Monks and monasticism - Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE
[Article]
Sahner, Christian C.
Leiden
Brill
(2,235 words)
Monasticism was a central feature of Christian religious life in the pre-modern Middle East and made an enduring impact on the Islamic world. 1. Before Islam Ancient monasticism took many forms. The solitary, anchoritic variety is most closely associated with Anthony the Great (d. c356 C.E.), whom the Christian tradition regards as the first monk. Cenobitic, communal monasticism first developed under Anthony's fellow Egyptian and contemporary Pachomius (d. 346 C.E.). In Palestine, there emerged a middle way known as the lavra system (from Greek laura , originally,