Monasticism in St. Jerome's letters and lives of the hermits : part 2

Abstract

BUut in spite of such initial opposition monasticism spread like wildfire. In Egypt when Paula visited the monasteries in 386 the number of monks who dwelt there ran into several thou- sands (108.14). In Palestine soon after 386 Hilarion founded many monasteries (H. 14; H. 24), and when he went to visit them he was sometimes accompanied by as many as two thousand monks (H. 25). There were monks near Lvchnos (H. 30) and Bruchium (H. 33); in Syria in the desert of Chalcis (M. 3; Epp. 2-16); in Pontus, Cappadocia, Armenia (58.3), India, Persia, Ethiopia (107.2), Mesopotamia (16.10), Cyprus (108.7), Dalmatia and in the Dalmaltian islands (16.10); in the islands of the coast of Etruria (77.6); in North Italy. Rome, Spain and Gaul (Cf. supra).