MONASTERY. [This entry discusses the architecture of Christian monasteries. For discussion of monasteries in Asian religions, see Temple, articles on Buddhist Temple Compounds, Daoist Temple Compounds, and Confucian Temple Compounds. For further discussion of the monastic way of life, see Religious Communities.]

A monastery is a building or group of buildings arranged for the members of a religious order to live as a community apart from the world in work, study, and prayer dedicated to God. The term monastery will be broadly used here to mean not only the houses of monks but also the houses of nuns (convents) and friars (friaries); the term monk will be used to mean both male and female residents of mon-asteries.

The practice of Christian monasticism has its origins in Egypt where, beginning in the late third century, men withdrew to the deserts and mountains to meditate and fast in solitude. Soon...