BENEDICT of Nursia

Widely regarded as the ‘founder of Western monasticism’, Benedict’s known intent was to create a series of celibate communities, focussed on prayer and study, modelled at Monte Cassino. His pattern for daily living – the ‘Rule of Benedict’ - was subsequently adopted widely by others, including the subsequently known ‘Benedictines - wanting to develop a distinctive way of expressing their Christian faith. The monastic order came to represent a version of Christian social ethics which was radically discontinuous from the prevailing orders of family life and established hierarchies of state.

Life

• The life of St Benedict from new Advent
• St Benedict of Nursia: the iconography

Writings

• The Rule of St Benedict