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Mount Athos, the “Autonomous Monastic State” of Greece (2016)

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Re: Mount Athos, the “Autonomous Monastic State” of Greece (2016)

#111

Post by peckrob »

math_denial wrote: post #7

I often yearn for the "unearthly quiet" and structure of a monastic life. I am not religious but I just feel as if I don't belong in society: I don't care about work, jobs, careers, riches, fame. I would like a life of study, contemplation and silence.

Monastic live is actually pretty varied. There are orders large and small, in cities and in the countryside. It can vary from your traditional idea of a monastery to a shared house where people all work jobs but live a communal life. A good friend of mine was a monk in Atlanta; they have a house in a suburban neighborhood that you would be hard pressed to identify as anything other than a traditional family home from the outside. They had about 8-10 men in their order living under an Abbott, most working professional jobs.

If this is something you are interested in, many of the larger monasteries also function as retreat centers and welcome visitors. There's one about 45 minutes from me [0] that I have visited a few times and stayed for two nights once as part of the marriage preparation courses my wife and I did before getting married. You can have a chance to get a feel for what life is like for the brethren, even for only a few days.

[0] https://www.stbernardabbey.com/

Re: Mount Athos, the “Autonomous Monastic State” of Greece (2016)

#112

Post by BitwiseFool »

usrusr wrote: post #72
coldacid wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I read Neal Stephenson's "Anathem", the thing that called out to me the most in that novel was the "mathic" life of the main protagonist and his contemporaries. A life of contemplation, study, and garden husbandry is very appealing.

I am convinced that in pre-secularism days, when "religious" was pretty much the default assumption, there were plenty of monks/nuns who went down that path not because they were particularly devoted but because they failed to fit into any of the conventional roles offered by society but didn't want to become outcasts either. Yes, this might be a misconception (inspired by Eco/Connery?), but it be surprised if there…

I also have a hunch that people on the autism spectrum / Aspergers would end up gravitating towards monastic life in the past.

Re: Mount Athos, the “Autonomous Monastic State” of Greece (2016)

#113

Post by prometheus76 »

dta5003 wrote: post #106
JimWestergren wrote: post #14

Wonder if they will get some kind of bonus points in heaven for the streak of daily prayers for more than a thousand years uninterrupted. Don't lose the streak! ;)

Not just that - monastics practice 'prayer without ceasing', hesychasm. There's a great book "The Way of the Pilgrim" that explores a man's journey to discover what 'prayer without ceasing' means and how it could be possible. There's also a monastery that was called 'the unsleeping ones' where they divided the hours of the day into shifts and had monastics in prayers throughout the day and night continuously.

It's also traditional to hold vigil for an Orthodox Christian who has died for the first three days after their death, where someone is reading aloud the Psalms in the same room as their body the entire time.

Re: Mount Athos, the “Autonomous Monastic State” of Greece (2016)

#114

Post by kippster »

raptorraver wrote: post #109

I had a two week pilgrimage to Mt Athos on Summer 2019. It was literally a trip to another world. We wondered around the peninsula and visited few monasteries and met wonderful people living there. Happy to see this on HN. If anyone has any questions I'm more than happy to answer those. Btw, there's a great documentary about Mt. Athos that I think really expresses the ehtos of the place: https://youtu.be/U5pwfLRI-R8

How feasible would it be to do a pilgrimage there without knowing Greek?

Re: Mount Athos, the “Autonomous Monastic State” of Greece (2016)

#115

Post by BitwiseFool »

jl6 wrote: post #54

From another article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36378690 "One of the traditions is that the Virgin Mary was blown off course when she was trying to sail to Cyprus and landed on Mount Athos. And she liked it so much that she prayed to her son that she should be given it as her own and he agreed," says Speake. "It's still called 'the garden of the mother of God', dedicated to her glory, and she alone represen…

In this specific instance I see this primarily as utilitarian practicality rather than inconvenience avoidance.

Re: Mount Athos, the “Autonomous Monastic State” of Greece (2016)

#116

Post by KWxIUElW8Xt0tD9 »

prometheus76 wrote: post #87
fennecfoxen wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's a small mismatch of expectations. A monastery is not generally a "life of study". There may be study and prayerful contemplation, but there is definitely labor, physical labor -- generally starting with some measure of agriculture -- as the community supports itself. It's also still a society, a small one at least, a group life. It is likely to impose on you much more than society in general, though i…

One other thing to note: permission to be a hermit is only granted to monks after many years of being part of the community of monks. To go off alone as a monk is very spiritually perilous for the first few years. It takes a long time to gain the discernment necessary to be a hermit monk, and some monks are never given that permission by their spiritual father.

A Benedictine once put it more or less this way to me: community life causes the monks to round off each other's sharp edges over time. A solitary life is generally not good for people.

Check out "Into Great Silence" for a film about life in the Grand Chartreuse, the motherhouse of the Carthusian order. I recall reading some years ago that it is one of the few (only?) orders in the Catholic Church that has never needed reform. Carthusians only talk to each other once a week I believe -- interesting monastic order.

There is also a relevant classic work on the Jesus Prayer so used by the East: The Way of a Pilgrim. It's about a man who is determined to find out how to pray without ceasing. He becomes a solitary mystic is how I would describe it.

Re: Mount Athos, the “Autonomous Monastic State” of Greece (2016)

#117

Post by ModernMech »

the_only_law wrote: post #68
ModernMech wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why doesn’t academia fit the bill? They even have funny robes and hats.

Isn’t one of the big problems with academia that you’re still heavily beholden to economic interests? See: all the talk on HN about research being about quantity over quality. At least in the US, it’s also incredibly expensive, especially if you’re not part of target demographic whose spent some years optimizing to reduce that cost.

If your goal is to be a top researcher at a top university, yeah economic interests are a top concern. If instead you just want to study and be left alone, there's plenty of room for that. For instance you can just study and then teach what you study, then do it again the next day. As long as you teach enough students to cover your salary (not hard), then there's a place for you.

Re: Mount Athos, the “Autonomous Monastic State” of Greece (2016)

#118

Post by armenarmen »

KWxIUElW8Xt0tD9 wrote: post #116
prometheus76 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One other thing to note: permission to be a hermit is only granted to monks after many years of being part of the community of monks. To go off alone as a monk is very spiritually perilous for the first few years. It takes a long time to gain the discernment necessary to be a hermit monk, and some monks are never given that permission by their spiritual father.

A Benedictine once put it more or less this way to me: community life causes the monks to round off each other's sharp edges over time. A solitary life is generally not good for people. Check out "Into Great Silence" for a film about life in the Grand Chartreuse, the motherhouse of the Carthusian order. I recall reading some years ago that it is one of the few (only?) orders in the Catholic Church that has never need…

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgNj2Sf_mgo

Re: Mount Athos, the “Autonomous Monastic State” of Greece (2016)

#119

Post by trylfthsk »

fennecfoxen wrote: post #25
math_denial wrote: post #7

I often yearn for the "unearthly quiet" and structure of a monastic life. I am not religious but I just feel as if I don't belong in society: I don't care about work, jobs, careers, riches, fame. I would like a life of study, contemplation and silence.

I think there's a small mismatch of expectations. A monastery is not generally a "life of study". There may be study and prayerful contemplation, but there is definitely labor, physical labor -- generally starting with some measure of agriculture -- as the community supports itself. It's also still a society, a small one at least, a group life. It is likely to impose on you much more than society in general, though i…

ora et labora

Re: Mount Athos, the “Autonomous Monastic State” of Greece (2016)

#120

Post by raptorraver »

kippster wrote: post #114
raptorraver wrote: post #109

I had a two week pilgrimage to Mt Athos on Summer 2019. It was literally a trip to another world. We wondered around the peninsula and visited few monasteries and met wonderful people living there. Happy to see this on HN. If anyone has any questions I'm more than happy to answer those. Btw, there's a great documentary about Mt. Athos that I think really expresses the ehtos of the place: https://youtu.be/U5pwfLRI-R8

How feasible would it be to do a pilgrimage there without knowing Greek?

I was traveling with a guide who knew Greek and had visited Mt. Athos at least tens of times. It was very valuable as he knew monks from different monasteries and arranged visas and accommodations. But during my trip I also met few travellers who had arranged everything themselves and didn't speak any Greek. You can stay at a monastery one night without a charge, meals included but I think it's suggested that you book it in advance because some monasteries have limited capacity for pilgrims.
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