1.
Order of Saint Benedict
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Each community within the order maintains its own autonomy, while the order itself represents their mutual interests. Internationally, the order is governed by the Benedictine Confederation, a body, established in 1883 by Pope Leo XIIIs Brief Summum semper, individuals whose communities are members of the order generally add the initials OSB after their names. The monastery at Subiaco in Italy, established by Saint Benedict of Nursia circa 529, was the first of the monasteries he founded. He later founded the Abbey of Monte Cassino, there is no evidence, however, that he intended to found an order and the Rule of Saint Benedict presupposes the autonomy of each community. It was from the monastery of St. Andrew in Rome that Augustine, the prior, at various stopping places during the journey, the monks left behind them traditions concerning their rule and form of life, and probably also some copies of the Rule. Lérins Abbey, for instance, founded by Honoratus in 375, probably received its first knowledge of the Benedictine Rule from the visit of St. Augustine, in Gaul and Switzerland, it supplemented the much stricter Irish or Celtic Rule introduced by Columbanus and others. In many monasteries it eventually displaced the earlier codes. Largely through the work of Benedict of Aniane, it became the rule of choice for monasteries throughout the Carolingian empire, Monastic scriptoria flourished from the ninth through the twelfth centuries. Sacred Scripture was always at the heart of every monastic scriptorium, as a general rule those of the monks who possessed skill as writers made this their chief, if not their sole active work. In the Middle Ages monasteries were founded by the nobility. Cluny Abbey was founded by William I, Duke of Aquitaine in 910, the abbey was noted for its strict adherence to the Rule of St. Benedict. The abbot of Cluny was the superior of all the daughter houses, one of the earliest reforms of Benedictine practice was that initiated in 980 by Romuald, who founded the Camaldolese community. The English Benedictine Congregation is the oldest of the nineteen Benedictine congregations, Augustine of Canterbury and his monks established the first English Benedictine monastery at Canterbury soon after their arrival in 597. Many of the sees of England were founded and governed by the Benedictines. Monasteries served as hospitals and places of refuge for the weak, the monks studied the healing properties of plants and minerals to alleviate the sufferings of the sick. Germany was evangelized by English Benedictines, willibrord and Boniface preached there in the seventh and eighth centuries and founded several abbeys. In the English Reformation, all monasteries were dissolved and their lands confiscated by the Crown, during the 19th century they were able to return to England, including to Selby Abbey in Yorkshire, one of the few great monastic churches to survive the Dissolution. St. Mildreds Priory, on the Isle of Thanet, Kent, was built in 1027 on the site of an abbey founded in 670 by the daughter of the first Christian King of Kent, currently the priory is home to a community of Benedictine nuns
2.
Pope Leo XIII
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Pope Leo XIII reigned as Pope from 20 February 1878 to his death. He was the oldest pope, and had the third longest pontificate, behind that of Pius IX and he is the most recent pontiff to date to take the pontifical name of Leo upon being elected to the pontificate. He is well known for his intellectualism and his attempts to define the position of the Catholic Church with regard to modern thinking. In his famous 1891 encyclical Rerum novarum, Pope Leo outlined the rights of workers to a wage, safe working conditions. He influenced Roman Catholic Mariology and promoted both the rosary and the scapular, Leo XIII issued a record of eleven Papal encyclicals on the rosary earning him the title as the Rosary Pope. In addition, he approved two new Marian scapulars and was the first pope to fully embrace the concept of Mary as Mediatrix and he was the first pope to never have held any control over the Papal States, after they had been dissolved by 1870. He was briefly buried in the grottos of Saint Peters Basilica before his remains were transferred to the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. Born in Carpineto Romano, near Rome, he was the sixth of the seven sons of Count Ludovico Pecci and his brothers included Giuseppe and Giovanni Battista Pecci. Until 1818 he lived at home with his family, in which counted as the highest grace on earth, as through her. Together with his brother Giuseppe, he studied in the Jesuit College in Viterbo and he enjoyed the Latin language and was known to write his own Latin poems at the age of eleven. In 1824 he and his older brother Giuseppe were called to Rome where their mother was dying, Count Pecci wanted his children near him after the loss of his wife, and so they stayed with him in Rome, attending the Jesuit Collegium Romanum. In 1828, Giuseppe entered the Jesuit order, while Vincenzo decided in favour of secular clergy and he studied at the Academia dei Nobili, mainly diplomacy and law. In 1834 he gave a student presentation, attended by several cardinals, for his presentation he received awards for academic excellence, and gained the attention of Vatican officials. Cardinal Secretary of State Luigi Lambruschini introduced him to Vatican congregations, during a cholera epidemic in Rome he ably assisted Cardinal Sala in his duties as overseer of all the city hospitals. Pope Gregory XVI appointed Pecci on 14 February 1837, as personal prelate even before he was ordained priest on 31 December 1837, by the Vicar of Rome and he celebrated his first mass together with his priest brother Giuseppe. He received his doctorate in theology in 1836 and doctorates of civil, shortly thereafter, Gregory XVI appointed Pecci as legate to Benevento. The smallest of papal provinces, Benevento included about 20,000 people, the main problems facing Pecci were a decaying local economy, insecurity because of widespread bandits, and pervasive Mafia or Camorra structures, who often were allied with aristocratic families. Pecci arrested the most powerful aristocrat in Benevento, and his troops captured others, with the public order restored, he turned to the economy and a reform of the tax system to stimulate trade with neighboring provinces
3.
Pope Pius XII
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Pope Pius XII, born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli, reigned as Pope from 2 March 1939 to his death in 1958. After the war Pius XII advocated peace and reconciliation, including lenient policies towards Axis, the Church experienced severe persecution and mass deportations of Catholic clergy in the Eastern Bloc. Pius XII was an opponent of Communism and of the Italian Communist Party. He explicitly invoked ex cathedra papal infallibility with the dogma of the Assumption of Mary in his 1950 Apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus and his magisterium includes almost 1,000 addresses and radio broadcasts. His forty-one encyclicals include Mystici corporis, the Church as the Body of Christ, Mediator Dei on liturgy reform and he eliminated the Italian majority in the College of Cardinals in 1946. In 1954, Pius XII began to suffer ill health. The embalming of his body was mishandled, with effects that were evident during the funeral and he was buried in the Vatican grottos and was succeeded by Pope John XXIII. In the process toward sainthood, his cause for canonization was opened on 18 November 1965 by Pope Paul VI during the session of the Second Vatican Council. He was made a Servant of God by Pope John Paul II in 1990, Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli was born on 2 March 1876 in Rome into a family of intense Catholic piety with a history of ties to the papacy. His parents were Filippo Pacelli and Virginia Pacelli, together with his brother Francesco and his two sisters, Giuseppina and Elisabetta, he grew up in the Parione district in the centre of Rome. Soon after the family had moved to Via Vetrina in 1880 he began school at the convent of the French Sisters of Divine Providence in the Piazza Fiammetta, the family worshipped at Chiesa Nuova. Eugenio and the children made their First Communion at this church. In 1886 too he was sent to the school of Professor Giuseppe Marchi. In 1891 Pacellis father sent Eugenio to the Liceo Ennio Quirino Visconti Institute, a school situated in what had been the Collegio Romano. He was also enrolled at the State University, La Sapienza where he studied modern languages, at the end of the first academic year however, in the summer of 1895, he dropped out of both the Capranica and the Gregorian University. According to his sister Elisabetta, the food at the Capranica was to blame, having received a special dispensation he continued his studies from home and so spent most of his seminary years as an external student. In 1899 he completed his education in Sacred Theology with a degree awarded on the basis of a short dissertation. Shortly after ordination he began studies in canon law at SantApollinaire
4.
Second Vatican Council
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The Second Vatican Council, fully the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and informally known as Vatican II, addressed relations between the Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church, many of these changes remain divisive among the Catholic faithful. At the same time, the worlds bishops faced challenges driven by political, social, economic, some of these bishops sought new ways of addressing those challenges. The First Vatican Council had been nearly a century before but had been cut short when the Italian Army entered the city of Rome at the end of Italian unification. Pope John XXIII, however, gave notice of his intention to convene the Council on 25 January 1959 and this sudden announcement, which caught the Curia by surprise, caused little initial official comment from Church insiders. In various discussions before the Council actually convened, John XXIII often said that it was time to open the windows and he invited other Christians outside the Catholic Church to send observers to the Council. Acceptances came from both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Protestant denominations as internal observers, but these observers did not cast votes in the approbation of the conciliar documents. Pope John XXIIIs announcement on 25 January 1959 of his intention to call a general council came as an even to the cardinals present. The Pontiff pre-announced the council under a full moon when the faithful with their candlelights gathered in St. Peters square, after which, he instructed the people to go back home and give their children a kiss of goodnight, from the Pope himself. He had tested the idea only ten days before one of them, his Cardinal Secretary of State Domenico Tardini. Although the Pope later said the idea came to him in a flash in his conversation with Tardini, two cardinals had earlier attempted to interest him in the idea. They were two of the most conservative, Ernesto Ruffini and Alfredo Ottaviani, who had already in 1948 proposed the idea to Pope Pius XII and who put it before John XXIII on 27 October 1958. These groups, composed mostly of members of the Roman Curia, produced 987 proposed constituting sessions, attendance varied in later sessions from 2,100 to over 2,300. In addition, a number of periti were available for theological consultation—a group that turned out to have a major influence as the council went forward. Seventeen Orthodox Churches and Protestant denominations sent observers, more than three dozen representatives of other Christian communities were present at the opening session, and the number grew to nearly 100 by the end of the 4th Council Sessions. Pope John XXIII opened the Council on 11 October 1962 in a public session, what is needed is that this certain and immutable doctrine, to which the faithful owe obedience, be studied afresh and reformulated in contemporary terms. For this deposit of faith, or truths which are contained in our time-honored teaching is one thing, roncalli, Angelo Giuseppe, Opening address, Council, Rome, IT.13 October 1962 marked the initial working session of the Council. That days agenda included the election for members of the ten conciliar commissions, each would have sixteen elected and eight appointed members, and were expected to do most of the work of the Council
5.
Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino
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SantAnselmo allAventino is a Roman Catholic church, monastery and college located on Cavalieri di Malta Square on the Aventine Hill in Romes Ripa rione. It is named in honor of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, the buildings were designed by Hildebrand de Hemptinne and Fidelis von Stotzingen and built in 1900. The International College of Sant Anselmo is located here, as is the seat of the Abbot Primate of the Federation of the Black Monks, the attached abbey is called Badia Primaziale of the Order of Saint Benedict. The complex also hosts the Pontificio Ateneo Sant Anselmo, including the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, the church has a basilical plan, and its mosaics have only the figures in mosaic and no background. The paschal candlestick is modern but in the Cosmatesque style, the crypt can be visited, through a door by the altar of the Blessed Sacrament. Behind this altar is a statue of St Benedict, with his arms raised in prayer - the posture in which he died, in the atrium, there is a bronze statue of St Anselm, made in the late 20th century. From here, it is possible to see Santa Maria del Priorato, in the entrance to the monastery, reached from the atrium, is a Roman mosaic of Orpheus that was found when the college was built. SantAnselmo is built in a style, atop of Roman ruins which date from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD. These remains are visible and visitable, by arrangement, under both the first courtyard and in the basement, the church is mainly known to the local Roman people because of the performance of Gregorian chant during the Sunday mass. The church was built by Francesco Vespignani between 1892 and 1896, on a given by the Knights of Malta to the Benedictines. Vespignani built it according to the project of the Belgium Benedictine abbot Hildebrand de Hemptinne, the church is made of three naves, divided by granite columns. The ceiling is a truss and the apse is covered by a mosaic, the crypt is made of 5 naves. In 1985 Pope John Paul II made the church a titular deaconary, fortunato Baldelli Lorenzo Baldisseri Official website
6.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
7.
Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm
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The Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm is an educational institute in Rome, established under papal jurisdiction. It is located next to the Church of SantAnselmo allAventino on the Aventine in Rome, since 10 March 2015, the Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical Atheneum of St. Anselm was Father Juan Javier Flores Arcas, O. S. B. A Benedictine priest from Spain, who is a Member of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses, the University was restored in its present form by Pope Leo XIII in 1887, created in honour of St. Anselm of Canterbury. In 1952, the institution was given recognition and flourished after the Second Vatican Council. SantAnselmo receives students from Benedictine congregations from around the world to provide training to Benedictines. As of 2015 the librarian was Dom Luigi Gioia, O. S. B
8.
Nun
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A nun is a member of a religious community of women, typically one living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The term nun is applicable to Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Anglicans, Lutherans, Jains, Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, Mother Teresas Missionaries of Charity, lives an active vocation of both prayer and service, often to the needy, ill, poor, and uneducated. All Buddhist traditions have nuns, although their status is different among Buddhist countries, fully ordained Buddhist nuns have more Patimokkha rules than the monks. The important vows are the same, however, as with monks, there is quite a lot of variation in nuns dress and social conventions between Buddhist cultures in Asia. Chinese nuns possess the full ordination, Tibetan nuns do not. In Thailand, a country never had a tradition of fully ordained nuns. However, some of them have played an important role in dhamma-practitioners community. There are in Thai Forest Tradition foremost nuns such as Mae Ji Kaew Sianglam, the founder of the Nunnery of Baan Huai Saai, who is believed by some to be enlightened as well as Upāsikā Kee Nanayon. At the beginning of the 21st century, some Buddhist women in Thailand have started to introduce the bhikkhuni sangha in their country as well, dhammananda Bhikkhuni, formerly the successful academic scholar Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, established a controversial monastery for the training of Buddhist nuns in Thailand. The relatively active roles of Taiwanese nuns were noted by some studies, researcher Charles Brewer Jones estimates that from 1952 to 1999, when the Buddhist Association of the ROC organized public ordination, female applicants have outnumbered males by about three to one. He adds, All my informants in the areas of Taipei and Sanhsia considered nuns at least as respectable as monks, in contrast, however, Shiu-kuen Tsung found in Taipei county that female clergy were viewed with some suspicion by society. She reports that while outsiders did not necessarily regard their vocation as unworthy of respect, wei-yi Cheng studied Luminary order in southern Taiwan. Based on studies of Luminary order, Cheng concluded that the order in Taiwan was still young and gave nuns more rooms of development. Gelongma ordination requires the presence of ten fully ordained people keeping exactly the same vows, because ten nuns are required to ordain a new one, the effort to establish the Dharmaguptaka bhikkhu tradition has taken a long time. It is permissible for a Tibetan nun to receive ordination from another living tradition. Based on this, Western nuns ordained in Tibetan tradition, like Thubten Chodron, the ordination of monks and nuns in Tibetan Buddhism distinguishes three stages, rabjung-ma, getshül-ma and gelong-ma. The clothes of the nuns in Tibet are basically the same as those of monks, hokke-ji in 747 was established by the consort of the Emperor. It took charge of provincial convents, performed ceremonies for the protection of the state, aristocratic Japanese women often became Buddhist nuns in the premodern period
9.
Subiaco Cassinese Congregation
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The Subiaco Cassinese Congregation is an international union of Benedictine houses within the Benedictine Confederation. The expanded congregation was given new name. Father Casaretto from the age of seventeen was a monk of the Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte which was a member of the ancient Cassinese Congregation of Benedictine monasteries, due to his poor health later, after his ordination as a priest, he was advised to seek exclaustration. Instead, he accepted assignment to a parish which had been entrusted to the care of the Congregation. Furthermore, his stipulation was that they be allowed to follow an exact observance of the life as laid down in the Rule of St. Benedict. To be revived in this was the practice of abstinence from meat. This was seen as an act of defiance in some quarters, but Casaretto had won the confidence of Pope Pius IX and his vision was fulfilled with the establishment of a small monastic community in 1843. The new foundation received approbation within the Congregation in 1846 with the visit of the Abbot of their mother community and that same year, it also found support from the Vatican with its approval of 18 articles Casaretto had submitted to serve as shaping the character of the foundation. Additionally, he founded a small seminary nearby to prepare monks for serving overseas and this was a step away from the purely European focus of the Cassinese congregation. Over the next few years, three other Cassinese monasteries joined Casarettos experiment, at this point, the Cassinese Congregation formed these communities into a new Province of Subiaco, granting these communities a degree of autonomy. By 1867, monasteries in Belgium, England and France had also joined this new Province and that was the year that Casaretto had decided that conditions in the mother Congregation were such that a complete split would be best. For this he convened an extraordinary Diet, which declared such a break and this step drew the criticism of excessive centralization of monastic life, but the new congregation thrived, and received final papal approval in 1872, only five years after its inauguration. Yet Casarettos vision was not to survive intact, within a few years of his death, a committee of Cardinals called an extraordinary General Chapter in 1880. Following decades saw the consolidation and expansion of the Congregation, growing hostility by the governments of Italy and France saw temporary suppression of various abbeys. This led them to new foundations in Bengal, New Zealand. The congregation was flourishing, however, at the start of the 20th century, the Spanish Civil War, followed soon after by World War II, saw a change in fortunes of the Congregation. Widespread destruction and dispersal of religious communities did not spare the monks, the entire community of El Pueyo was murdered during this conflict. Growth was able to resume after these conflicts, especially in the French province, in 1959, the General Chapter of the Congregation chose to re-take its original name of Subiaco
10.
Monte Cassino
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Monte Cassino is a rocky hill about 130 kilometres southeast of Rome, Italy,2 kilometres to the west of the town of Cassino and 520 m altitude. Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is best known for its historic abbey, St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. The hilltop sanctuary was the site of the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944, the site has been visited many times by Popes and other senior clergy, including Pope Benedict XVI in May 2009. Since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council the monastery is one of the few remaining territorial abbeys within the Catholic Church, on 23 October 2014, Pope Francis applied the norms of the motu proprio Ecclesia Catholica to the Abbey. This act removed from its jurisdiction all 53 parishes and reduced its territory to the Abbey itself - while retaining its status as a Territorial Abbey. The former territory of the Abbey, except the land on which the Abbey Church and monastery sit, was transferred to the local diocese of Sora-Cassino-Aquino-Pontecorvo. The history of Monte Cassino is linked to the town of Cassino which was first settled in the fifth century B. C. by the Volsci people who held much of central. It was the Volsci who first built a citadel on the summit of Monte Cassino, the Volsci in the area were defeated by the Romans in 312 B. C. The Romans renamed the settlement Casinum and build a temple to Apollo at the citadel, modern excavations have found no remains of the temple, but ruins of an amphitheatre, a theatre, and a mausoleum indicate the lasting presence the Romans had there. Generations after the Roman Empire adopted Christianity the town became the seat of a bishopric in the fifth century A. D, lacking strong defences the area was subject to barbarian attack and became abandoned and neglected with only a few struggling inhabitants holding out. According to Gregory the Greats biography of Benedict, Life of Saint Benedict of Nursia, the monastery was constructed on a pagan site. The biography records that the area was still pagan at the time and Benedicts first act was to smash the sculpture of Apollo. He then reused the temple, dedicating it to Saint Martin, archaeologist Neil Christie notes that it was common in such hagiographies for the protagonist to encounter areas of strong paganism. Once established at Monte Cassino, Benedict never left and he wrote the Benedictine Rule that became the founding principle for Western monasticism, received a visit from Totila, king of the Ostrogoths, and died there. The Rule of St. Benedict mandated the moral obligations to care for the sick, so in Monte Cassino St. Benedict founded a hospital that is considered today to have been the first hospital in Europe of the new era. There Benedictine monks took care of the sick and wounded according to the Benedict’s Rule, the monastic routine called for hard work. The care of the sick was such an important duty that those caring for them were enjoined to act as if they served Christ directly, Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at nearby Subiaco, where hospitals were settled too as adjuncts to the monasteries in order to provide charity. Soon many monasteries were founded throughout Europe, and everywhere there were hospitals like in Monte Cassino, Monte Cassino became a model for future developments
11.
Rule of Saint Benedict
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The Rule of Saint Benedict is a book of precepts written by Benedict of Nursia for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedicts Rule is summed up in the motto of the Benedictine Confederation, pax, 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. The Rule of Saint Benedict has been used by Benedictines for fifteen centuries and his Rule was written as a guide for individual, autonomous communities, and to this day all Benedictine Houses remain self-governing. Advantages seen in retaining this unique Benedictine emphasis on autonomy include cultivating models of tightly bonded communities, perceived disadvantages comprise geographical isolation from important activities in adjacent communities. Other perceived losses include inefficiency and lack of mobility in the service of others, Christian monasticism first appeared in the Eastern Roman Empire a few generations before Benedict of Nursia, in the Egyptian desert. Within a generation, both solitary and communal monasticism became very popular and spread outside of Egypt, first to Palestine, Saint Basil of Caesarea codified the precepts for these eastern monasteries in his Ascetic Rule, or Ascetica, which is still used today in the Eastern Orthodox Church. 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 he was probably aware of the Rule written by Pachomius, and his Rule also shows influence by the Rule of St Augustine of Hippo and the writings of Saint John Cassian. Chapter 3 ordains the calling of the brothers to council upon all affairs of importance to the community, Chapter 4 lists 73 tools for good work, tools of the spiritual craft for the workshop that is the enclosure of the monastery and the stability in the community. These are essentially the duties of every Christian and are mainly Scriptural either in letter or in spirit, Chapter 5 prescribes prompt, ungrudging, and absolute obedience to the superior in all things lawful, unhesitating obedience being called the first degree, or step, of humility. Chapter 6 recommends moderation in the use of speech, but does not enjoin strict silence, chapters 8-19 regulate the Divine Office, the Godly work to which nothing is to be preferred, namely the eight canonical hours. Detailed arrangements are made for the number of Psalms, etc. to be recited in winter and summer, on Sundays, weekdays, Holy Days, Chapter 19 emphasizes the reverence owed to the omnipresent God. Chapter 20 directs that prayer be made with heartfelt compunction rather than many words and it should be prolonged only under the inspiration of divine grace, and in community always kept short and terminated at a sign from the superior. Chapter 21 regulates the appointment of a Dean over every ten monks, each monk is to have a separate bed and is to sleep in his habit, so as to be ready to rise without delay, a light shall burn in the dormitory throughout the night. Chapters 31 and 32 order the appointment of officials to charge of the goods of the monastery. Chapter 33 forbids the possession of anything without the leave of the abbot. Chapter 34 prescribes a just distribution of such things, Chapter 35 arranges for the service in the kitchen by all monks in turn. Chapters 36 and 37 address care of the sick, the old, and they are to have certain dispensations from the strict Rule, chiefly in the matter of food
12.
Fleury Abbey
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Its site on the banks of the Loire has always made it easily accessible from Orléans, a center of culture unbroken since Roman times. Today the abbey has over forty monks and is headed by the abbot Etienne Ricaud, Abbo of Fleury a monk and abbot of Fleury was a theologian of wide-ranging intellect, his life was written by the chronicler Aimoin, also a monk of Fleury. Andrew of Fleury wrote Miracula sancti Benedicti, hugh of Fleury was a monk of Fleury known for his chronicles and other writings. The Catholic Encyclopedia says that from the start the abbey boasted of two churches, one in honour of St. Peter and the other in honour of the Blessed Virgin. The church of St Peter was demolished in the eighteenth century and it was here that the Fleury Playbook was compiled, perhaps in dedication to the new church. The tower of Abbot Gauzlin, resting on fifty columns, forms a unique porch, the Carolingian style church is about three hundred feet long, its transept one hundred and forty feet. The choir of the church contains the tomb of a French monarch, Philip I of France, of the mediaeval abbeys buildings, only this basilica survives in the modern monastery. This was the selected by the Abbot of St-Aignan for his Benedictine foundation. The most famous of the Merovingian abbots was St. Mommolus, the monastery underwent a season of reform in its monastic life, about 930, along the lines first laid out at Cluny. The monk of Fleury named Helgaud, was chaplain to King Robert II, Fleury had particular significance in lending legitimacy to its patrons. Theodulphus, bishop of Orléans established at Fleury a school for young noblemen recommended there by Charlemagne, by the mid-ninth century its library was one of the most comprehensive ever assembled in the West, and scholars such as Lupus of Ferrières traveled there to consult its texts. Later under St. Abbo of Fleury, head of the abbey school, Fleury enjoyed a second golden age. Later, among the non-resident abbots in commendam were Cardinals Odet de Coligny and Antoine Sanguin in the reign of François I, like all Benedictine monasteries in France, the community was scattered by the French revolution. Finally, in 1944, the community was restored to the abbey, the monastery is remembered each day at Evensong in Winchester Cathedral with an additional short said prayer at the conclusion of The Responses - The Fleury Prayer. Fleury is reputed to contain the relics of St. Benedict of Nursia, the father of Western monasticism, Mommolus, the second Abbot of Fleury, is said to have effected their transfer when that abbey fell into decay after the ravages of the Lombards in the seventh century. Benedicts relics, and the Miracula S. Benedicti developed over three centuries by five monks of Fleury, including Andreas of Fleury, attracted pilgrims, bringing wealth and fame. The monks of Monte Cassino impugned the claims of Fleury, boethius, In Librum Aristotelis de Interpretatione, Manuscript probably produced at Fleury, mid-ninth century Anselme Davril, editor,1990. A twelfth-century ritual, Orléans, Bibliothèque Municipale MS123 ISBN 978-0-9501009-9-9 Chenesseau, labbaye de Fleury à Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire 1933
13.
Abbey of Santa Giustina
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The Abbey of Santa Giustina is a Benedictine abbey in the center of the City of Padua, facing the Prato della Valle, which dates from the 10th century. The abbey is attached to the Basilica of Santa Giustina, which was built in the 6th century and its present shape derives from construction in the 17th century. The abbey is attached to the basilica which was built in the 520s by the Prefect Opilius to house the remains of St. Justina of Padua, the building, with its lavish decorations, was described in 565 in a Life of St. Martin written by Venantius Fortunatus. At that point the community undertook renovations of the basilica. In 1110 the abbey was sacked by the troops of the future Holy Roman Emperor Henry V during his invasion of Lombardy, the basilica complex was devastated in 1117 by a very strong earthquake which wreaked havoc throughout northern Italy and Germany. A period of decline in the observance of its way of life began to develop in the monastic community, the congregation later became called the Cassinese Congregation. The abbey developed ties with centers of learning across the continent and its artworks and the most valuable collections of the abbatial library were sent to Paris by the occupying forces. The monks were expelled and the buildings and property were sold off in 1810, the cloisters were then used as a military hospital, later as a barracks. The buildings were returned to the Catholic Church in 1917 and Pope Benedict XV re-established the abbey with all its ancient rights and he placed it under the Abbey of Praglia in nearby Teolo, which sent monks to resume monastic life there. On 1 November 1942 the community was declared an autonomous priory, the basilica and abbey now have the government status of a national monument and operate under the authority of the Superintendent of Monuments and Civil Heritage. The building is a Latin cross that extends from east to west, at 118.5 metres long and 82 metres wide, the Basilica of Santa Giustina is one of the largest of Christianity, it is seventh largest in Italy. The grandeur of the building is enhanced by the Prato della Valle, the presbytery with the choir, and the two chapels for saints Luke and Matthew that form the transepts. Each has an apse and are flanked by two chapels. Each aisle has six chapels, square plan. The 26 pillars supporting the roof domes, each dome is set directly on the barrel vaults, the floor of the basilica was laid between 1608 and 1615 on geometric design, with yellow, white and red marble. There are many pieces of Greek marble, from the Basilica Opilionea, capella di San Giacomo The first chapel is dedicated to Saint James the Less. The altar is in polychrome stones in the style of the Corbarelli family of the seventeenth century, the white marble altarpiece shows an oil on canvas by Carlo Caliari, the martyrdom of Saint James. Capella di San Gregorio Magno The second chapel is dedicated to Pope Gregory I, altar in polychrome mineral marquetry in the taste of the Corbarelli family of the twentieth century
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Padua
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Padua is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic, the city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, which has a population of c. Padua stands on the Bacchiglione River,40 kilometres west of Venice and 29 km southeast of Vicenza, the Brenta River, which once ran through the city, still touches the northern districts. Its agricultural setting is the Venetian Plain, to the citys south west lies the Euganaean Hills, praised by Lucan and Martial, Petrarch, Ugo Foscolo, and Shelley. It hosts the University of Padua, founded in 1222, where Galileo Galilei was a lecturer, Padua is the setting for most of the action in Shakespeares The Taming of the Shrew. There is a play by the Victorian writer Oscar Wilde, titled The Duchess Of Padua, the original significance of the Roman name Patavium is uncertain. It may be connected with the ancient name of the River Po, additionally, the root pat-, in the Indo-European language may refer to a wide open plain as opposed to nearby hills. The ending -ium, signifies the presence of villages that have united themselves together, Padua claims to be the oldest city in northern Italy. According to a tradition dated at least to the time of Virgils Aeneid and to Livys Ab Urbe Condita, Padua was founded in around 1183 BC by the Trojan prince Antenor. After the Fall of Troy, Antenor led a group of Trojans and their Paphlagonian allies, the Eneti or Veneti, thus, when a large ancient stone sarcophagus was exhumed in the year 1274, officials of medieval commune declared the remains within to be those of Antenor. Nevertheless, archeological remains confirm a date for the foundation of the center of the town to between the 11th and 10th centuries BC. The Roman historian Livy records an invasion of the Spartan king Cleonimos around 302 BC. The Spartans came up the river but were defeated by the Veneti in a naval battle, still later, the Veneti of Padua successfully defended themselves against the aggression of Etruscans and Gauls. According to Livy and Silius Italicus, the Veneti, including those of Padua, formed an alliance with the Romans by 226 BC, against their common enemy, men from Padua fought and died besides the Romans at Cannae. As the Romans advanced northward, Padua was gradually assimilated into the Roman Republic, in 175 BC, Padua requested the aid of Rome in putting down a local civil war. In 91 BC, Padua, along with cities of the Veneti. Around 49 BC, Padua was made a Roman municipium under the Lex Julia Municipalis and its citizens ascribed to the Roman tribe, at that time the population of the city was perhaps 40,000. The city was reputed for its excellent breed of horses and the wool of its sheep, in fact, the poet Martial remarks on the thickness of the tunics made there
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Napoleon
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Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, one of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Napoleons political and cultural legacy has ensured his status as one of the most celebrated and he was born Napoleone di Buonaparte in Corsica to a relatively modest family from the minor nobility. When the Revolution broke out in 1789, Napoleon was serving as an officer in the French army. Seizing the new opportunities presented by the Revolution, he rose through the ranks of the military. The Directory eventually gave him command of the Army of Italy after he suppressed a revolt against the government from royalist insurgents, in 1798, he led a military expedition to Egypt that served as a springboard to political power. He engineered a coup in November 1799 and became First Consul of the Republic and his ambition and public approval inspired him to go further, and in 1804 he became the first Emperor of the French. Intractable differences with the British meant that the French were facing a Third Coalition by 1805, in 1806, the Fourth Coalition took up arms against him because Prussia became worried about growing French influence on the continent. Napoleon quickly defeated Prussia at the battles of Jena and Auerstedt, then marched the Grand Army deep into Eastern Europe, France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July 1807, bringing an uneasy peace to the continent. Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia and declared his brother Joseph the King of Spain in 1808. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support, the Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, and ended in victory for the Allies. The Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia, unwilling to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System and enticed Napoleon into another war. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse of the Grand Army, the destruction of Russian cities, in 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France. A lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, the Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April. He was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power, however, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again. The Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June, the British exiled him to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died six years later at the age of 51
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Reformation
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The period is usually considered to have begun with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses by Luther in 1517 to the Thirty Years War and ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Protestant position, however, would come to incorporate doctrinal changes such as sola scriptura, the initial movement within Germany diversified, and other reform impulses arose independently of Luther. The spread of Gutenbergs printing press provided the means for the dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. The largest groups were the Lutherans and Calvinists, Lutheran churches were founded mostly in Germany, the Baltics and Scandinavia, while the Reformed ones were founded in Switzerland, Hungary, France, the Netherlands and Scotland. The new movement influenced the Church of England decisively after 1547 under Edward VI and Elizabeth I, there were also reformation movements throughout continental Europe known as the Radical Reformation, which gave rise to the Anabaptist, Moravian and other Pietistic movements. The Roman Catholic Church responded with a Counter-Reformation initiated by the Council of Trent, much work in battling Protestantism was done by the well-organised new order of the Jesuits. In general, Northern Europe, with the exception of most of Ireland, southern Europe remained Roman Catholic, while Central Europe was a site of a fierce conflict, culminating in the Thirty Years War, which left it devastated. The oldest Protestant churches, such as the Unitas Fratrum and Moravian Church, the later Protestant Churches generally date their doctrinal separation from the Roman Catholic Church to the 16th century. The Reformation began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church, by priests who opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice. They especially objected to the teaching and the sale of indulgences, and the abuses thereof, and to simony, the reformers saw these practices as evidence of the systemic corruption of the Churchs hierarchy, which included the pope. Unrest due to the Great Schism of Western Christianity excited wars between princes, uprisings among the peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church, New perspectives came from John Wycliffe at Oxford University and from Jan Hus at the Charles University in Prague. Hus rejected indulgences and adopted a doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone, the Roman Catholic Church officially concluded this debate at the Council of Constance by condemning Hus, who was executed by burning despite a promise of safe-conduct. Wycliffe was posthumously condemned as a heretic and his corpse exhumed and burned in 1428, the Council of Constance confirmed and strengthened the traditional medieval conception of church and empire. The council did not address the national tensions or the theological tensions stirred up during the century and could not prevent schism. Pope Sixtus IV established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, Pope Alexander VI was one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes. He was the father of seven children, including Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, in response to papal corruption, particularly the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses. The Reformation was born of Luthers dual declaration – first, the discovering of Jesus and salvation by faith alone, the Protestant reformers were unanimous in agreement and this understanding of prophecy furnished importance to their deeds. It was the point and the battle cry that made the Reformation nearly unassailable
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Protestantism
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Protestantism is a form of Christianity which originated with the Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the three divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The term derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church—notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Protestants reject the notion of papal supremacy and deny the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Five solae summarize the reformers basic differences in theological beliefs, in the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and Iceland. Reformed churches were founded in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland and France by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, the political separation of the Church of England from Rome under King Henry VIII brought England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement. Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, some Protestant denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of families, Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches, Lutheranism, Methodism. Nondenominational, evangelical, charismatic, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, the edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier. During the Reformation, the term was used outside of the German politics. The word evangelical, which refers to the gospel, was more widely used for those involved in the religious movement. Nowadays, this word is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran and Calvinist traditions in Europe, above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area, such as the EKD. In continental Europe, an Evangelical is either a Lutheran or a Calvinist, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, and is different from the German evangelikal, which refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism. The English word evangelical usually refers to Evangelical Protestant churches, and it traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States. Protestantism as a term is now used in contradistinction to the other major Christian traditions, i. e. Roman Catholicism. Initially, Protestant became a term to mean any adherent to the Reformation movement in Germany and was taken up by Lutherans. Even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ, French and Swiss Protestants preferred the word reformed, which became a popular, neutral and alternative name for Calvinists
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Anglicanism
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Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising the Church of England and churches which are historically tied to it or hold similar beliefs, worship practices and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to the Magna Carta and before, adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans. As the name suggests, the churches of the Anglican Communion are linked by bonds of tradition, affection and they are in full communion with the See of Canterbury, and thus the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his person, is a unique focus of Anglican unity. He calls the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference, chairs the meeting of primates, Anglicans base their Christian faith on the Bible, traditions of the apostolic Church, apostolic succession, and writings of the Church Fathers. Anglicanism forms one of the branches of Western Christianity, having declared its independence from the Holy See at the time of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. Many of the new Anglican formularies of the mid-16th century corresponded closely to those of contemporary Protestantism, the word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English Church. Adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans, as an adjective, Anglican is used to describe the people, institutions and churches, as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the Church of England. As a noun, an Anglican is a member of a church in the Anglican Communion, the word is also used by followers of separated groups which have left the communion or have been founded separately from it, although this is sometimes considered as a misuse. The word Anglicanism came into being in the 19th century, although the term Anglican is found referring to the Church of England as far back as the 16th century, its use did not become general until the latter half of the 19th century. Elsewhere, however, the term Anglican Church came to be preferred as it distinguished these churches from others that maintain an episcopal polity, as such, it is often referred to as being a via media between these traditions. Anglicans understand the Old and New Testaments as containing all necessary for salvation and as being the rule. Reason and Tradition are seen as means to interpret Scripture. Anglicans understand the Apostles Creed as the symbol and the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. Anglicans celebrate the sacraments, with special emphasis being given to the Eucharist, also called Holy Communion. Unique to Anglicanism is the Book of Common Prayer, the collection of services that worshippers in most Anglican churches used for centuries and it was called common prayer originally because it was intended for use in all Church of England churches which had previously followed differing local liturgies. The term was kept when the church became international because all Anglicans used to share in its use around the world, in 1549, the first Book of Common Prayer was compiled by Thomas Cranmer, who was then Archbishop of Canterbury. The founding of Christianity in Britain is commonly attributed to Joseph of Arimathea, according to Anglican legend, Saint Alban, who was executed in 209 AD, is the first Christian martyr in the British Isles. A new culture emerged around the Irish Sea among the Celtic peoples with Celtic Christianity at its core, what resulted was a form of Christianity distinct from Rome in many traditions and practices
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Pope Pius XI
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Pope Pius XI, born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, reigned as Pope from 6 February 1922 to his death in 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 and he took as his papal motto, Pax Christi in Regno Christi, translated The Peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ. During his pontificate, the hostility with the Italian government over the status of the papacy. He was unable to stop the persecution of the Church and the killing of clergy in Mexico, Spain and he canonized important saints, including Thomas More, Petrus Canisius, Konrad von Parzham, Andrew Bobola and Don Bosco. Pius XI created the feast of Christ the King in response to anti-clericalism and he took a strong interest in fostering the participation of lay people throughout the Catholic Church, especially in the Catholic Action movement. The end of his pontificate was dominated by speaking out against Hitler and Mussolini and defending the Catholic Church from intrusions into Catholic life and he died on 10 February 1939 in the Apostolic Palace and is buried in the Papal Grotto of Saint Peters Basilica. In the course of excavating space for his tomb, two levels of burial grounds were uncovered which revealed bones now venerated as the bones of St. Peter. Achille Ratti was born in Desio, in the province of Milan, in 1857 and he was ordained a priest in 1879 and embarked on an academic career within the Church. He obtained three doctorates at the Gregorian University in Rome, and then from 1882 to 1888 was a professor at the seminary in Padua and his scholarly specialty was as an expert paleographer, a student of ancient and medieval Church manuscripts. Eventually, he left teaching to work full-time at the Ambrosian Library in Milan. During this time, he edited and published an edition of the Ambrosian Missal and he became chief of the Library in 1907 and undertook a thorough programme of restoration and re-classification of the Ambrosians collection. He was also a mountaineer in his spare time, reaching the summits of Monte Rosa. The combination of a pope would not be seen again until the pontificate of John Paul II. In 1911, at Pope Pius Xs invitation, he moved to the Vatican to become Vice-Prefect of the Vatican Library, in October 1918, Benedict was the first head of state to congratulate the Polish people on the occasion of the restoration of their independence. In March 1919, he nominated ten new bishops and, soon after, Ratti was consecrated as a titular archbishop in October 1919. Benedict XV and Nuncio Ratti repeatedly cautioned Polish authorities against persecuting the Lithuanian and Ruthenian clergy, Ratti intended to work for Poland by building bridges to men of goodwill in the Soviet Union, even to shedding his blood for Russia. Benedict, however, needed Ratti as a diplomat, not as a martyr, the nuncios continued contacts with Russians did not generate much sympathy for him within Poland at the time. After Pope Benedict sent Ratti to Silesia to forestall potential political agitation within the Polish Catholic clergy, on 20 November, when German Cardinal Adolf Bertram announced a papal ban on all political activities of clergymen, calls for Rattis expulsion climaxed
