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Today monastic
life has spread over the whole world; but many years of effort were needed to
achieve this. The movement began, as we
have seen, in Egypt, where important monastic centers, with thousands of monks,
rapidly developed, the monks living in cells, lavras, and monasteries. These were situated at the Thebaid, Nitria,
Sketis, Tabenesis and Mount Sinai. The
monastery of St. Catherine on Sinai, founded during the time of Justinian, has
survived with undiminished vigour to the present day. From Egypt it spread very rapidly to Palestine. This country, sanctified as it was by the
life and death of the founder of the Christian faith, attracted the interest of
ascetics from all corners of the Empire, of the Latins Jerome and Rufinus
became renowned. Later, great lavras
were established there, about five hundred in number, by Theodosius the
Coenobiarch, Savvas the Sanctified, and Euthymius the Great.
Ascetics appeared
in Syria during the first decades of the fourth century. They were usually itinerant men and women,
the latter garbed like men. They sought
to abolish all differences between the sexes, and avoided work. Because of the dominant position which they
gave to prayer, they were called Euchites, or, in the Syriac, Massalians. They were criticized by the Church for
certain deviations. At the same time,
the milder, organized form of monasticism also reached Syria. The great hymnographer and theologian
Ephraim the Syrian also made successful efforts to organize the monks.
Monasticism began
to lose ground in these three countries from the beginning of the seventh
century, that is, from the time of the Arab conquest; but it never disappeared
completely. Today, besides the
Orthodox, the Copts, Jacobites, Armenians, and Nestorians also have monasteries.
By way of
Cappadocia and Asia Minor, monasticism reached the capital of the Empire,
Constantinople. Many of the monasteries
that were established in the suburbs on both sides of the Bosporus became
flourishing organizations, and through their activities influenced the course
of ecclesiastical and sometimes of political affairs. The monastery of the Sleepless Ones, which was founded by
Alexander about 430, received its name from the fact that the monks praised God
throughout the entire day and night, being divided into three groups which
succeeded one another in church. The
monastery of Studion, likewise founded in the fifth century, by the Roman
patrician Studius, became the center of the liturgical development of the
eastern Church and the champion of its independence of state intervention. Theodore the Studite, who flourished at the
beginning of the ninth century, became through his heroic conduct an exemplar
for all monks.
In these regions
monasticism was definitely destroyed during the period of Turkish conquest.
Strong centers of
monasticism had already been formed, however, in Greece. Among these, Mount Athos was distinguished
from the tenth century onwards, and henceforth called the “Holy Mountain”. In 963, the emperor Nicephoros Phocas issued
a decree, granting to the monk Athanasius the right to found there a great
lavra, which he did. Within a short
time other communities of monks were founded here, and these were placed under the
general supervision of the Protos. In order to further the spread of
monasticism there, Alexius Comnenus placed all the establishments of Athos
under the jurisdiction of the nearest bishop, that of Ierissos. But understandably friction occurred between
him and the Protos, and for this reason it became necessary to abolish the
jurisdiction of the bishop of Ierissos.
This was done towards the end of the fourteenth century.
The Protos of
Athos was installed after approval had been obtained from the Patriarch of
Constantinople. At first he was
appointed for life, and lived at Karyes, the capital of the monastic
commonwealth. He dealt only with the
general external problems of the community, because the monasteries remained
internally self-governing.
The dwelling
places of the mountain are placed in an environment at once impressive and
serene. The increase of piratical raids
after the weakening of the Byzantine empire and the Turkish conquest influenced
their architectural construction. The
monasteries are built like powerful fortresses, with towers and
embrasures. The cells are constructed
on top of the fortress wall, three, and even six stories of them. In the middle of the courtyard there is a “katholikon”, or central church, with
chapels around the sides.
Long foreign occupation
caused many fluctuations in the power and vigour of these establishments. Today the land of this self-governing region
is divided up among twenty self-sufficient monasteries. One representative of each monastery,
elected annually, is sent to Karyes, where the Holy Community, a kind of
parliament, meets. The monasteries are
divided into five groups of four, each headed by one of the strongest
monasteries: Lavra, Vatopedi, Iviron, Hilandari, and Dionysiou. Each group takes it in turns to exercise
administrative for one year at a time.
Thus, of the twenty representatives, four constitute the executive body,
the committee of overseers, while the representative of the first monastery of
the group which has the administrative initiative is the chief overseer. Each overseer keeps one-fourth of the seal
of the monastic commonwealth.
Eleven of the
monasteries of the Mountain, mostly on its western side, are coenobitic, and
are governed by an abbot who is elected for life and has a council of elders to
advise him. Nine, for the most part on
the eastern side, are idiorrhythmic, governed by a committee of three superiors
(proistamenoi) who are elected for
one year. The monastery of Hilandari is
Serbian; that of Zographos, Bulgarian; that of Panteleimon, Russian. There is also a Rumanian skete. The monastery of Iviron, which is now Greek,
was formerly Georgian (Iberian). Until
the thirteenth century there was the Latin monastery of the Amalfitans. Thus, the Holy Mountain became a symbol of
the catholicity and unity of Orthodoxy; and it is still the chief monastic
center of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and is unique in its kind in the entire
Christian world. Unfortunately there has been a decline in the number of monks
for many now, which reduces the vigour of monastic life there.
During the years
of the Despotate of Epiros, Meteora became a celebrated monastic center. Impressive monasteries were built above
steep cliffs, looking from a distance like eagles’ nests; and many small
hermitages were hewn out of the rock.
Until a few decades ago, access to some of these monasteries was
possible only by windlass and net. Of
the twenty-four ancient monasteries of that region only four function today,
with a small number of monks. Many
monasteries still remain and continue to function throughout Greece, but with
an ever decreasing number of monks.
From the East the
monastic life was brought to the West, as early as the fourth century. It flourished there particularly during the
Middle Ages, when strong monastic orders were organized. These played a large part in Christianizing
and civilizing the peoples of northern Europe.
Monasticism was also transmitted, together with Christianity, to the
countries north of Greece: to the Slavs, the Rumanians, and other peoples. The Russian monastic leaders Antony and
Sergios became famous. The elder
ascetics of Russia, the starsti,
enjoyed great renown, and innumerable crowds of people sought their counsel.
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