Benedictine Contextual Response

"We have written this Rule", writes St. Benedict, "that by observing it in monasteries, we may shew ourselves to have some degree of goodness in life and a beginning of holiness.”

Benedict of Nursia designed a rule of life to be used by Christian laypersons living communally and devoting their lives to the service of God. We don’t know precisely when or where it was written but we can surmise that it was in Italy around 530 AD. Within the text of the Rule, Benedict provides information on a wide range of subjects; regulations concerning public prayer, sleeping arraignments, food, food preparation, clothing, modes and times of worship, governance, structure and much more. Among the most interesting and formative portions of the Rule are those forbidding private ownership and promoting the concept of all things held in common and each according to their need. Benedict seems to have hoped to eliminate all signs of class and position. He promoted a system of equality for all brother monks before God and his representive the Abbot. His system showed no distinction between rich and poor, free or freedman. Benedict brilliantly provides all the essential elements necessary for managing a Cenobite convent or monastery in one small tome.

Benedict begins his work by examining the differing types of monks and their various customs and comes down firmly on the side of Cenobites, showing particular animosity for the Sarabaites whom he refers to as the worst kind of monks. The contrast he saw between the various sorts of monasticism and his judgment can best be shown in Benedicts own words, “Casting these aside (referring to other kinds of monks), let us establish a rule for Cenobites who are the best kinds of monks”. Benedict lists the sort of monks with whom he is familiar and an interesting pattern does emerge. He shows the most disdain for those who follow a path of their own choosing. Benedict shows marked favor towards centralized hierarchical control. He is contempous towards free thinkers such as the Sarabaites whom are “approved by no rule, experience being their teacher” he condemns them further because, “Their law is the satisfaction of their desires. For whatever they think good or choice, this they call holy; and what they do not wish, this they consider unlawful.” He is equally dismissive towards the Gyratories who live, “in the cells of the different monasteries, throughout the various provinces; always wandering and never stationary, given over to the service of their own pleasures and the joys of the palate” Both of these monastic schools reject the authority of an Abbot and seem to rely on their own leadings and the promptings of the spirit for guidance. This sort of monasticism was anathema to Benedict and his rules was created in contrast and perhaps direct opposition to such thinking

Benedict’s Rule was stern, austere, and designed to bring individuals, "back to God by the labor of obedience, from whom they had departed by the idleness of disobedience".
Obedience to the Abbot and the rule was of prime importance to Benedict, “The practice of obedience is a necessary feature in St. Benedict's idea of the religious life, if not indeed its very essence. Not only is a special chapter of the Rule devoted to it, but it is repeatedly referred to as a guiding principle in the life of the monk” Corporal punishment was recommended in many circumstances and the rule of the Abbott over the monks was absolute and and their obedience was to be unquestionable. Of the seventy three chapters; A staggering twenty nine are devoted to matters of penal code and discipline. The monks are allowed to offer their council but the brother monks are to offer their advice humbly and are not to defend their views. The Abbot is in no way required to accept their counsel and the brothers must defer to the Abbots decision without demur.

Benedictine Monasticism as exemplified in the Rule of Benedict is autocratic absolutism. The Abbot is the all-powerful despot and rules over every aspect of his monks’ lives. The Abbot himself is theoretically elected by the monks themselves. But, the Rule provides an exemption. If the gathered monks’ decision proves unsatisfactory a part of the community, no matter how small, may elect the Abbott. This is similar to the Spartan Constitution which provides for the decisions of the Citizen Assembly to be “put aside” if the people thought “crookedly”. The system Benedict outlines in his rule is harsh and despotic. It could only work as it was intended if the Abbott proved to be a benign autocrat. But, it mayhap was more pleasurable inside the walls of the monastery than in was outside. Perhaps that is why the final and worst punishment imposed upon brother monks was expulsion from the community. The community when well managed and ruled over by a benign and benevolent Abbot may well have provided a socially egalitarian and personally enriching environment for the brother monks who could enjoy the benefits of religiously inspired communism in a spiritually edifying environment.

Italy in the early sixth century was ruled by the Arian Christian Ostrogoths. The Goth’s King Theodoric provided a respite from the chaos that engulfed the peninsula after the assumption of power in the west by Odoacer. Theodoric ruled Italy efficiently and provided for the welfare of all of his subjects, both Roman and Goth. Many Roman’s continued to serve in the bureaucracy under Theodoric who ruled Italy as a military governor of the Eastern Emperor in Constantinople. After the death of Theodoric the Gothic kingdom was wracked by dynastic warfare. Goth slew Goth as new rulers seized the throne and were brought down in turn. This is the time that we assume the Rule of Benedict was written. They were uncertain times, they were troubling times, and they were only going to get worse. Justinian a capricious and corrupt Emperor in Constantinople took this opportunity to attack the Gothic Kingdom in Italy. He sent his general Belisarius who had achieved victories in the East and Africa and waged a war of conquest in Italy. The war in Italy was terrible for the Italians. Belisarius invaded in 535 and the war was fought at varying levels of intensity for over twenty years. Through the back and forth gyrations of this conflict the Italian peninsula was impoverished and many of its sons and daughters were killed or enslaved in the process.

Benedict’s Rule created a body of religious institutions that stood in stark contrast to the world outside their walls. Outside the relative safety of the monastic community was war, death, bloodshed, starvation, forced conscriptions and many other horrors to numerous to enumerate. The Benedictine provided order, structure, safety, and security to those within its community. The Goth’s and the Imperialist forces were both nominally Christian and showed respect for churches and other religious institutions so membership in one of these communities bestowed security in an insecure world. It also would give the Abbott great power and authority over the brother monks. The Abbott could cast out of this lifeboat any brother who failed to conform to the rule or obey the Abbots dictates. Outside the security of the monastic community the excommunicated brother monk would be exposed to the perils of the secular world. Within the community the monk was required to submit in every way to the authority of the Abbot who exercised complete authority over his very person.