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The Catholic's Benedictine Order The longest lasting of the western monastic orders, the Benedictine Order traces its origins to the adoption of the monastic life by St. Benedict of Nursing (Nokia) in the early 6 th century. Benedict, founder of the monastery of Monte Cassino between Naples and Rome, wrote a "Rule" or plan of life for his monastery that remains an influence on monasticism today, the Rule of St Benedict. The motto of the Benedictine Order is: ora et labora, or "pray and work. " Benedictine life stresses both. Benedict, as leader of the group of men that grew up around him, developed a plan of life that stressed balance and moderation: a vegetarian diet, regular hours for sleep, regular hours for prayer, and regular hours for manual labor. The outline of the Benedictine order needs to be defined more precisely.
The model for the monastic life under Benedict was the family, with the abbot as father and all the monks as brothers. Priesthood was initially an unimportant part of monasticism - monks used the services of their local pastor. Because of this, female monasticism with an abbess as mother worked as well as male monasticism. St.
Benedict (480 -about 550) did not intend to create an order or any new form of Christian life. He was a monk, included in the monastic, hermitic and community tradition developing within Christianity. The first evidenced forms of monastic life originated on the turn of the 3 rd and the 4 th century in Egypt. Monasticism got to Western Europe through the eastern part of the Church. St. Benedict derives from cenobitic tradition (monks living in communities), formed by St.
Pachomius, Basil, Cassino and others. The history of the Benedictine order is marked out by the history of St. Benedicts Rule. St. Benedict formulated it in the early part of the 6 th century.
The Benedictine Rule collects long experience of ancient monks and draws it up into principles of community life in the way that fits splendidly to the needs of thousands of monasteries in Western Europe. The rise of the Benedictine order and its great importance is connected with the time of the Church reform in the 10 th century, in which the monasteries connected with Cluny Abbey played a significant part. At that time there occurred a movement towards poor monasticism among Benedictine monks; new branches arose known nowadays as Cistercians, Cameldalites etc. Only since then one can speak about a separate character of Benedictines as an order. Benedictine abbeys united in various forms of congregations always, however, keeping autonomy of particular houses and preserving their own tradition. A great burden for many abbeys was the imposition by the rulers of the so called command abbots from the 10 th to 16 th century.
Benedictines went through a serious crisis during the Enlightenment because of numerous annulments. The system of centralized authority has never entered into the organization of the Benedictine Order. There is no general or common superior over the whole order other than the pope himself, and the order consists, so to speak, of what are practically a number of orders, called "congregations", each of which is autonomous; all are united, not under the obedience to one general superior, but only by the spiritual bond of allegiance to the same Rule, which may be modified according to the circumstances of each particular house or congregation. The influence exercised by the Order of St. Benedict has manifested itself chiefly in three directions: (1) the conversion of the Teutonic races and other missionary works; (2) the civilization of north-western Europe; (3) educational work and the cultivation of literature and the arts, the forming of libraries, etc. 1) Missionary Work of the Order. At the time of St.
Benedict's death (543) the only countries of Western Europe which had been Christianized were Italy, Spain, Gaul, and part of the British Isles. The remaining countries all received the Gospel during the next few centuries, either wholly or partially through the preaching of the Benedictines. Another phase of Benedictine influence may be founded in the work of those monks who, from the sixth to the twelfth century, so frequently acted as the chosen counselors of kings, and whose wise advice and guidance had much to do with the political history of most of the countries of Europe during that period. (2) Civilizing Influence of the Order. Christianity and civilization go hand in hand, and hence we naturally look to North-western Europe for the effects of the civilizing influences exerted by the Benedictine missionaries. St. Benedict himself began by converting and civilizing the barbarians who overran Italy in the sixth century, the best of whom came and learned the Gospel principles at Monte Cassino.
Previous to the institution of monasticism labor had been regarded as the symbol of slavery and serfdom, but St. Benedict and his followers taught in the West that lesson of free labor which had first been inculcated by the fathers of the desert. Wherever the monks went, those who were not employed in preaching tilled the ground. (3) Educational Work and the Cultivation of Literature. The work of education and the cultivation of literature have always been looked upon as belonging by right to the Benedictines.
In the earliest days of the order it was the custom to receive children in the monasteries that they might be educated by the monks. At first such children were always destined for the monastic state, and St. Benedict legislated in his Rule for their solemn dedication by their parents to the service of God. Besides being the chief educational centers during the middle Ages, the monasteries were, moreover, the workshops where precious manuscripts were collected, preserved, and multiplied. To the monastic transcribers the world is indebted for most of its ancient literature, not only the Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers, but those of the classical authors also.
Benedictine order nowadays. The present day all the congregations of more recent formation have been constituted, with slight variations, on the same plan, which represents the normal and traditional form of government in the order. Uniformity in the various congregations is further secured by what are called Constitutions. These are a series of declarations on the holy Rule, defining its interpretation and application, to which are added other regulations on points of discipline and practice not provided for by St. Benedict.
The constitutions must be approved at Rome, after which they have binding force upon the congregation for which they are intended. Since the thirteenth century every congregation has had its own set of constitutions, in which the principles of the Rule are adapted to the particular work of the congregation to which they apply. Each congregation is composed of a certain number of monasteries, the abbots of which, with other officials and elected representatives, form the general chapter, which exercises legislative and executive authority over the whole body. The power possessed by it is strictly limited and defined in the constitutions. The meetings of the chapter are held usually every two, three, or four years and are presided over by one of the members elected to that office by the rest. Whilst the office of abbot is usually for life, that of the president is generally only for a term of years and the person holding it is not in all cases eligible for continuous re-election.
Each president, either by himself or in conjunction with one or more specially elected visitors, holds canonical visitations of all the houses of his congregation, and by this means the chapter is kept informed of the spiritual and temporal condition of each monastery, and discipline is maintained according to the constitutions. Works Cited The Order of Saint Benedict July 23, 2004 web Catholic Encyclopedia: The Benedictine Order July 23, 2004 web St. Benedict and His Order: A Brief History July 23, 2004 web
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Research essay sample on 6 Th Century Western Europe
