Most people think that monks are these strange men who walk around in hooded robes, who pray all day and take a bunch of weird vows. One of the most commonly held beliefs is that monks of the Christian faith take a vow of silence. But, it turns out that this vow is a big myth that folks have probably believed for centuries. The truth is that there are no major Christian-based monasteries or religious orders that use a “vow of silence.” It appears that this vow is a misinterpretation of other traditions that take place within these orders and monasteries. For instance, there are certain times when silence is observed, such as silentium, work silence, prayer time, and so forth. During these occasions, the members are not allowed to talk unless it’s necessary. However, even outside of those special times, monks are not encouraged to engage in a bunch of jibber-jabber.
Active monasteries generally want monks only to speak as it pertains to the needs of their jobs within the order. But, numerous books, movies, and TV shows have somehow turned this into the “Vow of Silence.” And to be fair, it’s not like these religious orders are in a hurry to set the outside world straight on this misconception. This makes sense if you stop and think about it, as there are plenty of people who would love to convince everyone in the world they are forbidden from speaking. Such a widely held belief could really come in handy if you’re a big introvert. Some kids attending the South Kitsap High School Vocal Music of Port Orchard, located in Washington state, released a hilarious video featuring these so-called silent monks. The students performed a rendition of “Hallelujah” dressed in big oversized monk robes but did not sing. Rather, they held signs to spell out all the words to the song.
Source: YouTube
The signs were bright yellow with black lettering, spelling out all of the lyrics, and they held each sign up to sync perfectly with the lyrics, which were being sung in a recording. In other words, they were sign-synching.
Source: YouTube
You can watch their creative and hilarious performance in the video below.
