Rule of Saint BenedictThe Rule of Saint Benedict (Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin 530 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of the Benedictine Confederation: pax ("peace") and the traditional ora et labora ("pray and work"). Compared to other precepts, the Rule provides a moderate path between individual zeal and formulaic institutionalism; because of this middle ground, it has been widely popular.
Dean (Christianity)A dean, in an ecclesiastical context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and many Lutheran denominations. A dean's assistant is called a sub-dean. Latin decanus in the Roman military was the head of a group of ten soldiers within a centuria, and by the 5th century it was the head of a group of ten monks. It came to refer to various civil functionaries in the later Roman Empire.
ArchimandriteThe title archimandrite (ˌɑrkɪˈmændraɪt; archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (hegumenos, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") whom a bishop appointed to supervise several "ordinary" abbots and monasteries, or as the abbot of some especially great and important monastery. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, "archimandrite" is most often used purely as a title of honor (with no connection to any actual monastery) and is bestowed on a hieromonk as a mark of respect or gratitude for service to the Church.
Christian laying on of handsIn Christianity, the laying on of hands (Greek: cheirotonia – χειροτονία, literally, "laying-on of hands") is both a symbolic and formal method of invoking the Holy Spirit primarily during baptisms and confirmations, healing services, blessings, and ordination of priests, ministers, elders, deacons, and other church officers, along with a variety of other church sacraments and holy ceremonies. In the New Testament the laying on of hands was associated with Christ healing the sick () and after his ascension, the receiving of the Holy Spirit (See Acts ).
Cluny AbbeyCluny Abbey (klyni; Abbaye de Cluny, formerly also Cluni or Clugny; Abbatia Cluniacensis) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches built in succession from the 4th to the early 12th centuries. The earliest basilica was the world's largest church until the St. Peter's Basilica construction began in Rome. Cluny was founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 910.
Lords SpiritualThe Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who serve in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. Twenty-six out of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not counting retired archbishops who sit by right of a peerage). The Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, and the Anglican churches in Wales and Northern Ireland, which are no longer established churches, are not represented.
Monastic schoolMonastic schools (Scholae monasticae) were, along with cathedral schools, the most important institutions of higher learning in the Latin West from the early Middle Ages until the 12th century. Since Cassiodorus's educational program, the standard curriculum incorporated religious studies, the Trivium, and the Quadrivium. In some places monastic schools evolved into medieval universities which eventually largely superseded both institutions as centers of higher learning. Since the cenobitic rule of Pachomius (d.
