Introduction
From beginning of the 3rd
century there had been growing up in the Church two standards of Christian
living. There were people those who content to make an open profession of the
Christian faith, to attend public worship of the church, to subscribe Christian
funds, and generally to live in the world, though marked off from the world by
their Christian profession. And many of them withdrew entirely from the world,
and lived in caves in wilderness and spending their time in contemplation and
prayer, mortifying the flesh in order to bring it into subjection to the
spirit. Withdrawal from the world, abstinence regarding food, and celibacy were
the distinguishing marks of early Christian asceticism.
In Christian
asceticism, not only men who took ascetic life but also women,[1]
who were dedicated themselves for God by living holy life. But this female
asceticism had been overlooked by the dominant historiographies over the
centuries but situation has been changed in the present days and studies are
emerging out to find out the histories which were not discussed earlier. And
therefore, this paper is an attempt to trace out the involvement of the women
in the ascetic movement and how women’s monastic orders came up and also the
life of the female ascetics (nuns) in the late antiquity.
Asceticism
The term asceticism
comes from the Greek word “askesis”[2].
Asceticism is the practice of the denial of physical or psychological desires
in order to attain a spiritual ideal or goal. Christian authors of late
antiquity such as Origen, Jerome, John Chrysostom, and Augustine interpreted
meanings of Biblical texts within a highly ascetic religious environment.
Through their commentaries, they created an ascetic oriented version of
Christianity.
Women and the Ascetic
Movement
Monasticism is a
special form of religions community life, People who practice. Monasticism
separates themselves from ordinary ways of living so they can follow the
teachings of their religion as completely as possible. Athanasius introduced
monasticism into the West. Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine did much to promote
it. Monasticism was to be one of the outstanding features of the middle Ages.
Men who adopt a monastic life are called monks
and live in a monastery. Monastic
women are called nuns and live in a convent. Christian monasticism
includes an extremely important element called the rule, a set of guide lines
by which members of a monastic group live. In addition to following a rule,
Christian monks and nuns take three Vows- poverty, chastity and obedience. The
vow of poverty requires a person not to own any private possessions. The vow of
chastity obligates a monk or nun to have no sexual relations. The vow of
obedience requires a person to always follow the decisions of the leader of the
monastic community.
Women’s Communities in
Early Church.
The Pachomian
communities, with their more formal communal basis, adopted a slightly different
perspective where women were concerned. Pachomius had to face the problem with
which many other male ascetics, including Antony, had been confronted; the
problem of the care of sisters and other female relations when the males of the
family entered a monastery.[3]
The first female Pachomian foundation was headed by his sister and regulations
on visits suggest that other monks had relatives in female houses. But the
Pachomians were acutely sensitive to what they perceived as the dangers of
sexuality even in single-sex houses and there was apparently no question of
setting up communities where men and women might mix.
Monastic Rules and
Women
One of the most interesting
of all monastic texts, composed a little earlier than Augustine’s monastic rule
is the Sentences to a Virgin of
Evagrius of Pontus. This short series of precepts for the ascetic life, which
has its male counterpart in Evagrius’ Sentences
to Monks, was written for a deaconess, Severa, who was a member of
Melania’s community on the Mount of Olives. The noticeable differences between
this and the masculine rule have suggested that Evagrius, despite his Origenist
background and the fact that he had been a pupil of Gregory of Nazianzus, took
a gendered view of the religious life and believed that women were
intellectually and spiritually incapable of attaining the same heights as men.
Instead, Evagrius refers to the virgin as ‘Bride of Christ’ and to the marriage
of her soul with Christ. The chastity of her flesh will be acceptable to Christ
and the virgin will see, hear and touch her bridegroom.[4]
There are several
Christian monasteries or convents follow the same rule and share a common
leadership. There are also many non monastic orders. The members of these
groups dedicate their lives to preaching and service rather than to prayer and
meditation.
Emergence of Women’s Order
The
influence of Egyptian monasticism spread rapidly in other parts of the world
and became one of the most important vehicles for cross - cultural spiritual
fertilization among the churches in the world. It also opened a way for new
forms of ministry among women recognizing the need to provide structure, for
those seeking a deeper spiritual life.[5]
The Abbess
The
position of abbess was the highest to which women could attain. The Abbess not
only ruled a large community of nuns, but also had jurisdiction over vast
territories that often included villages and towns. Whatever credentials an
abbess possessed, the recognition accorded her depended initially on her social
rank but to even greater extent it depended on the local church and political
authorities and of course, on her own charisma and assertiveness. Her interest
became the interest of community.[6] It
education and arts were her priorities, so it was with the nuns under her.
Alternatively; if she was a mystic, it was likely that the entire community
would have a mystical atmosphere.
The Beguines
Beguines
are Catholic laywomen who lead lives of devotion and quasi-monastic discipline
without taking permanent vows. The beguines are exponents of the vast movement
for religious reform that inspired clerics as well as laymen and women in the late
11th and 12th centuries, when Western Europe witnessed
great social transformation scholarly publications on the beguines claimed that
Lambert the reform-minded priest founded the first beguine communities.[7]
Two type’s beguines can be distinguished. The first, usually called “house” or
“convent”, was made up of a relatively small group of 5 to 15 beguines living
together in one or two buildings, governed by a single mistress. The second
type was the “court”, a complex of houses convents for communal living, and
service buildings at the edge of the city, with a church or chapel at its
center and surrounded by a wall and even a moat.
The Waldensians
Waldensians
are a religious group that denied the authority of the Roman Catholic Church
while emphasizing the authority of the scripture and the need for all to study
it. The group was known for its lay preachers and evangelists and their
activities were proof to the inquisitor of the group’s heretical nature. The waldensians
went still further in shocking old time custom and claimed the right to preach
for women.[8]
Indeed laypersons were permitted to administer communion and baptism. The
foundation of Waldensian monasticism rested on three practices like embracing
poverty, preaching the Christian Gospels openly and widely, and performing
charitable works.
The Cathari
Cathars
were groups of heretical Christians found in many parts of Europe during the 12th
and 13th centuries. Cathar was probably derived from the Greek word
“pure” reflecting the desire of the Cathars elites to purge them of
contamination by a sinful world. Unlike the Waldensians, the Cathari were a
truly heretical sect holding to a Manichean form of dualism. The most important
rite of the Cathari was the consolamentum,[9]
which involved the laying on hand and guaranteed the recipient absolution of
past and future sins. Women were given position of authority, while at the same
time normal husband-wife sexual relationship were denounced, and women were
viewed as the instigators of sin.[10]
The doctrines of the Catharism were especially repulsive to the Catholic
Church. The Cathar views of Christ were, He was not divine but only a messenger
of the good spiritual God sent to awaken people and Christ only seemed to have
taken human form and could thus have redeemed humankind by dying on the cross.
The Taborites
Taborite
emerges in the early 14th century. They were known as the most
radical branch of the Hussite movement. Although viewed as a heretical cult by
the Roman Catholic Church, they were fundamentalist 1n the tradition of John
Wycliffe and wished to confine to doctrines explicitly stated in the Bible. In
the light of this, it is even more interesting that they permitted women to
preach.
Benedictines Female
Benedictine
life is usually structured around prayer in the chapel seven times a day. The Benedictine women were from the beginning
is implied by the legend of St. Seholastica, who used to meet with her brother
Benedict to discuss their way of life in a house between their communities.
Women religious began following the Rule of St. Benedict in the sixth century.
Most women’s houses had at least a small male community of chaplains and often
lay brothers who helped with the manual work. Each Benedictine house was
independent. Nevertheless, bishops often wielded greater jurisdiction over
women’s houses than men’s monasteries, which looked to visiting abbots rather
than local bishops for supervision.[11]
Benedictine monasteries fostered many women mystics and prophets. Benedictine
monasteries were the center of lay communities to which they offered all kinds
of liturgical, educational, and health services.
Franciscans Female
The Franciscan
tradition intersects with the feminine monastic heritage since the early 13th
century. Throughout the centuries individual women or small communities have
lived an eremitic form of life. It is the small number of enclosed monasteries
of women who follow the rule of the third order of St. Francis.
Monks,
Women and Marriage in Egypt
Antony of the Desert
(250-356 AD)
Antony of the Desert is
considered to be the father of monasticism. In the life of Antony, Athanasius
presents him as a heroic, individual fighter. He was born of a Christian
Parents in Memphis. When he was 21 years old he heard the Gospel reading of
Matthew 19:21 about a rich young man in public. He felt that the words were
addressed to him. He went back to his home and gave all his possessions to the
poor and took up ascetic life in the vicinity of his village. In 287 AD he
retired completely into the desert. He set up group of hermits in Lower Egypt.[12]
Many were attracted to his life and Antony organized his disciples into a
community of hermits who lived with strict rules but not of later religious
orders. He supported the Nicean party in the Arian controversy in which he was
closely associated with St. Athanasius.
Pachomius (290- 346 A.D)
He was born in Upper
Egypt of pagan parents and he was a younger contemporary of St. Antony. He
after brief service as a conscript in the Roman army presented himself for
baptism and immediately took up the life of a hermit under the supervision of
an older ascetic named Palamon.[13]
He established an organized monastic community at the village of Tabbenisi. He
composed the first monastic rule establishing the economic and spiritual basis
for the common life and providing for community government.
Marcella (325-410)
Born in a wealthy Roman
family and married early but husband died 7 months after marriage and she
refused to remarry; Gave away goods to relatives and poor after her husband’s
death and devoted her life to a life of charitable works, study and asceticism.
When Jerome came to Rome382 became her friend and studies scripture with him.
He once referred to her as “the Glory of the ladies of Rome”. Her Home became a
son of convent dedicated to the study of scriptures and prayers.
Macrina (327-379)
She was the elder
sister of St. Basil and Gregory of Nyssa. She is sometimes known as the Younger
to distinguish her from Macrina the Elder, her paternal grand Mother; Alter the
death of her husband she remained unmarried. By her strength, she exercised a deep
influence upon her brothers, especially winning Christian priesthood. She
founded a monastic community of women and never left it for the rest of her
life.
Marcellina (ca.
330-398)
She is the sister of
St. Ambros. After the death of her father she assisted her mother in the
education of her brother and was consecrated a Virgin by Pope Liberius in 352.
Later she lived at Milan with her brother who tried to dissuade her from
excessive austerities.
Melania the Elder
(345-410)
In 356 she married to
Valerius Maximum. By 364 her husband and two sons died; she began to live an
ascetic life. She adopted the ascetic life under St. Jerome’s influence. Left
Rome in 372 for Egypt and Palestine and in 378 she founded a convent for 50
nuns on the mount Olives. In 397 she returned to Italy with Rufinus of Aquileia.
She used her fortune to practice charity and hospitality for a period of 37
years.
Paula (347-404)
At the age of 33 she dedicated
herself to a life of devotion with her daughter Eustochium. In 385 she and
Eustochium followed St Jerome to Palestine; and after visiting the Holy places
and the Hermits in the Egyptian deserts; she settle permanently in Bethlehem
from 386 where she founded a convent of monks and another for nuns and a hostel
for pilgrims.
Melania the Younger (383-438)
She was the granddaughter
of Melania the Elder. She fled with her husband Pinian to Africa where she
founded 2 monasteries. Later they joined St. Jerome and entered monasteries at
Bethlehem. After Pinian’s death she founded another monastery on the mount
Olives.
Women and Marriage in
Egypt
In general, Egyptian
placed a high value on harmonious and faithful marriage. The age of Egyptian
women at first marriage was most commonly in the years between 16 and 20,
although perhaps 30% married earlier and about 70% of all women married by 20,
90% by 24. Men about 40% married in their teens, were still unmarried at 20.
They by contrast reached the 70% mark only at 28. A husband and wife age gap of
three to ten years. Married women suffered no legal disabilities and were not
in their husband’s control. Legal documents came into play only to regulate and
attest specific arrangements involving property, such as dowry or undertaking
of support. Either party could end the marriage with or without grounds,
unilaterally or by mutual consent. Where agreement so specified, certain
conduct (usually adultery) could exempt the innocent party from paying back a
dowry gift. Successful marriages generated little documentation.[14]
Ascetic Life of the Females
in the Fourth century
The fourth century
brought considerable changes to the political and economic realms in which
Christians lived. Female asceticism grew out of the Christian household. On the
one hand women took ascetic life either at their baptism or when had
experienced a deeper commitment to Christ. Asceticism in 4th century
was experienced by women as a liberating choice; because it allowed women to
throw off traditional female roles, it offered female directed communities
where they could pursue the highest self development as autonomous persons, it
offered security.[15]
But on the other hand the more than the girl’s personal interest and commitment
it was just the decision of the family members mostly her parents who decided
the fate of their girl child. Every girl thus dedicated was known as the
‘brides of Christ’; they are no longer treated as normal women but they are
considered as ‘sacred vessels dedicated to God’.
Most of the families gave their daughters to
the church, even before they attain the proper age in order to lessen the
expenses incurred by a female child such as dowry etc… Basil of Caesarea has
correctly pointed this out saying, “Parents, and brothers and other relatives
bring forward many girls before the proper age, not because the girls have an
inner urge towards continence, but order that their relatives may gain some material
advantage from so doing.”[16]
Regarding the life of
the female ascetics, unlike the male ascetics these virgins either lived in
their own household as respectable persons, or joined in small groups and lived
in rented rooms or at times gathered in large groups of not more than 100
virgins. The ascetic life of the virgins remained remarkably informal. It means
that they had freedom to seek spiritual advice from any men, a relative, or a
fellow ascetic or highly learned men. Thus there was an increase in fellowship
and spiritual companionship between the male and female ascetics. The virgins
practiced strict asceticism in which they disciplined themselves in seclusion
and in strict diet under the leadership of an elderly Sister in a monastery.[17] It
is believed that, nuns in Egypt in a monastery have not known how an apple
looked like, whereas some of the male ascetics were so ignorant that they don’t
even know the existence of women and gold coins. Such practices of strict
asceticism resulted in high regard for these virgins. Women often gathered
together to listen to exegesis and interpretation of biblical passages from the
virgins. An Egyptian writer mentions in his writings that, having a virgin in a
home will provide salvation for that home and the entire community, as virgins
can save their house and community from the dangers of the world. Therefore
every household desired to have a virgin daughter.
Many kinds of vocation
of the female ascetics in the 4th century, each individual must
decide which form of life suits best. Many will find advantage in the life in
monastery, but others it will be better to withdraw into solitude. There were
wandering lives of the female ascetics in the Egyptian materials. House
asceticism was frequently practiced in Egypt throughout the whole of this
period. The weaving of rope was clearly carried out by the female ascetics. The
women in the wilderness were engaged precisely in weaving such a rope. There
were tailors in the female ascetics. The sisters take care of the sick and
needy persons and they prepare food for the laity. Manual work was linked to
the daily prayer. The most wide spread form of prayer and meditation consisted
of recitation from memory of scriptural texts. In the Lower Egypt Saturday and
Sunday the female ascetics came together for a common liturgical celebration.
Conclusion
In the midst of growing
worldliness of the church during 3rd and 4th centuries, the church
lost its purpose of holy living and Christ-centered life. There were some
people who longed to have perfection in Christ, so they took a separate way of
life. Many people attracted to this way of life and willing to practice it.
Therefore, men and women took up the ascetic life and formed communities and later
it paved way for monasticism. Specially, Christian household played an
important role in female asceticism. Many monasteries came up for men and
women. From these monasteries theology and tradition formed and monasteries
yielded development of literary development of the early church. The
monasteries from East and West played a significant role for the growth of the churches.
Bibliography
Bagnall,
Roger S. Egypt in Late Antiguity. New
Jersey: Princton University Press, 1993.
Cairns,
Earle E. Christianity through the
Centuries. USA: Zondervan, 1996.
Dunn,
Marilyn. The Emergence of Monasticism:
From the Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages. Cornwall: Blackwell
Publishing, 2003.
Harris,
W P. The History of the Christian Church
of Six Centuries. Madras: CLS, 1975.
Imchen,
Narola. Women in the History of Christianity.
Jorhat; TDCC Publications, 2010.
Kari, Vogt. The Desert Mothers: Female Asceticism in Egypt from 4th to 6th
Century. Netherland: Kluwer Publishers, 1993.
Simpson, Jane. Women and Asceticism in
the Fourth century: A Question of interpretation, in Women in Early Christianity edited by David M Scholer. New York:
Garland Publishing, 1993.
Tamanini,
Paulo Augusto. “The Ancient History and the Female Christian Monasticism”, Athens
Journal of History (July
2017).
Walker,
Williston. A History of the Christian
Church. UK: St. Edmundsbury Press, 1985.
http.History.ucsb.edu/archived/courses/tempdoenload.php?attachid=4779.Accessedon20/08/2018.12.25
PM
[2] Marilyn Dunn, The Emergence of Monasticism: From the
Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages (Cornwall: Blackwell Publishing,
2003), 16.
[3] W Harmless, Desert Christians: An Introduction to the
Literature of Early Monasticism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004),
18.
[4] Marilyn Dunn, The Emergence of Monasticism: From the
Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages…, 58
[5] Marilyn Dunn, The Emergence of Monasticism: From the
Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages…, 46.
[6] Narola Imchen, Women in the History of Christianity
(Jorhat; TDCC Publications, 2010), 66.
[7] Narola Imchen, Women in the History of Christianity…,
67.
[8] Paulo Augusto
Tamanini, “The Ancient History and the Female Christian Monasticism”, Athens
Journal of History (July
2017): 35.
[9]Consolamentum
was an immersion (baptism) in the Holy Spirit. It implied reception of all
spiritual gifts including absolution from sin, spiritual regeneration, the
power to preach and elevation to a higher plane of perfection.
[10] Narola Imchen, Women in the History of Christianity…, 67.
[12] Earle E Cairns, Christianity through the Centuries (USA: Zondervan, 1996), 145
[13] Williston
Walker, A History of the Christian Church
(UK: St. Edmundsbury Press, 1985), 155.
[14] Roger S
Bagnall, Egypt in Late Antiguity (New
Jersey: Princton University Press, 1993), 190.
[15] Jane Simpson,
Women and Asceticism in the Fourth century: A Question of interpretation, in Women in Early Christianity edited by
David M Scholer (New York: Garland Publishing, 1993), 301.
[16]http.History.ucsb.edu/archived/courses/tempdoenload.php?attach-id=4779.Accessedon20/08/2018.12.25
PM
[17] Vogt Kari, The Desert Mothers: Female Asceticism in Egypt
from 4th to 6th Century (Netherland: Kluwer
Publishers, 1993), 201.
No comments:
Post a Comment