The Papacy during the Middle Ages found its strongest
supporters among the monks. By the time of Gregory the Great monasticism [18]
was well established in the Christian Church. Its origin must be sought in the
need, often felt by spiritually-minded men, of withdrawing from the world
--from its temptations and its transitory pleasures—to a life of solitude,
prayer, and religious contemplation. Joined to this feeling has been the
conviction that the soul may be purified by subduing the desires and passions
of the body. Men, influenced by the monastic spirit, sought a closer approach
to God.
[18] From a Greek word which means "living
alone."
EARLY CHRISTIAN MONASTICISM
The monastic spirit in Christianity owed much to the
example of its founder, who was himself unmarried, poor, and without a place
"where to lay his head." Some of Christ's teachings, taken literally,
also helped to exalt the worth of the monastic life. At a very early period
there were Christian men and women who abstained from marriage, flesh meat, and
the use of wine, and gave themselves up to prayer, religious exercises, and
works of charity. This they did in their homes, without abandoning their
families and human society.
