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Issue 93 : St. Benedict & Western Monasticism

Originally published in 2007
Issue 93
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Table of Contents
  • Interesting and little-known facts about Benedictine monasticism.
  • FROM THE EDITOR
    Jennifer Trafton
  • Alone or in community, early monks and nuns sought to follow Christ in a whole-hearted and vividly countercultural way.
    Jennifer Hevelone-Harper
  • The "Father of Western Monasticism" spent his life teaching spiritual beginners about kindness, community, and prayer.
    Carmen Acevedo Butcher
  • Benedict's Rule became the gold standard of monastic life.
    Hugh Feiss
  • From its roots in the early Eastern church, through the Benedictine centuries, to the birth of new kinds of religious orders in the Middle Ages
    Antonia Ryan and Carmen Acevedo Butcher
  • For centuries, monks were at the center of the Western missionary enterprise.
    Glenn W. Olsen
  • Under Charlemagne's influence, the monasteries shaped the future of Western education, trade, and even handwriting.
    Thomas O. Kay with Jennifer Trafton
  • As the peace and unity of Europe collapsed, the monastery of Cluny pointed a new way forward.
    Dennis Martin
  • Many Catholics and Protestants are looking back to Benedict for the community and spiritual intensity they can't find in modern culture.
    Chris Armstrong
  • STORY BEHIND
    Julie Andrews made it popular, but the real musical genius behind this singing aid was a medieval monk.
    David Neff
  • TURNING POINT
    After a crushing political defeat, William Wilberforce nearly gave up his fight to abolish the slave trade. But a life-changing letter from John Newton sent this Daniel back into the lion's den.
    Kevin Belmonte
  • Faith of Our Mothers
    PEOPLE WORTH KNOWING
    The history of the church would have looked very different without these famous moms.
    Elesha Coffman
  • LIVING HISTORY
    David Neff and Rebecca Golossanov
  • CHANGED LIVES
    An 18th-century book gave Richard Foster new eyes for the present moment. The ordinary had never looked so extraordinary.
    Richard J. Foster
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Today in Christian History

June 15, 1215: King John signs the Magna Carta, which begins, "The Church of England shall be free.

June 15, 1520: In the papal encyclical "Exsurge Domine," Leo X condemns Martin Luther on 41 of counts of heresy, branding him an enemy of the Roman Catholic Church. After the encyclical, Luther's works were burned in Rome (see issue 34: Luther's Early Years).

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