The Monkhood of All Believers
- Christian Living
- World Religions
- Publisher: Baker Academic (Baker Publishing Group)
- Published: 2018
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Publisher's Description
Although the institution of monasticism has existed in the Christian church since the first century, it is often misunderstood. Greg Peters, an expert in monastic studies, reintroduces historic monasticism to the Protestant church, articulating a monastic spirituality for all believers. As Peters explains, what we have known as monasticism for the past 1,500 years is actually a modified version of the earliest monastic life, which was not necessarily characterized by poverty, chastity, and obedience but rather by one's single-minded focus on God--a single-mindedness rooted in one's baptismal vows and the priesthood of all believers. Peters argues that all monks are Christians, but all Christians are also monks. To be a monk, one must first and foremost be singled-minded toward God. This book presents a theology of monasticism for the whole church, offering a vision of Christian spirituality that brings together important elements of history and practice. The author connects monasticism to movements in contemporary spiritual formation, helping readers understand how monastic practices can be a resource for exploring a robust spiritual life.
Endorsements (4)
“I often tell guests, or curious visitors, at our monastery that one of the things a monastery is good for is that it puts on display, as an evangelizing word, the ingredients of any serious Christian life. Peters’s book affirms this in systematic detail, linking key texts from the tradition of monastic life with an invitation to contemporary Christians to let those insights mark them. It crosses denominational divides as it does so. This book meets the contemporary interest in monasticism, an ancient tradition still very much alive.”
“This is essential reading for anyone interested in the roots of monasticism and why monastic life still matters today. The Monkhood of All Believers could not be more timely, since for the first time in history there are now more lay associates of monasteries—men and women, Catholic and Protestant, married and single, working and retired—than there are monks and sisters living within monastery walls. They are among the growing number of believers Peters identifies as interior monks. Just as Martin Luther spoke of the priesthood of all believers, Peters sees the definition of ‘monk’ and ‘monastic’ expanding and adapting into the monkhood of all believers, reflecting the spiritual reality of the twenty-first century.”
“This reader-friendly book is an exploration on the meaning of monk from various early and medieval sources. A monk is simply one who is single-mindedly devoted to God despite being associated with institutional forms. By drawing upon medieval sources such as Robert de Sorbon’s sermon on marriage and The Abbey of the Holy Ghost, and the more recent Russian Orthodox writer Paul Evdokimov, as well as Luther’s and Calvin’s critiques of the institutions of monasticism of their day, Peters presents an ‘ecumenical theology of monasticism.’ His work, which makes room for Protestants to live out an interior monasticism of the heart, adds an important theological dimension to the explorations of monastic spirituality today across the Christian and Orthodox spectrum.”
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