Anchorites in the Early Church

Given that I'm busily playing catch-up here, I'm going to tackle questions readers have recently posed in these few articles, including anchoresses/anchorites and nuns in the late middle ages and early renaissance. Real life has gotten ahead of me, with a move and kids to take care of, so I’m running a bit behind.

According to the New Catholic Encyclopedia, the word anchorite may be defined as "men who have sought to triumph over the two unavoidable enemies of human salvation, the flesh and the devil, by depriving them of the assistance of their ally, the world". Early anchorites included St. Anthony of Egypt, as well as St. Hilarion, St. Pachomius, and St. Basil. These men are among those credited with the beginnings of monasticism.

Early anchorites sought refuge from the world in the wilds of the desert, living away from all signs of civilization. Their attempts at isolation usually failed as they were quickly joined by others, often forming communities that came together for meals and worship. The early anchorite movement was characterized by rather extreme asceticism, in several cases taken to bizarre extremes.

The oddest of the anchorites of this early period are the Stylites. Stylite saints took up residence atop enormous pillars, often classical ruins. While these pillars were large, they were certainly not large enough to allow for comfortable living. Tales of stylites include numerous referrals to the gory problems caused by their ascetic lives, including gangrene, and muscle atrophy. There were a number of Stylite saints, most dating to the fifth and sixth century, although the practice continued significantly later in the Russian orthodox church.

The first of the stylite saints was St. Simeon Stylites the Elder who took to his pillar in 423. He was followed by a number of others including St. Simeon the Younger, St. Daniel Stylites, and St. Alypius. While several individuals tried to introduce this particular form of asceticism to the West, it remained an entirely Eastern phenomenon, remaining an occasional religious oddity in the Russian orthodox church until 1461, and lasting somewhat later among other less prominent sects.

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