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InChristianity, ananchorite oranchoret (female:anchoress; from Ancient Greek ἀναχωρέω (anakhōréō)'I withdraw, retire') is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws fromsecular society to be able to lead an intenselyprayer-oriented,ascetic, orEucharist-focused life. Anchorites are frequently considered to be a type ofhermit,[2] but unlike hermits, they were required to take a vow of stability of place, opting for permanent enclosure in cells often attached to churches. Also unlike hermits, anchorites were subject to a religious rite ofconsecration that closely resembled thefuneral rite, following which they would be considered dead to the world and a type of livingsaint. Anchorites had a certain autonomy, as they did not answer to any ecclesiastical authority apart frombishops.[3][4]
The anchoritic life is one of the earliest forms ofChristian monasticism. In theCatholic Church, heremitic life is one of the forms ofconsecrated life. In medieval England, the earliest recorded anchorites lived in the 11th century. Their highest number—around 200 anchorites—was recorded in the 13th century.[5]
From the 12th to the 16th centuries, female anchorites consistently outnumbered their male counterparts, sometimes by as many as four to one in the 13th century. This ratio eventually dropped to two to one in the 15th century.[6] The sex of a high number of anchorites, however, is not recorded for these periods.[7]
The anchoritic life became widespread during the early and highMiddle Ages.[9] Examples of the dwellings of anchorites and anchoresses survive, a large number of which are in England. They tended to be a simple cell (also calledanchorhold) built against one of the walls of the local village church.[10]
InGermanic-speaking areas, from at least the tenth century it was customary for the bishop to say theOffice of the Dead as the anchorite entered their cell, to signify the anchorite's death to the world and rebirth to a spiritual life of solitary communion with God and the angels. Sometimes, if the anchorite was walled up inside the cell, the bishop would put his seal upon the wall to stamp it with his authority. Some anchorites, however, freely moved between their cells and the adjoining churches.[11]
Most anchoritic anchorholds were small, perhaps at most 3.7 to 4.6 m (12 to 15 ft) square, with three windows. Viewing the altar, hearingMass, and receiving theEucharist were possible through one small, shuttered window in the common wall facing the sanctuary, called a "hagioscope" or "squint". Anchorites providedspiritual advice and counsel to visitors through these windows, gaining a reputation forwisdom.[12] Another small window allowed access to those who saw to the anchorite's physical needs. A third window, often facing the street but covered with translucent cloth, allowed light into the cell.[13]: 348
Anchorites committed to a life of uncompromising enclosure. Those who considered leaving possibly believed their souls might be damned for spiritual dereliction.[14]: 93 [a] Some refused to leave their cells even whenpirates or looters were pillaging their towns and consequently burned to death when the church was torched.[15] They ate frugal meals, spending their days both incontemplative prayer and interceding on behalf of others. Their body waste was managed using achamber pot.[16][better source needed]
Some anchorholds had a few small rooms or attached gardens. Servants tended to the basic needs of anchorites, providing food and water and removing waste.Julian of Norwich, for example, is known to have had several maidservants, among them Sara and Alice.Aelred of Rievaulx wrote an anchorite rule book,c. 1161, for his recluse sister titledDe Institutione Inclusarum.[17] In it, he suggested keeping no housemates other than an older woman, to act as companion and doorkeeper, and a young maid as domestic servant.[18]
The anchorhold was the physical location wherein the anchorite could embark on a journey toward union with God. It also provided a spiritual and geographic focus for people from the wider society seeking spiritual advice and guidance. Though set apart from the community by stone walls and specific spiritual precepts, the anchorite lay at the very centre of the community. The anchorhold has been called a communal "womb" from which would emerge an idealised sense of a community's reborn potential as Christians and as human subjects.[7]
An idea of their daily routine can be gleaned from an anchoritic rule. The most widely known today is the early 13th-century text known asAncrene Wisse.[19] Another, less widely known, example is the rule known asDe Institutione Inclusarum written in the 12th century, around 1160–1162, by Aelred of Rievaulx for his sister.[20] It is estimated that the daily set devotions detailed inAncrene Wisse would take some four hours, on top of which anchoresses would listen to services in the church and engage in their own private prayers and devotional reading.[21]
Richard Rolle, an English hermit and mystic, wrote one of the most influential guide books regarding the life of an anchoress. His bookThe Form of Living was addressed to a young anchoress namedMargaret Kirkby who was responsible for preserving his texts.[22]: 29 Her connection to the town ofHampole has been commonly associated with Rolle. He is sometimes referred to as 'Richard Rolle of Hampole' despite a lack of conclusive evidence that Rolle was ever in the small village.[23]
Anthony the Great, father of Christian Monasticism and early anchorite. TheCoptic inscription reads ' Ⲡⲓⲛⲓϣϯ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲁⲛⲧⲱⲛⲓ' or 'The Great Father Anthony'.
The earliest recorded anchorites lived in the third century AD. Saint Anthony the Anchorite (251–356), also known as "Anthony of the Desert", has a traditional reputation as Christianity's "Father of Monasticism".[24]Hilarion (Gaza, 291 –Cyprus, 371) was known as the founder of anchoritic life inPalestine.[25]
The anchoritic life proved popular in England, where women outnumbered men in the ranks of the anchorites, especially in the 13th century.[21] Written evidence supports the existence of 780 anchorites on 600 sites between 1100 and 1539,[26] when theDissolution of the Monasteries ordered by Henry VIII brought anchoritism in England to an end.[27] However, the lack of a consistent registration system for anchorites suggests there may have been substantially more.[28] English anchorholds can still be seen atChester-le-Street inCounty Durham and atHartlip inKent.[29]
Toward the end of the seventh century,Guthlac of Crowland, related to the royal family ofMercia, withdrew from the monastery atRepton to an island in theLincolnshire Fens where he lived for some 15–20 years.[21]
Christine Carpenter, who submitted a petition in 1329[33] and was granted permission to become the anchoress ofShere Church,[34] also known asthe Church of St. James, in theBorough of Guildford, received her food and drink through a metal grating on the outside wall. In the interior of the church, aquatrefoil through which she could receive the Eucharist and a hagioscope for her use for prayer and reflection were cut out of the wall. Although she left her cell, in 1332 she applied for—and was granted—permission to be re-enclosed.[1]
Julian of Norwich (died after 1416) wrote the mystic textRevelations of Divine Love, which made a permanent contribution to Christian spirituality.[37][38] Her cell, attached toSt Julian's Church, Norwich, was destroyed during the Dissolution, and the church itself was gutted by bombing in theSecond World War, but afterwards rebuilt. On the site of the cell is a modern shrine to Julian.[39]
Patrick Begley (or Beglin) was an Irish anchorite who lived in a cell atFore Abbey in the 17th century.[40]
^"The cell of enclosure, however, was equated with a prison, into which the anchorite propelled himself for fear of hell and for love of Christ. The eternal punishment of hell might be escaped by the lifetime refusal of escape from the anchorhold. At the same time, union with Christ might be achieved even in this life." — A. K. Warren (1985)[14]
^Hevelone-Harper, Jennifer L. (19 November 2019) [2017]. "The Letter Collection of Barsanuphius and John". In Sogno, Cristiana; Storin, Bradley K.; Watts, Edward J. (eds.).Late Antique Letter Collections: A Critical Introduction and Reference Guide (reprint ed.). Oakland, California: University of California Press. p. 428.ISBN9780520308411. Retrieved22 October 2023.The correspondence of Barsanuphius and John reveals the anchorites' authority over bishops as well as their submission to bishops.
^A translation ofDe Institutione Inclusarum by Mary Paul MacPherson is included inTreatises and the Pastoral Prayer, Cistercian Fathers Series 2, (Kalamazoo, 1971). In English the work is variously titledThe Eremitical Life,The Rule of Life for a Recluse, orThe Training of Anchoresses.
^O'Malley, John W. (30 June 2009) [2004].Four Cultures of the West (revised ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 27.ISBN9780674041691. Retrieved1 November 2023.The traditional 'Father of Monasticism,' St. Anthony the Abbot [...].
^Jones, E. A. (2019).Hermits and anchorites in England, 1200–1550. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 7.
^Erler, M.C. (2013).Reading and Writing during the Dissolution: Monks, Friars, and Nuns 1530–1558. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,pp. 32–37.
^Jones, E. A. (2019).Hermits and anchorites in England, 1200–1550. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 7.
^Hughes-Edwards, M., (2010). "Anchoritism: the English Tradition", in McAvoy, L.H. [ed.]Anchoritic Traditions of Medieval Europe. Suffolk: Boydell Press,p. 143.
