The great city of Alexandria is undoubtedly the cradle of Egyptian Christianity, where the Catechetical School was established in the second century and became a leading center in the study of biblical exegesis and theology. According to tradition, St. Mark the Evangelist brought Christianity to Alexandria in the middle of the first century and was martyred in that city, which was to become the residence of Egypt's Coptic patriarchs for nearly eleven centuries. By the fourth century Egyptian monasticism had began to flourish in the Egyptian deserts and countryside. The contributors to this volume, international specialists in Coptology from around the world, examine the various aspects of Coptic civilization in Alexandria and its environs, and in the Egyptian deserts, over the past two millennia. The contributions explore Coptic art, archaeology, architecture, language, and literature. The impact of Alexandrian theology and its cultural heritage as well as the archaeology of its 'university' are highlighted. Christian epigraphy in the Kharga Oasis, the art and architecture of the Bagawat cemetery, and the archaeological site of Kellis (Ismant al-Kharab) with its Manichaean texts are also discussed.

This is the first modern study in English of the life and thought of the ninth-century Byzantine theologian and monastic reformer, Theodore the Stoudite. Cholij provides a guide to and a complete analysis of all the primary source material attributed to Theodore. If the monastic leader is considered in the context of the tradition to which he belonged, it is clear that his religious formation occurred within a widely established school of Basilian and Palestinian Christian thought. This encourages a fresh engagement with the subtleties in Theodore's behaviour towards the Byzantine religious and secular leaders of his time and provokes new conclusions concerning the religious and secular issues which involved Theodore in controversy. Cholij refutes the established view of Theodore as a breaker of the traditional; Byzantine church and state relationship and provides new insights into Theodore's true understanding of the involvement of the Emperor in church affairs. In his analysis of the rites of holiness that belonged to Theodore's church, the author identifies a false tradition of sacramental mysteries in a misreading of Pseudo-Dionysios the Areopagite and so offers a radically new definition of the origins of the Orthodox sacramental tradition.

Original documents relating to minor foundation illustrate lower levels of local society and government of the town. The Benedictine priory of St Bartholomew outside Sudbury was a cell of Westminster Abbey founded in the reign of Henry I by Wulfric the moneyer. Although a small and poorly-endowed establishment, it has nevertheless, and unusually, left over 130 original documents in the muniments at Westminster, enabling this volume in the Suffolk Charters series to be the first to be devoted to a group of original documents rather than medieval transcriptions. Dating mostly from the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, the collection illustrates the lower levels of local society and the government of the town, providing a wealth of evidence for trades and occupations, place names and personal names in the Sudbury area, including the earliest known reeves and mayors of Sudbury. Of particular interest are a late-fourteenth century inventory of the priory which brings alive the physical surroundings of the monks, and the quantities of seals attached to the charters, including an unusual number of women's seals. RICHARD MORTIMERhas been Keeper of the Muniments, Westminster Abbey, since 1986; he has edited four previous volumes in the Suffolk Charters series.

"Crown and Veil" offers a broad introduction to the history and visual culture of female monasticism in the Middle Ages, from the earliest communities of Late Antiquity to the Reformation. Scholars from numerous disciplines offer a wide range of perspectives not to be found in any other single book on the subject, placing the art, architecture, literature, liturgy, religious practices, and economic foundations of these communities within a wide historical and cultural context.

Long considered marginal to mainstream history, nuns and canonesses in fact had a profound influence on medieval culture. Revered and admired as models of piety, they commanded considerable prestige and exercised a significant degree of political power. Whether acting as producers or patrons of art, nuns were widely celebrated for their imaginative accomplishments. Focusing on the visual culture of female monastic communities in the German Empire, Frankish Gaul, Langobard Italy, and Anglo-Saxon England, this volume underscores the richness of largely unfamiliar material and its role in shaping distinctive forms of religious life.

For three decades, Monastic Practices has been a valued resource for English-speaking aspirants to monastic life. In this revised edition, updated and expanded, Charles Cummings, OCSO, explores the common practices of the monastic life in order to rediscover them as viable means of leading persons to a deeper encounter with God. How do monks and nuns occupy themselves throughout the day? Have they modernized their lifestyle or is it still cluttered with medieval customs? Could any of the monastic practices be of use to those outside the monastery? A certain wisdom is necessary to know how to use such practices and how to give oneself to them until they lead one to God. After long monastic experience, Cummings shows us how the ordinary things we do constitute our path to God. In the art of living life, he argues, we are always beginners, searching for God through our concrete circumstances and actions.

The Cistercian Evolution The Invention of a Religious Order in Twelfth-Century Europe Constance Hoffman Berman "An extremely important book, one that will redefine the ways we conceive of medieval religiosity and politics."--"Virginia Quarterly Review" "A significant contribution to the study of the history of monasticism in the twelfth century."--"EHR" "Stimulating, controversial, and compelling, Constance Berman's major revisions of early Cistercian history, "The Cistercian Evolution," should be read by historians of monasticism and will greatly interest scholars in the institutional and religious history of the twelfth century as well as those who study the experience of women in that period."--"The Medieval Review" "An important and provocative book: important because it challenges scholars to rethink a central medieval theme, the creation and expansion of the Cistercian order in twelfth-century Europe; provocative because it brazenly upends received narratives, two generations of accumulated monastic scholarship."--"Speculum" "This important work builds on and continues Berman's solid, indeed splendid, scholarship on the institutional history of the Cistercians in southern France. She explores and rejects much traditional thinking in fields as diverse as the supposed uniformity of Cistercian architecture and the propagation of the order through colonization or 'apostolic foundation, ' pointing out that much Cistercian expansion was by incorporation of existing communities."--"Church History" " Berman's] book changes our understanding of the early Cistercians. It will shape our research for some time to come. Berman's questioning of Cistercian documents, her new picture of Cistercian growth, her warnings about reading thirteenth-century administrative structures and ideas back on to the twelfth, and especially, her insistence that we consider houses of both men and women, make this book an important contribution to the history of religious institutions in the central Middle Ages."--"The Catholic Historical Review" For centuries the growth of the Cistercian order has been presented as a spontaneous spirituality that swept western Europe through the power of the first house at Citeaux. Berman suggests instead that the creation of the religious order was a collaborative activity, less driven by centralized institutions; its formation was intended to solve practical problems about monastic administration. With the publication of "The Cistercian Evolution," for the first time the mechanisms are revealed by which the monks of Citeaux reshaped fact to build and administer one of the most powerful and influential religious orders of the Middle Ages. Constance Hoffman Berman is Professor of History at the University of Iowa and the 1999 May Brodbeck Fellow in the Humanities. The Middle Ages Series 2000 408 pages 6 x 9 ISBN 978-0-8122-2102-2 Paper $26.50s 17.50 World Rights History, Religion Short copy: Reveals the true story behind the growth of the Cistercian order.

On her twenty-first birthday Monica Baldwin - daughter of Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin - entered one of the oldest and most strictly enclosed contemplative orders of the Roman Catholic Church. Twenty-eight years later, having realized she did not have a true vocation for the life of a nun, she obtained a special rescript from Rome and left the convent. But the world Monica had known and forsaken in 1914 was very different to the world she found when she emerged into it at the height of the Second World War - This book is the fascinating story of one woman's two very different lives, with lucid descriptions of the world of a novice, the duties of a nun's day, and the spiritual aspects of convent life. These are interwoven with the trials and tribulations of life in a new and alien world, as the author is confronted by fashions, interventions, politics and art that are totally unfamiliar to her. Humour, intelligence, an endearing humility and an exciting honesty characterize this remarkable book that gives readers both a glimpse into a hidden world and a uniquely fresh take on a familiar one.

The fourteenth-century controversy between the Dominican Durandus of St Pour ain and his order plays a central role in explaining the later success of Thomism. Durandus's independent approach earned him two censures from Dominican authorities, as he appeared to jeopardize the order's sense of doctrinal identity. Through a close examination of the relevant theological issues, this book follows the course of the controversy to reveal the significant role which Franciscan theology played in the Dominican interpretation of Aquinas. This challenges the commonplace portrayal of early Thomists as a homogenous group, as it reveals the Franciscan contribution to the shaping of a Dominican intellectual tradition.

"How should we live in this house of God? We know that the way a building is shaped also helps in determining the way those within it live and relate. We are indeed formed by what we form. Qualities such as integrity, hospitality, humanity and beauty in a place will enable its dwellers to live lives in which such qualities are evident. The way we understand who we are and how we live will be reflected in our places and vice versa. Our places become bearers of meaning and memory." --From Chapter 1In "Living in the House of God," Margaret Malone draws on her study of and research on the Rule of Saint Benedict to show the ways in which this ancient rule can illuminate modern life. The broad gamut of topics this book examines--from Benedictine life as sacrament to Augustine's influence on Benedict to obedience and the art of listening, among others--is itself a witness to the generous flexibility of the Rule, as Benedict proposes a way of life that truly corresponds to the deepest needs of the whole of human nature.

The institutions of the middle ages are generally seen as tradition-bound; Monks and Markets challenges this assumption. Durham's outstanding archive has allowed the uncovering of an unprecedented level of detail about the purchasing strategies of one of England's foremost monasteries, and it is revealed that the monks were indeed reflective, responsive, and innovative when required. If this is true of a large Benedictine monastery, it is likely to be true also for the vast majority of other households and institutions in Medieval England for which comparable evidence does not exist.
Furthermore, this study gives a unique insight into the nature of medieval consumer behaviour, which throughout history, and particularly from before the early modern period, remains a relatively neglected subject. Chapters are devoted to the diet of monks, the factors influencing their purchasing decisions, their use of the market and their exploitation of tenurial relationships, and their suppliers.

'Just as the whole world of beauty can be discovered in one flower, so the great grace of God can be tasted in one small moment'. This observation is central to the probing spiritual journey of Henri Nouwen during his seven-month stay in a Trappist monastery, the Abbey of the Genesee in upstate New York.

2013 Reprint of 1948 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. "Contemplation" is a word that Thomas Merton used again and again in his writings. It is a theme that he spent much of his life exploring. About contemplation, he wrote "Contemplation is the highest expression of man's intellectual and spiritual life. It is that life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive. It is spiritual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is a vivid realization of the fact that life and being in us proceed from an invisible, transcendent, and infinitely abundant source. Contemplation is above all, awareness of the reality of that source. It knows the Source, obscurely, inexplicably, but with a certitude that goes beyond reason and beyond simple faith...It is a more profound depth of faith, a knowledge too deep to be grasped in images, in words, or even in clear concepts..." This short pamphlet is a good introduction to this important topic in the overall work of Thomas Merton.

The writings of Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) reveal how the monastic mind, oscillating between hope and despair, was absorbed in technical exercises rather than in religious emotions. Early on monasticism had developed procedures for " ruminating on" the Bible and the works of the Church Fathers. Applying the art of logic to this theme, Anselm offers a denser version of monastic meditation that constitutes a poetics of monastic literature.
Before engaging Anselm' s works, this book addresses texts-- by Gregory the Great, Bernard of Clairvaux, Rupert of Deutz, and Richard of St. Victor-- based on the same principles. In them, the potentially violent nature of an existence in which time has almost come to a halt manifests itself in a vision of the act of reading as a struggle with the text and as violent, amorous passion. The book then traces the decline of the monastic poetical principle in the writings of John of the Cross, Pierre de Be rulle, Calvin, and Ignatius of Loyola.
A concluding chapter on Ignatius and James Joyce shows how the poetics of monasticism both survives and is exiled in modernist literature.

This is the first modern study in English of the life and thought of the ninth-century Byzantine theologian and monastic reformer, Theodore the Stoudite. Cholij analyses Theodore's letters and religious writings in context in order to reach new conclusions concerning the religious and secular issues which engaged him in controversy. This analysis develops a new definition of the origins of the Orthodox sacramental tradition.

The Ordinal and Customary of Barking Abbey, one of a number of its liturgical manuscripts which survive, was written on the instructions of Sibille Fenton, who was abbess from 1394 to 1419, and the manuscript was presented to the abbey in 1404; its liturgical usages deal mainly with the functioning of the choir.

This book examines the history of monastic exemption in France. It reveals an institutional story of monastic freedom and protection, deeply rooted in the religious, political, social and legal culture of the early Middle Ages. Traversing many geo-political boundaries and fields of historical specialisation, the book defines the meaning and value of exemption to French monasteries between the sixth and eleventh centuries. It demonstrates how enduring relationships with the apostolic see in Rome ultimately contributed to an emerging identity of papal authority, the growth of early monasticism, Frankish politics and governance, church reform and canon law. -- .

Utterly in love with Jesus Christ and living in poverty, Francis of Assisi touched history. Christians, followers of other religions and even those who declare they have no faith, find they have something in common with him that stirs their sympathy. In 1209, as a young man from the Umbrian region, he went to see the pope. He sought permission to live exactly as Jesus Christ had done: poor obedient, celibate. From a distance the pope saw Francis and his eleven companions. But he had Francis sent away, banishing from his presence the very man sent by providence who could have turned his hopes for the Church into reality. Later, the pope recalled a dream he'd had. He had seen the Lateran basilica leaning dangerously to one side, when suddenly a little monk, looking like a beggar, supported it with his shoulder and stopped it from collapsing. 'Of course,' the pope understood, 'that monk was Francis of Assisi!' How could he not listen to him? We today, can listen to him through his writings, the stories and biographies that speak of him. It would be like a new dawn, reversing the decline all around us into a new future. The texts in this book can all be found in the Early Documents series of the Franciscan movement published by New City in three volumes plus a fourth volume containing the index for these Early Documents.

This is a case study of one pietist religious group, the Bruderhof. A Christian brotherhood founded on Anabaptist and evangelical pietist doctrine, they practice community of goods, seeking to emulate the vision of the Apostolic church and fulfill the ethic of brotherhood taught in the Sermon on the Mount. Rubin offers compelling accounts of the lives of Bruderhof apostates who foundered over issues of faith, and relates these crises to the central tenets of Bruderhof theology, their spirituality, and community life.

The book provides an account of many Jesuits, from the time of St. Ignatius to the 1990's, who have been incarcerated around the world for their faith. It is divided into chapters that deal with specific themes related to their imprisonment. The principal themes are: prayer as a key element in survival, arrest and trial procedures, the experience of suffering, Mass, the daily order of prison life, forced labor, ministry to other prisoners, guards, prisoners who became Jesuits while imprisoned, community in prison, and voluntary incarceration.This is the first book to examine the experience of incarcerated Jesuits around the world and down through the centuries from the standpoint of these various themes. Much of the material is by the Jesuits themselves, in letters, autobiographical fragments and other sources-including obscure publications long out of print. The result is a gathering together of these pieces and fragments into a coordinated whole, with commentary on their significance in the context of the political and cultural situations of their time-situations that were generally the immediate cause of the Jesuits imprisonment, whether in Elizabethan England or in Communist China and Russia. A chart of imprisoned Jesuits by country of incarceration at the beginning, and a glossary of names at the back (as well as an index), will help the reader to keep track of the names of the many Jesuits who figure in the book.

In this book the renowned medievalist G.R. Evans provides a concise introduction to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), a figure of towering importance on the twelfth-century monastic and theological scene. After a brief overview of Bernard's life, Evans focuses on a few major themes in his work, including his theology of spirituality and his theology of the political life of the Church. The only available introduction to Bernard's life and thought, this latest addition to the Great Medieval Thinkers series will appeal to a wide audience of students and scholars of history and theology.

In this book the renowned medievalist G.R. Evans provides a concise introduction to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), a figure of towering importance on the twelfth-century monastic and theological scene. After a brief overview of Bernard's life, Evans focuses on a few major themes in his work, including his theology of spirituality and his theology of the political life of the Church. The only available introduction to Bernard's life and thought, this latest addition to the Great Medieval Thinkers series will appeal to a wide audience of students and scholars of history and theology.

This is the first detailed scholarly study of the Order of Fontevraud's English monastic houses. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the Order was notably prestigious and autonomous, renowned both for the prayerfulness of its members and for their independent management of their affairs. The huge following of Robert Arbrissel (d. 1116) included many women - not at first the aristocrats who later dominated the Order of Fontevraud, but prostitutes, beggars, and other representatives of the dregs of society. Urged by Church authorities to stabilize his women followers, Robert gave them a Rule which was, in essentials, that of St Benedict, but he introduced men as chaplains, clerks, and lay-brothers for the nuns. Uniquely, however, for contemporary houses for women, the men were placed firmly under the direction of the nuns and remained there throughout the Order's history. Sister Berenice Kerr's study of Fontevraud's English establishments: Amesbury, Nuneaton, and Westwood (Grovebury, the Order's fourth foundation, was never more than administrative centre) opens up a wide range of insights and information about monasticism and religious life for women in the middle ages. Dr Kerr examines the endowment of each house, and its subsequent acquisition of property and its administration; monastic observance; domestic economy, including expenditure on food and drink; the scale and layout of conventual buildings, and the exploitation of new assets, such as salt-pans, markets, and appropriated churches.

This study of the books of Reading Abbey covers not only the whole history of the Abbey from its foundation, but also charts the subsequent dispersal of its book collection. In doing so, the author illustrates intellectual life in a medieval English monastery and, in particular, valuable insights into the fate of monastic books after the Dissolution of the monasteries.

The publication of Suffolk charters goes from strength to strength. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW The history of Dodnash Priory, one of numerous Augustinian priories founded in East Anglia in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, has hitherto been totally obscure. The two hundred original charters edited here now show that it was founded by Wimer the chaplain, sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk and a prominent servant of Henry II, and that although always small it played a disproportionately large part in the economic and social life of south-east Suffolk for the next three centuries. The early charters include the first known references to Flatford Mill at East Bergholt; later documents relate to serious flooding at the end of the thirteenth century, and soon thereafter to the leasing of estates in order to adapt to new economic conditions. As always, the charters provide much information about local lay society as well as the canons themselves. The late CHRISTOPHER HARPER-BILL was Professor of English History at the University of East Anglia.