WOMEN IN MONASTICISM

Women in Monasticism

Famous women in monasticism

In monasticism, the participation of women started very early and apart from the hermits who lived in the desert, there were women in Rome who were living like in a monastic manner. One of the first such instances was Paula who founded with Jerome a double monastery in Bethlehem, as also Macrina in Cappadocia at nearly the same time. Even in recorded history, there are the records from Palladius from the 5th century saying that in the desert he encountered women in monastic lives. He had met a convent of 400 women led by a remarkable individual, Amma Talis which had been going on for 80 years. His records clearly state the freedom that these women seemed to have as also their generous hospitality. Another famous personality, Pachomius, who has founded the cenobitic monastery, had written down rules in the 3rd century BC, which were applicable for the monks in the monastery that he controlled as also for the other monastery controlled by his sister, Mary and her nuns. In this system, the monks took up the responsibility for the manual labor, and also built up the monastery for the women. The nuns took up the responsibility for making the clothes for the monks. This system was quite common in the first few hundred years of Christianity. (The beginning of Female Monasticism)

One of the earliest women in monastic life was Macrina. She was given the name by her parents after a famous Macrina who had been in the family of her father's mother, who had confessed to Christ, meaning the Church. From the very early stages, Macrina had shown great interest in parts of Scripture which were generally not understandable to young children. She was interested in particular in the Wisdom of Solomon, and especially those parts of the Scripture which have an ethical nature. She was not ignorant of any part of the Psalter but at stated times she recited almost all the parts of it. When she got up from bed, or was involved in household chores or was resting, or at mealtimes, or retired from table, or going to bed or rose in the night for prayer, the Psalter was her close and constant friend. Her father was a shrewd man known for making correct decisions had picked up a young man who was related to their family and who was about to leave the school, who was of good birth and had great steadiness, and decided to marry off his daughter to him, as soon as she became old. Macrina was able to know about her father's schemes. (Medieval Sourcebook: Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-d.c.395): Life of Macrina)

Then the plan formulated for her was disrupted due to the young man's death. Then she said her father's idea was equal to a marriage having been completed, and decided to remain single thereafter. After the responsibility of having to take care of her brothers were being completed, she then took over the charge of taking care of her mother, stopped attaining all accustomed luxuries and Macrina made her mother also to accept her own level of humility. There after they started to spend the rest of their lives living on an equal footing along with the staff of the maids, and sharing with them the same food that they ate, shared the same kind of bed with them, and also shared all the necessities of life, without bringing about any differences of rank. She thus continued her life in this manner till death approached her. At her death she completed her usual prayers and then closed her eyes and her mouth and heart with that of the cross. Then her tongue was being dried up due to the scorching fever, and she could not speak anything further, and her voice stopped. Only by seeing her lips which were trembling and the slow shaking of her hands was that anybody was able to understand that she was still praying. (Medieval Sourcebook: Gregory of Nyssa (c.335-d.c.395): Life of Macrina) Such a holy spirit is rarely seen.

Melanie the Younger led a life basically of the same pattern as the other women. Born in the fourth century, of patrician birth and wealthy, she married at fourteen. Her general pattern of living was regular till the death of their second child, when she made her husband promise to live a life of chastity along with her. They then started on their ascetic journey. (The beginning of Female Monasticism) St. Scholastica was the sister of St. Benedict, and had consecrated her life to God from her days of early youth. After her brother had gone to Monte Cassino, she shifted in the neighborhood at Plombariola, where she created and governed a monastery of nuns. This is about five miles from that of St. Benedict, and it appears, St. Benedict also directed his sister and her nuns. Near the end of her life, St. Scholastica begged her brother to remain till the next day after a discussion which was regularly taking place, but, St. Benedict did not agree to spend the night outside his monastery. Then she started praying and a furious thunderstorm burst so that St. Benedict and his companions could not return home. The night was also spent in spiritual conferences. After 3 days St. Scholastica passed away, and her holy brother beheld her soul in a vision as it was being ascended into heaven. She died around the year 543, and St. Benedict also died soon after. Her feast day is being celebrated on February 10th. (Catholic Online Saints: St. Scholastica)

Hildegard was born as the tenth child of a noble German family in the year 1098. When she was 8 years old, she was sent to live with Jutta, the sister of a count whom Hildegard's father was serving as a knight. When Hildegard was 14, she and a few others, were enclosed as anchorites. Then, somehow this anchor hold grew into a Benedictine monastery, and linked to the adjacent male monastery of St. Disibod. The number of nuns grew slowly to about 10 in th year 1136 and to about 20, after 12 years. (Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)) Christina of Markyate is also known as Saint Theodora, Christina the Recluse. She was born with the name of Theodora and her family tried to get her married to a man named Burthred, and this was after an attempt to seduce her by the Chief Justice of England. Before all this, Christina had taken a vow to remain a virgin and had decided to be a nun. She was forced into a betrothal, but did not permit consummation of the marriage, though her husband would have liked the marriage to have been consummated. This sent her out of the common surroundings, till her community house was built in Markyate in 1145. (Christina of Markyate)

The contributions of these women to Christianity

. We shall analyze the contributions about which we have significant knowledge. At first Melanie and her husband helped the poor and imprisoned and persons in debts, which they continued by giving away their Roman belongings and endowing monasteries for men and women. The peaceful situation changed with the invasion of Rome during AD 410, and along with her mother, Albina, they settled near Thagaste, in order to be near Alypius, the local bishop, who was a friend of Augustine. There they began to live an ascetic life after building a double monastery. Along with being in control of the nuns, Melanie copied the Old and New Testament, which were recited the Offices by their whole heart, and read all books which she could get, whether it was in Greek or Latin. After 7 years, they shifted to Jerusalem, and toured the Egyptian desert, and settled permanently in Jerusalem. Here she lived the ascetic life for 14 years till her mother's death. The remains of her mother's body were brought to the monastery which was on Mt. Olives, and she had also another monastery being built for her own residence, virgins, and "women from places of ill-repute" in AD 432. (The beginning of Female Monasticism)

This monastery had 90 women, and after her husband's death she built a chapel, a church and a monastery for the men during 436. The women chanted the Office during the third, sixth, and ninth hours, and also during evening and the middle of the night. During the time of the feasts and on Sundays they would take up chanting of extra verses and the women had also attended Mass during Fridays as well as on Sundays in the Oratory. Fasting was left to the discretion of each individual, and of all the virtues, this was regarded as the least significant. On the other side, obedience was felt to be "the greatest possession," and it was given not only to the Superior but also among them. Melanie's monasteries were famous and they attracted many because of their piety and learning. Among those who visited the monastery was Eudocia, the wife of Theodosius II and she referred to Melanie as 'my Mother'. (The beginning of Female Monasticism) Thus these institutions built up the reputation of the church.

Among the modern, and connected to the English speaking believers, was Christina. Christina suffered persecution from her family for the stand that she took. She had to escape and run away, to stay with a nearby anchoress, Alfwen, and hide there for two years. After that incident, she took refuge with a monk named Roger, at St. Albans. This was a continuation in hiding to escape her family and Burthred, the man she was betrothed to. Finally, the Archbishop of York gave her protection and then she took up the life of a hermit life at Roger's hut, even though she was not shut up as an anchoress would have been. Finally, in 1131 she took formal vows for entering the order. Then after that Geoffrey of Dunstable founded a community at Markyate for Christina in the year 1146. During this period, more women had gathered around her, and in 1145 a house had been built for the bigger community. (Christina of Markyate)

Of the entire group, the greatest contributions came from Hildegard. Within a few years of joining the order, Hildegard told her confessor about her visionary experiences that she was having. This got her an order to write them down and show them to the abbot. After that, the abbot and the local archbishop told Hildegard to continue writing. She did not want to but had to agree and began the ten-year task of writing what has become Scivias, which is a report of 26 visions. These are the Christian doctrines on the history of salvation. (Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179))

Even when Hildegard was still working on the Scivias, she decided to leave St. Disibod along with her nuns and formed a separate foundation at some distance, which was near to Bingen. The abbot of St. Disibod was not happy about the change, but the archbishop helped, and the foundation of St. Rupert's monastery was laid in 1151, a year before the Scivias were completed. In those years she faced a lot of privation at St. Rupert's, but was able to enlarge and consolidate the holdings of the new monastery. She is also renowned for a series of non-visionary works: Ordo virtutem or the Play of the virtues -- a play which evolved out of a passage at the end of the Scivias; a medical encyclopedia called Liber simplicis medicinae, which was later being known as Physica; and notes for a medical handbook entitled Liber compositae medicinae was later known as Causae ET Curae. Hildegard had collected her songs as Symphonia armonie celestium revelationum or the "Symphony of the harmony of heavenly revelation." (Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179))

Around 1158 Hildegard started writing the second of her visionary works entitled Liber vitae meritorum or which was known as Book of life's merits. This is a book on moral instruction. She also continued on a series of travels to various holy places. These continued over the next 13 years, and made her visit many men's and women's monasteries as well as many urban cathedrals to preach to religious and secular clergy. These trips are known because of the extensive correspondence Hildegard maintained regularly till she passed away. After the completion of Liber vitae meritorum which was later known as Book of life's merits, which was in about 1163, Hildegard began to write her last major work called Liber divinorum operum or known as the Book of the divine work. This is on the relation of humans to God and to each other. This work took more than 10 years to complete and is seen to represent her most mature creation. This has not yet been fully translated yet. (Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179)) It is clear that the different monastic individuals contributed to the work of God in many different ways, and that was the wish of God. We are all images of God with different capacities and even in His service, the service would come only in the angle that he would like us to serve Him.

The inspiration provided by these women to holiness and commitment to a Christian life for Christians of today

The September 19 to 25, 2005, World Congress of Benedictine Oblates in Rome was the first international gathering being sponsored by the order. This is in spite of lay people having had a spiritual link with Benedictine monasteries for centuries, yet the experiences were not exchanged on such a scale earlier. The philosophy of the order is difficult to implement and treating one's husband or wife as Christ when he or she comes by the door at the end of a day's work, seems very strange in the world today when husbands and wives find it so difficult to adjust with each other's flaws. Even treating the people one works with as Christ is probably more difficult than treating strangers as Christ. (Wooden, 2005)

When we know a person well, we also know their flaws and our egos make it difficult for us to appreciate them. At the same time, these monastic women had given us a lead so that we could treat others as Christ, and if we are able to accept that point-of-view, then we can change the world. This has also been indicated in a survey of Benedictine monasteries with oblate programs. That has shown that the growth of oblates is not limited only to Catholics but other Christians are also demanding formations with Benedictine spirituality. They are also ready to make commitments as oblates. It is these Benedictine oblates that require the monasteries as places for quiet and rest, and the Benedictine monks and nuns have to function as spiritual directors and guides. (Wooden, 2005)

So far as the condition of the movement in America is concerned, it may be said to be in a good and prosperous condition, and it would not have been started without the effort of the hardworking initiators. In America it could be said that there are now thirty four convents, with a membership of two thousand nuns, and all of these convents have come up within the sphere of the last sixty years or so. The one convent to start it was being founded as St. Mary's, Pennsylvania and this was made fruitful through the hard efforts of Abbot Wimmer who had settled some of the German nuns who had come from Eichstatt in the year 1852. This is considered as one of the very significant and popular convents in the United States and several affiliated convents have now come up in several places. Another convent namely the St. Benedict's convent was being founded in the year 1857 and this was at St. Joseph, Minnesota and this is the largest group of such convents. Other important convents are those being founded at Allegheny in Pennsylvania; Atchison at Kansas, Chicago; Covington at Kentucky; Duluth at Minnesota; Erie at Pennsylvania; Ferdinand in Indiana; Mount Angel at Oregon; Newark in New Jersey; New Orleans in Louisiana; Shoal Creek at Arkansas and Yankton in South Dakota. The services which were being provided by the nuns are to be found in the field of education and this is mainly prevalent in the field of elementary schools as well as that of the boarding schools meant for the purpose of secondary education. In the American context, it should be noted that all these convents are being under the control of the dioceses. (The Benedictine Order)