Course 2 · Solitary Christian
The Solitary Christian in Depth
Study solitude as a deliberate Christian practice: where it comes from, what it can offer, what it cannot replace, and how to practice it with humility and accountability.
Overview
This course looks at the solitary Christian life as an intentional and historically grounded way of Christian formation. It asks what solitude has meant in Scripture and in the long history of the church, what it can give a believer, and where it needs care.
The course does not argue that solitary Christians are better than those who worship in congregations. It also does not assume you are looking for a church or trying to avoid one. It treats the questions honestly: What can a Christian do alone? What is better done with others? Which practices, according to the historic traditions, need ordained ministers or a church community? How do you keep from deceiving yourself when no one is looking over your shoulder?
You will read the desert tradition in its own words, learn how Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Christians understand the church and the sacraments, practice testing your own conclusions, and end with a written framework for your own life.
Objectives
- Explain the difference between solitude, isolation and withdrawal from responsibility, and apply it to your own situation.
- Describe the main figures and movements of Christian solitude, from the Desert Fathers and Mothers to later hermits and anchorites.
- Explain what Scripture and the church’s tradition say about the church as the body of Christ, without reducing the church to attendance.
- State fairly what the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions teach about which practices require ordained ministry or a church community.
- Identify the risks of independent interpretation, including pride, self-deception and confirmation bias, and describe practical safeguards.
- Evaluate teachers and online authorities by consistent and fair criteria.
- Describe forms of fellowship and accountability that are available without a local congregation.
- Write a personal framework for solitary Christian life that draws on Scripture, prayer, history, humility, accountability and practical discipline.
Course outline
Module 1 What Solitude Is and Is Not
Define the key terms, separate solitude from isolation and from avoiding responsibility, and set aside any claim of superiority.
Topics
- Solitudinarian Christianity as a deliberate approach to Christian life
- Solitude, isolation and withdrawal from responsibility
- Why solitude is not a sign of higher spiritual rank
Lessons
Module 2 The Long Tradition
Meet the desert tradition and its descendants in their own words, and see how they combined solitude with counsel and community.
Topics
- The Desert Fathers and Mothers
- Early monasticism
- Eremitic and anchoritic traditions
- Christian hermitage
Lessons
Module 3 The Church and the Solitary Christian
Ask what the church is, what the three great traditions say requires a church, and what fellowship is possible without a congregation.
Topics
- The church as the body of Christ
- Scripture and tradition
- Practices that require ordained ministry or a church community
- Christian fellowship
Lessons
Module 4 Independence and Its Limits
Learn what it means to read Scripture for yourself, where private interpretation goes wrong, and how to test the voices you listen to.
Topics
- Theological independence
- Personal responsibility in biblical interpretation
- The limits of private interpretation
- Discerning teachers and online authorities
Lessons
Module 5 Accountability and Humility
Face the particular dangers of solitary study and find ways to be corrected.
Topics
- Spiritual accountability
- Spiritual pride
- Self-deception and confirmation bias
- Humility in independent study
Lessons
Module 6 Building Your Framework
Bring the course together by relating private devotion to communal Christianity and writing your own framework.
Topics
- Private devotion and communal Christianity
- Writing and revising a personal framework
Lessons
Suggested schedule
| When | Work |
|---|---|
| Week 1 | Module 1: What Solitude Is and Is Not |
| Week 2 | Module 2: The Long Tradition |
| Week 3 | Module 3: The Church and the Solitary Christian |
| Week 4 | Module 4: Independence and Its Limits |
| Week 5 | Module 5: Accountability and Humility |
| Week 6 | Module 6: Building Your Framework |
| Week 7 | Independent assignment and self-assessment |
Readings
Required
- Athanasius of Alexandria, Life of St. Anthony
The story of Anthony of Egypt that spread the ideal of the desert across the Christian world. Central to the solitary tradition.
How to use it: Read the whole Life. Notice how often Anthony receives visitors, gives counsel and seeks correction, and how Athanasius presents him as obedient to the church.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library - Benedicta Ward, trans., The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection
The standard English translation of the short sayings of the desert elders. Read a few every day.
How to use it: Read a few sayings each day across the course, not all at once. Copy three that challenge you into your notebook.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - John Cassian, The Conferences
Conversations with desert elders about prayer, discernment and the inner life. Core reading for Courses 17 and 20.
How to use it: Read the conferences on prayer and on discernment. They are long; read at least one of each.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library - Benedict of Nursia, The Rule of St. Benedict
The short, sensible rule that shaped Western monastic life. The best model for writing a personal rule of life.
How to use it: Read the Prologue and chapters 1 to 7 first. Treat it as a model for writing your own rule of life.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library)Another translation (Project Gutenberg) In the library - Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies
The first great defense of apostolic teaching against Gnostic rivals. Essential for the question of how Scripture and tradition relate.
How to use it: Read Book 3, chapters 1 to 4, on Scripture and the apostolic tradition.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library - Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church
The authoritative modern summary of Catholic teaching. Read it to understand what Catholics actually claim, in their own words.
How to use it: Read the sections on the church and on the sacraments to learn the Catholic position in its own words.
Read online (Vatican) In the library
Recommended
- Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God
Short letters and conversations of a lay brother who learned to pray while washing dishes. Ideal for solitary practice.
How to use it: A short and practical model of prayer in ordinary life.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Thomas a Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
A quiet devotional classic loved by Christians of every tradition.
How to use it: Read Book 1 for warnings about spiritual pride and curiosity.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Tertullian, The Prescription Against Heretics
A sharp early argument about who may interpret Scripture and by what authority. Read it alongside Irenaeus.
How to use it: Compare its argument about interpretation with Irenaeus.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library - Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Ephesians
One of the seven letters Ignatius wrote on his way to martyrdom. Important in the debate about bishops, church and Eucharist.
How to use it: An early picture of the church gathered around its bishop.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library - John of Damascus, An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith
The eighth-century summary of Eastern doctrine. A standard way into how Orthodox theology organizes the faith.
How to use it: For the Orthodox account of the church and the sacraments.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library - John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion
The most influential Reformed theology. Book IV is the best statement of the Reformed view of church and sacraments.
How to use it: Read Book 4, chapters 1 to 3, for the Reformed account of the church.
Read online (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith
The classic confession of English-speaking Reformed and Presbyterian Protestantism. It is printed in Schaff’s volume of Protestant creeds; use the contents list to find it.
How to use it: Chapters 25 to 31 for a Protestant confession on church and sacraments.
Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3 (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) In the library - Timothy (Kallistos) Ware, The Orthodox Church
A widely used introduction to Orthodox history, worship and belief written by an Orthodox bishop.
How to use it: An accessible introduction to Orthodox belief and worship.
Find in a library or bookstore catalog (Open Library) In the library - John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood
A fourth-century dialogue on the weight of the priestly office. Useful for the questions of ordination and church authority.
How to use it: On the weight and the limits of the priestly office.
Read online (New Advent (Church Fathers)) In the library
Passages in the Scripture Study
- Matthew 6:6 Jesus on private prayer.
- Mark 1:35 Jesus rises early and prays in a solitary place.
- Luke 5:16 Jesus withdraws to pray, yet remains among the people.
- 1 Kings 19:9 Elijah on Horeb, and the gentle whisper.
- Galatians 1:15 Paul’s time in Arabia, and his later conferring with the apostles.
- Matthew 18:20 Where two or three are gathered.
- Acts 2:42 The first believers’ common life.
- Acts 8:26 Philip and the Ethiopian official: a seeker who needed a guide.
- Hebrews 10:24 The call to meet together and encourage one another.
- 1 Corinthians 12:12 One body, many members.
- Ephesians 4:11 Teachers and ministries given to the church.
- Acts 17:11 The Bereans examine the Scriptures.
- 1 John 4:1 Test the spirits.
- Proverbs 12:15 The wise listen to advice.
- Galatians 6:1 Restoring one another gently.
- Romans 12:3 Think of yourself with sober judgment.
Independent assignment
Your Framework for Solitary Christian Life
- Purpose
- To bring together what you have learned into a written, honest and workable plan for your own Christian life, with its strengths and its safeguards.
- Instructions
- Describe your present situation in a few honest paragraphs: whether you attend a church, why or why not, and what you hope this way of life will give you.
- Define solitude, isolation and withdrawal from responsibility in your own words. Name one way your current life could slide from solitude toward isolation.
- Write a rule of life: the daily, weekly and yearly practices you intend to keep (prayer, Scripture, study, fasting, rest, the Christian year), modeled on at least one historical source from the course.
- State what you will do about the practices that the historic traditions say need ordained ministry or a church community. For baptism, the Lord’s Supper or Eucharist, confession and blessing, say what you believe each tradition teaches and what you will do about it. You may decide to take part occasionally, to attend a church for those practices, to hold a different conviction, or to wait. Give reasons.
- Describe at least three safeguards against self-deception and pride (for example a trusted reader, a written list of what would change your mind, regular reading of voices that disagree with you).
- Describe the people with whom you will keep real fellowship and accountability, and how. Be concrete: who, how often, about what.
- List the sources you will use to evaluate teachers and online voices, and the three questions you will always ask of a teacher.
- Write a short statement of how you will check this framework, with dates for review at 30 and 90 days.
- Required sources
- At least four of the required readings.
- At least five of the Scripture passages listed for this course.
- At least one Catholic, one Orthodox and one Protestant source on the church or the sacraments.
- Length and scope
- About 2,500 to 4,000 words, or eight to twelve pages. Keep it in your own notebook or document. Do not send it anywhere.
- Questions to address
- What is my purpose in living this way?
- Where could I be wrong without knowing it?
- Who can tell me that I am wrong, and have I given them permission?
- What do I believe about the church, and why?
- What will I do on a day when I do not want to pray?
- Expected output
- A written framework in your own words, with a rule of life, a statement on church and sacraments, a list of safeguards, a plan for fellowship and a review date.
- How it will be evaluated
- It defines its key terms accurately.
- It uses historical sources correctly and cites them.
- It states the positions of the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions fairly, even where you disagree.
- It names real risks and real safeguards instead of general good intentions.
- It is concrete enough that someone else could see whether you kept it.
- It shows humility without avoiding firm conclusions.
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating solitude as proof of spiritual maturity.
- Describing the traditions’ views from memory or from critics instead of from their own texts.
- Writing a plan that depends on feeling inspired.
- Listing accountability without naming a person.
- Skipping the practices you find awkward, such as the sacraments, without giving a reason.
Knowledge check and self-assessment
What is the difference between solitude, isolation and withdrawal from responsibility?
Solitude is time or a manner of life spent apart from others on purpose, for prayer, study and rest, while keeping relationships and duties. Isolation is being cut off from others in a way that harms, whether it was chosen or not. Withdrawal from responsibility is using solitude as a way to avoid obligations to family, neighbors or work. The first is a discipline; the other two are ways it goes wrong.
Who was Anthony of Egypt, and why does he matter to this course?
Anthony was an Egyptian Christian of the third and fourth centuries who withdrew to the desert to pray. Athanasius wrote his biography, the Life of Anthony, which spread the desert ideal across the Christian world. He is often called a founder of Christian monasticism. The Life also shows him receiving visitors and giving counsel, which is important for the question of solitude and community.
What is the difference between eremitic and cenobitic monasticism?
Eremitic (from a Greek word for desert) describes the life of a hermit who lives alone or with very few others. Cenobitic (from words for common life) describes monks living together in a community under a rule. Pachomius is traditionally credited with organizing the cenobitic form in Egypt.
Why do the major traditions say that some practices need a church and ordained ministers?
Because they understand the sacraments as acts of the church and not only of the individual. Catholic and Orthodox Christians hold that the Eucharist requires an ordained priest. Most Protestants hold that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are given to the gathered church and administered by authorized ministers, though they differ on who is authorized. Quakers practice neither in outward form. The point of the question is to learn each position accurately, not to settle which is right.
Why do the historic traditions warn about private interpretation of Scripture?
Because people read their own assumptions into the text without noticing. Early writers such as Irenaeus and Tertullian argued that Scripture should be read within the church’s received teaching. Protestants stress the right and duty of every believer to read Scripture, but they also build confessions, catechisms and teaching offices to guard against error. The warning is about pride and self-deception, not against reading.
Give three questions you can ask of any teacher, online or not.
Examples: Does the teaching agree with Scripture and the historic creeds, or does it claim a secret or new revelation? Is the teacher accountable to anyone, and open to correction? Does the teacher state sources and uncertainty honestly, or rely on pressure, fear or money? Other sensible questions are possible; the answer should be consistent and fair, not based on whether you like the teacher.
What is confirmation bias, and how can you guard against it in your own study?
Confirmation bias is the habit of noticing evidence that supports what you already believe and overlooking evidence that does not. You can guard against it by reading the strongest case for the position you disagree with, writing down in advance what would change your mind, and asking a trusted reader to challenge your conclusions.
Why does this course not claim that solitary Christians are better than those who attend a church?
Because Scripture describes the church as one body with many members, because the desert tradition itself warned against spiritual pride, and because a believer in solitude is as liable to deception as anyone else. Solitude is one path among several, with its own gifts and its own dangers.
Judge your own progress
- When you finish the modules, answer the knowledge questions from memory, without notes. Aim for 70 percent or better; if you score lower, reread the relevant module and try again.
- Write your framework (the independent assignment). Wait three days, reread it, and mark every place where you were vague.
- Check your work against the evaluation criteria in the assignment. Rate each criterion as strong, adequate or weak and write one sentence on how you would improve each weak one.
- Return to the key ideas of the course after 1 day, 7 days, 30 days and 90 days. At each point, explain aloud the difference between solitude and isolation, and what you do about the practices that need a church.
- You can explain the main terms and the main figures without notes.
- You can state three traditions’ views on the church and sacraments so that a member of each would recognize them.
- Your framework is concrete, reviewable and honest about risk.