WORLD RELIGIONS

Detailed explanation-1: -St Benedict of Nursia wrote a series of instructions for his monastery at Monte Cassino, outlining instructions for a life of work and prayer in the monastic community. This was known as the ‘Benedictine Rule’, and became the norm for monastic living throughout medieval Europe.

Detailed explanation-2: -Benedict envisioned a balanced life of prayer and work as the ideal. Monastics would spend time in prayer so as to discover why they’re working, and would spend time in work so that good order and harmony would prevail in the monastery.

Detailed explanation-3: -Benedict of Nursia (480-543): Considered the father of Western monasticism, Benedict originally took up the life of a hermit, but after being surrounded by numerous others, he founded a communal house at Monte Cassino.

Detailed explanation-4: -They were founded in 529 by Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule. Despite being called an order, the Benedictines do not operate under a single hierarchy but are instead organized as a collection of autonomous monasteries.