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Centers of Learning: From Monasteries to Universities In the early centuries of Christianity, the centers of learning were the monasteries. Learning then shifted to the universities of Europe in the time of the middle ages. Monasticism defined Monasticism has been understood as a "flight from the world" or in Latin, "fuga mundi". Some historians interpret this movement as a "protest" of those who are more spiritually and intellectually inclined, against a sector of the Church that has become too secularized. Many of these persons hurried off into the desert "to be alone with God". Although the response of these people may be seen as negative, the positive way of seeing this phenomenon is the desire of many of these Christians for greater solitude, for more quiet and intensification, for a better opportunity towards ethical perfection, and a greater knowledge of God and His ways. The proponents of monasticism There were major proponents of the monastic movement. The foremost among these were: St. Anthony of the Desert, Pachomius, Basil the Great, and St. Benedict of Nursia. St. Anthony of the Desert St. Anthony (251-356) lived as a hermit in the desert of Egypt - leaving all earthly securities after being inspired by a gospel passage. For 20 or so years, he lived alone, and learned much about the spiritual life through his victories against the temptations of the devil and through his complete trust and serenity in the providence of God. His spirituality attracted followers who also lived his way of life. This way of life soon became the origin for the anchorite or eremitical [hermit] way of life in the Christian faith. Pachomius Pachomius (287-347) also followed the path trodded by Anthony. He also started as a hermit but eventually introducted a new element in his way of life: a sense of community among the members. They thus made popular the cenobitic way of life - a religious life of community where men shared in the life of silence, prayer, seclusion (solitary life in a cell), and meditation. St. Basil and St. Benedict From St. Anthony and Pachomius, and many others who led with them the origins of monasticism in the Egyptian desert, the movement spread all over the East and the West. Basil the Great (329-379) drew up a rule which became accepted as a standard in Eastern monasticism. In the West, this movement was popularized by Benedict of Nursia (480-547), who also wrote a rule for the monasteries he founded. With the rules of St. Basil and St. Benedict, monasteries sprouted all over the Eastern and Western landscapes. Their flowering occured more intensely in the high Middle Ages when there was additional reforms made so as to protect these monasteries from worldly influences. With these reforms, the monastic movement regained its focus on the spiritual and intellectual task of praying for the whole of Christendom. Though the monks were basically secluded from public life, they also preserved some openness to the world. They pursued scientific studies. It is because of these studies, plus their intense prayer life, that the monastic movement and the monasteries it produced, became great centers of learning, that deeply influenced the spiritual and intellectual life of the people. Noted among these monasteries were the ones at Cluny, at Gorze in Lorraine, and also at Brogne, Hirsau, Siegburg, and Einsiedelm. The monasteries educated the world very much in their time. They helped people understand the importance of religion in public life, and the role of the Church and the pope in the world. Their emphasis and focus on prayer helped people to learn how to place in proper context their relationship with God, and all human activity. People understood that God was to be the center of all life and human activity. The universities of Europe For a long time, the monastic movement made monasteries as centers of learning that influenced the people. Many studies were written and preserved by the monks that later provided voluminous scholarly resources for much of the learning of the whole of Christendom. From the time of Benedict and Basil, up to around 1200 A.D., the monastic movement provided much of the learning, education and wisdom for the Church. By 1200, starting with the influence of two missionary saints - St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic de Guzman - Christianity was brought out of the monastery and into the streets. Slowly and gradually, the centers of learning were shifting from the monasteries to the newly developing universities of Europe. Great theologians who made scholarly studies, were solid proponents of a theological and scientific movement of studies, that paved the way for the development of the university system. Those who spearheaded this movement were theologians and scholars like: St. Anselm of Canterbury, Gratian, Peter Lombard, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas. These are the great personages who led or influenced the intellectual life and scholarly activity in the universities. Popular among these universities is the one at Paris; at Padua (1222) and Naples (1224) in Italy; Oxford and Cambridge in England; Valencia and Salamanca (1220) in Spain; Prague (1348), Vienna (1365), Heidelberg (1386), and Cologne (1388). These universities and others which also developed all over Europe, became great centers of theological studies and science in general. In many of these universities, philosophy and theology were of prime importance - and most especially in the university at Paris. In Bologna however, it was the school of law that was primary. In general though, the three primary schools in the universities were: theology, law and medicine. At the time, the acquisition of a doctoral degree from one of these universities meant equality with the nobility. The university as a center of learning truly ennobled a person - both in his Christian faith and in his kknowledge of the sciences. Related resources:
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