Profile of Religious Life as it Evolved in the Course of Time
Introduction
The Christian state of life known as religious life started when certain individuals began to "separate" themselves from the world, either by living in the desert or in mountain caves. These individuals made a choice to follow the gospel's counsels more intensely and radically - taking a way of life that was more ascetic, detached from people, and involved more prayer, fasting, repentance, and union with God in contemplation. This way of life involved a process of organization that evolved in the course of many centuries.
Organization of separation from the urbanized world: 1st-5th c.
Those individuals who started to separate themselves from urban life undertook an individualistic project and were commonly known as hermits or eremites. They viewed their retirement from the world and its life as a way of perfection - a way of life following the teaching of Jesus more radically and intensely. During these early centuries, individuals fled to the desert, lived in the caves of mountains or chose isolated places where they can separate themselves totally from the busyness and noise of the world. As time went on, these individuals who began this movement soon obtained followers, who all followed the hermit's system of life. [example: St. Anthony of the Desert]
Organization of a Common Way of Life: 6th-12th c.
As this way of life increased, many of the followers who gathered around a hermit-leader agreed to organize a common life among themselves. Now, instead of an individualistic project, the way of life became a collective project. What was created from this collective project were communities who organized their life and work into a more stable and systematized way of life and prayer. There are two types of this new way of life: the monks in their abbeys and monasteries, and the regular canons in their local church. The monks take vows, and live a sedentary life in silence and monastic cloister doing community work. The regular canons on the other hand, have a frame for common life, are bound together under a bishop, and live a sedentary life bonded to a local church where they perform ministerial services.
Organization of the mission: 13th-15th c.
As the 13th century approached, the monastic common life opened itself to an "external" apostolic activity with poverty as the sign of its way of life. This paved the way for the creation of mendicant orders who organized themselves for the missionary purpose of preaching the gospel. Members of such orders are bound together under a religious superior who takes responsibility for the growth of the order and the expansion of their mission to different lands. This religious superior also makes certain that all the members of his order dedicate themselves foremost to the spirit of the gospel
The mission conditioning the organization: 16th-18th c.
If in the mendicant orders, dedication to the gospel and living poverty is paramount for the condition of working in the missions, at the beginning the 16th century, it is the missions which condition the organization of orders, congregations, and religious communities. The latter are more dedicated to action and mission. The missionary action of these missionary institutes is the one that regulates the life and work of those who live together in community. Their members are regular clerics who are bound to undertake a specific mission. There is no more monastic cloister among them: they are a community of action and dispersion in the public place with mission as the main element of their common life.
Primacy of insertion into the world over organization: 19th-21st c.
As the 19th century approached, the organization of the religious state of life has evolved even further. If in the previous centuries, religious life was markedly a sign of separation from the world, in more modern times, insertion into the world has become more and more paramount. Members of these communities are organized into what is known as secular institutes: an organization where there is a common spirit, a common rule, spiritual bonds, and the professional freedom to do a variety of tasks.
Summary:
As the profile of religious life is reviewed through the centuries, one will discover that at the beginning, it started as movement that separates itself from the world, to live a life that is closer to the spirit of the gospel. When it evolved throughout the centuries, there is a gradual pattern for their way of life to progress towards a greater re-insertion into the life of the world.
Related resources:
- A Spirit of Reform in Monasticism in the 10th Century
- A History of the Catholic Church
- Popular Saints and Leaders of the Reformation
- Centers of Learning: From Monasteries to Universities
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