In Catholicism, the figure of Benedict of Nursia occupies one of the paramount places. He is even the patron saint of all of Europe. It is believed that it was Benedict who founded the first monastic order, creating a charter of communal religious life. The saint is revered in all countries of Latin Christianity. Therefore, he bears different names. In Italy he is Benedetto, Bendt is in Denmark, Benedict is in the regions where Orthodoxy is practiced. It often happens that the Church honors several saints with the same name. Benedict is no exception.
But in this article we will only talk about one saint who bears this name. And this is the hermit Benedict. Photos of the saint (or rather, images of engravings or frescoes) can be found in this article. We will also talk about the life of the founder of Western monasticism and his path to salvation. There are also prayers directed to Saint Benedict. The Orthodox Church also reveres him. And where are the relics of the saint? We will try to talk about all this below.
The Hermit's Life
The future saint was born in 480 in Nursia. Now this Italian town is called Norcia. Therefore, the full name of the saint is Benedict of Nursia. According to legend, he had a twin sister, Scholastica. We will also mention her, as she followed her brother along the path of asceticism and created the first regular convent. We know about the life of our brother and sister exclusively from the “Dialogues”, which were written at the end of the 6th century by Pope Gregory the Great (Dvoeslov).
Benedict and Scholastica were the children of a noble and wealthy Roman. When his son was 18 years old, his father sent him to the Eternal City to study and create a career. But the worldly vanity in Rome was most evident of all. Therefore, Venedict, not finishing his studies, fled the city. Together with a small handful of the same pious men and youths, he settled in the mountain village of Affide (modern name Affila), which is not far from Subiaco (80 km from Rome). But life in this community seemed to Venedikt not severe enough. Monk Roman from a nearby monastery showed him a grotto near a dam on the Anio River. There Venedict settled. He spent three years in the grotto, and during this time he was tempered not only physically, but also spiritually.
Life of the abbot of the monastery
The fame of a devout hermit grew and expanded. Pilgrims began to flock to the cave by the lake on Anio. Soon, the monks from the monastery of Vicovaro became interested in Venedict. When their abbot died, they sent a delegation to the grotto, begging the hermit to come to them and take the post of the deceased. Benedict agreed. After some time, he discovered that the brethren were hopelessly mired in gluttony and laziness. All attempts to bring their lives closer to Christian ideals ended in failure.
It got to the point that the brothers, conspiring, almost poisoned their abbot. And so St. Benedict was forced to flee. Some of his followers followed. Benedict divided them into groups and placed rector over each. He himself assigned the role of overseer of morality and severity of morals. But that didn't work either. Ambition, envy and the desire of clergy to live freely led to a new conspiracy.
The first "real" monastery
Benedict relocated south. Not far from the town of Cassino, a mountain rises, on top of which at the beginning of the 6th century a pagan temple was still preserved. Benedict converted to Christianity those who still came to the temple with the victims, and rebuilt the building into a church. He settled on the mountain, founding the Montecassino Monastery. Diverse communities of monks existed before. But they did not have any general rules, structure or organization. The founder of the first monastery in history was famous for having developed all these standards.
The monks who began to live according to them formed the first religious order - the Benedictine. It emphasized two main principles: the economic autonomy of the monastery and kinovii (dormitory). The charter of St. Benedict became the basis for other monastic orders, for example, Cistercians, Trappists, Camaldolians and others. Here we should mention the sister of the hero of our story. Already in early youth, Scholastic decided to devote himself to God. She refused to marry and led a very pious life. And when she heard that her brother had settled on Mount Cassino, she founded the Benedictine monastery nearby. Thus, Scholasticism is the founder of female monasticism.
Charter of St. Benedict
The Regula Benedicti Codex was written around 540. In this set of rules, Benedict brought together, rethought and classified the traditions of eastern and ancient Gallic monasticism. To write his work, the founder of the first religious order studied the anonymous treatise "The Teacher's Rules", as well as the charters of Basil of Caesarea, John of Cassian, Pachomius the Great and Blessed Augustine.
Saint Benedict was one of the first to compare the monk with the “warrior of God”. Therefore, he established a "detachment of the service of the Lord." The main calling of the monk is militare. And, since a monk is equated with a soldier, such a service requires a charter. In the code of his rules, Venedict prescribed all the smallest details of the kinovia. He says that if an individual monk makes a vow of poverty, this does not mean at all that a monastery cannot have wealth. The main virtue of the monk Venedict revered humility. The motto of the Benedictines was Ora et labora (Prayer and Work).
The death of St. Benedict of Nursia
According to the Charter, developed by the founder of West European monasticism, a monk must always spend the night in a monastery. After all, a person who has made vows to God, according to St. Benedict, is a hermit, but not an anachore. The monk leaves the worldly bustle in the wasteland, but does not avoid other similar servants of the Lord. Inokov Venedikt often compared with warriors, and the monastery - with the detachment. And the saint himself honored his charter. She and her sister used to meet once a year in the town of Cassino and talk on spiritual topics.
Shortly before her death, Scholastic asked her brother to stay with her overnight in order to continue the conversation. But Benedict refused, referring to the Charter. Then Scholasticism prayed to God and a terrible storm broke out. Benedict willy-nilly was forced to stay. And three days later he had a vision of a dove flying to the sky. Then he realized that Scholastica knew about the approaching death and wanted to say goodbye to her brother before passing away. Benedict himself died in 547 and was buried in Montecassino.
Where are his relics located?
Montecassino Monastery founded by Saint Benedict was completely destroyed by the Lombards in 580. Later, the monastery was restored, but suffered very much during the Second World War. Researchers have suggested that the relics of Benedict and Scholastica are lost. There were hypotheses that their remains were transported to Subiaco (Italy), and possibly to France. But in 1950, when the architects restored the monastery destroyed by the bombing, they found well-preserved graves of a man and a woman in the crypt.
The role of the saint and his followers in the Christianization of Europe
After the destruction of the monastery by the Lombards, the Benedictines, with the blessing of Pope Gregory the Great, dispersed to different countries to evangelize the peoples living there. Soon, new monasteries arose in the Frankish kingdom, England, and in the 11th century they appeared in Eastern Europe. When the third orders became popular (organizations of pious believers who make vows but live in peace), the Benedictine Order established the Oblates Institute.
There have been attempts to make the Charter, written by St. Benedict, the patron saint of monasticism, even more strict. Because of this, the Order of Camalduls (founded by St. Romuald in the 11th century), Cistercians, and Trappists were "budded" from the Benedictines. One more Saint Benedict should be remembered - Anian. He called for a change in the Charter in the direction of complete asceticism, the wearing of a severe hair shirt, silence (except for services) and self-torture. Such outstanding personalities as Anselm of Canterbury, Adalbert of Prague, Saint Willibrord, Alcuin, Misfortune Venerable, Peter Damian and other church leaders came out of the Benedictine ranks.
Saint Benedict in Orthodoxy
The Byzantine and Roman Catholic churches radically diverged in the 11th century. Therefore, they mutually honor the saints who lived before the Great Schism (schism). Saint Benedict is one of them. Therefore, in the eyes of the Orthodox Church, he is worthy of veneration. The only difference between the Latin and Byzantine rites in relation to St. Benedict is in the calendar.
The Roman Catholic Church celebrates his day in the summer of July 11th. In Orthodoxy, the memory of St. Benedict is honored on March 27 (14). This day always falls on Lent. Therefore, the celebration of the saint is not as magnificent as in the Latin rite. In the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia there are at least five monasteries and churches of St. Benedict.
Iconography
How to recognize Venedict in religious paintings? He is portrayed as an old gray-bearded man in a black robe. But the founder of the monastic order himself did not come up with either the cut of the Benedictine cassock or its color. When other religious congregations appeared, the need arose to distinguish the monks. Nevertheless, the saint is depicted in the cassock of the order. In order not to confuse Benedict with other Benedictines, he is portrayed with certain attributes.
Most often, this is the famous Charter in the form of a thick book or a model of the building of the monastery church. Also in his hands may be a cracked goblet (mention of poisoning), an abbey staff and a bunch of rods. At the feet of the saint, a crow is often depicted with a piece of bread, since it is believed that during the hermit in the cave a bird brought food to the anachoret.
Pilgrimages
Despite the fact that a whole skeleton of St. Benedict was discovered in the crypt of Montecassino, you can bow to his relics in other places. The most famous outside of Italy is the monastery of Buron. It is located in Bavaria, in the foothills of the Alps. Due to the precious relic - the radius of the right hand of the saint - the monastery was renamed Benedictbourne. According to legend, King Charles the Great himself transferred the relics to the Bavarian monastery shortly before he was proclaimed emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (800). The bone can be seen in the precious reliquary created by the Munich jeweler Peter Streisel at the end of the 18th century. But, of course, it’s better to make a pilgrimage to Montecassino to pray at the saint’s grave.
Benedict's Medallion
But you can not go to distant lands. They say that if you get the Medallion of St. Benedict, the devil's machinations will bypass you. During his lifetime, the founder of monasticism venerated the Crucifixion and the Holy Gifts. They say he even died during the celebration of the liturgy. Therefore, on one side, minted in honor of the holy medallion, he is depicted on one side, holding a cross in one hand, and the Charter in the other.
Along the edges there is an inscription in Latin, which can be translated as “Let the presence (of this medallion) protect you during the death hour. On the back you can see the holy cross. The words are placed on it: “May my cross be light. God, don’t let the dragon become my guide. ” This medallion helps to save the soul of those who do not have the opportunity to confess and receive the unction on their deathbed.
Appeals to Benedict
Since the veneration of the hero of our story is shared by the Church of the Eastern Rite, the pronunciation of the prayer to Saint Benedict is permitted by the Orthodox. By the way, it is also used by exorcists to expel the devil. But for ordinary believers, such a prayer is allowed: "Oh God, through the means of Saint Benedict, lower Your blessing to this medallion, its letters and signs, so that whoever wears it can receive health in body and soul, salvation and absolution." It is believed that this appeal to the saint turns the medallion into a talisman. Therefore, after saying the prayer, the medallion cannot be sold.