A monk (from Greek: μοναχός, monachos, “single, solitary” and Latin monachus) is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decided to dedicate his life to serving all other living beings, or to be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions and in philosophy.
In the Greek language the term can apply to women, but in modern English it is mainly in use for men. The word nun is typically used for female monastics. A monk would shave the middle of his head with a stone (this represented the Cround of Thorns)
Although the term monachos is of Christian origin, in the English language “monk” tends to be used loosely also for both male and female ascetics from other religious or philosophical backgrounds. However, being generic, it is not interchangeable with terms that denote particular kinds of monk, such as friar, cenobite, hermit, anchorite, hesychast, or solitary.
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Author: Wikipedia
Keywords: Monk, Monasticism, Monastic, Monastery, monkhood, solitary, asceticism, ascetic, Nun, Nunnery, Christian monasticism, Christian monastic, religious order, Desert Fathers, Hermit, Rule of Saint Benedict, St Benedict, Franciscan, Franciscan monk, St Francis, Francis, Saint Francis, Francis of Assisi
Bible reference(s): Luke 2:37, 1Co 7:1, 1 Co 7:32, 1 Corinthians 7:34, 1 Corinthians 7:38, 1 Timothy 4:3
Source: This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Monk,” which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
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