-Toleration of Christianity led to influx of new members and a lowering of standards -Martyrdom became less frequent and martyrs were replaced by monks as the “spiritual elite” -The first monks were trying to achieve purity they felt was not possible in existing churches -Antony, a Coptic peasant from Egypt, was the first hermit (256-356) -Prayer, fasting, meditation, Bible reading, fasting were important practices -Prolonged loneliness and disciplines led to hallucinations as well as spiritual awareness -Some Married people retreated and abstained from sex -Some monks went to extremes living atop pillars or walling themselves into caves -BV
-Toleration of Christianity led to influx of new members and a lowering of standards
ReplyDelete-Martyrdom became less frequent and martyrs were replaced by monks as the “spiritual elite”
-The first monks were trying to achieve purity they felt was not possible in existing churches
-Antony, a Coptic peasant from Egypt, was the first hermit (256-356)
-Prayer, fasting, meditation, Bible reading, fasting were important practices
-Prolonged loneliness and disciplines led to hallucinations as well as spiritual awareness
-Some Married people retreated and abstained from sex
-Some monks went to extremes living atop pillars or walling themselves into caves
-BV