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The Reforming Role Of Religious Communities In The History Of Western Christianity, Carl Volz

Concordia Theological Monthly

Reformed Christians have traditionally been suspicious of, if not viscerally opposed to, one ancient institution of Christianity - monasticism. Ever since the upheavals of the 16th century most non-Roman Catholics in the West have been content to view the monks as being psychological eccentrics at best, or the spiritual heirs of Pelagius at worst. It is the purpose of this essay to indicate the vital role monasticism played in the continuing reform of Christianity, and to encourage Lutheran Christians, who stand in a similar reforming tradition, to approach the concept of communal religious life with understanding if not with sympathetic …