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Coat of arms of the Carthusian order
Coat of arms of the Carthusian order

The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. Religious orders ('Religious Institutes' cf canons 573-746 are the major form of consecrated life in the Roman Catholic Church. Enclosed religious orders of the Christian church have solemn vows with a strict separation from the affairs of the external world Monasticism (from Greek μοναχός, monachos, derived from Greek monos, alone is the religious practice in which one The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. Saint Bruno of Cologne ( Cologne, c 1030 &ndash Squillace, 6 October, 1101) the founder of the Carthusian Order personally MONK is a Monte Carlo software package for simulating nuclear processes particularly for the purpose of determining the neutron multiplication factor or k-effective A Nun is a Woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life The order has its own Rule, called the Statutes, rather than the Rule of St Benedict (as is often erroneously reported) and combines eremitical and cenobitic life. A hermit (from the Greek ἔρημος erēmos, signifying " Desert " "uninhabited" hence "desert-dweller" adjective "eremitic"

The name Carthusian is derived from the Chartreuse Mountains; Bruno built his first hermitage in the valley of these mountains in the French Alps. The Chartreuse Mountains (massif de la Chartreuse is a Mountain range in eastern France, stretching to the north from the city of Grenoble to the The French Alps are those parts of the Alps mountain range which lie in France. The word charterhouse, which is the English name for a Carthusian monastery, is derived from the same source. This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. The motto of the Carthusians is Stat crux dum volvitur orbis, Latin for "The Cross is steady while the world is turning. The Christian cross is the best-known Religious symbol of Christianity. "

Monasterio de la Cartuja, a former Carthusian monastery in Seville
Monasterio de la Cartuja, a former Carthusian monastery in Seville

Contents

Carthusian character

A Carthusian monastery (Ordo Cartusiensis) might best be described, paradoxically, as a community of hermits. Seville ( Spanish: Sevilla, see also different names) is the artistic cultural and financial capital of southern Spain. The monastery is headed by a prior (there are no Carthusian "abbeys"), and is populated by choir monks and lay brothers. Prior is a Title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier first' with several notable uses

Each choir monk (that is, a monk who is or who will be a priest) has his own hermitage, usually consisting of a small dwelling (traditionally a one-room lower floor for storage of wood for a heating stove, and for a workshop as all monks engage in some manual labor; and a second floor consisting of a small entryway with a picture or statue dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus as a prayer spot, and a larger room with bed, table for eating meals, desk for study as all monks engage in study, and choir stall/seat and kneeler for prayer), set in a corner of a highly walled garden, wherein the monk may meditate and grow flowers or vegetables. MONK is a Monte Carlo software package for simulating nuclear processes particularly for the purpose of determining the neutron multiplication factor or k-effective Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE)

The Carthusian monastery of Liget from the air
The Carthusian monastery of Liget from the air

The individual hermitages are lined up so that the door into the garden of each may be reached by a corridor. Liget is a village in Baranya county Hungary. Near the door is a turnstile, so that meals and other items may be passed in and out of the hermitage without the monk having to meet the bearer. A turnstile, also called a baffle gate, is a form of Gate which allows one person to pass at a time

The monk lives most of his day here: he meditates, prays most of the hours of the Liturgy of the Hours on his own (yet still following the full ceremonial as if praying publicly), eats his meals, studies and/or writes (Carthusian monks have published scholarly and spiritual works), works in his garden, works at some manual trade, etc. This article refers to the Liturgy of the Hours as a specific manifestation of public prayer in the Roman Catholic Church. He leaves the cell daily only for three prayer services in the monastery chapel (including the community and his own individual Mass), and occasionally for conferences with his superior. Additionally, once a week, the monks take a 4-hour walk together in the countryside during which they may speak (they go two by two, changing partners every half hour), and on Sundays and feastdays a community meal is taken silently. Twice a year there is a day-long community recreation, and he may receive an annual visit from immediate family.

A typical Carthusian plan: Clermont, drawn by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, 1856
A typical Carthusian plan: Clermont, drawn by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, 1856

They have no "active" ministry: they do no pastoral work, charitable work, or missionary work; they admit no retreatants (other than select persons who are contemplating actually entering the monastery as monks); they have no contact with the outside world. Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc ( January 27 1814 &ndash September 17, 1879) was a French Architect and theorist famous for his "restorations" Their contribution is their life of prayer, which they undertake on behalf of the whole church and the whole world.

In addition to these choir monks there are lay brothers, monks under slightly different types of vows who spend less time in prayer and more time in manual labor and who live slightly more communal lives with one another. In the most common usage lay brothers are those members of Catholic Religious orders particularly of monastic orders occupied primarily with manual labor and with The laybrothers provide the material assistance to the choir monks: cooking the meals, undertaking physical repairs, providing the choir monks with books from the library, managing supplies and so on.

All of the monks live lives of silence: there is no "vow of silence," as is sometimes parodied, but as with many monastic groups, the monks cultivate a spirit of exterior silence (speaking only when truly necessary) to help achieve an interior serenity.

Carthusian nuns live similarly to the monks, but with some differences. Choir nuns tend to lead somewhat less eremitical (hermit-like) lives, while still maintaining a strong commitment to solitude and silence.

Today Carthusians live very much as they originally did, without any relaxing of their rule. Thus, there has been no "reform" movement as with other orders: there are no Carthusians "of the strict observance" or the like. Thus Pope Innocent XI coined the phrase Cartusia numquam reformata, quia numquam deformata. Pope Innocent XI ( May 16 1611 &ndash August 12 1689) born Benedetto Odescalchi, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Literally this translates to "The charterhouse has never been reformed, for it has never been deformed".

Painting from the Carthusian cloister of Nuestra Señora de las Cuevas a Triana by Francisco de Zurbarán. The scene depicts Hugh of Grenoble in a Carthusian monastery.
Painting from the Carthusian cloister of Nuestra Señora de las Cuevas a Triana by Francisco de Zurbarán. Francisco de Zurbarán ( November 7 1598 &ndash August 27 1664) was a Spanish painter. The scene depicts Hugh of Grenoble in a Carthusian monastery. Saint Hugh of Châteauneuf (1052&ndash April 1 1132) was the Bishop of Grenoble from 1080 to his death

Carthusians in Britain

The first Carthusian monastery or 'Charterhouse' in England was founded by Henry II in Witham Friary, Somerset as penance for the murder of St Thomas Becket. Witham Friary is a small village and Civil parish located between the Somerset (England towns of Frome and Bruton. Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county St Thomas Becket (c 1118 &ndash December 29, 1170) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170 The best preserved remains of a medieval Charterhouse in the UK are at Mount Grace Priory near Osmotherley, North Yorkshire. Mount Grace Priory is today the best preserved and most accessible of the ten medieval Carthusian houses (charterhouses in England. Osmotherley is an English village and civil parish, situated in the Hambleton hills in North Yorkshire. North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county in One of the cells has been reconstructed to illustrate how different the lay-out is to monasteries of most other Christian orders, which are normally designed with communal living in mind. The Carthusian monk (or nun) lives a solitary life in a 'cell' (actually more like a small house), which typically consists of three small rooms on the ground floor - bedroom, study, and shrine - and a work area in the upstairs loft. Each cell has its own water supply and lavatory, and a tiny private garden planted with herbs and flowers. The garden would normally be cultivated by the monk as part of his daily duties.

The London Charterhouse gave its name to a square and several streets in the City of London, as well as to the Charterhouse public school (UK sense) which used part of its site before moving out to Surrey. The London Charterhouse is a former Carthusian monastery in London, England, to the north of what is now Charterhouse Square. For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically Charterhouse, originally Sutton's Hospital in Charterhouse, is a prominent boys independent or public school as they're known in Britain between The term public school has two distinct (and virtually opposite meanings depending on the location of usage in the United States, Australia and Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties.

A few fragments remain of the Charterhouse in Coventry, mostly dating from the 15th century. Coventry ( is a city and Metropolitan borough in the County of West Midlands in England. This consists of a sandstone building that was probably the prior's house. The area, about a mile from the centre of the city, is a conservation area, but the buildings are in use as part of a local college. Inside the building is a medieval wall painting, alongside many carvings and wooden beams. Nearby is the river Sherbourne that runs underneath the centre of the city.

Only a single Carthusian Priory was founded in Scotland during the Middle Ages, at Perth. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Perth (Peairt is a town and former Royal burgh in central Scotland. It stood just west of the medieval town and was founded by James I (1406–37) in the early 15th century. James I may refer to James I Count of La Marche (1319-1362 Count of Ponthieu James I of Aragon (1208–1276 Count of Barcelona James I and his queen Joan Beaufort (d. Joan Beaufort may refer to Joan Beaufort Countess of Westmorland (1379-1440 daughter of John of Gaunt and his mistress Katherine Swynford later proclaimed 1445) were both buried in the priory church, as was Queen Margaret Tudor (d. Margaret Tudor ( 28 November, 1489 &ndash 18 October 1541) was the elder of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England 1541), widow of James IV. James IV may refer to James IV of Majorca (circa 1336-1375 King of Majorca James IV of Scotland (1473-1513 Duke of Rothesay The Priory, said to have been a building of 'wondrous cost and greatness' was sacked during the Scottish Reformation in 1559, and swiftly fell into decay. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time No remains survive above ground, though a Victorian monument marks the site. The names Charterhouse Lane and Pomarium Flats (built on the site of the Priory's orchard) recall its existence.

Modern Carthusians

The Carthusians suffered greatly during the Reformation (particularly in England) and during the French Revolution and after in France. A large number of their monasteries were closed during both periods.

Today, the monastery of the Grande Chartreuse is still the motherhouse of the order. The Grande Chartreuse is the head Monastery of the Carthusian order. There is a museum on the Carthusian order next to the monastery of the Grande Chartreuse; the monks of that monastery are also involved in the production of the Chartreuse liquor. The Grande Chartreuse is the head Monastery of the Carthusian order. Chartreuse is a French Liqueur composed of Distilled Alcohol flavored with 130 Herbal extracts Although visits are not possible within the Grande Chartreuse, the recent documentary Into Great Silence gave unprecedented views of life within the hermitage. Into Great Silence (Die Große Stille is a documentary Film directed by Philip Gröning that was first released in 2005.

There are 24 Charterhouses around the world, five of which are for nuns; altogether, there are around 370 monks and 75 nuns. Most of these Charterhouses are in Europe—including one in Sussex, England—but there are also two in South America, one in the United States and one in South Korea. Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland South America is a Continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː

The Charterhouse of the Transfiguration on Mount Equinox near Arlington, Vermont is the only Carthusian monastery in the U. The Charterhouse of the Transfiguration is the only Carthusian monastery in the USA, located on Mt Arlington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. S. , and for a time was the only Carthusian monastery outside of Europe. Founded in the 1950s, the monastery remains active enough that it is attempting a daughter monastery in Brazil.

Liturgy

Before the Council of Trent in the 1500s, the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe had a wide variety of rituals for the celebration of Mass. The Council of Trent was the 19th Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. Although the essentials were the same, there were variations in prayers and practices from region to region or among the various religious orders. A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion usually

When Pope Pius V made the Roman Missal mandatory, in general, for all Catholics of the Latin Rite, it permitted the continuance of other forms of celebrating Mass that had an antiquity of at least two centuries. Pope The Roman Missal ((Missale Romanum is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite The rite used by the Carthusians was one of these and still continues in use in a version revised in 1981. [1] Apart from the new elements in this revision, it is substantially the rite of Grenoble in the twelfth century, with some admixture from other sources. [2] It is now the only formally observed rite of a religious order; but by virtue of the Ecclesia Dei indult (or "permitted exception") some individuals or small groups are authorized to use some other now defunct rites. Ecclesia Dei is the Motu proprio of 2 July 1988 that Pope John Paul II issued in reaction to the consecration, in This article refers to an Indult according to church law. For other uses of the word see Pardon.

A feature unique to Carthusian liturgical practice is that whereby the bishop bestows on Carthusian nuns, in the ceremony of their profession, a stole and a maniple. This is by some interpreted as a relic of the former rite of ordination of deaconesses. [3] The nun is also invested with a crown and a ring. The nun wears these ornaments again only on the day of her monastic jubilee, and after her death on her bier. At Matins, if no priest is present, a nun assumes the stole and reads the Gospel, and although the chanting of the Epistle was, in the time of the Tridentine Mass, reserved to an ordained subdeacon, a consecrated nun sang the Epistle at their conventual Mass, though without wearing the maniple. The Tridentine Mass (Missa Tridentina is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published Even before the rite of the consecration of virgins was made more widely available as part of the liturgical reforms undertaken after the Second Vatican Council, Carthusian nuns retained this rite, administered by the diocesan bishop four years after the nun took her vows. The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twentieth century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. [4]

Stages of the Carthusian's Life

Locations of Monasteries

Today, there are up to 24 Charterhouses located around the Globe. They can be found in Spain,Brazil, Portugal, France, USA, Switzerland, South Korea, and Great Britain. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands One of them was recently built in Argentina, the construction work having started in 1997. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. [5]

References

  1. ^ The text of the Carthusian Missal and the Order's other liturgical books is available at Carthusian Monks and Carthusian nuns
  2. ^ The Carthusian Order in Catholic Encyclopedia. A liturgical book is a book published by the authority of a Church, that contains the text and directions for the Liturgy of its official Religious services The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia The text of the former Ordo Missae of the Carthusian Missal is available at this site.
  3. ^ Deaconesses in Catholic Encyclopedia; A Rose By Any Other Name. The Ordination of Women to the Diaconate by David L. The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia Alexander
  4. ^ The Carthusian Order in Catholic Encyclopedia
  5. ^ To view images of the Monasteries visit http://www.chartreux.org/en/frame.html

Further reading

See also

External links

Dictionary

Carthusian

-proper noun

  1. A member of a Christian contemplative order of monks founded by Bruno of Cologne (St Bruno) in 1084.

-adjective

  1. Of, or relating to this order.
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