The Monastic World: A 1,200-Year History
Andrew Jotischky
Yale University Press, 464 pages, £25
The sense of calm that guests experience when they step out of their hectic daily lives to spend time in a monastery can be deceptive. Stillness of atmosphere and soothing liturgical rhythm create an impression of “timelessness”. Yet, as Andrew Jotischky’s new work reminds us, monasticism is always evolving. Its development is a constant dialogue with material conditions and the pastoral needs of the Church.
