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Monastic cell
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<p>A cell is a small room used by a <a href="/facts/Hermit/pzIx54F4">hermit</a>, <a href="/facts/Monk/mDhTrNcB">monk</a>, <a href="/facts/Nun/3mQbmbHv">nun</a> or <a href="/facts/Anchorite/BwvUKsWI">anchorite</a> to live and as a devotional space. Cells are often part of larger <a href="/facts/Cenobitic_monasticism/BE7fue9d">cenobitic monastic</a> communities such as <a href="/facts/Catholic/rJ4F4gqH">Catholic</a>, <a href="/facts/Lutheran/L4pMlRcS">Lutheran</a>, Anglican and Orthodox Christian <a href="/facts/Monasteries/t8MRXpsM">monasteries</a>, as well as <a href="/facts/Buddhist/G0wsjrSl">Buddhist</a> <a href="/facts/Vihara/57LSUwHI">vihara</a>, but may also form stand-alone structures in remote locations. The word <i>cell</i> comes from the <a href="/facts/Old_French/QcRpPdAc">Old French</a> <i>celle</i> meaning a monastic cell, itself from the <a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> meaning "room", "store room" or "chamber". </p><p>Usually, a cell is small and contains a minimum of furnishings. It may be an individual living space in a building or a hermit's primitive solitary living space, possibly a <a href="/facts/Cave/MRUScRTl">cave</a> or <a href="/facts/Hut_(dwelling)/FDH37kMn">hut</a> in a remote location. A small dependent or daughter house of a major monastery, sometimes housing just one or two monks or nuns, may also be termed a cell. </p><p>The first cells were in the <a href="/facts/Nitrian_Desert/G6bzh8Jf">Nitrian Desert</a> in <a href="/facts/Egypt/8Ttg0JwB">Egypt</a> following the ministry of <a href="/facts/Paul_of_Thebes/24p2jKjp">Paul of Thebes</a>, <a href="/facts/Saint_Serapion_of_Thmuis/nnMFv4tr">Serapion</a>, and <a href="/facts/Anthony_the_Great/1DmV5699">Anthony the Great</a>. in the mid 3rd century. </p><p>In some orders, such as the Trappists, the monks or nuns do not have cells but sleep in a large room called a dormitory. In eremitic orders like the <a href="/facts/Carthusians/U1sgmFIl">Carthusians</a>, the room called <i>cell</i> usually has the size and look of a small house with a separate garden. </p>