ee. CHAPTER L. ORIGINS OF THE CONSECRATED LIFE A. Conseerated Life, Not Christian Life ‘Th phenomenon of Consecration docs not soem (0 be caglusve of Chatanty, Forms alike to what call cous be faund in othr ancient and modem religions. Cis well known thatthe presence of monasticism in the religious editions of dia is characterized by a strong ascotic Tendency a5 lived in community orn solide. Buddhism served 1g intriorze these ascetic tendoaces, freeing them fom some of “ir more spectacular sppcaranses, Fhe Greso Ronan csc werd knew ts monic examples aif over the Hellenistic period and thoughout the geographic world, We know ascetic communities of philosophical character: _the neo Pythagoras, nse platonic ee ee toe eae PaSon ino h the sate of perfict blessed internal and “ester peace, z ‘Moe interestingly, the Jewish monastic movemeats are closer to Clwistan monastic We know some ofthe Old Testament, like Blab, who vod i a ea Tevemiah, who lived a We of celibacy. But the most terest ston wre ion ourshing in Palestine duis x id: the “eesnes” and the therapeu. Liale was known about the essenes unl the discovery of the ‘Quran manuscrips. Toy, we ean draw a quite precise picture ‘of them. They emerged daring the ¢. BC, around the Maciabean Revol. They fought against the Hellenistic Cultural Uniication, ‘They withdrew tothe deset seeking to ive the lain its party. Later, these groups organized themselves in teal communities ‘(Qumran is one ofthe many examples) under the leadership ofa master, and stuctured with very precise! rigid rules. Ther litestyle involved a stong apocalyptic orientation, with ascetic aspects of renunciation of the material world an in many eases, to mariage, Judaism in Egypt produced a dtferent monastic lifesyl, The “therapeu” were much more contemplative and mystic tan the Palestinian essenes. Their ite was prevalently satay, thigh we know that some communities among these are also “therqpeuts” “They had high gard fr virginity, especially among women, Many of these ascetic monastic forms present strong similarities with primitive Christian monasticism, and already, several Cristian author stressed this matter cleat, But we ent, say dat any of them has had a dret influence on the bith or development of primitive Chistian monasticism. B. The Problem: of the Origins I) deat Origins ‘The consecrated life recognizes her ovigins. We ean se this ideally in Jesus" person, in his life-style, and in his preaching of God's Kingdom ‘Consecration to Christ means consecration tothe “Sequt"-t0 Aiscipleship-and so, it involves the exemplary presence of Jesus Chet In this way, we can consider that Jesus Christ as founded Consecrated Life. His person, miaistry, and lifestyle are theovine orm coxsscReTD ae 3 Fiundations of Consecrated Life But this doesn't mean tht we should search in the apostolic age for an iastcational presence of consecrated fi 2) Institutional Origins ‘When we talk about institution comers lifesyl, with precise characteristics that constitute the state of consecration inthe Church, ‘We cant find this in the apostolic age, but neither is itezarly present inthe post- apostolic era. We have 1 wat wail the middle of the 3 and the beginnings of 4 centuries to afi a clear definitive presence ofthe state of consecrated fife. origins, we mean here the C. Forms of Conscerated Lifein the 2 & 3" Centuries “he Apostolic Fathers fave akeady informed us about the existence of sominants a wigs, men and women who lve a lie of castiy, witout abandoning thie fails and who were living in organized groups, Clement of Alexa, Iatvs of Antioch, the Didachc, Heras, ec. spoke about them such people seemed inane panticula esse nde community, Inthe ewaledSesond Leter of Clemeat othe Viens, we fd fr he a tine, cent MEEETORTRCR eg ibessenbie WHF, perhaps inorder to beer ear St hie apostolic activites "Neves, it wil ny be in the 3 century that we can see clearer and abundant meotion of these groupe. Cleat of ‘Alexandria and Cyprian of Crag aed profusely about these soups. Origen will be the oe iogive a theoretic Kodation to his ita. ta his intepreatin of he Song of Sones, betated owe spirit mariage of sus Christan he eed al “The Church begins to rule and rat the Canoes entrance in such ifestyl, a wel ais exit or dismiss ‘onomsor muzconseexaren re 4 ‘There are numerous writings about de “passions” of virgins, specially women, in whom we can dtet the peat esteem ofthe community for these groups of people like: AGNES, CECILE, AGATHA, et. Indeed, the idea of virginity is placed in the same level as martytdom, and we read about the cow of vegnity (corona virginia), paral to the erown of martyrdom (Coton martyr), This life-style was not absolutely exempt fom danges, he fiesta most serious one was pride and the over-xaluation of| their strength. So begins one ofthe problems tat wil afoot the Curl for several centuries - the wrgins swbinroducta: thai ascetic men and virgin womea, who lived together, a8 bothers and sisters. This provoked some ironic comments among the pagans (dh ease of Paul of Samosa), The Church’ writers made great effort to suppress this bad practice frm the Church and to wa aginst it. ‘A second problem was the insistence of some members or groups traniversalize virginity a8 the ol possible way to li he- Chistian lie. Some of these groups arved at & moral condemnation of marriage, asthe encratid of Tatianus or the ‘mantis, and among ther, we find Terai, But the wider ‘Church never accepted this tendency, and indeed, formally condemned it However, the ascetic enthusiasm of the Church ofthe eI has to be seen as somthing positive (also with its deviations) and as an exellent demonstration ofthe high moral level eigning inthe Christian community ducing those days The Martyrial ideals: ‘The Chuistians of the fist three contre lived almost coastal under the teat of violent death, Miryrdom wast considered 2 misfortune, but rather a highly esteemed way of finishing the Chitin journey. Iwas the dies natal No WYtiene ere coxsecasreD une 5 This exeem and appreciation of mstyedon became event in ate leurs of fats of Asie, pray nhs leer 10 the Chistian community of Rome. The content ofthis eta Ww Alunige ide, wich penaded exe thatyrdom the ‘stay sob fons Cu The same thing ca be said about the Passio Polcarpl as well asi Tati Cire of watydom i pesened ako na lterary way: inte death ofthe ea fone carci al Ct. > ses, 48 axe one ene ry and slated » long journey dough the most famous areas of ‘wonastc lifelike Syria, and above all, Egypt, in order to know the diferent forms of monasticism. Not finding his ideals among Wem, te retumed to Cappadocia, and there withdrew tothe fara of his family called Annesis. There he spent some years ofhis life > in study, asceticism and prayer, until the year 364, when, consecrated as priest, he lef his fe of solitude to ep his bishop whom te succeeded inthe year 370 in the diocese of Cacsaren, ‘hile at Amnesis, Basil wrote the fest of his monsstc work, he Moral Rules. shop and Theologian, he engaged personally in the fight ‘gains Arianisy. This engagement entailed frequent clashes with the imperial authority. In his figs, Basil demonstrated a great deal of energy and spit, as well asa high pastoral sease. This Pasta senses seen in his monastic ideas as we fn them in his reat ascetic works, written during his time as bishop of Cacsarea (370379). 1B. Monastic writings of Basil ‘The fist of all the monastic writings of Bail is the already ‘mentioned Moral Rules. They are a sunimary of Biblical text, thematically ordered and organized; it was writen towards the year 360, while he was stil a lxyman, in his solitude a Annesis, ‘This work remained fundamental in the monsstic spictual of Basi, and all his followin works are just commentaries and an ‘expansion ofthis first work, ‘The great stature of Basil, a bishop and as a monk, atracted ‘many Chistian to goto him for consultation and guidance. The collection of his answers to many questions posed to him (eae ‘than 200) formed the so-alld Lite Ascetikon,asyibsis of the ideas of Basil on monastic if Later, after the year 370, he expanded the Lite Ascetihon, forming a body of about 400 questions. This work is called theGrea Ascibon. Mer is death, am song pier tr ee i wot ul Ft, eat gtd te 5 queso and sec oi “Gret Asotin, andthe Regular Brevis Traci, wi te ‘mating 318 qocaton aad wes, alse wing tain of rhe death fas ax they toed atonr' and chugs according, 10 he coustnces Ii mt aay iy to ecogune wa tons tly Bas and wit eh ita nr aton Hower they tecae tems comanon ela tt in the Oran ‘Sunt oy Te wings of Basil aso had a get ince ter on ia ©. The Primacy of Community: Basiian Monasticism Basil ried to off to his ov monks af ing to __g0%pel; in fc, all his monastic wrigings were full of biblical ferences, and ihe Bible was for him the primary source of any ‘monastis Spriualiy, Forhim, ascetic practice, which was so important fr previous ‘monks, lost much of it importance: ascotic practices are only nsw we hat could keep hit “ay fom his Lan recor iilidctond ants ofhnatitis opel tiated cary ee tee es a en fing ae Wo eotet So -Auonkcto his own defects and weaknesses, and encouraged him (9. He! got up aller falling (brotierly comction) and allows the See ee a ent Sn EE eer meter ‘se one noes Patak 2 bla community that is open tothe needs ofthe Church and of “Biesedd. Wi ths, is imecsing to dai the dieroce totwoon Basil and the carlior monks. Ths case mans always bd certain mistrust towards the iastttonal Church tothe point of considering th Hisop-on-of tie enon, Basil, onthe il is differen attitude could be the fut of the pastoral Tn this community, everyone carted out his own task in harmony with others, Basil loved the metaphor of te body is r x inetions wel, when well wih the body. The ‘elationships among the members have to be guided brotherly love. He did nt even think hat the figure ofthe superior should “be tat of strong man, a charismatic person, the soul and the head ofthe family (the Abba. On the eocray, the superior is also a ‘member ofthe one body-wih others, He eam be likenod aot Co the head but tothe eye ofthe body, thas, the one who hs been given the tsk of watch over the others so tal everything and everyone walk along the right path ‘Obviously, such 2 community with such an emphasis on personal relationships could never reach the gigantic dimensions ‘ofthe Pachomian commusites, but would always be formed by limited number, so tha they could know and love one another tke teve brothers,CHAPTER IV. FIRST WESTERN MONASTICISM A.Rome Primitive Westem monasticism depended sticdy om the cofewal, paculaly on the Egyplan ecemiic monasticiom Gatkonyy ‘Athanasius, during the exile in Tre, had the posbitty of \wting about person be admired so nh sod cme ut with the Vita Amon There were many others, more illustrious personages who abandoned the woeld to embrace the monastic ifs. Jere wrote the biographies of may of them. Among them, ye have to rmeatin the same Jerome ad the group af wornen wo flowed him tothe Hoy Land: the two Means, Paula and her daughter Eustchio, ‘Other people didnot abandon their owe country and ted instead, t reproduce monastic life in thei own lad, sch as it ‘was lived inthe Orient, Many monasteries for men and wom were founded nea the Roman Basins. However tec vitality ‘was rather reduced daring the ines of Gregory I B., South of Gallia: Martin, Cassian, Cacsarcus, and Lerins In the 4% Century, we find in the center of France (Tours) the person of Martin, 2 bishop-monke (316/7-397) His biography, swsiten by Sulpicius Severs, shows him a8 oi astere man, “devoted to penitence, When he was elected bishop, he continuedsr weston wosecae 23 10s in soli 070). He isa good example of he Oriana _etemite cunsat ‘Nea his hut in Tours, a mums0us group of disciples gathered, though they did not lve conunon life. ‘The personaly of Jon Cassian i oe ofthe mos iter )- His works, he Jasitwions and the Collation, almost became a manual of encrations_ With an exclcat knowledge ‘of the Grek and Latin worl, afr traveling tough Orient ‘monastic regions (Palestine, Constantinople), ie eablsed — himself permanently at Mars (615), whe ww onastties and wre the alc mentioned works ul ve ei est i in montis wy. Tati what he el anon 1 Augustine as a Monk He was hor in 354 at Tapas, town ofthe Roman Ais, ~ALudlolas family. His father was pagan, while his mother, Monica, was a devout Chistian. The iluence of his mother in ‘he life of Augustine was considerable, while the figure ofthe ‘ater appeared eather ieelevant During his youth, he became a Manichean and lived a disorder le His studies of i asa lawyer brought him to Tay, particularly to Milan, where he had the opportunity Ghose to Massie, s close wo the word of Cassin, was the Less monastery of Levins founded by Hodorts, ‘The ecient, 7 0 Topi ike maak aes be a porate see of monic ale Sf taving contact with the great Ambrose, There he saried his The process of. is convection ended with the reception f baptism fom he has From Levins came Cesay bishop of Actes, the most important pesonaiy inthe whole of Gall baw and oe is cxpere in the oriental 0 znown Wvough Cassin and nthe Latin “vonustc world dhmugh Augustine $e was one ofthe first authors of monastic rules. He was the first o write a rule or nus, he Reda od Finger for x | _Ronastery governed by his sists, ©. Augustine: the Cor Unum: (354-430) Eusebius of Vereli (+371) call be considered « predecessor of Augustine and of his life-style, He conceived moans Hie ay leply celated to the pastoral and pred apse bishop, be gathered the prists of his diocese into commaniy 56 ~o{ Amrase on Easter night of 387. The baptismal comitnent andthe pressures of his mother “Monies bought him to break bis seainental elation with young woman; who had given him aon, Adeodas. Before his baptism, Augustine aleady Had some Enbwledge of monastic if, expecially though the Fi Antoni This este traced hi om te fist momen sich Way to pepars_ ims for baptism, be made an experience of almost monastic ‘Alter being baptized, i mother Monica died at Ona ‘Augustine visited + lot of Boman_manaseis, admiring Sapcily te brotherly clarity among the monks (this willbe the ‘Sel pot ofhis future monastic Hi). Te AGies, in 388, fe ii _monstcem leading «common ie with his Son Adodstus and 2 group oF Fiands, among whom, were Alypis and Evade: Bat Panciow Seelet dusts bi eihee, “get aA wey oA gy Noe w ORthis cannot yet be considered a tue monastic foundation, 1 ws semester woes % ‘A brit eue was added lter as «prologue to this fundamental rather als devoted to study and document. This second work was ot directly Augustine's twas in 391, be 10 a robably Koa 3 ‘Monastrit and its author was probably Alypis, 2 ficnd and vans w Hiogo. wher the hishap obliged him to acess —A Ym odent Driestiood_A few years Inter, in 395, he was elected bishop of “Hatsameciv A Hippo, he founded is fist cca monastery with common. Wie govemed 1-1 puscise cule with 2 recomnized monastic ‘authority and stuctwe, This was the socalled Gankea's Monsty Tis onan tthe resto al ater nthe Fpiscopacy Sought Augustine the monk in diet contact with apostolic an pastoral atv ! ‘As 8 Bishop Viral, he gered te len of he ity around hi, ving wit them nd ign te olive with him) a common fe ia monase styl. [ Distly monastery whee the pecs had to combine the aspects, 5) Augustinian Rute The question of the Augustine rule has ben an objec of isesson fr a long ins. Today, appr acl solved. fy abou mnasti Juve in enough oallow uta have «Gear idea of his mona ‘ay of thinking He wrot is fist monastic text round 397-400, sendy as 8 tidnp, Toric Gardan's Monaton, which was the Regula af Sera Dei knowns Proce Iwas an aetna “heaspects-of common i, brotherly city, ete, while te sly asc eemitic aspets wee veg lintel olaborsor of Augustine: However, the character of this work was essentially diffrent from the precedent Pracceptum. The ‘Onto “Monastvi_ emphasized the ascetic characierisicd of momstcism and was mac anchoriiodan Sensi Tater on, the Prasceptom and the Ordo Monasieré were pet together and“ combined to form 2 unique work. This process c in the south of Kaly and tom ther, dhe wo spread all over Europe a the Augustinian Rule, Other monastic ‘ext from Augustine are the Levers 210 and 211, addessed feminine commmunitics of Hippo, Sermons 355 and 356 are about common goods. The De Opéra Monachorum was about the apostolic activ” and the mawal work of the moni. His Tt Twifng waste De San eta Vergintate, about Christian Virginity Augustinian Monasticism We can find the typical Augustinian monastic ideas pticulay in the Regula ad Servos Dei or Pracceptam, Where the brotherly Tie according to the ideal ofthe community of “enum (Acts 435), was exlisd, This text i the Acts was ‘entra in Augustinian monastic thinking (more than 70 ctations)~ Unity was a primary idea ofthe monk Augustin, His richest andlmostfequent talked of in unum, wnanines, anima ‘in and finally, the cor unum. This wnanimity, neverthcles, ‘neither annulled aor damaged individual diffrence. Each monk Was unique and different from the others and, nataly, had diferent neds The Trinity, being the origin and pattern of every unity in the Church, avimates “monastic _uaity. The in-ear ‘relaionships axe characterized by charity, so ow the eitists are tarvcterizod by charity, $0 lio in the Nhe cme of Me Cor Gan © Ae Sadey Uri ba gal etna love all th bothers like ouselfand even aace dan the sl. A proof ofthis chart is the sharing of goods incomn, ‘Once agin, tere was reference the community in Jerusalem, ~ ‘The monks who were also priests, and have some ministerial obligations, form the basis of an Augustinian monastery, ‘Augustinian apostolic activity belonged to the essence of is ‘monastic Mf and was the fit of te love for God and for the by tha to characterize the monk. ‘This moasticism Fhe Regula QM om Gaby Sot ed Can ackiwe aerieds - unty ACommnity 3 a cal 4 GA. ATE wembes A AR eemely on a called, by Rod ‘wh ow Valve LY ow dusty =k Aatheny