The Bursfelde Congregation, also called Bursfelde Union, was a union of predominantly west and central German Benedictine monasteries, of both men and women, working for the reform of Benedictine practice. Named after Bursfelde Abbey, it included over 100 monasteries in middle Europe. [1]
During the 15th century there was a movement for monastic and other ecclesiastical reforms throughout Europe. One of the first Benedictine reformers was John Dederoth of Nordheim. After effecting notable reforms at Clus Abbey, where he had been abbot since 1430, Dederoth was persuaded by Duke Otto of Brunswick in 1433 to reform the extremely neglected and dilapidated Bursfelde Abbey after the previous abbot had resigned in despair. Obtaining four exemplary monks from St. Matthias' Abbey in Trier, he assigned two of them to Clus to maintain his reformed discipline there, while the other two went with him to Bursfelde. As abbot of Clus, he was able to recruit from that community for Bursfelde. Dederoth succeeded beyond expectations in the restoration of Bursfelde and began the reform of Reinhausen Abbey near Göttingen but died on 6 February 1439, before his efforts in that quarter had borne fruit. [2]
Although the monasteries reformed by him never united into a congregation, Dederoth's reforms may be looked upon as the foundation of the Bursfelde Congregation. Dederoth had intended to unite the reformed Benedictine monasteries of Northern Germany under a stricter uniformity of discipline, but the execution of his plan was left to his successor, Johannes de Indagine. [2]
In 1445 Johannes de Indagine obtained permission from the Council of Basel to restore the Divine Office to the original form of the old Benedictine breviary and to introduce liturgical and disciplinary uniformity in the monasteries that followed the reform of Bursfelde. A year later, on 11 March 1446, Louis d'Allemand, as Cardinal Legate authorized by the Council of Basel, approved the Bursfelde Congregation, which then consisted of six abbeys: Bursfelde, Clus, Reinhausen, Cismar in Schleswig-Holstein, St. Jacob's Abbey near Mainz, and Huysburg near Magdeburg. The cardinal likewise decreed that the Abbot of Bursfelde should always ex officio be one of the three presidents of the congregation, and that he should have power to convoke annual chapters. The first annual chapter of the Bursfelde Congregation convened in the Abbey of Sts. Peter and Paul at Erfurt in 1446. [2]
In 1451, while on his journey of reform through Germany, the papal legate, Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa, met Johannes de Indagine at Würzburg, where the Benedictine monasteries of the Mainz-Bamberg province held their triennial provincial chapter. The legate appointed the Abbot of Bursfelde visitor for this province, and in a bull, dated 7 June 1451, the Bursfelde Congregation was approved, and favoured with new privileges. Finally, on 6 March 1458, Pope Pius II approved the statutes of the congregation [3] and gave it all the privileges which Pope Eugene IV had given to the Italian Benedictine Congregation of St. Justina since the year 1431. In 1461 this approbation was reiterated, and various new privileges granted to the congregation.
Favoured by bishops, cardinals, and popes, as well as by temporal rulers, especially the Dukes of Brunswick, the Bursfelde Congregation was influential during the second half of the fifteenth century and first half of the sixteenth century to promote reform in the Benedictine monasteries of Germany. Under the influence of Jan Busch and Nicholas of Cusa, the reform spread to Benedictine monasteries in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Denmark. [4]
At the death of Abbot Johannes de Indagine, thirty-six monasteries had already joined the Bursfelde Congregation, and new ones were being added every year. At its peak, shortly before the Reformation, at least 136 abbeys and 64 convents, [5] scattered through all parts of Germany, belonged to the Bursfelde Congregation. [3]
The reforms were not entirely supported by all Benedictine houses, including some members of the Bursfelde Congregation. At issue was the prohibition against eating meat, a provision of St. Benedict's rule. Those who preferred a relaxation of the rule argued that fish was not always easy to come by, and that the monasteries were losing well-qualified potential candidates to orders with less stringent requirements. Papal directives to adhere to the rule were widely ignored, or an exception pled. In 1570 the General Chapter allowed meat at dinner three times a week, except during Advent and Lent. [6]
The religious revolution, and especially the consequent risings of the peasants in Germany, greatly inhibited the progress of the Bursfelde Reform. In 1579, Andrew Lüderitz, the last abbot of Bursfelde, was driven out by the Lutheran Duke Julius of Brunswick, and, after an existence of almost five hundred years, Bursfeld ceased to be a Catholic monastery. The possessions of the abbey were confiscated, and the abbot was replaced by a Lutheran abbot. [3]
About forty other Benedictine abbeys belonging to the Bursfelde Congregation were also dissolved, their possessions confiscated by Lutheran princes, and their churches demolished or turned to Protestant uses. In 1630 the Bursfelde Congregation granted the English Benedictines in exile the derelict buildings at Lamspringe Abbey, which continued as an abbey of English monks from 1644 to 1802. [5] Though greatly impeded in its work of reform, the Bursfelde Congregation continued to exist until the compulsory secularization of all its monasteries at the end of the eighteenth, and the beginning of the nineteenth, century. Its last president was Bernard Bierbaum, abbot of Werden Abbey in the Rhine Province, who died in 1798. The Congregation was formally abolished in 1803.
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict, are a mainly contemplative monastic religious order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. The male religious are also sometimes called the Black Monks, in reference to the colour of their religious habits, in contrast to other Benedictine orders such as the Olivetans, who wear white. They were founded in 529 by Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century Italian monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule. Benedict's sister, Scholastica, possibly his twin, also became a religious from an early age, but chose to live as a hermit. They retained a close relationship until her death.
The Celestines were a Roman Catholic monastic order, a branch of the Benedictines, founded in 1244. At the foundation of the new rule, they were called Hermits of St Damiano, or Moronites, and did not assume the appellation of Celestines until after the election of their founder, Peter of Morone, to the Papacy as Celestine V. They used the post-nominal initials O.S.B. Cel. The last house closed in 1785.
Maria Laach Abbey is a Benedictine abbey situated in Glees, on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See, in the Eifel region of the Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It is a member of the Beuronese Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation. The abbey was built in the 11th-12th centuries and was originally known as "Abtei Laach" until 1862 when the Jesuits added the name "Maria".
Bursfelde Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery located in Bursfelde, a hamlet which for administrative purposes is included in the municipality of nearby Hannoversch Münden in Lower Saxony, Germany. Today the abbey church and its estate cover a site of approximately 300 hectares which is administered by the Klosterkammer Hannover, a body that operates under the auspices of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Arts and the Sciences to look after reassigned or disused ecclesiastical buildings and other heritage properties in the region. The legal owner of the Bursfelde Monastery Complex is the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover.
Huysburg is a Benedictine monastery situated on the Huy hill range near Halberstadt, in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. The Romanesque abbey has existed since about 1080 and was secularised in 1804. A new Benedictine community was founded in 1972 and has been headed by a prior since 1984.
Hirsau Abbey, formerly known as Hirschau Abbey, was once one of the most important Benedictine abbeys of Germany. It is located in the Hirsau borough of Calw on the northern slopes of the Black Forest mountain range, in the present-day state of Baden-Württemberg. In the 11th and 12th century, the monastery was a centre of the Cluniac Reforms, implemented as "Hirsau Reforms" in the German lands by William of Hirsau. The complex was devastated during the War of the Palatine Succession in 1692 and not rebuilt. The ruins served as a quarry for a period of time.
Tegernsee Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery in the town and district of Tegernsee in Bavaria. Both the abbey and the town that grew up around it are named after the Tegernsee, the lake on the shores of which they are located. The name is from the Old High German tegarin seo, meaning great lake.
Muri Abbey was a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It flourished for over eight centuries at Muri, in the Canton of Aargau, near Zürich, Switzerland. While the monastery is currently established as Muri-Gries in South Tyrol the former abbey is now a museum and heritage sites of national significance.
Affligem Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in the municipality of Affligem, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, 19 km (12 mi) to the north-west of Brussels. Dedicated in 1086, it was the most important monastery in the Duchy of Brabant and therefore often called Primaria Brabantiae.
Marienberg Abbey is a Benedictine abbey in Mals, Vinschgau in South Tyrol, northern Italy. It was founded in 1149 or 1150 by Ulrich von Tarasp and other nobles.
The Vallombrosians are a monastic religious order in the Catholic Church. They are named after the location of their motherhouse founded in Vallombrosa, situated 30 km from Florence on the northwest slope of Monte Secchieta in the Pratomagno chain. They use the postnominal abbreviation OSBVall to distinguish themselves from other Benedictines, who generally use the abbreviation OSB.
The Congregation of Windesheim is a congregation of Augustinian canons regular. It takes its name from its most important monastery, which was located at Windesheim, about four miles south of Zwolle on the IJssel, in the Netherlands.
Lobbes Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in the municipality of Lobbes, Hainaut, Belgium. The abbey played an important role in the religious, political and religious life of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, especially around the year 1000. The abbey's founding saint is Saint Landelin; four other saints are also connected with the abbey.
Lamspringe Abbey is a former religious house of the English Benedictines in exile, at Lamspringe near Hildesheim in Germany.
Benno Gut was a Benedictine monk of the Archabbey of Maria Einsiedeln, Switzerland, and a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship in the Roman Curia from 1969 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1967.
Gregorio Cortese, born Giovanni Andrea Cortese was an Italian cardinal and monastic reformer.
St. Stephen's Abbey in Würzburg, Germany, was a Benedictine monastery, founded c.1013. It existed until 1803.
St. Matthias' Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Clement Reyner D.D. (1589–1651) was an English Benedictine monk, who became abbot of Lamspringe in Germany.
Johannes de Indagine, born Johannes von Hagen was a Benedictine monk and a notable abbot of Bursfelde Abbey. He was the originator of the Bursfelde Congregation.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain . This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "The Abbey of Bursfeld". Catholic Encyclopedia . New York: Robert Appleton Company.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
