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Reference.org
Forced monasticism
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<p>Forced monasticism is the practice of compelling a person to enter a <a href="/facts/Monasticism/f0IhfXxb">monastic</a> life without their consent. Historically, it was practiced within <a href="/facts/Christendom/vWEEqosk">Christendom</a> in some places during the <a href="/facts/Middle_Ages/RqzEKB9v">Middle Ages</a> as a way to neutralize political rivals. In <a href="/facts/Russian_tsardom/m0scLsSq">Russian tsardom</a> and <a href="/facts/Russian_Empire/hg1g5SpV">Russian Empire</a> it survived well into the <a href="/facts/Modern_era/uB3yXt4H">Modern era</a>, and most <a href="/facts/Russian_Orthodox_Church/AHbnwM6p">Russian Orthodox Church</a> monasteries were built as prisons, as such they were employed later by the <a href="/facts/Soviet/m7wWsPto">Soviet</a> authorities to serve the country's <a href="/facts/Gulag/rGzKRYt3">Gulag</a> system. </p>