The Monastic

Habit
Right at the beginning of monasticism down
there in the deserts of Egypt, there was no
distinctive garb of the desert fathers (the title given
to the first monks because of their expertise in the
labyrinthine way to God). Later, they simply
assumed a distinctive garment reminiscent of the
vesture of Elijah (2 Kgs. 1:8) and john the Baptist
(Mt. 3:4). Much later still, it was the custom to
receive the monastic garb from the spiritual Father,
the abba, to whos direction the monk submitted
during the period of apprenticeship.
St. Benedict wore the monastic garb at the
beginning of his eremitical life at the cave of
Subiaco. He received it from the monk Romanus. It
was called the “habitus sanctae conversationis” –
the habit of holy conversion/stability. In cenobitic
monasteries, wheremonks lived in connunity, the
Abbot would confer the habit after the period of
probation of the candidate.
 The Monastic Garb
The first element of the monastic garb is the
meleta, made of the skin of an animal, held in place
with a leather cincture. Later, the melota was
replaced by a tunic. A mantle called pallium was
adopted by the monks. A scapular was added – a
strap worn over the shoulders to protect the tunic
during work. A cuculla, a hood, was won to cover the
head.

Symbolic Meaning
The monastic garb belongs to the realm of
mystagogy. Mystagogy ia a process of proceeding
from the visible to the invisible, from the sign to the
thing signified. It moves from didactic instruction to
experience (encounter or communion), that is to say,
from the understanding of the meaning of the sign to
an experience of the reality pointed to by the sign.
Then , experience leads to transformation. People
and their lives begin to change.
 Melota. The original melota has three meanings
which are interconnected: first, the prophetic
character of the monastic life in the tradition of Elijah
and John the Baptist, belonging to the charismatic
order and not to the hierarchical-clerical order;
second, the sin of Adam and Eve, which postulated
the need for clothing and the consequent
conversion, which such sin necessitated, and third,
the poor quality of the melota is symbolic of poverty,
renunciation, and asceticism.
Tunic. It is the garment of the soldier of Christ.
St. Paul calls the Christian a “soldier of Christ” (2
Tim. 2:3). As such, he puts on the armor of God, the
breastplate of justice, the shield of the Spirit, the
helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, as
he wages the spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:11-17; 1
Thess. 5:8; Rom. 13:12, 2 Cor. 6:7, 10: 4-6).
Cassian decribes the monks as one enlisted in the
army of Christ, who engages himself in a spiritual
battle and arms himself with weapons of prayer,
fasting, and vigils. The monk’s asceticism is
conceived as a combat against demons and vices.
In the rule of Benedict, the military terminology is
extended to the sense of service. The enemy is
one’s self-will. Service of Christ consist in
obedience to the Rule and to the Abbot.
Pallium. This is a mantle or cloak worn over the
shoulders. Originally, it was worn by philosophers.
Monks adopted it because it was believed that the
monastic life was a true “philosophy”, a love-for-
wisdom way of life.
Scapular. It stands for the asceticism of work,
particularly manual work. It also symbolizes the
bearing of the cross, which demands the ascetical
program of crucifixion and mortification of the monk’s
passions. It entails patience, that is to say, to suffer
and share in the passion of Chirst, to bear patiently
wrongs done to oneself (Prol. 4:30), to hold fast to
patience even in the midst of difficulties,
contradictions, and even injustice (RB, 7:35),
persevering in the monastery until death (Prol. 50).
Cincture. The cincture, which originally was a
leather belt, stands for chastity of the body. Chastity
is an overflow of the monastic purity of heart. It is
kept and maintained by mortification, the tightening
of one’s belt, so to speak.
 Cuculla (Hood). Cuculla symbolizes the new life
of grace. The cuculla is compared to the baptismal
robe. It not only covers the head but it also serves to
control one’s direction, to make straight one’s path,
and to ward off cross roads off-tangency. Hence, it
fosters one-minded, one hearted, and one-handed
direction of the monk’s life.

Essentials
To put the monastic habbit with its varied
components means four essentials:
1. To strip oneself of the secular clothing. It
means laying aside the monk’s whole previous
way of life and fleeing the sinful world with all
its allurements. Cassian says this signifies not
only the loss “of all his former possessions,
but also that he has abandoned all worldly
pride, and become subject to the destitution
and poverty of Christ.”
2. To put on “ the new man, who has been
created according to God in justice and
holiness of truth”(Eph. 4:24).
 3. To proclaim his intention to live for God alone,
to devote himself exclusively to God, and to
consecrate his life to prayer.
4. To give testimony and witness to the truth that
the new life will be one of harsh combat
against the flesh and the demons before he
can ascend the heights of contemplation and
union with God.

Investiture Rites
The following rites are the rites of investiture –
the putting on of the monastic garb. They take place
after the homily or during the Liturgy of the Hours
after the intercessory prayers of the Morning Prayers
or Evening Prayers. It is presided over by the Abbot
of the community. The rites should be kept as simple
but as solemn as possible.

Abbot: What are you seeking?

Candidates: God and His kingdom.
Abbot: Thanks be to God. Before I hand to
you the signs of such seeking, first divest
yourself of your secular clothing, the sign of your
laying aside your whole previous way of life and
your fleeing the sinful world with all its
allurements.

Here is the TUNIC, the garment of the soldier of

Christ. Wear it in your spiritual warfare against
the demons and vices, as you engage yourself
unto the service of your king, Christ the Lord.
(Candidates put on the tunic).

Here is the CINCTURE which stands for the

chastity of your body, the overflow of the
monastic purity of heart, which is kept by
mortification, the tightening of your belt, so to
speak. (Candidates gird themselves).

Here is the SCAPULAR. It stands for man hard

work, which is an essential component f the
monastic life, it also means the cross which
demands the crucifixion and death of your ego
and your passions as you share in the passion
and death of Christ.
The HOOD symbolizes, too, your undistracted
direction to God and his kingdom all along the
way till death.

Candidates: Lord Jesus Christ, with the

monastic garb I wear from today
on, I proclaim my intention to
live for God alone and his
kingdom, to devote myself
exclusively to God, and to
consecrate my life to prayer.
May I give testimony and
witness to the truth that the new
life will be one of harsh combat
against the flesh and the
demons before I can ascend the
heights of contemplation and
union with God. Amen.
 MONASTIC IDENTITY
To understand what a monk is or better still who
a monk is, we have to go back to the first desert
dwellers, known in history as the desert fathers. But
to understand the desert fathers and their life-style,
we have to go back to the second century of
Christianity, as well as to the subsequent centuries.

The Age of Martyrdom

The second century was the age of martyrdom.
It was aptly describe as red martyrdom because of
the persecutions in the early Church. The often
quoted saying “the blood of martyrs is the seed of
Christians” characterizes this age. The believers in
Christ paid very highly for their faith in Christ, in
terms of their blood and life.