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 precepts. The older style of
monasticism
Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Chr ...
, to live as a hermit, is called eremitic. A third form of monasticism, found primarily in Eastern Christianity, is the skete.
The English words ''cenobite'' and ''cenobitic'' are derived, via
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, from the Greek words (, ), and (, ). The adjective can also be cenobiac () or cœnobitic (obsolete). A group of monks living in community is often referred to as a cenobium (Latin, from Greek ''koinobion''). Cenobitic monasticism appears in several religious traditions, though most commonly in
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
.
Origins
The word ''cenobites'' was initially applied to the followers of Pythagoras in Crotone, Italy, who founded a commune not just for philosophical study but also for the "amicable sharing of worldly goods."
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach" . '' Sabbath they hoped to dream visions informed by their studies. Members of the community composed books of
midrash
''Midrash'' (;"midrash" . ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...
, an allegorical method of interpreting scripture. Only on the Sabbath would the Therapeutae meet, share their learning, eat a common, albeit simple, meal of bread and spring water, and listen to a lecture on the
Torah
The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
given by one of the venerable members of the community. Every seventh Sabbath, or High Sabbath, was accorded a festival of learning and singing, which climaxed in an egalitarian dance.
The 3rd-century Christian writer Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 263–339), in his '' Ecclesiastical History'', identified Philo's Therapeutae as the first Christian monks, identifying their renunciation of property, chastity, fasting, and solitary lives with the cenobitic ideal of the Christian monks.
Christian monasticism
The organized version of Christian cenobitic monasticism is commonly thought to have started in
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
in the 4th century AD. Christian monks of previous centuries were usually hermits, especially in the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
; this continued to be very common until the decline of Aramean Christianity in the
Late Middle Ages
The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...
. This form of solitary living, however, did not suit everyone. Some monks found the eremitic style to be too lonely and difficult; and if one was not spiritually prepared, the life could lead to mental breakdowns.
For this reason, organized monastic communities were established so that monks could have more support in their spiritual struggle. While eremitic monks did have an element of socializing, since they would meet once a week to pray together, cenobitic monks came together for common prayer on a more regular basis. The cenobitic monks also practised more socializing because the monasteries where they lived were often located in or near inhabited villages. For example, the Bohairic version of Dionysius Exiguus' ''The Life of Saint Pachomius'' states that the monks of the monastery of Tabenna built a church for the villagers of the nearby town of the same name even "before they constructed one for themselves." This means that cenobitic monks did find themselves in contact with other people, including lay people, whereas the eremitic monks tried to keep to themselves, only meeting for prayer occasionally.
Saint Pachomius
Cenobitic monks were also different from their eremitic predecessors and counterparts in their living arrangements. Whereas eremitic monks (hermits) lived alone in a
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
cave
Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
( cell), cenobitic monks lived together in monasteries comprising one or a complex of several buildings. In the latter case, each dwelling would house about twenty monks, and within the house there were separate rooms or cells that would be inhabited by two or three monks. To early generations of historians, the style of housing maintained by cenobitic monks was attributed to the man usually hailed the "father of cenobitic monasticism," Saint Pachomius, who was believed to have found the idea for such quarters during the time he spent in the
Roman army
The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...
, as the style was "reminiscent of army barracks." While this impression may have been to some extent mythologized by the bishop and historian Palladius of Galatia, communal
barracks
Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...
-like desert dwellings known as ''cenobia'' came to exist around the early 4th century.
Though Pachomius is often credited as the "father of cenobitic monasticism," it is more accurate to think of him as the "father of ''organized'' cenobitic monasticism", as he was the first monk to take smaller communal groups that often already existed and bring them together into a federation of monasteries. He continued this work until his death in 347 at Pbow, a monastic center that he had founded ten years before.
Palladius' '' Lausiac History'' claims that Pachomius was given the idea to start a cenobitic monastery from an angel. Though this is an explanation of his reasoning for initiating the cenobitic tradition, there are sources that indicate there were already other communal monastic groups around at that time and possibly before him. Three of the nine monasteries that joined Pachomius' federation "clearly had an independent origin", meaning he was not the first to have such an idea.
Melitians and Manichaeans
Besides the monasteries that joined Pachomius' federation of cenobitic monasteries, there were both Christian and non-Christian cenobitic groups who decided not to join him, such as the Melitians and Manichaeans.
Before Pachomius had begun organizing monastic communities, the Melitians as a group were already recruiting members. They were a heretical Christian sect founded by Melitius of Lycopolis. They "heard of Pachomius' monastic aspirations and tried to recruit him" to join their community.
Some scholars believe the Manichaeans, founded by Mani, were the "pioneers of communal asceticism in Egypt,"Dunn 25 rather than Pachomius. Mani himself was influenced to begin cenobitic monasticism from other groups, including Buddhists and Jewish-Christian Elkasites.
Later cenobitic communities
The cenobitic monastic idea did not end with these early groups, and inspired future groups and individuals:
* Mar Awgin founded a monastery on Mount Izla above Nisibis in
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
(c. 350), and from this monastery the cenobitic tradition spread in Mesopotamia, Persia,
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.
*St. Basil of Caesarea founded a monastery at Annesi, Pontus (c. 364) after witnessing the Egyptian monasteries. The Rule of St Basil would go on to become the standard monastic rule in the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
Leuven
Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
(529), which was the seed of
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
monasticism in general, and of the order of Benedict in particular.
* St. Bruno of Carthusia, prompted by the spectre of the damnation of the Good Doctor of Paris Cenodoxus, founded a monastery just outside
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in the 11th century.
In both the East and the West, cenobiticism established itself as the primary form of monasticism, with many foundations being richly endowed by rulers and nobles. The excessive acquisition of wealth and property led to several attempts at reform, such as
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, O.Cist. (; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, Mysticism, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reform of the Benedictines through the nascent Cistercia ...
*Attridge, H. W., & Hata, G. "The Origins of Monasticism" in ''Ascetics, Society, and the Desert : Studies in Egyptian monasticism''. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1999.
*Dunn, Marilyn ''The Emergence of Monasticism: From the Desert Fathers to the Early Middle Ages'' Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers, 2000.
*Goehring, James E. "Withdrawing from the Desert: Pachomius and the development of Village Monasticism in Upper Egypt." ''Harvard Theological Review'' 89(1996): 267–285.
*Halsall, Paul. "Chapter XXXII: Pachomius and Tabennesiots" in ''Palladius: The Lausiac History''. September 1998. Internet Medieval Sourcebook. 30 March 2007 .
*Harmless, William. "Chapter 5: Pachomius" in ''Desert Christians - An Introduction to the Literature of Early Monasticism''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
*Lawrence, C. H. "Chapter 1: The Call of the Desert" in ''Medieval Monasticism''. 3rd edition. Toronto: Pearson Education Limited, 2001.