12 It is better to keep silent than to speak of all these and their disgraceful
way of life. 13 Let us pass them by, then, and with the help of the Lord,
Chapter 1: The Kinds of Monks
1 There are clearly four kinds of monks. 2 First, there are the cenobites,that
is to say, those who belong to a monastery, where they serve under a rule
and an abbot.
3 Second, there are the anchorites or hermits, who have come through the
test of living in a monastery for a long time, and have passed beyond the first
fervor of monastic life. 4 Thanks to the help and guidance of many, they are
now trained to fight against the devil. 5 They have built up their strength and
go from the battle line in the ranks of their brothers to the single combat of
the desert. Self-reliant now, without the support of another, they are ready
with God’s help to grapple single-handed with the vices of body and mind.
6 Third, there are the sarabaites, the most detestable kind of monks, who
with no experience to guide them, no rule to try them as gold is tried in a
furnace (Prov 27:21), have a character as soft as lead. 7 Still loyal to the world
by their actions, they clearly lie to God by their tonsure. 8 Two or three
together, or even alone, without a shepherd, they pen themselves up in their
own sheepfolds, not the Lord’s. Their law is what they like to do, whatever
strikes their fancy. 9 Anything they believe in and choose, they call holy;
anything they dislike, they consider forbidden.
10 Fourth and finally, there are the monks called gyrovagues, who spend
their entire lives drifting from region to region, staying as guests for three or
four days in different monasteries. 11 Always on the move, they never settle
down, and are slaves to their own wills and gross appetites. In every way they
are worse than the sarabaites.
proceed to draw up a plan for the strong kind, the cenobites.
Commentary by Philip Lawrence, OSB, Abbot of Christ in the Desert
As we begin to hear the actual Rule of Benedict, Saint Benedict identifies different
kinds of monks. For us, who are Cenobites, he identifies our life with living under a rule
and an abbot. These are important factors in our lives. So often in the present age
people choose to live under the Rule of Benedict as a form on inspiration. To choose
to live under an abbot is another thing entirely. If we choose just the Rule of Benedict,
we are free to interpret it in our own way. To live under both a rule and an abbot
means to subject myself to another human being. That is really a challenge. Benedict
is absolutely clear throughout his Rule that the real asceticism is subjecting oneself to
other human beings who are only frail vessels just as we are.
The next kind of monk is the Hermit. Again, Benedict approves of this form of monastic
life, when hermits have been really trained properly. For a person to be a hermit,
Benedict insists that they have lived in community for a long time and have passed
through the first fervor of monastic life. There are other ways to be hermits, and the
Church allows other ways, but this is the way that Benedict would see a hermit
emerging from the community. There is a real purification in living in community and
Benedict thinks that that purification is very important before one sets out as a hermit.
The defects that a monk has in community will be with him when he passes to the
hermitage. In our own time there are many who become hermits because they cannot
live in community, and this, thinks Saint Benedict, is not such an ideal situation. Others
become hermits because it allows them to live as they want, and this also is less than
ideal. Both of those types of hermits can still be purified by the grace of God. What
Benedict describes is simply the practical manner that he finds best for forming
hermits.
Some interpreters of the Rule think that the aim of the Rule is to form hermits and that
the ideal is to pass from the cenobium to the hermitage. Others think that the ideal is
to remain in the cenobium all of one’s life. Benedict seems not to opt in either direction
and so the commentators are normally reflecting themselves and not the Rule. Among
other things, the arguments are based on the influences of Saint John Cassian and Saint on this phenomenon. As always, we must look deeply into the situation of a monk who
Augustine in the Rule of Benedict. is moving from one house to another to find whether this is of God or simply of human
I suppose that we are all Sarabaites to some degree, and must fight constantly against desire.
that tendency. Benedict describes this kind of monk: “Their law is what they like to do, To become strong monks according to the Rule is our desire and the goal of this
whatever strikes their fancy. 9 Anything they believe in and choose, they call holy; monastic community. We must want to allow ourselves to be formed by the Rule and
anything they dislike, they consider forbidden.” by the desert monastic tradition. We must want to allow ourselves to be formed by
Saint Benedict would prefer his monks to act from principles. There is a real formation the Roman Catholic Church, since we are a Roman Catholic Monastery. We must use
in giving oneself over to be formed in a community that is clear about what is expected the means given to us by the Rule and the monastic tradition and the Roman Catholic
and yet merciful and flexible in living a truly human and Christian life. There is a real Church in order to be formed by the sacraments and the teachings of our tradition.
formation in having to deal with other human persons in a community and with having With Benedict, we can say, let us go forward in the cenobitic life and work at being
to learn to live with a superior who is not perfect and yet to whom we give our cenobitic monks in this tradition. We do not need to spend time looking as other ways.
obedience. Our lives can become open to the Divine Spirit in a wonderful way in a This way is ours, let us get on with seeking Christ!
Monastery that is functioning well–yet is never perfect.
Humanly, of course, we all tend to call holy what we believe in and to consider
forbidden that which we dislike. This is part of the gift of having a tradition that we can
accept and grow in. For instance, the acceptance of the new Catechism of the Catholic
Church is a real test for many persons in our time who disagree with this or that
teaching. The Catechism is clearly advocating a strong and biblically based morality of
living and of following Christ. Not everyone will be able to accept it.
Benedict would ask of us, I am sure, the same kind of response as to living under a Rule
and an abbot: give ourselves. Does that mean never question anything? Of course not!
But as with all the questions that Benedict foresees in the Rule, we must always
question with respect and with acceptance of the role of authority.
There is finally the Gyrovague style of Monasticism. These monks sound less offensive
to us than the sarabaites, but Benedict thinks they are worse. He describes them:
“Always on the move, they never settle down, and are slaves to their own wills and
gross appetites. In every way they are worse than the Sarabaites.” That is a pretty
strong condemnation! Perhaps because the Sarabaites at least live in small groups,
they find themselves having to be subject a bit to others. Gyrovagues are simply
wanderers looking for a soft way of living. We must be careful today not to confuse
Sarabaites with monks changing their original monastic home. Benedict obviously
knows of monks moving from one monastery to another, and does not comment much