The Monkhood of All Believers: The Monastic Foundation of Christian Spirituality

by Greg Peters

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2018

Overview

Although the institution of monasticism has existed in the Christian church since the first century, it is often misunderstood. Greg Peters, an expert in monastic studies, reintroduces historic monasticism to the Protestant church, articulating a monastic spirituality for all believers.

As Peters explains, what we have known as monasticism for the past 1,500 years is actually a modified version of the earliest monastic life, which was not necessarily characterized by poverty, chastity, and obedience but rather by one’s single-minded focus on God—a single-mindedness rooted in one’s baptismal vows and the priesthood of all believers. Peters argues that all monks are Christians, but all Christians are also monks. To be a monk, one must first and foremost be singled-minded toward God. This book presents a theology of monasticism for the whole church, offering a vision of Christian spirituality that brings together important elements of history and practice. The author connects monasticism to movements in contemporary spiritual formation, helping readers understand how monastic practices can be a resource for exploring a robust spiritual life.

Key Features

• Attempts to understand monasticism and to articulate a theology of monasticism that is not sectarian but relevant to the whole church of God
• Presents a theology of monasticism for the whole church
• Studies a monk’s vocation and demonstrates why all believers are monks and all monks are believers

Contents

Part 1: What Is a Monk?

• Defining the Monk
• The Monk in History
• Interiorized Monasticism

Part 2: Asceticism: The Monastic Vocation

• Defining Asceticism
• The Priesthood of All Believers

Part 3: The Monkhood of All Believers

• All Monks Are Christians and All Christians Are Monks
• The Vocation of Monasticism

Praise for The Monkhood of All Believers

Without rejecting institutionalized monasticism, Greg Peters succeeds in demonstrating that we are all monks in the sense that our baptismal vows obligate us to cultivate a single-minded interior devotion to God and to seek an asceticism of balance and moderation in everyday life. One could call it a revisionist history of monasticism that commends it to Protestants—especially to those heirs of Luther who have rejected monasticism. But along the way what makes Greg's book a feast is all the wisdom he has unearthed from the entire history and wide breadth of the Christian church. This book is a unique contribution in more than one way.

Dennis Okholm, Azusa Pacific University; author of Dangerous Passions, Deadly Sins: Learning from the Psychology of Ancient Monks

This reader-friendly book is an exploration of the meaning of monkhood from various early and medieval sources. A monk is simply one who is single-mindedly devoted to God despite being associated with institutional forms. By drawing upon medieval sources such as Robert de Sorbon’s sermon on marriage and The Abbey of the Holy Ghost, and the more recent Russian Orthodox writer Paul Evdokimov, as well as Luther’s and Calvin’s critiques of the institutions of monasticism of their day, Peters presents an ecumenical theology of monasticism. His work, which makes room for Protestants to live out an interior monasticism of the heart, adds an important theological dimension to the explorations of monastic spirituality today across the Christian and Orthodox spectrum.

Mary Forman, OSB, professor emerita, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, Minnesota; prioress of the Monastery of St. Gertrude, Cottonwood, Idaho

Greg Peters’s masterly book offers a long-awaited historical and theological evaluation of the baptismal foundation of monastic vocation and conversely of the monastic nature of Christian life. Monks remind us that growth in Christian life is a process of inner unification and of ever-greater humanity. Monasticism is not a luxury for a few but a gift available for all who have been baptized.

Luigi Gioia, research associate, Von Hügel Institute, University of Cambridge

Product Details

• Title: The Monkhood of All Believers: The Monastic Foundation of Christian Spirituality
• Author: Greg Peters
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2018
• Pages: 224
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Resource ID: LLS:MNKHDLLCSPRTLTY
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-11-14T19:38:10Z

About Greg Peters

Greg Peters is assistant professor of medieval and spiritual theology in the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University. He is also visiting assistant professor of church history at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin and is a visiting professor of monastic studies at St. John’s School of Theology in Collegeville, Minnesota. He is the author of Peter of Damascus: Byzantine Monk and Spiritual Theologian and Reforming the Monastery.