entered the Order of Penitents voluntarily. They accepted the interdicts of the Order which by that time included: not to participate in military service not to be merchants not to occupy public office to refrain from conjugal relations if married, and to be celibate if single not allowed to remarry if widowed single penitents could not marry while in the Order (this was later abrogated) 5th and 6th centuries Monastic asceticism, which was popularized by the Desert Fathers of the East, such as St. Anthony the Great and St. Basil, moved into Europe. St. Benedict of Nursia was the founder of western or Benedictine monasticism in A.D. 529. The emphasis was on communal living under a rule and a life given to prayer, work and charity. Entering a monastery became a substitute for public penance. In the monasteries, a penitential tax or private penance was developed which was less strenuous than the public penances. This was the beginning of penitential commutation. 7th through 11th centuries In Italy and Spain, public or Roman Penance was dominant. Those upon whom penance was imposed and those who accepted the life voluntarily were forbidden to associate with the militia saecularis or secular militia. This included holding civil offices or being a merchant (militia saecularis togata) and from bearing arms (militia saecularis paludata). Fasting, which had always been part of the penitential discipline, became more regularized, and three major times of fasting were observed, Advent, Lent (prior to Easter), and a period after Pentecost. There were also two minor Lents. Other periods of fasting and abstinence could be imposed. 12th and 13th centuries The penitential movement became popular among the laity after the Gregorian Reform at the end of the 11th century. Introduced around A.D. 950, corporal penance or voluntary flagellation became more known. Also almsgiving as a penitential act became more common. There was also the rise of the Donati and the Oblates, who put themselves in the service of God by attaching themselves in service to a particular church or monastery. In all cases, the emphasis of the penance was to practice justice and mercy, to trust in God, to be of pure heart and intent, to have a zeal for Christ and the Scripture, and to be open to God's grace and inspiration. Most of the participants had little or no formal theological training and many developed heretical beliefs. Types of penitents