A church dictionary

by Walter Farquhar Hook

2. The Cœnobites, so denominated from their living together in common. (See Cœnobites.)

All monks were, originally, no more than laymen: nor could they well be otherwise, being confined by their own rules to some desert or wilderness where there could be no room for the exercise of the clerical functions. Accordingly St. Jerome tells us, the office of a monk is, not to teach, but to mourn. The Council of Chalcedon expressly distinguishes the monks from the clergy, and reckons them with the laymen. Gratian himself, who is most interested for the moderns, owns it to be plain from ecclesiastical history, that to the time of Pope Sircius and Zosimus, the monks were only mere monks, and not of the clergy.

In some cases, however, the clerical and monastic life were capable of being conjoined; as, first, when a monastery happened to be at so great a distance from its proper church, that the monks could not ordinarily resort thither for Divine service, which was the case of the monasteries in Egypt and other parts of the East. In this case, some one or more of the monks were ordained for the performance of divine offices among them. Another case, in which the clerical and monastic life were united, was, when monks were taken out of monasteries by the bishops, and ordained for the service of the Church. This was allowed, and encouraged, when once monasteries were become schools of learning and pious education. In this case they usually continued their ancient austerities; and upon this account the Greeks styled them ἱερομοναχοι, clergy-monks. Thirdly, it happened sometimes that a bishop and all his clergy embraced the monastic life by a voluntary renunciation of property, and enjoyed all things in common. Eusebius Vercellensis was the first who brought in this way of living, and St. Augustine lived thus among the clergy of Hippo. And so far as this was an imitation of cœnobitic life, and having all things in common, it might be called a monastic as well as a clerical life.

The Cœnobites, or such monks as lived in communities, were chiefly regarded by the Church, and were therefore under the direction of certain laws and rules of government, of which we shall here give a short account. And,

First, All men were not allowed to turn monks at pleasure, because such an indiscriminate permission would have been detrimental both to the Church and State. Upon this account the civil law forbids any of those officers called curiales to become monks, unless they parted with their estates to others, who might serve their country in their stead. For the same reason servants were not to be admitted into any monastery without their masters’ leave. Indeed, Justinian afterwards abrogated this law by an edict of his own, which first set servants at liberty from their masters, under pretence of betaking themselves to a monastic life. The same precautions were observed in regard to married persons and children. The former were not to embrace the monastic life, unless with the mutual consent of both parties. This precaution was afterwards broke through by Justinian; but the Church never approved of this innovation. As to children, the Council of Gangra decreed that if any such, under pretence of religion, forsook their parents, they should be anathematized. But Justinian enervated the force of this law likewise, forbidding parents to hinder their children from becoming monks or clerks. And as children were not to turn monks without consent of their parents, so neither could parents oblige their children to embrace a monastic life against their own consent. But the fourth Council of Toledo, A. D. 633, set aside this precaution, and decreed that, whether the devotion of their parents, or their own profession, made them monks, both should be equally binding, and there should be no permission to return to a secular life again, as was before allowable, when a parent offered a child before he was capable of giving his own consent.

The manner of admission to the monastic life was usually by some change of habit or dress, not to signify any religious mystery, but only to express their gravity and contempt of the world. Long hair was always thought an indecency in men, and savouring of secular vanity; and therefore they polled every monk at his admission, to distinguish him from seculars; but they never shaved any, for fear they should look too like the priests of Isis. This, therefore, was the ancient tonsure, in opposition to both these extremes. As to their habit and clothing, the rule was the same: they were to be decent and grave, as became their profession. The monks of Tabennesus, in Thebais, seem to have been the only monks, in those early days, who were confined to any particular habit. St. Jerome, who often speaks of the habit of the monks, intimates that it differed from others only in this, that it was a cheaper, coarser, and meaner raiment, expressing their humility and contempt of the world, without any singularity or affectation. The father is very severe against the practice of some who appeared in chains or sackcloth. And Cassian blames others who carried wooden crosses continually about their necks, which was only proper to excite the laughter of the spectators. In short, the Western monks used only a common habit, the philosophic pallium, as many other Christians did. And Salvian seems to give an exact description of the habit and tonsure of the monks, when, reflecting on the Africans for their treatment of them, he says, “they could scarce ever see a man with short hair, a pale face, and habited in a pallium, without reviling, and bestowing some reproachful language on him.”

We read of no solemn vow, or profession, required at their admission: but they underwent a triennial probation, during which time they were inured to the exercises of the monastic life. If, after that time was expired, they chose to continue the same exercises, they were then admitted without any further ceremony into the community. This was the method prescribed by Pachomius, the father of the monks of Tabennesus, from which all others took their model.

Nor was there, as yet, any solemn vow of poverty required; though it was customary for men voluntarily to renounce the world by disposing of their estates to charitable uses, before they entered into a community, where they were to enjoy all things in common. Nor did they, after renouncing their own estates, seek to enrich themselves, or their monasteries, by begging, or accepting, the estates of others. The Western monks did not always adhere to this rule, as appears from some Imperial laws made to restrain their avarice. But the monks of Egypt were generally just in their pretensions, and would accept of no donations but for the use of the poor. Some, indeed, did not wholly renounce all property, but kept their estates in their own hands, the whole yearly revenue of which they distributed in charitable uses.

As the monasteries had no standing revenues, all the monks were obliged to exercise themselves in bodily labour to maintain themselves, without being burdensome to others. They had no idle mendicants among them; they looked upon a monk that did not work as no better than a covetous defrauder. Sozomen tells us, that Serapion presided over a monastery of ten thousand monks, near Arsinoë in Egypt, who all laboured with their own hands, by which means they not only maintained themselves, but had enough to relieve the poor.

The monasteries were commonly divided into several parts, and proper officers appointed over each of them. Every ten monks were subject to one, who was called the decanus, or dean, from his presiding over ten; and every hundred had another officer called centenarius, from his presiding over a hundred. Above these were the patres, or fathers of the monasteries, called likewise abbates, abbots, from the Greek ἄββας, which signifies father; and hegumeni (ἡγούμενοι) presidents; and archimandrites, from mandru, a sheep-fold. The business of the deans was to exact every man’s daily task, and bring it to the œconomus, or steward, who gave a monthly account thereof to the father, or abbot. (See Abbot.)