Christian monastic life got its start in the Orthodox Church. Christians are called to be in the world but not of the world. In the early centuries after Christ, Christians struggled to remain true to the faith and developed ascetic practices. Some Christians drew away from the world to the desert to live alone with God. Others fled from Roman persecution. Surprisingly, it was not persecution, but freedom that caused monasticism to flourish. Monasticism thrived after Constantine the Great declared Christianity the legal religion of the Roman Empire in 313. Fearing that their ethical life would decline as Christianity became a popular religion, some Christians left to the desert to remain humble and continue the ascetic life. These early monks were mostly lay people seeking Christian perfection. They lived alone or formed small communities. This category contains information about Orthodox monastic life and Orthodox Monasteries.