Chevetogne Abbey, also known as the Monastery of the Holy Cross, is a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Benedictine
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, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...
dedicated to Christian unity located in the
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
village of Chevetogne in the municipality of
Ciney
Ciney (; wa, Cînè) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. As of 2018, Ciney had a total population of 16,439. The total area is 147.56 km² which gives a population density of 111 inhabitants per k ...
,
province of Namur, halfway between
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
. Currently, the monastery has 27 monks.
History
In 1924
Pope Pius XI addressed the apostolic letter "Equidem verba" to the
Benedictine Order encouraging them to work for the reunion of the Catholic and Eastern Churches, with particular emphasis on the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
. The following year, a community was established by
Dom Lambert Beauduin (1873–1960) at
Amay
Amay (; wa, Ama) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
On 1 January 2006 Amay had a total population of approximately 14,231. The total area is 27.61 km2 which gives a population density of approximatel ...
, on the river
Meuse
The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...
. Because of Beauduin's close friendship with
Cardinal Mercier
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
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* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
and
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...
, as well as his relations with Eastern Christians, he became a pioneer of the Catholic Ecumenical movement. His initial focus was on unity with Orthodox and Anglicans, but was eventually extended to all those who bear the name of Christ.
In 1939, the community of Amay Priory moved to its current location at Chevetogne, occupying a former
Jesuit novitiate. Since then, an Eastern church was built in 1957 and painted with frescos by
Rallis Kopsidis Rallis Kopsidis ( el, Ράλλης Κοψίδης; 1929 – 14 August 2010Avgi
Obituary, 17-08-2010, accessed 20-0 ...
and
Georges Chochlidakis Georges may refer to:
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*Georges River, New South Wales, Australia
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* Georges (name)
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, and a Western church was completed with a library in its basement. The library has approximately 100,000 volumes and subscribes to about 500 specialized journals and periodicals. Chevetogne Priory was raised to the status of an abbey on 11 December 1990.
Life of the monastery
In order to live a life of Christian unity, the monastery has both
Latin Church
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, image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran
, caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
and
Eastern Catholic
The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...
(
Byzantine rite) chapels which hold services every day. While the
canonical hours of the daily monastic office are served separately, the monks share their meals together and are united under one
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...
. Along with prayer, the monks engage in publishing a journal, ''Irénikon'', since 1926.
Monks
* Dom
Philippe Bär
Ronald Philippe Bär, (born July 29, 1928) is a retired Dutch Roman Catholic bishop. He was born in Manado, North Sulawesi, then Dutch East Indies. He was bishop of the Diocese of Rotterdam from October 19, 1983, to March 13, 1993, as well as bis ...
.
* Dom
Lambert Beauduin
Lambert Beauduin OSB (August 5, 1873 – January 11, 1960) was a Belgian monk who founded the monastery now known as Chevetogne Abbey in 1925. He was a leading member of the Belgian liturgical movement and a pioneer of the European liturgic ...
* Dom
Michel Van Parys
Michel may refer to:
* Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name)
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* Dom
Nicolas Egender
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
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* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
Image:chev3.jpg, General view of the main building and the Eastern church
Image:chev4.jpg, Interior of the Eastern church
Image:Chevet 2.jpg, Procession to the refectory on Pentecost
References
* Dom J.-B. Van der Heijden, L'église orientale de Chevetogne, architecture, décoration, symbolisme, Éditions de Chevetogne, Chevetogne, 1962, 64 p.
* Van der Heijden, Dom J. B. ''L'Eglise Byzantine de Chevetogne''. Brussels: Thill S.A., Bruxelles, 1993.
* Jacques Mortiau et Raymond Loonbeck, Dom Lambert Beauduin, visionnaire et précurseur (1873-1960), un moine au cœur libre, Éditions du Cerf, Paris, 2005, 280 p. ISSN 0769-2633
External links
*
International Benedictine directoryEaster Vigil televised on Russian Television NTV
{{Authority control
Catholic–Eastern Orthodox ecumenism
Benedictine monasteries in Belgium
Christian monasteries in Namur (province)
Ciney
Eastern Catholic monasteries in Europe