www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Benedictine Oblates and Eastern Churches

A few of the Roman Catholics in my area belong to a group known as Benedictine Oblates. They are similar to a Third Order except that they are affilated with a particular Benedictine Abbey. Are there any Byzantine Benedictines? These Oblates wear a medal of St. Benedict which has extraordinary exorcism power when properly blessed. Is this devotion known in the Eastern Churches?
Silouan, old monk

I am not sure of where it stands with the Eastern Churches, but I have made sure that the St. Benedict medals abound plentifully in my home and with the children.

Come, Holy Spirit!

Monk Siluoan writes:

A few of the Roman Catholics in my area belong to a group known as Benedictine Oblates. They are similar to a Third Order except that they are affilated with a particular Benedictine Abbey. Are there any Byzantine Benedictines?

This is about one famous Byzantine Catholic, Helen Iswolsky, written by the great Dorothy Day (whose cause for canonization has been inaugurated, started by John Chrysostom Caridinal O'Connor of NYC before he died). I post the entire piece, since Helen is one of the "lights of the east" to illumine the west:

ON PILGRIMAGE: HELEN ISWOLSKY DIES

by DOROTHY DAY

Death has been termed "the last enemy" and every year in the spring we celebrate Christ's victory over death, and His resurrection from the dead. "Death is swallowed up in victory." So how can I write sadly of the death of Helen Iswolsky, who lived with us in Tivoli for eight years.

Helen was my most dear friend ever since she came from France in 1941. She was a writer, an historian, a scholar, a translator and teacher. We were most privileged to have her with us for many years at Tivoli. She kept an apartment in New York, and two years ago she moved all her extensive library and papers from NYC and Tivoli to the little Russian center she founded at Cold Spring, N.Y. There, meetings of THE THIRD HOUR, an ecumenical group, were held. We hope to have a brief account of this in a future issue of the CW, if we can persuade one of Helen's Russian associates to write it for us. Perhaps Dr. Basil Yanovsky, author and physician (like Chekhov) will write it.

In Helen's great heart there was room for many loves, and she considered herself a member of the Catholic Worker community as well as a leader of the THIRD HOUR group, which worked for peace between the Churches: Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and, indeed, all Protestant groups.

Meetings were held at least annually in various churches, also in the Union Theological Seminary, and our Catholic Workers were much interested in them all. Concordances, one of John XXIII's favorite emphases, was basic.

Helen's life would make a great biography. Daughter of a Russian diplomat, Helen and her family were in Japan, where Alexander Iswolsky was ambassador, when the Japanese-Russian war broke out. Her father was the last ambassador to France under the Tsar when WWI began, and, vacationing in Russia that summer of 1914, she caught the last train which pulled out of Moscow on the way to Berlin where her mother was visiting friends.

Again they were on the last train from Berlin, arriving in Paris from Berlin when World War I was declared in 1914. She nursed the wounded in Paris during that war.

World War II meant her departure from France in 1941, when the Germans occupied Paris, and she arrived in this country some time later with her mother and brother, to stay temporarily at Countess Tolstoy's farm for Russian refugees.

Our friendship began early. Her friends, Jacques Maritain and Emmantiel Mounier, were the leaders in the personalist and communitarian movement in Paris which had inspired Peter Maurin to start the CW movement here.

My own love for Russian literature - Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov - drew me to Helen at once. (She gave a course on Dostoevsky at Vassar College once, and at our retreat house at Mary-farm, Newburgh.) I used to say that some day Helen and I would set out together to take that long train trip from Moscow to Vladivostok.

A Noble Soul

Her small room at Tivoli farm was filled with books and records of Russian music. Two windows looked out on a tree-covered hill-side, and there was a bird feeder outside one window. Her bed was anything but comfortable - a narrow cot, one of a donation of sixty or more beds from the Jesuits when they closed down their house in Hyde Park, N.Y. One comfortable chair, a table and typewriter, a chest for her clothes, a closet, and, of course, many ikons made the room crowded but attractive.

She volunteered to keep the guest book, and she helped us entertain the many visitors who stopped at the farm. it was easy in the summer when there was all outdoors and the magnificent view of the river and the shabby but impressive old mansion, which General de Peyster put up more than 125 years ago. "A decaying mansion" as it is described now, it has given hospitality to many a student and wanderer over the years we have spent at Tivoli.

If the weather was inclement, she sat with the visitors in the large, common room which was shabbier yet, what with broken-down but still usable furniture, and the many book cases crammed with books, not to speak of half-a-dozen children at play. Deane Mowrer was her able companion in answering the constant inquiries as to what the Catholic Worker was all about.

Helen cleaned her own room, and often the bathroom on her corridor, and cleared tables and often waited on guests, epitomizing Peter's edict--"The scholar must become a worker, and the worker a scholar" - as a way to overcome class war. I often thought of the phrase "noblesse oblige" in connection with Helen. She was a noble soul and set an example to us all in her disciplined life of work, translating, teaching Russian and writing her memoirs, for which we hope to find a publisher.

Today, as I write this, the snow is falling thickly and heavy gusts of wind make it come horizontally at times, as though from the North Pole itself. Helen died Christmas eve at Highland Hospital in Beacon, New York. not far from Cold Spring where she had rejoiced in her little Russian Center. Her suffering had been great, but there were no other people in intensive care so the nurse in charge allowed one or two of us to take turns sitting by her bedside.

We kept constant vigil for some weeks. She was able only to write two or three word messages, or inquiries, to us, what with the necessity for a tracheotomy and an oxygen tank.

Brothers Victor and Patrick were her constant companions (coming from the little monastery, Our Lady of the Resurrection, on the grounds of Marist Brother's Hall at Cold Spring). I had the joy of watching with her daily for hours at a stretch, both of us strengthened by the psalms and gospels which she motioned for often.

When she died, Brother Victor and Marguerite Tjader were with her, one or the other holding her hand. Helen and Marguerite had travelled by car all the length, if not the breadth, of the Soviet Union, from Leningrad to the Black Sea, years before.

What great love she had for her country to the very end. Now her prayers will be overshadowing it, I am sure.

I kept no night watches with her, but hours during the day. Many friends dropped in to bid her farewell. When Deane Mowrer came from the Tivoli farm and stood by the bed clasping her hand, Helen opened her eyes, which had been half closed all morning, and gave her a smile of unutterable sweetness. She recognized all who came from Tivoli and Cold Spring.

She was much loved. But from the two young brothers, Victor and Patrick, she had the most constant and tender affection and care night and day. She kept reaching up and smoothing Victor's cheek. He had been, for these last few years, like a son to her.

The cloistered Benedictine nuns from Regina Landis had permission from the bishop to leave their cloister to visit Helen, who was a Benedictine Oblate, associated with them. They brought her the habit she was laid out in. She received Communion daily, a small portion of the Host, brought to her by the Brothers or by Fr. Richard Lee, of the John XXIII Center, when he visited her.

Helen died Christmas eve. All Christmas day, in a steady snowfall, she was visited by friends and neighbors as she lay in the simple coffin before the altar in the Brothers' chapel. The Mass was offered next day by Fr. Gino Piovesana, of the John XXIII Center at Fordham, in the Byzantine rite. And then, along sleety and snowy roads, the funeral Procession drove north to Tivoli.

Helen now rests in St. Sylvia's Cemetery, in the Catholic Worker plot given by Monsignor Kane, where twelve small, birchwood crosses indicate the graves of her fellow Catholic Workers.

Lilac bushes shield the plot from the highway.

Bless me a sinner, Venerable Father Silouan!

There are Eastern Catholic Benedictine Oblates, and a few Orthodox as well!

I was in training to become one myself, but even that didn't work out for me . . .

My stint with other Oblates taught me there are Eastern Benedictines, in any event.

St Benedict is honoured in the East, as you know, with an Akathist and a Canon of great spiritual beauty.

His Rule has been translated by Orthodox publishers and it is recommended to all Orthodox Christians by those same publishers (St John of Kronstadt Press).

The medal of St Benedict is the jubilee medal bearing the Cross of St Benedict "Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti."

This medal and the Miraculous Medal are the ONLY two medals OFFICIALLY recognized by the Roman Church.

There is a special Oblate Black Scapular of St Benedict that I have and this can be worn either with the medal of St Benedict or with the Crucifix of St Benedict which has the medal placed in the centre.

St Benedict's medals are often used to protect places against evil influences.

They are sometimes also used as votives to be placed in the cornerstones of newly constructed homes for special protection.

Alex

There is Byzantine Catholics who are Benedictines.
I Myself am a Byzantine Catholic, Thinking about
a Priesthood vocation to the Byzantine Catholic Priesthood, in the Benedictine Order.

Its Possiable and allowed by the Code of Canon Law.

My dear Benedictine friend,

Could you share with us how your observance of the Rule of St Benedict might possibly differ from that of Latin Benedictines?

Your prayer rule?

Alex

There is a Benedictine Byzantine Monastery in PA.

Holy Trinity Monastery
Box 990
Butler, PA 16001

There is another one in Canada. You can check the directory for the address.

They follow the same rule as the Latin Benedictines.

Oblates are a whole different critter from Terceries. Oblates follow the same rule and receite the Divine Office just as monks and nuns do. They are affiliated with the monks and nuns of the Order of St. Benedict. Lay members of the other Orders(Franciscans, Dominicans, Mercedarians, Augustinians, etc.) belong to a seperate order; the Third Order.

Dear Monksilouan,

There is also a monastery of women benedictine monastics. Contact information follows:

Benedictine Sisters of the Byzantine Church
Queen of Heaven Monastery
8640 Squires Lane N.E.
Warren Ohio, 44484

Phone 330 856-1813

They work hard and pray hard, too; Benedictines after the heart of St. Benedict. They're Byzantine to the core.

Hope that the information is useful.

Steve

[ 08-09-2002: Message edited by: Inawe ]

You are correct - Benedictine Oblates are similar to a Third Order. Those of us in Third Orders are generally affiliated with a particularly community as well - for example, Third Order Franciscans, like me, are grouped at the most basic level into fraternities. Our fraternities have a council that we elect, as well as a Franciscan priest or friar who acts as a spiritual advisor. We have a priest of the Third Order as our advisor and he is a wonderful man.

I have met Byzantine Benedictines as well as Byzantine Franciscans. I've actually popped in on Oblate meetings at the local Benedictine monastery (the abbot, of course, ecourages visitors). I've liked what I've heard.

One difference I've noticed is that the Oblates follow the Rule of St. Benedict, written for monastics, and seem to apply it to a layperson's life. (If I am wrong about this, please correct me, as I am unaware of any specific rule written for the Benedictine laity.)

Third Order Franciscans profess a Rule written specifically for those of us who are out there in the world.

A lot seems similar. The Benedictine Oblates I know went through a period of inquiry and formation. I don't fully understand the "process." I can tell you from my own experience that, for a Third Order Franciscan, one generally goes through a year of inquiry and a year of further formation before one professes the Rule either temporarily or permanently. I myself professed the rule temporarily first before making a permanent profession.

Dear Annie_SFO,

"One difference I've noticed is that the Oblates follow the Rule of St. Benedict, written for monastics, and seem to apply it to a layperson's life. (If I am wrong about this, please correct me, as I am unaware of any specific rule written for the Benedictine laity.)"

Your information is correct.

There is only one Rule of Benedict followed by those who live in monasteries and by those who are oblates outside of a monastery. The Oblates are not a third order in the traditional sense. They are lay persons or clergy who find value in the monastic principles and practices found in the Rule and adapt them to daily life outside of monasteries. Oblates are encouraged to make the Liturgy and other Liturgical prayer, such as the Prayer of the Hours, the center of their spiritual lives.

Each Benedictine monastery is independent. The focus is on community living and building a model of the community that is the Church. St. Benedict asked his followers to "Listen" and to become part of a school of service to the Lord.

Each oblate makes an Act of Oblation to a particular monastic community. Though groups of oblates meet and learn and pray together, the Act of Oblation is to a monastic community, not to the group of oblates.

There are some persons who are not Catholic who make acts of oblation to Catholic monasteries. One, Kathleen Norris, wrote The Cloister Walk telling about her involvement with a Benedictine monastery to which she made her Act of Oblation. It contains a powerful description of Benedictine spirituality and the place of the psalms in our lives as Christians. Another ecumenical oblate, Eric Dean, a Presbyterian minister, has written a book, Saint Benedict for the Laity in which he talks about the Rule's import and use for persons in secular society.

There is a scapular with which the oblate is clothed at the time of Oblation. It is similar to the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel; although the Benedictine scapular is black with pictures of St. Benedict and his sister, St. Scholastica on the cloth squares. Other oblates wear or carry the St. Benedict medal, mentioned by Alex, in place of a scapular.

Hope the information is of use.

Steve

[ 08-14-2002: Message edited by: Inawe ]

Glory to Jesus Christ!

I looked on the portal section of http://YourCatholic.com and the only websites I could find are the following: The Byzantine Benedictine Sisters can be found at http://benedictinebyzantine.org and a skete of Benedictine Ukrainian Catholics can be found at http://societystjohn.com

Hope this is of help. God Bless!

IC XC NIKA,
-Nik!

The monks at the Skete are not really in the "Benedictine Order" strictly speaking, but rather monastics of the Byzantine tradition who follow the Rule of St. Benedict.

The Rule does not specify any particular liturgical tradition for the Eucharist or the Divine Office, and the Rule could thus be used in any communal (cenobitic) monastery. The Oblates are a Western development, and in the East one simply visits the monastery to pray with the monks, speak to the spiritual father and when one is at home they are to pray to the extent possible and practicable the Divine Praises (Office) with the guidance and recommendations of the spiritual father.

I would like an answer to the following query:

Can a Benedictine Oblate (Roman Catholic), after changing Rite from the Roman to the Byzantine one, still remain an Oblate attached to the original monastery?

Thanks and God bless!

Dear Friend,

Yes, indeed!

I am an Eastern Catholic Benedictine oblate associated with the Latin Catholic monastery of St Meinrad's Archabbey in Indiana.

In his Rule, St Benedict simply wanted us to recite the entire Psalter once a week. How we did it really didn't concern him, even though he did establish a rule for doing the Divine Office and the Psalter.

Just let your director of oblates know about the change. Today, there are Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians who are Benedictine Oblates and who are associated with Roman Catholic Benedictine monasteries.

Pax!

Alex

I am surprised no one has yet mentioned Chevetogne Abbey in Belgium, which is Benedictine, but split into a Latin and a Greek 'half'.

http://www.monasterechevetogne.com/index.php?taalkeuze=3

This monastery is renowned even in places like Moscow for its liturgical scholarship, and so holds the respect of Orthodox and Catholics alike.

And of course, one may be an oblate of the monastery.