Posted on 08/02/2014 9:01:50 AM PDT by Salvation
Featured Term (selected at random:
A monk or nun living as a member in a religious group or community. Cenobitical life was instituted in the East by St. Pachomius (290-346) and modified by St. Basil (329-79). The greatest development, fitting it to Western needs, came through St. Benedict's Rule. (Etym. Latin coenobium, monastery; from koinos, common + bios, life.)
See Also: HERMIT
I had seen it, but I think I thought it meant the same as “hermit.”
HERMIT
A person who dwells alone, devoting himself to prayer and meditation. Dating in Christianity from the early persecutions of the Church, hermits were already known in Old Testament times, as Elijah the Prophet and later St. John the Baptist. More numerous at the first in Egypt and Asia Minor, Christian hermits soon spread to the West, where eventually monasteries arose combining the eremitical life with the cenobitical, and isolated hermits were encouraged to form communities. (Etym. Latin eremita, from Greek er_mit_s, a dweller in the desert.)
CENOBITE
Another meaning from the web:
The Cenobites are extradimensional beings who appear in the works of Clive Barker, including the novella The Hellbound Heart and the nine Hellraiser films. They are also mentioned, in passing, in the novel Weaveworld, in which they are referred to as “The Surgeons.”
Hollyweird has such a dearth of originality that they often reach out to other sources. HIRE MORE WRITERS!
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Generally speaking, Cenobitc monks are communal and eremitic monasticism pertains to the solitary lifestyle. In the Orthodox tradition there are also the levritic and skete practices which are something of a combination of the two....
Thanks for that additional information.
Well, it’s additional information, but without going into a long treatise, probably an oversimplification that bears further reading by interested parties :-)
Thanks - always good to increase one’s vocabulary.
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