The monastic order. Monastic orders of the Middle Ages

The history of religion narrates about spiritual searches of different peoples in centuries. Faith has always been a man's companion, gave meaning to his life and motivated not only achievements in the field of internal, but also worldly victories. People, as you know, are social creatures, and therefore often seek to find like-minded people and create an association in which they can move together towards the intended goal. An example of such a community is the monastic order, which included brothers of the same faith, who are united in understanding how to implement the precepts of teachers into practice.

Egyptian hermits

Monasticism was born not in Europe, it originates from the vast expanses of Egyptian deserts. Here, in the IV century, there were hermits who sought to approach spiritual ideals in a remote distance from the world with its passions and vanity. Not finding a place among people, they went into the desert, lived in the open air or in the ruins of some buildings. They were often joined by followers. Together they worked, preached, offered prayers.

Monks in the world were workers of different professions, and each brought something of his own into the community. In 328 Pakhomiy the Great, once a soldier, decided to organize the life of his brothers and founded a monastery, the activities of which were regulated by the charter. Soon such associations began to appear in other places.

Light Knowledge

In 375, Basil the Great organized the first major monastic society. Since then, the history of religion has flowed in a slightly different direction: together the brothers not only prayed and comprehended spiritual laws, but they studied the world, the comprehension of nature, the philosophical aspects of being. By the efforts of monks through the dark ages of the Middle Ages, the wisdom and knowledge of humanity passed without being lost in the past.

Reading and improving in the scientific field was also the responsibility of the novices of the monastery in Monte Cassino, founded by Benedict of Nursia, who is considered the father of monasticism in Western Europe.

Benedictines

530 is considered the date when the first monastic order appeared. Benedict was famous for his asceticism, and a group of followers quickly formed around him. They were among the first Benedictines, as monks were called after their leader.

The life and activities of the brothers were conducted in accordance with the charter developed by Benedict of Nursia. Monks could not change the place of service, own any property and had to obey the abbot altogether. The regulations prescribed the raising of prayers seven times a day, constant physical labor, alternating with hours of rest. The charter defined the time of meals and prayers, punishments for the guilty, necessary for reading the book.

Structure of the monastery

Subsequently, many monastic orders of the Middle Ages were built on the basis of the Benedictine statute. The inner hierarchy was also preserved. The head was an abbot, chosen from among the monks and confirmed by the bishop. He became a lifelong representative of the monastery in the world, leading the brothers with the assistance of several assistants. The Benedictines were to submit completely and humbly to the abbot.

Residents of the monastery were divided into groups of ten people, led by the deans. The abbot with the prior (an assistant) monitored the observance of the statute, but important decisions were taken after the meeting of all the brothers together.

Education

The Benedictines became not only an assistant to the Church in the conversion of new peoples to Christianity. In fact, it is thanks to them that today we know about the content of many ancient manuscripts and manuscripts. The monks were busy rewriting books, preserving the monuments of the philosophical thought of the past.

Compulsory education was from the age of seven. The number of subjects included music, astronomy, arithmetic, rhetoric and grammar. Benedictines saved Europe from the pernicious influence of barbarous culture. Huge libraries of monasteries, deep architectural traditions, knowledge in the field of agriculture helped to preserve civilization at a decent level.

Decline and Revival

At the time of the reign of Charlemagne, the period when the monastic order of the Benedictines was going through hard times. The emperor entered tithes in favor of the Church, demanded from the monasteries the provision of a certain number of soldiers, gave to the power of the bishops vast territories with peasants on them. Monasteries began to be enriched and represent a tidbit for everyone, eager to increase their own well-being.

Representatives of worldly power have the opportunity to found spiritual communities. The bishops broadcast the will of the emperor, more and more immersed in the affairs of the world. The abbots of the new monasteries only formally engaged in spiritual matters, enjoying the fruits of donations and trade. The process of secularization brought to life a movement for the revival of spiritual values, which resulted in the formation of new monastic orders. At the beginning of the 10th century the monastery in Cluny became the center of unification.

The Cluny and the Cistercians

Abbot Bernon received as a present from the Duke of Aquitaine an estate in Upper Burgundy. Here, in Cluny, a new monastery was founded, free of secular power and vassalage. Monastic orders of the Middle Ages experienced a new upsurge. The Clunyans prayed for all laymen, lived according to the statute, developed on the basis of the Benedictine positions, but more strict in matters of behavior and daily routine.

In the XI century, a monastic order of the Cistercians appeared, which took the rule of following the charter, its rigidity scaring away many followers. The number of monks greatly increased due to the vigor and charm of one of the leaders of the Order, Bernard of Clairvaux.

A great many

In the XI-XIII centuries, new monastic orders of the Catholic Church appeared in large numbers. Each of them was noted in history. Camaldools were famous for their strict charter: they did not wear shoes, they welcomed self-flagellation, they did not eat meat at all, even if they were sick. The Carthusians, also honored with rigid rules, were known as hospitable hosts, who considered charity to be an important part of their ministry. One of the main sources of income for them was the sale of the liqueur "Chartreuse", the recipe of which was developed by the Cartesians themselves.

Women contributed to the monastic orders in the Middle Ages . At the head of the monasteries, including the monasteries, the brotherhood of Fontevra were the abbesses. They were considered viceroys of the Virgin Mary. One of the distinctive points of their charter was a vow of silence. Beginki - an order consisting only of women - on the contrary, did not have a charter. The superior was chosen from among the followers, and all activities were directed to the charitable channel. Beginki could leave the order and get married.

Knight-monastic orders

At the time of the Crusades began to appear associations of a new kind. The conquest of the Palestinian lands went under the call of the Catholic Church to liberate Christian shrines from the hands of Muslims. A large number of pilgrims were sent to the eastern lands. They had to be guarded in enemy territory. This was the reason for the emergence of spiritual and knightly orders.

Members of the new associations, on the one hand, gave three vows of monastic life: poverty, obedience and abstinence. On the other hand, they wore armor, always carried a sword and, if necessary, took part in military campaigns.

Knightly monastic orders had a triple structure: it included chaplains (priests), brothers-soldiers and fellow servants. The head of the order - Grandmaster - was elected for life, his candidacy was approved by the Pope, who had supreme power over the association. The head together with the priests periodically collected a chapter (the general gathering where important decisions were made, the laws of the order were approved).

To the spiritual monastic associations were Templars, Ionites (Hospitallers), Teutonic Order, Sword-bearers. All of them were participants in historical events, the importance of which can not be overemphasized. Crusades with their assistance greatly influenced the development of Europe, and indeed of the whole world. The sacred liberation missions received their name thanks to the crosses that were sewn on the knights' garb. Each monastic order used its own color and shape to convey the symbol and thus outwardly differed from the others.

The fall of authority

At the beginning of the XIII century the Church was forced to fight with a huge number of heresies that had arisen. The clergy lost their former authority, the propagandists talked about the need to reform or even abolish the church system as an unnecessary layer between man and God, and condemned the enormous wealth concentrated in the hands of the ministers. In response, the Inquisition appeared, designed to give people reverence for the Church. However, a more beneficial role in this activity was played by mendicant monastic orders, which made mandatory the condition of serving a complete refusal of property.

Francis of Assisi

In 1207, the Order of the Franciscans began to form. His head, Francis of Assisi, saw the essence of his activities in sermons and abdication. He was against the foundation of churches and monasteries, he met his followers once a year at the appointed place. All the rest of the time the monks preached to the people. However, in 1219, after all, the Franciscan monastery was erected at the insistence of the Pope.

Francis of Assisi was famous for his kindness, his ability to serve easily and with complete dedication. He was loved for his poetic talent. Canonized already two years after his death, he acquired a mass of followers and revived the reverence for the Catholic Church. In different centuries from the Franciscan order formed offshoots: the Order of the Capuchins, Tertians, minis, observatories.

Dominique de Guzman

The Church relied on monastic associations in the struggle against heresy. One of the foundations of the Inquisition was the Order of Dominicans, founded in 1205. The founder of it was Dominique de Guzman, an irreconcilable fighter with heretics, revered austerity and poverty.

The Order of Dominicans, one of its main goals, chose the training of high-level preachers. For the organization of suitable conditions for training, even the initially rigid rules, prescribing to the brothers poverty and constant wandering around the cities, were even relaxed. Dominicans did not have to work physically: all their time, therefore, they dedicated to education and prayer.

At the beginning of the 16th century the Church was again in crisis. The adherence of the clergy to luxury and vices undermined authority. The successes of the Reformation forced the clergy to seek new ways of returning the former veneration. Thus the Order of the Theatinas was formed, and then the Society of Jesus. Monastic associations sought to return to the ideals of medieval orders, but time took its toll. Although many orders still exist today, little has been preserved of their former greatness.