Anchorite facts for kids
An anchorite (female: anchoress) was a person who chose to live alone for religious reasons. The word "anchorite" means "one who has retired from the world." These people wanted to spend their lives in deep prayer and live a very simple, disciplined life. This is called an ascetic life.
Anchorites were a bit like religious hermits, who also live alone. However, anchorites made a special promise to God. They promised to stay in one specific place. This place was usually a very small room. It was often built right next to or even inside the wall of a local church.
Living as an anchorite was one of the first ways Christians chose to be a monk. From the 1100s to the 1500s, there were more female anchorites than male ones. Sometimes, in the 1200s, there were four times as many women as men. By the 1400s, there were still twice as many women. For many anchorites during these times, their gender was not recorded.
Famous Anchorites
- Julian of Norwich was a well-known anchoress from England. She wrote important religious books.
Related Ways of Life
- Asceticism: This is a lifestyle where people avoid pleasures and live simply. They do this to become more spiritual.
- Nazirite: In ancient Israel, a Nazirite was someone who took a special vow to God. This vow included not drinking wine and not cutting their hair.
- Sadhu: In India, a Sadhu is a holy person who gives up worldly life. They often live a simple, spiritual life.
Images for kids
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Christina Carpenter was walled into a cell in St James's Church in Shere, Surrey.
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"The Anchorite" (1881), by Teodor Axentowicz.
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Anthony the Great, often called the father of Christian Monasticism, was an early anchorite. The Coptic writing says ' Ⲡⲓⲛⲓϣϯ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲁⲛⲧⲱⲛⲓ' which means 'The Great Father Anthony'.
See also
In Spanish: Anacoreta para niños
