Anakhorot (from other Greekἀναχωρητής "anachore", "hermit" from the ancient-Greek. ἀναχωρέω “retreat”, “retreat”, “retreat”, “retreat” [1] ) - the hermit , the hermit who has retired from the world. This is the name of a person who lives alone in a desert area, if possible, shuns all communication with other people and leads an ascetic lifestyle.
Content
History
Already in the I-II centuries, Christians were eliminated from pagan festivities and pleasures, and at the end of the III -beginning of the 4th centuries , hermits appeared in the real meaning of the word, who, due to cruel persecution or contempt for everything earthly, began to seek solitude. At the beginning of the 4th century , pupils and associates began to gather (originally in Egypt ) around such hermits, or “ fathers of the desert ”, and lead an ascetic lifestyle under their leadership. When Athanasius retired to the Libyan desert in 356 , he found it already populated by numerous herders.
The ideal image of such a hermit was inscribed by Jerome of Stridon in the life of Paul of Thebes and Athanasius in the life of St. Anthony . The latter is considered the father of real monasticism. There is a legend that his pupil Hilarion introduced this solitary way of life in Palestine , and Eustace in Armenia and Asia Minor . Soon, church teachers began to encourage such a way of life and instilled it in the West. But later, when the anchorites began to besiege the people who sought their advice, consolation in the misfortunes and blessings of the sick and children, they were forced to abandon the original intention to completely withdraw from the world. Some anchorites subjected their flesh to torment, pinned chains, iron rings, etc. chains , retired to almost uninhabited areas, caves, denied the necessary food and clothing, or occupied the most unnatural places, remained on them for many years. (see Stylites - Stylists). However, such exploits of the anachorism began to gradually disappear, as the church soon chose a milder form of asceticism, namely, the hostel of “ Kinovites, ” or monks . However, such phenomena are present in almost all Eastern religions.
Anachorism in Psychiatry
In psychiatry, retreat is considered a psychopathological symptom. It occurs in schizophrenic autism , as well as in schizoid personality disorder and in depressed patients [2] .
Notes
- ↑ Ἀναχωρέω // Ancient Greek-Russian Dictionary / Comp. Butler I. H. , ed. Sobolevsky S.I. - M .: State publishing house of foreign and national dictionaries, 1958. - T. I. - p. 137. - 1043 p.
- ↑ Blacher V.M. , Kruk I.V. Anakhoyestvo // Explanatory Dictionary of Psychiatric Terms. - MODEK, 1995. - ISBN 5-87224-067-8 .
Links
- Anchorite // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 t. (82 t. And 4 additional.). - SPb. , 1890-1907.