Acoemetae
Encyclopedia
Acoemetae was an order of monk
s in the 5th century, who by turns, kept up a divine service day and night. The order was founded about the year 400, by one Alexander, a man of noble birth, who fled from the court of Byzantium
to the desert, both from love of solitude and fear of episcopal
honours.
to establish the laus perennis, he brought with him the experience of a first foundation on the Euphrates
, and three hundred monks. The enterprise, however, proved difficult, owing to the hostility of Patriarch
Nestorius
and Emperor Theodosius II
. Driven from the monastery of St. Mennas, where he had been reared in the city, and thrown with his monks on the hospitality of St. Hypathius, Abbot of Rufiniana, he finally succeeded in building the monastery of Gomon
at the mouth of the Black Sea
where he died, about 440.
, founded the famous Studion. Chiefly under Abbot Theodore
(759-826), the Studion became a centre of learning, as well as piety
, and brought to a culmination, the glory of the order. On the other hand, the very glamour of the new "Studites" gradually cast into the shade, the old Acoemetae.
s was the uninterrupted service of God. Their monasteries
, which numbered hundreds of monks and sometimes went into the thousand, were distributed in national groups, Latin
s, Greeks
, Syrian
s, and Egyptian
s; and each group, into as many choirs as the membership permitted, and the service required. With them, the divine office literally carried out Psalm cxviii, 164: "Seven times a day have I given praise to Thee," consisting as it did, of seven hours: orthrinon, trite, ekte, enate, lychnikon, prothypnion, mesonyktion, which through St. Benedict of Nursia, passed into the Western Church under the equivalent names of prime
, terce
, sext
, none
, vespers
, compline
, matins
(nocturns
), and lauds
.
The influence of the Acoemetae on Christian life was considerable. The splendour of their religious services largely contributed to shape the liturgy
. Their idea of the laus perennis and similar institutions passed into the Western Church with St. Maurice of Agaune and St. Denys. Our modern perpetual adoration is a remnant of it.
Even before the time of the Studites, the copying of manuscripts was in honour among the Acoemetae, and the library of the "Great Monastery", consulted even by the Roman
Pontiff
s, is the first, mentioned by the historians of Byzantium. The recension of 2,000 letters of Isidore of Pelusium
known to us from the manuscripts is ascribed in some of the manuscripts to the Acometae in the 6th century.
The Acoemetae took a prominent part — and always in the sense of orthodoxy
— in the Christological
discussions raised by Nestorius
and Eutyches
, and later, in the controversies of the Icons. They proved strong supporters of the Apostolic See
, in the schism of Acacius
, as did the Studites in that of Photius.
tendencies of the Scythian monks, some Acoemetae themselves fell into the Nestorian error, and were excommunicated by Pope John II
. But this acceptance of Nestorianism was limited to only a comparatively small number of their members (quibusdam paucis monachis, says a contemporary document), and it could not seriously detract from the praise, given their order, by the Roman Synod
of 484:
akoimetai, from:
Akoimetai therefore means "without rest, unceasing".
The term is sometimes used as an appellation for all Eastern ascetics, known by the rigour of their vigil
s. Usually, however, the name is used for a special order of Greek or Basilian monks, devoting themselves to prayer and praise without intermission, day and night.
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s in the 5th century, who by turns, kept up a divine service day and night. The order was founded about the year 400, by one Alexander, a man of noble birth, who fled from the court of Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
to the desert, both from love of solitude and fear of episcopal
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
honours.
Alexander
When Alexander returned to ConstantinopleConstantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
to establish the laus perennis, he brought with him the experience of a first foundation on the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
, and three hundred monks. The enterprise, however, proved difficult, owing to the hostility of Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
Nestorius
Nestorius
Nestorius was Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to 22 June 431.Drawing on his studies at the School of Antioch, his teachings, which included a rejection of the long-used title of Theotokos for the Virgin Mary, brought him into conflict with other prominent churchmen of the time,...
and Emperor Theodosius II
Theodosius II
Theodosius II , commonly surnamed Theodosius the Younger, or Theodosius the Calligrapher, was Byzantine Emperor from 408 to 450. He is mostly known for promulgating the Theodosian law code, and for the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople...
. Driven from the monastery of St. Mennas, where he had been reared in the city, and thrown with his monks on the hospitality of St. Hypathius, Abbot of Rufiniana, he finally succeeded in building the monastery of Gomon
Gomon
-References:*This article was initially created from the French Wikipedia....
at the mouth of the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
where he died, about 440.
Succcessors
His successor, Abbot John, founded the Irenaion, on the eastern shore of the Bosphorus, opposite Sostenium or Istenia. In ancient documents it was referred to as the "great monastery", or motherhouse of the Acoemetae. Under the third abbot, St. Marcellus, when the hostility of Patriarch and Emperor had somewhat subsided, Studius, a former ConsulConsul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
, founded the famous Studion. Chiefly under Abbot Theodore
Theodore the Studite
Theodore the Studite was a Byzantine Greek monk and abbot of the Stoudios monastery in Constantinople. He played a major role in the revivals both of Byzantine monasticism and of classical literary genres in Byzantium...
(759-826), the Studion became a centre of learning, as well as piety
Piety
In spiritual terminology, piety is a virtue that can mean religious devotion, spirituality, or a combination of both. A common element in most conceptions of piety is humility.- Etymology :...
, and brought to a culmination, the glory of the order. On the other hand, the very glamour of the new "Studites" gradually cast into the shade, the old Acoemetae.
Monasteries
The feature that distinguished the Acoemetae from the other Basilian monkBasilian monk
Basilian monks are monks who follow the "Rule" of Saint Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea. The chief importance of the monastic rules and institutes of St. Basil lies in the fact that to this day his reconstruction of the monastic life is the basis of most of the monasticism practiced in the...
s was the uninterrupted service of God. Their monasteries
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
, which numbered hundreds of monks and sometimes went into the thousand, were distributed in national groups, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
s, Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, Syrian
Demographics of Syria
Syrians today are an overall indigenous Levantine people. While modern-day Syrians are commonly described as Arabs by virtue of their modern-day language and bonds to Arab culture and history...
s, and Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
s; and each group, into as many choirs as the membership permitted, and the service required. With them, the divine office literally carried out Psalm cxviii, 164: "Seven times a day have I given praise to Thee," consisting as it did, of seven hours: orthrinon, trite, ekte, enate, lychnikon, prothypnion, mesonyktion, which through St. Benedict of Nursia, passed into the Western Church under the equivalent names of prime
Prime (liturgy)
Prime, or the First Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the traditional Divine Office , said at the first hour of daylight , between the morning Hour of Lauds and the 9 a.m. Hour of Terce. It is part of the Christian liturgies of Eastern Christianity, but in the Latin Rite it was suppressed by the...
, terce
Terce
Terce, or Third Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said at 9 a.m. Its name comes from Latin and refers to the third hour of the day after dawn....
, sext
Sext
Sext, or Sixth Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said at noon...
, none
None (liturgy)
None , or the Ninth Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said around 3 p.m...
, vespers
Vespers
Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...
, compline
Compline
Compline is the final church service of the day in the Christian tradition of canonical hours. The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day. The word was first used in this sense about the beginning of the 6th century by St...
, matins
Matins
Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...
(nocturns
Nocturns
Nocturns are divisions of Matins, the night office of the Christian Liturgy of the Hours. A nocturn consists of psalms with antiphons followed by three lessons, which are taken either from scripture or from the writings of the Church Fathers. The office of Matins is composed of one to three nocturns...
), and lauds
Lauds
Lauds is a divine office that takes place in the early morning hours and is one of the two major hours in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it forms part of the Office of Matins...
.
The influence of the Acoemetae on Christian life was considerable. The splendour of their religious services largely contributed to shape the liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
. Their idea of the laus perennis and similar institutions passed into the Western Church with St. Maurice of Agaune and St. Denys. Our modern perpetual adoration is a remnant of it.
Even before the time of the Studites, the copying of manuscripts was in honour among the Acoemetae, and the library of the "Great Monastery", consulted even by the Roman
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Pontiff
Pontiff
A pontiff was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the principal college of priests . The term "pontiff" was later applied to any high or chief priest and, in ecclesiastical usage, to a bishop and more particularly to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope or "Roman Pontiff".-Etymology:The English term derives...
s, is the first, mentioned by the historians of Byzantium. The recension of 2,000 letters of Isidore of Pelusium
Isidore of Pelusium
Isidore of Pelusium was born in Egypt to a prominent Alexandrian family. He became an ascetic, and moved to a mountain near the city of Pelusium, in the tradition of the Desert Fathers....
known to us from the manuscripts is ascribed in some of the manuscripts to the Acometae in the 6th century.
The Acoemetae took a prominent part — and always in the sense of orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
— in the Christological
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
discussions raised by Nestorius
Nestorius
Nestorius was Archbishop of Constantinople from 10 April 428 to 22 June 431.Drawing on his studies at the School of Antioch, his teachings, which included a rejection of the long-used title of Theotokos for the Virgin Mary, brought him into conflict with other prominent churchmen of the time,...
and Eutyches
Eutyches
Eutyches was a presbyter and archimandrite at Constantinople. He first came to notice in 431 at the First Council of Ephesus, for his vehement opposition to the teachings of Nestorius; his condemnation of Nestorianism as heresy precipitated his being denounced as a heretic...
, and later, in the controversies of the Icons. They proved strong supporters of the Apostolic See
Apostolic See
In Christianity, an apostolic see is any episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus.Out of the many such sees, five acquired special importance in Chalcedonian Christianity and became classified as the Pentarchy in Eastern Orthodox Christianity...
, in the schism of Acacius
Acacius
Acacius may refer to:Saints* Agathius, also known as Acacius of Byzantium , Centurion of the Imperial Army. Feastday: May 8* Saint Acacius, 4th century Armenian priest. Feastday: November 27...
, as did the Studites in that of Photius.
6th century
In the sixth century, while trying to combat the EutychianEutychianism
Eutychianism refers to a set of Christian theological doctrines derived from the ideas of Eutyches of Constantinople . Eutychianism is a specific understanding of how the human and divine relate within the person of Jesus Christ .At various times, Eutyches taught that the human nature of Christ was...
tendencies of the Scythian monks, some Acoemetae themselves fell into the Nestorian error, and were excommunicated by Pope John II
Pope John II
Pope John II was pope from 533 to 535.He was the son of a certain Projectus, born in Rome and a priest of the Basilica di San Clemente on the Caelian Hill. He was made pope January 2, 533. The basilica of St. Clement still retains several memorials of "Johannes surnamed Mercurius"...
. But this acceptance of Nestorianism was limited to only a comparatively small number of their members (quibusdam paucis monachis, says a contemporary document), and it could not seriously detract from the praise, given their order, by the Roman Synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
of 484:
- "Thanks to your true piety towards God, to your zeal ever on the watch, and to a special gift of the Holy Ghost, you discern the just from the impious, the faithful from the miscreantMiscreantMiscreant is the first EP album from death metal band Skinless.-Track listing:-Line up:*Sherwood Webber - Vocals*Noah Carpenter - Guitar*Joe Keyser - Bass*Bob Beaulac - Drums*George Torres - Additional Drums...
s, the CatholicCatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
s from the hereticHeresyHeresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
s."
Etymology
GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
akoimetai, from:
- a: privative or lack of what is needed for existence
- koiman: to rest
Akoimetai therefore means "without rest, unceasing".
The term is sometimes used as an appellation for all Eastern ascetics, known by the rigour of their vigil
Vigil
A vigil is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance...
s. Usually, however, the name is used for a special order of Greek or Basilian monks, devoting themselves to prayer and praise without intermission, day and night.