The Monastic Reaction: The Spread of the Monastic Ideal (Part 3)

Our History of Christianity Scripture passage today is 2 Peter 3:9 which reads: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

Our History of Christianity quote today is from St. Symeon the New Theologian. He said: "Provided they live a worthy life, both those who choose to dwell in the midst of noise and hubbub and those who dwell in monasteries, mountains and caves can achieve salvation. Solely because of their faith in Him God bestows great blessings on them. Hence those who because of their laziness have failed to attain salvation will have no excuse to offer on the day of judgment. For He who promised to grant us salvation simply on account of our faith in Him is not a liar."

Today, in the History of Christianity, we are looking at "The Monastic Reaction: The Spread of the Monastic Ideal (Part 3)" from Dr. Justo L. Gonzalez's fine book, The Story of Christianity (Volume 1).

When the bishopric of Tours became vacant, the populace wanted to elect Martin to that position. The story goes that some of the bishops present at the election opposed such an idea, arguing that Martin was usually dirty, dressed in rags, and disheveled, and that his election would damage the prestige of the office of bishop. No agreement had been reached when it was time to read the Bible, and the person assigned for that task was nowhere to be found.

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