Monastic Space and Time

Authors

Columba Stewart, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's UniversityFollow

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2011

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Christianity | History of Christianity | Religion | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

The classic trait of Christian monasticism is fuga mundi, “flight from the world.” This separation from ordinary human society distinguished monasticism from the earlier forms of Christian asceticism lived among the laity in a domestic setting. This paper will review evidence from Latin monastic literature in the period before 600 CE for ways in which monastic approaches to space and time were used to reinforce fuga mundi on both practical and theological levels.

Comments

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Series: Disciplina Monastica: 7.

Recommended Citation

Stewart, Columba. “Monastic Space and Time.” In Western Monasticism ante litteram: The Spaces of Monastic Observance in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, edited by Hendrik W. Dey and Elizabeth Fentress, 43-51. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2011.