Monks Of St example essay topic

Late in the fifth century the son of a well-off family in Italy left for isolation on his mission to truly seek god. This man was St. Benedict, who is credited with the first establishment of the concept of withdrawing from all temptation for Christian beliefs in the west. St. Benedict left his home and went to the top of a mountain, where he established a monastic community. In this community the individuals who resided there, constantly reiterated their faith. They sacrificed whatever they may have had to prove their true commitment to God. This became an early ideal of Christianity, that one must suffer loss and sacrifice to prove their loyalty to the faith.

It was believed in this time period that if one is content with only what they truly need one is freer to think about other people and to think about God. These individuals were called Regular Clergies (monks) and were considered heroes of the faith. St. Benedict created three main characteristics that a Christian who truly seeks God should do. The first is live in peace with others, not always wanting his own way, or having an exaggerated idea of himself. The second is to live simply, not wanting to own many things in order to feel important and secure. The third and final main theme of St. Benedict is to pray often and read the bible.

These characteristics were added upon, but the main three were the basis of the belief. From these original three the foundation of the monastery was built. Another saint who played a major influence on the church was St. Augistine. St. Augistine held the idea that Christianity gave ones life meaning and purpose. He believed that "Christians are not born but made". St. Augistine was the author of a very influential book in the history of the church.

This book was "The City of God". This book told the history of the church and proved it to be a historically valid one. He believed that there was no use to civilization, and as faith increases civilization should decrease. The "City of the World" is the opposite of the "City of God", and brings temptation and must be resisted. This reference to civilization was aimed towards Rome. St. Cuthbert also added to the monastic tradition.

He also took himself into isolation to assert his faith. Following his death, after many years of loyalty to the faith, it was found that his body had not decomposed, and this was taken as a symbol from god of his divineness. His body became a shrine, and people traveled from far and near to behold the holiness of the sight and experience the miraculous power of it. Because of the fame circulated around St. Cuthbert's tomb the clergy decided to move it to a safer environment. The body was moved from Lindisfarne to Durham, where years later the Durham priory was built, with a shrine and the encasement of St. Cuthbert's tomb. Construction of the Durham priory was started in 1093.

Durham was called a priory because the prior had rule over the monastery, opposed to an Abbot. St. Cuthbert's shrine cause much visitation to the monastery and with the visitors came gifts and offerings to the church. This caused the monastery at Durham to become the richest religious house north of York. This richness and wealth that the monastery possessed is one of major factors that lead to its eventual downfall.

As the centuries went on the monastery grew and changed from what St. Benedict first envisioned life in a monastery to be. "The English monasteries were not as cut off from the life of the country as Benedict had intended his monks to be". The once world denying monks, now enjoyed more of an indulgent lifestyle. The monastery itself was built to be the best in the land, and inside, it contained such luxuries as a bowling alley, nice living quarters, and servants to do the work that was beneath the monks. There was also a selection process to enter the monastery and between 25-50% of the monks had attended the close by, Oxford University. This university had an important effect on Durham priory itself.

After the monks attended the school they were well prepared to look after their estates, business', and legal affairs, but also they had the capability to entertain guests, who sometimes were among the highest in the land. The prior itself gained high respect and regard for learning and by the fifteenth century it was considered a "little university". As time progressed life in the monastery grew even more luxurious. In the 15th century the buildings, especially the living quarters of the monks were made much more comfortable. The priory held the funds to do such operations, which came from the land that it possessed and kept, and also from other churches. This increase in the exchange of funds in the monastery caused for the appointment of a bursar to keep track of the funds and looked after financial affairs.

This lead to problems within the clergy, and debts started appearing that were unaccountable for. This is a problem that, I am sure, was never foreseen by the founders of the monastery. Once money was a prominent factor within the monastery problems arise because with money ultimately comes greed. Another problem of the decline in of the Durham Priory was the expansion of civilization in Rome. The world around the monks was changing rapidly and the "City of God" was in jeopardy. Attention in the world was turned to focus not so much on the faith, but more so on the individual.

The church was faced with the problem of civilization returning, which ultimately meant the return of the "City of the World". In the end it was necessary for the church to converge with these varying forces for its survival. The monks of St. Benedict's time were hard working and devoted. They participated in eight divine services, labored in fields or workshops for six or seven hours and two hours studying and preserving the wring of Latin antiquity.

The monks of that time were a strong force in Western Europe and extremely dedicated and self-sacrificing. St. Benedict also needed no additional support from the government or local town. This was untrue for many of the monks after the 12th century. During the 16th century the monks were often criticized as being lazy and parasitical. This is because in comparison to the monks in the centuries following them, they did not work nearly as hard, or did they suffer the same sacrifice and separation from materialistic possessions and luxuries. The church and congregation itself also underwent a dramatic change.

The church progressed with the times to be not only a powerful institution religiously, but also politically, economically and also socially. With this rise in power in many different areas besides religion came the involvement in many different areas in society. These ties in society created involvement in the "City of the World" which took away from aspects of the "City of God". In closing, the decline of the monasteries and ultimately the "City of God" was due to the rise in the "City of the World". The "City of the World" was the anti thesis of the "City of God". They can be seen otherwise as church and state.

When one was strong and powerful, the other could not be. The two could not exist in equilibrium. So therefore the stronger survived, and with the change of the times, this was the "City of the World". The king, who at one time in history was strongly influenced by the church, took control of the Durham Priory, and all its worldly possessions.