Order of Saint Benedict
Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
Ora et Labora
(Latin, "Pray and Work")
|Formation||c. AD 529|
|Type||Catholic religious order|
|Founder||Benedict of Nursia|
The Order of Saint Benedict (OSB; Latin: Ordo Sancti Benedicti), also known – in reference to the colour of its members' habits – as the Black Monks, is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of Saint Benedict. Each community (monastery, priory or abbey) within the order maintains its own autonomy, while the order itself represents their mutual interests. The terms "Order of Saint Benedict" and "Benedictine Order" are, however, also used to refer to Benedictine communities in toto, sometimes giving the incorrect impression that there exists a generalate or motherhouse with jurisdiction over them.
Internationally, the order is governed by the Benedictine Confederation, a body, established in 1883 by Pope Leo XIII's Brief Summum semper, whose head is known as the Abbot Primate. Individuals whose communities are members of the order generally add the initials "OSB" after their names.
- 1 Historical development
- 2 Benedictine vow and life
- 3 Famous Benedictines
- 4 See also
- 5 Notes
- 6 References
- 7 Further reading
- 8 External links
The monastery at Subiaco in Italy, established by Saint Benedict of Nursia circa 529, was the first of the dozen monasteries he founded. There is no evidence, however, that he intended to found an order and the Rule of St Benedict presupposes the autonomy of each community. As most monasteries founded during the Middle Ages adopted the Rule of St Benedict, it became a standard form of Western monasticism despite the absence of a Benedictine order.
Today, Benedictine monasticism is fundamentally different from other Western religious orders insofar as its individual communities are not part of a religious order with "Generalates" and "Superiors General". Rather, in modern times, the various autonomous houses have formed themselves loosely into congregations (for example, Cassinese, English, Solesmes, Subiaco, Camaldolese, Sylvestrines) that in turn are represented in the Benedictine Confederation that came into existence through Pope Leo XIII's Apostolic Brief "Summum semper" on July 12, 1883. This organization facilitates dialogue of Benedictine communities with each other and the relationship between Benedictine communities and other religious orders and the church at large.
The Rule of Saint Benedict is also used by a number of religious orders that began as reforms of the Benedictine tradition such as the Cistercians and Trappists although none of these groups are part of the Benedictine Confederation.
The largest number of Benedictines are Roman Catholics, but there are also some within the Anglican Communion and occasionally within other Christian denominations as well, for example, within the Lutheran Church.
In the English Reformation, all monasteries were dissolved and their lands confiscated by the Crown, forcing their Catholic members to flee into exile on the Continent. During the 19th century they were able to return to England, including to Selby Abbey in Yorkshire, one of the few great monastic churches to survive the Dissolution.
St. Mildred's Priory, on the Isle of Thanet, Kent, was built in 1027 on the site of an abbey founded in 670 by the daughter of the first Christian King of Kent. Currently the priory is home to a community of Benedictine nuns. Four of the most notable English abbeys are the Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, Ealing Abbey in Ealing, West London, St. Lawrence's in Yorkshire (Ampleforth Abbey), and Worth Abbey. Prinknash Abbey, used by Henry VIII as a hunting lodge, was officially returned to the Benedictines four hundred years later, in 1928. During the next few years, so-called Prinknash Park was used as a home until it was returned to the order.
Since the Oxford Movement, there has also been a modest flourishing of Benedictine monasticism in the Anglican Church and Protestant Churches. Anglican Benedictine Abbots are invited guests of the Benedictine Abbot Primate in Rome at Abbatial gatherings at Sant'Anselmo. There are an estimated 2,400 celibate Anglican Religious (1,080 men and 1,320 women) in the Anglican Communion as a whole, some of whom have adopted the Rule of St. Benedict. For a full list of all historic Benedictine houses in England and Wales, see below.
Monasticism had been introduced into the region of modern France during the Roman era by Saint Martin of Tours, who founded the first monastery in Western Europe. The Rule of St. Benedict was promoted by various rulers of France, especially the House of Capet. Figures such as Benedict of Aniane were authorized by the Emperor Louis the Pious and his successors to promote its adoption by monasteries throughout the Holy Roman Empire. It expanded throughout the next millennium, growing through periods of revival and decay over the centuries. Monasteries were among the institutions of the Catholic Church swept away during the French Revolution.
Monasteries were again allowed to form in the 19th century under the Bourbon Restoration. Later that century, under the Third French Republic, laws were enacted preventing religious teaching. The original intent was to allow secular schools. Thus in 1880 and 1882, Benedictine teaching monks were effectively exiled; this was not completed until 1901.
Benedictine vow and life
Section 17 in chapter 58 of the Rule of Saint Benedict states the solemn promise candidates for reception into a Benedictine community are required to make: a promise of stability (i.e. to remain in the same community), conversatio morum (an idiomatic Latin phrase suggesting "conversion of manners"; see below) and obedience (to the community's superior, seen as holding the place of Christ within it). This solemn commitment tends to be referred to as the "Benedictine vow" and is the Benedictine antecedent and equivalent of the evangelical counsels professed by candidates for reception into a religious order.
Much scholarship over the last fifty years has been dedicated to the translation and interpretation of "conversatio morum". The older translation "conversion of life" has generally been replaced with phrases such as "[conversion to] a monastic manner of life", drawing from the Vulgate's use of conversatio as a translation of "citizenship" or "homeland" in Philippians 3:20. Some scholars have claimed that the vow formula of the Rule is best translated as "to live in this place as a monk, in obedience to its rule and abbot."
Benedictine abbots and abbesses have full jurisdiction of their abbey and thus absolute authority over the monks or nuns who are resident. This authority includes the power to assign duties, to decide which books may or may not be read, to regulate comings and goings, and to punish and to excommunicate, in the sense of an enforced isolation from the monastic community.
A tight communal timetable – the horarium – is meant to ensure that the time given by God is not wasted but used in God's service, whether for prayer, work, meals, spiritual reading or sleep.
Although Benedictines do not take a vow of silence, hours of strict silence are set, and at other time silence is maintained as much as is practically possible. Social conversations tend to be limited to communal recreation times. But such details, like the many other details of the daily routine of a Benedictine house that the Rule of St Benedict leaves to the discretion of the superior, are set out in its customary.[clarification needed]
In the Roman Catholic Church, according to the norms of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, a Benedictine abbey is a "religious institute" and its members are therefore members of the consecrated life. While Canon Law 588 §1 explains that Benedictine monks are "neither clerical nor lay", they can, however, be ordained. Benedictine Oblates endeavor to embrace the spirit of the Benedictine vow in their own life in the world.
- Pope Gregory I (c540–604, r. 590–604)
- Pope Sylvester II (c 946–1003, r. 999–1003)
- Pope Gregory VII (c 1020–85, r. 1073–85)
- Pope Victor III (c 1026–87, r. 1086–87)
- Pope Paschal II (d. 1118, r. 1099–1118)
- Pope Gelasius II (d. 1119, r. 1118–19)
- Pope Celestine V (1215–96, r. 1294)
- Pope Clement VI (1291–1352, r. 1342–52)
- Pope Urban V (1310–70, r. 1362–70)
- Pope Pius VII (1742–1823, r. 1800–23)
- Pope Gregory XVI (1765–1846, r. 1831–46)
Apostles and missionaries
- Augustine of Canterbury (d. 604)
- Saint Boniface (c 680–755)
- Willibrord (c 658–739)
- Suitbert of Kaiserwerdt (d. 713)
- Rupert of Salzburg (c 660–710)
- Saint Sturm (c 705–79)
- Ansgar (801–65)
- Wolfgang of Regensburg (934–994)
- Adalbert of Prague (c 956–97)
- Gerard Sagredo (c 980-1046)
Founders of abbeys and congregations and prominent reformers
- Earconwald (c. 630–93)
- Benedict Biscop (c. 628–90)
- Leudwinus (c. 665–713)
- Benedict of Aniane (747–821)
- Dunstan (909–88)
- Berno of Cluny (c. 850–927)
- Odo of Cluny (c. 878–942)
- Majolus of Cluny (c. 906-94)
- Odilo of Cluny (c. 962–c. 1048)
- Bernard of Cluny (d. 1109)
- Peter the Venerable (c. 1092–1156)
- Romuald (c. 956–c. 1026)
- Robert of Molesme (c. 1028–1111)
- Alberic of Cîteaux (d. 1109)
- Stephen Harding (d. 1134)
- Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
- William of Hirsau (c. 1030–91)
- John Gualbert (995–1073)
- Stephen of Obazine (1084–1154)
- Robert of Arbrissel (c. 1045–1116)
- William of Montevergine (1085–1142)
- Sylvester Gozzolini (1177–1267)
- Bernardo Tolomei (1272–1348)
- Laurent Bénard (1573–1620)
- Prosper Guéranger (1805–1875)
- Jean-Baptiste Muard (1809–1854)
- Boniface Wimmer (1809–1887)
- Maurus Wolter (1825-1890)
- Martin Marty (1834–96)
- Andreas Amrhein (1844-1927)
- Sr. Margit Slachta,SSS (or Schlachta,1884–1974)
Scholars, historians, and spiritual writers
- Jonas of Bobbio (600-659)
- Bede (673–735)
- Aldhelm (c 639–709)
- Alcuin (d. 804)
- Rabanus Maurus (c 780–856)
- Paschasius Radbertus (785–865)
- Ratramnus (d. 866)
- Walafrid Strabo (c 808–49)
- Notker Labeo (c 950–1022)
- Guido of Arezzo (991–1050)
- Hermann of Reichenau (1013–54)
- Paul the Deacon (c 720–99)
- Hincmar (806–82)
- Saint Maurus of Pécs (c 1000–c 1075)
- Peter Damian (c 1007–72)
- Lanfranc (c 1005–89)
- Anselm of Canterbury (c 1033–1109)
- Eadmer (c 1060–c1126)
- Florence of Worcester (d. 1118)
- Symeon of Durham (d. 1130)
- Jocelyn de Brakelond (d. 1211)
- Matthew Paris (c 1200–59)
- William of Malmesbury (c 1095–c1143)
- Gervase of Canterbury (c 1141–c1210)
- Roger of Wendover (d. 1236)
- Peter the Deacon (d. 1140)
- Adam Easton (d. 1397)
- Honoré Bonet (c 1340–c1410)
- John Lydgate (c 1370–c 1451)
- John Whethamstede (d. 1465)
- Johannes Trithemius (1462–1516)
- Louis de Blois (1506–66)
- Benedict van Haeften (1588–1648)
- Augustine Baker (1575–1641)
- Jean Mabillon (1632-1707)
- Antoine Augustin Calmet (1672–1757)
- Magnoald Ziegelbauer (1689–1750)
- Marquard Herrgott (1694–1762)
- Luigi Tosti (1811–97)
- Jean Baptiste François Pitra (1812–89)
- Suitbert Bäumer (1845–94)
- Francis Aidan Gasquet (1846–1929)
- Fernand Cabrol (1855–1937)
- Germain Morin (1861–1946)
- John Chapman (1865–1933)
- Cuthbert Butler (1858–1934)
- Nicolas-Hugues Ménard (1585–1644)
- Luc d'Achery (1609–85)
- Antoine-Joseph Mège (1625–91)
- Thierry Ruinart (1657–1709)
- François Lamy (1636–1711)
- Pierre Coustant (1654–1721)
- Edmond Martène (1654–1739)
- Ursin Durand (1682–1771)
- Bernard de Montfaucon (1655–1741)
- René-Prosper Tassin (1697–1777)
Bishops and martyrs
- Laurence of Canterbury (d. 619)
- Mellitus (d. 624)
- Justus (d. 627)
- Paulinus of York (d. 644)
- Leudwinus (c. 665–713)
- Oda of Canterbury (d. 958)
- Bertin (c 615–c709)
- Wilfrid (c 633–c 709)
- Cuthbert (c 634–87)
- John of Beverley (d. 721)
- Swithun (d. 862)
- Æthelwold of Winchester (d. 984)
- Edmund Rich (1175–1240)
- Abbot Suger (c 1081–1151)
- John Beche (d. 1539)
- Richard Whiting (d. 1539)
- Hugh Cook Faringdon (d. 1539)
- Sigebert Buckley (c 1520–c 1610)
- John Roberts (1577-1610)
- Gabriel Gifford (1554–1629)
- Alban Roe (1583-1642)
- Philip Michael Ellis (1652–1726)
- Charles Walmesley (1722–97)
- William Placid Morris (1794–1872)
- John Polding (1794–1877)
- William Bernard Ullathorne (1806–89)
- Roger Vaughan (1834–83)
- Guglielmo Sanfelice d'Acquavilla (1834–97)
- Joseph Pothier (1835–1923)
- John Cuthbert Hedley (1837–1915)
- Domenico Serafini (1852–1918)
- Basil Hume (1923-1999)
- Scholastica (c 480–547)
- Æthelthryth (c 636–79)
- Hilda of Whitby (c 614–80)
- Werburh (d. 699)
- Mildthryth (d. early 7th century)
- Saint Walpurga (c 710–79)
- Wulfthryth of Wilton (c 937-1000)
- Saint Edith of Wilton (c 961-984)
- Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179)
- Gertrude the Great (1256 – c 1302)
- Teresa Forcades (1966)
- Emperor Henry II (972-1024)
- Frances of Rome (1384–1440)
- Joris-Karl Huysmans (1848-1907)
- Romano Guardini (1885-1968)
- Dorothy Day (1897–1980)
- Walker Percy (1916-1990)
- Ampleforth Abbey
- Linton Hall School
- Melk Abbey
- Missionary Benedictines
- Saint Anselm Abbey
- St. Benedict Abbey (Still River, MA)
- St. Vincent Archabbey
- Sisters of Social Service
- Westminster Abbey
- Subiaco Abbey and Academy
- Colin Battell, OSB, "Spirituality on the beach," The Tablet 2 December 2006, 18-19. The late Cardinal Basil Hume was Abbot of Ampleforth Abbey before being appointed Archbishop of Westminster.
- Christopher Martin A Glimpse of Heaven: Catholic Churches in England and Wales (London: English Heritage, 2007). Examines the abbeys rebuilt after 1850 (by benefactors among the Catholic aristocracy and recusant squirearchy), mainly Benedictine but including a Cistercian Abbey at Mount St. Bernard (by Pugin) and a Carthusian Charterhouse in Sussex. There is a review of book by Richard Lethbridge "Monuments to Catholic confidence," The Tablet 10 February 2007, 27.
- http://www.advent.org: Prinknash Abbey.
- Mian Ridge "Prinknash monks downsize," The Tablet 12 November 2005, 34.
- Daniel Rees, "Anglican Monasticism," in Encyclopedia of Monasticism ed. William Johnston (New York: Fitzroy Dearborn Publisher, 2000), 29.
-  retrieved November 29, 2008.
-  retrieved November 29, 2008.
- CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Benedictine Order. Newadvent.org. Retrieved on 2013-09-07.
- Wootton and Fishbourne. Ryde.shalfleet.net (2013-08-04). Retrieved on 2013-09-07.
- RGM 2005 OCSO. Citeaux.net (1947-02-28). Retrieved on 2013-09-07.
- "928". Catechism of the Catholic Church. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
- "Based on List from Catholic Encyclopedia". Newadvent.org. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "The Benedictine Order". Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
- Dom Columba Marmion OSB, Christ the Ideal of the Monk – Spiritual Conferences on the Monastic and Religious Life (Engl. edition London 1926, trsl. from the French by a nun of Tyburn Convent).
- Mariano Dell'Omo, Storia del monachesimo occidentale dal medioevo all'età contemporanea. Il carisma di san Benedetto tra VI e XX secolo. Jaca Book, Milano 2011. ISBN 978-88-16-30493-2
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benedictines.|
- R Dom Luke Dysinger, The Benedictine Family Tree
- The Benedictines: An Introduction
- "The Benedictine Order" Catholic Encyclopedia
- Confoederatio Benedictina Ordinis Sancti Benedicti, the Benedictine Confederation of Congregations
- Links of the Congregations