BOOKS
The Monastic Life John Whitehead reviews a new study of medieval monasticism in both the Orthodox and Catholic traditions
M
onasticism is integral to historic Christianity. One of the oldest expressions of Christian life, in its earliest forms it pre-dates the Constantinian age, survived the rise of Islam and Byzantine iconoclasm in the East, and in the West was a key element in the emergence of medieval culture. Andrew Jotischky sets out in his new book to survey the rich variety and legacy of medieval monasticism in both the Orthodox and Catholic traditions. Monks and nuns are custodians of living traditions. From very early on large numbers were attracted to anchoritic and cenobitic ways of living out the Christian faith. The exemplars, founders, and codifiers were revered as saints. After St Pachomius and St Anthony in Egypt we have St Benedict as father of western monasticism and St Basil is a similar figure in the east. Monasticism helped to carry the Church sustaining the faith as it also transmitted the Classical inheritance to the future. Historians may take much of this for granted, but how far that understanding spreads is not clear. Most books on monasticism in English concentrate on the different religious communities as they were in England after the Norman Conquest and until Henry VIII, pay insufficient attention to the Anglo-Saxon era or to parallel developments on the continent. Their concern is with organisation and buildings, much less with spirituality. The author of this new book pays warm tribute to the scholarship of Dom David Knowles, but beyond his books, unless you have access to an academic library, the choice of reading matter if you seek to go deeper into the topic or on a European basis, is limited. Declining numbers I suspect that many contemporary Catholics have little knowledge of the history of monasticism even when educated or served in parishes by monks. Declining numbers may be lamented, but are accepted.
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Monasticism in Orthodox Christianity and the ancient churches of the East appears picturesque, if not exotic, the stuff of holiday snaps. Breaking out of that self-imposed straight jacket is overdue, and Andrew Jotischky is to be congratulated on doing so, and doing it so well. One wonders why it has not been attempted before. Maybe the sheer range of material is daunting, the complex interplay of events so extensive, that others have maybe quailed at the challenge. Professor Jositschky has not, and displays a breadth and command of knowledge
and understanding that makes his expertise very accessible. His calm and lucid work draws upon the latest research by other academics. He also indicates a sympathy for the aims and achievements of monasticism. He leads his readers out of the tidy categories they may be used to, to experience the vitality and spiritual quest of medieval monastics. Even though he has confined himself to enclosed communities, and not included the mendicants, his study is surely destined to become a standard work of reference for years to come, and a pointer to new lines of enquiry.
SPRING 2025
