Acoemeti

The Acoemeti, also the "sleepless monks," were an order of Eastern monks, founded about 425 AD by Alexander the Acoemete, a nobleman of Byzantium. The order flourished in the 5th and 6th centuries. The monks sang the Divine Office in relays, thus maintaining a continuous service of praise to God.

Owing to the hostility of the Patriarch Nestorius and Emperor Theodosius, Alexander was persecuted and unable to do more than begin the order. His successor, Abbot John, followed by the third abbot Marcellus, were able to found abbeys and establish themselves by the 460s. An important abbey was founded at Agaunum in Valais in 515. Later, they would support the Holy See in Rome against Constantinople, but their insistence on certain rights caused Rome to question their loyalty. The order was excommunicated by Rome in 534 by Pope John II.

Thereafter the order would steadily collapse over the next century. The abbey at Agaunum accepted the teachings of Rome and continues in existence to this day.