First of all, Christianity emerged from its persecuted position into the public mainstream as a result of the Emperor Constantine’s edict of toleration and, within a relatively short time, became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Inevitably, this led to readjustments in self-understanding and in spiritual values. One consequence was the expansion of the counter-cultural ascetical movements that gave birth to monasticism. For the next seven centuries, the history of Christian spirituality both East and West was dominated by monastic life.
After the fourth century, monastic communities also became a kind of ‘‘survival capsule’’ in the turbulent world of a collapsing empire, barbarian invasions, and the eventual emergence of new regional kingdoms in Western Europe. Monasteries were important centers for transmitting classical civilization to a post-imperial world and also for missionary work during Europe’s conversion to Christianity. An important element of this process was a certain fusion with pre-Christian practices as well as a growing cultural localism within Christian spirituality. Irish Christianity will be briefly explored as an example of a local spiritual culture. Finally, the period was an important one in the development of Eastern Christianity, associated with the Byzantine Empire centered on Constantinople, and saw the gradual divergence of Eastern and Western forms of Christian spirituality.
Christianity has no monopoly on monasticism. Monastic life has existed in some form in most major world religions, usually associated with an austere non-materialistic lifestyle and contemplative practices. Christian monasticism is essentially a movement to the margins. The wilderness (desert, mountain, forest, or sea) has exercised a peculiar fascination throughout Christian history. One of the fundamental features of Christian monasticism is that it demands withdrawal. Why were physical deserts chosen for monastic communities? The theme of the ‘‘desert’’ is common to many monastic texts. It is both a paradise, where people may live in harmony with wild animals, and at the same time a place of trial where ascetics encounter inner and outer demons. The desert is frontier territory. Living on a physical boundary symbolizes a state of liminality – existing between the material and spiritual worlds.
The reasons why monastic life emerged by the early fourth century continue to preoccupy scholars.1 Some people suggest that there were continuities with Jewish ascetical movements (for example Qumran) or with early Christian ascetical groups within Syriac Christianity. Others have even suggested contacts with pre-existing Buddhist or Hindu forms through trading links with India. More conventionally, the origins of monasticism have often been attributed to a combination of factors associated with the move of Christianity from persecuted minority to the dominant religion of the empire. First, the rapid expansion in numbers of Christians, often for social reasons, led to a growing sense of laxity. Second, the ideals of martyrdom transferred from physical death to a spiritualized replacement (sometimes called white martyrdom). The pinnacle of holiness moved from victory over physical death to victory over ‘‘the world.’’
Regularizing Sainthood in Christianity
