Beuronese Congregation
Encyclopedia
The Beuronese Congregation, or Beuron Congregation, is a union of mostly German
or German-speaking
religious houses of both monks and nuns within the Benedictine Confederation
. The congregation stands under the protection of Saint Martin of Tours
.
, founded in 1863, the first declarations of which in 1866 already had in view an expansion to a congregation. After a further foundation, that of Maredsous Abbey
in Belgium
, the first constitutions of the Beuronese Congregation were ratified in Rome
in 1873. Further foundations outside Germany followed during the period of "cultural struggle" ("Kulturkampf
"), when the community was driven out of Beuron. After their return it was possible to found more monasteries inside Germany: Maria Laach Abbey
(1893); Gerleve Abbey
(1904); Neresheim Abbey
(1920); Weingarten Abbey
(1922); Neuburg Abbey
(1926); and others. The last foundations were Tholey Abbey
, resettled in 1949, and Nütschau Priory
, a new foundation established by Gerleve Abbey in 1951.
The congregation also continued to be active outside Germany, in among other places Belgium
, Austria
, Portugal
, Brazil
and Japan
; in 1906 the abbey of the Dormition (or Assumption
) (now Hagia Maria Sion Abbey
) in Jerusalem was founded. The foundations outside Germany and Austria later separated from the Beuronese Congregation, often for political reasons.
The congregation's first nunnery was St. Gabriel's Abbey, Bertholdstein
, established in Prague
in 1889, which relocated in 1920 to Bertholdstein in Styria. This was followed in 1893 by Maredret Abbey in Belgium, then in 1904 by St. Hildegard's Abbey, Eibingen
and in 1924 St. Erentraud's Abbey, Kellenried. More recent foundations are Engelthal Abbey
(1965) and Marienrode Priory
(1988). Other nunneries were taken into the congregation as already existing communities.
To begin with the congregation was under the management of the Abbot of Beuron, who acted as its Archabbot. The General Chapter, which took place at lengthy intervals and was attended by the congregation's officiating abbots, served the purpose of promoting general agreement among the communities and the regulation of outstanding questions. It was a strongly centralised system: all houses of the congregation were obliged to follow the customs, daily routine, service times and forms prescribed by Beuron.
In 1936 the Archabbot system was replaced by that of the Presiding Abbot; the General Chapter, which as a rule assembles every six years, elects one of the officiating abbots of the congregation as Presiding Abbot until the time of the next chapter meeting. This makes the congregation more federalistic, and individual monasteries and nunneries are better able to develop an individual profile.
In 1984, in accordance with the Codex Iuris Canonici or CIC of 1983, the revised statutes of the congregation and the declarations for monasteries and nunneries were approved. The statutes identify as tasks of the congregation the furtherance of the observation of the rule in the member houses, mutual help and joint solutions to tasks and problems, as well as exchanges between monasteries and nunneries. The General Chapter, consisting of the heads of each religious house, as well as elected representatives, is to meet very six years. Since 2003 the representatives of women's communities have had full voting rights.
The Beuronese Congregation has consisted since 2004 of ten monasteries and ten nunneries.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
or German-speaking
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
religious houses of both monks and nuns within the Benedictine Confederation
Benedictine Confederation
The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.-Origin:...
. The congregation stands under the protection of Saint Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
.
History
The origin of the Beuron Congregation is Beuron ArchabbeyBeuron Archabbey
Beuron Archabbey is a major house of the Benedictine Order located at Beuron in the upper Danube valley in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
, founded in 1863, the first declarations of which in 1866 already had in view an expansion to a congregation. After a further foundation, that of Maredsous Abbey
Maredsous Abbey
Maredsous Abbey is a Benedictine monastery at Denée near Namur in Belgium. It is a member of the Annunciation Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation.-Foundation:...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the first constitutions of the Beuronese Congregation were ratified in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1873. Further foundations outside Germany followed during the period of "cultural struggle" ("Kulturkampf
Kulturkampf
The German term refers to German policies in relation to secularity and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, enacted from 1871 to 1878 by the Prime Minister of Prussia, Otto von Bismarck. The Kulturkampf did not extend to the other German states such as Bavaria...
"), when the community was driven out of Beuron. After their return it was possible to found more monasteries inside Germany: Maria Laach Abbey
Maria Laach Abbey
Maria Laach Abbey is a Benedictine abbey situated on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See , near Andernach, in the Eifel region of the Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It is a member of the Beuronese Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation...
(1893); Gerleve Abbey
Gerleve Abbey
Gerleve Abbey is a monastery of the Benedictine Order situated between Coesfeld and Billerbeck in Westphalia , in Germany.-History:...
(1904); Neresheim Abbey
Neresheim Abbey
Neresheim Abbey or the Abbey of Saints Ulrich and Afra, Neresheim is located above the town of Neresheim in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany...
(1920); Weingarten Abbey
Weingarten Abbey
Weingarten Abbey or St. Martin's Abbey is a Benedictine monastery on the Martinsberg in Weingarten near Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg .-First foundation:...
(1922); Neuburg Abbey
Neuburg Abbey
Neuburg Abbey near Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg is a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Bartholomew, and part of the Beuronese Congregation.-First foundation:...
(1926); and others. The last foundations were Tholey Abbey
Tholey Abbey
Tholey Abbey in Tholey, in the district of Sankt Wendel in Saarland, is a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Maurice. It is part of the Beuronese Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation.-History:...
, resettled in 1949, and Nütschau Priory
Nütschau Priory
Nütschau Priory is a house of the Benedictine Order located at Travenbrück near Bad Oldesloe, Stormarn, Schleswig-Holstein in Germany.-History:...
, a new foundation established by Gerleve Abbey in 1951.
The congregation also continued to be active outside Germany, in among other places Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
; in 1906 the abbey of the Dormition (or Assumption
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
) (now Hagia Maria Sion Abbey
Hagia Maria Sion Abbey
Hagia Maria Sion Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in Jerusalem on Mt. Zion just outside the walls of the Old City near the Zion Gate.It was formerly known as the Abbey of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, but the name was changed in 1998 in reference to the church of Hagia Sion that formerly stood on...
) in Jerusalem was founded. The foundations outside Germany and Austria later separated from the Beuronese Congregation, often for political reasons.
The congregation's first nunnery was St. Gabriel's Abbey, Bertholdstein
Bertholdstein Abbey
Bertholdstein Abbey, or St. Gabriel's Abbey, is a Benedictine nunnery at Bertholdstein in Styria, Austria.The nunnery was founded in 1889 in Prague and was raised to the rank of an abbey in 1893. St. Gabriel’s was the first women’s community to join the Beuronese Congregation within the...
, established in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
in 1889, which relocated in 1920 to Bertholdstein in Styria. This was followed in 1893 by Maredret Abbey in Belgium, then in 1904 by St. Hildegard's Abbey, Eibingen
Eibingen Abbey
Eibingen Abbey is a community of Benedictine nuns in Eibingen near Rüdesheim in Hesse, Germany.The original community was founded in 1165 by Hildegard von Bingen...
and in 1924 St. Erentraud's Abbey, Kellenried. More recent foundations are Engelthal Abbey
Engelthal Abbey
Engelthal Abbey or St. Mary's Abbey, Engelthal, is a Benedictine nunnery in the Wetterau region, Hesse, Germany.Engelthal Abbey was a Cistercian nunnery from its foundation in 1268, until the secularisation of 1803....
(1965) and Marienrode Priory
Marienrode Priory
Marienrode Priory is a Benedictine nunnery in Marienrode, a district of Hildesheim in Germany.An Augustinian monastery was founded here in 1125 by the Bishop of Hildesheim, Berthold I von Alvensleben, in a place then known as Baccenrode. It lasted until 1259. The site was re-settled later, at...
(1988). Other nunneries were taken into the congregation as already existing communities.
To begin with the congregation was under the management of the Abbot of Beuron, who acted as its Archabbot. The General Chapter, which took place at lengthy intervals and was attended by the congregation's officiating abbots, served the purpose of promoting general agreement among the communities and the regulation of outstanding questions. It was a strongly centralised system: all houses of the congregation were obliged to follow the customs, daily routine, service times and forms prescribed by Beuron.
In 1936 the Archabbot system was replaced by that of the Presiding Abbot; the General Chapter, which as a rule assembles every six years, elects one of the officiating abbots of the congregation as Presiding Abbot until the time of the next chapter meeting. This makes the congregation more federalistic, and individual monasteries and nunneries are better able to develop an individual profile.
In 1984, in accordance with the Codex Iuris Canonici or CIC of 1983, the revised statutes of the congregation and the declarations for monasteries and nunneries were approved. The statutes identify as tasks of the congregation the furtherance of the observation of the rule in the member houses, mutual help and joint solutions to tasks and problems, as well as exchanges between monasteries and nunneries. The General Chapter, consisting of the heads of each religious house, as well as elected representatives, is to meet very six years. Since 2003 the representatives of women's communities have had full voting rights.
The Beuronese Congregation has consisted since 2004 of ten monasteries and ten nunneries.
Monasteries
- St. Martin's Archabbey, BeuronBeuron ArchabbeyBeuron Archabbey is a major house of the Benedictine Order located at Beuron in the upper Danube valley in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
- Abbey of Our Dear Lady, SeckauSeckau AbbeySeckau Abbey or Abbey of Our Dear Lady, Seckau is a Benedictine monastery in Seckau in Styria, Austria.-Seckau Priory:The monastery was founded by the Augustinian Canons, when an already existing community in Sankt Marein bei Knittelfeld was moved to Seckau in 1142...
, Styria - Maria Laach AbbeyMaria Laach AbbeyMaria Laach Abbey is a Benedictine abbey situated on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See , near Andernach, in the Eifel region of the Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It is a member of the Beuronese Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation...
- St. Martin's Abbey, WeingartenWeingarten AbbeyWeingarten Abbey or St. Martin's Abbey is a Benedictine monastery on the Martinsberg in Weingarten near Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg .-First foundation:...
- St. Joseph's Abbey, GerleveGerleve AbbeyGerleve Abbey is a monastery of the Benedictine Order situated between Coesfeld and Billerbeck in Westphalia , in Germany.-History:...
- Abbey of Saints Ulrich and Afra, NeresheimNeresheim AbbeyNeresheim Abbey or the Abbey of Saints Ulrich and Afra, Neresheim is located above the town of Neresheim in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany...
- Abbey of the "House of Grace of Maria at Grüssau"Grüssau AbbeyGrüssau Abbey also known as Krzeszów Abbey refers to a historical Cistercian monastery in Krzeszów in Lower Silesia, and to a house of the Benedictine Order in the town of Bad Wimpfen in Baden-Württemberg, where the German Grüssau community moved in 1947, after their former abbey had become...
, Wimpfen - St. Bartholomew's Abbey, NeuburgNeuburg AbbeyNeuburg Abbey near Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg is a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Bartholomew, and part of the Beuronese Congregation.-First foundation:...
- St. Maurice's Abbey, TholeyTholey AbbeyTholey Abbey in Tholey, in the district of Sankt Wendel in Saarland, is a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Maurice. It is part of the Beuronese Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation.-History:...
- St. Ansgar's Priory, NütschauNütschau PrioryNütschau Priory is a house of the Benedictine Order located at Travenbrück near Bad Oldesloe, Stormarn, Schleswig-Holstein in Germany.-History:...
Nunneries
- St. Gabriel's Abbey, BertholdsteinBertholdstein AbbeyBertholdstein Abbey, or St. Gabriel's Abbey, is a Benedictine nunnery at Bertholdstein in Styria, Austria.The nunnery was founded in 1889 in Prague and was raised to the rank of an abbey in 1893. St. Gabriel’s was the first women’s community to join the Beuronese Congregation within the...
, Styria - St. Hildegard's Abbey, EibingenEibingen AbbeyEibingen Abbey is a community of Benedictine nuns in Eibingen near Rüdesheim in Hesse, Germany.The original community was founded in 1165 by Hildegard von Bingen...
- Abbey of the Holy Cross, HerstelleHerstelle AbbeyHerstelle Abbey, otherwise Abbey of the Holy Cross, Herstelle, is a house of Benedictine nuns in Herstelle, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany....
- St. Erentraud's Abbey, KellenriedKellenried AbbeySt. Erentraud's Abbey, Kellenried, otherwise Kellenried Abbey, is a Benedictine nunnery in Kellenried, which is part of Berg near Ravensburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany....
- St. Mary's Abbey, EngelthalEngelthal AbbeyEngelthal Abbey or St. Mary's Abbey, Engelthal, is a Benedictine nunnery in the Wetterau region, Hesse, Germany.Engelthal Abbey was a Cistercian nunnery from its foundation in 1268, until the secularisation of 1803....
- Abbey of the Holy Cross, SäbenSäben AbbeySäben Abbey is a Benedictine nunnery located near Klausen in South Tyrol, northern Italy. It was established in 1687, when it was first settled by the nuns of Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg.-History:...
, South TyrolSouth TyrolSouth Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... - Abbey of Our Dear Lady, VarensellVarensell AbbeyVarensell Abbey is a house of Benedictine nuns, located near Rietberg in the district of Gütersloh in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany....
- St. Mary's Abbey, FuldaSt. Mary's Abbey, FuldaSt. Mary's Abbey is a Benedictine nunnery in Fulda, Hesse, Germany.It was founded in 1626. Its first decades were very troubled as a result of the Thirty Years' War: the sisters often had to flee from enemy troops and the abbey was looted several times....
- Marienrode PrioryMarienrode PrioryMarienrode Priory is a Benedictine nunnery in Marienrode, a district of Hildesheim in Germany.An Augustinian monastery was founded here in 1125 by the Bishop of Hildesheim, Berthold I von Alvensleben, in a place then known as Baccenrode. It lasted until 1259. The site was re-settled later, at...
- Priory of Our Lady, ÅsebakkenÅsebakken PrioryÅsebakken Priory, or the Priory of Our Lady, Åsebakken, is a Benedictine nunnery at Birkerød, about 20 km north of Copenhagen in Denmark. The nunnery is a member of the Beuronese Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation....
, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...