Recorrido por la geografía del monacato rupestre cristiano. Una interpretación histórica

Authors

  • José Antonio Molina Gómez

Abstract

This paper aims to give a broad, but not exhaustive, view of the eremitic tradition in caves. Rock monasteries took root in the anchoretic tradition and in the concept of sacred cave that was already visible in the first Christian communities in Palestine. The phenomenon of rock monasteries exists throughout the early Christian world, with a wide geographical variety stretching from the desert of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Ethiopia, to the mountainous regions of Anatolia, Armenia, Greece, central Europe, the Balkans and Mediterranean Europe. Dating rock monasteries and eremitories are a diffi cult task. Their chronology extends from the 3

rd century to today because many of the rock sanctuaries and monasteries still in use were founded during the Late Antiquity, Middle Ages, and even in modern times, and for traditional reasons are continually renewed. Rock monasteries and churches are far from being an archaic or back ward type of Christendom. They were a true melting pot of culture and religious art, as is visible through examples which are mentioned in this paper.

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Author Biography

José Antonio Molina Gómez

Universidad de Murcia
How to Cite
Molina Gómez, J. A. (2006). Recorrido por la geografía del monacato rupestre cristiano. Una interpretación histórica. Antigüedad y Cristianismo, (23), 649–675. Retrieved from https://revistas.um.es/ayc/article/view/50141