The Vita Apostolica in the High Middle Ages

Introduction

After the spiritual reform movement of Cluny in France, there were spiritual leaders who continued this reform movement. These were: St. Romuald of the Camaldolese Monk Hermits, and St. Bruno of the Carthusians, St. Nilus the Younger and St. John Gualbert (feast: July 12). These religious leaders and founders followed the ideal of the "vita apostolica". Other reformers also during this time were Robert of Abrissel and Vitalis of Tierceville. These leaders and many others worked in parts of Italy, north of the Alps, and much of Germany and France. The spiritual movement of reform they led brought a spirit of penitence and revived much religious fervor in Europe.

St. Nilus the Younger

Initially, Nilus lived a rather dissolute life with a woman from whom he had a child. When the woman and the child passed away, Nilus he joined the Byzantine Basilian monks of St. Adrian in Calabria, Italy. For a time, he lived as a hermit. Then he moved on to live in several Basilian monasteries until he became abbot of San Demetrio Corone. His saintly reputation spread and attracted many to become monks. In 981 A.D., Nilus was forced to flee due to the invading Saracens. He and his monks were given the monastery of Vallelucio. It was here were Nilus and his monks lived for about fifteen years. They soon were able to secure a grant of land from the Count of Tuscalum. This grant of land became the place to build and found the Basilian monastery of Grottaferra near Rome.

St. John Gualbert

John Gualbert was the founder of the Vallombrosian monks whose movement of spiritual rejuvenation began near Florence. Before this monastic community began, John entered the Benedictine monastery of San Miniato in Florence. He left this community and visited the hermitage of St. Romuald (founder of the Camaldolese Order). After this visit, John Gualbert decided to establish his own monastery. The place he chose was Vallombrosa. St. John Gualbert adopted a modified form of the primitive Rule of St. Benedict. His order had many members during the Middle Ages. This Order was reformed by St. John Leonardi in the 16th century.

Reform spirit overflows to secular clergy

The monastic reform movement that began at Cluny, and created the monastic Orders of Camaldolese, Carthusians, Vallambrosians, and Cistercians, also influenced the secular clergy at that time. And the canonical reform that occured in the 11th and 12th centuries brought a renewed pastoral spirit among the secular clerics. The most influential of these canonically reformed clergy were the Premonstratensians - founded by St. Norbert of Xanten.

Summary

The reform movement that started at the Benedictine monastery of Cluny gave birth to other reform movements - one of which was the "vita apostolica". Foremost among those who championed the "vita apostolica" ideal were: St. Nilus, St. John Gualbert, St. Romuald, and St. Bruno. This spirit of reform influenced St. Norbert of Xanten to found a monastery which was to serve as a community (not of monks) but of secular clergy living according to the Rule of St. Augustine.

Church History: Learning Shifts from Monasteries to the Universities

Centers of Learning: From Monasteries to Universities

In the early centuries of Christianity, the centers of learning were based in the monasteries. As Christianity entered the Middle Ages, learning shifted from the monasteries to the universities of Europe.

Monasticism defined

Monasticism has been understood as a "flight from the world" or in Latin, "fuga mundi". Some historians interpret this movement as a "protest" of the spiritually knowledgeable and intellectually inclined, against a sector of the Church that has become secularized by the many vices often seen in the cities. Many of those who followed this movement hurried off into the desert "to be alone with God". Although the response of these religious may be a negative reaction to what was happening to the faith in the cities, a positive way of seeing this phenomenon is the desire of these many Christians for greater solitude, quiet and a direction to better knowledge of God and His ways.

The proponents of monasticism

There were major proponents of this monastic movement. The foremost among these were: St. Anthony of the Desert, Pachomius, Basil the Great, and St. Benedict of Nursia.

St. Anthony of the Desert

St. Anthony (251-356 A.D.) lived as a hermit in the desert of Egypt - leaving all earthly securities after being inspired by a gospel passage. For 20 or so years, Anthony lived alone, and learned about the spiritual life from his victories against the temptations of the devil. By Anthony's complete trust and confidence in the providence of God, he eventually attracted followers who were interested in his way of life. This way of life soon became the origin for the anchorite or eremitical [hermit] way of life in the Christian faith.

Pachomius

Pachomius (287-347 A.D.) also followed the spiritual path of Anthony. Pachomius also began as a hermit but eventually introducted a new element in his way of life: a sense of community among the those who began as hermits. These community of hermits then began the cenobitic way of life where men in community shared in the life of silence, prayer, seclusion (solitary life in a cell), and meditation.

St. Basil and St. Benedict

From St. Anthony and Pachomius in the Egyptian desert, the movement spread all over the East and the West. Basil the Great (329-379 A.D.) drew up a rule which became accepted as a standard in Eastern monasticism. In the West, this movement was popularized by Benedict of Nursia (480-547 A.D.), who also wrote a rule for the monasteries he founded.

With the rules of St. Basil and St. Benedict, monasteries sprouted all over the Eastern and Western landscapes. Their flowering occured more intensely in the high Middle Ages when additional reforms were made to protect the monasteries from worldly influence. With a wave of reforms the monastic movement recovered and regained its focus on the spiritual and intellectual task of praying for the whole of Christendom.

Though the monks were basically secluded from public life, they preserved some openness to the world by pursuing scientific studies. It is in these studies, plus their intense prayer life, that the monastic movement and its centers became great sources of learning that influenced the spiritual and intellectual life of the people. Noted among these monasteries were the ones at Cluny, at Gorze in Lorraine, and also at Brogne, Hirsau, Siegburg, and Einsiedelm.

The monasteries educated the world in their time. They helped people understand the importance of religion in public life, and the role of the Church and the pope in the world. Their emphasis and focus on prayer helped people to learn how to place in proper context their relationship with God, and all human activity. People understood that God was to be the center of all life and human activity.

The universities of Europe

For a long time, the monasteries were centers of learning. Many studies were written and preserved by the monks that later provided voluminous scholarly resources for the whole of Christendom. From the time of Benedict and Basil, up to around 1200 A.D., learning came from the monasteries.

By 1200 A.D., starting with the influence of two missionary saints - St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic de Guzman - Christianity was brought out of the monastery and into the streets. Gradually, the centers of learning shifted from the monasteries to the newly developing universities of Europe. Great theologians who made scholarly studies became solid proponents of theological and scientific studies that initiated for the development of the university system. Those who spearheaded this movement were scholars like: St. Anselm of Canterbury, Gratian, Peter Lombard, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas. They moved the center of intellectual life and scholarly activity from the monasteries to the universities. Popular among these universities is the one at Paris; at Padua (1222 A.D.) and Naples (1224 A.D.) in Italy; Oxford and Cambridge in England; Valencia and Salamanca (1220 A.D.) in Spain; Prague (1348 A.D.), Vienna (1365 A.D.), Heidelberg (1386 A.D.), and Cologne (1388 A.D.). These universities sparked intellectual life all over Europe, became great centers of theological studies and science in general.

In many of these universities, philosophy and theology were of prime importance - most especially in the university at Paris. In Bologna, it was the school of law that was primary. But in general, the three primary schools in the universities were: theology, law and medicine. At the time, the acquisition of a doctoral degree from one of these universities meant equality with the nobility. The university as a center of learning truly ennobled a person - both in his Christian faith and in his knowledge of the sciences.

Related resources

• "A History of the Church", by August Franzen and John P. Dolan
• Saints for Our Time, by Ed Ransom

Memorial of Saints (July 10)

St. John Gualbert had an early Christian education, but did not practice it; he instead led a sinful life. His conversion experience was triggered by something that happened in his family. His only brother Hugo was killed. He wanted to take revenge, but when his brother's killer pleaded for mercy, he was moved, and saw his own sinfulness. He spent some time in church in tears asking the Lord forgiveness for his sinful life. This conversion led him to join the Benedictines. As a Benedictine, he made progress in the practice of virtues. But when he felt called to a greater solitude, he left the Benedictines, and settled at Valle Ombrosa in Tuscany, Italy. It was here that St. John Gualbert laid the foundation for the Order of Vallombrosa (died ca. 1073 A.D.).

St. Canute is the patron saint of Denmark. He became the Duke of southern Jutland, fought against Viking raids, and aided the missionary activities of St. Vicelin. In 1129 A.D., Emperor Lothair III recognized Canute as king of the Western Wends - a political move opposed by his uncle, King Nils of Denmark. This volatile situation led to his death near Ringsted, when two of his cousins killed him (died ca. 1131 A.D.).

Sts. Rufina and Secunda were siblings - daughters of a Roman senator. Both were engaged to be married, but their fiancés renounced their Christian faith during the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Valerian. So both Rufina and Secunda fled from Rome to escape the persecutions. However, Valerian's soldiers scoured the Empire until both of them were included among those captured. They were tortured and then beheaded (died ca. 257 A.D.).

St. Amalburga married Count Witger and had three children. After their children all came of age, Witger decided to become a Benedictine monk at Lobbes. On her part, Amalburga entered the Benedictines at Mauberg, Flanders, where she spent the rest of her years (died ca. 690 A.D.).

Sts. Antony and Theodosius Pechersky were the fathers of Russian monasticism. Antony lived as a hermit at first, until others sought him. Antony organized the Caves of Kiev (in the region of the Ukraine). This is the first Russian monastery established by Russian monks. Theodosius soon joined Antony here at the Caves of Kiev. St. Theodosius reformed St. Antony's concept of monasticism, by stressing the participation of the monks in secular affairs (died ca. 1073-1074 A.D.).