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52-570: It occurs in the Mass The formula Deo gratias was used in extra-liturgical prayers and customs by the Christians of all ages. The rule of St. Benedict prescribes that the doorkeeper shall say Deo gratias , as often as a stranger knocks at the door or a beggar asks for assistance. When St. Augustine announced to the people the election of his coadjutor and successor, Evodius of Uzalis , they called out Deo gratias thirty-six times. In Africa it

104-443: A Christocentric life on earth) and administrative (how to run a monastery efficiently). More than half of the chapters describe how to be obedient and humble, and what to do when a member of the community is not. About one-fourth regulate the work of God (the "opus Dei"). One-tenth outline how, and by whom, the monastery should be managed. Benedictine asceticism is known for its moderation. This devotional medal originally came from

156-455: A chant, three antiphons, three psalms, and three lessons, along with celebrations of any local saints' days. Afterwards the monks would retire for a few hours of sleep and then rise at 6am to wash and attend the office of Prime . They then gathered in Chapter to receive instructions for the day and to attend to any judicial business. Then came private Mass or spiritual reading or work until 9am when

208-459: A cross in honor of Saint Benedict. On one side, the medal has an image of Saint Benedict, holding the Holy Rule in his left hand and a cross in his right. There is a raven on one side of him, with a cup on the other side of him. Around the medal's outer margin are the words "Eius in obitu nostro praesentia muniamur" ("May we be strengthened by his presence in the hour of our death"). The other side of

260-501: A provincial calendar of saints is published in each province. In almost all of these, Saint Benedict is commemorated on 11 July. Benedict is remembered in the Church of England with a Lesser Festival on 11 July. Benedict wrote the Rule for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The Rule comprises seventy-three short chapters. Its wisdom is twofold: spiritual (how to live

312-452: Is Benedict's day of death and that his memorial is celebrated on 11 July, while on 11 July it devotes seven lines to speaking of him, and mentions the tradition that he died on 21 March. The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates Saint Benedict on 14 March. The Lutheran Churches celebrate the Feast of Saint Benedict on July 11. The Anglican Communion has no single universal calendar, but

364-720: Is a book of precepts written in Latin c.  530 by St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot . The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of the Benedictine Confederation : pax ("peace") and the traditional ora et labora ("pray and work"). Compared to other precepts, the Rule provides a moderate path between individual zeal and formulaic institutionalism; because of this middle ground, it has been widely popular. Benedict's concerns were his views of

416-532: Is sometimes regarded as the founder of Western monasticism due to the reforming influence that his rules had on the then-current Catholic hierarchy. There is, however, no evidence to suggest that Benedict intended to found a religious order in the modern sense, and it was not until the Late Middle Ages that mention was made of an " Order of Saint Benedict ". His Rule was written as a guide for individual, autonomous communities, and all Benedictine Houses (and

468-598: Is the patron saint of speleologists . On the island of Tenerife ( Spain ) he is the patron saint of fields and farmers. An important romeria ( Romería Regional de San Benito Abad ) is held on this island in his honor, one of the most important in the country. In the pre-1970 General Roman Calendar , his feast is kept on 21 March, the day of his death according to some manuscripts of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum and that of Bede . Because on that date his liturgical memorial would always be impeded by

520-612: The Cistercians , the Trappists (a reform of the Cistercians), and the Sylvestrines . Charlemagne had Benedict's Rule copied and distributed to encourage monks throughout western Europe to follow it as a standard. Beyond its religious influences, the Rule of St Benedict was one of the most important written works to shape medieval Europe , embodying the ideas of a written constitution and

572-413: The passion of Christ that [they] may deserve also to share in his Kingdom" (Prol. 50, passionibus Christi per patientiam participemur, ut et regno eius mereamur esse consortes ; note: Latin passionibus and patientiam have the same root, cf. Fry, RB 1980, p.167). Saint Benedict's model for the monastic life was the family , with the abbot as father and all the monks as brothers. Priesthood

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624-477: The Congregations in which they have grouped themselves) still remain self-governing. Advantages seen in retaining this unique Benedictine emphasis on autonomy include cultivating models of tightly bonded communities and contemplative lifestyles. Perceived disadvantages comprise geographical isolation from important activities in adjacent communities. Other perceived losses include inefficiency and lack of mobility in

676-457: The applicability of the principles and spirit of the Rule of Saint Benedict to the secular working environment. During the more than 1500 years of their existence, Benedictines have seen cycles of flourish and decline. Several reform movements sought more intense devotion to both the letter and spirit of the Rule of St Benedict, at least as they understood it. Examples include the Camaldolese ,

728-399: The best sources: a handful of Benedict's disciples who lived with him and witnessed his various miracles. These followers, he says, are Constantinus, who succeeded Benedict as Abbot of Monte Cassino, Honoratus , who was abbot of Subiaco when St. Gregory wrote his Dialogues , Valentinianus , and Simplicius . In Gregory's day, history was not recognised as an independent field of study; it

780-415: The cross. An investigation found a number of painted crosses on the walls of the abbey with the letters now found on St Benedict medals, but their meaning had been forgotten. A manuscript written in 1415 was eventually found that had a picture of Benedict holding a scroll in one hand and a staff which ended in a cross in the other. On the scroll and staff were written the full words of the initials contained on

832-557: The cross. Either the inscription "PAX" (Peace) or the Christogram "IHS" may be found at the top of the cross in most cases. Around the medal's margin on this side are the Vade Retro Satana initials VRSNSMV which stand for "Vade Retro Satana, Nonquam Suade Mihi Vana" ("Begone Satan, do not suggest to me thy vanities") then a space followed by the initials SMQLIVB which signify "Sunt Mala Quae Libas, Ipse Venena Bibas" ("Evil are

884-594: The crosses. Medals then began to be struck in Germany, which then spread throughout Europe. This medal was first approved by Pope Benedict XIV in his briefs of 23 December 1741 and 12 March 1742. Benedict has been also the motif of many collector's coins around the world. The Austria 50 euro 'The Christian Religious Orders' , issued on 13 March 2002 is one of them. The early Middle Ages have been called "the Benedictine centuries." In April 2008, Pope Benedict XVI discussed

936-541: The cycle again. In modern times, this timetable is often changed to accommodate any apostolate outside the monastic enclosure (e.g. the running of a school or parish). Many Benedictine Houses have a number of Oblates (secular) who are affiliated with them in prayer, having made a formal private promise (usually renewed annually) to follow the Rule of St Benedict in their private life as closely as their individual circumstances and prior commitments permit. In recent years discussions have occasionally been held concerning

988-581: The daily life of the Benedictine revolved around the eight canonical hours. The monastic timetable, or Horarium , would begin at midnight with the service, or "office", of Matins (today also called the Office of Readings), followed by the morning office of Lauds at 3 am. Before the advent of wax candles in the 14th century, this office was said in the dark or with minimal lighting; and monks were expected to memorise everything. These services could be very long, sometimes lasting till dawn, but usually consisted of

1040-570: The earlier Rule of the Master , but it also has a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness ( ἐπιείκεια , epieíkeia ), which persuaded most Christian religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, Benedict's Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom . For this reason, Giuseppe Carletti regarded Benedict as

1092-515: The foundational document for thousands of religious communities in the Middle Ages. To this day, The Rule of St. Benedict is the most common and influential Rule used by monasteries and monks, more than 1,400 years after its writing. A basilica was built upon the birthplace of Benedict and Scholastica in the 1400s. Ruins of their familial home were excavated from beneath the church and preserved. The earthquake of 30 October 2016 completely devastated

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1144-411: The founder of Western Christian monasticism . Apart from a short poem attributed to Mark of Monte Cassino, the only ancient account of Benedict is found in the second volume of Pope Gregory I 's four-book Dialogues , thought to have been written in 593, although the authenticity of this work is disputed. Gregory's account of Benedict's life, however, is not a biography in the modern sense of

1196-635: The group and went back to his cave at Subiaco. There lived in the neighborhood a priest called Florentius who, moved by envy, tried to ruin him. He tried to poison him with poisoned bread. When he prayed a blessing over the bread, a raven swept in and took the loaf away. From this time his miracles seem to have become frequent, and many people, attracted by his sanctity and character, came to Subiaco to be under his guidance. Having failed by sending him poisonous bread, Florentius tried to seduce his monks with some prostitutes. To avoid further temptations, in about 530 Benedict left Subiaco. He founded 12 monasteries in

1248-494: The influence St Benedict had on Western Europe. The pope said that "with his life and work St Benedict exercised a fundamental influence on the development of European civilization and culture" and helped Europe to emerge from the "dark night of history" that followed the fall of the Roman empire . Benedict contributed more than anyone else to the rise of monasticism in the West. His Rule was

1300-620: The inspiration of Saint Anthony the Great (251–356), ascetic monks led by Saint Pachomius (286–346) formed the first Christian monastic communities under what became known as an Abbot , from the Aramaic abba (father). Within a generation, both solitary as well as communal monasticism became very popular and spread outside of Egypt, first to Palestine and the Judean Desert and thence to Syria and North Africa . Saint Basil of Caesarea codified

1352-494: The main principles of the religious life, viz. : the renunciation of one's own will and arming oneself "with the strong and noble weapons of obedience " under the banner of " the true King , Christ the Lord" (Prol. 3). He proposes to establish a "school for the Lord's service" (Prol. 45) in which the "way to salvation" (Prol. 48) shall be taught, so that by persevering in the monastery till death his disciples may "through patience share in

1404-531: The medal has a cross with the initials CSSML on the vertical bar which signify "Crux Sacra Sit Mihi Lux" ("May the Holy Cross be my light") and on the horizontal bar are the initials NDSMD which stand for "Non-Draco Sit Mihi Dux" ("Let not the dragon be my guide"). The initials CSPB stand for "Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti" ("The Cross of the Holy Father Benedict") and are located on the interior angles of

1456-539: The modern Norcia , in Umbria . If 480 is accepted as the year of his birth, the year of his abandonment of his studies and leaving home would be about 500. Gregory's narrative makes it impossible to suppose him younger than 20 at the time. Benedict was sent to Rome to study, but was disappointed by the academic studies he encountered there. Seeking to flee the great city, he left with his nurse and settled in Enfide . Enfide, which

1508-413: The monastic day into regular periods of communal and private prayer , sleep, spiritual reading, and manual labour – ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus , "that in all [things] God may be glorified" ( cf. Rule ch. 57.9). In later centuries, intellectual work and teaching took the place of farming, crafts, or other forms of manual labour for many – if not most – Benedictines . Traditionally,

1560-489: The mountain now rises almost perpendicularly; while on the right, it strikes in a rapid descent down to where, in Benedict's day, 500 feet (150 m) below, lay the blue waters of a lake. The cave has a large triangular-shaped opening and is about ten feet deep. On his way from Enfide, Benedict met a monk, Romanus of Subiaco , whose monastery was on the mountain above the cliff overhanging the cave. Romanus discussed with Benedict

1612-456: The mountains of central Italy . The present-day Order of Saint Benedict emerged later and, moreover, is not an "order" as the term is commonly understood, but a confederation of autonomous congregations . Benedict's main achievement, his Rule of Saint Benedict , contains a set of rules for his monks to follow. Heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian ( c.  360 – c.   435 ), it shows strong affinity with

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1664-440: The needs of monks in a community environment: namely, to establish due order, to foster an understanding of the relational nature of human beings, and to provide a spiritual father to support and strengthen the individual's ascetic effort and the spiritual growth that is required for the fulfillment of the human vocation, theosis . The Rule of Saint Benedict has been used by Benedictines for 15 centuries, and thus St. Benedict

1716-524: The observance of Lent , the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar moved his memorial to 11 July, the date that appears in some Gallic liturgical books of the end of the 8th century as the feast commemorating his birth ( Natalis S. Benedicti ). There is some uncertainty about the origin of this feast. Accordingly, on 21 March the Roman Martyrology mentions in a line and a half that it

1768-411: The office of Terce was said, and then High Mass. At noon came the office of Sext and the midday meal. After a brief period of communal recreation, the monk could retire to rest until the office of None at 3pm. This was followed by farming and housekeeping work until after twilight, the evening prayer of Vespers at 6pm, then the night prayer of Compline at 9pm, and retiring to bed, before beginning

1820-421: The outer world and by the visits of Romanus, Benedict matured both in mind and character, in knowledge of himself and of his fellow-man, and at the same time he became not merely known to, but secured the respect of, those about him; so much so that on the death of the abbot of a monastery in the neighbourhood (identified by some with Vicovaro ), the community came to him and begged him to become its abbot. Benedict

1872-536: The people called him "Brother Deogratias". Deo gratias has been set to music by several composers. The 15th-century poem " Adam lay ybounden " ends with Deo gratias and it has been set by many composers, including the tenth movement of Benjamin Britten 's A Ceremony of Carols (1942). A 2005 documentary film on the life of Antonín Dvořák is titled Deo Gratias . Rule of St. Benedict The Rule of Saint Benedict ( Latin : Regula Sancti Benedicti )

1924-511: The precepts for these eastern monasteries in his Ascetic Rule, or Ascetica , which is still used today in the Eastern Orthodox Church . In the West in about the year 500, Benedict became so upset by the immorality of society in Rome that he gave up his studies there, at age fourteen, and chose the life of an ascetic monk in the pursuit of personal holiness, living as a hermit in a cave near

1976-545: The purpose which had brought him to Subiaco, and gave him the monk's habit. By his advice Benedict became a hermit and for three years lived in this cave above the lake. Gregory tells little of Benedict's later life. He now speaks of Benedict no longer as a youth ( puer ), but as a man ( vir ) of God. Romanus , Gregory states, served Benedict in every way he could. The monk apparently visited him frequently, and on fixed days brought him food. During these three years of solitude, broken only by occasional communications with

2028-571: The religious community only making minor changes more in line with the time period relevant to his system. The Rule was translated into Armenian by Nerses of Lampron in the 10th century and is used by the Armenian Catholic Mekhitarists today. It was also translated into Old English by Æthelwold . The Rule opens with a hortatory preface, drawing on the Admonitio ad filium spiritualem , in which Saint Benedict sets forth

2080-399: The rugged region of Subiaco . In time, setting an example with his zeal, he began to attract disciples. After considerable initial struggles with his first community at Subiaco, he eventually founded the monastery of Monte Cassino in 529, where he wrote his Rule near the end of his life. In chapter 73, Saint Benedict commends the Rule of Saint Basil and alludes to further authorities. He

2132-513: The rule of law. It also incorporated a degree of democracy in a non-democratic society, and dignified manual labor . Although not stated explicitly in the rule, the motto Ora et labora is widely considered to be a shortform capturing the spirit of the rule. Notes Benedict of Nursia Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire , near Orléans , France Benedict of Nursia ( Latin : Benedictus Nursiae ; Italian : Benedetto da Norcia ; 2 March 480 – 21 March 547), often known as Saint Benedict ,

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2184-618: The service of others, and insufficient appeal to potential members. These different emphases emerged within the framework of the Rule in the course of history and are to some extent present within the Benedictine Confederation and the Cistercian Orders of the Common and the Strict Observance . Christian monasticism first appeared in the Egyptian desert, before Benedict of Nursia . Under

2236-517: The things thou profferest, drink thou thine own poison"). This medal was first struck in 1880 to commemorate the fourteenth centenary of Benedict's birth and is also called the Jubilee Medal; its exact origin, however, is unknown. In 1647, during a witchcraft trial at Natternberg near Metten Abbey in Bavaria, the accused women testified they had no power over Metten, which was under the protection of

2288-468: The tradition of Subiaco identifies with the modern Affile , is in the Simbruini mountains, about forty miles from Rome and two miles from Subiaco. A short distance from Enfide is the entrance to a narrow, gloomy valley, penetrating the mountains and leading directly to Subiaco. The path continues to ascend, and the side of the ravine on which it runs becomes steeper until a cave is reached, above this point

2340-525: The vicinity of Subiaco, and, eventually, in 530 he founded the great Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino , which lies on a hilltop between Rome and Naples. Benedict died of a fever at Monte Cassino not long after his sister, Scholastica , and was buried in the same tomb. According to tradition, this occurred on 21 March 547. He was named patron protector of Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964. In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared him co- patron of Europe, together with Cyril and Methodius . Furthermore, he

2392-555: The word. It provides instead a spiritual portrait of the gentle, disciplined abbot. In a letter to Bishop Maximilian of Syracuse, Gregory states his intention for his Dialogues , saying they are a kind of floretum (an anthology , literally, 'flower garden') of the most striking miracles of Italian holy men. Gregory did not set out to write a chronological, historically anchored story of Benedict, but he did base his anecdotes on direct testimony. To establish his authority, Gregory explains that his information came from what he considered

2444-451: Was a branch of grammar or rhetoric, and historia was an account that summed up the findings of the learned when they wrote what was, at that time, considered history. Gregory's Dialogues , Book Two, then, an authentic medieval hagiography cast as a conversation between the Pope and his deacon Peter, is designed to teach spiritual lessons. Benedict was the son of a Roman noble of Nursia ,

2496-417: Was acquainted with the life and discipline of the monastery, and knew that "their manners were diverse from his and therefore that they would never agree together: yet, at length, overcome with their entreaty, he gave his consent". The experiment failed; the monks tried to poison him. The legend goes that they first tried to poison his drink. He prayed a blessing over the cup and the cup shattered. Thus he left

2548-630: Was an Italian Catholic monk. He is famed in the Catholic Church , the Eastern Orthodox Church , the Lutheran Churches , the Anglican Communion , and Old Catholic Churches . In 1964 Pope Paul VI declared Benedict a patron saint of Europe . Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco in present-day Lazio, Italy (about 65 kilometres (40 mi) to the east of Rome), before moving further south-east to Monte Cassino in

2600-463: Was not initially an important part of Benedictine monasticism – monks used the services of their local priest. Because of this, almost all the Rule is applicable to communities of women under the authority of an abbess . This appeal to multiple groups would later make the Rule of Saint Benedict an integral set of guidelines for the development of the Christian faith. Saint Benedict's Rule organises

2652-514: Was probably aware of the Rule written by Pachomius (or attributed to him), and his Rule also shows influence by the Rule of St Augustine of Hippo and the writings of Saint John Cassian . Benedict's greatest debt, however, may be to the anonymous document known as the Rule of the Master , which Benedict seems to have radically excised, expanded, revised and corrected in the light of his own considerable experience and insight. Saint Benedict's work expounded upon preconceived ideas that were present in

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2704-604: Was the salutation used by the Catholics to distinguish themselves from the Donatists who said Deo laudes instead. Therefore, in Africa, Deo gratias was used as a Catholic given name, e.g. St. Deogratias , Bishop of Carthage (r. 453–456). The name of the deacon for whom St. Augustine wrote his treatise De catechizandis rudibus was also called Deogratias. Felix of Cantalice (1515–1587) used this interjection so often that

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