Christian asceticism

Type of religious lifestyle

deliberate flouting of society's conventions to serve a religious purpose

thumb|Mary Magdalene in cilice. Polychrome wood carving by [[Pedro de Mena, Church of San Miguel and San Julian, Valladolid]] A cilice , also known as a sackcloth, was originally a garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair (a hairshirt) worn close to the skin. It is used by members of various Christian traditions (including the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, and Scottish Presbyterian churches) as a self-imposed means of repentance and mortification of the flesh; as an instrument of penance, it is often worn during the Christian penitential season of Lent, especially

thumb|Icon of Simeon Stylites the Elder with [[Simeon Stylites the Younger. Simeon the Elder appears to be shown at the left stepping down from his pillar in obedience to the monastic elders; the image may also reference a point in his life when, due to an ulcerous leg, he was forced to stand atop his pillar on one leg only.At right is represented Simeon Stylites the Younger (also known as "St. Simeon of the Admirable Mountain").]

Christian religious orders separated from the external world

science dealing with man's spiritual life in the light of Revelation

book by Pedro de Axular