English Benedictine Congregation

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

English Benedictine Congregation

The English Benedictine Congregation (abbr. EBC) comprises autonomous Roman Catholic 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....
communities of monks

Monks

Monks may refer to:*Plural of monk* Robert Monks -- American entrepreneur, politician, and corporate activist* "Monks " -- a character from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist...
and nuns and is technically the oldest of the 21 congregations that are affiliated in the Benedictine Confederation

Benedictine Confederation

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

History and Administration
Although the EBC claims technical canonical continuity with the congregation erected by the Holy See in 1216, that earlier English Congregation was destroyed at the dissolution of the monasteries

Dissolution of the Monasteries

Discussion

Ask a question about 'English Benedictine Congregation'

Start a new discussion about 'English Benedictine Congregation'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

The English Benedictine Congregation (abbr. EBC) comprises autonomous Roman Catholic Benedictine

Benedictine

Monks

Benedictine Confederation

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

History and Administration

Although the EBC claims technical canonical continuity with the congregation erected by the Holy See in 1216, that earlier English Congregation was destroyed at the dissolution of the monasteries

Dissolution of the Monasteries

The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, denotes the administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII of England disbanded all monastery, nunnery and friary in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their income, disposed of their assets and provided f...
in 1535-40. The present English Congregation was revived and restored by Rome in 1607-33 when numbers of Englishmen and Welshmen had become monks in continental European monasteries and were coming to England as missioners.

At the beginning of the 21st century the EBC has Houses in the United Kingdom, the United States, South America and Africa.

Every four years the General Chapter of the EBC elects an Abbot President from among the Ruling 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....
s with jurisdiction, and those who have been Ruling Abbots. He is assisted by a number of officials. Periodically he undertakes a Visitation of the individual Houses. The purpose of the Visitation is the preservation, strengthening and renewal of the religious life, including the laws of the Church and the Constitutions of the congregation. The President may require by Acts of Visitation, that particular points in the Rule, the Constitutions and the law of the Church be observed.

The current Abbot President is the Right Reverend Dom Richard Yeo, former Abbot of Downside Abbey

Downside Abbey

The Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and the Senior House of the English Benedictine Congregation....
.

Houses of the English Benedictine Congregation

Houses of the Congregation in exile

Religious house in Europe	Location	Dates	Successor house in England
St. Gregory's Priory, Douai Downside Abbey The Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and the Senior House of the English Benedictine Congregation....	Douai Douai Douai is a Communes of France in the Nord Departments of France in northern France.It is a Subprefectures in France of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some 40 km from Lille and 25 km from Arras, Douai is home to one of the region's most impressive belfry .... , France	1607-1798	Downside Abbey
Dieulouard Priory Ampleforth Abbey Ampleforth Abbey, North Yorkshire, is a monastery of Benedictine Monks in the English Benedictine Congregation. It claims descent from the pre-English Reformation community at Westminster Abbey through the last surviving monk from Westminster Sigebert Buckley....	France	1608-1798	Ampleforth Abbey
St. Malo Priory	St. Malo, Brittany	1610 approx. -late 17th century	n/a
St. Edmund's Priory, Paris Douai Abbey Douai Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey at Woolhampton, near Thatcham, in the England county of Berkshire, situated within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth.... ; later St. Edmund's Abbey, Douai	Paris	1615-1798 (Paris); 1818-1903 (Douai)	Douai Abbey, Woolhampton
Cambrai Priory Stanbrook Abbey Stanbrook Abbey is an abbey. Founded in 1625 in Cambrai, Flanders, then part of the Spanish Netherlands, and under the auspices of the English Benedictine Congregation, it was built as a contemplative house for Benedictine nuns....	Cambrai Cambrai Cambrai is a Communes of France in the Nord Departments of France in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France of the department.Cambrai is the seat of Archdiocese of Cambrai whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages.... , Flanders	1625-1794	Stanbrook Abbey
Our Lady of Good Hope Priory, Paris Colwich Abbey Colwich Abbey is a community of Nun#Roman_Catholic of the English Benedictine Congregation founded in 1623 at Cambrai, Flanders, in the Spanish Netherlands....	Paris	1651-1794	Colwich Abbey
Lamspringe Abbey Lamspringe Abbey Lamspringe Abbey is a former religious house of the English Benedictine Congregation in exile, at Lamspringe near Hildesheim in Germany....	Lamspringe Lamspringe Lamspringe is a village and a municipality in the Hildesheim , in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km south of Hildesheim.It was known historically as the seat of the former Lamspringe Abbey, of which the church and other buildings remain.... , Lower Saxony	1630-1803	Broadway Priory, 1826-34; Fort Augustus Abbey, 1886-1998

Houses of the present Congregation

United Kingdom:

Ampleforth Abbey
Ampleforth Abbey

Ampleforth Abbey, North Yorkshire, is a monastery of Benedictine Monks in the English Benedictine Congregation. It claims descent from the pre-English Reformation community at Westminster Abbey through the last surviving monk from Westminster Sigebert Buckley....
, fdd 1608 at Dieulouard
Belmont Abbey
Belmont Abbey, Herefordshire

Belmont Abbey, in Herefordshire, England is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery that forms part of the English Benedictine Congregation. It stands on a small hill overlooking the city of Hereford to the east, with views across to the Black Mountains, Wales to the west....
, fdd 1859
Buckfast Abbey
Buckfast Abbey

Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Dedicated to Saint Mary, it was founded in 1018 and run by the Cistercian order from 1147 until it was destroyed under the Dissolution of the Monasteries....
, fdd 1882
Colwich Abbey
Colwich Abbey

Colwich Abbey is a community of Nun#Roman_Catholic of the English Benedictine Congregation founded in 1623 at Cambrai, Flanders, in the Spanish Netherlands....
(nuns), fdd 1651 in Paris
Curzon Park Abbey
Curzon Park Abbey

Curzon Park Abbey is one of three monasteries of nuns in the English Benedictine Congregation. It began as an Order of St. Benedict foundation at Feltham, Middlesex on 24 June 1868....
(nuns), fdd 1868
Douai Abbey
Douai Abbey

Douai Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey at Woolhampton, near Thatcham, in the England county of Berkshire, situated within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portsmouth....
, fdd 1615 in Paris
Downside Abbey
Downside Abbey

The Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey, is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery and the Senior House of the English Benedictine Congregation....
, fdd 1607 in Douai
Ealing Abbey
Ealing Abbey

Ealing Abbey is a Roman Catholic Benedictine monastery in West London, England, and part of the English Benedictine Congregation.History...
, fdd 1897
Stanbrook Abbey
Stanbrook Abbey

Stanbrook Abbey is an abbey. Founded in 1625 in Cambrai, Flanders, then part of the Spanish Netherlands, and under the auspices of the English Benedictine Congregation, it was built as a contemplative house for Benedictine nuns....
(nuns) fdd 1625 in Cambrai
Worth Abbey
Worth Abbey

The Abbey of Our Lady, Help of Christians, commonly known as Worth Abbey, is a community of Roman Catholic monks who follow the Rule of St Benedict near Turners Hill village, in West Sussex, England....
, fdd 1933

United States:

Portsmouth Abbey, fdd 1918
Saint Louis Abbey
Saint Louis Abbey

The Abbey of Saint Mary and Saint Louis, in St. Louis, Missouri, USA was founded at the invitation of prominent St. Louis Catholics, by monks of the Benedictine Ampleforth College in York, England....
, fdd 1955
Saint Anselm's Abbey
Saint Anselm's Abbey

St. Anselm's Abbey is a Benedictine Abbey located at 4501 South Dakota Avenue NE, Washington, DC, 20017. It operates the prestigious boys' middle and high school St....
, fdd 1923

Sources

(with an outline of the EBC history since the 16th century)
The Benedictine Yearbook 2005