Monasticism in the constitution and the holly work of church MISIUNEA ?I IMPORTAN?A MONAHISMUL ÎN CONSTITUŢIA ŞI LUCRAREA BISERICII

: The concept of withdrawal from society is essential to the Christian tradition of monasticism, a term that derives from the Greek word monachos , which means a solitary person. Monks and nuns performed many practical services in the Middle Ages, for they housed travelers, nursed the sick, and assisted the poor; abbots and abbesses dispensed advice to secular rulers. But monasticism also offered society a spiritual outlet and ideal with important consequences for medieval culture as a whole.