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My dear fellow, Daniile!

XPUCTOC BOCKPECE!

No problem with Benedictines at all!

I said I would love it if everyone here became Benedictine Oblates (a paraphrase of St Paul's saying, 'I would that everyone be like myself . . .').

Would you like to become a Benedictine Oblate of the Byzantine tradition?

Hmmm?

Put your money where your (beautifully voiced) mouth is!

Alex

Do they have an Oblate program through distance, Alex?

No, you have to live near enough to visit the monastery at certain times . . .

In fact, I have found that most Benedictine monasteries nowadays frown on long-distance relationships with oblates . . .

That is what I'm discerning now - whether I'm kidding myself that oblation long-distance is really in keeping with the spirit of St Benedict.

Alex

For decades, Chevetogne has been "considering" establishing a daughter-house in America. Don't hold your breath.

Meanwhile, how does the double-rite aspect work? Like this:

1. There are two Churches, one of each (so to speak). The Abbot is free to assign any of the monks to either Church.

2. There is a two-year novitiate. Most of that time the novice spends in the church which corresponds to his original tradition, but whichever that may be, he does a longish "stage" in the other Church, to have the experience.

3. On various special occasions, one or the other group invites the entire community to its Church for a service.

The basic idea is that each monk should be familiar and comfortable with both traditions.

That's a quick run-down; naturally there are many details I have not mentioned.

Christ is Risen!

Fr. Serge

"For decades, Chevetogne has been "considering" establishing a daughter-house in America. Don't hold your breath."

Yes, it took the Monastery of Fontgambault (Solesmes Congregation) nearly thirty years to establish a monastery in the United States (Clear Creek, Oklahoma). And that was with a gift of land, benefactors and a very welcoming bishop.

The abbots move at their own pace. It would be wonderful to see a Chevetogne in the US, but many things would have to be arranged (land, welcoming bishop, etc.) before the abbot would agree.

Get them to open a house in Singapore!!!

Dear Friends,

I've a question about this - CAN the Rule of St Benedict be adapted to the Eastern Church and still be "Benedictine?"

My inclination is to say "yes" since the Divine Office as laid out by ST Benedict in his Rule is not, according to the Holy Father himself, hard and fast (and Benedictines today have amended it greatly).

Alex

I would agree - the presciptions of the Rule are not inherently tied to any particular liturgical tradition. The UGCC monks at Eagle Harbor (Transfiguration Skete) follow the Rule, and remember St. Benedict himself pointed to St. Basil's Longer Rules for those who wanted to go one step beyond...

The 1949 edition of the Rule is online: http://www.kansasmonks.org/RuleOfStBenedict.html

Dear Father DIAKone,

Have I told you how much I admire and esteem you? Lately?

Alex

Are you starting Byzantine Benidictine Oblates, Alex? If so, there might be people at St. Elias who would be interested.

Also, someone on this thread wrote that Chevetogne is planning to start a "skete" in America. Is that actually true or just rumour?

Dearest Daniil,

I would love to begin a Byzantine Benedictine group (with yourself as its most eminent leader!).

Chevetogne would definitely be our model - perfectly Benedictine and perfectly Orthodox liturgically, theologically etc.

I"m going to do my oblation at Sts. Cyril and Methodius UGCC in St Catharines in the near future - there is nothing that prevents the fullest possible expression of the Eastern liturgical heritage (and St Benedict didn't care how the psalms were arranged, as long as they were prayed through once a week, as the Holy Patriarch himself wrote in his Rule).

What is even better is how Chevetogne's Byzantine Benedictine monastics have earned such esteem among Russian Orthodox leaders. A recent article on the veneration of the relics of St Seraphim of Sarov at Chevetogne by a Russian Orthodox journalist was positively enthusiastic with their work with the Byzantine-Slavonic Rite, chanting etc. They follow the Russian usage, as you know and their Church's iconography is quite beautiful.

I had heard a rumour to the effect that they wish to establish a Skete in NA - you have too? Hmmm. . . perhaps, just perhaps . . .

I think the Chevetogne Skete would have many Byzantine Oblates. (Benedictine Oblation is popular among the two or three Western Orthodox monasteries that follow the Rule of Benedict - including the new one being established in Barrie, Ontario).

Orthodox Benedictine Oblates simply wear the Benedictine oblate scapular and Medal/Cross of St Benedict - this is in addition to the Orthodox three bar Cross! And Tuesdays are when a Canon or Akathist to St Benedict the Great is said in honour of the Holy Patriarch. The rest is dedication to the liturgical/horological tradition of the Orthodox East in the spirit of ST Benedict - together with spiritual reading of the Fathers etc.

Excellent idea, Daniil!

Alex

That has been discussed for years, and I don't know if it is any closer to happening. I have a place in mind (goats and sheep thrown in as a bonus)...

Dear Father Keleher,

So the Benedictine monks who celebrate at the Byzantine-rite Church in Chevetogne are themselves all Byzantine-rite by birth?

I'd love to know if they're having a lot of vocations.

I had heard that there are Benedictine Byzantines on the East Coast of the United States, is this true?