The practice, philosophy, or religious movement of living as an eremite; the principles and lifestyle of hermits.
From 'eremite' plus the suffix '-ism,' which denotes a system of beliefs, practices, or movements. This follows the English pattern of turning agent nouns into ideologies (like 'patriot' to 'patriotism').
Eremitism was a revolutionary religious movement—in the early Christian period, choosing to live alone in the desert was seen as the purest form of devotion, so radical that it challenged the emerging church's authority and created a competing spiritual elite.
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