monasticism
Cloistered religious life
Monasticism is a religious way of life in which individuals withdraw from ordinary society to pursue spiritual discipline—typically through prayer, contemplation, and communal living under formal vows.
Monks and nuns practice monasticism, often in monasteries or convents.
The tradition spans Christianity, Buddhism, and other religions: Buddhist monasticism emphasizes meditation and detachment from worldly concerns.
By extension, monasticism can describe any austere, solitary lifestyle devoted to a higher purpose.
Abstaining from intimate relations
- povertySevere lack of resources
- obedienceCompliance with authority
- chastityAbstaining from sexual activity
- professionTrained occupational field
solemn vows · perpetual · lifelong · commitment · renunciation · consecration · stability · conversion
Deliberate food avoidance
- abstinenceVoluntary forgoing of indulgences
- celibacyAbstaining from intimate relations
- self-denialRestraining one's own desires
- austerityEnforced economic stringency
penance · renunciation · mortification · frugality · simplicity · discipline · self-restraint · temperance
Monastic house of worship
- cloisterCovered monastic walkway
- conventReligious sisters' dwelling
- friaryMendicant monks' residence
- prioryLesser monastic house
refectory · scriptorium · chapter house · dormitory · cell · enclosure · order · rule
Person choosing total seclusion
- anchoriteReligious recluse in enclosure
- eremiticPertaining to solitary life
- hermitageSecluded religious dwelling
- solitudeState of being alone
recluse · isolation · retreat · cell · desert fathers · withdrawal · seclusion · silence
Address to deity
- meditationFocused attention practice
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- worshipReligious reverence and praise
- liturgyFormal worship structure
vespers · matins · compline · lauds · chant · psalmody · breviary · rosary
Monk following ancient rule
- FranciscanMendicant order member
- DominicanPreaching order member
- CarmeliteCatholic contemplative order member
- TrappistMonk of austere order
Augustinian · Theravada · Zen · Tibetan · Jain · mendicant · cloistered · contemplative
Early monks of Egypt
- St. BenedictFounder of Benedictines
- Rule of St. BenedictSixth-century monastic regulations
- dissolutionBreaking up completely
- ReformationReligious movement splitting Christianity
Counter-Reformation · Scholasticism · illuminated manuscripts · preservation · missions · medieval · Christendom · martyrdom
celibacy
Abstaining from intimate relations
- povertySevere lack of resources
- obedienceCompliance with authority
- chastityAbstaining from sexual activity
profession · solemn vows · perpetual · lifelong · commitment · renunciation · consecration · stability · conversion · fidelity
fasting
Deliberate food avoidance
- abstinenceVoluntary forgoing of indulgences
- celibacyAbstaining from intimate relations
- self-denialRestraining one's own desires
austerity · penance · renunciation · mortification · frugality · simplicity · discipline · self-restraint · temperance · sobriety
abbey
Monastic house of worship
priory · refectory · scriptorium · chapter house · dormitory · cell · enclosure · order · rule · brotherhood
hermit
Person choosing total seclusion
- anchoriteReligious recluse in enclosure
- eremiticPertaining to solitary life
- hermitageSecluded religious dwelling
solitude · recluse · isolation · retreat · cell · desert fathers · withdrawal · seclusion · silence · quietude
prayer
Address to deity
- meditationFocused attention practice
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- worshipReligious reverence and praise
liturgy · vespers · matins · compline · lauds · chant · psalmody · breviary · rosary · vigil
Benedictine
Monk following ancient rule
- FranciscanMendicant order member
- DominicanPreaching order member
- CarmeliteCatholic contemplative order member
Trappist · Augustinian · Theravada · Zen · Tibetan · Jain · mendicant · cloistered · contemplative
desert fathers
Early monks of Egypt
- St. BenedictFounder of Benedictines
- Rule of St. BenedictSixth-century monastic regulations
- dissolutionBreaking up completely
Reformation · Counter-Reformation · Scholasticism · illuminated manuscripts · preservation · missions · medieval · Christendom · martyrdom
- Byzantine legacyConstantinople, Hagia Sophia, Byzantine art, Eastern Orthodoxy, Orthodox Church
- early churchapostles, early church, Church Fathers, apostolic fathers, Acts of the Apostles
- ByzantiumByzantine Empire, Constantinople, Hagia Sophia, Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium
- Georgian HeritageSaint George, fortresses, citadels, basilicas, iconography
- medievalknights, castles, cathedral, kings, queens
- medieval lifechivalry, royal courts, jousting, knighthood, falconry
monasticismworldliness
Secular, experienced outlook
secular life · secularism · cosmopolitanism · urbanism · social engagement
monasticismhedonism
Pursuit of gratification
sensuality · libertinism · sybaritism · indulgence · sensualism
monasticismsecularism
Separation of faith, state
worldliness · secularity · profanity · irreligion · atheism