The benedictine life: Decline, growth and innovation
Titel:
The benedictine life: Decline, growth and innovation
Auteur:
Timothy Wright, OSB
Verschenen in:
International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church
Paginering:
Jaargang 7 (2007) nr. 3 pagina's 179-193
Jaar:
2007-08
Inhoud:
St Benedict never envisaged his Rule would become the standard for monastic life in the West. Its acceptance, first in Europe then the Americas, is testimony to its relevance. Recently it has spread energetically in parts of Africa and Asia. Benedictine history has been marked by periods of expansion followed by persecution, suppression and/or near collapse. Then came revival, with foundations in new forms and different places. Today, some abbeys, only a few decades ago hugely influential, find themselves slowly declining; elsewhere new communities are bursting with life. Alongside the traditional monasteries, there is new enthusiasm for and innovation among the lay oblates. The Benedictine Rule provides a road to holiness that builds on baptism. This article contrasts decline, growth and innovation in the Benedictine tradition and, using the example of the Manquehue Movement, a new lay movement of Benedictine oblates in Chile, it demonstrates that one can be truly 'Benedictine' beyond the limits of 'consecrated life' and priesthood. The Benedictine family - both men and women who live under the Rule in what are formally recognised as Benedictine communities - guard its independence, and the advantages and limitations of this in a fast changing world are also addressed in what is written here.
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