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125-517: In addition to the first abbot of Beuron Archabbey , Maurus Wolter (died 1890), who founded the monastery with his brother Placidus in 1863, the early leaders of the artistic school were Father Desiderius Lenz (1832–1928) and Gabriel Wuger (1829–1892). Several Benedictine artists worked within the school, including Jan Verkade . Beuronese art is principally known for its murals with "muted, tranquil and seemingly mysterious colouring". Though several different principles were in competition to form

250-457: A blessing is similar in some aspects to the consecration of a bishop, with the new abbot being presented with the mitre , the ring, and the crosier as symbols of office and receiving the laying on of hands and blessing from the celebrant. Though the ceremony installs the new abbot into a position of legal authority, it does not confer further sacramental authority- it is not a further degree of Holy Orders (although some abbots have been ordained to

375-485: A center of monastic culture and learning, and many later monks and bishops would pass through Lérins in the early stages of their career. Honoratus was called to be Bishop of Arles . John Cassian began his monastic career at a monastery in Palestine and Egypt around 385 to study monastic practice there. In Egypt, he had been attracted to the isolated life of hermits, which he considered the highest form of monasticism, yet

500-469: A contemporary emergency—the revenues of the community were handed over to a lay lord, in return for his protection, early suggested to the emperors and kings the expedient of rewarding their warriors with rich abbeys held in commendam . During the Carolingian epoch, the custom grew up of granting these as regular heritable fiefs or benefices , and by the 10th century, before the great Cluniac reform,

625-518: A direct impact on Klimt's decorative, golden paintings. Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from abba , the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ab , and means "father". The female equivalent is abbess . The title had its origin in the monasteries of Egypt and Syria , spread through

750-564: A hermit in a cave near Subiaco, Italy. He was asked to be head over several monks who wished to change to the monastic style of Pachomius by living in the community. Between the years 530 and 560, he wrote the Rule of Saint Benedict as a guideline for monks living in community. Scholars such as Lester K. Little attribute the rise of monasticism at this time to the immense changes in the church brought about by Constantine 's legalization of Christianity. The subsequent transformation of Christianity into

875-533: A house for carpenters, a house for agriculturists, and so forth. But other principles of division seem to have been employed, e.g., there was a house for the Greeks. On Saturdays and Sundays, all the monks assembled in the church for Mass; on other days the Office and other spiritual exercises were celebrated in the houses. From a secular point of view, a monastery was an industrial community in which almost every kind of trade

1000-646: A large influence on the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt . In 1898, shortly after the beginning of the Vienna Secession , Father Desiderius Lenz had his book published – Zur Aesthetic der Beuroner Schule ('On the Aesthetics of the Beuron School'). It is assumed that Klimt read Lenz's work with enthusiasm, and images of Beuron Abbey, for instance, may show sections of the decorated ceiling which appear to have made quite

1125-675: A lay condition—monks depended on a local parish church for the sacraments . However, if the monastery was isolated in the desert, as were many of the Egyptian examples, that inconvenience compelled monasteries either to take in priest members, to have their abbot or other members ordained. A priest-monk is sometimes called a hieromonk . In many cases in Eastern Orthodoxy , when a bishopric needed to be filled, they would look to nearby monasteries to find suitable candidates, being good sources of men who were spiritually mature and generally possessing

1250-453: A lesser rank, whom he fitted for the universities. His table, attendance and officers were an honour to the nation. He would entertain as many as 500 persons of rank at one time, besides relieving the poor of the vicinity twice a week. He had his country houses and fisheries, and when he travelled to attend parliament his retinue amounted to upwards of 100 persons. The abbots of Cluny and Vendôme were, by virtue of their office, cardinals of

1375-448: A number of influential works against heresy , and about monastic and liturgical discipline, and Christian philanthropy . In the Tales of Redwall series , the creatures of Redwall are led by an abbot or abbess. These "abbots" are appointed by the brothers and sisters of Redwall to serve as a superior and provide paternal care, much like real abbots. "The Abbot" was a nickname of RZA from

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1500-500: A profound evangelical and theological basis. At the time of his conversion in Milan in the years 386–387, Augustine was aware of the life of Saint Anthony in the desert of Egypt. Upon his return to Africa as a Christian in the year 388, however, Augustine and a few Christian friends founded at Thagaste a lay community. They became cenobites in the countryside rather than in the desert. Saint Benedict (c. 480 – 547 AD) lived for many years as

1625-409: A question of overlordship, but implied the concentration in lay hands of all the rights, immunities and jurisdiction of the foundations, i.e. the more or less complete secularization of spiritual institutions. The lay abbot took his recognized rank in the feudal hierarchy, and was free to dispose of his fief as in the case of any other. The enfeoffment of abbeys differed in form and degree. Sometimes

1750-599: A significant contribution to Christian hagiography , one of the most well-known being the Life of St. Benedict of Nursia by St. Gregory the Great . During the years 1106–1107 AD, Daniel, a Russian Orthodox abbot, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and recorded his experiences. His diary was much-read throughout Russia , and at least seventy-five manuscript copies survive. Saint Joseph , Abbot of Volokolamsk , Russia (1439–1515), wrote

1875-409: A transgression. Examples among the Egyptian monks of this submission to the commands of the superiors, exalted into a virtue by those who regarded the entire crushing of the individual will as a goal, are detailed by Cassian and others, e.g. a monk watering a dry stick, day after day, for months, or endeavoring to remove a huge rock immensely exceeding his powers. When a vacancy occurred, the bishop of

2000-670: A work of such importance that many Orthodox monasteries to this day read it publicly either during the Divine Services or in Trapeza during Great Lent . At the height of the East Roman Empire, numerous great monasteries were established by the emperors, including the twenty "sovereign monasteries" on the Holy Mountain , an actual "monastic republic" wherein the entire country is devoted to bringing souls closer to God. In this milieu,

2125-431: Is a hierarchy of precedence or authority among abbots. In some cases, this is the result of an abbey being considered the "mother" of several "daughter" abbeys founded as dependent priories of the "mother". In other cases, abbeys have affiliated in networks known as "congregations". Some monastic families recognize one abbey as the motherhouse of the entire order. The title abbé (French; Ital. abate ), as commonly used in

2250-467: Is also no division between the "active" and "contemplative" life. Orthodox monastic life embraces both active and contemplative aspects. Within the Eastern Orthodox Church , there exist three types of monasticism: eremitic, cenobitic, and the skete . The skete is a very small community, often of two or three ( Matthew 18:20 ), under the direction of an Elder . They pray privately for most of

2375-602: Is among the Russians, for whom it is normally reserved to hermits, or to very advanced monastics. The Schema monk or Schema nun wears the same habit as the Rassophore, but to it is added the Analavos (Church Slavonic: Analav ), a garment shaped like a cross, covering the shoulders and coming down to the knees (or lower) in front and in back. This garment is roughly reminiscent of the scapular worn by some Roman Catholic orders, but it

2500-447: Is characterized by a complete withdrawal from society. The word 'eremitic' comes from the Greek word eremos , which means desert. This name was given because of St. Anthony of Egypt, who left civilization behind to live on a solitary Egyptian mountain in the third century. Though he was probably not the first Christian hermit, he is recognized as such as he was the first known one. Paul

2625-574: Is finely embroidered with the Cross and instruments of the Passion (see illustration, above). The Klobuk worn by a Schema monk is also embroidered with a red cross and other symbols. the Klobuk may be shaped differently, more rounded at the top, in which case it is referred to as a koukoulion . The skufia worn by a Schema monk is also more intricately embroidered. The religious habit worn by Eastern Orthodox monastics

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2750-446: Is made of an abbot of Leicester , c. 1360, who was the most skilled of all the nobility in hare hunting. In magnificence of equipage and retinue the abbots vied with the first nobles of the realm. They rode on mules with gilded bridles, rich saddles and housings, carrying hawks on their wrist, followed by an immense train of attendants. The bells of the churches were rung as they passed. They associated on equal terms with laymen of

2875-454: Is proved by their attendance and votes at ecclesiastical councils. Thus at the first Council of Constantinople , AD 448, 23 archimandrites or abbots sign, with 30 bishops . The second Council of Nicaea , AD 787, recognized the right of abbots to ordain their monks to the inferior orders below the diaconate , a power usually reserved to bishops. Abbots used to be subject to episcopal jurisdiction, and continued generally so, in fact, in

3000-492: Is the head and chief governor of a community of monks, called also in the East hegumen or archimandrite . The English version for a female monastic head is abbess . In Egypt , the first home of monasticism, the jurisdiction of the abbot, or archimandrite, was but loosely defined. Sometimes he ruled over only one community, sometimes over several, each of which had its own abbot as well. Saint John Cassian speaks of an abbot of

3125-458: Is the same for both monks and nuns, except that the nuns wear an additional veil, called an apostolnik . The central and unifying feature of Eastern Orthodox monasticism is Hesychasm , the practice of silence, and the concentrated saying of the Jesus Prayer . All ascetic practices and monastic humility is guided towards preparing the heart for theoria or the "divine vision" that comes from

3250-466: Is to be traced, far more than to the arrogance of abbots, rendered it increasingly frequent, and, in the 6th century, the practice of exempting religious houses partly or altogether from episcopal control, and making them responsible to the pope alone, received an impulse from Pope Gregory the Great . These exceptions, introduced with a good object, had grown into a widespread evil by the 12th century, virtually creating an imperium in imperio, and depriving

3375-466: The Lausiac History , after the prefect Lausus, to whom it was addressed). Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (whose Life of Saint Anthony the Great set the pattern for monastic hagiography ), Saint Jerome , and other anonymous compilers were also responsible for setting down very influential accounts. Also of great importance are the writings surrounding the communities founded by Saint Pachomius,

3500-592: The Lateran council , AD 1123. In the East abbots, if in priests' orders and with the consent of the bishop, were, as we have seen, permitted by the second Nicene council , AD 787, to confer the tonsure and admit to the order of reader; but gradually abbots, in the West also, advanced higher claims, until we find them in AD 1489 permitted by Innocent IV to confer both the subdiaconate and diaconate. Of course, they always and everywhere had

3625-518: The Philokalia was compiled. As the Great Schism between East and West grew, conflict arose over misunderstandings about Hesychasm . Saint Gregory Palamas , bishop of Thessalonica , an experienced Athonite monk, defended Eastern Orthodox spirituality against the critiques of Barlaam of Calabria , and left numerous important works on the spiritual life. Christian monasticism was and continued to be

3750-575: The Revolution ; but the courtesy title of abbé, having long lost all connection in people's minds with any special ecclesiastical function, remained as a convenient general term applicable to any clergyman. In the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches , the abbot is referred to as the hegumen . The Superior of a monastery of nuns is called the Hēguménē . The title of archimandrite (literally

3875-554: The Thebaid who had 500 monks under him. By the Rule of St Benedict , which, until the Cluniac reforms , was the norm in the West, the abbot has jurisdiction over only one community. The rule, as was inevitable, was subject to frequent violations; but it was not until the foundation of the Cluniac Order that the idea of a supreme abbot, exercising jurisdiction over all the houses of an order,

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4000-592: The Wu-Tang Clan . Christian monasticism Christian monasticism is a religious way of life of Christians who live ascetic and typically cloistered lives that are dedicated to Christian worship. It began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church , modeled upon scriptural examples and ideals, including those in the Old Testament . It has come to be regulated by religious rules (e. g.,

4125-589: The eremitical or secluded, (b) the cenobitical or city life. St. Anthony the Abbot may be called the founder of the first and St. Pachomius of the second. The monastic life is based on Jesus 's amen to "be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" ( Matthew 5:48). This ideal, also called the state of perfection , can be seen, for example, in the Philokalia , a book of monastic writings. Their manner of self-renunciation has three elements corresponding to

4250-427: The refectory , and be content with the ordinary fare of the monks, unless he had to entertain a guest. These ordinances proved, however, generally ineffective to secure strictness of diet, and contemporaneous literature abounds with satirical remarks and complaints concerning the inordinate extravagance of the tables of the abbots. When the abbot condescended to dine in the refectory, his chaplains waited upon him with

4375-444: The vestry , and a chapter was held, and the bishop or his delegate preached a suitable sermon . Before the late modern era, the abbot was treated with the utmost reverence by the brethren of his house. When he appeared either in church or chapter all present rose and bowed. His letters were received kneeling, as were those of the pope and the king. No monk might sit in his presence, or leave it, without his permission, reflecting

4500-743: The "Vita Antonii" some years later and its translation into Latin spread the knowledge of Egyptian monachism widely and many were found in Italy to imitate the example thus set forth. The first Italian monks aimed at reproducing exactly what was done in Egypt and not a few—such as Saint Jerome , Rufinus , Paula , Eustochium and the two Melanias ( Elder and Younger )—actually went to live in Egypt or Palestine as being better suited to monastic life than Italy. The earliest phases of monasticism in Western Europe involved figures like Martin of Tours , who after serving in

4625-402: The "devout", who usually lived not in the deserts but on the edge of inhabited places, still remaining in the world but practicing asceticism and striving for union with God. In ante-Nicene asceticism, a man would lead a single life, practice long and frequent fasts, abstain from meat and wine, and support himself, if he were able, by some small handicraft, keeping of what he earned only so much as

4750-564: The Catholic Church on the European continent, is the equivalent of the English "Father" (parallel etymology), being loosely applied to all who have received the tonsure . This use of the title is said to have originated in the right conceded to the king of France, by the concordat between Pope Leo X and Francis I (1516), to appoint commendatory abbots ( abbés commendataires ) to most of

4875-749: The Christian faith," because monasteries had declined. Both ways of living out the Christian life are regulated by the respective church law of those Christian denominations that recognize it (e.g., the Roman Catholic Church , the Eastern Orthodox Church , the Anglican Church , or the Lutheran Church ). Christian monastic life does not always involve communal living with like-minded Christians. Christian monasticism has varied greatly in its external forms, but, broadly speaking, it has two main types: (a)

5000-551: The East from the hermits living in the deserts of Egypt to Palestine, Syria, and on up into Asia Minor and beyond, the sayings ( apophthegmata ) and acts ( praxeis ) of the Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers came to be recorded and circulated, first among their fellow monastics and then among the laity as well. Among these earliest recorded accounts was the Paradise, by Palladius of Galatia , Bishop of Helenopolis (also known as

5125-577: The Hegumen may at his discretion clothe the candidate as a novice . There is no formal ceremony for the clothing of a novice; he (or she) would simply be given the Podraznik , belt and skoufos . After a period of about three years, the Hegumen may at his discretion tonsure the novice as a Rassophore monk, giving him the outer garment called the Rassa (Greek: Rason ). A monk (or nun) may remain in this grade all

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5250-522: The Hermit is the first Christian historically known to have been living as a monk. In the 3rd century, Anthony of Egypt (252–356) lived as a hermit in the desert and gradually gained followers who lived as hermits nearby but not in actual community with him. This type of monasticism is called eremitical or "hermit-like". Another option for becoming a solitary monastic was to become an anchoress/anchorite. This began because there were persons who wanted to live

5375-881: The Revs. Bonaventure Ostendorp and Rapheul Pfister of the Order of Saint Benedict at St. Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire . The church was demolished in 1996. However, the Life of the Virgin series was restored and relocated to Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Carnegie, Pennsylvania . A second set of duplicates resides at the abbey church of the Immaculate Conception Benedictine Abbey in Conception, Missouri. Beuronese art has been suggested by several scholars to have had

5500-520: The Roman church. In the process of time, the title abbot was extended to clerics who had no connection with the monastic system, as to the principal of a body of parochial clergy; and under the Carolingians to the chief chaplain of the king, Abbas Curiae , or military chaplain of the emperor, Abbas Castrensis. It even came to be adopted by purely secular officials. Thus the chief magistrate of

5625-502: The Roman legions converted to Christianity and established a hermitage near Milan , then moved on to Poitiers where a community gathered around his hermitage. He was called to become Bishop of Tours in 372, where he established a monastery at Marmoutier on the opposite bank of the Loire , a few miles upstream from the city. His cell was a hut of wood, and round it his disciples, who soon numbered eighty, dwelt in caves and huts. His monastery

5750-719: The Rule of Saint Augustine , Anthony the Great , St Pachomius , the Rule of St Basil , the Rule of St Benedict ) and, in modern times, the Canon law of the respective Christian denominations that have forms of monastic living. Those living the monastic life are known by the generic terms monks (men) and nuns (women). The word monk originated from the Greek μοναχός ( monachos , 'monk'), itself from μόνος ( monos ) meaning 'alone'. Christian monks did not live in monasteries at first; rather, they began by living alone as solitaries , as

5875-400: The West till the 11th century. The Code of Justinian (lib. i. tit. iii. de Ep. leg. xl.) expressly subordinates the abbot to episcopal oversight. The first case recorded of the partial exemption of an abbot from episcopal control is that of Faustus, abbot of Lerins, at the council of Arles, AD 456; but the exorbitant claims and exactions of bishops, to which this repugnance to episcopal control

6000-487: The abbeys in France. The expectation of obtaining these sinecures drew young men towards the church in considerable numbers, and the class of abbés so formed – abbés de cour they were sometimes called, and sometimes (ironically) abbés de sainte espérance ("abbés of holy hope; or in a jeu de mots , "of St. Hope") – came to hold a recognized position. The connection many of them had with

6125-427: The bishop of all authority over the chief centres of influence in his diocese . In the 12th century, the abbots of Fulda claimed precedence of the archbishop of Cologne . Abbots more and more assumed almost episcopal state, and in defiance of the prohibition of early councils and the protests of St Bernard and others, adopted the episcopal insignia of mitre , ring, gloves and sandals. It has been maintained that

6250-471: The canon for the school, "[t]he most significant principle or canon of the Beuronese school is the role which geometry played in determining proportions." Lenz elaborated the philosophy and canon of a new artistic direction, which was based on the elements of ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and early Christian art. Some of the other principles that Lenz used to define the Beuronese style include: One of

6375-506: The church was of the slenderest kind, consisting mainly in adopting the title of abbé, after a remarkably moderate course of theological study, practising celibacy and wearing distinctive dress, a short dark-violet coat with narrow collar. Being men of presumed learning and undoubted leisure, many of the class found admission to the houses of the French nobility as tutors or advisers. Nearly every great family had its abbé. The class did not survive

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6500-458: The church, and proceed barefoot to meet the members of the house advancing in a procession. After proceeding up the nave , he was to kneel and pray at the topmost step of the entrance of the choir, into which he was to be introduced by the bishop or his commissary , and placed in his stall. The monks, then kneeling, gave him the kiss of peace on the hand, and rising, on the mouth, the abbot holding his staff of office . He then put on his shoes in

6625-570: The church, have caused themselves to be called abbots, and presumed to attribute to themselves a title, as well as estates, to which they have no just claim. In conventual cathedrals, where the bishop occupied the place of the abbot, the functions usually devolving on the superior of the monastery were performed by a prior . In the Roman Catholic Church, abbots continue to be elected by the monks of an abbey to lead them as their religious superior in those orders and monasteries that make use of

6750-435: The clergy, of appointing the most powerful people of a parish stewards, or, rather, patrons, of their churches; who, in process of time, from a desire of gain, have usurped the whole right, appropriating to their own use the possession of all the lands, leaving only to the clergy the altars, with their tenths and oblations, and assigning even these to their sons and relations in the church. Such defenders, or rather destroyers, of

6875-466: The desert, before his public ministry. Another monastic precedent in Bible would be Nazirites as they practiced tonsure, followed a certain diet as a form of fasting, lived consecrated lives and they followed a certain practice concerning hygiene. However, case of Nazirites is usually defined as a form of a historical Jewish vow or oath instead of being a direct precedent of monastic orders because of

7000-411: The diocese chose the abbot out of the monks of the monastery , but the right of election was transferred by jurisdiction to the monks themselves, reserving to the bishop the confirmation of the election and the benediction of the new abbot. In abbeys exempt from the archbishop's diocesan jurisdiction, the confirmation and benediction had to be conferred by the pope in person, the house being taxed with

7125-413: The dishes, a servant, if necessary, assisting them. When abbots dined in their own private hall, the Rule of St Benedict charged them to invite their monks to their table, provided there was room, on which occasions the guests were to abstain from quarrels, slanderous talk and idle gossiping. The ordinary attire of the abbot was according to rule to be the same as that of the monks. But by the 10th century

7250-520: The eastern Mediterranean , and soon became accepted generally in all languages as the designation of the head of a monastery. The word is derived from the Aramaic av meaning "father" or abba , meaning "my father" (it still has this meaning in contemporary Hebrew: אבא and Aramaic: ܐܒܐ) In the Septuagint , it was written as "abbas". At first it was employed as a respectful title for any monk, but it

7375-418: The episcopacy). Once he has received this blessing, the abbot not only becomes father of his monks in a spiritual sense, but their major superior under canon law, and has the additional authority to confer the ministries of acolyte and lector (formerly, he could confer the minor orders, which are not sacraments, that these ministries have replaced). The abbey is a species of "exempt religious" in that it is, for

7500-449: The expenses of the new abbot's journey to Rome . It was necessary that an abbot should be at least 30 years of age, of legitimate birth, a monk of the house for at least 10 years, unless it furnished no suitable candidate, when a liberty was allowed of electing from another monastery, well instructed himself, and able to instruct others, one also who had learned how to command by having practised obedience. In some exceptional cases an abbot

7625-486: The father of cenobiticism , and his disciple Saint Theodore, the founder of the skete form of monasticism. Among the first to set forth precepts for the monastic life was Saint Basil the Great , a man from a professional family who was educated in Caesarea , Constantinople , and Athens . Saint Basil visited colonies of hermits in Palestine and Egypt but was most strongly impressed by the organized communities developed under

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7750-567: The first Celtic monasteries were merely settlements where the Christians lived together—priests and laity, men, women, and children alike—as a kind of religious clan. According to James F. Kenney, every important church was a monastic establishment, with a small walled village of monks and nuns living under ecclesiastical discipline, and ministering to the people of the surrounding area. Monastic spirituality came to Britain and then Ireland from Gaul, by way of Lérins, Tours, and Auxerre. Its spirituality

7875-423: The foundations for one of the most enduring Christian institutions..." Monastics generally dwell in a monastery , whether they live there in a community ( cenobites ), or in seclusion ( recluses ). The basic idea of monasticism in all its varieties is seclusion or withdrawal from the world or society. Monastic life is distinct from the "religious orders" such as the friars , canons regular , clerks regular , and

8000-626: The grain of contemporary romantic forms." A series of murals depicting the Life of the Virgin was created under the direction of Desiderius Lenz, Gabriel Wuger, and Lukas Steiner between 1880 and 1887 for the Benedictine Abbey of Emmaus in Prague . Subsequently destroyed by fire in 1945 during World War II, two copies of this set are still in existence. A set was created for St. Mary's German Church in McKeesport, Pennsylvania , between 1908 and 1910 by

8125-424: The great feudal families, as late as the 13th century and later, with the head of the community retaining the title of dean. The connection of the lesser lay abbots with the abbeys, especially in the south of France, lasted longer; and certain feudal families retained the title of abbés chevaliers ( Latin : abbates milites ) for centuries, together with certain rights over the abbey lands or revenues. The abuse

8250-585: The guidance of Saint Pachomius. Saint Basil's ascetical writings set forth standards for well-disciplined community life and offered lessons in what became the ideal monastic virtue: humility. Saint Basil wrote a series of guides for monastic life (the Lesser Asketikon the Greater Asketikon the Morals , etc.) which, while not "Rules" in the legalistic sense of later Western rules, provided firm indications of

8375-525: The head of the enclosure) used to mean something similar. In the East , the principle set forth in the Corpus Juris Civilis still applies, whereby most abbots are immediately subject to the local bishop. Those monasteries which enjoy the status of being stauropegic will be subject only to a primate or his Synod of Bishops and not the local bishop. Although currently in the Western Church

8500-505: The heads of some monasteries converted at the Reformation into collegiate foundations. Of these the most noteworthy is Loccum Abbey in Hanover , founded as a Cistercian house in 1163 by Count Wilbrand of Hallermund, and reformed in 1593. The abbot of Loccum, who still carries a pastoral staff, takes precedence over all the clergy of Hanover, and was ex officio a member of the consistory of

8625-419: The hierarchical etiquette of families and society. The highest place was assigned to him, both in church and at table. In the East he was commanded to eat with the other monks. In the West, the Rule of St Benedict appointed him a separate table, at which he might entertain guests and strangers. Because this permission opened the door to luxurious living, Synods of Aachen decreed that the abbot should dine in

8750-440: The highest distinction, and shared all their pleasures and pursuits. This rank and power was, however, often used most beneficially. For instance, we read of Richard Whiting , the last abbot of Glastonbury , judicially murdered by Henry VIII , that his house was a kind of well-ordered court, where as many as 300 sons of noblemen and gentlemen, who had been sent to him for virtuous education, had been brought up, besides others of

8875-415: The historical context concerning Israelites and the importance of private rituals concerning vow making in historical Israelite religion . Early Christian ascetics have left no confirmed archaeological traces and only hints in the written record. Communities of virgins who had consecrated themselves to Christ are found at least as far back as the 2nd century. There were also individual ascetics, known as

9000-648: The importance of a single community of monks, living under the same roof, and under the guidance—and even discipline—of a strong abbot. His teachings set the model for Greek and Russian monasticism but had less influence in the Latin West. Of great importance to the development of monasticism is the Saint Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai in Egypt . Here the Ladder of Divine Ascent was written by Saint John Climacus (c.600),

9125-580: The kingdom. The governing body of the abbey consists of the abbot, prior and the "convent", or community, of Stiftsherren (canons). In the Church of England , the Bishop of Norwich , by royal decree given by Henry VIII , also holds the honorary title of "Abbot of St. Benet." This title hails back to England's separation from the See of Rome, when King Henry, as supreme head of the newly independent church, took over all of

9250-558: The liturgical tradition of the church. Fasting , Hesychasm, and the pursuit of the spiritual life are strongly encouraged not only among monastics but also among the laity. There are also three levels of monks: the Rassophore , the Stavrophore , and the Schema-Monk (or Schema-Nun). Each of the three degrees represents an increased level of asceticism. In the early days of monasticism, there

9375-500: The main Roman religion ended the position of Christians as a minority sect. In response, a new form of dedication was developed. The long-term "martyrdom" of the ascetic replaced the violent physical martyrdom of the persecutions . In the early church, there were also opponents of Monasticism, among the first opponents to Monasticism were Helvidius , Jovinian , Vigilantius and Aerius of Sebaste . Most of them were attacked by Jerome who defended monastic and ascetic ideas. Jovinian

9500-420: The monasteries he founded were all organized monastic communities. About 415 he established two monasteries near Marseilles , one for men, one for women. In time these attracted a total of 5,000 monks and nuns. Most significant for the future development of monasticism were Cassian's Institutes , which provided a guide for monastic life and his Conferences , a collection of spiritual reflections. It seems that

9625-457: The monasteries, mainly for their possessions, except for St. Benet, which he spared because the abbot and his monks possessed no wealth, and lived like simple beggars, deposing the incumbent Bishop of Norwich and seating the abbot in his place, thus the dual title still held to this day. Additionally, at the enthronement of the Archbishop of Canterbury , there is a threefold enthronement, once in

9750-412: The monastery would be a mere priory, headed by a prior who acts as superior but without the same degree of legal authority that an abbot has. The abbot is chosen by the monks from among the fully professed monks. Once chosen, he must request blessing: the blessing of an abbot is celebrated by the bishop in whose diocese the monastery is or, with his permission, another abbot or bishop. The ceremony of such

9875-586: The monastic ideal of St. Anthony. They lived by themselves, gathering together for common worship on Saturdays and Sundays only. In 346 in Egypt, St Pachomius established the first cenobitic Christian monastery. At Tabenna in Upper Egypt , sometime around 323 AD, Pachomius decided to mold his disciples into a more organized community in which the monks lived in individual huts or rooms ( cellula in Latin ,) but worked, ate, and worshipped in shared space. The intention

10000-583: The monastic is given a cross to wear at all times. This cross is called a Paramand—a wooden cross attached by ribbons to a square cloth embroidered with the Instruments of the Passion and the words, "I bear upon my body the marks of the Lord Jesus" ( Galatians 6:17 ). The Paramand is so-called because it is worn under the Mantle (Greek: Mandyas ; Church Slavonic : Mantya ), which is a long cape which completely covers

10125-461: The monk from neck to foot. Among the Russians, Stavrophores are also informally referred to as "mantle monks". At his Tonsure, a Stavrophore is given a wooden hand cross and a lit candle, as well as a prayer rope. The highest rank of monasticism is the Great Schema (Greek: Megaloschemos ; Church Slavonic: Schimnik ). Attaining the level of Schema monk is much more common among the Greeks than it

10250-411: The monks were directly subject to the lay abbot; sometimes he appointed a substitute to perform the spiritual functions, known usually as dean ( decanus ), but also as abbot ( abbas legitimus , monasticus , regularis ). When the great reform of the 11th century had put an end to the direct jurisdiction of the lay abbots, the honorary title of abbot continued to be held by certain of

10375-456: The more recent religious congregations . The latter has essentially some special work or aim, such as preaching, teaching, liberating captives, etc., which occupies a large place in their activities. While monks have undertaken labors of the most varied character, in every case this work is extrinsic to the essence of the monastic state. Monks and friars are two distinct roles. In the thirteenth century "...new orders of friars were founded to teach

10500-581: The most complete collections of Beuronese art is located at Conception Abbey in Conception, Missouri , which was founded by Benedictine monks who immigrated to the United States from Engelberg Abbey in Switzerland. According to the abbey's website, "Beuronese art was revolutionary for its time, and also characteristic of its time. It offered a stylized, simplified, and hieratic approach to art which went against

10625-423: The most part, answerable to the pope, or to the abbot primate, rather than to the local bishop. The abbot wears the same habit as his fellow monks, though by tradition he adds to it a pectoral cross. Territorial abbots follow all of the above, but in addition must receive a mandate of authority from the pope over the territory around the monastery for which they are responsible. In some monastic families, there

10750-641: The other qualities desired in a bishop. Eventually, among the Eastern Orthodox Churches, it became established by canon law that all bishops must be monks. Monastic centers thrive to this day in Bulgaria , Ethiopia , Georgia , Greece , North Macedonia , Russia , Romania , Serbia , the Holy Land , and elsewhere in the Orthodox world, the Autonomous Monastic State of Mount Athos remaining

10875-516: The parallel rank of Archpriest or Protopresbyter . Normally there are no celibate priests who are not monastics in the Orthodox Church, with the exception of married priests who have been widowed . Since the time of Catherine II the ranks of Abbot and Archimandrite have been given as honorary titles in the Russian Church, and may be given to any monastic, even if he does not in fact serve as

11000-427: The period, as an individual response to the monastic impulse by someone who had experienced monasticism and then went off to establish either a hermitage to which others later came or a cenobitic community." The monasteries were organized on a family basis. Next in importance to the abbot was the scribe, in charge of the scriptorium, the teaching function of the monastery, and the keeping of the annals. The role of scribe

11125-416: The power of admitting their own monks and vesting them with the religious habit. The power of the abbot was paternal but absolute, limited, however, by the canon law . One of the main goals of monasticism was the purgation of self and selfishness, and obedience was seen as a path to that perfection. It was sacred duty to execute the abbot's orders, and even to act without his orders was sometimes considered

11250-632: The precedence was yielded to the abbot of Glastonbury, until in AD 1154 Adrian IV (Nicholas Breakspear) granted it to the abbot of St Alban's, in which monastery he had been brought up. Next after the abbot of St Alban's ranked the abbot of Westminster and then Ramsey. Elsewhere, the mitred abbots that sat in the Estates of Scotland were of Arbroath , Cambuskenneth , Coupar Angus , Dunfermline , Holyrood , Iona , Kelso , Kilwinning , Kinloss , Lindores , Paisley , Melrose , Scone , St Andrews Priory and Sweetheart . To distinguish abbots from bishops, it

11375-403: The republic at Genoa was called Abbas Populi . Lay abbots (M. Lat. defensores , abbacomites , abbates laici , abbates milites , abbates saeculares or irreligiosi , abbatiarii , or sometimes simply abbates ) were the outcome of the growth of the feudal system from the 8th century onwards. The practice of commendation , by which—to meet

11500-580: The rest of his life, if he so chooses. But the Rite of Tonsure for the Rassophore refers to the grade as that of the "Beginner", so it is intended that the monk will advance on to the next level. The Rassophore is also given a klobuk which he wears in church and on formal occasions. In addition, Rassophores will be given a prayer rope at their tonsure. The next rank, Stavrophore , is the grade that most Russian monks remain all their lives. The title Stavrophore means "cross-bearer" because when Tonsured into this grade

11625-818: The right to wear mitres was sometimes granted by the popes to abbots before the 11th century, but the documents on which this claim is based are not genuine (J. Braun, Liturgische Gewandung , p. 453). The first undoubted instance is the bull by which Alexander II in 1063 granted the use of the mitre to Egelsinus, abbot of the monastery of St Augustine at Canterbury. The mitred abbots in England were those of Abingdon , St Alban's , Bardney , Battle , Bury St Edmunds , St Augustine's Canterbury , Colchester , Croyland , Evesham , Glastonbury , Gloucester , St Benet's Hulme , Hyde , Malmesbury , Peterborough , Ramsey , Reading , Selby , Shrewsbury , Tavistock , Thorney , Westminster , Winchcombe , and St Mary's York . Of these

11750-518: The rule was commonly set aside, and we find frequent complaints of abbots dressing in silk, and adopting sumptuous attire. Some even laid aside the monastic habit altogether, and assumed a secular dress. With the increase of wealth and power, abbots had lost much of their special religious character, and become great lords, chiefly distinguished from lay lords by celibacy . Thus we hear of abbots going out to hunt, with their men carrying bows and arrows; keeping horses, dogs and huntsmen; and special mention

11875-480: The solitary lifestyle but were not able to live alone in the wild. Thus, they would go to the bishop for permission who would then perform the rite of enclosure. After this was completed, the anchoress would live alone in a room that typically had a window that opened into a church so they could receive communion and participate in church services. There were two other windows that allowed food to be passed in and people to come to seek advice. The most well-known anchoress

12000-644: The spiritual center of monasticism for the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain , a great renaissance of monasticism has occurred, and many previously empty or destroyed monastic communities have been reopened. Monasticism continues to be very influential in the Eastern Orthodox Church. According to the Sacred Canons , all Bishops must be monks (not merely celibate), and feast days to Glorified monastic saints are an important part of

12125-605: The superior of a monastery. In Greek practice the title or function of Abbot corresponds to a person who serves as the head of a monastery, although the title of the Archimandrite may be given to any celibate priest who could serve as the head of a monastery. In the German Evangelical Church , the German title of Abt (abbot) is sometimes bestowed, like the French abbé , as an honorary distinction, and survives to designate

12250-420: The system was firmly established. Even the abbey of St Denis was held in commendam by Hugh Capet . The example of the kings was followed by the feudal nobles, sometimes by making a temporary concession permanent, sometimes without any form of commendation whatever. In England the abuse was rife in the 8th century, as may be gathered from the acts of the council of Cloveshoe . These lay abbacies were not merely

12375-477: The term (some orders of monks, as the Carthusians for instance, have only priors ). A monastery must have been granted the status of an abbey by the pope, and such monasteries are normally raised to this level after showing a degree of stability—a certain number of monks in vows, a certain number of years of establishment, a certain firmness to the foundation in economic, vocational and legal aspects. Prior to this,

12500-660: The three evangelical counsels : poverty , chastity and obedience . First-century groups such as the Essenes and the Therapeutae followed lifestyles that could be seen as precursors to Christian monasticism. Early Christian monasticism drew its inspiration from the examples of the Prophet Elijah and John the Baptist , who both lived alone in the desert, and above all from the story of Jesus' time in solitary struggle with Satan in

12625-603: The throne the chancel as the diocesan bishop of Canterbury , once in the Chair of St. Augustine as the Primate of All England , and then once in the chapter-house as Titular Abbot of Canterbury. There are several Benedictine abbeys throughout the Anglican Communion . Most of them have mitred abbots. "The Abbot" is one of the archetypes traditionally illustrated in scenes of Danse Macabre . The lives of numerous abbots make up

12750-601: The time he died in 346 there were thought to be 3,000 such communities dotting Egypt, especially in the Thebaid . From there monasticism quickly spread out first to Palestine and the Judean Desert , Syria , North Africa and eventually the rest of the Roman Empire . In 370 Basil the Great, monastic founder in Cappadocia, became bishop of Caesarea and wrote principles of ascetic life. Eastern monastic teachings were brought to

12875-482: The title "abbot" is given only abbots of monasteries, the title archimandrite is given to "monastics" (i.e., celibate) priests in the East, even when not attached to a monastery, as an honor for service, similar to the title of monsignor in the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. In the Eastern Orthodox Church , only monastics are permitted to be elevated to the rank of archimandrite. Married priests are elevated to

13000-404: The union of the soul with God. Such a union is not accomplished by any human activity. All an ascetic can do is prepare the ground; it is for God to cause the seed to grow and bear fruit. The introduction of monasticism into the West may be dated from about A.D. 340 when St. Athanasius visited Rome accompanied by the two Egyptian monks Ammon and Isidore, disciples of St. Anthony. The publication of

13125-478: The week, then come together on Sundays and Feast Days for communal prayer, thus combining aspects of both eremitic and coenobitic monasticism. Even before Saint Anthony the Great (the "father of monasticism") went out into the desert, there were Christians who devoted their lives to ascetic discipline and striving to lead an evangelical life (i.e., in accordance with the teachings of the Gospel). As monasticism spread in

13250-570: The western church by Saint John Cassian (c. 360 – c. 435). As a young adult, he and his friend Germanus entered a monastery in Palestine but then journeyed to Egypt to visit the eremitic groups in Nitria. Many years later, Cassian founded a monastery of monks and probably also one of nuns near Marseilles. He wrote two long works, the Institutes and Conferences . In these books, he not only transmitted his Egyptian experience but also gave Christian monasticism

13375-464: The word monos might suggest. As more people took on the lives of monks, living alone in the wilderness, they started to come together and model themselves after the original monks nearby. Quickly, the monks formed communities to further their ability to observe an ascetic life. According to Christianity historian Robert Louis Wilken, "By creating an alternate social structure within the Church they laid

13500-527: The word for "Father"—in Syriac , Abba ; in English, " Abbot ". Guidelines for daily life were created, and separate monasteries were created for men and women. St Pachomius introduced a monastic Rule of cenobitic life, giving everyone the same food and attire. The monks of the monastery fulfilled the obediences assigned them for the common good of the monastery. Among the various obediences was copying books. St Pachomius considered that an obedience fulfilled with zeal

13625-492: Was Julian of Norwich who was born in England in 1342. While the earliest Desert Fathers lived as hermits, they were rarely completely isolated, but often lived in proximity to one another, and soon loose-knit communities began to form in such places as the Desert of Nitria and the Desert of Skete. Saint Macarius established individual groups of cells such as those at Kellia , founded in 338. These monks were anchorites, following

13750-414: Was absolutely necessary for his own sustenance, and giving the rest to the poor. An early form of "proto-monasticism" appeared as well in the 3rd century among Syriac Christians through the " Sons of the covenant " movement. Eastern Orthodoxy looks to Basil of Caesarea as a founding monastic legislator, as well to as the example of the Desert Fathers . Eremitic monasticism, or solitary monasticism,

13875-407: Was allowed to name his own successor. Cassian speaks of an abbot in Egypt doing this; and in later times we have another example in the case of St Bruno. Popes and sovereigns gradually encroached on the rights of the monks, until in Italy the pope had usurped the nomination of all abbots, and the king in France, with the exception of Cluny, Premontré and other houses, chiefs of their order. The election

14000-422: Was definitely recognised. Monks, as a rule, were laymen, nor at the outset was the abbot any exception. For the reception of the sacraments , and for other religious offices, the abbot and his monks were commanded to attend the nearest church. This rule proved inconvenient when a monastery was situated in a desert or at a distance from a city, and necessity compelled the ordination of some monks. This innovation

14125-408: Was for life, unless the abbot was canonically deprived by the chiefs of his order, or when he was directly subject to them, by the pope or the bishop, and also in England it was for a term of 8–12 years. The ceremony of the formal admission of a Benedictine abbot in medieval times is thus prescribed by the consuetudinary of Abingdon. The newly elected abbot was to put off his shoes at the door of

14250-443: Was greater than fasting or prayer. A Pachomian monastery was a collection of buildings surrounded by a wall. The monks were distributed in houses, each house containing about forty monks. There would be thirty to forty houses in a monastery. There was an abbot over each monastery and provosts with subordinate officials over each house. The monks were divided into houses according to the work they were employed in: thus there would be

14375-494: Was heavily influenced by the Desert Fathers, with a monastic enclosure surrounding a collection of individual monastic cells. The British church employed an episcopal structure corresponding closely to the model used elsewhere in the Christian world. Illtud , David , Gildas , and Deiniol were leading figures in 6th-century Britain. According to Thomas O'Loughlin , "Each monastery should be seen, as with most monasteries of

14500-587: Was laid out as a colony of hermits rather than as a single integrated community. The type of life was simply the Antonian monachism of Egypt. Honoratus of Marseilles was a wealthy Gallo-Roman aristocrat, who after a pilgrimage to Egypt, founded the Monastery of Lérins in 410, on an island lying off the modern city of Cannes . The monastery combined a community with isolated hermitages where older, spiritually-proven monks could live in isolation. Lérins became, in time,

14625-420: Was not confined to the West. John, patriarch of Antioch at the beginning of the 12th century, informs us that in his time most monasteries had been handed over to laymen, beneficiarii , for life, or for part of their lives, by the emperors. Giraldus Cambrensis reported ( Itinerary , ii.iv) the common customs of lay abbots in the late 12th-century Church of Wales: for a bad custom has prevailed amongst

14750-481: Was not introduced without a struggle, ecclesiastical dignity being regarded as inconsistent with the higher spiritual life, but, before the close of the 5th century, at least in the East, abbots seem almost universally to have become deacons , if not priests. The change spread more slowly in the West, where the office of abbot was commonly filled by laymen till the end of the 7th century. The ecclesiastical leadership exercised by abbots despite their frequent lay status

14875-421: Was often a path to the position of abbot. Hereditary right and relationship to the abbot were factors influencing appointment to monastic offices. Buildings would generally have been of wood, wattle, and thatch. Monasteries tended to be cenobitical in that monks lived in separate cells but came together for common prayer, meals, and other functions. Celtic monasticism was characterized by a rigorous asceticism and

15000-525: Was only one level—the Great Schema —and even Saint Theodore the Studite argued against the establishment of intermediate grades, but nonetheless the consensus of the church has favored the development of three distinct levels. When a candidate wishes to embrace the monastic life, he will enter the monastery of his choice as a guest and ask to be received by the Hegumen (Abbot). After a period of at least three days

15125-513: Was ordained that their mitre should be made of less costly materials, and should not be ornamented with gold, a rule which was soon entirely disregarded, and that the crook of their pastoral staff (the crosier) should turn inwards instead of outwards, indicating that their jurisdiction was limited to their own house. The adoption of certain episcopal insignia ( pontificalia ) by abbots was followed by an encroachment on episcopal functions, which had to be specially but ineffectually guarded against by

15250-542: Was practised. This, of course, involved much buying and selling, so the monks had ships of their own on the Nile, which conveyed their agricultural produce and manufactured goods to the market and brought back what the monasteries required. From the spiritual point of view, the Pachomian monk was a religious living under a rule. The community of Pachomius was so successful he was called upon to help organize others, and by one count by

15375-847: Was soon restricted by canon law to certain priestly superiors. At times it was applied to various priests, e.g. at the court of the Frankish monarchy the Abbas palatinus ("of the palace"') and Abbas castrensis ("of the camp") were chaplains to the Merovingian and Carolingian sovereigns' court and army respectively. The title of abbot came into fairly general use in western monastic orders whose members include priests. An abbot (from Old English : abbod , abbad , from Latin : abbas ("father"), from Ancient Greek : ἀββᾶς ( abbas ), from Imperial Aramaic : אבא / ܐܒܐ ( 'abbā , "father"); compare German : Abt ; French : abbé )

15500-491: Was the most influential opponent of monasticism, he wrote a work in the year 390, which is now lost, which attacked monasticism and its ethical principles. Monasticism was also opposed by some Arians . Orthodox monasticism does not have religious orders as in the West, so there are no formal Monastic Rules ( Regulae ); rather, each monk and nun is encouraged to read all of the Holy Fathers and emulate their virtues. There

15625-429: Was to bring together individual ascetics who, although pious, did not, like Saint Anthony, have the physical ability or skills to live a solitary existence in the desert. This method of monastic organization is called cenobitic or "communal". In Catholic theology, this community-based living is considered superior because of the obedience practiced and the accountability offered. The head of a monastery came to be known by

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