• HOME
• Guests and Newcomers
  • Come Build Christ's Church
  • Become a Member
  • FAQ's
• Our Vicar
  • Read Vicar's Views
  • Hear Vicar's Sermons
• Sunday Morning
  • Nursery
  • Sunday School
  • Special Services
  • Baptism
• Programs and Ministries
• Youth and Children
  • Children
  • Youth
  • Past Events
• Stewardship
  • FAQ's
  • Tithing
  • The Offering
  • Memorial Gifts
  • Online Pledge
• Grow in Faith
  • How to grow my faith?
  • Being an Episcopalian
  • Resources to Grow Faith
• About Saint B's
  • Our News
  • Our Newsletter
  • St. B's History
  • Who is Saint Benedict?
• School
• Our Calendar
• Contact Us
  • Meet Our Staff
• Member Resources
• Events
• Directions

Who Is St. Benedict?

           
            “Girded with faith, and the performance of good works, let us follow in Christ’s Path by the guidance of the Gospel ; then we shall deserve to see Him who has called us into His kingdom”   - Saint Benedict of Nursia

Our patron saint, Benedict of Nursia (480-547), was Abbott of Monte Cassino, a monastery located midway between Rome and Naples and is generally accounted as the father of western monasticism. Benedict was born wealthy to a Roman Nobleman in Nursia and later educated in Rome. While in Rome he was transformed by the breakdown of western civilization and felt the need to withdraw to monastic seclusion. He founded many monasteries and it was in Monte Cassino that St. Benedict developed the roots of the monastic system that would later be named “the Rule of Saint Benedict” and serve as the basis for monasticism in the Roman Catholic Church.

Historically, a monastic is a person who devotes his or her life to religious vows and who lives in a community devoted to God. Monasticism differs from tradition to tradition. It was generally thought of historically as vows taken by a monk who takes a vow of poverty, whom lives in isolation, chastity and strict obedience to God. 

In the late 1800’s their was a re-conceptualization of the concept of monasticism in the Anglican tradition encouraged by the Oxford Movement. The Movement encouraged a recovery of the beauty of the Church’s worship, the importance of apostolic ministry and the Sacraments, a renewed appreciation for the Church’s tradition and an emphasis on Anglican spiritual life and practice.

Recently, some Church leaders and scholars are starting to take a new look at the “Rule of Saint Benedict” and are discovering  new processes to assist Christians and non-religiously affiliated people who are seeking to find or grow their faith in God in a challenging and increasingly secular world. We call this the “Grow Faith Movement”. We believe the grow faith process is an exciting new way to find or rediscover God and strengthen the lives of those who incorporate it into their daily living.

Therefore it is not surprising that the following Gospel reading has been assigned to commemorate Saint Benedict:

      “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he/she has enough to finish it….” (Luke 14:27-33)

Some more images of St. Benedict

(Contributions on the history of Monasticism from An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, Don Armentrout)