Order of Saint Benedict
Encyclopedia : O : OR : ORD : Order of Saint Benedict
- This article is about the Roman Catholic order; see also Benedictine Confederation and Benedictine.
- For the Anglican order of the same name, see Order of St. Benedict (Anglican)
The Order of Saint Benedict — full Latin name: Ordo Sancti Benedicti , initials: OSB — sometimes referred to as the Benedictine Order, is a term used to denote the independent Roman Catholic monasteries that observe the Rule of St Benedict, supplemented by later constitutions and modern customaries. The monastery at Monte Cassino in Italy established by Saint Benedict of Nursia ca 529 was the first of the Benedictine monasteries.
General
The "Order of St Benedict" is fundamentally different from other Western religious orders: there is no legal entity called the "Order of St Benedict", run on similar lines with other Roman Catholic religious orders with their Generalates and Superiors General. Rather, the various Houses (that is, communities) have formed themselves loosely into Congregations (for example, Cassinese, English, Solesmes, Subiaco, Camaldolese, Sylvestrines) that in turn are represented in the Benedictine Confederation.Benedictines are usually Roman Catholics or members of one of the churches of the Anglican Communion, although they are occasionally found in other Christian denominations as well.
Benedictine monks (monastic men) and Benedictine nuns (monastic women) publicly profess the three Benedictine Vows of Stability (to remain in the monastery), of Conversion of Manners, and of Obedience (to the superior, because (s)he holds the place of Christ in their community) in accordance with ch. 58.17 of the Rule of Saint Benedict of Nursia. According to the Code of Canon Law a Benedictine abbey is a "Religious Institute", and its professed members are therefore members of the "Consecrated Life", commonly referred to as "Religious". All Benedictine monks and nuns are members of the Laity among the Christian Faithful; only those Benedictine monks who have been ordained priests are also members of the Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church.
Benedictines who are not members of the Consecrated Life (i.e., Oblates) nevertheless endeavour to embrace the spirit of the Benedictine Vows in their own life in the world.
Within the Order of Saint Benedict, other religious that use the Rule of Saint Benedict and are generally considered to be of the Benedictine tradition are the Cistercians, Bernardines, and Benedictine Sisters of Grace and Compassion, although these are not part of the Benedictine Confederation.
The Benedictine motto is: pax (Latin: "peace"), traditionally also ora et labora (Latin: "pray and work").
See also
- Abbey of Cluny, an abbey, reformed during the Middle Ages, strictly adhering to the Rule.
- Camaldolese
- Sylvestrines
- Cistercian
- Trappists
- Mont Saint Michel
- Autpert Ambrose
Further reading
- 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).
Benedictines in popular culture and fiction
- A stage play based on a book by Hugh Whitemore, The Best of Friends, provides a window on the friendships of Dame Laurentia McLachlan, OSB (late Abbess of Stanbrook) with Sir Sydney Cockerell and George Bernard Shaw through adaptations from their letters and writings.
- The film "In This House of Brede" (1975, TV), with Dame Diana Rigg in the lead role, presents a portrayal of the progress of a fictitious postulant. The film was inspired by the 1969 novel of the same name written by Rumer Godden.
- Perhaps the most famous Benedictine monk in all fictiondom is Brother Cadfael. (Friar Tuck does not qualify for this distinction, as he was a Franciscan.) Edith Pargeter, writing under the pen name Ellis Peters, created the character of Brother Cadfael as the detective hero of her series of medieval murder mysteries known as The Cadfael Chronicles.
- Although the protagonist is a Franciscan, the Umberto Eco novel The Name of the Rose is set in a fictional Benedictine monastery in Italy.
- Samples of chanting Benedictine monks were used in the song I'm Dying by V.A.S.T., from their album Visual Audio Sensory Theater.
- Joseph Knecht, the protagonist of Hermann Hesse's novel The Glass Bead Game, is sent as an ambassador of sorts to a Benedictine abbey for his first assignment.
External links
- [Catholic Encyclopedia entry for The Benedictine Order]
- [Confoederatio Benedictina Ordinis Sancti Benedicti, the Benedictine Confederation of Congregations]
- [Links of the Congregations]
- Benedictine Abbeys & Monasteries:
- * [St. Meinrad Archabbey] St. Meinrad, Indiana, USA
- * [Saint Joseph Abbey & Seminary College Benedictine Monks In Saint Benedict, Louisiana]
- * [Official website of St John's Abbey]
- * [Official website of St. Benedict Abbey] Still River, Massachusetts, USA
- * [Official website of Nakili O Lani Abbey]
- * [Official website of Glenstal Abbey, Ireland]
- * [Benedictine Sisters] - Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Clyde, Missouri, USA
- * [Kansas Monks] - Official website of St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison, Kansas, USA
- * [Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica] - Official website of Mount St. Scholastica in Atchison, Kansas, USA
- * [Benedictine Sisters of Virginia] - Official website of Saint Benedict Monastery, Bristow, Virginia, USA
- * [Benedictine Sisters of Ferdinand, Indiana] - Official website of the Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand, Indiana, USA
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