Definition of "coenobium"

[T]his profeſſion of a ſingle life vvas propagated in Egypt by Antony, and in Syria by Hilarion; and ſpred ſo faſt, that ſoon after the time of Julian the Apoſtate a third part of Egyptians vvere got into the deſarts of Egypt. They lived firſt ſingly in cells, then aſſociated into cœnobia or convents; and at length came into tovvns, and filled the Churches vvith Biſhops, Presbyters and Deacons.

a. 1728 (date written), Isaac Newton, “Of the King who Did According to His Will, and Magnified Himself above Every God, and Honoured Mahuzzims, and Regarded Not the Desire of Women”, in Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John. […], London: […] J. Darby and T. Browne […]; and sold by J. Roberts […], published 1733, part I (Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel), pages 197–198

Some carts are entirely filled with representatives of the Church, but these are jolly, portly fellows, who pay loyally, and hasten to secure the most delicate fare for the table of their different cœnobiums.

1851 October, “Naples Bay and Fish-market”, in Fraser’s Magazine for Town and Country, volume XLIV, number CCLXII, London: John W[illiam] Parker and Son, […], page 447, column 1

[A]fter I had passed thirty years living in a cœnobium, I rejoice that I have also spent twenty more, so that I can never be accused of sloth among those who tried it in a half-hearted way.

1894, John Cassian, “[The Works of John Cassian. The Third Part of the Conferences of John Cassian.] XIX. Conference of Abbot John. On the Aim of the Cœnobite and Hermit. Chapter III. Abbot John’s Answer Why He had Left the Desert.”, in Edgar C[harles] S[umner] Gibson, transl., edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church. […] (Second Series), volume XI (Sulpitius Severus. Vincent of Lerine. John Cassian.), New York, N.Y.: Christian Literature Company; Oxford, Oxfordshire; London: Parker & Company, page 490, column 2

There were the cenobia, or monasteries proper, where the life was according to the lines laid down by St Basil; and there were the lauras, wherein a semi-eremitical life was followed, the monks living in separate huts within the enclosure.

1911, E. C. Butler, “Monasticism”, in H[enry] M[elvill] Gwatkin, J[ames] P[ounder] Whitney, editors, The Cambridge Medieval History, volumes I (The Christian Roman Empire and the Foundation of the Teutonic Kingdoms), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, page 529

Sometimes it [the church] is called Martyrium, when raised in honour of any Martyr; somes capella, (chapel,) … sometimes caenobium, at others sacrificium; sometimes sacellum; sometimes the House of Prayer; sometimes monastery; sometimes oratory.]

Frisch, “Early and High Gothic (1140 to c. 1270): The Symbolism of Churches and Church Ornaments”, in Gothic Art 1140 – c 1450: Sources and Documents (Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching; 20), Toronto, Ont., Buffalo, N.Y.: University of Toronto Press, published 2004, paragraph 4, page 35

The Encomiast refers to St. Bertin's and St. Omer's as monasteria (II, 21, I and II) and caenobia (ibid., 15). […] The words monasterium and caenobium are, however, both freely used in medieval Latin in the sense 'collegiate church'.

1998, Simon Keynes, “Queen Emma and the Encomium Emmae Reginae”, in Alistair Campbell, transl. and editor, Encomium Emmae Reginae (Camden Classic Reprints; 4), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press for the Royal Historical Society, page xx

Psalmody refers to singing or reciting psalms; in the cenobium this was performed communally seven times a day.

2002, Robert Imperato, “Desert Tradition: Cassian and Benedict”, in Early and Medieval Christian Spirituality, Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, page 45

It is no exaggeration to say that among these foundations, those of [Vincent of] Lérins and St. Victor of Marseilles were so outstanding that the Gallic monasticism of the 5th century has to be identified with the history of these two coenobiums, and only partly with that of the monastic settlement in the Jura.

2003, D[onato] Ogliari, “The Rise of ‘Massilianism’ in Gaul: Historical and Theological Framework”, in Gratia et Certamen: The Relationship between Grace and Free Will in the Discussion of Augustine with the So-called Semipelagians (Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium; CLXIX), Leuven, Flemish Brabant, Belgium: Leuven University Press; Uitgeverij Peeters, pages 110–111

We are part of a community, a cenobium, and we are under the spiritual direction of an abbot and his delegates.

2011, John Michael Talbot, “The Observance of Lent”, in Blessings of St. Benedict, Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, page 79

The cenobium is the proper locus for the acquisition of virtue and in the nineteenth conference he has the Abbot John [Cassian], who had passed thirty years in the cenobium, twenty as an anchorite and then returned to the cenobium, expound the dangers of the desert and the advantages of the cenobium.

2012, Mark Sheridan, “John Cassian and the Formation of Authoritative Tradition”, in From the Nile to the Rhone and Beyond: Studies in Early Monastic Literature and Scriptural Interpretation, Rome: Studia Anselmiana, part II (To the Rhone), page 417

An anagārika does not formally commit himself (or herself) to the strictly cenobitical monastic restraints of a caenobium or monastery, such as finishing one's begging round for food before midday, and not handling money.

2019 June, Ashvajit [Dharmachari], “Preface”, in In the Footstep of the Buddha, 4th edition, Llanidloes, Powys: Ola Leaves, note 4, page xxii