The Carthusian Order and Orthodox monastic traditions: shared experience, shared ideals

Abstract

The Catholic Carthusian Order was founded in 1084 by saint Bruno from Cologne. The Carthusians occupy an important role in the Roman Catholic Church, and their order serves as an example of the Orthodox monastic tradition, loyal to patristic admonitions, due to that fact it is the nearest to the Orthodox monasticism. From the outset of its existence the Carthusians sought to persue the traditions of the early Christian monasticism, that allows to compare the spirituality of that Order with the Hesychastic spirituality of the Western monks.