Skete - Daily Life in Early Skete Monasteries

Daily Life in Early Skete Monasteries

The Skete monastery system is thought of as a middle path of monastic life because it is a middle ground between extreme isolation that is exemplified by the anchorite eremitic lifestyle, and it is less communal then coenobitic monastic system.

In the early days of the Skete monasteries there was usually a central house for communion and weekend mass, but the monks did not live there. Instead they lived in small cells, constructed by themselves or by a communal effort with one monk bringing bricks, another mortar, another bringing water and so forth. Such a building would usually consist of two rooms, front room for work, sleep, and receiving visitors, and another room for prayer and contemplation. Some early church leader complained that some monks built larger than necessary cells, some as big four or five rooms. Saint Macarius cell was said to be two small rooms, but it was rumored he had a small tunnel dug in the back that led to a cave where he could escape from the throng of masses that came to visit him. Another style of cell was to dig into the sides of rock walls to create small two room caves. These dwellings resembled the cave dwellings of the Pueblo Indians. Still others would be simple huts of mud and brick built against cliff walls so the back room was the side of the cliff. The high walls and complex buildings that look more like fortresses then monasteries come much later.

The furnishings for some of these simple cells would consist of a mat and sometimes a simple woven stool called an embrimia. Some would have doors and shelves for storing books or valuables. By day the monk would do his day labor in the front chamber sitting on his mat, and at night he would pray on his embrimia, and perhaps use it as a pillow. Some of these cells could be very elaborately furnished with fine furniture and even a courtyard. These more worldly cells were the outliers; the vast majority were simple one- and two-room cells with the humblest of possessions inside.

Daily life during the week consisted of the monks working and praying. It is difficult to be exact as to what sort of daily routine was most common because it seems the monks had some freedom in choosing how to spend their time during the week, and also because almost all monks worked and sometimes these day jobs would be seasonal, or occasionally make it necessary to meet with merchants (i.e.: basket weaving or rope making). Typically monks would wake at midnight (or there about) and pray the night office, then meditate till dawn. They did not recite the rest of the offices of the day but instead worked their manual labor while meditating, mixing the menial with the spiritual. During the ninth hour, close to 3 the monks would eat their one meal of the day which usually consisted of two small loaves of bread called paxamatia which together were often less than one pound. These loaves could be stored for long stretches of time. They could be soaked in water to be made softer and seasoned for taste, but few monks had access to resources beyond a bit of salt and perhaps occasionally olive oil. Records show there were some vegetables such as beans and lentils and even occasionally grapes and fruit, but these were usually reserved for guests or for sick monks in need. Even though this diet seems strict in the extreme it is not terribly different from what the average Egyptian ate. At sunset the monks would celebrate the vespers and would go to sleep shortly after sunset. This cycle was only disturbed for holy days, weekend mass and if their manual labor made change necessary.

On Saturday and Sunday the monks would gather at their communal church. At these gathering the monks would pray together, with one monk leading and the rest chanting back the offices of the day. Next would be a reading from the New Testament (some sources say one some say two) and additional readings. The monks would celebrate the Eucharist on both Saturday and Sunday. The time of the Saturday Eucharist is not clear but Sundays occurred at the third hour (at or close to 9 o clock). They would sit together for a communal meal on Sunday called agape. This meal consisted of bread wine and their one cooked meal of the week. These gathering were a time for social interaction and connect with their fellow monks. At the end of the meal they would pick up their supplies for the week including food and materials needed for their day labor and return to their cells.