Thanks Lou. Richard isn’t the only celebrity.

This is a multimedia presentation Émigré | An Introduction to A New Type of Monasticism by John Skinner. This presentation introduces topics such as the climate for a new monasticism, the architects of a new monasticism, icons of a new monasticism and émigré a way for living. These introductions video will soon be accompanied by a series of videos and notes for those who want to further their understanding.

The first and best for him were the Cenobites. People who lived together and followed a Rule and obeyed their chosen Abbot.

The second were the hermits. They lived alone but only after they had been tried and tested in a community.

The third were the Sarabaites. They call themselves monks but have never lived under a Rule or had a teacher. They speak about what they have never lived.

Finally, the Landlopers. Monks who travel from one community to the next causing trouble and living how they like.

Only time will tell which of St. Benedicits Boys we turn out to be!

First, there appears to be two streams of new monasticism that have emerged during the last 30 years, one in the UK and one from the USA.

Second, each of these two streams of new monasticism  point to different sources to explain their origins, and the way in which they express their way for living.

The most recent stream of new monasticism  began in the USA in 1998 and is expressed in the ‘new monastic movement.’ The movement points to Jonathan Wilson as their source and in particular his book: Living Faithfully in a Fragmented World(1998) Wilson himself acknowledges a Scottish Philosopher, Alasdair MacIntyre and his book After Virtue (1981) in which MacIntyre notes the decline of community in modern life and expresses the ‘ longing for ‘another St Benedict.’  By this he meant someone in the present age to lead another renewal of morality and civility through community. Wilson identified with that longing in his own book, but outlined a vision to carry it forward within the Christian tradition.In response,  Wilson proposes a new monasticism.

The earliest stream of new monasticism was inspired by the discovery in 1980/1 of a new type of monasticism proposed by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in a letter to his brother in Germany in 1935. John Skinner was a student at Lincoln Theological College UK  at the time of his discovery, and went on to develop a Philosophy of New Monasticism which he took to the Bishop of Durham in 1986 in the hope of finding support for new monasticism in the church. The Bishop suggested the ‘desert’ was a better location for new monasticism to grow,  not the church. In 1991, Skinner  presented the first public lecture on a New Type of Monasticism in a series called Internal Émigrés.  This was as a prelude to the birth of the Northumbria Community of which he, his wife Linda and Andy Raine were the founders.

We hope this brief overview of New Monasticism: Where did it Come From?  has provided some insights into the emergence  of the new monasticism movement in our era.

In 1980 the then to be Rev. John Skinner,who was training to become an Anglican priest at Lincoln, came across Bonhoeffers passage, and, described his response to it as, ‘receiving an epiphany for living’. Rev. John Skinner, was one of the first to associate Bonhoeffers term ‘new monasticism’ firstly, in the application of monastic themes within the life of the non- monastic, and secondly in the development of community life, amongst the laity or secular.

http://www.monos.org.uk New Monasticism.pdf

Ant Grimley: 25 Years of New Monasticism

In 1986 John presented a Philosophy of New Monasticism to the then Bishop of  Durham in an attempt get support for NM in the Church. The Bishop suggested it would best grow in the ‘desert’ rather than the world.

In October 1991 John together with Andy Raine and Roy Searle presented Internal Émigrés a series of lectures on the early Northumbrian Church and its relationship to contemporary spirituality. John delivered the first public lecture on A New Type of Monasticism. This was a prelude to the formation of the Northumbria Community which became the principle vehicle of new monasticism emerging in the UK.

After acknowledging the difficulties of pinpointing the origins of new monasticism, the Wikipedia entry turns its attention to: Who, where and when  was new monasticism  first introduced and used in particular way:

The notion and terminology of “new monasticism” was developed by Jonathan Wilson,  in his 1998 book called Living Faithfully in a Fragmented World.

Wilson was, in turn, building on ideas of philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre. Noting the decline of local community that could sustain the moral life, MacIntyre ended his book After Virtue, by voicing a longing for“another . . . St. Benedict”

Jonathan Wilson’s writings have been a primary source behind the ‘new monastics movement ’  originating in the USA.  However,  he was not the first to introduce the notion and terminology of new monasticism into the public arena…

Wikipedia 1

For many people the first point of contact with new monasticism is the internet, so we will go straight to Wikipedia type in new monasticism and see what comes up:

The origin of the new monastic movement is difficult to pinpoint

This is an important point and needs to be made right at the beginning of our discussion about where NM has come from.

Some communities now identified with

new monasticism have been in existence since the 1970s and 80s

It seems clear that  the Christian Renewal Movement in the 70’s and 80’s gave birth to many intentional Christian Communities in many places around the world. Although there are none (that we know of ) who identified what they were living as  new monasticism, some  would rightly claim that is exactly what they were doing. We will return repeatedly to the 70’s and 80’s and events taking place not only in the Church but in Western Society when we discuss the question: New Monasticism: What’s it all about?

In the meantime we agree with the conclusion:

The origin of the new monastic movement is difficult to pinpoint

Some communities now identified with

new monasticism have been in existence since the 1970s and 1980s

New Monasticism: Where did it come from?

Before we begin to look for the origins of new monasticism, I think we need a simple definition of NM and its relationship with traditional monasticism:

New /Secular Monasticism is a new type of monasticism that is emerging outside of the traditional understanding of what it means to be part of the monastic community.

An Introduction to a New type of Monasticism  Skinner © 2007

So, when we speak about NM it is clear that we are not referring to any movements or events within the traditional monastic community.