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7 The Beginnings of Monastic Life Every organization has some members who are more dedicated to its purpose than others. In the first three centuries of Christianity, the Christian community often found itself persecuted by the Roman authorities. With their lives in danger, there weren’t many halfhearted Christians. Even when persecutions weren’t raging, Christians were clearly a small group identified by a religion that arose out of one of the backwaters of the Roman Empire; it got little respect in the broader culture. No one became a Christian to improve their social status. All this changed when the Emperor Constantine declared himself a Christian in the year 313. Prior to Constantine, there was often a very high price to be paid for being a Christian. After his conversion, just the opposite occurred: it was not only socially acceptable but socially obligatory to become a Christian for anyone who wanted to maintain status within the imperial system. This influx of so many new members had both good and bad effects upon Christianity. The good effect, of course, was that there were many more people following “the way” Jesus taught, and Christian values had a greater prospect of transforming the lives of more people. The downside, however, was that there were lots of people going to church who really didn’t take it very seriously. Thus those Christians who were most convinced about taking their religion seriously had to either put up with Christian communities that were quite diverse in their degree of dedication or had to establish new ones. There are examples of Christian ascetics and monastics prior to Constantine, but since monastic life arises out of this desire to dedicate oneself more and more thoroughly to a life of faith, changes in the fourth and fifth centuries increased the number of monastic communities. There was great diversity in early monasticism both in men’s monasteries and women’s. Because of limitations of space in this volume, we will restrict our treatment of early monasticism to two of the most famous rules of conduct for monastic life: those of Benedict of Nursia and Augustine of Hippo. Benedict’s rule eventually became immensely influential and was adopted by literally thousands of 107 communities of men and women around the world. Augustine’s rule has been less influential, partly because of the hybrid life that Augustine himself led, being both an active bishop engaged in all the affairs of the church in the world and the head of a community of men. Both bear important insights into economic life that are relevant far beyond the cloister walls. The purpose of monastic life Monastic motiv Monastic motivation ation The chief motivation for your sharing life together is to live harmoniously in the house and to have one heart and one soul seeking God. Live then, all of you, in harmony and concord; honor God mutually in each other; you have become His temples. The Rule of St. Augustine, Chapter 1 Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is advice from a father who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice. The labor of obedience will bring you back to him from whom you had drifted through the sloth of disobedience. This message of mine is for you, then, if you are ready to give up your own will, once and for all, and armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord. Therefore we intend to establish a school for the Lord’s service. In drawing up its regulations, we hope to set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. The good of all concerned, however, may prompt us to a little strictness in order to amend faults and to safeguard love. Do not be daunted immediately by fear and run away from the road that leads to salvation. It is bound to be narrow at the outset. But as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts over-flowing with the inexpressible delight of love. Never swerving from his instructions, then, but faithfully observing his teaching in the monastery until death, we shall through patience share in the sufferings of Christ that we may deserve also to share in his kingdom. The Rule of St. Benedict, Prologue1 The fundamental purpose of monastic life...

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