In an article in the Catholic Herald of the UK, a British nun describes her year as an anchoress. In the article — titled “How I became a medieval-style anchorite” — the anonymous author explains:
Before 2003 I thought that hermits were extinct — as dead as a Dodo. I had heard of some of the medieval hermit saints, but in the 21st century, in Britain, surely not.
Yet now I am an anchorite, as was Julian of Norwich, and for one precious year the bishop locked me in. I had a bed area, a shower room, an enclosed garden of 10 square feet, and my oratory with the wicket window opening into our chapel. I had stable doors, the top half being under my control, the lower half locked. I was a “prisoner of the Lord”: no radio, phone, or internet. It was a wonderful year, but due to us moving it could not be prolonged after the initial trial year.
The author usefully summarizes the activities of the historical hermit and the distinction between hermits, solitaries, recluses, and anchorites. She places the live of the anchorite in the perspective of her faith, and ends with the famous quote of Simeon the New Theologian:
Let me alone, sheltered in my cell.
Let me be with God, who alone is good.
Why should I move out of my cell?
Back to that which I left?
Let me be.
I want to cry and mourn over the days and nights I have wasted.
URL: http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/2012/02/29/how-i-became-a-medieval-style-anchorite/