profoundly contemplative and rich in active work Reformed reflections on the reappraisal of monastic spirituality in the 21st century

Abstract

Given the growing contemporary interest among Christians of all traditions in monastic spirituality, the latter is discussed with reference to the most famous 20^th-century monastic, former Protestant turned Trappist monk, Thomas Merton. Despite centuries of Reformed suspicion and disapproval of monasticism, it is asked whether, despite dogmatic differences, there are not elements of this Roman Catholic spirituality e.g. monastic spiritual practices and virtues worth reconsidering and incorporating into Reformed spirituality, especially given the challenges Christians face in the 21^st century, or whether elements of this spirituality did, in fact, not survive outside its monastic context within the Reformed tradition.