09/08/2026
CHAPTER ONE
THE KINDS OF MONKS
Jan 8, May 9, Sept 8
Stability and Accountability, Ch 1
It is clear that there are four kinds of monks.
2 The first are the cenobites, that is, those who live in a monastery serving under a rule and an abbot.
3 The second kind are the anchorites, that is, the hermits. These monks are not in the first fervor of conversatio but have been tested at length in the monastery. 4 Supported and taught by many, they have long since learned to fight against the devil. 5 Well-trained, they go forth from the battle ranks of their brothers to the single-handed combat of the desert. Fearless, even without the mutual support of another, they with the help of God have within themselves the strength to fight bare-handed against the evil ways of flesh and thoughts.
6 The third is truly a most detestable kind of monk, the Sarabaïtes. Unlike gold tried in a furnace, they have been tried by no rule and have had no experience to teach them; rather, they are by nature soft as lead. 7 By their works, they keep faith with the world, and by their tonsure, they are known to lie to God. 8 In twos or threes, or even alone without a shepherd, they shut themselves up in their own sheepfolds, not in the Lord’s. For their law, they take what their desires want. 9 Whatever they think and choose, they call holy, and whatever they do not want, they consider unlawful.
10 The fourth kind of monks, called gyrovagues, spend their whole life staying three or four days as a guest in one monastery and then in another throughout the various provinces. 11 Always roaming about with no fixed abode and serving their own passions and gluttonous impulses, they are worse in every way than the Sarabaïtes.
12 It is better to keep silent about all of these monks and their most wretched conversatio. 13 Setting these people aside, let us proceed, with the Lord’s help, to set up a structure for the strongest kind, the cenobites.
Reflection:
Saint Benedict begins Chapter 1 by distinguishing four kinds of monks, but his real concern is to describe the stability and accountability of the cenobitic life. The cenobite lives in community under a Rule and an abbot, learning holiness through the ordinary disciplines of shared life (Ch 1:2). The hermit, by contrast, is someone already tested and formed in community before entering the solitude of the desert (Ch 1:3–5). Benedict’s sharp criticism of the Sarabaïtes and gyrovagues warns against making spiritual life entirely subject to personal preference, comfort, or impulse (Ch 1:6–12).
For an oblate, this chapter offers a valuable reminder that Benedictine spirituality is not simply about choosing practices that happen to suit us. It calls us to accept formation, accountability, and the wisdom of a tradition larger than ourselves. Pope Benedict XVI described the Benedictine search for God as requiring perseverance, humility, and obedience (General Audience, Apr. 9, 2008).
Perhaps the lesson is gentle but challenging: we grow in holiness not merely by following our preferences, but by allowing God to form us through faithful commitment.
Disclaimer:
This project is entirely independent and is not an official project, publication, or authorized initiative of Saint Meinrad Archabbey. No affiliation, endorsement, or approval by Saint Meinrad Archabbey is expressed or implied.
The text of the Rule of Saint Benedict, © 2019 The Holy Rule of Our Holy Father Saint Benedict: The Saint Meinrad Translation. Translated by Harry Hagan. St. Meinrad, IN: PALNI Press, 2023. Used by permission.
All texts not otherwise acknowledged were prepared, composed, translated, or edited from the common domain by Christopher James Godric T**a, a Benedictine oblate of Saint Meinrad Archabbey.
