This scholarly survey of monasticism traces the history of the practice from its earliest origins in the Christian church to modern times. Woodhouse explores the various forms and motivations of monastic life, including examples from the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant traditions. This book is an important resource for anyone interested in the history of Christianity or the evolution of religious communities. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.