Saint Alberic
Encyclopedia
Saint Albéric of Cîteaux (died January 26, 1108), sometimes known as Aubrey of Cîteaux, was a Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 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...

 and 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...

, one of the founders of the Cistercian Order.

Life

Albéric was a hermit
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...

 in the forest of Collan in 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...

 who, along with five other hermits, invited Saint Robert of Molesme
Robert of Molesme
Saint Robert of Molesme was a Christian saint and abbot, one of the founders of the Cistercian Order in France.-Life:Robert was a member of the nobility in Champagne, a younger son, who entered the abbey of Montier-la-Celle, near Troyes, at age fifteen and later rose to the status of prior...

 to begin a new monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

 with them that would operate under the Rule of St. Benedict. Robert led these hermits to the forest of Molesme
Molesme
-References:*...

 and established a religious settlement there in 1075, Molesme Abbey
Molesme Abbey
Molesme Abbey was a well-known Benedictine monastery in Molesme, in Laignes, Côte-d'Or, Burgundy, on the border of the Dioceses of Langres and Troyes.-History:...

. Robert served as the first abbot, and Albéric as the prior. However, as the settlement's fame grew, gifts came in, and this new wealth attracted new monks who were eager to change the Rule and to be lax. The Molesmes community was divided, and the monks opposed Robert and Albéric. Robert twice left the monastery to live as a hermit, and twice the pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

 ordered him back to his community. During one absence of Robert, the brothers imprisoned Albéric so that they might have their way.

In 1093, Robert left again, and Albéric and Stephen Harding
Stephen Harding
Saint Stephen Harding is a Christian saint and abbot, one of the founders of the Cistercian Order.-Life:Stephen Harding was born in Dorset, England. He was placed in Sherborne Abbey at a young age, but eventually put aside the cowl and became a travelling scholar. He eventually moved to Molesme...

 left with him. The Bishop of Langres commanded Albéric back to Molesme. He returned, but he made no headway with the corrupt brothers. In 1098, twenty-one more monks left Molesme to join Robert, Albéric, and Stephen Harding, and Robert now obtained permission to found a new monastery. He was given an inaccessible piece of land at Cîteaux and founded the new monastery, Cîteaux Abbey
Cîteaux Abbey
Cîteaux Abbey is a Roman Catholic abbey located in Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, south of Dijon, France. Today it belongs to the Trappists, or Cistercians of the Strict Observance . The Cistercian order takes its name from this mother house of Cîteaux, earlier Cisteaux, near Nuits-Saint-Georges...

.

Initially, as at Molesme, Robert was the abbot of Cîteaux, with Albéric as the prior. However, the monks of Molesme petitioned Robert to return to them and vowed obedience to the Rule of St. Benedict. In 1100, Robert left Cîteaux, and Albéric became the new abbot. Under Albéric, the Rule of St. Benedict was made even more austere. He introduced the use of a white cowl to the monks, and, in iconographic art, the white cowl is his emblem.

His feast day in the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

is January 26.

External links

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