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A skete (/ˈskiːt/) is a monastic community in Eastern Christianity that allows relative isolation for monks, but also allows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection. It is one of four types of early monastic orders, along with the eremitic, lavritic and coenobitic, that became popular during the early formation of the Christian Church.
Skete communities usually consist of a number of small cells or caves that act as the living quarters with a centralized church or chapel. These communities are thought of as a bridge between strict eremitic lifestyle and communal lifestyles since it was a blend of the two. They were a direct response to the ascetic lifestyle that early Christians aspired to live. Skete communities were often a bridge to a stricter form of hermitage or to martyrdom.
The Greek term skete (σκήτη, skḗtē, skiti) is most likely a reference to the Scetis valley in Egypt (Greek Σκήτις, from its Coptic name Ϣⲓϩⲏⲧ, Šihēt), where this type of monastic community first appears. A few scholars[who?] have argued that it instead is a stylized spelling of the word ἀσκητής (askētḗs "ascetic").