Towards the end of the 5th century, the son of a wealthy Italian family set off into isolation on a mission to truly seek God. This man was Saint Benedict, who is credited with the first institution of concept of retreat from all temptation for Christian beliefs in the West. Saint Benedict left his home and went to the top of a mountain, where he established a monastic community. In this community the people who lived there constantly reaffirmed their faith. They sacrificed everything they had to demonstrate their true commitment to God. This became one of the early ideals of Christianity, that one must suffer loss and sacrifice to demonstrate one's loyalty to the faith. During this period it was believed that if you are satisfied only with what you really need you are freer to think of other people and to think of God. These individuals were called Clerics Regular (monks) and were considered heroes of the faith. Benedict created three main characteristics that a Christian who truly seeks God should have. The first is to live at peace with others, not always wanting to have his own way, or having an exaggerated idea of ​​himself. The second is to live simply, not wanting to own many things to feel important and secure. The third and final major theme of St. Benedict is to pray often and read the Bible. These features were added, but the three main ones were the basis of the belief. From these three originals the foundation of the monastery was built. Another saint who had a great influence on the church was St. Augustine. St. Augustine supported the idea that Christianity gave meaning and purpose to life. He believed that “Christians are not born but made. St. Augustine was the author of a very influential book in the history of the church. This book was “The City of God”. This book told the history of the church and demonstrated its historical validity. He believed that civilization was useless and that as faith increases, civilization should decrease. The “City of the World” is the opposite of the “City of God”, it brings temptations and must be resisted. This reference to civilization was aimed at Rome.St. Cuthbert also added something to the monastic tradition. He also isolated himself to affirm his faith. After his death, after many years of faithfulness to the faith, he was for... half of the paper... in subsequent centuries, they did not work as hard, or suffer equally sacrifice and separation from materialistic possessions and luxuries. The church and the congregation itself also underwent a dramatic change. The church has progressed with the times to become a powerful institution not only religiously, but also politically, economically and even socially. With this rise to power in many different spheres beyond religion came involvement in many different spheres of society. These social ties created an involvement in the “City of the World” that took away aspects of the “City of God”. In conclusion, the decline of the monasteries and ultimately the “City of God” was due to the rise of the “City of the World”. The “City of the World” was the antithesis of the “City of God”. They can be seen otherwise as Church and State. When one was strong and powerful, the other could not be. The two could not exist in equilibrium. So the fittest survived, and as times changed, this became the “City of the World”. The king, who for a certain period of history was strongly influenced by the church, took control of the Priory of Durham and all its worldly possessions.