| The international Benedictine monastic order of sisters and brothers was founded by Saint Benedict of Nursia, Italy (480-547), the Patriarch of Western Monasticism. In the sixth century A.D., he wrote what we know as the Rule of Benedict or Regula Benedicti.
Benedictines carry on a monastic tradition that stems from the origins of the Christian monastic movement in the late third century. They regard Saint Benedict as their founder and guide even though he did not establish a Benedictine Order as such. He wrote a Rule for his monastery at Monte Cassino in Italy and he foresaw that it could be used elsewhere. Monte Cassino was destroyed by the Lombards about A.D. 577 and was not reestablished until the middle of the eighth century. Meanwhile the Rule found its way to monasteries in England, Gaul, and elsewhere. At first it was one of a number of rules accepted by a particular monastery but later, especially through the promotional efforts of Charlemagne and his son Louis, it became the rule of choice for monasteries of Europe from the ninth century onwards.
These three elements: community, rule, abbot, are for Benedict the three elements which constitute the cenobitic life, and the order in which they are expressed is very important. The history of monastic life shows us that each time the balance between these three elements, or the order of their subordination was modified, there was a deviation from the charism. In certain centuries the Rule was given such prominence that legalism resulted, at other times community was stressed to the point of arriving at a kind of parliamentary democracy, while at other times again, the role of the abbot was accentuated to the point of transforming it into a monarchy. And, whether we like it or not, the conception of community and the role of the abbot are always conditioned by the sociological situation of each epoch.
Features of the OSB Website: Rule of Benedict (Latin and modern translations). Geographic database of houses. Advanced search. What's New, election results, academic and international institutions, general information, texts and articles, habit, saints, etc. Status: Thriving | |
| Former/Other Names: Benedictines, Black Monks, OSB, O.S.B. This page last updated:5/6/2011 Visitors Accepted (Advance notice recommended.) Visitor Process: Contact the guestmaster of a particular house. Accommodation for guests is often limited or booked. Priority is given to those visiting for a religious purpose: day of reflection, retreat, prayer, discernment, etc. Network Affiliations: Fellowship for Intentional Community |
