To the point that the Ἀκαδημία ( Platonic Academy), founded by Plato in Athens in 387 BC, was located next to a gymnasium (γυμνάσιον) which was soon incorporated into the teaching curriculum.įor the Ancients, asceticism was a means to achieve the establishment of a full, complete and self-sufficient relationship between oneself. In the classical period (510 BC to 323 BC), the idea of training, practical training, gymnastics, was central to the acquisition of virtues, rather than theoretical knowledge. In ancient Greek, asceticism ἄσκησις (from Greek askeō: “to exercise,” or “to train”). The love that Christians had for one another was a great witness to the world. Of course, this love also spilled out into love of neighbour just as Jesus commanded. In other words, to be a Christian in the first few centuries of the Church meant being willing to sacrifice everything out of love for Jesus.
Even those Christians who didn’t pay the ultimate price with their life practiced their faith every day knowing that they could be called to martyrdom at any time. Many Christians were called to give the ultimate gift of love through martyrdom. The Early Church Follows the Lord’s Commandįor the first 300 years of the Church’s existence, Christians were called to follow Jesus’ new commandment in a radical way. Like all spiritual practices, asceticism should be motivated by love. On the contrary, asceticism guards against valuing the goods of Creation so much that we disdain the Creator. It means denying yourself physical pleasures and conveniences even when you don’t need to.Ĭhristians do not practice asceticism simply because we see physical goods as evil. Simply put, asceticism means self-sacrifice.
A socially sanctioned role behaviour, which is able to act as an intermediate determinant of the state of one’s health which is on par with other lifestyles. Asceticism today is considered by some as a social event in which many people behave in a manner which constitutes a notable interruption of their normal routines.
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