Introduction

AbstractThe chapter gives an introduction to the current state of scholarship on monasticism, and it sets out an agenda for the future. It begins with a consideration of monasticism’s long historical arc, its longue durée. Few movements in the history of Christianity have had such lasting importance. The chapter then looks ahead to the great variety of monastic practices described by contributors to the volume. It draws attention to patterns of continuity and change, to recurring themes, and to major debates in the field. The experience of Christian monasticism is multifaceted, for it has assumed different forms in the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Protestant, and Anglican traditions, and in contemporary ‘new monasticism’. What, then, is Christian monasticism, and what are its essential features? It is surprisingly difficult to come to a definition of the monastic way of life, and the chapter ends with an exploration of this issue.