Monk

A monk is a person who practices monasticism, adopting a strict religious and ascetic lifestyle, usually in community with others following the same path. The word comes from the Greek monachos (μοναχός), commonly translated as a solitary person, and by convention almost always refers to men (while the term nun is more commonly used to refer to female monastics), although it may be applied to women as well.

Related Topics:
Monasticism - Ascetic - Greek - Men - Nun - Women

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Monachos was a word invented in the late 3rd century to name the new phenomenon of men living solitary and ascetic lives in the Egyptian desert—the word literally translates as "the lonely one"—where thousands of Egyptians, mostly men, set out to the deserts of Nitria, southwest of the city of Alexandria, in order to imitate the life of St. Anthony, the first Christian monachos, or monk.

Related Topics:
3rd century - Ascetic - Egyptian - Desert - Nitria - Alexandria - St. Anthony - Christian

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Monks usually live in a monastery following a single rule and governed by an abbot. Monasteries can be organized as Cenobiums, where all live together, pray together, and share everything; or they can be more disjointed with the monks only coming together for Sunday services. A monk who lives alone, away from society and sometimes also from all other monks, is called an Anchorite or Hesicaste (also called a hermit).

Related Topics:
Monastery - Abbot - Hermit

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The female ascetic is usually called a nun and her residence, a convent. In the West, the word nunk has been coined by Catholic theologian Raimundo Panikkar to refer to a female renunciate leading the contemplative life of a monk.

Related Topics:
Nun - Convent - Catholic - Theologian - Raimundo Panikkar

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