Skete - Early History

Early History

It is impossible to talk about the earliest Skete communities without touching briefly on the early days of monasticism itself. The earliest monks were simply men who fled civilization to lead an ascetic lifestyle alone in the desert. Early desert ascetics have been chronicled as far back as the writings of Eusebius In his book Church history or Ecclesiastical History, he writes of early desert fathers who left civilization behind to wander the desert, eventually drawing a following and settling down into monastic communities. The problem with these earliest writings is that no distinction is made between those who fled civilization for ascetic reasons, and those who fled to avoid persecution. Another problem is that early accounts of monastic life are greatly exaggerated leading some scholars to calculate that if these reports were taken at face value the monasteries were larger than the entire populations of the countries where they were founded. The only thing that is absolutely certain from these early writings is that some early religious figures did flee to the seclusion of the desert while others had a legitimate calling.

Whether fleeing persecution or fleeing civilization the monks who retreated to the Scetis valley in Egypt eventually began to draw followers. The problem with followers is that if you are seeking solitude drawing a crowd defeats the purpose. Early communities began forming with the monks building small one or two room cells or occupying caves. Eventually these small communities would draw more people and led to the need for simple communal infrastructure. The monks would work together to build a communal church then retreat back to the solitude of their cells or caves to embrace the hermetic (at least partial) and ascetic lifestyle. After building a communal church they could gather for weekly mass and or the Eucharist.