RE Coursework Part A2
Some Christians feel that they have been called to dedicate their entire lives to God and that they should follow the Gospel by adapting to a religious life by becoming a member of a religious community. The two types of orders are contemplative and apostolic and they both involve prayer and work, but are done in different ways. Members of a contemplative order are enclosed and stay within their community they have joined. Members of an apostolic order work closely with the public through care, education and advice. Members of both religious orders are consecrated by God by three vows, known as the evangelical counsels. They are vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
People first began to join religious communities during the first three centuries, when Christians were being persecuted by the Romans. They needed to have some faith that God existed and that he would save them from the Romans, but to become a faithful Christian meant being willing to become a martyr and this required a high level of dedication to the Gospel. When Christianity came into favour and the persecutions stopped, many Christians wanted to restore the same level of dedication, so they went and lived in the desert as hermits. They then joined together in communities and this marked the beginning of the monastic life.