A person who withdraws from society to live in isolation, usually for religious reasons, especially in the early Christian tradition.
From Greek 'anchōrēs' (hermit, from anchōreō, to withdraw), ultimately from 'anchō' (to depart, retreat). The term became especially common in Christian monasticism to describe Desert Fathers and similar ascetic practitioners.
Some of the earliest anchorites literally lived in caves or tiny cells with just a window for food and water—imagine choosing to live alone like that for decades just to pray! They were the spiritual extreme athletes of the medieval world.
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