The Forms and the Degrees

Beneath the history lies the enduring structure of the monastic life — the rite by which one becomes a monk, the graded degrees of commitment, the vows, and the daily round. This section treats the rite of tonsure and the monastic degrees (rassophore, stavrophore or little schema, and the great schema), with the giving of a new name, and then the vows and the shape of the monastic day, in both its coenobitic and idiorrhythmic orderings.

Tradition: Pan-Orthodox

Overview

The Monastic Tonsure and the Degrees treats how one becomes a monk: the novitiate, the rite of tonsure with its cutting of hair and clothing in the habit, the ascending degrees — rassophore, stavrophore (the little schema), and the great schema (megaloschemos, the “angelic habit”) — the distinctive vesture of each, and the giving of a new name as a sign of a new life. The Vows and the Monastic Day treats what the monk lives: the vows of obedience, chastity, poverty, and stability; the horarium, the daily cycle of services, prayer, and work; and the difference between the coenobitic and idiorrhythmic orderings of the common life.

Files

File Description
the-monastic-tonsure-and-the-degrees.md The rite of tonsure; the degrees — rassophore, stavrophore (little schema), the great schema; the new name
the-vows-and-the-monastic-day.md Obedience, chastity, poverty, and stability; the horarium; coenobitic versus idiorrhythmic ordering

See Also