Sometimes people ask if I follow a “rule of life”. The short answer is no: not in any formal written sense. But, of course, the answer is much more involved. And part of the problem is people misunderstand, through no fault of their own, the terminology involved. So maybe a very short definition of terms, how I use them, is necessary.
A very helpful place to start is the following:
The monastic life is based on obedience, the anchoritic life on independence; one requires the renunciation of the will, the other the exercise of free choice.
Can there be such a thing as an ‘anchoritic rule’? by Bella Millett in Catherine; Yoshikawa, Naoë Kukita. Anchoritism in the Middle Ages: Texts and Traditions (Religion and Culture in the Middle Ages), 34.
Hermits are “monastic” and anchorites live in the grey-area of church life. So for me:
Hermits are individuals who live alone following a rule within the context of a religious community (monastic). Hermits wear habits (of their order) and have a religious name. These individuals have taken vows and, therefore, their physical needs are provided by the community. Hermits are accountable to their religious superior via a confessor.
Anchorites (or the modern term solitaries) are individuals who live alone within the context of a parish. These individuals do not follow one of the rules but rather use guides for asceticism. Normally there is no habit or religious name. The important difference is these individuals do not make vows, especially the vow of poverty. Hence these individuals are responsible for their own physical needs. Anchorites live in the grey area of religious life, being neither laypeople nor religious, and often outside of ecclesial control. In modern terms, these individuals often have a spiritual director.
In the English tradition, hermits were itinerant while anchorites were enclosed. The enclosure was more intense for females, often including being walled in but also including a garden or outside area. Male anchorites had more freedom to meet people and priest anchorites had access to the church. Anchorites were also often questioned on their theology by church authorities and were considered heterodox.
Somewhat mudding the water is the use of the term “Diocesan Hermit” within the 1982 Roman Code of Canon Law (Can 601 and 602). This term, as I understand it, includes both of the above. It should also be noted that neither of the above takes a vow (or the like) of celibacy – it is simply a natural part of the life.
this solitary life 