162-517: Dunstan ( c. 909 – 19 May 988), was an English bishop and Benedictine monk . He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey , Bishop of Worcester , Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury , later canonised . His work restored monastic life in England and reformed the English Church. His 11th-century biographer Osbern , himself an artist and scribe, states that Dunstan
324-551: A silversmith and in the scriptorium while he was living at Glastonbury. It is thought likely that he was the artist who drew the well-known image of Christ with a small kneeling monk beside him in the Glastonbury Classbook , "one of the first of a series of outline drawings which were to become a special feature of Anglo-Saxon art of this period." Dunstan became famous as a musician, illuminator , and metalworker. Lady Æthelflæd, King Æthelstan's niece, made Dunstan
486-530: A "Superior General". Each Benedictine congregation is autonomous and governed by an abbot or abbess. The autonomous houses are characterised by their chosen charism or specific dedication to a particular devotion. For example, In 1313 Bernardo Tolomei established the Order of Our Lady of Mount Olivet . The community adopted the Rule of Saint Benedict and received canonical approval in 1344. The Olivetans are part of
648-453: A bishop and, on the death of Coenwald of Worcester at the end of 957, Oda appointed Dunstan to the see. In the following year the see of London became vacant and was conferred on Dunstan, who held it simultaneously with Worcester. In October 959, Eadwig died and his brother Edgar was readily accepted as ruler of Wessex. One of Eadwig's final acts had been to appoint a successor to Archbishop Oda, who died on 2 June 958. The chosen candidate
810-437: A century later, when the young king took the usual oath to govern well, Dunstan addressed him in solemn warning. He criticised the violent act whereby he became king and prophesied the misfortunes that were shortly to fall on the kingdom, but Dunstan's influence at court was ended. Dunstan retired to Canterbury, to teach at the cathedral school . Only three more public acts are known. In 980, Dunstan joined Ælfhere of Mercia in
972-545: A commendatory abbot, a lay person, appointed by a noble to oversee and to protect the assets of the monastery. Often, however, this resulted in the appropriation of the assets of monasteries at the expense of the community which they were intended to support. Saint Blaise Abbey in the Black Forest of Baden-Württemberg is believed to have been founded around the latter part of the tenth century. Between 1070 and 1073 there seem to have been contacts between St. Blaise and
1134-648: A common noun, whereas in Greek, the article signals an individual's name (a proper noun). For example, in the Hebrew book of Job, one of the angels is referred to as a satan, "an adversary", but in the Greek Septuagint, which was used by the early Christians, whenever "the Satan" ( Ha-Satan ) appears with a definite article , it specifically refers to the individual known as the heavenly accuser whose personal name
1296-485: A deeper understanding of God's nature and the order of the cosmos. Illuminated by God-given grace, they became incapable of feeling any desire for sin. The other angels, however, are not blessed with grace and act sinfully. Anselm of Canterbury describes the reason for the devil's fall in his De Casu Diaboli ("On the Devil's Fall"). Breaking with Augustine's diabology, he absolved God from pre-determinism and causing
1458-490: A fallen angel or predicts his end. Ancient Jewish text depicts Satan as an agent of God, a spy, a stool-pigeon, a prosecutor of mankind and even a hangman. He descends to earth to test men's virtue and lead them astray, then rises to Heaven to accuse them. In the Book of Job , Job is a righteous man favored by God. Job 1:6–8 describes the " sons of God " ( bənê hā'ĕlōhîm ) presenting themselves before God: "Sons of God"
1620-512: A few different places, namely the sacristy , which contained books for the choir and other liturgical books, the rectory , which housed books for public reading such as sermons and lives of the saints, and the library , which contained the largest collection of books and was typically in the cloister. The first record of a monastic library in England is in Canterbury . To assist with Augustine of Canterbury 's English mission , Pope Gregory
1782-462: A few other church fathers essentially subscribed to this view which was borrowed from a Hellenistic myth . According to Origen, God created rational creatures first then the material world. The rational creatures are divided into angels and humans, both endowed with free will, and the material world is a result of their choices. The world, also inhabited by the devil and his angels, manifests all kinds of destruction and suffering too. Origen opposed
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#17327652035671944-606: A great deal of preliminary diplomacy). This service, devised by Dunstan himself and celebrated with a poem in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle forms the basis of the present-day British coronation ceremony . There was a second symbolic coronation held later. This was an important step, as other kings of Britain came and gave their allegiance to Edgar at Chester . Six kings in Britain, including the kings of Scotland and of Strathclyde , pledged their faith that they would be
2106-576: A hunting lodge, was officially returned to the Benedictines four hundred years later, in 1928. During the next few years, so-called Prinknash Park was used as a home until it was returned to the order. St. Lawrence's Abbey in Ampleforth, Yorkshire was founded in 1802. In 1955, Ampleforth set up a daughter house, a priory at St. Louis, Missouri which became independent in 1973 and became Saint Louis Abbey in its own right in 1989. As of 2015,
2268-657: A life of exploitation, others dedicated to the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament such as the one established by Catherine de Bar (1614–1698). In 1688 Dame Mechtilde de Bar assisted Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien , queen consort of Poland, to establish a Benedictine foundation in Warsaw . Abbeys were among the institutions of the Catholic Church swept away during
2430-472: A minister. Again, royal favour fostered jealousy among other courtiers and again Dunstan's enemies succeeded in their plots. The King was prepared to send Dunstan away. There were then at Cheddar certain envoys from the "Eastern Kingdom", which probably meant East Anglia . Dunstan implored the envoys to take him with them when they returned to their homes. They agreed to do so, but it never happened. The story
2592-490: A monastic manner of life, drawing on the Vulgate 's use of conversatio as indicating "citizenship" or "local customs", see Philippians 3:20. The Rule enjoins monks and nuns "to live in this place as a religious, in obedience to its rule and to the abbot or abbess." Benedictine abbots and abbesses have jurisdiction over their abbey and thus canonical authority over the monks or nuns who are resident. This authority includes
2754-401: A positive value, since evil is, according to Augustinian theodicy , merely a byproduct of creation. The spirits have all been created in the love of God, but the devil valued himself more, thereby abandoning his position for a lower good. Less clear is Augustine about the reason for the devil's choosing to abandon God's love. In some works, he argued that it is God's grace that gives the angels
2916-500: A prophecy regarding Jesus' victory over the devil, with reference to the child of a woman, striking the head of the serpent. The idea of fallen angels was familiar in pre-Christian Hebrew thought from the Book of the Watchers , according to which angels who impregnated human women were cast out of heaven. The Babylonian/Hebrew myth of a rising star, as the embodiment of a heavenly being who is thrown down for his attempt to ascend into
3078-401: A reference to ritual purification , which is inspired by Benedict's encouragement of bathing . Benedictine monks have played a role in the development and promotion of spas . Benedictine monasticism differs from other Christian religious orders in that as congregations sometimes with several houses, some of them in other countries, they are not bound into a unified religious order headed by
3240-511: A religious from an early age, but chose to live as a hermit . They retained a close relationship until her death. Despite being called an order, the Benedictines do not operate under a single hierarchy but are instead organized as a collection of autonomous monasteries and convents, some known as abbeys . The order is represented internationally by the Benedictine Confederation , an organization set up in 1893 to represent
3402-747: A silversmith making church plate. The Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church mark his feast day on 19 May. Dunstan is also honoured in the Church of England and in the Episcopal Church on 19 May. In 2023, a pastoral area of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton was named in honour of Dunstan. English literature contains many references to him: for example, in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens , and in this folk rhyme: St Dunstan, as
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#17327652035673564-620: A template for explaining child deaths. According to historian Joe Hillaby, the blood libel of Harold was crucially important because for the first time an unexplained child death occurring near the Easter festival was arbitrarily linked to Jews in the vicinity by local Christian churchmen: "they established a pattern quickly taken up elsewhere. Within three years the first ritual murder charge was made in France." The forty-eighth Rule of Saint Benedict prescribes extensive and habitual "holy reading" for
3726-410: A trusted adviser and on her death, she left a considerable fortune to him. He used this money later in life to foster and encourage a monastic revival in England. About the same time, his father Heorstan died and Dunstan inherited his fortune as well. He became a person of great influence, and on the death of King Æthelstan in 940, the new King, Edmund , summoned him to his court at Cheddar and made him
3888-411: A vocation to a celibate life. The answer came in the form of an attack of swelling tumours all over Dunstan's body. This ailment was so severe that it was thought to be leprosy . It was more probably some form of blood poisoning caused by being beaten and thrown in the cesspool. Whatever the cause, it changed Dunstan's mind. He took Holy Orders in 943, in the presence of Ælfheah, and returned to live
4050-428: Is Ora et Labora "pray and work". Although Benedictines do not take a vow of silence, hours of strict silence are set, and at other times silence is maintained as much as is practically possible. Social conversations tend to be limited to communal recreation times. Such details, like other aspects of the daily routine of a Benedictine house are left to the discretion of the superior, and are set out in its customary ,
4212-480: Is Satan. In some cases it is unclear which is intended. Henry A. Kelly says that "almost all modern translators and interpreters" of 1 Chronicles 21:1 (in which satan occurs without the definite article) agree the verse contains "the proper name of a specific being appointed to the office of adversary". Thomas Farrar writes that "In all three cases, satan was translated in the Septuagint as diabolos , and in
4374-482: Is a description of 'angels' as supernatural heavenly beings, "ministers of Yahweh, able under His direction to intervene in the affairs of men, enjoying a closer union with Yahweh than is the lot of men. They appear in the earliest books of the Old Testament as well as in the later... They appear in prophetical and sapiential literature as well as in the historical books; they appear in the primitive history and in
4536-588: Is described in all three synoptic gospels , (Matthew 4:1–11, Mark 1:12–13 and Luke 4:1–13). Other adversaries of Jesus are ordinary humans although influence by the devil is suggested. John 8:40 speaks about the Pharisees as the "offspring of the devil". John 13:2 states that the devil entered Judas Iscariot before Judas' betrayal (Luke 22:3). In all three synoptic gospels (Matthew 9:22–29, Mark 3:22–30 and Luke 11:14–20), Jesus' critics accuse him of gaining his power to cast out demons from Beelzebub ,
4698-438: Is influenced by the sin of the devil and is inhabited by wicked men and demons (fallen angels) who are led by the devil. On the other hand, the heavenly city is inhabited by righteous men and the angels led by God. Although his ontological division into two different kingdoms shows a resemblance to Manichean dualism , Augustine differs in regard to the origin and power of evil. He argues that evil came first into existence by
4860-458: Is often thought of as the originator of sin and an instrument of punishment. For these reasons, Abaddon is also identified with the devil. The concept of fallen angels is of pre-Christian origin. Fallen angels appear in writings such as the Book of Enoch , the Book of Jubilees and arguably in Genesis 6:1–4. Christian tradition and theology interpreted the myth about a rising star, thrown into
5022-748: Is one of the two Old Testament passages, along with Zechariah 3, where the Hebrew ha-Satan (the Adversary) becomes the Greek ho diabolos (the Slanderer) in the Greek Septuagint used by the early Christian church. A satan is involved in King David 's census and Christian teachings about this satan varies, just as the pre-exilic account of 2 Samuel and the later account of 1 Chronicles present differing perspectives: And again
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5184-423: Is prominent. Mastema asks God to spare a tenth of the demons and assign them under his domain so that he might prove humanity to be sinful and unworthy. Mastema is the first figure who unites the concept Satan and Belial . Morally questionable actions ascribed to God in the Old Testament, like environmental disasters and tempting Abraham, are ascribed to Mastema instead, establishing a satanic character distant from
5346-556: Is recorded: ... the king rode out to hunt the stag in Mendip Forest . He became separated from his attendants and followed a stag at great speed in the direction of the Cheddar cliffs. The stag rushed blindly over the precipice and was followed by the hounds. Eadmund endeavoured vainly to stop his horse; then, seeing death to be imminent, he remembered his harsh treatment of St Dunstan and promised to make amends if his life
5508-554: Is responsible for their decisions, but not the environment or conditions in which their decisions are made. The angels who became demons had lived in Heaven; their environment was grounded and surrounded by the divine; they should have loved God more than themselves, but they delighted in their own power, and loved themselves more, sinning "spontaneously". Because they sinned "through their own initiative, without being tempted or persuaded by anyone else, they cannot repent and be saved through
5670-578: Is said to be a fallen angel , who was expelled from Heaven at the beginning of time, before God created the material world, and is in constant opposition to God. The devil is conjectured to be several other figures in the Bible including the serpent in the Garden of Eden , Lucifer , Satan , the tempter of the Gospels , Leviathan , and the dragon in the Book of Revelation . Early scholars discussed
5832-531: Is subsequently found in some monasteries in southern Gaul along with other rules used by abbots. Gregory of Tours says that at Ainay Abbey , in the sixth century, the monks "followed the rules of Basil, Cassian, Caesarius, and other fathers, taking and using whatever seemed proper to the conditions of time and place", and doubtless the same liberty was taken with the Benedictine Rule when it reached them. In Gaul and Switzerland, it gradually supplemented
5994-527: The ransom theory of atonement , the belief that Jesus' crucifixion was a ransom paid to Satan, in favor of the satisfaction theory . According to this view, humanity sinned by violating the cosmic harmony God created. To restore this harmony, humanity needed to pay something they did not owe to God. But since humans could not pay the price, God had to send Jesus, who is both God and human, to sacrifice himself. The devil does not play an important role in this theory of atonement any longer. In Anselm's theology,
6156-642: The Abbey of Monte Cassino . There is no evidence, however, that he intended to found an order and the Rule of Saint Benedict presupposes the autonomy of each community. When Monte Cassino was sacked by the Lombards about the year 580, the monks fled to Rome, and it seems probable that this constituted an important factor in the diffusion of a knowledge of Benedictine monasticism. Copies of Benedict's Rule survived; around 594 Pope Gregory I spoke favorably of it. The rule
6318-580: The Benedictine Confederation . Although Benedictines are traditionally Catholic, there are also other communities that follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. For example, of an estimated 2,400 celibate Anglican religious (1,080 men and 1,320 women) in the Anglican Communion as a whole, some have adopted the Rule of Benedict. Likewise, such communities can be found in Eastern Orthodox Church , and Lutheran Church . Members of
6480-483: The Benedictine Rule . Rule 38 states that 'these brothers' meals should usually be accompanied by reading, and that they were to eat and drink in silence while one read out loud. Benedictine monks were not allowed worldly possessions, thus necessitating the preservation and collection of sacred texts in monastic libraries for communal use. For the sake of convenience, the books in the monastery were housed in
6642-579: The Black Monks , especially in English speaking countries, after the colour of their habits . Not all Benedictines wear black, however, with some like the Olivetans wearing white. They were founded 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
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6804-746: The Congregation of Saint Maur , a prerevolutionary French congregation of Benedictines known for their scholarship: Benedictine Oblates endeavor to embrace the spirit of the Benedictine vow in their own life in the world. Oblates are affiliated with a particular monastery. Devil in Christianity In Christianity , the Devil is the personification of evil . He is traditionally held to have rebelled against God in an attempt to become equal to God himself. He
6966-1130: The English Reformation . A stone's throw from Marble Arch , the Tyburn Convent is now the Mother House of the Congregation. Benedictines are thought to have arrived in the Kingdom of Poland in the 11th-century. One of the earliest foundations is Tyniec Abbey on a promontory by the Vistula river. The Tyniec monks led the translation of the Bible into Polish vernacular. Other surviving Benedictine houses can be found in Stary Kraków Village , Biskupów , Lubiń . Older foundations are in Mogilno , Trzemeszno , Łęczyca , Łysa Góra and in Opactwo , among others. In
7128-773: The French Revolution . Monasteries and convents were again allowed to form in the 19th century under the Bourbon Restoration . Later that century, under the Third French Republic , laws were enacted preventing religious teaching. The original intent was to allow secular schools. Thus in 1880 and 1882, Benedictine teaching monks were effectively exiled; this was not completed until 1901. In 1898 Marie-Adèle Garnier, in religion, Mother Marie de Saint-Pierre, founded in Montmartre ( Mount of
7290-834: The Garden of Eden . Satan was being used as a proper name in the apocryphal Jewish writings such as the Book of Jubilees 10:11; 23:29; 50:5, the Testament of Job, and The Assumption of Moses which are contemporary to the writing of the New Testament. The Book of Enoch , estimated to date from about 300–200 BC, to 100 BC, tells of a group of angels called the Watchers . The Watchers fell in love with human women and descended to earth to have intercourse with them, resulting in giant offspring . On earth, these fallen angels further teach
7452-759: The Middle Ages the city of Płock , also on the Vistula, had a successful monastery, which played a significant role in the local economy. In the 18th-century benedictine convents were opened for women, notably in Warsaw's New Town. A 15th-century Benedictine foundation can be found in Senieji Trakai , a village in Eastern Lithuania . Kloster Rheinau was a Benedictine monastery in Rheinau in
7614-526: The Valentinian view that suffering in the world is beyond God's grasp, and the devil is an independent actor. Therefore, the devil is only able to pursue evil as long as God allows. Evil has no ontological reality, but is defined by deficits or a lack of existence, in Origen's cosmology. Therefore, the devil is considered most remote from the presence of God, and those who adhere to the devil's will follow
7776-777: The Vatican and to the world. The headquarters of the Benedictine Confederation and the Abbot Primate is the Primatial Abbey of Sant'Anselmo built by Pope Leo XIII in Rome . The Rule of Saint Benedict is also used by a number of religious orders that began as reforms of the Benedictine tradition such as the Cistercians and Trappists . These groups are separate congregations and not members of
7938-475: The daily office . He visited the shrines of St Augustine and St Æthelberht . He worked to improve the spiritual and temporal well-being of his people, to build and restore churches, to establish schools, to judge suits, to defend widows and orphans, to promote peace, and to enforce respect for purity. He practised his crafts, made bells and organs and corrected the books in the cathedral library. He encouraged and protected European scholars who came to England, and
8100-460: The free will of the devil and has no independent ontological existence. Augustine always emphasized the sovereignty of God over the devil who can only operate within his God-given framework. Augustine wrote that angels sinned under differing circumstances than humans did, resulting in different consequences for their actions. Human sins are the result of circumstances an individual may or may not be responsible for, such as original sin. The person
8262-431: The problem of evil . Christian scholars have offered three main theodicies of why a good God might need to allow evil in the world. These are based on the free will of humankind, a self-limiting God, and the observation that suffering has "soul-making" value. Christian theologians do not blame evil solely on the devil, as this creates a kind of Manichean dualism that, nevertheless, still has popular support. Origen
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#17327652035678424-519: The Abbot of Abingdon , was appointed to the See of Winchester. With their aid and with the ready support of King Edgar, Dunstan pushed forward his reforms in the English Church. The monks in his communities were taught to live in a spirit of self-sacrifice, and Dunstan actively enforced the law of celibacy whenever possible. He forbade the practices of simony (selling ecclesiastical offices for money) and ended
8586-561: The Ark in order to keep from drowning. The ability of the Devil, in folk-tale, to appear in any animal form, to change form, or to become invisible, all such powers while nowhere mentioned in the Bible itself, have been assigned to the devil by medieval ecclesiasticism without dispute. Maximus the Confessor argued that the purpose of the devil is to teach humans how to distinguish between virtue and sin. Since, according to Christian teachings,
8748-746: The Benedictine Confederation. Other specialisms, such as Gregorian chant as at Solesmes in France, or Perpetual Adoration of the Holy Sacrament have been adopted by different houses, as at the Warsaw Convent, or the Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre at Tyburn Convent in London. Other houses have dedicated themselves to books, reading, writing and printing them as at Stanbrook Abbey in England. Others still are associated with
8910-575: The Bible, the fruit Adam and Eve ate is not defined; the apple is part of folklore. Medieval Europe was well equipped to explain the silences of the Bible. In addition to the use of world history and the expansion of Biblical books, additional vehicles for the adornment of Biblical tales were popular sagas, legends, and fairy tales. These provided elaborate views of a dualistic creation where the Devil vies with God, and creates disagreeable imitations of God's creatures like lice, apes, and women. The Devil in certain Russian tales had to intrigue his way on board
9072-442: The Book of Job. Satan and his lesser satans act as God's executioners: they tempt into sin, accuse sinners for their misdeeds, and finally execute divine judgment as angels of punishment . The Book of Jubilees also identifies the Bene Elohim ("sons of God") in Genesis 6 with the offspring of fallen angels, adhering to the Watcher myth known from the Book of Enoch. Throughout the book, another wicked angel called Mastema
9234-407: The Canton of Zürich, Switzerland, founded in about 778. The abbey of Our Lady of the Angels was founded in 1120. The English Benedictine Congregation is the oldest of the nineteen Benedictine congregations. Through the influence of Wilfrid , Benedict Biscop , and Dunstan , the Benedictine Rule spread rapidly, and in the North it was adopted in most of the monasteries that had been founded by
9396-405: The Celtic missionaries from Iona. Many of the episcopal sees of England were founded and governed by the Benedictines, and no fewer than nine of the old cathedrals were served by the black monks of the priories attached to them. Monasteries served as hospitals and places of refuge for the weak and homeless. The monks studied the healing properties of plants and minerals to alleviate the sufferings of
9558-600: The Cluniac Abbey of Fruttuaria in Italy, which led to St. Blaise following the Fruttuarian reforms. The Empress Agnes was a patron of Fruttuaria, and retired there in 1065 before moving to Rome. The Empress was instrumental in introducing Fruttuaria's Benedictine customs, as practiced at Cluny, to Saint Blaise Abbey in Baden-Württemberg . Other houses either reformed by, or founded as priories of, St. Blasien were Muri Abbey (1082), Ochsenhausen Abbey (1093), Göttweig Abbey (1094), Stein am Rhein Abbey (before 1123) and Prüm Abbey (1132). It also had significant influence on
9720-451: The Day of Judgement, when the rest of the cosmos reunites with God, the devil, his demons, and all whose who cling to evil and unreality will exclude themselves eternally from God and suffer from this separation. Christians have understood the devil as the personification of evil, the author of lies and the promoter of evil , and as a metaphor of human evil. However, the devil can go no further than God, or human freedom, allows, resulting in
9882-420: The English Congregation consists of three abbeys of nuns and ten abbeys of monks. Members of the congregation are found in England, Wales, the United States of America, Peru and Zimbabwe. In England there are also houses of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation : Farnborough, Prinknash, and Chilworth: the Solesmes Congregation , Quarr and St Cecilia's on the Isle of Wight, as well as a diocesan monastery following
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#173276520356710044-409: The Great gave him nine books which included the Gregorian Bible in two volumes, the Psalter of Augustine, two copies of the Gospels , two martyrologies , an Exposition of the Gospels and Epistles, and a Psalter . Theodore of Tarsus brought Greek books to Canterbury more than seventy years later, when he founded a school for the study of Greek. The first Benedictine to live in the United States
10206-496: The Great . He integrated the devil, as the first creation of God, into the Christian angelic hierarchy as the highest of the angels (either a cherub or a seraph ) who fell far, into the depths of hell , and became the leader of demons . Since the early Reformation period, the devil has been imagined as an increasingly powerful entity, with not only a lack of goodness but also a conscious will against God, his word, and his creation. Simultaneously, some reformists have interpreted
10368-450: The High Priest depicts a dispute in the heavenly throne room between Satan and the Angel of the Lord (Zechariah 3:1–2). The scene describes Joshua the High Priest dressed in filthy rags, representing the nation of Judah and its sins, on trial with God as the judge and Satan standing as the prosecutor . Yahweh rebukes Satan and orders that Joshua be given clean clothes, representing God's forgiveness of Judah's sins. Goulder (1998) views
10530-454: The Martyr ), Paris a Benedictine house. However, the Waldeck-Rousseau 's Law of Associations , passed in 1901, placed severe restrictions on religious bodies which were obliged to leave France. Garnier and her community relocated to another place associated with executions, this time it was in London , near the site of Tyburn tree where 105 Catholic martyrs—including Saint Oliver Plunkett and Saint Edmund Campion had been executed during
10692-466: The Middle Ages and even into the Reformation era, influencing notable Reformation theologians such as John Calvin and Martin Luther . For Augustine, the rebellion of Satan was the first and final cause of evil; thus, he rejected earlier teachings about Satan having fallen when the world was already created. In his Civitas Dei , he describes two cities ( Civitates ) distinct from and opposed to each other like light and darkness. The earthly city
10854-412: The Middle Ages there was a great deal of adaptation of biblical material, in the vernacular languages, that often employed additional literary forms like drama to convey important ideas to an audience unable to read the Latin for themselves. They sometimes expanded the biblical text with additions, explanatory developments or omissions. The Bible has silences: questions it does not address. For example, in
11016-411: The New Testament. In Mark 1:13 "ho Satanas" is a proper name that identifies a particular being with a distinct personality: The figure whom Mark designates as the perpetrator of Jesus' Wilderness temptation, whether called Satan or one of a host of other names, was not an 'unknown quantity'. On the contrary, in Mark's time and in the thought world which Mark and his audience shared, Satan's identity and
11178-453: The Rule of Saint Benedict: The Community of Our Lady of Glastonbury. Since the Oxford Movement , there has also been a modest flourishing of Benedictine monasticism in the Anglican Church and Protestant Churches. Anglican Benedictine Abbots are invited guests of the Benedictine Abbot Primate in Rome at Abbatial gatherings at Sant'Anselmo. In 1168 local Benedictine monks instigated the anti-semitic blood libel of Harold of Gloucester as
11340-444: The South. Against all these reforms were the nobles of Wessex, who included most of Dunstan's own relatives, and who had an interest in maintaining established customs. For nine years Dunstan's influence was dominant, during which time he twice refused the office of bishop (that of Winchester in 951 and Crediton in 953), affirming that he would not leave the king's side so long as the king lived and needed him. In 955, Eadred died, and
11502-462: The Synod of Winchester, St Dunstan's feast was ordered to be kept solemnly throughout England. Until Thomas Becket 's fame overshadowed Dunstan's, he was the favourite saint of the English people. Dunstan had been buried in his cathedral . In 1180 his relics were translated to a tomb on the south side of the high altar, when that building was restored after being partially destroyed by a fire in 1174. The monks of Glastonbury used to claim that during
11664-483: The abbeys of Alpirsbach (1099), Ettenheimm ünster (1124) and Sulzburg ( c. 1125 ), and the priories of Weitenau (now part of Steinen , c. 1100 ), Bürgel (before 1130) and Sitzenkirch ( c. 1130 ). Fleury Abbey in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire , Loiret was founded in about 640. It is one of the most celebrated Benedictine monasteries of Western Europe, and possesses
11826-414: The activities characteristic of him were both well-defined and widely known. Although in later Christian theology , the devil and his fellow fallen angels are often merged into one category of demonic spirits, the devil is a unique entity throughout the New Testament. The devil is not only a tempter but perhaps rules over the kingdoms of earth. In the temptation of Christ (Matthew 4:8–9 and Luke 4:6–7),
11988-448: The ancient church of St Mary. He became so well known for his devotion to learning that he is said to have been summoned by Athelm to enter his service. He was later appointed to the court of King Æthelstan. Dunstan soon became a favourite of the king and was the envy of other members of the court. A plot was hatched to disgrace him and Dunstan was accused of being involved with witchcraft and black magic . The king ordered him to leave
12150-405: The anger of the L ORD was kindled against Israel, and He moved David against them, saying: 'Go, number Israel and Judah.' However, Satan rose up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. According to some teachings, this term refers to a human being, who bears the title satan while others argue that it indeed refers to a heavenly supernatural agent, an angel. Since the satan is sent by
12312-488: The bishop. Infuriated by this, Dunstan dragged Eadwig back to the royal gathering. Later realising that he had provoked the king, Dunstan saw that his life was in danger. He fled England and crossed the channel to Flanders, where he found himself ignorant of the language and of the customs of the locals. The count of Flanders , Arnulf I , received him with honour and lodged him in the Abbey of Mont Blandin , near Ghent . This
12474-500: The blossom of local apple trees with frost, damaging the cider crop so that Dunstan's own beer would sell more readily. As Bishop of London, Dunstan was also Lord of the Manor of Stepney , and may, like subsequent bishops, have lived there. Dunstan is recorded as having founded (or rebuilt) Stepney's church , in 952 AD. This church was dedicated to All Saints, but was rededicated to Dunstan after his canonisation in 1029, making Dunstan
12636-405: The brethren. Three primary types of reading were done by the monks in medieval times. Monks would read privately during their personal time, as well as publicly during services and at mealtimes. In addition to these three mentioned in the Rule, monks would also read in the infirmary. Monasteries were thriving centers of education, with monks and nuns actively encouraged to learn and pray according to
12798-519: The case of Job and Zechariah, with ho diabolos ( the accuser; the slanderer). In all three of these passages there is general agreement among Old Testament scholars that the referent of the word satan is an angelic being". In the early rabbinic literature, Satan is never referred to as "the Evil one, the Enemy, belial, Mastema or Beelzebul". No Talmudic source depicts Satan as a rebel against God or as
12960-619: The church fathers Hieronymus, Cyrillus of Alexandria (412–444), and Eusebius c. 260–340 saw in Isaiah's prophecy only the mystifying end of a Babylonian king. Some scholars use Ezekiel's cherub in Eden to support the Christian doctrine of the devil: You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, emerald, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Gold work of tambourines and of pipes
13122-477: The clergy to assemble. Mass was celebrated in his presence, then he received Extreme Unction and the Viaticum , and died. Dunstan's final words are reported to have been, "He hath made a remembrance of his wonderful works, being a merciful and gracious Lord: He hath given food to them that fear Him." The English people accepted him as a saint shortly thereafter. He was formally canonised in 1029. That year at
13284-416: The code adopted by a particular Benedictine house by adapting the Rule to local conditions. According to the norms of the 1983 Code of Canon Law , a Benedictine abbey is a " religious institute " and its members therefore participate in consecrated life which Canon 588 §1 explains is intrinsically "neither clerical nor lay." Males in consecrated life, however, may be ordained. Benedictines' rules contain
13446-420: The court and as Dunstan was leaving the palace his enemies physically attacked him, beat him severely, bound him, and threw him into a cesspool . He managed to crawl out and make his way to the house of a friend. From there, he journeyed to Winchester and entered the service of his kinsman Ælfheah , Bishop of Winchester. The bishop tried to persuade him to become a monk , but Dunstan was doubtful whether he had
13608-484: The custom of clerics appointing relatives to offices under their jurisdiction. Monasteries were built, and in some of the great cathedrals, monks took the place of the secular canons; in the rest the canons were obliged to live according to rule. The parish priests were compelled to be qualified for their office; they were urged to teach parishioners not only the truths of the Christian faith, but also trades to improve their position. The state saw reforms as well. Good order
13770-690: The daughter of the first Christian King of Kent . Currently the priory is home to a community of Benedictine nuns. Five of the most notable English abbeys are the Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey , The Abbey of St Edmund, King and Martyr commonly known as Douai Abbey in Upper Woolhampton, Reading, Berkshire, Ealing Abbey in Ealing, West London, and Worth Abbey . Prinknash Abbey , used by Henry VIII as
13932-406: The desert Dudael as punishment. Satan, on the other hand, appears as a leader of a class of angels. Satan is not among the fallen angels but rather a tormentor for both sinful men and sinful angels. The fallen angels are described as "having followed the way of Satan", implying that Satan led them into their sinful ways, but Satan and his angels are clearly in the service of God, akin to Satan in
14094-635: The devil as a mere metaphor for humans' inclination to sin — thereby downgrading his importance. While the devil has played no significant role for most scholars in the Modern Era , he has become important again in contemporary Christianity. At various times in history, certain Gnostic sects such as the Cathars and the Bogomils , as well as theologians like Marcion and Valentinus , have believed that
14256-587: The devil as the one who has the power of death but is defeated through the death of Jesus (Hebrews 2:14). In the Second Epistle to the Corinthians , Paul the Apostle warns that Satan is often disguised as an angel of light. The Book of Revelation describes a battle in heaven (Revelation 12:7–10) between a dragon/serpent "called the devil, or Satan" and the archangel Michael resulting in
14418-429: The devil offers all kingdoms of the earth to Jesus, implying they belong to him. Since Jesus does not dispute this offer, it may indicate that the authors of those gospels believed this to be true. This interpretation is, however, not shared by all, as Irenaeus argued that, since the devil was a liar since the beginning, he also lied here and that all kingdoms in fact belong to God, referring to Proverbs 21. This event
14580-633: The devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). The authors of the Second Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude believe that God prepares judgment for the devil and his fellow fallen angels, who are bound in darkness until the Divine retribution . In the Epistle to the Romans , the inspirer of sin is also implied to be the author of death. The Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of
14742-429: The devil to sin. Like earlier theologians, Anselm explained evil as nothingness , or something people can merely ascribe to something to negate its existence that has no substance in itself. God gave the devil free will, but has not caused the devil to sin by creating the condition to abuse this gift. Anselm invokes the idea of grace , bestowed upon the angels. According to Anselm, grace was also offered to Lucifer, but
14904-521: The devil was cast out of the heavenly presence (unlike the Jewish Satan, who still functions as an accuser angel at service of God), Maximus explained how the devil could still talk to God, as told in the Book of Job, despite being banished. He argues that, as God is omnipresent within the cosmos, Satan was in God's presence when he uttered his accusation towards Job without being in the heavens. Only after
15066-641: The devil was involved in creation . Today these views are not part of mainstream Christianity . The Hebrew term śāṭān ( Hebrew : שָּׂטָן ) was originally a common noun meaning "accuser" or "adversary" that was applicable to both human and heavenly adversaries. The term is derived from a verb meaning primarily "to obstruct, oppose". Throughout the Hebrew Bible , it refers most frequently to ordinary human adversaries. Such verses include 1 Samuel 29:4; 2 Samuel 19:22; 1 Kings 5:4; 1 Kings 11:14, 23, 25; and Psalms 109:6. However, Numbers 22:22 and 32 use
15228-496: The devil willingly refused to receive the gift from God. Anselm argues further that all rational creatures strive for good, since it is the definition of good to be desired by rational creatures, so Lucifer's wish to become equal to God is actually in accordance with God's plan. The devil deviates from God's plans when he wishes to become equal to God by his own efforts without relying on God's grace. Anselm also played an important role in shifting Christian theology further away from
15390-681: The devil's removal from God's presence. Origen has been accused by Christians of teaching salvation for the devil. However, in defense of Origen, scholars have argued apocatastasis for the devil is based on a misinterpretation of his universalism . Accordingly, it is not the devil, as the principle of evil, the personification of death and sin, but the angel, who introduced them in the first place, who will be restored after this angel abandons his evil will. Augustine of Hippo 's work, Civitas Dei (5th century), and his subsequent work On Free Will became major influences in Western demonology into
15552-438: The devil. According to Origen, Helal-Eosphorus-Lucifer fell into the abyss as a heavenly spirit after he tried to equate himself with God. Cyprian c. 400 , Jerome c. 345–420) , Ambrosius c. 340–397 , and a few other church fathers essentially subscribed to this view. They viewed this earthly overthrow of a pagan king of Babylon as a clear indication of the heavenly overthrow of Satan. In contrast,
15714-544: The devil. In response, Jesus says that a house divided against itself will fall, and that there would be no reason for the devil to allow one to defeat the devil's works with his own power. The Epistle of Jude makes reference to an incident where the Archangel Michael argued with the devil over the body of Moses (Jude 1:9). According to the First Epistle of Peter , "Like a roaring lion your adversary
15876-621: The devil: that he was created good as a high ranking angel, that he lived in Eden, and that he turned evil on his own accord. The Church Fathers argued that, therefore, God is not to be blamed for evil but rather the devil's abuse of free will. In the Old Testament, the term belial ([בְלִיַּעַל] Error: {{Langx}}: invalid parameter: |labels= ( help ) ), with the broader meaning of worthlessness denotes those who work against God or at least against God's order. In Deuteronomy 13:14 those who tempt people into worshiping something other than Yahweh are related to belial . In 1 Samuel 2:12,
16038-568: The dragon's fall. Here, the devil is described with features similar to primordial chaos monsters , like the Leviathan in the Old Testament. The identification of this serpent as Satan supports identification of the serpent in Genesis with the devil. Thomas Aquinas , Rupert of Deutz and Gregory the Great (among others) interpreted this battle as occurring after the devil sinned by aspiring to be independent of God. In consequence, Satan and
16200-408: The earth. God asks, "Have you considered My servant Job?" Satan thinks Job only loves God because he has been blessed, so he requests that God test the sincerity of Job's love for God through suffering, expecting Job to abandon his faith. God consents; Satan destroys Job's family, health, servants and flocks, yet Job refuses to condemn God. At the end, God returned to Job twice what he had lost. This
16362-526: The evil angels are hurled down from heaven by the good angels under leadership of Michael. Before Satan was cast down from heaven, he was accusing humans for their sins (Revelation 12:10). After 1,000 years, the devil would rise again, just to be defeated and cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10). An angel of the abyss called Abaddon , mentioned in Revelation 9:11, is described as its ruler and
16524-481: The fallen angel probably occurred in 1st-century Palestinian Judaism. The church fathers brought the fallen lightbringer Lucifer into connection with the devil on the basis of a saying of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke (10.18 EU): "I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning." In his work De principiis Proemium and in a homily on Book XII, the Christian scholar Origen compared the morning star Eosphorus-Lucifer with
16686-403: The figure of Satan is vague. ... In reaching the New Testament we are struck by the unitariness, clearness, and definiteness of the outline of Satan." The New Testament Greek word for the devil, satanas , which occurs 38 times in 36 verses, is not actually a Greek word: it is transliterated from Aramaic, but is ultimately derived from Hebrew. Scholars agree that "Satan" is always a proper name in
16848-405: The forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil , thus causing their expulsion from the Garden . God rebukes the serpent, stating: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel" (Genesis 3:14–15). Although the Book of Genesis never mentions Satan, Christians have traditionally interpreted
17010-510: The higher planes of the gods, is also found in the Bible, (Isaiah 14:12–15) was accepted by early Christians, and interpreted as a fallen angel. Aquila of Sinope derives the word hêlêl , the Hebrew name for the morning star , from the verb yalal (to lament). This derivation was adopted as a proper name for an angel who laments the loss of his former beauty. The Christian church fathers—for example Saint Jerome , in his Vulgate —translated this as Lucifer . The equation of Lucifer with
17172-439: The idea that envy could have been the first sin (as some early Christians believed , evident from sources like Cave of Treasures in which Satan has fallen because he envies humans and refused to prostrate himself before Adam), since pride ("loving yourself more than others and God") must precede envy ("hatred for the happiness of others"). Such sins are described as removal from God's presence. The devil's sin does not give evil
17334-439: The intervention of another. Hence they are eternally fixed in their self-love (De lib. arb. 3.10.29–31)". Since the sin of the devil is intrinsic to his nature, Augustine argues that the devil must have turned evil immediately after his creation. Thus the devil's attempt to take God's throne is not an assault on the gates of heaven, but a turn to solipsism in which the devil becomes God in his world. Further, Augustine rejects
17496-452: The king's liege-men on sea and land. Edgar ruled as a strong and popular king for 16 years. Edgar's reign, and implicitly his governing partnership with Dunstan, was praised by early chroniclers and historians who regarded it as a golden age. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle caveated the acclaim with one complaint, criticising the high level of immigration that took place at that time. It would appear from William of Malmesbury 's later history that
17658-431: The life of a hermit at Glastonbury. Against the old church of St Mary he built a small cell 5 feet (1.5 m) long and 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 feet (0.76 m) deep. It was there that Dunstan studied, worked at his art, and played on his harp. It is at this time, according to a late 11th-century legend, that the Devil is said to have tempted Dunstan and to have been held by the face with Dunstan's tongs. Dunstan worked as
17820-476: The most recent history... they usually appear in the Old Testament in the capacity of God's agents to men; otherwise they appear as the heavenly court of Yahweh. They are sent to men to communicate God's message, to destroy, to save, to help, to punish. ...The angels are in complete submission to the will of God... Whenever they appear among men, it is to execute the will of Yahweh." God asks one of them where he has been. Satan replies that he has been roaming around
17982-467: The much stricter Irish or Celtic Rule introduced by Columbanus and others. In many monasteries it eventually entirely displaced the earlier codes. By the ninth century, however, the Benedictine had become the standard form of monastic life throughout the whole of Western Europe, excepting Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, where the Celtic observance still prevailed for another century or two. Largely through
18144-440: The nature of his first measures as abbot, with the significance of his first buildings, and with the Benedictine leanings of his most prominent disciples. Nevertheless, not all the members of Dunstan's community at Glastonbury were monks who followed the Benedictine Rule . In fact, Dunstan's first biographer, 'B.', was a cleric who eventually joined a community of canons at Liège after leaving Glastonbury. Dunstan's first care
18306-472: The ninth or tenth century speaks of six hours a day as the usual task of a scribe, which would absorb almost all the time available for active work in the day of a medieval monk. In the Middle Ages monasteries were often founded by the nobility. Cluny Abbey was founded by William I, Duke of Aquitaine in 910. The abbey was noted for its strict adherence to the Rule of Saint Benedict. The abbot of Cluny
18468-529: The objection was limited to the mercenary seaman, employed from around the North Sea littoral, to assist in the defence of the country. In 975, Edgar was succeeded by his eldest son Edward "the Martyr" . His accession was disputed by his stepmother, Ælfthryth , who wished her own son Æthelred to reign. Through the influence of Dunstan, Edward was chosen and crowned at Winchester. Edgar's death had encouraged
18630-483: The order's shared interests. They do not have a superior general or motherhouse with universal jurisdiction but elect an Abbot Primate to represent themselves to the Vatican and to the world. Benedictine nuns are given the title Dame in preference to Sister . The monastery at Subiaco in Italy, established by Benedict of Nursia c. 529, was the first of the dozen monasteries he founded. He later founded
18792-466: The origin of evil in the world. Accordingly, evil entered the world by apostate angels , who lusted after women and taught sin to mankind. The Book of Enoch and the Book of Jubilees are still accepted as canonical by the Ethiopian Church . Many Church Fathers accepted their views about fallen angels, though they excluded Satan from these angels. Satan instead, fell after tempting Eve in
18954-466: The other hand, accuses what opposes God. Satan punishes what belial stands for. Unlike Satan, belial is not an independent entity, but an abstraction . Although not part of the canonical Bible, intertestamental writings shaped the early Christian worldview and influenced the interpretation of the Biblical texts. Until the third century, Christians still referred to these stories to explain
19116-589: The pallium from Pope John XII . On his journey there, Dunstan's acts of charity were so lavish as to leave nothing for himself and his attendants. His steward complained, but Dunstan seems to have suggested that they trust in Jesus Christ . On his return from Rome, Dunstan at once regained his position as virtual prime minister of the kingdom. By his advice Ælfstan was appointed to the Bishopric of London, and Oswald to that of Worcester. In 963, Æthelwold ,
19278-583: The patron saint of Stepney. Benedictine The Benedictines , officially the Order of Saint Benedict ( Latin : Ordo Sancti Benedicti , abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB ), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict . Initiated in 529 they are the oldest of all the religious orders in the Latin Church . The male religious are also sometimes called
19440-418: The places where they were founded or their founders centuries ago, hence Cassinese , Subiaco , Camaldolese or Sylvestrines . All Benedictine houses became federated in the Benedictine Confederation brought into existence by Pope Leo XIII 's Apostolic Brief " Summum semper " on 12 July 1893. Pope Leo also established the office of Abbot Primate as the abbot elected to represent this Confederation at
19602-412: The poem Solomon and Saturn , citing the style, word choice, and Hiberno-Latin used in the texts. However, Clive Tolley examines this claim from a linguistic point-of-view and disagrees with Anlezark's claim. Another story relates how Dunstan nailed a horseshoe to the Devil's foot when he was asked to re-shoe the Devil's cloven hoof. This caused the Devil great pain, and Dunstan only agreed to remove
19764-454: The power to assign duties, to decide which books may or may not be read, to regulate comings and goings, and to punish and to excommunicate , in the sense of an enforced isolation from the monastic community. A tight communal timetable – the horarium – is meant to ensure that the time given by God is not wasted but used in God's service, whether for prayer, work, meals, spiritual reading or sleep. The order's motto
19926-484: The reactionary nobles, and at once there was a determined attack upon the monks, the protagonists of reform. Throughout Mercia they were persecuted and deprived of their possessions. Their cause, however, was supported by Æthelwine , the ealdorman of East Anglia, and the realm was in serious danger of civil war. Three meetings of the Witan were held to settle these disputes, at Kyrtlington , at Calne , and at Amesbury . At
20088-510: The relics of St. Benedict. Like many Benedictine abbeys it was located on the banks of a river, here the Loire . Ainey Abbey is a ninth century foundation on the Lyon peninsula. In the twelfth century on the current site there was a romanesque monastery , subsequently rebuilt. The seventeenth century saw a number of Benedictine foundations for women, some dedicated to the indigent to save them from
20250-408: The role of the devil. Scholars influenced by neoplatonic cosmology , like Origen and Pseudo-Dionysius , portrayed the devil as representing deficiency and emptiness, the entity most remote from the divine. According to Augustine of Hippo , the realm of the devil is not nothingness, but an inferior realm standing in opposition to God. The standard Medieval depiction of the devil goes back to Gregory
20412-434: The ruins of Glastonbury Abbey . Accounts tell of his youthful optimism and of his vision of the abbey being restored. While still a boy, Dunstan was stricken with a near-fatal illness and effected a seemingly miraculous recovery. Even as a child, he was noted for his devotion to learning and for his mastery of many kinds of artistic craftsmanship. With his parents' consent he was tonsured , received minor orders and served in
20574-465: The sack of Canterbury by the Danes in 1012, Dunstan's body had been carried for safety to their abbey. This story was disproved by Archbishop William Warham , who opened the tomb at Canterbury in 1508. They found Dunstan's relics still to be there. However, his shrine was destroyed during the English Reformation . Dunstan became patron saint of English goldsmiths and silversmiths because he worked as
20736-460: The same community), and to adopt a "conversion of habits", in Latin, conversatio morum and obedience to the community's superior. The "Benedictine vows" are equivalent to the evangelical counsels accepted by all candidates entering a religious order . The interpretation of conversatio morum understood as "conversion of the habits of life" has generally been replaced by notions such as adoption of
20898-485: The same lineage. For instance the American-Cassinese congregation included the 22 monasteries descended from Boniface Wimmer. A sense of community has been the defining characteristic of the order since the beginning. To that end, section 17 in chapter 58 of the Rule of Saint Benedict specifies the solemn vows candidates joining a Benedictine community are required to make: a vow of stability, to remain in
21060-504: The same term to refer to the angel of the Lord. This concept of a heavenly being as an adversary to humans evolved into the personified evil of "a being with agency" called the Satan 18 times in Job 1–2 and Zechariah 3. Both Hebrew and Greek have definite articles that are used to differentiate between common and proper nouns, but they are used in opposite ways: in Hebrew, the article designates
21222-538: The second of them the floor of the hall where the Witan was sitting gave way, and all except Dunstan, who clung to a beam, fell into the room below; several men were killed. In March 978, King Edward was assassinated at Corfe Castle , possibly at the instigation of his stepmother, and Æthelred the Unready became king. The coronation took place on Low Sunday 31 March 978. According to William of Malmsesbury , writing over
21384-476: The secrets of heaven like warcraft, blacksmithing, and sorcery. There is no specific devilish leader, as the fallen angels act independently after they descend to earth, but eminent among these angels are Shemyaza and Azazel . Only Azazel is rebuked by the prophet Enoch himself for instructing illicit arts, as stated in 1 Enoch 13:1. According to 1 Enoch 10:6, God sent the archangel Raphael to chain Azazel in
21546-402: The serpent in the Garden of Eden as the devil due to Revelation 12:9, which describes the devil as "that ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world; was thrown down to the earth with all his angels." This chapter is used not only to explain the fall of mankind but also to remind the reader of the enmity between Satan and humanity. It is further interpreted as
21708-418: The shoe and release the Devil after he promised never to enter a place where a horseshoe is over the door. This is claimed as the origin of the lucky horseshoe. A further legend relating to Dunstan and the Devil seeks to explain the phenomena of Franklin nights, late frosts which occur around his Feast Day. The story goes that Dunstan was a great brewer and negotiated an agreement whereby the Devil could blast
21870-588: The sick. During the English Reformation , all monasteries were dissolved and their lands confiscated by the Crown, forcing those who wished to continue in the monastic life to flee into exile on the Continent. During the 19th century English members of these communities were able to return to England. St. Mildred's Priory , on the Isle of Thanet , Kent , was built in 1027 on the site of an abbey founded in 670 by
22032-438: The situation was at once changed. Eadwig , the elder son of Edmund, who then came to the throne, was a headstrong youth wholly devoted to the reactionary nobles. According to one legend, the feud with Dunstan began on the day of Eadwig's coronation, when he failed to attend a meeting of nobles. When Dunstan eventually found the young monarch, he was cavorting with a noblewoman named Ælfgifu and her mother, and refused to return with
22194-537: The solemn translation of the relics of King Edward, soon to be regarded as a saint, from their grave at Wareham to a shrine at Shaftesbury Abbey . In 984, he persuaded King Æthelred to appoint Ælfheah as Bishop of Winchester in succession to Æthelwold. In 986, Dunstan induced the king, by a donation of 100 pounds of silver, to stop his persecution of the See of Rochester . Dunstan's retirement at Canterbury consisted of long hours, both day and night, spent in private prayer, as well as his regular attendance at Mass and
22356-567: The sons of Eli are called belial for not recognizing Yahweh and violating sacrifice rituals . In Psalm 18:4 and Psalm 41:8 , belial appears in the context of death and disease. In the Old Testament, both Satan and belial make it difficult for men to live in harmony with God's will. Belial is thus another template for the later conception of the devil. On the one hand, both Satan and belial cause hardship for humans, but while belial opposes God, represents chaos and death, and stands outside of God's cosmos , Satan, on
22518-544: The story goes, Once pull'd the devil by the nose With red-hot tongs, which made him roar, That he was heard three miles or more. This folk story is already shown in an initial in the Life of Dunstan in the Canterbury Passionale , from the second quarter of the 12th century ( British Library , Harley MS 315, f. 15v.). Daniel Anlezark has tentatively suggested that Dunstan may be the medieval author of
22680-571: The surrounding Somerset Levels was also completed. Within two years of Dunstan's appointment, in 946, King Edmund was assassinated. His successor was Eadred . The policy of the new government was supported by the Queen mother , Eadgifu of Kent , by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Oda , and by the East Anglian nobles, at whose head was the powerful ealdorman Æthelstan the "Half-king" . It
22842-509: The task of reform. He had to re-create monastic life and to rebuild the abbey. He began by establishing Benedictine monasticism at Glastonbury. The Rule of St. Benedict was the basis of his restoration according to the author of 'Edgar's Establishment of the Monasteries' (written in the 960s or 970s) and according to Dunstan's first biographer, who had been a member of the community at Glastonbury. Their statements are also in accordance with
23004-980: The time of his death in 1887, Wimmer had sent Benedictine monks to Kansas, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Illinois, and Colorado. Wimmer also asked for Benedictine sisters to be sent to America by St. Walburg Convent in Eichstätt , Bavaria. In 1852, Sister Benedicta Riepp and two other sisters founded St. Marys, Pennsylvania . Soon they would send sisters to Michigan, New Jersey, and Minnesota. By 1854, Swiss monks began to arrive and founded St. Meinrad Abbey in Indiana, and they soon spread to Arkansas and Louisiana. They were soon followed by Swiss sisters. There are now over 100 Benedictine houses across America. Most Benedictine houses are part of one of four large Congregations: American-Cassinese, Swiss-American, St. Scholastica, and St. Benedict. The congregations mostly are made up of monasteries that share
23166-408: The twelfth century, which saw the rise of the mendicant Franciscans and nomadic Dominicans . Benedictines by contrast, took a vow of "stability", which professed loyalty to a particular foundation in a particular location. Not being bound by location, the mendicants were better able to respond to an increasingly "urban" environment. This decline was further exacerbated by the practice of appointing
23328-436: The underworld, originally told about a Babylonian king (Isaiah 14:12) as also referring to a fallen angel. The devil is generally identified with Satan, the accuser in the Book of Job . Only rarely are Satan and the devil depicted as separate entities. Much of the lore of the devil is not biblical. It stems from post-medieval Christian expansions on the scriptures influenced by medieval and pre-medieval popular mythology. In
23490-499: The vision as related to opposition from Sanballat the Horonite . Again, Satan acts in accordance with God's will. The text implies he functions both as God's accuser and as his executioner. Some parts of the Bible, which do not originally refer to an evil spirit or Satan, have been retroactively interpreted as references to the devil. Genesis 3 mentions the serpent in the Garden of Eden , which tempts Adam and Eve into eating
23652-521: The will of God in contrast to early Judaism. Still, the text implies that Mastema is a creature of God, although contravening his will. In the end times, he will be extinguished. The devil figures much more prominently in the New Testament and in Christian theology than in the Old Testament and Judaism . Religion scholar William Caldwell writes that "In the Old Testament we have seen that
23814-508: The will of God, his function resembles less the devilish enemy of God. Even if it is accepted that this satan refers to a supernatural agent, it is not necessarily implied this is the Satan. However, since the role of the figure is identical to that of the devil, viz. leading David into sin, most commentators and translators agree that David's satan is to be identified with Satan and the Devil. Zechariah 's vision of recently deceased Joshua
23976-471: The work of Benedict of Aniane , it became the rule of choice for monasteries throughout the Carolingian empire. Monastic scriptoria flourished from the ninth through the twelfth centuries. Sacred Scripture was always at the heart of every monastic scriptorium. As a general rule those of the monks who possessed skill as writers made this their chief, if not their sole, active work. An anonymous writer of
24138-547: Was Ælfsige of Winchester, but he died of cold in the Alps as he journeyed to Rome for the pallium . In his place Eadwig then nominated one of his supporters, the Bishop of Wells, Byrhthelm . As soon as Edgar became king, he reversed this second choice on the ground that Byrhthelm had not been able to govern even his first diocese properly. The archbishopric was then conferred on Dunstan. Dunstan went to Rome in 960, and received
24300-400: Was " oritur " in the days of King Æthelstan , 924 to 939. " Oritur " has often been taken to mean "born", but this is unlikely as another source states that he was ordained during Æthelstan's reign, and he would have been under the minimum age of 30 if he was born no earlier than 924. It is more likely that " oritur " should be taken as "emerged" and that he was born around 910. B states that he
24462-888: Was Pierre-Joseph Didier. He came to the United States in 1790 from Paris and served in the Ohio and St. Louis areas until his death. The first actual Benedictine monastery founded was Saint Vincent Archabbey , located in Latrobe, Pennsylvania . It was founded in 1832 by Boniface Wimmer , a German monk, who sought to serve German immigrants in America. In 1856, Wimmer started to lay the foundations for St. John's Abbey in Minnesota. In 1876, Herman Wolfe, of Saint Vincent Archabbey established Belmont Abbey in North Carolina. By
24624-570: Was a policy of unification and conciliation with the Danish half of the kingdom. The goal was a firm establishment of royal authority. In ecclesiastical matters it favoured the spread of Catholic observance, the rebuilding of churches, the moral reform of the clergy and laity, and the end of the religion of the Danes in England. These policies made Dunstan popular in the North of England, but unpopular in
24786-542: Was active as a teacher of boys in the cathedral school. On Ascension Day 988, Dunstan said Mass and preached three times to the people: at the Gospel , at the benediction , and after the Agnus Dei . In this last address, he announced his impending death and wished his congregation well. That afternoon he chose the spot for his tomb, then went to his bed. His strength failed rapidly, and on Saturday morning, 19 May, he caused
24948-400: Was in you. In the day that you were created they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers: and I set you, so that you were on the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. This description is used to establish major characteristics of
25110-403: Was maintained throughout the realm and there was respect for the law. Trained bands policed the north, and a navy guarded the shores from Viking raids. In 973, Dunstan's statesmanship reached its zenith when he officiated at the coronation of King Edgar. Edgar was crowned at Bath in an imperial ceremony planned not as the initiation, but as the culmination of his reign (a move that must have taken
25272-653: Was one of the centres of the Benedictine revival in that country, and Dunstan was able for the first time to observe the strict observance that had seen its rebirth at Cluny at the beginning of the century. His exile was not of long duration. Before the end of 957, the Mercians and Northumbrians revolted and drove out Eadwig, choosing his brother Edgar as king of the country north of the Thames. The south remained faithful to Eadwig. At once Edgar's advisers recalled Dunstan. On Dunstan's return, Archbishop Oda consecrated him
25434-487: Was probably the first author to use Lucifer as a proper name for the devil. In his work De principiis Proemium and in a homily on Book XII, he compared the morning star Eosphorus-Lucifer—probably based on the Life of Adam and Eve —with the devil or Satan. Origen took the view that Helal-Eosphorus-Lucifer, originally mistaken for Phaeton , fell into the abyss as a heavenly spirit after he tried to equate himself with God. Cyprian (around 400), Ambrosius (around 340–397) and
25596-564: Was related to Ælfheah the Bald , the Bishop of Winchester and Cynesige , Bishop of Lichfield . According to a later biographer, Adelard of Ghent , he was a nephew of Athelm , Archbishop of Canterbury , but this is less certain as it is not mentioned by B, who should have known as he had been a member of Dunstan's household. As a young boy, Dunstan studied under the Irish monks who then occupied
25758-571: Was skilled in "making a picture and forming letters", as were other clergy of his age who reached senior rank. Dunstan served as an important minister of state to several English kings. He was the most popular saint in England for nearly two centuries, having gained fame for the many stories of his greatness, not least among which were those concerning his famed cunning in defeating the Devil . According to Dunstan's earliest biographer, known only as 'B', his parents were called Heorstan and Cynethryth and they lived near Glastonbury . B states that Dunstan
25920-554: Was spared. At that moment his horse was stopped on the very edge of the cliff. Giving thanks to God, he returned forthwith to his palace, called for St. Dunstan and bade him follow, then rode straight to Glastonbury. Entering the church, the king first knelt in prayer before the altar, then, taking St. Dunstan by the hand, he gave him the kiss of peace, led him to the abbot 's throne and, seating him thereon, promised him all assistance in restoring Divine worship and regular observance. Dunstan, now Abbot of Glastonbury, went to work at once on
26082-462: Was the superior of all the daughter houses, through appointed priors. One of the earliest reforms of Benedictine practice was that initiated in 980 by Romuald , who founded the Camaldolese community. The Cistercians branched off from the Benedictines in 1098; they are often called the "White monks". The dominance of the Benedictine monastic way of life began to decline towards the end of
26244-457: Was to rebuild the Church of St. Peter, rebuild the cloister, and re-establish the monastic enclosure. The secular affairs of the house were committed to his brother, Wulfric, "so that neither himself nor any of the professed monks might break enclosure." A school for the local youth was founded and soon became the most famous of its time in England. A substantial extension of the irrigation system on
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