Being a monastic church; the Protestant Church in the Netherlands and the monastic movement

While more and more monasteries have to close their doors because the communities of religious living there have become too old and too small, at the same time initiatives related to or inspired by the monastic tradition flourish in many places in the Netherlands. These include not only spiritual practices such as retreats and pilgrimages, silence celebrations and  praying the hours, Christian meditation and lectio divina, but also forms of community life such as Christian communities and city monasteries.