Wikipedia
A Skete (from Coptic ϣⲓ(ϩ)ⲏⲧ via Gk. σκήτη), is a monastic community in Eastern Christianity that allows relative isolation for monks, but also allows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection. It is one of four early monastic orders along with the eremitic, lavritic and coenobitic that became popular during the early formation of the Christian Church.
Skete communities usually consist of a number of small cells or caves that act as the living quarters with a centralized church or chapel. These communities are thought of as a bridge between strict hermetic lifestyle and communal lifestyles since it was a blend of the two. These communities were a direct response to the ascetic lifestyle that early Christians aspired to live. Skete communities were often a bridge to a stricter form of hermitage or to martyrdom. The term Skete is most likely a reference to the Scetis valley region of Egypt where Skete communities first appear, but a few scholars have argued that it instead is a stylized spelling of the word ascetic.
Usage examples of "skete".
Because he really grabbed onto the book, the whole monks of New Skete thing, and he used all of it against Margaret.
Although none of us ever saw her puppy - he was too young to bring to class - we certainly heard about him, and those of us who were reading the monks of New Skete felt a lot of sympathy for him.
According to the monks of New Skete, your dog should sleep in your bedroom.
But it did not become well known until the beginning of the nineteenth century, when it was at the forefront of a revival in the medieval hermitic tradition and a hermitage, or skete, was built within its walls.
The building of the skete was a radical departure from the Spiritual Regulations of the Holy Synod, which had banned such hermitages since 1721.
The skete was the key to the renaissance of the monastery in the nineteenth century.