In the fifth century Benedict of Nursia drew up a monastic rule based on the way of life of the first monks.
In the fifth century Benedict of Nursia drew up a monastic rule, based on the way the first monks lived in the second and third centuries. These monks lived as hermits primarily in the Egyptian desert.
The order of the day, following the Rule of St Benedict, mainly consists of prayer and labour (ora et labora). According to St Benedict, monks ought to spend their entire lives in the same place and in the same community. It is their ideal to form a Christian community as laid down in the Bible, particularly as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2, 41-47).
