd), number (singular, dual , and plural in
6426-640: The 19th and 20th century, there has been a renewal in the monastic life among Lutheranism. Lutheran religious orders in the Franciscan, Benedictine and other traditions exist, with some Lutheran monasteries having third orders and accepting oblates . In American Lutheran traditions, "The Congregation of the Servants of Christ" was established at St. Augustine's House in Oxford, Michigan , in 1958 when some other men joined Father Arthur Kreinheder in observing
6545-470: The 3rd millennium BC, or possibly earlier. The earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the world's oldest recorded living language . Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now-extinct Anatolian languages . The Greek language is conventionally divided into
6664-580: The Church of England, there was felt to be a need for a restoration of the monastic life. In the 1840s, the then Anglican priest and future Catholic Cardinal John Henry Newman established a community of men at Littlemore near Oxford . From then on, there have been established many communities of monks, friars and other religious communities for men in the Anglican Communion . There are Anglican Benedictines , Franciscans , Cistercians , and in
6783-660: The Divine Office in choir daily, either the full eight services of the Breviary or the four offices found in the Book of Common Prayer and celebrate the Eucharist daily. Many orders take on external works such as service to the poor, giving religious retreats, or other active ministries within their immediate communities. Like Catholic monks, Anglican monks also take the monastic vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. In
6902-401: The Eastern Orthodox Church (with certain slight regional variations), and it is the same for both monks and nuns. Each successive grade is given a portion of the habit, the full habit being worn only by those in the highest grade, known for that reason as the "Great Schema", or "Great Habit". The various profession rites are normally performed by the Abbot, but if the abbot has not been ordained
7021-486: The Greek alphabet since approximately the 9th century BC. It was created by modifying the Phoenician alphabet , with the innovation of adopting certain letters to represent the vowels. The variant of the alphabet in use today is essentially the late Ionic variant, introduced for writing classical Attic in 403 BC. In classical Greek, as in classical Latin, only upper-case letters existed. The lower-case Greek letters were developed much later by medieval scribes to permit
7140-425: The Greek language are often emphasized. Although Greek has undergone morphological and phonological changes comparable to those seen in other languages, never since classical antiquity has its cultural, literary, and orthographic tradition been interrupted to the extent that one can speak of a new language emerging. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than
7259-442: The Greek language was the Cypriot syllabary (also a descendant of Linear A via the intermediate Cypro-Minoan syllabary ), which is closely related to Linear B but uses somewhat different syllabic conventions to represent phoneme sequences. The Cypriot syllabary is attested in Cyprus from the 11th century BC until its gradual abandonment in the late Classical period, in favor of the standard Greek alphabet. Greek has been written in
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#17327651383507378-629: The Greek verb have likewise remained largely the same over the course of the language's history but with significant changes in the number of distinctions within each category and their morphological expression. Greek verbs have synthetic inflectional forms for: Many aspects of the syntax of Greek have remained constant: verbs agree with their subject only, the use of the surviving cases is largely intact (nominative for subjects and predicates, accusative for objects of most verbs and many prepositions, genitive for possessors), articles precede nouns, adpositions are largely prepositional, relative clauses follow
7497-446: The Greek-Albanian border. A significant percentage of Albania's population has knowledge of the Greek language due in part to the Albanian wave of immigration to Greece in the 1980s and '90s and the Greek community in the country. Prior to the Greco-Turkish War and the resulting population exchange in 1923 a very large population of Greek-speakers also existed in Turkey , though very few remain today. A small Greek-speaking community
7616-601: The Greeks, old monks are often called Gheronda , or "Elder", out of respect for their dedication. In the Slavic tradition, the title of Elder (Church Slavonic: Starets ) is normally reserved for those who are of an advanced spiritual life, and who serve as guides to others. For the Eastern Orthodox, "mother" is the correct term for nuns who have been tonsured Stavrophore or higher. Novices and Rassophores are addressed as "sister". Nuns live identical ascetic lives to their male counterparts and are therefore also called monachai (the feminine plural of monachos ), and their community
7735-480: The action director may rely more on stylized action or film making tricks like camera angles , editing , doubles , undercranking , wire work and computer-generated imagery . Trampolines and springboards used to be used to increase the height of jumps. The minimalist style employs smaller sets and little space for improvised but explosive fight scenes, as seen by Jackie Chan's films. These techniques are sometimes used by real martial artists as well, depending on
7854-404: The acute during the late 20th century, and it has only been retained in typography . After the writing reform of 1982, most diacritics are no longer used. Since then, Greek has been written mostly in the simplified monotonic orthography (or monotonic system), which employs only the acute accent and the diaeresis. The traditional system, now called the polytonic orthography (or polytonic system),
7973-406: The analavos itself is sometimes called the "Great Schema". The analavos comes down in the front and the back, somewhat like the scapular in Western monasticism, although the two garments are probably not related. It is often intricately embroidered with the instruments of the Passion and the Trisagion (the angelic hymn). The Greek form does not have a hood, the Slavic form has a hood and lappets on
8092-402: The ancient language; singular and plural alone in later stages), and gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and decline for case (from six cases in the earliest forms attested to four in the modern language). Nouns, articles, and adjectives show all the distinctions except for a person. Both attributive and predicative adjectives agree with the noun. The inflectional categories of
8211-472: The beginning of 2006, there was 2 permanent professed members and 2 long-term guests. Strong ties remain with this community and their brothers in Sweden ( Östanbäck monastery ) and in Germany ( Priory of St. Wigbert ). There is also the Order of Lutheran Franciscans , a religious community of friars and sisters within the tradition of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America . Monastic life in England came to an abrupt end when King Henry VIII broke from
8330-538: The best known Vaishnava monks outside India. They are a common sight in many places around the world. Their appearance—simple saffron dhoti , shaved head with sikha , Tulasi neckbeads and tilaka markings—and social customs ( sadhana ) date back many thousands of years to the Vedic era with its varnasrama society. This social scheme includes both monastic and lay stages meant for various persons in various stages of life according to their characteristics ( guna ) and work ( karma ). ISKCON started as
8449-471: The bishop as the liturgical needs of the community require. Hinduism has many monastic orders, including the Dashanami Sampradaya ( lit. ' Tradition of Ten Names ' ) orders established by Adi Shankara as well as Vaishnava orders. Madhvaacharya ( Madhvacharya ), the Dwaita philosopher, established ashta matha (Eight Monasteries). He appointed a monk (called swamiji or swamigalu in local parlance) for each matha or monastery who has
8568-421: The community and the community to get to know him. If the postulant and the community agree that the postulant should become a novice , he is received as such. At this time he is usually given the habit and a religious name . Both the community and the novice evaluate further whether the man is called to become a monk and he begins to participate more fully in the life of the community. As a postulant and novice ,
8687-536: The cross, and the candle will be burned at his funeral. In the Slavic practice, the Stavrophore also wears the monastic mantle . The rasson (outer robe) worn by the Stavrophore is more ample than that worn by the Rassophore. The abbot increases the Stavrophore monk's prayer rule, allows a more strict personal ascetic practice, and gives the monk more responsibility. Great Schema (Greek: Megaloschemos , Church Slavonic: Skhimnik )—Monks whose abbot feels they have reached
8806-565: The distinction between choir monks and lay brothers has been deemphasized, as the council allowed the Liturgy of the Hours to be celebrated in the vernacular language, effectively opening participation to all of the monks. Within western monasticism, it is important to differentiate between monks and friars . Monks generally live a contemplative life of prayer confined within a monastery while friars usually engage in an active ministry of service to
8925-404: The early 19th century that was used for literary and official purposes in the newly formed Greek state. In 1976, Dimotiki was declared the official language of Greece, after having incorporated features of Katharevousa and thus giving birth to Standard Modern Greek , used today for all official purposes and in education . The historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of
9044-564: The early 20th century when the Oxford Movement was at its height, the Anglican Communion had hundreds of orders and communities and thousands of religious followers. However, since the 1960s there has been a sharp falling off in the numbers of religious in many parts of the Anglican Communion. Many once large and international communities have been reduced to a single convent or monastery composed of elderly men or women. In
9163-618: The epics of Homer , ancient Greek literature includes many works of lasting importance in the European canon . Greek is also the language in which many of the foundational texts in science and philosophy were originally composed. The New Testament of the Christian Bible was also originally written in Greek. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world , the Greek texts and Greek societies of antiquity constitute
9282-413: The excellent ones' ( Standard Tibetan : mchog kyi tshogs ); however, these in turn need not be monks (i.e., hold such vows ). Several Mahayana orders accept female practitioners as monks, instead of using the normal title of "nun", and they are considered equal to male ascetics in all respects. The Bhikkhus are only allowed 4 items (other than their robes) : a razor, a sewing needle, an alms bowl and
9401-452: The following periods: In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia : the coexistence of vernacular and archaizing written forms of the language. What came to be known as the Greek language question was a polarization between two competing varieties of Modern Greek: Dimotiki , the vernacular form of Modern Greek proper, and Katharevousa , meaning 'purified', a compromise between Dimotiki and Ancient Greek developed in
9520-546: The form of the Liturgy of the Hours (also known as the Divine Office, reading of the divine scriptures ( lectio divina ) and labor. Among most religious orders, monks live in simple, austere rooms called cells and come together daily to celebrate and to recite the Liturgy of the Hours and the Mass . Usually, the monks take their meals together in the refectory . Many communities have a period of silence lasting from evening until
9639-547: The former type are commercially successful and well received by fans of the genre. One of the earliest Hollywood movies to employ the use of martial arts was the 1955 film Bad Day at Black Rock , though the scenes of Spencer Tracy performed barely any realistic fight sequences, but composed mostly of soft knifehand strikes . Martial arts films contain many characters who are martial artists and these roles are often played by actors who are real martial artists. If not, actors frequently train in preparation for their roles or
9758-522: The founder of Zen Buddhism in China, is also claimed to have introduced Kalaripayattu (which later evolved into Kung Fu) to the country. This latter claim has however been a source of much controversy (see Bodhidharma, the martial arts, and the disputed India connection ). One more feature about the Chinese Buddhist monks is that they practice the burning marks on their scalp, finger or part of
9877-501: The genre include Zhang Ziyi , Tony Jaa , Bruce Lee , Jean-Claude Van Damme , Jet Li , Toshiro Mifune , Donnie Yen , Jackie Chan , Michelle Yeoh , and Sammo Hung . The first ever martial arts film was a Chinese film released in 1928, The Burning of the Red Lotus Temple (also translated as "The Burning of the Red Lotus Monastery"), a silent film directed by Chinese film director Zhang Shichuan and produced by
9996-513: The genre include Jackie Chan, Jet Li , Sammo Hung , Yuen Biao , Donnie Yen , and Hwang Jang-lee . Sonny Chiba , Etsuko Shihomi , and Hiroyuki Sanada starred in numerous karate and jidaigeki films from Japan during the 1970s and early 1980s. Hollywood has also participated in the genre with actors such as Chuck Norris , Sho Kosugi , Jean-Claude Van Damme , Steven Seagal , Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee), Wesley Snipes , Gary Daniels , Mark Dacascos and Jason Statham . According to
10115-524: The genre with actors such as Youssef Mansour who became famous in the 1990’s for his Egyptian films that relied on martial arts. Women have also played key roles in the genre, including such actresses as Michelle Yeoh , Angela Mao and Cynthia Rothrock . In addition, western animation has ventured into the genre with the most successful effort being the internationally hailed DreamWorks Animation film franchise, Kung Fu Panda , starring Jack Black and Angelina Jolie . The Matrix (1999)
10234-439: The infinitive entirely (employing a raft of new periphrastic constructions instead) and uses participles more restrictively. The loss of the dative led to a rise of prepositional indirect objects (and the use of the genitive to directly mark these as well). Ancient Greek tended to be verb-final, but neutral word order in the modern language is VSO or SVO. Modern Greek inherits most of its vocabulary from Ancient Greek, which in turn
10353-511: The instruments of the Passion (see picture above), and connected by ties to a wooden cross worn over the heart. The paramandyas represents the yoke of Christ. Because of this addition he is now called Stavrophore , or Cross-bearer . He is also given a wooden hand cross (or "profession cross"), which he should keep in his icon corner , and a beeswax candle, symbolic of monastic vigilance the sacrificing of himself for God. He will be buried holding
10472-612: The last few decades of the 20th century, novices have for most communities been few and far between. Some orders and communities have already become extinct. There are however, still several thousand Anglican monks working today in approximately 200 communities around the world. The most growth has been in the Melanesian countries of the Solomon Islands , Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea . The Melanesian Brotherhood , founded at Tabalia , Guadalcanal , in 1925 by Ini Kopuria ,
10591-467: The late 15th century BC, was the first script used to write Greek. It is basically a syllabary , which was finally deciphered by Michael Ventris and John Chadwick in the 1950s (its precursor, Linear A , has not been deciphered and most likely encodes a non-Greek language). The language of the Linear B texts, Mycenaean Greek , is the earliest known form of Greek. Another similar system used to write
10710-434: The lay brothers and the choir monks, as they all have the obligation to celebrate the entire Divine Office daily in choir . However, historically, the roles of the two groups of monks within the monastery differed. The work of the choir monks was considered to be prayer, chanting the hours of the Divine Office, whereas the lay brothers provided for the material needs of the community by growing food, preparing meals, maintaining
10829-533: The male population, many of whom were killed in the purges of Choibalsan . Within Catholicism , a monk is a member of a religious order who lives a communal life in a monastery under a monastic rule of life. Benedict of Nursia , (480-543 or 547 AD) is considered to be the originator of western monasticism. Benedict's rule , is the foundation for the Benedictines and all of its reform groups such as
10948-426: The man is free to leave the community at any time or the institute can dismiss him. Following the novitiate, which must last at least one canonical year (but not longer than two years) in the community of the novitiate the novice may profess first vows, if he is accepted to do so. After a few years (usually three) the monk makes solemn vows , which are binding for life. The monastic life generally consists of prayer in
11067-640: The membership of Greece and Cyprus in the European Union, Greek is one of the organization's 24 official languages . Greek is recognized as a minority language in Albania, and used co-officially in some of its municipalities, in the districts of Gjirokastër and Sarandë . It is also an official minority language in the regions of Apulia and Calabria in Italy. In the framework of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , Greek
11186-441: The modern period. The division into conventional periods is, as with all such periodizations, relatively arbitrary, especially because, in all periods, Ancient Greek has enjoyed high prestige, and the literate borrowed heavily from it. Across its history, the syllabic structure of Greek has varied little: Greek shows a mixed syllable structure, permitting complex syllabic onsets but very restricted codas. It has only oral vowels and
11305-580: The monastery and the grounds. This distinction arose historically because generally those monks who could read Latin typically became choir monks, while those monks who were illiterate or could not read Latin became lay brothers. The lay brothers would instead recite at least some of the liturgical hours prayers such as the Lord's Prayer or the Hail Mary . Since the Second Vatican Council ,
11424-414: The monastic life and offices of prayer. These men and others came and went over the years. The community has always remained small; at times the only member was Father Arthur. During the 35 years of its existence over 25 men tested their vocations to monastic life by living at the house for some time, from a few months to many years, but at Father Arthur's death in 1989 only one permanent resident remained. At
11543-489: The monastic life must be entered into voluntarily. Rassophore (Church Slavonic: Ryassofor ), lit. "Robe-bearer"— If the novice continues on to become a monk, he is clothed in the first degree of monasticism at a formal service known as the Tonsure . Although there are no formal vows made at this point, the candidate is normally required to affirm his commitment to persevere in the monastic life. The abbot will then perform
11662-527: The morning, and are not supposed to lead a luxurious life. Their rules forbid the use of money, although this rule is nowadays not kept by all monks. The monks are part of the Sangha , the third of the Triple Gem of Buddha , Dhamma , Sangha. In Mahayana Buddhism, the term 'Sangha' strictly speaking refers to those who have achieved certain levels of understanding. They are therefore called 'community of
11781-437: The next morning and some others restrict talking to only when it is necessary for the monks to perform their work and during weekly recreation. Monks who have been or will be ordained into Holy Orders as priests or deacons were traditionally referred to as "choir monks". Those monks who are not ordained into Holy Orders are referred to as lay brothers . In most monastic communities today, little distinction exists between
11900-399: The noun they modify and relative pronouns are clause-initial. However, the morphological changes also have their counterparts in the syntax, and there are also significant differences between the syntax of the ancient and that of the modern form of the language . Ancient Greek made great use of participial constructions and of constructions involving the infinitive, and the modern variety lacks
12019-536: The objects of study of the discipline of Classics . During antiquity , Greek was by far the most widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world . It eventually became the official language of the Byzantine Empire and developed into Medieval Greek . In its modern form , Greek is the official language of Greece and Cyprus and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union . It
12138-706: The older periods of Greek, loanwords into Greek acquired Greek inflections, thus leaving only a foreign root word. Modern borrowings (from the 20th century on), especially from French and English, are typically not inflected; other modern borrowings are derived from Albanian , South Slavic ( Macedonian / Bulgarian ) and Eastern Romance languages ( Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian ). Greek words have been widely borrowed into other languages, including English. Example words include: mathematics , physics , astronomy , democracy , philosophy , athletics , theatre, rhetoric , baptism , evangelist , etc. Moreover, Greek words and word elements continue to be productive as
12257-564: The other hand, have little or no contact with the outside world. Eastern Orthodox monasticism does not have religious orders as are found in the West, nor do they have Rules in the same sense as the Rule of St. Benedict . Rather, Eastern monastics study and draw inspiration from the writings of the Desert Fathers as well as other Church Fathers ; probably the most influential of which are
12376-480: The outside community. The monastic orders include all Benedictines (the Order of Saint Benedict and its later reforms including the Cistercians and the Trappists ) and the Carthusians , who live according to their own statutes. Orders of friars include the mendicant orders (primarily Order of Friars Minor , Capuchins , Dominicans , Carmelites , and Augustinians ). Although the canons regular (such as
12495-546: The outside world, including their own families. The purpose of the monastic life is union with God, the means is through leaving the world (i.e., the life of the passions). After tonsure, Eastern Orthodox monks and nuns are never permitted to cut their hair. The hair of the head and the beard remain uncut as a symbol of the vows they have taken, reminiscent of the Nazarites from the Old Testament . The tonsure of monks
12614-686: The right to worship Madhvacharya's murti of Lord Krishna by rotation. Each matha's swamiji gets a chance to worship after fourteen years. This ritual is called Paryaya and has been used also outside his sampradaya , e.g. in Gaudiya Vaisnava Radharamana temple in Vrindavan . Similar in appearance to Buddhist monks, brahmacari monks from the International Society for Krishna Consciousness ( ISKCON ), or Hare Krishnas as they are popularly known, are
12733-528: The shoulders, so that the garment forms a large cross covering the monk's shoulders, chest, and back. Another piece added is the Polystavrion or "Many Crosses", which consists of a cord with a number of small crosses plaited into it. The polystavrion forms a yoke around the monk and serves to hold the analavos in place, and reminds the monastic that he is bound to Christ and that his arms are no longer fit for worldly activities, but that he must labor only for
12852-425: The skin on their anterior side of the forearm with incense as a sign of ordination. In Thailand and Burma , it is common for boys to spend some time living as a monk in a monastery. Most stay for only a few years and then leave, but a number continue on in the ascetic life for the rest of their lives. In Mongolia during the 1920s, there were about 110,000 monks, including children, who made up about one-third of
12971-534: The soft monastic hat (Greek: Skoufos , Church Slavonic: Skufia ), depending on the tradition of the local community, and in accordance to the abbot's directives. The inner-cassock and the skoufos are the first part of the Eastern Orthodox monastic habit. In some communities, the novice also wears the leather belt. He is also given a prayer rope and instructed in the use of the Jesus Prayer . If
13090-437: The stressed vowel; the so-called breathing marks ( rough and smooth breathing ), originally used to signal presence or absence of word-initial /h/; and the diaeresis , used to mark the full syllabic value of a vowel that would otherwise be read as part of a diphthong. These marks were introduced during the course of the Hellenistic period. Actual usage of the grave in handwriting saw a rapid decline in favor of uniform usage of
13209-657: The style of action in the film. During the 1970s and 1980s, the most visible presence of martial arts films was the hundreds of English-dubbed kung fu and ninja films produced by the Shaw Brothers , Godfrey Ho and other Hong Kong producers. These films were widely broadcast on North American television on weekend timeslots that were often colloquially known as Kung Fu Theater , Black Belt Theater or variations thereof. Inclusive in this list of films are commercial classics like The Big Boss (1971), Drunken Master (1978) and One Armed Boxer (1972). Those films had
13328-475: The time and helped establish the martial arts film genre. Asian films are known to have a more minimalist approach to film based on their culture. Some martial arts films have only a minimal plot and amount of character development and focus almost exclusively on the action, while others have more creative and complex plots and characters along with action scenes. Films of the latter type are generally considered to be artistically superior films, but many films of
13447-452: The time in solitude, but under the direction of an elder). One normally enters a cenobitic community first, and only after testing and spiritual growth would one go on to the skete or, for the most advanced, become a solitary anchorite. However, one is not necessarily expected to join a skete or become a solitary; most monastics remain in the cenobium the whole of their lives. In general, Eastern Orthodox monastics have little or no contact with
13566-411: The tonsure, cutting a small amount of hair from four spots on the head, forming a cross. He is then given the outer cassock (Greek: Rasson , Exorasson , or Mandorasson ; Church Slavonic: Ryassa )—an outer robe with wide sleeves, something like the cowl used in the West, but without a hood—from which the name of Rassophore derives. He is also given a brimless hat with a veil, known as a klobuk , and
13685-574: Was a distinct dialect of Greek itself. Aside from the Macedonian question, current consensus regards Phrygian as the closest relative of Greek, since they share a number of phonological, morphological and lexical isoglosses , with some being exclusive between them. Scholars have proposed a Graeco-Phrygian subgroup out of which Greek and Phrygian originated. Among living languages, some Indo-Europeanists suggest that Greek may be most closely related to Armenian (see Graeco-Armenian ) or
13804-568: Was also used as the official language of government and religion in the Christian Nubian kingdoms , for most of their history. Greek, in its modern form, is the official language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population. It is also the official language of Cyprus (nominally alongside Turkish ) and the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (alongside English ). Because of
13923-557: Was also used in Ancient Greek. Greek has occasionally been written in the Latin script , especially in areas under Venetian rule or by Greek Catholics . The term Frankolevantinika / Φραγκολεβαντίνικα applies when the Latin script is used to write Greek in the cultural ambit of Catholicism (because Frankos / Φράγκος is an older Greek term for West-European dating to when most of (Roman Catholic Christian) West Europe
14042-580: Was under the control of the Frankish Empire ). Frankochiotika / Φραγκοχιώτικα (meaning 'Catholic Chiot') alludes to the significant presence of Catholic missionaries based on the island of Chios . Additionally, the term Greeklish is often used when the Greek language is written in a Latin script in online communications. The Latin script is nowadays used by the Greek-speaking communities of Southern Italy . The Yevanic dialect
14161-673: Was written by Romaniote and Constantinopolitan Karaite Jews using the Hebrew Alphabet . In a tradition, that in modern time, has come to be known as Greek Aljamiado , some Greek Muslims from Crete wrote their Cretan Greek in the Arabic alphabet . The same happened among Epirote Muslims in Ioannina . This also happened among Arabic-speaking Byzantine rite Christians in the Levant ( Lebanon , Palestine, and Syria ). This usage
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