laura

1. (historical, Roman Catholicism) A number of hermitages or cells in the same neighborhood occupied by anchorites who were under the same superiorExamples: "The solitaries of the Thebaid found that they became selfish wild beasts, or went mad, if they remained alone; and they formed themselves into lauras, 'lanes' of huts, convents, under a common abbot or father."

2. (historical, Eastern Orthodoxy) A cluster of cells or caves for hermits, with a church and sometimes a refectory at the centre.Examples: "There were the cenobia, or monasteries proper, where the life was according to the lines laid down by St Basil; and there were the lauras, wherein a semi-eremitical life was followed, the monks living in separate huts within the enclosure."