Camaldolese - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Camaldolese monk

Monk

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

s and nun

Nun

A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...

s are part of the Benedictine

Benedictine

Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...

family of monastic communities which follow the way of life outlined in the Rule of St. Benedict, written in the 6th century. Their name is derived from the Holy Hermitage of Camaldoli

Camaldoli

Camaldoli is a frazione of the comune of Poppi, in Tuscany, Italy. It is mostly known as the ancestral seat of the Camaldolese monastic order, originated in the eponymous hermitage, which can still be visited....

, high in the mountains of central Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, near the city of Arezzo

Arezzo

Arezzo is a city and comune in Central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 m above sea level. In 2011 the population was about 100,000....

History

The Camaldolese branch was established through the efforts of the Italian

Italian people

The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

monk Saint

Saint

A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

Romuald

Saint Romuald was the founder of the Camaldolese order and a major figure in the eleventh-century "Renaissance of eremitical asceticism"....

(ca. 950– ca. 1025/27) at the start of the second Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

millennium

Millennium

A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....

. His reform sought to renew and integrate the eremetical

Hermit

A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...

tradition of monastic life with that of the cenobium.

In his youth Romuald became acquainted with the three major schools of western monastic tradition. The monastery where he entered the Order, Sant' Apollinare in Classe was a traditional Benedictine

Order of Saint Benedict

The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...

community under the influence of the Cluniac reforms

Cluniac Reforms

The Cluniac Reforms were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of West focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement is named for the Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy, where it started within the Benedictine order. The reforms were...

. Romuald chose to be under a spiritual master, Marinus, who followed a much harsher ascetic and solitary lifestyle that was originally of Irish eremitical

Hermit

origins. Some years later, Marinus and Romuald settled near the Abbey of Sant Miguel de Cuxa

Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa

Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa is a Benedictine abbey located in the territory of the commune of Codalet, in the Pyrénées-Orientales département, in southwestern France...

, where Abbot Guarinus was also beginning reforms but was building mainly upon the Iberian Christian tradition. Later drawing on his various early experiences, Romuald was able to establish his own monastic pattern, though he himself never thought of it as a separate unit, seeing it as a full part of the Benedictine tradition.
Nearly a thousand years ago, Saint Romuald founded the Sacred Hermitage of Camaldoli. There are Camaldolese hermitages and monasteries throughout Italy. The most ancient is the urban monastery originally established by Saint Gregory the Great in the heart of Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

in the sixth century.

Current Congregations

The order is currently divided into two autonomous congregations:

The one headquartered at Camaldoli, known as the Holy Hermitage, maintains a mix of monasteries and hermitages among the communities of men. To this congregation belonged the great Monastery of St. Mary of the Angels

Santa Maria degli Angeli, Florence

Santa Maria degli Angeli is the former church of a now-defunct monastery in Florence, Italy. It belonged to the Camaldolese order, which was a reformed branch of the Benedictines. The congregation was founded in 1012 by the hermit St. Romuald at Camaldoli, near Arezzo, hence the name...

in Florence. By the 13th century, its scriptorium

Scriptorium

Scriptorium, literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the copying of manuscripts by monastic scribes...

was known as a major source of high quality parchment

Parchment

Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...

s throughout Europe, and were much in demand. It was in this monastery that the artist Lorenzo Monaco

Lorenzo Monaco

Lorenzo Monaco was an Italian painter of the late Gothic-early Renaissance age.-Biography:...

explored his vocation

Vocation

A vocation , is a term for an occupation to which a person is specially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meanings of the term originated in Christianity.-Senses:...

as a monk, eventually leaving the monastery.

The other congregation, known as the Camaldolese Hermits of Monte Corona (Er.Cam.), was established by the Renaissance reformer, Saint Paolo Giustiniani

Giustiniani

Giustiniani is the name of a prominent Italian family which originally belonged to Venice, but also established itself subsequently in Genoa, and at various times had representatives in Naples, Corsica and in the islands of the Archipelago, where they had been the last Genoese rulers of the Aegean...

. This group lives solely in hermitages, usually with a very small number of monks comprising the community. Unlike the other congregation, it is not a member of the larger Benedictine Confederation

Benedictine Confederation

The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict.-Origin:...

.

Various attempts were made at reunion between the two congregations. None, however, lasted--the longest being in effect 1634-1667. In that final year, Pope Clement IX issued a Papal Bull

Papal bull

A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....

establishing a definitive separation between them.

Extinct Congregations

Previously there were three other autonomous Congregations, based in Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

(founded 1596), Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

(1474-1569) and France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

(founded 1526). The monasteries attached to Hermitage of Turin seem to have been absorbed by the Monte Corona congregation in the 18th century. The Venetian congregation, which was headed by an abbot

Abbot

The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...

, and the French one were eventually suppressed by the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

. The French monks became associated with Jansenism

Jansenism

Jansenism was a Christian theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. The movement originated from the posthumously published work of the Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, who died in 1638...

, due to which their congregation was suppressed in 1770 and the monks dispersed.

By the early 20th century, the Venetian congregation, which was entirely coenobitic, was felt by Rome to be too few in numbers for continued existence, and its members were offered the opportunity to seek admission with the Congregation of Camaldoli. It had contribued many of its members to the service of the Church, most notably Pope Gregory XVI

Pope Gregory XVI

Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...

. The noted cartographer, Fra Mauro

Fra Mauro

Fra Mauro, O.S.B. Cam., was a 15th-century Camaldolese monk who lived in the Republic of Venice. He was a monk of the Monastery of St. Michael, located on the island of Murano in the Venetian Lagoon. It was there that he maintained a cartography workshop.In his youth, Mauro had traveled...

had been been a member of the mother monastery of St. Michael of Murano

Murano

Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 km north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 . It is famous for its glass making, particularly lampworking...

. It was in this community that the German merchant Daniel became a monk. Eventually he established a solitary hermitage in the woods, where he spent long periods in prayer. He was murdered in his cell by robbers in 1413 and is today venerated as the Blessed Daniel of Murano.

In the Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

, four Camaldolese monasteries were established: Zobor Hill

Nitra

Nitra is a city in western Slovakia, situated at the foot of Zobor Mountain in the valley of the river Nitra. With a population of about 83,572, it is the fifth largest city in Slovakia. Nitra is also one of the oldest cities in Slovakia and the country's earliest political and cultural center...

(1695), Lánzsér

Hungarian exonyms (Burgenland)

Below is a list of Hungarian place names for towns and villages in the Burgenland region of Austria.*Allersdorf im Burgenland Kulcsárfalu*Allersgraben Sirokány*Althodis Óhodász*Altschlaining Ószalónak*Andau Mosontarcsa*Antau Selegszántó...

(1701), Vöröskolostor

Cervený Kláštor

This is an article about the Slovakian village. For the monastery see, Červený Kláštor Červený Kláštor is a small village and municipality in the far north Kežmarok District in the Prešov Region of northern Slovakia, near the Polish border in the Zamagurie region.-History:A Camaldolese Monastery...

(1710) and Majk

Oroszlány

Oroszlány is a city in Hungary, Komárom-Esztergom county, Central Transdanubia region, located on the North-West flanks of the Vértes Mountains. It has a population of 20.487...

(1733). In 1782 the Emperor Joseph II

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor

Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...

ordered the dissolution of every monastic order that, in his view, did not pursue "useful" activities. Thus the Camaldolese monasteries in that realm

Realm

A realm is a dominion of a monarch or other sovereign ruler.The Old French word reaume, modern French royaume, was the word first adopted in English; the fixed modern spelling does not appear until the beginning of the 17th century...

were secularized

Suppression of Monasteries

The suppression of monasteries were when monastic foundations were abolished and their possessions were appropriated by the state.-The Reformation:...

Modern era

The Camaldolese order extended its presence to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

in 1958, with the founding of Immaculate Heart Hermitage, more commonly called New Camaldoli Hermitage

New Camaldoli Hermitage

New Camaldoli Hermitage is a rural Camaldolese Benedictine hermitage in the Santa Lucia Mountains of Big Sur, California that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The hermitage was founded in 1958 by two hermits from Italy searching for a site that combined solitude and natural beauty...

, in the Santa Lucia Mountains

Santa Lucia Mountains

The Santa Lucia Mountains or Santa Lucia Range is a mountain range in coastal California, running from Monterey southeast for 105 miles to San Luis Obispo. The highest summit is Junipero Serra Peak, in Monterey County...

of Big Sur

Big Sur

Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It was joined in 1959 by Holy Family Hermitage, Bloomingdale, Ohio

Bloomingdale, Ohio

Bloomingdale is a village in Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. The population was 221 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, belonging to the monks of Monte Corona. Additional U.S. Camaldolese monasteries are Incarnation Monastery in Berkeley, California

Berkeley, California

Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...

, and Transfiguration Monastery. For several years, there was also a small community, Epiphany Monastery, in New Boston, New Hampshire

New Boston, New Hampshire

New Boston is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,321 at the 2010 census. New Boston is home to the annual Hillsborough County Agricultural Fair and the Molly Stark Cannon.-History:...

, which was closed in 1998. There are also Camaldolese communities in Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

(today 2 monasteries exists: one in Bielany, a neighbourhood of Zwierzyniec District of Krakow, and the other in Bieniszew

Bieniszew

Bieniszew is a village within Konin County, Wielkopolskie Voivodeship, in western Poland.Place is famous for its great Camaldolese Monastery – Eremus ss. Quinque Martyrum – Hermitage of Five Martyred Brothers...

near Konin), India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

and Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

Nuns

Soon after the various communities established by St. Romuald began to develop, communities of nuns desired to share in this reform. Beginning under the guidance of the Blessed

Beatification

Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...

Rudolf, third Prior

Prior

Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...

General of Camaldoli, they were accepted into the life of the Congregation. He founded the Monastery of San Pietro di Luco in Mugello near Florence to establish the model of their "Litte Rule" in 1086.

At their zenith, only ten monasteries of nuns were a part of the Order. There were many small monasteries, however, which followed the Camaldolese Rule, but were subject to local bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

s. Of those who form a part of the Congregation of the Holy Hermitage, their Motherhouse

Motherhouse

The term motherhouse is used by religious Orders and religious congregations to designate the principal house or community for that group. It can be either for the entire institute or for a region....

is the Abbey

Abbey

An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...

of St. Anthony the Abbot

Anthony the Great

Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...

in Rome, where the Abbess

Abbess

An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....

lives.

The Camaldolese nuns are established almost entirely in Italy and Poland. A few foundations, though, have been made in other countries. In France, a monastery of nuns was established by Polish nuns of the Order but it is on the verge of closure, with just one nun in residence. A monastery has been founded in Tanzania

Tanzania

, which is currently flourishing. In the United States, Transfiguration Monastery was established by a small group of nuns in 1979. Sister Mary Donald Corcoran, O.S.B. Cam., has served as Prioress since its foundation, which she made with two companions, Sisters Placid (a former recluse

Recluse

A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society, often close to nature. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester." There are many potential reasons for becoming a recluse: a personal philosophy that rejects consumer society; a...

from France) and Jean Marie Pearse, a native of the region. It is located in Windsor, New York

Windsor (town), New York

Windsor is a town in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 6,421 at the 2000 census.The Town of Windsor is on the south border of the county and is east of Binghamton. The town also includes a village named Windsor, located on the Susquehanna River...

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia entry http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03204d.htm
Camaldolese in Poland http://www.kameduli.info
New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur http://www.contemplation.com
The Camaldolese in Italy http://www.camaldoli.it/en_index.htm
Holy Family Hermitage (Monte Corona), Bloomingdale, Ohio http://www.camaldolese.org
Photographs of the former Camaldolese Priory in Majk, Hungary http://www.civertan.hu/legifoto/legifoto.php?page_level=365Aerial
Transfiguration Monastery of the Camaldolese Nuns in New York http://www.transfigurationmonastery.org/index.html