A short introduction to the history of the Cistercian order.
The first Christian monks lived alone, before monasteries with fixed rules began to develop in the 5th century. The Reform Order of the Cistercians was founded in 1098. The name was taken from the Citeaux mother abbey in Burgundy. The Cistercians lived according to the principles of St. Benedict (480-547) in their original and purest form. In this way they were able to adapt to the strict rules of the Benedictine monastic life.
The basics Bendedictine rules are:
Opus Dei – Holy mass
Lectio Divina – Spiritual reading
Labor Manuum – Work with the hands
The order’s constitution determined its organization. Amongst others, it laid down that all the brothers of the order were equal, and that the life of the monastery was to be in accordance with the standards of the Citeaux Monastery.
Furthermore the constitution said that each monastery, in accordance with the principle of Filiation (Latin: filia – daughter) could found independent “daughter” monasteries. There was to be an annual visit to the daughter monastery by the mother monastery, as well as the annual holding of a general chapter at Citeaux, which the abbot had to take part in. The order expanded throughout Europe along the lines of the filiation relationship.
The primary abbeys at Citeaux are:
-La Ferté (1113)
-Pontigny (1114)
-Clairveaux (1115)
-Morimond (1115)
There were two kinds of monks: The choir monks, who had to observe hourly prayers, and the work monks, known as converses. All monks took the vows.