A monk (from the Greek μοναχός, monachos, "single, solitary" in Latin, monachus) is a person (male or female) who lives an ascetical life either alone (sometimes referred to as an anchorite or hermit), or with a number of other monks (called cenobitic monasticism). Monks have existed across all religions and forms of philosophy, although Christianity gave this group of people the name monk. From the earliest record of Christians in the Bible as found in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, we see the early Christians practicing an ascetical and common life both in the city and moving into the desert. Thus, two thousand years later it can be said we present monks are simply living the radical form of Christian life like the early Church. Monasticism is not something we DO, but who we ARE! Just as one might be called by God to a single life or married life, one might also be called by God to become a sister, a priest, a deacon, a religious, or a MONK! For those monks that live in community in what is known as the "Western" Church, we can trace our organization to Saint Benedict of Norcia. In the sixth century, St. Benedict wrote a Rule for his monks. While the Italian monasteries he founded at Subiaco and Monte Cassino were destroyed by Barbarians, a few manuscripts of his Rule survived and were carried to other monasteries of Europe who had been living by other rules. Over two centuries, the Rule of St. Benedict spread and due to the influence of Charlemagne, it acquired a monopoly in the West. St. Benedict then became known as the founder of Western Monasticism and his "Black Monks" spread throughout the world. We monks were later given the title of the "Order of St. Benedict" (OSB).

Subiaco Abbey is a Roman Catholic monastery founded in 1878 AD as part of the missionary efforts of the Archabbey of St. Meinrad in Indiana (founded 1854 AD) and the Archabbey of Maria Einsiedeln in Switzerland (founded in 934 AD). We are located on 1,800 acres nestled in the foothills of the Ouachita mountains of Arkansas, USA. We take the ancient monastic vows of stability, conversatio morum (ongoing conversion to the monastic way of life), and obedience. Preferring nothing whatsoever to Christ, we dedicate ourselves, under the Rule of St. Benedict and an Abbot, to strive to support one another in community, to serve God, the Church, and the larger society. Begun 1,500 years ago, we Benedictine monks number just under 7,400 and are located in over 280 abbeys throughout the world. Like the early Apostles who lived and worked together whilst sharing everything in common, we continue to seek God by following that biblical example found in the Acts of the Apostles and codified by Saint Benedict into a way of life known as Benedictine Monasticism.