Anchorite

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This article refers to the vocational religious aspect of the life of an Anchorite Christian. For other uses of the word, see Anchorite (disambiguation)

Anchorite (male)/anchoress (female), from the Greek ἀναχωρέω anachōreō, signifying "to withdraw", "to depart into the country outside the circumvallated city", denotes someone – prominently in earlier Christian and medieval times – who for religious reasons withdraws from the secular society and leads an intensely prayer-oriented and, circumstances permitting, Mass-focused life. The term is sometimes assumed to be interchangeable with hermit<ref> BBB Radio 4: Making History – Anchorites </ref>; but it is important to retain a clear distinction.

An anchoress that has left a lasting impression on Christian spirituality is Julian of Norwich.

Anchorites were mystics from medieval Europe who chose to leave society and live a form of religious life reminiscent of that of Christian hermits.

1 Way of living
2 See also
3 External links
- 3.1 Historic situation
- 3.2 Modern situation

[edit] Way of living

Walls were built into churches with one slit facing the body of the church, so the anchoress could observe Mass and be passed trays of food, and a barred window facing the outside world. The anchoress, placed there at her own request, would be walled in. Anchoresses never left their abode, ate little, and their principal engagement was the constant contemplation of God. An anchoress would make a higher commitment to destroying the sensuality of her body, thus increasing her connection to the divine, than someone engaged in any other religious position offered to women at the time. These women gained a reputation for wisdom and mystical power, and in some cases came to be visited by petitioners.

Some worldly anchoresses became the founts of gossip for their communities and knew everything that was going on in the village, either by being told or observing it. Keep in mind that churches were centrally located, and someone walled into the side of one, constantly watching, would see much.

The anchoritic spirituality is similar to the eremitic, but in medieval times with the important distinction that while a hermit might [re-]enter the cenobium, or even return to the secular life, an anchorite stayed in the assigned or chosen anchorhold till death. – In the Roman Catholic Church, according to current law, which treats the terms eremitic and anchoritic life as freely interchangeable (cf. canon 603.1 of The Code of Canon Law 1983), if a Consecrated Hermit for a very grave reason weighed before the Lord seeks to return to the secular life, this would require an Indult by the competent church authorities and dispensation from vows and from all obligations arising from profession.

In her book Plainwater, during her pilgrimage across Spain with The Emperor of China, Anne Carson comes upon and describes the former abode of an anchoress. Paul Moorcraft's 2002 mystery/horror novel Anchoress of Shere ISBN 1590580117 revolves around a 14th-century anchoress and a modern (1960s) attempt at reviving anchoritism through kidnapping.