the origins of monasticism. the monastic impulse at the time of jesus there were jews living in the...
TRANSCRIPT
The Monastic Impulse
• At the time of Jesus there were Jews living in the desert who are called Essenes.
• A person goes to the desert to leave behind the distractions of common life and seek an encounter with the divine.
• The first monks were hermits. And sought through lives of intense prayer, meditation, and discipline to seek union with God.
Saint Benedict
• While Anthony is considered the founder of monasticism, almost all modern forms of Western monasticism stem from the Rule of Saint Benedict (480-543).
• Monasteries had a tendency to become wealthy and eventually there were many reformations to bring back the original simplicity and purpose of the monastic life.