a socioreligious movement whose members assume a number of obligations. They vow to “retreat from the world,” renounce all property and kinship and social ties, practice restraint (obligatory celibacy), and submit to strict discipline. In addition, monks bind themselves to the monastery (in most cases) and promise to obey its rules. The core of the monastic ethic is prayer and meditation on the divine.
Monasticism first emerged as a Buddhist institution in India around the middle of the first millennium B.C. (All Buddhist priests are monks.) It was believed that a Buddhist could achieve Nirvana only by renouncing all earthly ties and by living in utter poverty. Monasticism became widespread in India by the first centuries of the Common Era and later became common in China, Japan, Tibet (Lamaist monasticism), and other countries in Southeast Asia and the Far East.
Christian monasticism originated in the third and fourth centuries. (In the Orthodox Church monks are also referred to as the Black Clergy.) The first monks were hermits. From the fourth and fifth centuries communities of monks (monasteries) prevailed. Still later, in ancient Rus’, it was common for Orthodox monks to wander, making only brief stops at monasteries.
Christian monasticism became particularly important during the Middle Ages. In addition to religious fanaticism, socioeconomic factors contributed to the rise of monasticism. As long as the principle of primogeniture prevailed, the monastic life was in many instances the only occupation open to the younger sons of feudal lords. Many of them assumed supervisory positions in the monasteries, and their way of life often differed little from that of secular nobles. However, most of the monks came from social strata other than the nobility, chiefly the peasantry. Lacking the means of subsistence, they remained close to the lower classes. To a significant degree, this explains the participation of monks in medieval heretical movements. In capitalist countries part of the monastic stratum (especially nuns) consists of kinless, disinherited, and sometimes déclassé elements, as well as representatives of the petit bourgeois intelligentsia who are dissatisfied with their way of life.
Initiation into the Christian monastic life was accompanied by the rite of tonsure. To symbolize his full “retreat from the world,” the tonsured initiate assumed a new name and received special vestments. In reality, however, the renunciation of the “sinful world” by the monks (especially the elite) was generally a sham. The life of the monks did not even approach the asceticism that they preached. In their struggle against feudal exploitation the common people vigorously attacked the monks, accusing them of parasitism and debauchery. Humanists and leading Enlightenment thinkers throughout Europe exposed the vices and ignorance of the monks.
The Catholic Church created the greatest variety of monastic organizations. Among the numerous monastic orders, religious orders of knights, and mendicant orders, the Jesuits became particularly important. In Western Europe the Catholic Church has always endeavored to influence ideology, politics, learning, education, and other aspects of life through the monastic organizations. The Catholic monastic stratum has been an extremely important supporter of the papacy. Contemporary monasticism, like the church as a whole, is being modernized, and the way of life in the monasteries and convents is changing.
The role of the monks in contemporary Oriental countries is unique. With the intensification of the anti-imperialist struggle, Buddhist and Lamaist monks, who are active in public life, have often joined the progressive forces in their countries.
The Protestant churches do not have monastic organizations. In literature the Muslim dervishes are often described as monks, but this is incorrect. Because they do not take vows of celibacy, the dervishes can leave the cloister, marry, and return to their families.