The Rise of Monasticism 150 Background to the Rise of Monasticism Monastics fall into two general groups, eremitic and cenobitic. Eremitic communities are almost a contradiction in terms for these groups were really individuals living alone or as hermits. Some eremitic groupings, however, formed of people who lived alone, out of sight and sound from each other, but which were nevertheless loosely associated.
Cenobitic monastics are much more common than eremitic ones.
Cenobitic communities are groups of people living together under an arrangement or a rule. Usually, these people live in monasteries or convents. While individuals living in cenobitic communities may practice ascetic lives and relatively little communications, the members live together as a cooperative and closely knit group, eating, worshipping, and working together according to assigned tasks. Two other kinds of monastics also existed, Sarabites and Anchorites. Sarabite is the term given to wandering monastics who lived on the gullibility of the general public by selling relics and religious artifacts.