What is Monasticism and where did it come from?
Originally, monasticism was associated with the cults of the god Attis and the Easter system of Asia Minor. The priests of the goddess known as Essene (not to be confused with the Qumran community for whom Pliny used the term), lived a celibate existence and some castrated themselves in the service of the deity. When the cults penetrated Christianity and brought the Easter system with them, the same ascetic traditions also entered the faith. The first Monastic, or the person who is credited with the foundation of Christian Monasticism, is Anthony. Athanasius is credited with writing his life, and he became famous perhaps from that fact in the fourth century. There has been some dispute as to the exact timing of his life, and some have even disputed his existence. The fact of the matter is, that the early Monastics were ascetics who did not live communally, as it is now known. They lived in cells, as part of the same complex. The life style slowly became more popular and, in medieval ti
