Today we celebrate the Feast of St Benedict. Benedict was born in Nursia, central Italy, around the year 480. As a young man he was sent to study in Rome, but was soon appalled by the corruption in society and withdrew to live as a hermit at Subiaco. He quickly attracted disciples and began to establish small monasteries in the neighbourhood. Around the year 525, a disaffected faction tried to poison him so Benedict moved to Monte Cassino with a band of loyal monks. Later in life he wrote his Rule for Monks, based on his own experience of fallible people striving to live out the gospel. He never intended to found an ‘order’ but his Rule was so good that it was disseminated and widely followed, becoming the model for western monasticism. Benedict died at Monte Cassino in about the year 550.
The Rule of St Benedict is still, 1500 years later, a highly respected manual for the governing of monasteries and other church communities. It contains a wealth of good advice, for everyone involved in any kind of Christian Community – from the leader to the lowliest, newest member. For example, Benedict offers this advice to the Abbot (which in my case would mean the Rector):
Let him recognize that his goal must be profit for the monks, not pre-eminence for himself. He ought, therefore, to be learned in divine law, so that he has a treasury of knowledge from which he can bring out what is new and what is old (Matt 13:52). He must be chaste, temperate and merciful. He should always let mercy triumph over judgment (Jas 2:13) so that he too may win mercy.
Later, Benedict goes on…
Let him strive to be loved rather than feared. Excitable, anxious, extreme, obstinate, jealous or over-suspicious he must not be. Such a man is never at rest. Instead, he must show forethought and consideration in his orders, and whether the task he assigns concerns God or the world, he should be discerning and moderate, bearing in mind the discretion of holy Jacob, who said: If I drive my flocks too hard, they will all die in a single day (Gen 33:13).
So, that’s me told then! I’m to guard against being excitable, anxious, and obstinate, and I’m not to drive my flock too hard. So, Sandra, you can relax!
The Rule of Benedict was so important that every day of the year, the brothers in a monastery would gather to listen to a chapter of the rule being read. This gathering became known simply as ‘the chapter’ – and the meeting hall in which they gathered, was called the chapter house. If you visit any great church today, and you find a ‘chapter house’ – you can be sure that it was once a monastery.
Monasteries were foundational institutions, throughout Europe and certainly in the UK. Both Benedictine and Franciscan abbeys were responsible for massive amounts of land, providing work for thousands in agriculture, healing for the sick, and for the spread of knowledge through their gift of copying manuscripts and sending them all over the world. Entire communities grew up around these abbeys. If you’ve ever visited Glastonbury, or Battle near Hastings, or indeed Walsingham (beloved by many in this congregation) you can plainly see how an entire local economy both supported, and was supported by, a local abbey. Around 1,000 years after St Benedict, they were a significant force in our nation, and very wealthy institutions. Sometimes, doubtless, they had corrupt leaders who lined their own pockets. Some monasteries were famous for the laziness of their monks. Which should not be a surprise – given that all institutions run by humans will always have a few bad apples.
The great sadness is, of course, that Henry VIII eyed the wealth of the monasteries and abbeys with avarice. He, and his lieutenants, worked out that they could simply take control of these abbeys – with the military might of the state. They could plunder all the precious jewels and metals, then sell off the stone, timber and roof tiles, and finally sell the land to their wealthy mates. Which is how we end up with abbeys turned into mansions for the wealthy, like Titchfield and Netley, near us. There is even a rumour – that I have been unable to verify – that there was a small monastery here in Havant, where the Pallant Centre is today. That seems likely, since Havant was on the Old Pilgrim Way from Southampton to Canterbury – and another little-known function of monasteries was to provide safe harbours for weary pilgrims. As I say, I haven’t found any proof of this rumour – but it is nice to think that our community centre still serves the local population in much the same way as that monastery might have done. (The word Pallant, by the way, means ‘palace’ – and it’s possible that the Pallant Centre itself was the site of an Abbot’s palace.
The effect of the loss of the monasteries in England should not be underestimated. No doubt, they were too rich. No doubt, some of them were corrupt. No doubt, some of them put heavy burdens on their serfs. No doubt, many failed to live by the high ideals of St Benedict, in his rule. But they also provided hospitality to travellers, food for the poor, healthcare for the sick, a meaningful life for many poor sons and daughters (who became monks and nuns), and literacy for the world. With their dissolution, the ruling class around the King took control of massive amounts of land. Too often, the ruling class felt little sympathy for the poor, who frequently starved. Hospitals were closed, without monks and nuns to run them. Healthcare became, effectively privatised – until the arrival of the NHS. Literacy became the preserve of Universities and scholars – not the common people, until the church became strong enough, once more, to provide the first English schools. The land on which the poor had grazed their animals, because it was abbey land, became enclosed, and sealed off for the exclusive use of the Lords of the new abbey manors.
Under Henry VIII, Benedict’s vision of a group of Christians, living prayerfully together, loving God and serving their neighbour, crumbled into the ruins we now visit on sunny days. The wealthy elite plundered the wealth, and many of those with inherited wealth today still live off the proceeds of what their ancestors plundered from the church.
Today’s monasteries, at least here in England, are but a pale shadow of their great Benedictine forbears. Most have practically no land – and make their living through charitable gifts, and through tourism and gift shops – like Buckfast Abbey in Devon. But the flame of St Benedict still flickers. From time to time it still calls young men and women to take up the challenge of living prayerfully in community, loving God and serving their neighbour. Such abbeys, few as they are, still shine a light into our consciousness – reminding us of the fundamental duty of all Christians – to live together in love, and to care for all those we encounter. Amen
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