monachists

Updated: May 1, 2025

It was not till the fourth century when imperial persecution had stopped; when Constantine was converted; when the church was allied with the state; when the early faith was itself corrupted; when superstition and vain philosophy had entered the ranks of the faithful; when bishops became courtiers; when churches became both rich and splendid; when synods were brought under political influence; when monachists had established a false principle of virtue; when politics and dogmatics went hand in hand, and emperors enforced the decrees of councils that men of rank entered the church, and the church had a visible influence on the state.

John Lord - The Old Roman World, : the Grandeur and Failure of Its Civilization.