A hermit is a person living in solitude as a religious discipline. The root of the word is the Greek erēmos, meaning “solitary.” A life of solitude isn't for everyone, but a hermit chooses it for any number of reasons. The hermit lives a life hidden within the heart of the Mystical Body of Christ, His Church.
The first Carmelites were hermits living on the slopes of Mount Carmel. This community of Carmelite hermits lived a hidden life of silence and prayer and separation from the world for the good of the Church. This Roman Catholic religious community observed the eremitical charism of the first hermits on Mount Carmel and the primitive Carmelite Rule of St. Albert of Jerusalem.
It is well known that the early Carmelites were hermits. It seems that they were men from Western Europe who had gone to the Holy Land as pilgrims.
The first Carmelites came as pilgrims to Mount Carmel to live a solitary lifestyle. These early hermits were mostly laity, who lived an unofficial religious life and they lived in separate cells or huts and their vocation was contemplative prayer. The foundation of their life was the Eucharist and Sacred Scriptures.
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