What is “New Monasticism?”

When some people hear the phrase “new monasticism,” their mind immediately goes to medieval Europe. This mental leap completely ignores the vibrant development of religious orders from the Middle Ages to today. Nevertheless, some folks assume that “new monasticism” means “a return to medieval monasticism.” It is sometimes assumed that “new” monasticism is an attempt to replace “old” monasticism (which isn’t the case…traditional monasticism is still vibrant in the world today).

“New” Monasticism isn’t really either new or monastic. What we are seeing today is a fresh emergence of intentional communities. Some of these groups are inspired by monasticism, but many are connecting to the tradition of Anabaptist intentional living. Still others are embracing a way of life embodied by the beautiful varieties of Christian intentionality in the world today (the Catholic Worker, L’Arche, Koinonia Farm, Jubilee Partners, the Simple Way, Reba Place, etc.). None of these groups are “monastic,” though each of these groups have much in common with monastic groups.

New monasticism isn’t primarily about nostalgia. Folks in the movement aren’t primarily asking how we can return to the way of life of Benedict or Francis (who wasn’t actually a monk at all, but a friar). Rather, we are asking the same question that Benedict and Bernard and Francis and Clare and others asked: What would it look like to embody the Gospel in our day? What if we, in the shadows and on the fringes of Empire, sought a communal incarnational spiritual life in a way that sought to embody the teachings of Jesus Christ?

New Monasticism learns from what has come before, but it doesn’t seek to re-create it. It is an imaginative movement inspired by the past but open to new possibilities.

This is why there are so many different communities–each with a unique charism. While there is often some reoccurring themes, communities tend to have unique strengths. It seems to me that new monastic communities enter into this movement through one of several ways:

• They start as activistic communities that share housing (in the long tradition of the activist communal experiments) .
• They begin with a desire to be a place of recovery or healing.
• They flow out of a set of relationships–it seems a natural step for a group of friends or family to share resources and serve out of those relationships.
• They begin as a ministry team that decides to become an intentional community as well.
• They are a house church that desires to go deeper.
• They start as an artist’s cooperative.
• They begin with a desire for a greener, simpler, life.
• They begin as an experiment in spiritual practices.

But what IS “new monasticism?” At the very least, I think almost every community can agree on the following:

1. New monasticism has a strong focus on orthopraxy.
2. New monasticism learns from (but isn’t necessarily limited by) traditional religious orders.
3. New monasticism places the teachings of Jesus at the center of the Gospel.
4. New monasticism is attempting to reconnect to the ancient practice of hospitality.
5. New monasticism is USUALLY practiced in proximity, and OFTEN in share living.
6. New monasticism is USUALLY interested in embracing simplicity.
7. New monasticism fosters spirituality through rhythms rather than events (in other words, it is about a way of life rather than a series of weekly, or bi-weekly, events).
8. Almost all new monastic communities recognize that the larger culture is corrosive to the way of Jesus and seeks a community that helps them live out that way.

Beyond this, as far as I can tell, each community is different.