Coat of arms of the Carthusian order

Monasterio de la Cartuja, a former Carthusian monastery in Seville

The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own Rule, called the Statutes, rather than the Rule of St Benedict (as is often erroneously reported) and combines eremitical and cenobitic life. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 705 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Monasterio de Santa María de las Cuevas, also known as Monasterio de la Cartuja, Seville. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 705 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Monasterio de Santa María de las Cuevas, also known as Monasterio de la Cartuja, Seville. ... For other uses, see Seville (disambiguation). ... Catholic religious orders (Religious Institutes, cf. ... Enclosed religious orders of the Christian church have solemn vows with a strict separation from the affairs of the external world. ... Monasticism (from Greek: monachos — a solitary person) is the religious practice in which one renounces worldly pursuits in order to fully devote ones life to spiritual work. ... Saint Bruno (Cologne, c. ... Events Saint Bruno founds the Carthusian Order of monks Kyanzittha begins his reign in Myanmar. ... For other uses, see Monk (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Nun (disambiguation). ... St. ... For other uses, see Hermit (disambiguation). ... The cenobitic tradition is a monastic tradition that stresses community life. ...

The name Carthusian is derived from Chartreuse Mountains; Bruno built his first hermitage in the valley of these mountains in the French Alps. The word charterhouse, which is the English name for a Carthusian monastery, is derived from the same source. The motto of the Carthusians is Stat crux dum volvitur orbis, Latin for "The Cross is steady while the world is turning." DEM of the Chartreuse massif The Chartreuse Mountains (Massif de la Chartreuse) is a mountain range in eastern France, stretching to the north from the city of Grenoble to the Lac du Bourget. ... The French Alps are simply those parts of the Alps mountain range which lie in France. ... Charterhouse is a Carthusian monastery founded in 1371 by Walter de Manny, in Smithfield in the City of London. ... Monastery of St. ... A reliquary in the form of an ornate Christian Cross Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope...

[edit] Carthusian character

A Carthusian monastery might best be described, paradoxically, as a community of hermits. The monastery is headed by a prior (there are no Carthusian "abbeys"), and is populated by choir monks and lay brothers. Prior is a title, derived from the Latin adjective for earlier, first, with several notable uses. ...

Each choir monk (that is, a monk who is or who will be a priest) has his own hermitage, usually consisting of a small dwelling (traditionally a one-room lower floor for storage of wood for a heating stove, and for a workshop as all monks engage in some manual labor; and a second floor consisting of a small entryway with a picture or statue dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus as a prayer spot, and a larger room with bed, table for eating meals, desk for study as all monks engage in study, and choir stall/seat and kneeler for prayer), set in a corner of a highly walled garden, wherein the monk may meditate and grow flowers or vegetables. For other uses, see Monk (disambiguation). ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

The individual hermitages are lined up so that the door into the garden of each may be reached by a corridor. Near the door is a turnstile, so that meals and other items may be passed in and out of the hermitage without the monk having to meet the bearer. This article is about the pedestrian gate. ...

The monk lives most of his day here: he meditates, prays most of the hours of the Liturgy of the Hours on his own (yet still following the full ceremonial as if praying publicly), eats his meals, studies and/or writes (Carthusian monks have published scholarly and spiritual works), works in his garden, works at some manual trade, etc. He leaves the cell daily only for three prayer services in the monastery chapel (including the community and his own individual Mass), and occasionally for conferences with his superior. Additionally, once a week, the monks take a 4-hour walk together in the countryside during which they may speak (they go two by two, changing partners every half hour), and on Sundays and feastdays a community meal is taken silently. Twice a year there is a day-long community recreation, and he may receive an annual visit from immediate family. The Liturgy of the Hours is usually recited in full in monastic communities. ...

They have no "active" ministry: they do no pastoral work, charitable work, or missionary work; they admit no retreatants (other than select persons who are contemplating actually entering the monastery as monks); they have no contact with the outside world. Their contribution is their life of prayer, which they undertake on behalf of the whole church and the whole world.

In addition to these choir monks there are lay brothers, monks under slightly different types of vows who spend less time in prayer and more time in manual labor and who live slightly more communal lives with one another. The laybrothers provide the material assistance to the choir monks: cooking the meals, undertaking physical repairs, providing the choir monks with books from the library, managing supplies and so on. Lay brothers are Catholic religious occupied solely with manual labour and with the secular affairs of a monastery or friary. ...

All of the monks live lives of silence: there is no "vow of silence," as is sometimes parodied, but as with many monastic groups, the monks cultivate a spirit of exterior silence (speaking only when truly necessary) to help achieve an interior serenity.

Carthusian nuns live similarly to the monks, but with some differences. Choir nuns tend to lead somewhat less eremitical (hermit-like) lives, while still maintaining a strong commitment to solitude and silence.

Today Carthusians live very much as they originally did, without any relaxing of their rule. Thus, there has been no "reform" movement as with other orders: there are no Carthusians "of the strict observance" or the like. Thus Pope Innocent XI coined the phrase Cartusia numquam reformata, quia numquam deformata. Literally this translates to "The charterhouse has never been reformed, for it has never been deformed". Innocent XI, né Benedetto Odescalchi (May 16, 1611 - August 12, 1689) was pope from 1676 to 1689. ...

Painting from the Carthusian cloister of Nuestra Señora de las Cuevas a Triana by Francisco de Zurbarán. The scene depicts Hugh of Grenoble in a Carthusian monastery.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3176x2779, 787 KB) Description: Title: de: Gemäldezyklus für das Kartäuserkloster Nuestra Señora de las Cuevas a Triana, Szene: Der Hl. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3176x2779, 787 KB) Description: Title: de: Gemäldezyklus für das Kartäuserkloster Nuestra Señora de las Cuevas a Triana, Szene: Der Hl. ... Francisco Zurbarán (November 7, 1598 – August 27, 1664), was a Spanish painter, born at Fuente de Cantos in Extremadura. ... Saint Hugh of Grenoble (1052 - 1132) is a Christian saint who was bishop of Grenoble. ...

[edit] Carthusians in England

The first Carthusian monastery or 'Charterhouse' in England was founded by Henry II in Witham Friary, Somerset as penance for the murder of St Thomas Becket. The best preserved remains of a medieval Charterhouse in the UK are at Mount Grace Priory near Osmotherley, North Yorkshire. One of the cells has been reconstructed to illustrate how different the lay-out is to monasteries of most other Christian orders, which are normally designed with communal living in mind. The Carthusian monk (or nun) lives a solitary life in a 'cell' (actually more like a small house), which typically consists of three small rooms on the ground floor - bedroom, study, and shrine - and a work area in the upstairs loft. Each cell has its own water supply and lavatory, and a tiny private garden planted with herbs and flowers. The garden would normally be cultivated by the monk as part of his daily duties. Henry II of England 5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189) ruled as King of England (1154–1189), Count of Anjou, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. ... Witham Friary is a small villiage between the Somerset (England) towns of Frome and Bruton. ... This article is about the county of Somerset in England. ... Saint Thomas à Becket (or Thomas Becket) (ca. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Charterhouse is a Carthusian monastery founded in 1371 by Walter de Manny, in Smithfield in the City of London. ... Mount Grace Priory is the best preserved and most accessible of the ten Carthusian charterhouses in England. ... Osmotherley is an English village and civil parish, situated in the Hambleton hills in North Yorkshire. ... North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county, located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county in that region and also partly in North East England. ...

The London Charterhouse gave its name to a square and several streets in the City of London, as well as to the Charterhouse public school (UK sense) which used part of its site before moving out to Surrey. The Charterhouse in 1770. ... Motto: Domine dirige nos Latin: Lord, guide us Shown within Greater London Sovereign state Constituent country Region Greater London Status City and Ceremonial County Admin HQ Guildhall Government  - Leadership see text  - Mayor John Stuttard  - MP Mark Field  - London Assembly John Biggs Area  - City  1. ... Charterhouse School (Originally, Suttons Hospital in Charterhouse), usually known simply as Charterhouse, is a famous boys English public school, located in Godalming in the county of Surrey. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the English county. ...

A few fragments remain of the Charterhouse in Coventry, mostly dating from the 15th century. This consists of a sandstone building that was probably the prior's house. The area, about a mile from the centre of the city, is a conservation area, but the buildings are in use as part of a local college. Inside the building is a medieval wall painting, alongside many carvings and wooden beams. Nearby is the river Sherbourne that runs underneath the centre of the city. For other uses, see Coventry (disambiguation). ...

[edit] Modern Carthusians

The Carthusians suffered greatly during the Reformation (particularly in England) and during the French Revolution and after in France. A large number of their monasteries were closed during both periods.

Today, the monastery of the Grande Chartreuse is still the motherhouse of the order. There is a museum on the Carthusian order next to the monastery of the Grande Chartreuse; the monks of that monastery are also involved in the production of the Chartreuse liquor. Although visits are not possible within the Grande Chartreuse, the recent documentary Into Great Silence gave unprecedented views of life within the hermitage. Grande Chartreuse Grande Chartreuse is placed in a remote mountain valley. ... Grande Chartreuse Grande Chartreuse is placed in a remote mountain valley. ... For the color chartreuse, see chartreuse (color). ... The film Into Great Silence (Die Große Stille) directed by Philip Groening, is an intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in a remote corner of the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains). ...

There are 24 Charterhouses around the world, five of which are for nuns; altogether, there are around 370 monks and 75 nuns. Most of these Charterhouses are in Europe - including one in Sussex, England - but there are also two in South America, one in the United States and one in South Korea. Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...

The Charterhouse of the Transfiguration on Mount Equinox near Arlington, Vermont is the only Carthusian monastery in the U.S., and for a time was the only Carthusian monastery outside of Europe. Founded in the 1950s, the monastery remains active enough that it is attempting a daughter monastery in Brazil. The Charterhouse of the Transfiguration is the only Carthusian monastery in the USA, located on Mt. ... Arlington, Vermont Arlington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. ...

[edit] Liturgy

Before the Council of Trent in the 1500s, the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe had a wide variety of rituals for the celebration of Mass. Although the essentials were the same, there were variations in prayers and practices from region to region or among the various religious orders. The Council of Trent is the Nineteenth Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ... A Taoist monk playing an instrument. ...

When Pope Pius V made the Roman Missal mandatory, in general, for all Catholics of the Latin Rite, it permitted the continuance of other forms of celebrating Mass that had an antiquity of at least two centuries. The rite used by the Carthusians was one of these and still continues in use in a version revised in 1981.^[1] Apart from the new elements in this revision, it is substantially the rite of Grenoble in the twelfth century, with some admixture from other sources.^[2] It is now the only extant rite of a religious order; but by virtue of the Ecclesia Dei indult (or "permitted exception") some individuals or small groups are authorized to use some other now defunct rites. Pope St. ... The Roman Missal (Missale Romanum) is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Latin rite of Mass. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Ecclesia Dei Ecclesia Dei is the papal document (technically speaking, a motu proprio) that Pope John Paul II wrote in reaction to Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer’s unlawful consecration in 1988 of four bishops. ... A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. ...

A feature unique to Carthusian liturgical practice is that whereby the bishop bestows on Carthusian nuns, in the ceremony of their profession, a stole and a maniple. This is interpreted as a relic of the former rite of ordination of deaconesses.^[3] The nun is also invested with a crown and a ring. The nun wears these ornaments again only on the day of her monastic jubilee, and after her death on her bier. At Matins, if no priest is present, a nun assumes the stole and reads the Gospel, and although the chanting of the Epistle was, in the time of the Tridentine Mass, reserved to an ordained subdeacon, a consecrated nun sang the Epistle at their conventual Mass, though without wearing the maniple. Even before the rite of the consecration of virgins was made more widely available as part of the liturgical reforms undertaken after the Second Vatican Council, Carthusian nuns retained this rite, administered by the diocesan bishop four years after the nun took her vows.^[4] The Tridentine Mass (Pontifical High Mass) being celebrated at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Wyandotte, Michigan - 1949. ... The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, or Vatican II, was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. ...

v • d • e Sacraments, Rites, and Liturgies of the Catholic Church
Sacraments	Baptism · Reconciliation · Eucharist · Confirmation · Matrimony · Holy Orders · Anointing of the Sick
Rites and Liturgies	Mass · Low Mass · Missa Cantata · Papal Mass · Concelebration · Carthusian Rite · Ambrosian Rite · Asperges · Pardon · Charismatic Healing · Exorcism · Funeral · Requiem · Mozarabic Rite · Sarum Rite
Defunct Rites and Liturgies	Benedictine Rite · Carmelite Rite · Cistercian Rite · Durham Rite · French Organ Mass · Norbertine Rite · Pre-Tridentine Mass

Catholic sacraments redirects here. ... The name Catholic Church can mean a visible organization that refers to itself as Catholic, or the invisible Christian Church, viz. ... This article is about the Christian religious act of Baptism. ... The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is popularly called Confession. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Confirmation, known also as Chrismation (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1289), is one of the seven sacraments instituted by Christ for the conferral of sanctifying grace and the strengthening of the union between individual souls and God. ... (Gospel of Matthew 19:6) Matrimony, The Seven Sacraments, Rogier van der Weyden, ca. ... The Ministerial Priesthood in the Catholic Church includes both the orders of bishops and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. ... Anointing of the Sick is the ritual anointing of a sick person and is a Sacrament of the Catholic Church. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Latin Rite, in the singular and accompanied, in English, by the definite article, refers to the sui juris particular Church of the Roman Catholic Church that developed in the area of western Europe and northern Africa where Latin was for many centuries the language of education and culture. ... Until the changes brought in following the Second Vatican Council, a Low Mass or Missa Lecta was one said by a priest alone, with the assistance of one or two servers. ... Missa Cantata (Latin for sung Mass is a Tridentine Mass in which the liturgical parts are sung as in the High Mass, but which is ceremonially less elaborate (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000);[1] a Mass whose music is equivalent to that of the... A Papal Mass is a traditional Catholic mass celebrated by the Pope. ... Concelebration in the Catholic Church is the presiding of a number of priests at the celebration of the Eucharist with either a priest or bishop as the principal presider and the other priests and bishops present in the sanctuary assisting in the consecration of the Eucharist. ... Coat of arms of the Carthusian order Monasterio de la Cartuja, a former Carthusian monastery in Seville The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. ... Ambrosian Rite (also sometimes called the Milanese Rite) named after Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan in the fourth century, is a Catholic liturgical rite practised among Catholics in the greater part of the Archdiocese of Milan (excluding, notably, the city of Monza, and a few other towns), and neighbouring area... Aperges is the ceremony of sprinkling the people with holy water before High Mass in the Roman Catholic Church. ... Pardon, from the Latin perdonare, — assimilated in form to donum, a gift, middle English, to the old French perdun and pardun, and modern French pardonner — signifies in Brittany the feast of the patron saint of a church or chapel, at which an indulgence is granted. ... Faith healing is the use of supernatural or spiritual intervention to cure disease. ... Saint Francis exorcised demons in Arezzo, fresco of Giotto Exorcism (from Late Latin exorcismus, from Greek exorkizein - to adjure, correctly pronounced exercism) is the practice of evicting demons or other evil spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed (taken control of). ... A Catholic Funeral refers to the funeral rites specifically in use in the Roman Catholic Church. ... The Requiem (from the Latin requiés, rest) or Requiem Mass (informally, the funeral Mass), also known formally (in Latin) as the Missa pro defunctis or Missa defunctorum, is a liturgical service of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the Anglican/ Episcopalian High Church and certain Lutheran Churches in... The Mozarabic rite is a form of Catholic worship within the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. ... The Sarum Rite, more properly called the Sarum Use, was a variant of the Latin Rite practiced in Great Britain & Ireland from the late 11th Century until the Reformation. ... Catholic Order Rites are liturgical rites, in the sense of variations on the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, specific to a number of regular orders. ... Catholic Order Rites are liturgical rites, in the sense of variations on the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, specific to a number of regular orders. ... Catholic Order Rites are liturgical rites, in the sense of variations on the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, specific to a number of regular orders. ... The Durham Rite is a historical fusion of the Roman Rite and the Gallican Rite in the English bishopric of Durham. ... The French Organ Mass is a type of Low Mass that came into use during the Baroque Era. ... Catholic Order Rites are liturgical rites, in the sense of variations on the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, specific to a number of regular orders. ... By Pre-Tridentine Mass is meant the successive forms of the liturgy of the Mass of the Roman Rite up to 1570, when Pope Pius V, to whom the task was entrusted by the 1545-1563 Council of Trent, ordered the general adoption, within the Latin-Rite or Western Church...

[edit] Stages of the Carthusian's Life

• Postulancy (3 to 12 months) the postulant lives the life of a monk but without having professed any kind of vows.
• Novitiate (2 years). The novice wears a black cloak over the white Carthusian habit.
• Simple Vows (3 years) becomes a junior professed monk and wears the full Carthusian habit.
• Renewal of simple vows (2 years)
• Solemn profession.

[edit] Locations of Monasteries

Today, there are up to 24 Charterhouses located around the Globe. They can be found in Spain, Portugal, France, USA, Switzerland, South Korea, and Great Britain. One of them was recently built in Argentina, the construction work having started in 1997^[5].

[edit] References

1. ^ The text of the Carthusian Missal and the Order's other liturgical books is available at Carthusian Monks and Carthusian nuns
2. ^ The Carthusian Order in Catholic Encyclopedia. The text of the former Ordo Missae of the Carthusian Missal is available at this site.
3. ^ Deaconesses in Catholic Encyclopedia; A Rose By Any Other Name. The Ordination of Women to the Diaconate by David L. Alexander
4. ^ The Carthusian Order in Catholic Encyclopedia
5. ^ To view images of the Monasteries visit http://www.chartreux.org/en/frame.html

This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

[edit] Further reading

• Lockhart, Robin Bruce. Halfway to Heaven. London:Cistercian Publications, 1999 (Paperback,ISBN 0-87907-786-7)
• Kossmann, Benedict. Sounds of Silence. Authorhouse, 2005 (Paperback,ISBN 1-4208-7291-5)
• Klein Maguire, Nancy. "An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World's Most Austere Monastic Order". PublicAffairs, 2006 (Hardcover,ISBN 1-58648-327-2)

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Carthusian

• Order (religious)
• Hermit
• Desert Fathers
• Monasticism
• Monk
• Nun
• International Fellowship of St. Bruno
• Community of Hermits of St. Bruno

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... A religious order is an organization of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with religious devotion. ... For other uses, see Hermit (disambiguation). ... The Desert Fathers were Christian Hermits who lived in the Sahara desert of Egypt, beginning in about the third century. ... Monasticism (from Greek: monachos — a solitary person) is the religious practice in which one renounces worldly pursuits in order to fully devote ones life to spiritual work. ... For other uses, see Monk (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Nun (disambiguation). ... The International Fellowship of St. ... The Community of Hermits of St. ...

[edit] External links

• Official website of the Carthusian order
• Prologue to the Statutes of the Carthusian Order
• Carthusian Order in the Old Catholic Encyclopedia
• St.Hugh's Charterhouse, Parkminster, England - The largest charterhouse in Europe
• Serra San Bruno Charterhouse in Calabria, Italy
• Analecta Cartusiana - Oldest continuing series published on the Carthusian Order, founded in 1970
• Website for Chartreuse Liqueur
• International Fellowship of St. Bruno
• The Charterhouse, A Garden Enclosed
• Carthusian Saints
• Polish site about Carthusian order
• Conservation Area in Coventry featuring remains of the city's Charterhouse.
• The Rosary Prayer and the Carthusians
• "Into Great Silence" Documentary Film
• "An Infinity of Little Hours" by Nancy Klein Maguire

[edit] Documentary Film

• "Into Great Silence", documentary film on the life in a carthusian monastery

• "Scala Dei, La Inspiración", documentary film with one interviews for the first time granted by a Carthusian Monk. In spanish. Armando Linares Teijeiro. -Aquarium Productions-