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Christian monasteries are also called abbey, priory, charterhouse, friary, and preceptory

The habitation of nuns is also called a convent.

The communal life of a monastery is called cenobitic, as opposed to the anachoretic life of an hermit.

1 Etymology

The word monastery comes from the Greek "monasterion", from the root "monos" = alone (originally all Christian monks were hermits).

In England the word monasterium was also applied to the habitation of a bishop and the cathedral clergy who lived apart from the lay community. Thus in English-language usage, cathedrals, which were never monasteries, developed named such as York Minster, and abbeys could likewise be termed "minster" such as Westminster Abbey. See the entry cathedral.

For a discussion of the history and development of monasteries see monasticism and abbey.

2 ChristianChristian is: a follower of the faith of Christianity a popular first name and surname, especially in Northern Europe According to the New Testament, those who followed Jesus as his disciples were first called Christians by those who did not share their f monasteries

Christian cenobitic monasticism started in Egypt. Originally, all Christian monks were hermits, and especially in the Middle EastThe Middle East is a geographical and cultural area comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. The Middle East is a subregion of Afr this continued to be very common until the decline of Syrian Christianity in the late Middle Ages. But not everybody is fit for solitary life, and numerous cases of hermits losing their grips are reported.

The need for some form of organized spiritual guidance was obvious, and around 300Alternate uses, see Number 300. Events Romano-Celtic temple-mausoleum complex is constructed in Lullingstone, and also in Anderida (approximate date). Magnetic compass for navigation is invented in China (approximate date). Maya civilization established i St. Anthony started to organize his many followers in what was to become the first Christian monastery. Soon the Egyptian desert abounded with similar institutions.

The idea caught on, and other places followed:

• Mar AwginMar Awgin (late 3rd century about 379) founded the first cenobitic monastery of Asia. Originally, he was a pearl-fisher from the island Clysma or Kolzum near Suez in Egypt. After having worked for 25 years, he joined the monastery of Pachomius in Upper Eg founded a monastery on Mt. Izla above NisibisNisibis (Nusaybin, province Mardin, south-eastern Turkey) is the ancient Mesopotamian city, which Alexander's successors refounded as Antiochia Mygdonia and is mentioned for the first time in Polybius' description of the march of Antiochus against the Mol in MesopotamiaThis is an article about the ancient middle eastern region. For the region in modern times, see Iraq, Syria. See also Mesopotamia, Ohio. Mesopotamia ( Greek: , translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan "the Land between the Rivers" or the Aramaic name Beth-N (~ 350), and from this monastery the cenobitic tradition spread in Mesopotamia, Persia, Armenia, Georgia and even India and China.

• Mar Saba organized the monks of the Judean Desert in a monastery close to Betlehem ( 483), and this is considered the mother of all monsteries of the Eastern Orthodox churches.

• St. Benedict of Nursia founded the monastery of Monte Cassino in Italy ( 529), which was the seed of Roman Catholic monasticism in general, and of the order of Benedict in particular.