Hermit
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A hermit, also known as an eremite or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Saint Jerome, who lived as a hermit near Bethlehem, depicted in his study being visited by two angels (by Cavarozzi, early 17th century)
Eremitic cave in Spain
Church of the hermitage Our Lady of the Enclosed Garden in Warfhuizen, Netherlands
St. Seraphim of Sarov sharing his meal with a bear
Anchorite
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In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. Anc
Hermit
…and secular literature, the term "hermit" is used loosely for any Christian living a secluded prayer-focused life, and sometimes interchangeably with anchorite/anchoress, recluse, and "solitary". Other religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam (Sufism), and Taoism, afford examples of hermits in the form of adherents…
An anchorite's cell in Holy Trinity Church, Skipton
Christine Carpenter was walled in to a cell in St James's Church in Shere, Surrey.
The Anchorite (1881), by Teodor Axentowicz
Anthony the Great, father of Christian Monasticism and early anchorite. The Coptic inscription reads 'Ⲡⲓⲛⲓϣϯ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲁⲛⲧⲱⲛⲓ' or 'The Great Father Anthony'.