Monasticism has played a prominent role in Hosianism, particularly in the Patriarchal Churches. Hosian monks and nuns form monastic communities in order to live their lives under monastic rules intended to emulate the example of Eliyahu and the Hosioi in a life of prayer, contemplation and good works. The origins of Hosian monasticism are found in individual ascetics who retreated from the world to live such lives; when they formed communities, the first monasteries were born. The first known rule, known as the Asketikon of St. Agathon, originated in the Augustan Empire and is attributed to St. Agathon, Bishop of Limenos. It is still the rule most practiced within the Augustan Church, which by tradition draws most of its Bishops from among tonsured monks. In the west, monastic traditions w