Ethiopian Jewish Ascetic Religious Communities

The Betä Isra'el (Ethiopian Jews) have a unique history and religious tradition, one of the most fascinating aspects of which are the mäloksocc, commonly referred to as monks in scholarly and popular literature. The mäloksocc served as the supreme religious leaders of the Betä Isra'el and were charged with educating and initiating Betä Isra'el priests. They lived in separate compounds and observed severe purity laws prohibiting physical contact with the laity. Thus, they are the only known example in medieval and modern Jewry of ascetic communities withdrawing from the secular world and devoting themselves fully to religious life. This book presents the results of the first comprehensive research ever conducted on the way of life and material culture of the ascetic religious communities of the Betä Isra'el. A major part of this research is an archaeological survey, during which these religious centres were located and documented in detail for the first time.

Василіянське чернецтво перемишльської єпархії: просопографічні характеристики (1739–1783 роки)

W artykule autor zaprezentował wyniki badań prozopograficznych nad bazylianami z eparchii przemyskiej z klasztorów działających w latach 1739–1783. Omówione zostały pochodzenie, wykształcenie świeckie, wiek, etapy formacji duchowej i intelektualnej, mobilność, obowiązki monastyczne i kościelne członków badanej grupy. Do artykułu dołączono materiał statystyczno-pomocniczy Basilians of the Przemyśl Eparchy in 1739–1783. A Prosopographic Description The article stresses the importance of prosopographic studies on the characteristics of the monasticism of the Basilians (Basilian Fathers) of the Przemyśl eparchy (the origin, secular education, age, stages of spiritual and intellectual formation, mobility, monastic and church duties). The paper defines the source base of the studies (catalogues of monasteries and monks, the manuscript catalog of the biographies of Basilian monasticism). The text presents a survey of the achievements of Ukrainian and Polish church historiography with regards to the issues of prosopographic studies, and investigates the dynamics of the Basilian monasteries and their inhabitants in the context of the entry of the ascetic communities in the Przemyśl diocese into the monastic Province of the Holy Protection of the Mother of God›s Order of St. Basil the Great. The author traces the process of reorganization of monastic centers in the Przemyśl diocese in the second half of the 18th century and specifies the consequences of the closedown of small monasteries. Attention is drawn to the numerical and qualitative composition of the monastic Przemyśl Province as of 1783. The paper defines the prospective direction of further research: to find and edit the catalogues of the manuscripts of monasticism. Appended to the article is the statistical and auxiliary material: Appendix I. Dynamics of the number of Basilian monasteries and numerical strength of monasticism in the Przemyśl diocese (1739–1783); Appendix II. A Report on the personal composition of the Basilian monasteries in the Chełm diocese, which became part of the monastic Przemyśl Province on 23 July 1783; Appendix III. A Comparative table of the number of monks as of 12 June 1783.

Restoration of the Institution of Deaconess in the Alexandrian Orthodox Church

Диакониссы - одна из степеней церковной иерархии и служения в Церкви Христовой. Данный институт формировался постепенно на протяжении первых веков. Служение диаконисс было распространено преимущественно в Восточных Церквях с IV по VII- VIII века. Из женских городских аскетических общин девы и вдовицы по достижению необходимого возраста могли быть поставлены епископом в диаконисс. Они исполняли социальные, миссионерские и богослужебные обязанности служительниц в столицах диоцезов, административных центрах, крупных городах Империи, при этом находясь при кафедральных соборах и больших храмах. Например, в Константинополе при святом императоре Юстиниане в собор Святой Софии после его освящения было определено 40 диаконисс. К XII веку чин поставления диаконисс вышел из употребления.16 ноября 2016 года Синод Александрийской Православной Церкви постановил возродить институт диаконисс. 17 февраля 2017 года Патриарх Феодор II посвятил в диакониссы несколько женщин, которые будут помогать в миссионерской деятельности Катангской митрополии (епархия Александрийской Церкви в Конго), особенно в Таинстве Крещения взрослых, венчания, а также в катехизической деятельности Церкви. Deaconesses are one of the degrees of church hierarchy and ministry in the Church of Christ. This institution was formed gradually during the first centuries. The ministry of deaconesses was distributed mainly in the Eastern Churches from the 4th to the 7th-8th centuries. Out of the women’s urban ascetic communities, virgins and widows, upon reaching the required age, could be placed by bishop in deaconess. They performed the social, missionary and liturgical duties of ministers in the capitals of dioceses, administrative centers, large cities of the Empire, while being at the cathedrals and large temples. For example, in Constantinople under the Holy Emperor Justinian, 40 deaconesses were identified in the Hagia Sophia after its consecration. By the 12th century, the rite of deaconesses was no longer in use. On November 16, 2016, the Synod of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church decided to revive the institution of deaconesses. On February 17, 2017, Patriarch Theodore II ordained several women to be deaconesses who will assist in the missionary work of the Katangan Metropolitanate (diocese of the Alexandria Church in the Congo), especially in the Sacrament of Baptism the adults, weddings, as well as in the catechism of the Church.

Un exemple de lettre adressée à un soufi de Damas au XIIe siècle

The letter published here was probably written during the reign of the Zankid Prince Nūr al-Dīn (1154-1174). It reveals the existence of close links between the ascetic communities of Syria and Iraq, but also between the various Sufi institutions in Damascus flourishing in the city at that time. The main figures of the letter, largely ignored from medieval sources, appear as charismatic characters who testify to the attraction then exerted by mystical circles on the Syrian population.

The Monasteries Founded by the Thirteen Syrian Fathers in Iberia

A new step in the history of Christian monasticism in eastern Georgia is associated with thirteen Syrian monks, led by John, who came to Iberia (K‘art‘li) in the mid-sixth century C.E. They were the bearers of a Syrian tradition that implied the combination of an heroic ascetic endeavor and an apostolic mission. They came as spiritual heirs of St. Nino, a Cappadocian virgin who converted Georgia to Christianity in the beginning of the fourth century. Their vitae were first composed by a certain hagiographer named John-Martyrius, but this work does not survive. In the tenth century, the head of the Georgian Church and the distinguished ecclesiastical writer Arsenius II (955–980) depicted their lives and deeds based on different oral and written sources. Later, other unknown authors also wrote additional hagiographical works about these Syrian ascetics. At the beginning of their ascetic and ecclesiastical careers, the thirteen Syrian monks settled on Zedazeni mountain with their spiritual supervisor, John. John later sent them to different corners of the Iberian kingdom in opposition to paganism and Zoroastrianism. They founded monasteries and became influential religious leaders during the second half of the sixth century. Through their vitae, composed by Arsenius and other unknown authors, it is possible to trace the process of transforming the small ascetic communities established by Syrian monks into great feudal organizations. These monasteries had an important impact on the Georgian social and cultural landscape during the Middle Ages.

The Revival of Yoga in Contemporary India

The word yoga refers to a multifaceted array of beliefs and practices. Yoga is twinned with sāṃkhya as one of the six orthodox darshanas (worldviews) of Hindu philosophy, with Patañjali’s Yogaśāstra having been codified by around the 5th century of the Common Era. A distinct body of texts known as the haṭhayoga corpus appears around the 11th century and emphasizes physical practices most likely used by ascetic communities. The ultimate aim of yoga is described by various words (e.g., kaivalya, samādhi, mokṣa, etc.); it is often described as an experience of an individual soul’s uniting with the divine, and/or becoming liberated from the material world. These historical precedents have continuities with contemporary yoga practices, and for many Indians today, yoga is understood as the essence of Indian spirituality. Yoga, however, took on new meanings in the late colonial period, becoming a mental, physical, and ethical discipline to aid in the struggle for an independent Indian nation state; a scientific, evidence-based practice to improve health and well-being; and a template for the evolution of an individual as well as humanity as a whole. At the same time, yoga kept an association with liberation and the realization of the ultimate nature of reality. In the early 21st century, all these meanings remain current in the Indian context, where yoga is continuing to experience a revival. In India, yoga is understood as a unique and valuable cultural resource that has the potential to revitalize both an individual’s health and the Indian nation-state, being an exemplar of the unique insights that Indian traditions can give to the rest of the world. Despite a notable shift in what is understood by yoga in the modern period, yoga continues to be a multivalent and increasingly popular practice in contemporary India.

New Ecclesial Movements and Communities

This chapter considers the flowering of new religious communities after the Second Vatican Council. The Council’s ecclesiological constitution Lumen gentium emphasizes the charismatic dimension of the Church at some key points, although without pitting this dimension against the hierarchical. Recent charismatic movements within the Church are the latest manifestation of a constant feature of the Church’s life, from early Christian ascetic communities, through to the new religious orders of the sixteenth and then the nineteenth centuries. The latter sections of the chapter consider a series of recent movements and their different charisms: Opus Dei, Charismatic Renewal, the Emmanuel Community, the Community of the Beatitudes, the Neocatechumenal Way, Communion and Liberation, and Focolare.

Amphilochius of Iconium and Lycaonian Asceticism

Non-orthodox Christian asceticism in Late Antiquity is known to us largely through the distorting lens of orthodox heresiology. This paper aims to reassess the character of the ascetic communities of rural Lycaonia in the fourth century a.d. in the light of the surviving funerary and ecclesiastical epigraphy, including three inscriptions published here for the first time. We are fortunate to be able to read these texts in the light of a neglected work of orthodox polemic, Amphilochius’ Against False Asceticism, the work of an embattled orthodox bishop at Iconium in the late 370s a.d. This treatise formed part of a successful campaign to stigmatize the Lycaonian ascetics as heretics, a position which was enshrined in Theodosius’ anti-heretical legislation of a.d. 381–3.