Types of Church-Goers

There are four kinds of monks says Benedict in chapter one of the Rule. "First are Cenobites, those who live in a monastery waging their war under a rule and an Abbot."

Second are the Anchorites. These are hermits who have been tested in the monastery and are ready to go out and fight the devil in hand to hand combat.

"Third are the Sarabaites, (the worst kind)." They basically do whatever they want to do and call it holy.

Finally there are the gyratory monks, or gyrovagues, and they are actually "much worse in all things than the Sarabaites." These travel around from monastery to monastery seeking shelter for three or four days at a time and are not under any Rule or authority. They are essentially medieval hobos.

Benedict is clear about which kind is the best - the Cenobites (Latin: Ceno-common, Bios-life). These monks live under the authority of an abbot and a Rule of Life, submitting to one another in their quest to attain communion with God.

If Benedict were alive today and observed the various approaches to church-going he might very well keep the same categories. There are lots of gryovagues - those who wander from church to church consuming its programs briefly and then moving on without entering in to the life of the community. Likewise there are many Sarabaites - those who simply do what they want and make no pretense of really living a Christian lifestyle.

A few claim to be hermits - they don't have to go to church because they can worship God on their own out of doors or at the mall, or whatever. They're not really true contemplative hermits though, because they never actually get down to the business of seeking God. Their claim to hermit status is actually a posture to disguise the fact that they can't get along with anyone.

Lastly there are the Cenobites - those who have committed themselves to building community with each other and finding communion with God in one place.

I would add to this list the Wary Convalescent, one who has been grievously wounded while trying to be a "Cenobite", and is too timid to commit to a body of people. These sometimes look a lot like gyrovagues, but can be distinguished by their basic fear, rather than disdain of community. They are initially attracted but because of their wounded-ness, they either have a hard time committing themselves, or they react against authority structures in an ongoing pattern of approach and avoidance. Their reaction to community life mirrors their relationship with God - hurt and wary.