The Living Tradition An Orthodox Archive of the Church Fathers and Early Church

The apostolic and early Church — lesson 5

The monastic movement

Why Christians went into the desert, and what the Church made of them.

  • Historical consensusBroadly agreed among historians working from the surviving evidence. Consensus can shift when the evidence or the method changes.
  • Received Orthodox teachingTaught consistently and received throughout the Orthodox Church, though not necessarily formulated in a conciliar definition. This is not a claim that no Father ever wrote differently.

Primary evidence verified Content last reviewed 2026-08-29

What still needs checking (1)
  • Add tier D scholarship on the origins of monasticism and on the historical value of the Life of Antony.

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What this lesson covers

  • Describe the origins of monasticism in Egypt and Syria.
  • Distinguish solitary and communal forms.
  • Explain the relation between monks and bishops.

About 6 minutes to read.

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From the late third century, Christians began withdrawing to the deserts of Egypt, Syria and Palestine to live under a discipline of prayer, work and self-denial. Anthony was not the first, and the Life of Antony says so; what made him the father of monks was that Athanasius wrote his life and the book travelled.

Two forms developed alongside each other. The solitary or eremitic life, in cells at varying distances from one another, and the communal or cenobitic life under a rule and a superior, organised in Egypt by Pachomius and in Cappadocia by Basil.

Basil's rules turned solitary asceticism into an ordered common life with obedience, manual work, prayer and hospitality. That form became the foundation of Orthodox monasticism, and through Cassian and Benedict it shaped the West as well.

Evagrius gave the movement its analytical vocabulary; Cassian carried it west; Climacus and Isaac wrote its classic handbooks. Almost all the Orthodox ascetic literature descends from this period.

Key Scripture

  • Matthew 19:21 — The verse Anthony heard read in church.
  • 1 Thessalonians 5:17 — Pray without ceasing — the text behind the tradition of continual prayer.

On Scripture references. References are given so you can read the passage in the translation your parish uses. This site does not reproduce a modern copyrighted Bible text.

Council and canon connections

  • Canons IV and XXIV of Chalcedon and canons of Nicaea II regulate monasteries and their relation to bishops.

Why this matters in lived Orthodoxy

Monasticism remains central to Orthodox life in a way it is not in most Western Christianity. Bishops are chosen from the monastic clergy, the liturgical books are largely monastic in origin, and the ascetic literature is read by laypeople.

Review

What are the two principal forms of monastic life?
The solitary or eremitic, and the communal or cenobitic under a rule and a superior.
How does the Life of Antony present the relation between monk and bishop?
Anthony leaves the desert to support the persecuted and oppose Arianism, and submits his judgement to the bishops.

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Going deeper

Sources for this page

  1. Tier C Athanasius: Select Works and Letters Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (eds.); Archibald Robertson (trans.) Athanasius, The Life of Antony translated edition of primary texts Source record
  2. Tier C Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lérins, John Cassian Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (eds.) John Cassian, Conference 1 translated edition of primary texts Source record

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