The Ideals and Roles of Late Antique Monasticism

Late antique monks and nuns believed their true utopia would come later in heaven, while on Earth they had to strive for perfection through virtue. One of the things this involved was being free of material possessions that could distract them so they could imitate Christ. Monks were often wealthy people who sold their possessions and gave the profits to the poor, like St. Anthony or the two St. Melanias. Monasticism involved a solitary lifestyle of contemplation. The tranquility of the monastic lifestyle allowed monks and nuns to see their own sins and deal with them.

The ideal of perfection for monks would be self-control of the body and mind and a close relationship with God. Self-control was believed to help monks or nuns serve people better. Fasting was a common practice for monks. Monks also had to be chaste and ignore lust. Antony saw every day as a battle where he had to prove himself to God. He lived in a tomb for some time and had his friends bring him food. Antony endured beatings by the devil who sent animal-shaped demons into the tomb to harass the saint. Such demons, which are also seen in the writings of the Desert Fathers, may be metaphors of hunger, lust, or other bad qualities. Antony ignored them, and when Satan appeared Antony even attacked him. Humility was key to the monastic life: Antony told his followers not to be proud of performing miracles since their power came from God. Instead, he told them to be concerned with their way of life. Antony told the sick to go away from him to be healed. Obedience was also an important value, according to some like Syncletica even more, because the obedient went beyond their self-will while chastity could bring pride.

Hard work was another key quality of the monastic life. Antony worked with his hands, growing his own crops and giving some to travellers. Antony was not really the intellectual type: he was illiterate. To him the works of faith were more important than arguments since mental feelings produced the former, but the latter was produced by the arguer’s skill, thus a bad person skilled in rhetoric could tell believable lies. Antony was presented very differently by his hagiographer, Athanasius, than Melania who was more of an intellectual: engaging in intense study of Scripture and even creating copies of it and sharing them, anticipating the medieval scriptorium. She learned Latin and Greek, encouraging her followers to engage in study similar to hers. Melania was also an administrator, founding 4 monasteries. While Antony became the foundation for other monastic communities, Melania’s monasteries modeled later medieval ones.

Despite their love of solitude, monks and nuns would often engage with their wider communities and the state. Antony became famous and when living in an old fort, he was often visited by people seeking his guidance. Some were tormented by demons, and he showed the people how to deal with them by making the sign of the cross. Antony became a guide and teacher of monks. Holy men were revered, considered athletes and even otherworldly for their strong asceticism. They were thought to have power over the problems of the world like demons, diseases, and bad weather. Holy men intervened in the political affairs of the late Roman Empire, acting as advocates for their community. Abraham the Hermit arranged a loan for his village in Lebanon. Holy men could act as mediators, like Daniel the Stylite who signed peace between the Isaurians and Goths. He also arbitrated between the eastern Emperor and the patriarch Basiliscus. The holy men engaged with the urban high culture of the Empire, adding to Byzantine medicine through medical advice. Holy men likely became prominent because they provided order and certainty in the changing society of the late Roman Near East.

Both Melanias also lived the active life. The elder one was a philanthropist who helped churches, monasteries, refugees and prisoners. Melania set aside time to help people. Melania also performed a few miracles, like healing a woman with a dead fetus trapped in her womb by putting a belt that belonged to a holy man on her. Melania headed to Constantinople to convert her uncle Volsianus. She gave advice to the people of Constantinople and convinced the emperor to allow his wife to go to the Holy Places. So monks and nuns in late antiquity lived both the contemplative and active lives.