Recluse

For other uses, see Recluse (disambiguation).

File:Bro kyrka, hagioskop till ett inclusorium.jpg

Cell of a recluse with hagioscope in Bro Church, Gotland, Sweden

A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion and solitude. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means 'to open' or 'disclose'.

Description

Examples of recluses are Symeon of Trier, who lived within the great Roman gate Porta Nigra with permission from the Archbishop of Trier, or Theophan the Recluse, a 19th-century Orthodox Christian monk who was later venerated as a saint. Many celebrated figures of human history have spent significant portions of their lives as recluses.

In the Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Lutheran and Eastern Catholic traditions of Christianity, a Poustinik is a temporary hermit who has been called to pray and fast alone in a cabin for at least 24 hours.

In ancient Chinese culture, scholars are encouraged to be a public servant in a scrupulous and well-run government but expected to go into reclusion as a yinshi (隐士, 'gentleman-in-hiding') when the government is rife with corruption. Others, like Dongfang Shuo, became hermits to practice Taoism, or in later centuries, Chan Buddhism.

Notable recluses

Main article: List of recluses

See also

• Anchorite
• Recluse literature

References

• Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.