«Assembled as One»: the Origins and Early Meaning of the Term «Monk» in the East according to the Documents from II to IV c. A.D.
Part 1: Evidence of Greek and Coptic Sources
Keywords:
history of Christianity, history of the Church, Christian ascetics, ascetical theology, monasticism, emergence of monasticism, theology of monastic life, Christian EgyptAbstract
This article deals with the problem of identity and the origin of monasticism. To address this issue, the author applies a linguistic approach. He examines different contexts of the early use of the concept «Monk» according to Greek, Coptic and Syriac sources, in the dioceses of Egypt and Syria from the 2nd to the 4th century A.D. The article consists of two parts: in the first part the Greek term μοναχός and its Coptic transliteration nmonacos in Egypt, as well as the Coptic term oua ouwt («single one») are analyzed. It is shown that the original use of the terms mentioned above reflects early Christian biblical understanding of the ascetic life with its imprint of a Semitic mentality. The author argues that the term «Monk» used in different Greek and Coptic documents is comparable to other concepts that describe the way of life of certain ascetics or ascetic groups during the Early Christian period.
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