In yet another instance of the dissolution of gender barriers, girls are all set to storm one of the surviving bastions of male exclusivity: the all-boys Escolania choir, based at the Benedictine...
Tibet, a region nestled in the heart of the Himalayas, is a place of incredible beauty, spirituality and cultural heritage. Known for its soaring mountain peaks, vibrant prayer flags and rich...
When we think of Buddhism today, we think of pacifism, being at one with the world, love for one’s neighbor and nature, and other aspects of peaceful living. Modern Buddhist monks are devoted to...
Medieval English monasteries didn’t just passively cave in to the long-running Viking attacks on English shores that culminated in the victory of the Anglo-Saxon king Alfred the Great . Lyminge, a...
The ruins of a Christian monastery dating back to the sixth or seventh century have been discovered on sandy Siniyah Island (Al Sinniyah Island), which is located in the southern Persian Gulf just...
The still famous and active Shaolin Temple monastery is best known as the birthplace of Shaolin Kung Fu and Chan Buddhism, a traditional Chinese subtype of Mahayana Buddhism. Also called Shaolin...
Nagarjunakonda is a historical town located in what is now Guntur district of the south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It was a very important Buddhist site and center of learning from the...
Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a medieval monk? Perhaps you’ve wondered about the reasons behind becoming a monk, or what they do on a daily basis. Monasticism has existed for...
Somapura Mahavihara was a well-known Buddhist monastery complex located in Paharpur, in north-western Bangladesh. The monastery was established during the 8th century AD and flourished as an...
A pair of academics from Durham University in the United Kingdom have discovered an 827-year-old reference to an unusual weather-related phenomenon in an obscure medieval English text. While...
If you’ve never visited the Suffolk region of southern England, you may not have heard the name of Bury-St-Edmunds. But this small medieval town is home to one of the most important and powerful...
Archaeologists from the University of Reading have been performing excavations on the grounds of the Holy Trinity Church in Cookham, a small village on the River Thames in England. They have been...
The world of a monk is a world of seclusion and solitude. It offers introspection and an inner peace that is so crucial in comprehending greater religious philosophy. And the lives of Carthusian...
With deeply-spiritual origins, and an important function in the religious framework of medieval England, Coventry's medieval Charterhouse priory was all but destroyed in the Reformation. But now,...
Reading Abbey was erected in 1121 in the town of Reading within in the county of Berkshire, England. It was a royal monastery established by King Henry I to pay homage to his ancestors and his...
Archaeologists have discovered a unique hilltop monastery in eastern India. The 11th or 12th century religious center is special because of its location and because it was headed by a Buddhist nun,...