monasteries
Cloistered religious communities
Monasteries is the plural of monastery, a building or complex where monks or nuns live in religious community.
Monasteries are typically secluded from ordinary society, devoted to prayer, contemplation, and communal religious practice: Medieval monasteries preserved classical manuscripts through the Dark Ages.
The term applies across religious traditions—Christian, Buddhist, and others.
Focused attention practice
- prayerAddress to deity
- silenceTotal lack of sound
- chantingRhythmic repetitive vocalization
- vespersEvening devotional service
compline · matins · lauds · vigils · retreat · solitude · reflection · introspection
Covered monastic walkway
- refectoryInstitutional dining room
- dormitoryStudent living building
- scriptoriumMonastery manuscript workshop
- chapter houseAssembly room for clergy
nave · cell · courtyard · bell tower · chapel · infirmary · gatehouse · basilica
Monastic house of worship
- conventReligious sisters' dwelling
- prioryLesser monastic house
- friaryMendicant monks' residence
- orderMethodical arrangement or request
abbot · abbess · monks · nuns · novitiate · vows · habit · cowl
Sheltered from outside contact
- remoteDistant or controller
- isolatedSeparated from others
- secludedSet apart, private
- enclosureConfined, bordered space
sanctuary · refuge · withdrawn · sheltered · hidden · tranquil · peaceful · sanctuary
Decayed structural remains
- manuscriptsHandwritten or typed originals
- frescoesPaintings on fresh plaster
- codicesBound handwritten volumes
- illuminatedMade visible by light
parchment · relics · archaeology · dissolution · medieval · Byzantine · Romanesque · preservation
meditation
Focused attention practice
vespers · compline · matins · lauds · vigils · retreat · solitude · reflection · introspection · mindfulness
cloister
Covered monastic walkway
- refectoryInstitutional dining room
- dormitoryStudent living building
- scriptoriumMonastery manuscript workshop
chapter house · nave · cell · courtyard · bell tower · chapel · infirmary · gatehouse · basilica · transept
abbey
Monastic house of worship
order · abbot · abbess · monks · nuns · novitiate · vows · habit · cowl · scapular
cloistered
Sheltered from outside contact
enclosure · sanctuary · refuge · withdrawn · sheltered · hidden · tranquil · peaceful · sanctuary · haven
ruins
Decayed structural remains
- manuscriptsHandwritten or typed originals
- frescoesPaintings on fresh plaster
- codicesBound handwritten volumes
illuminated · parchment · relics · archaeology · dissolution · medieval · Byzantine · Romanesque · preservation · restoration
Shaolin
Chinese martial temple tradition
Buddhist · Coptic · Ethiopian · Korean · Japanese · Himalayan · lamasery · ashram
- heritage sitesWorld Heritage Site, historic landmarks, Machu Picchu, monument, cultural landmarks
- Mountain culturesInca, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Machu Picchu
- Anglo-Saxon EnglandAnglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon, witenagemot, doom, Northumbria
- Austrian Catholicismarchdiocese, Salzburg, dioceses, cardinals, archbishops
- medievalknights, castles, cathedral, kings, queens
- Medieval Europekings, queens, knights, castles, castle
monasteriescasinos
Wagering establishments
corporate headquarters · factories · shopping malls · stock exchanges · marketplaces
monasteriesmarketplaces
Venues for commercial exchange
bazaars · stock exchanges · city centers · nightclubs · casinos
- medieval monasteriesReligious communities, Middle Ages
- mountain monasteriesElevated sanctuaries for monks
- ancient monasteriesAge-old religious communities
- Buddhist monasteriesReligious communities for monks
- Zen monasteriesBuddhist contemplative communities