The monastic movement among Christians appeared rather spontaneously and
initially it did not have any community dimension. When it began to take organized
forms it encountered a wide variety of responses from other Christians,
from some admiration to critique. The article attempts to answer the question of
the meaning and the role of monastic communities towards the Church according
to St. Augustine. It presents, how the Bishop of Hippo perceived the purpose of
separating the communicty from society, and to what extent he was aware of the
value of the involvement of monks in the life of the whole Church
