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110-529: Syon Abbey / ˈ s aɪ ə n / , also called simply Syon , was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettine Order , although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th century, on the left (northern) bank of the River Thames within the parish of Isleworth , in the county of Middlesex , on or near the site of

220-502: 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

330-408: A century later, the site has been unavailable for formal Jewish or Christian prayer. The monastery was founded “of the order of St Augustine, called St Saviour ... according to the regular institutes (i.e. regulations/rule) of the religious order by the aforesaid Bridget of Heaven inspired, founded and instituted ...” The charter previously stated the foundation to be “Especially in honour of

440-411: A declaration of conversion to be signed by the abbess and nuns. On 4 May 1535 Reynolds was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn for denying the king's supremacy, which martyrdom gained him his canonisation from Rome. The monastery finally surrendered to the king's commissioners in 1539 and the community was expelled. The annual net revenues were then reported to be £1,731. A very large pension of £200

550-524: A direct descendant of Protector Somerset), whose grandmother Lady Elizabeth Percy (d.1722) was the heiress of the 15th and last Percy, Earl of Northumberland, from whom Syon House thus devolved onto the first Duke of Northumberland. In 1750, 10 years after his marriage, he adopted the name Percy in lieu of his patronymic. Syon House remains in 2010 the London seat of the Dukes of Northumberland . Foundations of

660-672: 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),

770-779: 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

880-480: 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

990-457: A means of emphasising the dynastic link between his own House of Lancaster and that of Plantagenet, of unquestioned legitimacy, and decided at the same time to found the three monasteries pledged by his father in one great, multi-campus building scheme, known as “The King's Great Work”. Thus the “Great Work” commenced in the winter of 1413–14, comprising a new Sheen Palace , and nearby the following three monasteries: The first stone of Syon Abbey

1100-576: A meeting at Syon between Sir Thomas More , the King's chief opponent in his assumption of Supreme Headship , and Elizabeth Barton , the mystic “Holy Maid of Kent” at which More was fueled with supposed divine revelations further supporting his opposition. Thomas Cromwell , the King's minister in effecting the Dissolution, had visited Syon in person to obtain expressions of acceptance of supremacy, but seems to have met an antagonistic reception from one of

1210-487: 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 ,

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1320-470: 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

1430-494: 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

1540-465: 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,

1650-915: 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

1760-553: 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

1870-538: 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

1980-419: A special request to Cromwell that he should “be a good maister unto thaim and to thaire house, as thaire special trust is in you”. It seems they were then confident in the continuation of their monastery. One nun however named Agnes Smythe “a sturdy dame and a wylful” made a show of some resistance in persuading her sister nuns not to hand over the convent seal, which had been required by Cromwell's agents to seal

2090-588: 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

2200-516: 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

2310-455: 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 ,

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2420-702: Is also the final resting place for a number of soldiers who fought in the First World War, as well as members of the Palestinian Police who served under the British mandate . Several persons buried here were killed in the bombing of the King David Hotel on the morning of 22 July 1946. In 1874, an Englishman, Henry Maudsley, discovered a large segment of rock scarp and numerous ancient dressed stones on Mount Zion that were believed to be

2530-629: Is derived from the Psalm 48 composed by the sons of Korah , i.e. Levites, as "the northern side of the city of the great king", which Radak interprets as the City of David "from the City of David, which is Zion (1 Kings 8:1–2; 2 Chron. 5:2)". 2 Samuel 5:7 also reads, "David took the strong hold of Zion: the same is the city of David," which identifies Mount Tzion as part of the City of David, and not an area outside today's Old City of Jerusalem. Rashi identifies

2640-570: Is held at the University of Exeter Special Collections . A large proportion of this collection comprises material deposited by the sisters of Syon Abbey between 1990 and the monastery's closure in 2011, including the community's archive, manuscripts and printed books. 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

2750-461: Is said to have been in the meadows which at the time of his publication in 1840 were the property of the Marquis of Ailsa , “formerly called Isleworth Park or Twickenham Park”. The dimensions of the plot were specified in the charter, and seem to comprise a trapezoid , the longest side of which fronted the river: “... in a certain parcel of land of our demesne of our manor of Isleworth within

2860-486: 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

2970-725: Is still in place at what is now the Mount Zion Hotel. The ride from the Israeli position at the St. John Eye Hospital to Mount Zion took two minutes. Between 1948 and 1967, when the Old City was under Jordanian rule , Israelis were forbidden access to the Jewish holy places. Mount Zion was a designated no-man's land between Israel and Jordan. Mount Zion was the closest accessible site to the ancient Jewish Temple . Until East Jerusalem

3080-551: 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,

3190-590: 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

3300-700: The monasterye of Syon”. There are numerous references to Sion in the Latin Bible, called Zion in the English Authorised Version, almost all of which are in the Old Testament. Mount Zion was the citadel of Jerusalem , which David captured from the Jebusites c. 1000 BC, as is clear from II Samuel, 5:7 David took the stronghold of Zion: the same is the city of David . It was there that David, 2nd King of Israel, established

3410-487: The mother house Vadstena Abbey in Sweden to England were Anna Karlsdotter, Christina Finwitsdotter, Christina Esbjörnsdotter and Anna Esbjörnsdotter. The king's original foundation followed Bridget's rule and consisted of 85 persons. The full complement was as follows: Women (60): Men (25): The different sexes were “to dwell in separate habitations, to wit the said abbess and sisters within one court by themselves and

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3520-533: 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

3630-609: The "City of David", where he erected his palace . Once the First Temple was erected at the top of the Eastern Hill, the name "Mount Zion" migrated there too. After the conquest of the Jebusite city, its built-up area expanded northward towards the uppermost part of the same, Eastern Hill. This highest part became the site of Solomon's Temple . The identification of the pre-Israelite (Jebusite) and Israelite towns on

3740-512: The Abbess and Convent received permission by letters patent from King Henry VI (1422–1461), the son of the founder and who was particularly favourable to Syon, having made it several grants and confirmations in rapid succession, to move the monastery to a new site of their own choosing some mile and a half downstream to a riverbank site within Isleworth parish. The land in question had been in

3850-576: The Arabic for "valley") seemingly preserves the name and is located approximately one and three-quarter miles (2.8 km) from the Old City of Jerusalem 's Jaffa Gate . The phrase Har Tzion , lit. "Mount Zion", appears nine times in the Tanakh . The name Mount Zion referred successively to three locations, as Jerusalemites preserved the time-honoured name, but shifted the location they venerated as

3960-533: The Arundel Manuscript, is now housed at Arundel Castle. The Lisbon community returned to England in 1861, settling first in Spetisbury , Dorset ; moving in 1887 to Chudleigh , Devon (in a building known as Chudleigh Abbey ); and then in 1925 (or 1935) to Marley House, in the parish of Rattery , South Brent , Devon . The religious community, or Abbey, of Syon thus had the distinction of being

4070-618: 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

4180-655: 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

4290-664: The Eastern Hill is based on the existence of only one perennial water source in the area, the Gihon Spring , and on archaeological excavations revealing sections of the Bronze Age and Iron Age city walls and water systems. The "Mount Zion" mentioned in the later parts of the Book of Isaiah ( Isaiah 60:14 ), in the Book of Psalms , and the First Book of Maccabees (c. 2nd century BCE; 1 Maccabees 4:36–38 ) seems to refer to

4400-814: The Holocaust ( Martef HaShoah ), the precursor of Yad Vashem , is also located on Mount Zion. Another place of interest is the Catholic cemetery where Oskar Schindler , a Righteous Gentile who saved the lives of 1,200 Jews in the Holocaust , is buried. Notable burials in the Protestant cemetery on Mt. Zion include a number of prominent individuals from the 19th and 20th centuries. These include explorers and archaeologists such as: Flinders Petrie , Charles Frederick Tyrwhitt Drake , James Duncan, Clarence Stanley Fisher , Charles Lambert and James Leslie Starkey ;

4510-622: 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

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4620-467: The Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him". The prophecy was said to have been fulfilled during this night at Syon, when some “corrupted matter of a bloody colour” fell from the coffin to the floor. After dissolution, the estate came into the possession of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset , Lord Protector to the young Edward VI , who started work on building

4730-533: The Monastery Church lying to the immediate east of Syon House were partially uncovered in excavations starting in summer 2003, made by Channel 4 's Time Team archaeological programme, broadcast on 4 January 2004. The programme highlighted medieval masonry blocks in the foundation wall of the north Wing as evidence that the west end of the church may have been incorporated into the current house built by Protector Somerset . However, subsequent sweeping of

4840-620: The Order of St Augustine” through all successive ages. ( Monasterium in the original Latin). This name was quoted slightly differently by the Abbess and Convent in their petition of 1431 as “The Monastery of St Saviour and the Saints Mary the Virgin and Bridget of Syon of the Order of St Augustine and of St Saviour ”. The funerary brass of Agnes Jordan, Syon's last pre-reformation abbess, describes her as “Sometyme abbesse of

4950-643: 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

5060-652: The Risen Christ, displaying his wounds. The Bridgettine order was a modified order of St Augustine, with particular devotions to the Passion of Christ and the honour of The Virgin Mary. The Bridgettines had first been brought to England from Wastein ( Vadstena Abbey ) in Sweden by Henry Lord Fitz-Hugh , who suggested to Henry V that he should grant the order one of his planned 3 new monastic foundations. The Bridgettine nuns sent by Abbess Gerdeka Hartlevsdotter from

5170-460: The River Thames, opposite the parish of Twickenham and the royal manor of Isleworth on the left, Middlesex, bank. Sheen had been a favourite residence of the last Plantagenet king Richard II (1377–1399) and his beloved wife Anne of Bohemia . When Anne died there of plague in 1394, Richard cursed the place where they had found great happiness and razed the palace to the ground. His throne

5280-678: 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

5390-570: The Western Hill, separated from the lower, Eastern Hill, by what he calls the " Tyropoeon Valley ". It must however be said that Josephus never used the name "Mount Zion" in any of his writings, but described the "Citadel" of King David as being situated on the higher and longer hill, thus pointing at the Western Hill as what the Bible calls Mount Zion. At the end of the Roman period, a synagogue

5500-419: The abbey remained intact and were used in situ during the construction of Syon House, most notably an undercroft forming part of the cellars of the mansion's westerly wing and two Gothic doorways. Further remains are confirmed across the building's lawns, including the vaults of the abbey latrine and the foundations of the majority of the abbey church. A substantial collection of material relating to Syon Abbey

5610-686: The accession of the Catholic Queen Mary I (1553–1558) in 1553 when the Abbey was reestablished by a charted issued on 1 March 1557 by Cardinal Pole . Katherine Palmer was elected abbess on 31 July 1557, supported by Queen Mary. The buildings had remained intact during the interval. On the accession of the Protestant Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603) in 1558 the Religious Houses Act 1558 (1 Eliz. 1. c. 24)

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5720-462: The architect Conrad Schick ; and pioneers in the fields of medicine, education, religion, diplomacy and social services such as James Edward Hanauer , Ernest Masterman, John Nicholayson , Paul Palmer, Max Sandreczky , Johann Ludwig Schneller, Horatio G. Spafford , author of the hymn It Is Well With My Soul . Also buried in the cemetery are G. Douglas Young, founder of Jerusalem University College , and his wife Georgina (Snook) Young. The cemetery

5830-415: 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

5940-412: The capital of his kingdom of Israel, and upon which citadel it was that his son Solomon built the Temple , in which he was the dwelling place of God (II Samuel 7:6). It is thus the holiest site of Judaism and highly revered by Christians. Psalm 87:2 states The Lord loveth the gates of Zion ; Joel 3:17 states I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion my holy mountain . The Romans razed the Jewish Temple to

6050-408: 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

6160-422: 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

6270-428: 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

6380-427: The entire Western Hill behind them. Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed the city almost completely around 586 BCE , severing the continuity of historical memory. A long period of rebuilding followed, ending with Jerusalem's second total destruction at the hands of the Romans in 70 CE. Josephus , the first-century CE historian who knew the city as it was before this second catastrophic event, identified Mount Zion as being

6490-443: The first Syon House in the Italian Renaissance style, apparently incorporating the west end of the monastery church. Following the Duke's execution for treason in 1552, it was confiscated for the Crown under Queen Mary, who briefly re-established the community there during 1557 to 1558. Her successor Queen Elizabeth I granted in 1594 a lease of the manor to Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland on his marriage to Dorothy Devereux ,

6600-434: The floor demonstrated that the Tudor floor surface continued underneath the wall, suggesting that the medieval blocks were simply reused when this wing was rebuilt in 1820. So far there is no evidence on the exact length of the church or whether it does actually extend under Syon House. Further excavations by Birkbeck, University of London have continued from 2004 to 2011. As of 2020, it has been confirmed that some portions of

6710-461: The focal point of biblical Jerusalem to the site considered most appropriate in their own time. At first, Mount Zion was the name given to the Jebusite fortified city on the lower part of ancient Jerusalem's Eastern Hill, also known as the City of David . According to the Book of Samuel , Mount Zion was the site of the Jebusite fortress called the "stronghold of Zion" that was conquered by King David , then renamed and partially rebuilt by him as

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6820-428: 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

6930-428: The following day the King himself sent four different Church of England clerics to Syon for the same purpose, again without success. The agent Bedyll then took the recalcitrant Whitford for a walk in the monastery garden to further persuade him “both with faire wordes and with foule” to convert. He then resorted to what appears a classic use of blackmail, accusing Whitford of having “used bawdy wordes to diverse ladys at

7040-477: 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

7150-408: The general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven" (Hebrews 12:22–23, cf. Revelation 14:1). Important sites on Mount Zion are Dormition Abbey , the Armenian Monastery of St. Saviour , King David's Tomb and the Room of the Last Supper . Most historians and archeologists today do not regard "David's Tomb" there to be the actual burial place of King David . The Chamber of

7260-407: The ground in 70 AD and following the rise of Islam from 622, and the Muslim capture of the Holy Land in 636, the Muslims built on Mount Zion their Muslim shrine The Dome of the Rock , which still stands today. The Crusaders recaptured Jerusalem for the Christians in 1099 and the Knights Templar built a round church near the site of the old Jewish Temple. Following the Muslim recapture of Jerusalem

7370-614: The habitation of themselves as of the said religious brethren, which monastery so built anew and enlarged they have earnestly requested licence of us ...to consecrate and set apart as a habitation for them the said abbess and nuns and men of religion...Know ye we therefore of our pity have...permitted them...to the said mansion so chosen and by the said abbess and convent erected edified built and enlarged as aforesaid...to remove immediateley...” It seems that this building, apparently living quarters or “mansion” must have been started several years before 1431 to have been described as “completed” in

7480-420: The inmates of Syon expressed themselves favourable to Henry's supremacy over the English Church, and even converted recalcitrant monks from other monasteries to do likewise. Many however refused to acknowledge the King's new title. Due to the actions of one Syon monk named Richard Reynolds , an eminent doctor in divinity later canonised, the King made Syon an object of special vengeance. Reynolds had facilitated

7590-443: 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. Mount Zion Mount Zion ( Hebrew : הַר צִיּוֹן , Har Ṣīyyōn ; Arabic : جبل صهيون , Jabal Sahyoun ) is a hill in Jerusalem , located just outside

7700-412: The letters of patent issued before 1431 There was however another building, possibly the new Church-building itself, which still had not been completed 11 years later, by 1442, when Henry VI issued further letters patent granting the Abbess and Convent special privileges for the transport of building materials from the king's warren in the royal manor of Sheen across the river to Isleworth: That none of

7810-435: The location as the source of "joy" mentioned in the Psalm as the Temple Courtyard , the location of atonement offerings in the northern part of the Temple complex . In the New Testament, Mount Zion is used metaphorically to refer to the heavenly Jerusalem, God's holy, eternal city. Christians are said to have "come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to

7920-402: 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

8030-512: The masons, carpenters and tilers or any of their workmen or any of their materials to be employed towards the construction of the new Monastery of Syon, should be taken away by any his officers against their will. The new site of the church building itself is now believed, after recent archaeological work, to lie partly underneath and to the east of the present Georgian mansion of Syon House. (see below: Archaeological Excavations ). Following Henry VIII's decision in 1534 to break with Rome, many of

8140-452: The monastery's ownership since 1422, in which last year of the life of Henry V that king had by Act of Parliament separated the manor of Isleworth from the Duchy of Cornwall and given it to Syon. The reason for the move was to gain more space, as is made clear from the letters patent: “The said Abbess and Convent had presented their humble petition setting forth that their aforesaid monastery

8250-579: 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

8360-578: The monks at the front-door grate. He left two of his agents, Thomas Bedyll and Master Leightone, to obtain the required acceptances from the nuns and monks of the King's new status. Bedyll reported that “the bretherne stand stif in thaire obstinacy as you left thaim”. Two were sent to the Bishop of London, within whose diocese Syon lay, apparently for a course of conversion, whilst two Church of England clerics were brought in to convert another two Syon monks who were particularly obstinate, Whitford and Little. On

8470-408: The most holy St Bridget, who as is acknowledged by sufficient evidence, by divine inspiration founded a religious order under her name and obtained from Heaven that in whatsoever kingdom a monastery of the same religious order should be founded there peace and tranquility by the mediation of the same, should be perpetually established”. St Bridget was a visionary, and is supposed to have seen

8580-462: The north side to another like stone placed on the south side by the bank aforesaid, 2820 ft. And in breadth from the north side from the aforesaid stone placed on the north side from the aforesaid stone placed on the north side unto the water of the Thames, 980 ft.” The foundation charter states: We will and decree that it shall be called “The Monastery of St Saviour and St Bridget of Syon, of

8690-424: The nuns. When Catherine of Siena 's Dialogue of Divine Revelation was translated into English for the abbey, it was given a new title, " The Orchard of Syon, " and included a separate prologue written to the nuns. Syon Abbey was built as part of King Henry V 's “The King's Great Work” centred on Sheen Palace (renamed Richmond Palace in 1501). The royal manor of Sheen lay on the right (south), Surrey, bank of

8800-465: The only English one that survived the Reformation unbroken. A large piece of sculptured stonework from the monastery's remains was returned to them ceremoniously by the Duke of Northumberland, owner of Syon House. In 2004, the remaining medieval books in the abbey's collection were deposited for safe-keeping with the University of Exeter Library. In 2011 Syon Abbey, by now reduced to three elderly sisters,

8910-511: 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

9020-409: The parish of Twickenham in the county of Middlesex, containing namely in length near the field towards Twickenham from a stone placed on the north side unto another stone placed on the south side 1938 ft. and in breadth towards the south from that stone placed on the south side unto the water of Thames, 960 ft. And in length by the bank of the Thames, from a stone likewise placed by the aforesaid bank at

9130-631: 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

9240-612: 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

9350-589: 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

9460-478: The present Georgian mansion of Syon House , today in the London Borough of Hounslow . It was named after the biblical holy "City of David which is Zion" (1 Kings 8:1), built on the eponymous Mount Zion (or Sion, Syon, etc.). At the time of the dissolution , the abbey was the wealthiest religious house in England. Syon Abbey maintained a substantial library, with a collection for the monks and another for

9570-786: 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

9680-438: The river, or possibly even spiritual danger to the inmates due to a too close intermingling of the sexes. The letters patent authorising the move, which were ratified by a grant by the king dated 1431, make clear that some of the new buildings had already been started and indeed completed: “The Abbess and convent...had begun and with great cost completed the erection of a certain edifice more spacious and convenient as well for

9790-507: The root ṣiyya ("dry land") or the Arabic šanā ("protect" or "citadel"). It might also be related to the Arabic root ṣahî ("ascend to the top") or ṣuhhay ("tower" or "the top of the mountain"). A non-Semitic relationship to the Hurrian word šeya ("river" or "brook") has also been suggested. Sahyun ( Arabic : صهيون , Ṣahyūn or Ṣihyūn ) is the word for Zion in Arabic and Syriac . A valley called Wâdi Sahyûn ( wadi being

9900-543: The said confessor and brothers in a separate court by themselves, within the same monastery”. The legal corporate entity was “The Abbess and Convent” which could transact business by affixing its single corporate seal . The Convent (from Latin con-venio , to come together) consisted of the Abbess and nuns together with the Confessor and all the religious men. Clearly the Abbess was the overall presiding officer. Only eight abbesses were ever elected. Sometime before 1431

10010-580: The top of the hill, generally known as the Temple Mount . The last shift of the name Mount Zion was to the Western Hill, which is more dominant than the Eastern Hill and seemed to first-century CE Jerusalemites the worthier location for the by-then lost palace of King David. The Western Hill is what today is called Mount Zion. In the second half of the First Temple period, the city expanded westward and its defensive walls were extended to include

10120-412: 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

10230-416: The tymes of thaire confession”, which would bring him “to the greate shame of the world”. Still he did not convert, having “a brasyn forehead which shameth at no thing”. Whitford and Little were also reported, whilst hearing confessions through a hole in the wall, of persons external to the monastery, to have denounced the king's new title as Supreme Governor, and his divorce and remarriage, for which reason it

10340-551: 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

10450-494: The walls of the Old City to the south. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David ( 2 Samuel 5:7 , 1 Chronicles 11:5 ; 1 Kings 8:1 , 2 Chronicles 5:2 ) and later for the Temple Mount , but its meaning has shifted and it is now used as the name of ancient Jerusalem's Western Hill. In a wider sense, the term Zion is also used for the entire Land of Israel . The etymology of

10560-675: The word Zion is uncertain. Mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Samuel (2 Samuel 5:7) as the name of the Jebusite fortress conquered by King David , its origin likely predates the Israelites . If Semitic , it may be associated with the Hebrew root ṣiyyôn ("castle"). Though not spoken in Jerusalem until 1,700 years later, the name is similar in Arabic and may be connected to

10670-415: 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

10780-425: The younger daughter of Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex , who later received a grant of the freehold from King James I in 1604. The square house seen today is a Georgian remodelling of the first house by Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1714–1786), in about 1760. The first Duke was born Hugh Smithson, and married Lady Elizabeth Seymour (daughter and heiress of Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset (d.1750),

10890-633: Was built at the entrance of the structure known as David's Tomb, probably based on the belief that David brought the Ark of the Covenant here from Beit Shemesh and Kiryat Ye'arim before the construction of the Temple. During the 1948 war , Mount Zion was conquered by the Harel Brigade on May 18, 1948, and became the only part of the Old City to stay in Israeli hands until the armistice. At first it

11000-607: Was captured by Israel in the Six-Day War , Israelis would climb to the rooftop of David's Tomb to pray. The winding road leading up to Mount Zion is known as Pope's Way ( Derekh Ha'apifyor ). In his Epistle to the Romans, Paul noted: “Happy is he whose conscience does not condemn him in that which he allows” (Romans 14:22) It was paved in honor of the historic visit to Jerusalem of Pope Paul VI in 1964. The Tanakh reference to Har Tzion (Mount Tzion) that identifies its location

11110-673: Was closed and sold. The remaining sisters now live in Plymouth. On 14 February 1547 the coffin of King Henry VIII lay overnight at Syon, en route from Westminster for burial in St ;George's Chapel, Windsor . Twelve years before in 1535 a Franciscan friar named William Peyto (or Peto, Petow), (d.1558 or 1559), had preached before the king at Greenwich Palace “that God's judgements were ready to fall upon his head and that dogs would lick his blood, as they had done to Ahab ”, whose infamy rests upon Kings 16:33: "And Ahab did more to provoke

11220-497: Was given to the abbess Agnes Jordan and one of £6 each to the junior nuns. The male Confessor-General received a pension of £15, the junior monks receiving £6 to £8 each. The expelled community, unlike many others, did not disband and separate, but exiled itself to the Netherlands. These nuns, including Elizabeth Sander and Katherine Palmer , would visit England on missions. The community were recalled briefly to Syon following

11330-437: Was laid by King Henry V himself on 22 February 1415, in the presence of Richard Clifford , Bishop of London. It was not until 9 days later on 3 March 1415 that the King's founding charter was signed at Westminster. The exact location of this original plot is unknown, but it was certainly in the parish of Twickenham, the most northerly river frontage of which lies directly west across the Thames from Sheen Palace. Aungier states it

11440-502: 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

11550-515: Was linked to the Jewish neighborhood of Yemin Moshe across the Valley of Hinnom via a narrow tunnel, but eventually an alternative was needed to evacuate the wounded and transport supplies to soldiers on Mount Zion. A cable car capable of carrying a load of 250 kilograms was designed for this purpose. The cable car was only used at night and lowered into the valley during the day to escape detection; it

11660-583: 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

11770-560: Was passed annexing and re-dissolving certain religious houses, including Syon, whereupon the nuns obtained royal licence to leave England, eventually settling in Lisbon , Portugal, where they arrived in 1594, after having experienced many troubles and afflictions in travels through France and Spain. While in Lisbon, they produced an illuminated petition to the King of Spain and his daughter asking for help returning to England. This petition, called

11880-493: Was proposed to Cromwell that the confessional grille be bricked-up. The nuns were more easily won over however, and were sat down together in the chapter house of Syon in the presence of the Bishop of London and their own male confessor. All who accepted the king's new title were asked to remain seated, whilst those opposed were asked to leave the chamber. All remained seated, signifying their acceptance, no doubt reluctantly. The nuns thereupon in resignation to their new status sent

11990-430: Was so small and confined in its dimensions that the numerous persons therein ... were not only incommodiously but dangerously situated...that in consequence thereof the said abbess and convent had chosen out a spot in the neighbourhood of their said priory within the said lordship of Isleworth, more meet healthful and salubrious for them to inhabit”. The danger of the situation referred to may have been due to proximity to

12100-486: Was usurped by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, who ruled as Henry IV (1399–1413), who was involved in the murder of Richard in 1400 — and in that of Richard le Scrope , Archbishop of York — and made a vow to expiate his guilt by founding 3 monasteries, which vow he died before fulfilling. The derelict palace was unfavoured by Henry IV but his son Henry V (1413–1422) saw its reconstruction as

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