Monasticism is an essential part of the social and religious fabric of the empire, affecting the life of every Byzantine and playing a spiritual, economic, philanthropic and cultural role. Initially a lay movement, monasticism first appeared in the late third century when Christians began to retire to the Egyptian desert for solitary lives of asceticism and prayer. Among these early Desert Fathers was Antony the Great, whose biography by Athanasios of Alexandria provided a model for future generations of monks. In the fourth century, as the hermits attracted disciples, communities of monks and nuns developed. Pachomios wrote a rule for these semicenobitic Egyptian monastic communities, which added to the celibacy and poverty of the hermits the virtue of obedience to a superior. He also emphasized regular religious services and manual labor. From Egypt, monasticism spread to the Lavras of Syria and Palestine and to Anatolia, where Basil the Great composed the Long Rules, which were to provide the basic foundation of Byzantine monasticism. Basil strongly favored cenobitic monasticism over eremetism and advocated that the monastery should be a community of self-sufficient working monks. He urged moderation in asceticism and endorsed the establishment of urban monasteries.
The first monastery in Constantinople was Dalmatou, founded in the late fourth century. Thereafter monastic institutions proliferated rapidly in both town and countryside. By 536 there were almost seventy monasteries in the capital. A number of Holy Mountains developed, where both eremitic and cenobitic forms of monasticism were practiced. The tradition of the monastery as a working community was realized in its most ideal form at the Stoudios monastery in the early ninth century, thanks to the reforms of Theodore of Stoudios.
Late Roman emperors, especially Justinian I, conferred upon monasteries particular economic privileges (the right to inherit from private citizens, the prohibition against confiscation of their properties, beneficial forms of renting out their lands), but, nevertheless, until the ninth century monasteries remained predominately modest landowners, more often rewarded by solemnia than actual land donations; during Iconoclasm many monasteries even lost their buildings and liquid assets. In the tenth century monasteries began to acquire substantial amounts of immovables. They accumulated fields, vineyards, pastures, livestock, mills, fishponds, saltworks, urban rental properties and workshops through purchase and through the donations of emperors and private pious benefactors. Monasteries also received gifts of cash and precious liturgical objects from the faithful in exchange for old-age pensions (adelphata) or posthumous commemoration. Monastic wealth was further increased because of the customary exemption of monasteries from payment of state taxes (exkousseia).
Nikephoros II Phokas, who endorsed the concept of the "poor monastery" and strongly supported Athanasios's foundation of the Great Lacra on Mt. Athos, tried unsuccessfully to curb the growth of monastic estates. In 964 he issued an edict restricting further acquisition of land, especially by monasteries that lacked sufficient manpower to cultivate the estates they already owned. His decree was overturned, however, by his successor John I Tzimiskes, and monasteries continued to expand their possessions. However, in the Partitio Romaniae of 1204 only the Pantokrator monastery of Constantinople is listed among the major landowners of the empire.
One feature of Byzantine monasticism was the individualism of many monks and their disregard of the canonical principle of monastic stability; this was especially true of holy men, many of who moved frequently from one monastery to another or alternated between a cenobitic monastery and a hermit's kellion. Unlike the West, there were no established "monastic orders"; rather, each monastery was a unique foundation with its rule or typikon, although some monastic rules imitated earlier models.
The most important function of monasteries was to provide a haven from the world where pious men and women could devote themselves to the vita contemplativa (theoria) in the search for their salvation and the salvation of those for whom they prayed. Monasteries also played a philanthropic role, by offering a refuge for social outcasts or those in need of assistance: orphans, the elderly, the maimed or disfigured, the mentally ill, battered wives. They also served as a place of imprisonment or exile for deposed emperors and patriarchs, and unsuccessful rebels or political rivals. Along with accepting people in distress as members of their community, monasteries used some of their resources to run philanthropic institutions, increasingly performing functions that had been in the purview of the state. A number of monastic complexes included hospitals, gerokomeia and xenodocheia; they also regularly distributed food, money and clothing to the needy. Owing to the relative stability of monastic property, many ktetores considered monastic institutions a convenient place for "investment" and granted them land in exchange for certain rights (sometimes hereditary). On the other hand, emperors and patriarchs endowed upon some lay people or ecclesiastical institutions benefits similar to those enjoyed by ktetores (charistikion).
In contrast to the West, education was not a function of the Byzantine monastery, except for the training of a few children destined for the monastic life. Monasteries did, however, play an integral role in the intellectual and cultural life of the empire. Establishments like the Stoudios and Hodegon monasteries in Constantinople housed scriptoria that produced manuscripts for both internal and external use. Monks and nuns form a large section of the literati, with their contributions to hymnography, hagiography and theology being considerable.
Monasteries had a significant impact on the development of Byzantine theology and spirituality. Many leading theologians and churchmen who wrote on doctrine, liturgy and mysticism were monks. Monks played a key role in the ecumenical church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries; they were prime supporters of icons in the debate over Iconoclasm and defended Orthodoxy against attempts at Union of the Churchs. The mysticism of Symeon the Theologian and recent developments of the monks of Athos profoundly affect the evolution of Orthodox tradition. A number of monks have the chance to influence ecclesiastical policy through their promotion to a bishopric or the patriarchate.
In Byzantium, there were various types of monks: (1) the cenobites, who lived and ate together in a communal society, the koinobion; (2) the lavriotai or kelliotai, who lived in separate cells but came together for common worship; (3) anchorites or hermits, who lived alone in an isolated locations; and (5) wandering monks. The minimum age for adoption of the habit varied from monastery to monastery but averaged around 18; many men, however, became monks at a later stage of life, often after being widowed. Some categories of individuals (e.g., eunuchs, young boys, fugitive slaves) were denied or limited permission to become monks. After a novitiate that could range from six months to three years, the novice took vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience. The monastic profession was symbolized externally by the tonsure, the monastic habit (schema), and the adoption of a monastic name (which usually, but not necessarily, began with the same initial letter as one's baptismal name). In theory monks were supposed to remain in the same monastery for life, but in practice many of them wandered from one monastery to another, or left a koinobion to become a hermit (often as a temporary stage).
A monastery had two sorts of monks: the literate choir brothers, responsible for singing the daily offices, and the uneducated brethren who were servants (diakonetai) and did much of the manual labor. This hierarchical division of the monks into two classes was also reflected in their different food and dress, their seating in the refectory, even their place of burial in the cemetery. Members of the nobility who entered monastic life were frequently accompanied by servants and lived in a suite of rooms rather than a single cell. Prospective monks customarily made substantial donations to the monastery at the time of their admission; despite their vows of poverty they were allowed to retain some personal property after they took the monastic habit. In addition to the daily round of prayers and manual labor, monks might engage in intellectual endeavors such as study of the Scriptures, copying of manuscripts or composition of hymns and hagiographical works.
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Last modified: Mon Dec 14, 1998