THE YEAR 500 A. D. - MONASTICISM

Monastic orders were the only religious communities during this era. Monasticism was widespread, firstly in the East. Constantinople and its suburbs contained one hundred monasteries. 

But monasteries, too, had their ups and downs. During this era monks got involved in controversial issues and in politics. . .and ended up supporting countless heresies. This era saw the demise of monasticism mostly because of their involvement in controversies and politics. A spirit of intrigue and disobedience grew up; discipline relaxed and monasteries saw themselves producing feeble souls. 

Monasticism in the West, on the other hand, flourished. They were the foundations of civilizations. They preached the Gospel, served the poor and the sick, and instructed the young in religion, on various arts and crafts. They worked as copyist, preserving for all times Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers of the Church. They cleared forests, constructed roads, dug canals, built bridges and cultivated barren lands. 

These monasteries were under the new monastic founders: Caesarius of Arles, Benedict of Nursia, St. Columba, St. Finian, St. Brendan, St. David and St. Kentigern. 

These monastic founders founded the first schools, called monastic schools. And these schools became the center of learning for the continent. 

(08-29-02)