![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/St.-Jerome-In-His-Study.jpg)
A hermit, also known as an eremite (
adjectival form
In linguistics, an adjective (abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the mai ...
: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in
seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the
Desert Theology of the
Old Testament (i.e., the 40 years wandering in the
desert that was meant to bring about a change of heart).
In the Christian tradition the eremitic life is an early form of
monastic living that preceded the monastic life in the
cenobium
Cenobitic (or coenobitic) monasticism is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in the West the community belongs to a religious order, and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a religious rule, a collection of prece ...
. In chapter 1, the
Rule of St Benedict lists hermits among four kinds of monks. In the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, in addition to hermits who are members of
religious institutes, the
Canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
(canon 603) recognizes also
diocesan hermits under the direction of their
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
as members of the
consecrated life. The same is true in many parts of the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, including the
Episcopal Church in the United States, although in the canon law of the Episcopal Church they are referred to as "solitaries" rather than "hermits".
Often, both in religious and secular literature, the term "hermit" is used loosely for any Christian living a
secluded prayer-focused life, and sometimes interchangeably with
anchorite/anchoress,
recluse and "solitary". Other religions, including
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
,
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
,
Islam (
Sufism), and
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
, afford examples of hermits in the form of adherents living an
ascetic way of life.
In modern colloquial usage, "hermit" denotes anyone living apart from the rest of society, or having entirely or in part withdrawn from society, for any reason.
Etymology
The word ''hermit'' comes from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''ĕrēmīta'', the
latinisation of the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
ἐρημίτης (''erēmitēs''), "of the desert", which in turn comes from ἔρημος (''erēmos''), signifying "desert", "uninhabited", hence "desert-dweller"; adjective: "eremitic".
History
Tradition
![Cuevas Guztarriarana 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Cuevas_Guztarriarana_02.jpg)
In the common Christian tradition the first known Christian hermit in Egypt was
Paul of Thebes
Paul of Thebes (; , ''Paûlos ho Thēbaîos''; ; c. 227 – c. 341), commonly known as Paul the First Hermit or Paul the Anchorite, was an Egyptian saint regarded as the first Christian hermit, who was claimed to have lived alone in the deser ...
(
fl. 3rd century), hence also called "St. Paul the first hermit".
Antony of Egypt
Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...
(fl. 4th century), often referred to as "Antony the Great", is perhaps the most renowned of all the early Christian hermits owing to the biography by
Athanasius of Alexandria. An antecedent for Egyptian eremiticism may have been the Syrian solitary or "son of the covenant" (
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
''bar qəyāmā'') who undertook special disciplines as a Christian.
Christian hermits in the past have often lived in isolated
cells or
hermitages, whether a natural cave or a constructed dwelling, situated in the desert or the forest. People sometimes sought them out for spiritual advice and counsel. Some eventually acquired so many
disciples that they no longer enjoyed physical solitude. Some early Christian
Desert Father
The Desert Fathers or Desert Monks were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt, beginning around the third century AD. The is a collection of the wisdom of some of the ea ...
s wove baskets to exchange for bread.
In medieval times hermits were also found within or near cities where they might earn a living as a gate keeper or ferryman. In the 10th century, a rule for hermits living in a monastic community was written by
Grimlaicus. In the 11th century, the life of the hermit gained recognition as a legitimate independent pathway to salvation. Many hermits in that century and the next came to be regarded as
saints. From the Middle Ages and down to modern times, eremitic monasticism has also been practiced within the context of religious institutes in the Christian West.
In the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
the
Carthusians
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...
and
Camaldolese arrange their monasteries as clusters of hermitages where the monks live most of their day and most of their lives in solitary prayer and work, gathering only briefly for communal prayer and only occasionally for community meals and recreation. The
Cistercian,
Trappist
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...
and
Carmelite orders, which are essentially communal in nature, allow members who feel a
calling to the eremitic life, after years living in the
cenobium
Cenobitic (or coenobitic) monasticism is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. Often in the West the community belongs to a religious order, and the life of the cenobitic monk is regulated by a religious rule, a collection of prece ...
or community of the monastery, to move to a cell suitable as a hermitage on monastery grounds. There have also been many hermits who chose that vocation as an alternative to other forms of monastic life.
Anchorites
The term "anchorite" (from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
''anachōreō'', signifying "to withdraw", "to depart into the country outside the circumvallate city") is often used as a synonym for hermit, not only in the earliest written sources but throughout the centuries. Yet the anchoritic life, while similar to the eremitic life, can also be distinct from it. Anchorites lived the religious life in the solitude of an "anchorhold" (or "anchorage"), usually a small hut or "cell", typically built against a church. The door of an anchorage tended to be bricked up in a special ceremony conducted by the local bishop after the anchorite had moved in. Medieval churches survive that have a tiny window ("squint") built into the shared wall near the
sanctuary
A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...
to allow the anchorite to participate in the
liturgy by listening to the service and to receive
Holy Communion. Another window looked out into the street or cemetery, enabling charitable neighbors to deliver food and other necessities. Clients seeking the anchorite's advice might also use this window to consult them.
Contemporary Christian life
Catholicism
Catholics who wish to live in eremitic monasticism may live that
vocation
A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious ...
as a hermit:
* in an eremitic order, for example
Carthusian
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...
or
Camaldolese (in the latter one affiliate
oblates may also live as hermits)
* as a diocesan hermit under the canonical direction of their
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
(canon 603, see below)
There are also lay people who informally follow an eremitic lifestyle and live mostly as solitaries. Not all the Catholic lay members that feel that it is their vocation to dedicate themselves to God in a prayerful solitary life perceive it as a vocation to some form of consecrated life. An example of this is life as a
Poustinik, an Eastern Catholic expression of eremitic living that is finding adherents also in the West.
Eremitic members of religious institutes
![Kerkzomerpiep](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Kerkzomerpiep.jpg)
In the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, the
institutes of consecrated life have their own regulations concerning those of their members who feel called by God to move from the
life in community to the eremitic life, and have the permission of their religious superior to do so. The
Code of Canon Law contains no special provisions for them. They technically remain a member of their
institute of consecrated life
An institute of consecrated life is an association of faithful in the Catholic Church erected by canon law whose members profess the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience by vows or other sacred bonds. They are defined in the ...
and thus under obedience to their religious superior.
The
Carthusian
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...
and
Camaldolese orders of monks and nuns preserve their original way of life as essentially eremitic within a cenobitical context, that is, the monasteries of these orders are in fact clusters of individual hermitages where monks and nuns spend their days alone with relatively short periods of prayer in common.
Other orders that are essentially cenobitical, notably the
Trappists
The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...
, maintain a tradition under which individual monks or nuns who have reached a certain level of maturity within the community may pursue a hermit lifestyle on monastery grounds under the supervision of the abbot or abbess.
Thomas Merton was among the Trappists who undertook this way of life.
Diocesan hermits
The earliest form of Christian eremitic or anchoritic living preceded that as a member of a religious institute, since
monastic communities
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important rol ...
and religious institutes are later developments of the
monastic life
Christian monasticism is the devotional practice of Christians who live ascetic and typically cloistered lives that are dedicated to Christian worship. It began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, modeled upon scriptural ex ...
. Bearing in mind that the meaning of the eremitic vocation is the Desert Theology of the Old Testament, it may be said that the desert of the urban hermit is that of their heart, purged through
kenosis
In Christian theology, ''kenosis'' () is the 'self-emptying' of Jesus. The word () is used in Philippians 2:7: " made himself nothing" ( NIV), or " eemptied himself" ( NRSV), using the verb form (), meaning "to empty".
The exact meaning vari ...
to be the dwelling place of God alone.
So as to provide for men and women who feel a
vocation
A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious ...
to the eremitic or anchoritic life without being or becoming a member of an institute of consecrated life, but desire its recognition by the Roman Catholic Church as a form of
consecrated life nonetheless, the 1983 Code of Canon Law legislates in the Section on Consecrated Life (canon 603) as follows:
Canon 603 §2 lays down the requirements for diocesan hermits.
The
Catechism of the Catholic Church of 11 October 1992 (§§918–921) comments on the eremitic life as follows:
Catholic Church norms for the consecrated eremitic and anchoritic life do not include corporal works of mercy. Nevertheless, every hermit, like every Christian, is bound by the law of charity and therefore ought to respond generously, as his or her own circumstances permit, when faced with a specific need for corporal works of mercy. Hermits are also bound by the law of work. If they are not financially independent, they may engage in cottage industries or be employed part-time in jobs that respect the call for them to live in solitude and silence with extremely limited or no contact with other persons. Such outside jobs may not keep them from observing their obligations of the eremitic vocation of stricter separation from the world and the silence of solitude in accordance with canon 603, under which they have made their
vow. Although canon 603 makes no provision for associations of hermits, these do exist (for example the Hermits of Bethlehem in Chester NJ and the Hermits of Saint Bruno in the United States; see also
lavra
A lavra or laura ( el, Λαύρα; Cyrillic: Ла́вра) is a type of monastery consisting of a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center. It is erected within the Orthodox and other Eastern ...
,
skete
A skete ( ) is a monastic community in Eastern Christianity that allows relative isolation for monks, but also allows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection. It is one of four types of early monastic orders, a ...
).
Anglicanism
Many of the recognised religious communities and orders in the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
make provision for certain members to live as hermits, more commonly referred to as solitaries. One
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
community, the
Society of St. John the Evangelist, now has only solitaries in its British congregation. Anglicanism also makes provision for men and women who seek to live a single consecrated life, after taking vows before their local bishop; many who do so live as solitaries. The ''Handbook of Religious Life'', published by the Advisory Council of Relations between Bishops and Religious Communities, contains an appendix governing the selection, consecration, and management of solitaries living outside recognised religious communities.
In the Canon Law of the
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop ...
, those who make application to their diocesan bishop and who persevere in whatever preparatory program the bishop requires, take vows that include lifelong celibacy. They are referred to as solitaries rather than hermits. Each selects a bishop other than their diocesan as an additional spiritual resource and, if necessary, an intermediary. At the start of the twenty-first century the Church of England reported a notable increase in the number of applications from people seeking to live the single consecrated life as Anglican hermits or solitaries. A religious community known as the Solitaries of DeKoven, who make
Anglican prayer beads
Anglican prayer beads, also known as the Anglican rosary or Anglican chaplet, are a loop of strung Christian prayer beads used chiefly by Anglicans in the Anglican Communion, as well as by communicants in the Anglican Continuum. This Anglican dev ...
and
Pater Noster cord
The Pater Noster cord (also spelled Paternoster Cord and called Paternoster beads) is a set of prayer beads used in Christianity to recite the 150 Psalms, as well as the Lord's Prayer. As such, Paternoster cords traditionally consist of 150 beads t ...
s to support themselves, are an example of an Anglican
hermitage.
Eastern Orthodoxy
In the
Orthodox Church
Orthodox Church may refer to:
* Eastern Orthodox Church
* Oriental Orthodox Churches
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church
* Orthodox Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
* State church of the Roman Empire
* True Orthodox church
See also
* Orthodox (di ...
and
Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, hermits live a life of prayer as well as service to their community in the traditional Eastern Christian manner of the poustinik. The poustinik is a hermit available to all in need and at all times. In the Eastern Christian churches one traditional variation of the Christian eremitic life is the semi-eremitic life in a
lavra
A lavra or laura ( el, Λαύρα; Cyrillic: Ла́вра) is a type of monastery consisting of a cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the center. It is erected within the Orthodox and other Eastern ...
or
skete
A skete ( ) is a monastic community in Eastern Christianity that allows relative isolation for monks, but also allows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection. It is one of four types of early monastic orders, a ...
, exemplified historically in
Scetes
Wadi El Natrun (Arabic: "Valley of Natron"; Coptic: , "measure of the hearts") is a depression in northern Egypt that is located below sea level and below the Nile River level. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron-rich salt de ...
, a place in the Egyptian desert, and continued in various sketes today including several regions on
Mount Athos.
Notable Christian hermits
Early and Medieval Church
*
Paul of Thebes
Paul of Thebes (; , ''Paûlos ho Thēbaîos''; ; c. 227 – c. 341), commonly known as Paul the First Hermit or Paul the Anchorite, was an Egyptian saint regarded as the first Christian hermit, who was claimed to have lived alone in the deser ...
, 4th century, Egypt, regarded by
St. Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is com ...
as the first hermit
*
Abba Or of Nitria, 4th century, Egypt.
*
Anthony of Egypt
Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...
, 4th century, Egypt, a
Desert Father
The Desert Fathers or Desert Monks were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt, beginning around the third century AD. The is a collection of the wisdom of some of the ea ...
, regarded as the founder of Christian
Monasticism
*
Macarius of Egypt
Macarius of Egypt, ''Osios Makarios o Egyptios''; cop, ⲁⲃⲃⲁ ⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓ. (c. 300 – 391) was a Christian monk and hermit. He is also known as Macarius the Elder or Macarius the Great.
Life
St. Macarius was born in Lower Egypt. ...
, 4th century, founder of the
Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great
The Monastery of Saint Macarius The Great also known as Dayr Aba Maqār ( ar, دير الأنبا مقار) is a Coptic Orthodox monastery located in Wadi El Natrun, Beheira Governorate, about north-west of Cairo, and off the highway betwee ...
, presumed author of "Spiritual Homilies"
*
St. Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is com ...
, 4th century,
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
region,
Doctor of the Church, considered the spiritual father of the
Hieronymite
The Hieronymites, also formally known as the Order of Saint Jerome ( la, Ordo Sancti Hieronymi; abbreviated OSH), is a Catholic cloistered religious order and a common name for several congregations of hermit monks living according to the Rule o ...
eremitic order
*
Syncletica of Alexandria
Syncletica of Alexandria () was a Christian saint and Desert Mother from Roman Egypt in the 4th century. She is the subject of the ''Vita S. Syncleticæ'', a Greek hagiography purportedly by Athanasius of Alexandria (d. 373) but not written in ...
, 4th century, Egypt, one of the early
Desert Mothers
Desert Mothers is a neologism, coined in feminist theology in analogy to Desert Fathers, for the ''ammas'' or female Christian ascetics living in the desert of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. They typically lived in ...
, her maxims are included in the sayings of the Desert Fathers
*
Gregory the Illuminator
Gregory the Illuminator ( Classical hy, Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ, reformed: Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ, ''Grigor Lusavorich'';, ''Gregorios Phoster'' or , ''Gregorios Photistes''; la, Gregorius Armeniae Illuminator, cu, Svyas ...
, 4th century, brought the Christian faith to
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
*
Mary of Egypt
Mary of Egypt ( cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ Ⲛⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ; ; c. 344 – c. 421) is an Egyptian saint, highly venerated as a Desert Mother in the Eastern Orthodox and Coptic Churches. The Catholic Church commemorates her ...
, 4th/5th century, Egypt and Transjordan,
penitent
*
Simeon Stylites
Simeon Stylites or Symeon the Stylite syc, ܫܡܥܘܢ ܕܐܣܛܘܢܐ ', Koine Greek ', ar, سمعان العمودي ' (c. 390 – 2 September 459) was a Syrian Christian ascetic, who achieved notability by living 37 years on a smal ...
, 4th/5th century, Syria,
pillar saint
*
Sarah of the Desert
Amma (Mother) Sarah of the Desert (5th century) was one of the early Desert Mothers who is known to us today through the collected Sayings of the Desert Fathers and of the Holy Women Ascetics (the Matericon). She was a hermit and followed a life ...
, 5th century, Egypt, one of the
Desert Mothers
Desert Mothers is a neologism, coined in feminist theology in analogy to Desert Fathers, for the ''ammas'' or female Christian ascetics living in the desert of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. They typically lived in ...
, her maxims are recorded in the sayings of the Desert Fathers
*
St Benedict of Nursia, 6th century, Italy, author of the so-called
Rule of St Benedict, regarded as the founder of western
monasticism
*
Kevin of Glendalough
Saint Kevin (modern Irish '; Old Irish ', '; latinized '; 498 (reputedly)–3 June 618) is an Irish saint, known as the founder and first abbot of Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland. His feast day is 3 June.
Early life
Kevin's life is no ...
, 6th Century, Ireland
*
St. Gall, 7th century, Switzerland, namesake of the
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and
canton of St. Gallen.
*
Herbert of Derwentwater
Saint Herbert of Derwentwater (died 20 March 687) was an Anglo-Saxon priest and hermit who lived on the small St Herbert's Island in Derwentwater, Cumbria, England. His friendship with St Cuthbert is explored in a poem by William Wordsworth.
Bi ...
, 7th century, England.
*
St. Romuald, 10th/11th century, Italy, founder of the
Camaldolese order
*
Guðríðr Þorbjarnardóttir, 10th/11th century,
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
.
*
St. Bruno of Cologne, 11th century, France, the founder of the
Carthusian
The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...
order
*
Peter the Hermit
Peter the Hermit ( 1050 – 8 July 1115 or 1131), also known as Little Peter, Peter of Amiens ( fr. ''Pierre d'Amiens'') or Peter of Achères ( fr. ''Pierre d'Achères''), was a Roman Catholic priest of Amiens and a key figure during the militar ...
, 11th century, France, leader of the
People's Crusade
The People's Crusade was the beginning phase of the First Crusade whose objective was to retake the Holy Land, and Jerusalem in particular, from Islamic rule. After in 1095 the head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Urban II started to urge faith ...
*
Blessed Eusebius of Esztergom, 13th century,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, the founder of the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit
* Bl.
Gonçalo de Amarante
Gundisalvus of Amarante ( pt, Gonçalo de Amarante; 1187 - 10 January 1259) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and a professed member from the Order of Preachers. He became a Dominican friar and hermit after his return from a long pilgrimage that ...
, 13th century, Portugal,
Dominican friar
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
*
Richard Rolle de Hampole, 13th century, England, religious writer
*
Sergius of Radonezh
Sergius of Radonezh (russian: Се́ргий Ра́донежский, ''Sergii Radonezhsky''; 14 May 1314 – 25 September 1392), also known as Sergiy Radonezhsky, Serge of Radonezh and Sergius of Moscow, was a spiritual leader and monastic re ...
, 14th century
*
Nicholas of Flüe, 15th century, patron saint of
Switzerland
*
Julian of Norwich, 15th century, England,
anchoress
*
St. Juan Diego, 1474–1548, Mexico, visionary of the apparition of
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...
Modern times
Members of religious orders:
*
Thomas Merton, 20th-century
Trappist monk, spiritual writer
*
Herman of Alaska
Herman of Alaska ( rus, Преподобный Ге́рман Аляскинский, r=Prepodobny German Alaskinsky; 1756 – November 15, 1837) was a Russian Orthodox monk and missionary to Alaska, which was then part of Russian America. His g ...
, 18th century
*
Seraphim of Sarov
Seraphim of Sarov (russian: Серафим Саровский; – ), born Prókhor Isídorovich Moshnín (Mashnín) ро́хор Иси́дорович Мошни́н (Машни́н) is one of the most renowned Russian saints and is venerate ...
, 18th/19th century
Diocesan hermits according to canon 603:
* Sr Scholastica Egan, writer on the eremitic vocation
* Sr Laurel M O'Neal, Er Dio, spiritual director, writer on eremitic life
* Hermits of Bethlehem, Chester, NJ (modern lavra)
Others:
* Japan's Naked Hermit lived on the island of
Sotobanari until he got sick and was forced to leave the island.
*
Jeanne Le Ber
Jeanne Le Ber (4 January 1662 – 3 October 1714) was a religious recluse in New France.
Family and education
Jeanne Le Ber was born in Ville-Marie (Montreal), on January 4, 1662. As a daughter of Jeanne Le Moyne and Jacques Le Ber, Jeann ...
, 17th/18th-century Canadian Catholic recluse, inspired the founding of the Order of female religious the
Recluse Sisters / ''Les Recluses Missionaires''.
*
Sister Wendy Beckett, formerly of the
Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur (Congregationis Sororum a Domina Nostra Namurcensi) are a Catholic institute of religious sisters, founded to provide education to the poor.
The institute was founded in Amiens, France, in 1804, but the oppo ...
, was also a
consecrated virgin
In the Catholic Church, a consecrated virgin is a woman who has been consecrated by the church to a life of perpetual virginity as a bride of Christ. Consecrated virgins are consecrated by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical ...
, lived in "monastic solitude";
art historian
*
Catherine de Hueck Doherty,
poustinik, foundress of the
Madonna House Apostolate
The Madonna House Apostolate is a Catholic Christian community of lay men, women, and priests dedicated to loving and serving Jesus Christ in all aspects of everyday life. It was founded in 1947 by Catherine Doherty in Combermere, Ontario, and ha ...
*
Charles de Foucauld
Charles Eugène de Foucauld de Pontbriand, Viscount of Foucauld (15 September 1858 – 1 December 1916) was a French soldier, explorer, geographer, ethnographer, Catholic priest and hermit who lived among the Tuareg people in the Sahara in Alg ...
, 19th/20th century, formerly
Trappist monk, inspired the founding of the
Little Brothers of Jesus
*
Jan Tyranowski
Jan Leopold Tyranowski (9 February 1901 – 15 March 1947) was a Polish Roman Catholic. He was an ardent admirer and follower of the Discalced Carmelite charism – but was not of their order – and was a central figure in the spiritual forma ...
, spiritual mentor to the young Karol Wojtyla, who would eventually become
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
*
Order of Watchers
The Order of Watchers ("Ordre des Veilleurs" in French) is a prayer community founded in 1923 within the French Protestantism by the Reformed pastor Wilfred Monod. Initially, it was named the "Third Order" of Watchers. Its name refers to a word ...
, a contemporary French
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
eremitic fraternity.
Other religions
![Sadu Kathmandu Pashupatinath 2006 Luca Galuzzi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Sadu_Kathmandu_Pashupatinath_2006_Luca_Galuzzi.jpg)
From a religious point of view, the solitary life is a form of
asceticism, wherein the hermit renounces worldly concerns and pleasures. This can be done for many reasons, including: to come closer to the
deity or deities they worship or revere, to devote one's energies to self-liberation from
saṃsāra, etc. This practice appears also in ancient
Śramaṇa traditions,
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
,
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...
,
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
,
Kejawèn
''Kejawèn'' ( jv, ꦏꦗꦮꦺꦤ꧀, Kajawèn) or Javanism, also called Kebatinan, ''Agama Jawa'', and '' Kepercayaan'', is a Javanese religious tradition, consisting of an amalgam of animistic, Buddhist, and Hindu aspects. It is rooted in ...
and
Sufism.
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
also has a long history of ascetic and eremitic figures. In the ascetic eremitic life, the hermit seeks solitude for
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
,
contemplation
In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation.
Etymology
The word ''contemplation'' is derived from the Latin word ' ...
,
prayer
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...
, self-awareness and personal development on physical and mental levels; without the distractions of contact with human society, sex, or the need to maintain socially acceptable standards of cleanliness, dress or communication. The ascetic discipline can also include a simplified diet and/or manual labor as a means of support.
Notable hermits in other religions
![Xuyun](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Xuyun.jpg)
*
Laozi, the author of renowned
Tao Te Ching
The ''Tao Te Ching'' (, ; ) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion d ...
and founder of philosophical Taoism, who is known by some traditions that he spent his final days as a hermit.
*
Zhang Daoling
Zhang Ling (; traditionally 34–156), courtesy name Fuhan (), was a Chinese religious leader who lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty credited with founding the Way of the Celestial Masters sect of Taoism, which is also known as the Way of the ...
, founder of
Tianshi Dao, retired and led a reclusive life at Mount Beimang, where he practiced Taoist methods to attain longevity.
*
U Khandi, religious figure in Burma who lived as a hermit and meditated at the Mandalay Thakho hill and Shwe-myin-tin hill.
*
Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta Thera, who is credited for establishing the
Thai Forest Tradition
The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from pi, kammaṭṭhāna meaning "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism.
The Thai Forest Tradition sta ...
, spent his monastic life wandering through Thailand, Burma, and Laos, dwelling for the most part in the forest, engaged in the practice of meditation.
*
Luang Pu Waen Suciṇṇo, highly respected monk of
Thai Forest Tradition
The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from pi, kammaṭṭhāna meaning "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism.
The Thai Forest Tradition sta ...
, who lived alone, practiced alone in forests and preferred seclusion.
*
Nyanatiloka Mahathera
Ven. Nyanatiloka Mahathera (19 February 1878, Wiesbaden, Germany – 28 May 1957, Colombo, Ceylon), born as Anton Walther Florus Gueth, was one of the earliest Westerners in modern times to become a Bhikkhu, a fully ordained Buddhist monk.
Ea ...
, one of the earliest western Buddhist monks and founder of
Island Hermitage
Island Hermitage on (Polgasduwa) Dodanduwa Island, Galle District, Sri Lanka is a famous Buddhist forest monastery founded by Ven Nyanatiloka Mahathera in 1911. It’s a secluded place for Buddhist monks to study and meditate in the Buddhism, B ...
.
*
Ajahn Jayasāro, notable disciple of
Ajahn Chah
Chah Subhaddo ( th, ชา สุภัทโท, known in English as Ajahn Chah, occasionally with honorific titles '' Luang Por'' and ''Phra'') also known by his honorific name "Phra Bodhiñāṇathera" ( th, พระโพธิญาณเ ...
, living alone in Janamāra Hermitage.
*
Yoshida Kenkō
was a Japanese author and Buddhist monk. His most famous work is ''Tsurezuregusa'' (''Essays in Idleness''), one of the most studied works of medieval Japanese literature. Kenko wrote during the Muromachi and Kamakura periods.
Life and work
Ken ...
, Japanese author and Buddhist monk.
*
Hsu Yun, renowned
Ch'an
Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and S ...
Buddhist monk in modern China era.
*
Hanshan, Buddhist/Taoist hermit and poet.
*
Lin Bu (林逋), a
Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
poet who spent much of his later life in solitude, while admiring
plum blossom
''Prunus mume'' is an East Asian and Southeast Asian tree species classified in the ''Armeniaca'' section of the genus ''Prunus'' subgenus ''Prunus''. Its common names include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long ...
s, on a cottage by
West Lake
West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and natural/artificial islands within the lake. Gushan (孤山) is the largest natural ...
in Hangzhou.
*
Ramana Maharshi, the renowned Hindu philosopher and saint who meditated for several years at and around the hillside temple of
Thiruvannamalai
Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvanna ...
in Southern India.
* The
Baal Shem Tov
Israel ben Eliezer (1698 – 22 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov ( he, בעל שם טוב, ) or as the Besht, was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which ...
, founder of
Hasidism
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Judaism, Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory ...
, lived for many years as a hermit in the Carpathian Mountains.
* Rabbi
Nachman of Bratzlav, the Baal Shem Tov's great-grandson, also spent much time in seclusion and instructed his disciples to set aside at least one hour a day for secluded contemplation and prayer. Some followers of Rabbi Nachman devoted themselves to seclusion, such as Rabbi Shmuel of Dashev and two generations later, Rabbi
Abraham Chazan Abraham Chazan (1849–1917) was a rabbi and key figure in the transmission of Breslover Hasidut at the turn of the 20th century.
Biography
He was born in Tulchyn, Ukraine to Rabbi Nachman Chazan, the closest disciple of Nathan of Breslov ("Reb N ...
.
* Rabbi
Yosef Yozel Horowitz, known as the "Alter (Elder) of Novardok", succeeded his master Rabbi
Yisrael Salanter
Yisrael ben Ze'ev Wolf Lipkin, also known as "Israel Salanter" or "Yisroel Salanter" (November 3, 1809, Zhagory – February 2, 1883, Königsberg), was the father of the Musar movement in Orthodox Judaism and a famed Rosh yeshiva and Talmudist. T ...
in disseminating the pietistic teachings of the Lithuanian
Mussar Movement
The Musar movement (also Mussar movement) is a Jewish ethical, educational and cultural movement that developed in 19th century Lithuania, particularly among Orthodox Lithuanian Jews. The Hebrew term (), is adopted from the Book of Proverbs (1 ...
. He too spent much time in seclusion, included one year during which he confined himself to a sealed room, attended by a few devoted followers.
*
Ta Eisey, the archetype of the hermit in
Khmer civilization
In literature
![Orlando Furioso 3 crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Orlando_Furioso_3_crop.jpg)
* In medieval
romances, the
knight-errant
A knight-errant (or knight errant) is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. The adjective ''errant'' (meaning "wandering, roving") indicates how the knight-errant would wander the land in search of adventures to prove his chivalric v ...
frequently encounters hermits on his
quest. Such a figure, generally a
wise old man
The wise old man (also called senex, sage or sophos) is an archetype as described by Carl Jung, as well as a classic literary figure, and may be seen as a stock character. The wise old man can be a profound philosopher distinguished for wisdom ...
, would advise him. Knights searching for the
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail (french: Saint Graal, br, Graal Santel, cy, Greal Sanctaidd, kw, Gral) is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature. Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miracu ...
, in particular, learn from a hermit the errors they must repent for, and the significance of their encounters, dreams, and visions. Evil
wizards would sometimes pose as hermits, to explain their presence in the wilds, and to lure heroes into a false sense of security. In
Edmund Spenser's ''
The Faerie Queene
''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...
'', both occurred: the knight on a quest met a good hermit, and the sorcerer
Archimago took on such a pose. These hermits are sometimes also vegetarians for ascetic reasons, as suggested in a passage from
Sir Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'Ar ...
's ''
Le Morte d'Arthur'': "Then departed Gawain and Ector as heavy (sad) as they might for their misadventure (mishap), and so rode till that they came to the rough mountain, and there they tied their horses and went on foot to the hermitage. And when they were (had) come up, they saw a poor house, and beside the chapel a little courtelage (courtyard), where Nacien the hermit gathered worts (vegetables), as he had tasted none other meat (food) of a great while." The practice of
vegetarianism may have also existed amongst actual medieval hermits outside of literature.
* Hermits appear in a few of the stories of
Giovanni Boccaccio's ''
The Decameron
''The Decameron'' (; it, label= Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Da ...
''. One of the most famous stories, the tenth story of the third day, involves the seduction of a young girl by a hermit in the desert near
Gafsa
Gafsa ( aeb, ڨفصة '; ar, قفصة qafṣah), originally called Capsa in Latin, is the capital of Gafsa Governorate of Tunisia. It lends its Latin name to the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 111,170, Gafsa is the ninth-la ...
; it was judged to be so obscene that it was not translated into English until the 20th century.
*
The Three Hermits
"The Three Hermits" (Russian: Три Старца) is a short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy (Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy) written in 1885 and first published in 1886 in the weekly periodical '' Niva'' (''нива''). It appeared in the short- ...
is a famous short story by Russian author Leo Tolstoy written in 1885 and first published in 1886, with its shock ending, featured the 3 hermits as the titular characters. The main character of
Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
's short story "
Father Sergius
"Father Sergius" (russian: Отец Сергий, Otets Sergiy) is a short story written by Leo Tolstoy between 1890 and 1898 and first published (posthumously) in 1911.Julian Connolly in Charles A. Moser (ed.), ''The Cambridge History of Russian ...
" is a Russian nobleman who turns to a solitary religious life and becomes a hermit after he learns that his fiancée was a discarded mistress of the
czar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the t ...
.
*
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
, in his influential work ''
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
''Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None'' (german: Also sprach Zarathustra: Ein Buch für Alle und Keinen), also translated as ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'', is a work of philosophical fiction written by German philosopher Friedrich Niet ...
'', created the character of the hermit Zarathustra (named after the
Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ...
prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
Zarathushtra
Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label=Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is s ...
), who emerges from seclusion to extol his philosophy to the rest of humanity.
In media
* The 2021 BBC documentary ''The Hermit of Treig'' follows Ken Smith who has been a hermit for 40 years
See also
*
Dhutanga
*
Enclosed religious orders
Enclosed religious orders or ''cloistered clergy'' are religious orders whose members strictly separate themselves from the affairs of the external world. In the Catholic Church, enclosure is regulated by the code of canon law, either the Lat ...
*
Garden hermit
*
The Hermit (Tarot card)
*
Sri Lankan Forest Tradition
*
Thai Forest Tradition
The Kammaṭṭhāna Forest Tradition of Thailand (from pi, kammaṭṭhāna meaning "place of work"), commonly known in the West as the Thai Forest Tradition, is a lineage of Theravada Buddhist monasticism.
The Thai Forest Tradition sta ...
References
Citations
General and cited sources
*
*
External links
Rotha Mary Clay, Full Text + Illustrations, The Hermits and Anchorites of England.The tradition of the Lersi HermitsResources and reflections on hermits and solitude
{{Authority control
Asceticism
Religious occupations
Types of saints