Rule of Saint Benedict

Name

Its Latin title is Regula Sancti Benedicti (the Rule of Saint Benedict). In the Korean Catholic Church it is called Seong Benedikdo Gyuchik (The Rule of Saint Benedict), abbreviated Seonggyu. Benedict is also known in Korean as Bundo, a Sino-Korean transliteration of his name. Korean Protestant publications generally refer to it as Benedikteu-ui Gyuchikseo (The Rule of Benedict).

Background

Christian monasticism began in Egypt, Palestine, and Asia Minor two to three centuries before Benedict. In the East, Basil of Caesarea compiled a monastic rule that remains in use in the Orthodox Church today. In the West, the foundations of monastic life were laid by Benedict of Nursia (c. 480 – c. 547). His life is known chiefly through the Dialogues of Pope Gregory I and through the Rule itself, and many details remain uncertain. Benedict abandoned his studies in Rome and lived as a hermit (a monk living in solitary seclusion) in a cave near Subiaco. Disciples later gathered around him, and according to tradition he founded twelve monasteries in the surrounding area.

Development

• c. 529: Benedict moved to Monte Cassino, between Rome and Naples, and founded a monastery there.
• c. 535–545: Benedict wrote the Rule during his time at Monte Cassino; some scholars date it to around 535–540. The Rule consists of a prologue and seventy-three chapters. The abbot is regarded as holding the place of Christ within the monastery, and the Rule first addresses the abbot's qualifications and responsibilities. It then sets out the particulars of communal life, including obedience, common prayer at fixed hours, manual labor, lectio divina (the slow, meditative reading of Scripture), the reception of guests, and the correction of faults. The final chapter states that the Rule is intended for those just beginning the monastic life. The Rule quotes Scripture throughout; one example is Matthew 25:36, which speaks of clothing the naked and visiting the sick.
• Seventh century: Communities of women religious also began to adopt the Rule.
• Eighth–ninth centuries: Charlemagne is said to have requested a copy of the Rule from Monte Cassino. Under his son Louis the Pious, Benedict of Aniane compared and annotated various monastic rules, and around 817 this Rule was applied to the monasteries of the empire.

Results and Influence

The Rule became, in effect, the sole rule of medieval Western monasticism. Whenever monasteries fell into decline, it served as the standard for reform; both the Cluniac Reforms and the Cistercians are understood to have pursued reform on the basis of this Rule. The Benedictine Order is not a single centralized organization but a confederation of autonomous monasteries that follow the Rule.

The Church of England commemorates Benedict on July 11 in its official liturgical calendar as the "Father of Western Monasticism." There are also communities within Anglicanism that live according to the Rule.

In Korea, religious life for men began in 1909, when monks of the German Congregation of St. Ottilien arrived and founded a monastery at Baekdong (present-day Hyehwa-dong) in Seoul. The community moved in 1927 to Tokwon, near Wonsan, and in 1949 the monastery was closed by the North Korean authorities. The monks who fled south settled in Waegwan, North Gyeongsang Province, in 1952.

Assessment

The Catholic Church regards the Rule as the document that has served as the foundation of Western monastic life for some 1,400 years. Its spirit is often summarized by the words pax (peace) and ora et labora (pray and work). Anglicans hold that the Rule's three elements—common Eucharist, prayer at fixed hours, and personal prayer grounded in Scripture and liturgy—formed the basis of the spirituality of the Book of Common Prayer. Interest in the Rule as a guide to balancing prayer, work, and communal life has also continued among Korean Protestants; in 2024, for example, a Protestant publisher issued a translation of the Rule as part of a collection of spiritual classics.