Orthodox Monks & Monasticism
Novice, rassophore, stavrophore, great schema — and the prayer that runs through all of it.
Monasticism is not a separate Church within Orthodoxy but its concentrated form: the same baptismal life lived without distraction. Orthodox monks and nuns take no religious 'orders' in the Western sense — there are no Benedictines or Franciscans — but a single monastic vocation lived out in a variety of settings.
The ranks of monastic life
- Novice (dokimos) — a trial period, wearing the inner cassock, with no vows.
- Rassophore — 'robe-bearer', tonsured and given the outer rassa and klobuk, usually with a new name.
- Stavrophore or Little Schema — 'cross-bearer', with the full vows of obedience, chastity, poverty and stability.
- Great Schema (megaloschemos) — the highest degree, with an intensified rule of prayer and solitude.
Forms of monastic life
- Coenobitic: a common life under an abbot, with shared meals, work and services — the majority of monasteries.
- Idiorrhythmic: monks keep their own rule of prayer, meals and property within a shared community.
- Skete: a small settlement of two or three monks around a chapel, dependent on a larger monastery.
- Hermitage: solitary life, undertaken only after long testing in community.
Prayer and work
The day is built on the cycle of services — Midnight Office, Orthros, Hours, Vespers, Compline — with the Jesus Prayer counted on the knotted prayer rope filling the intervals. Obediences (work assignments) range from gardening and iconography to hospitality and publishing.
Why monasteries matter for the whole Church
Bishops are chosen from among monastics, the liturgical books and the fasting typicon come out of monastic use, and pilgrimage to monasteries remains central to Orthodox devotion — from Mount Athos and Meteora to the monasteries of Russia, Romania and, increasingly, Australia and North America.
Frequently asked
- Do Orthodox monks marry?
- No. Monastics take a vow of chastity; a married man may only be tonsured with his wife's consent when both enter monastic life.
- Are Orthodox monks priests?
- Not necessarily. A monk ordained priest is a hieromonk; most monks in a community remain unordained.
- How long does it take to become a monk?
- Typically at least three years as a novice before tonsure, though the abbot decides in each case.