Carthusian

The Carthusians are a Christian religious order founded by St Bruno in 1084 . There exist both Carthusian monks and nuns . They follow their own Rule, called the Statutes, ratherthan the Rule of St Benedict (as is often erroneouslyreported) and combine eremitical (hermit-like) and cenobitic monastic life.Carthusians are sometimes considered the highest order of the Catholic Church, in terms of strictness (this refers to the ideathat one is only allowed to switch your religious order if you are going to one that is more strict, and the top being theCarthusians).

The name 'Carthusian' is derived from Chartreuse , aFrench valley which was where St Bruno built his first hermitage. The word 'Charterhouse', which is the English name for aCarthusian monastery , is derived from the same source. Today, the monasteryof the Grande Chartreuse is still the mother abbey of theorder.

Carthusians have no active ministry because they are strictly cloistered. Monks or nuns spend most of their time alone intheir cells, although they do come together for certain prayers and for Sunday dinner. Meanwhile, lay brothers tend to the material needs ofthe abbey. Today Carthusians live very much as they originally did, without any laxing of their rule and thus never having neededany kind of reform.

The best preserved remains of a medieval Charterhouse in the UK are at Mount Grace Priory near Osmotherley , North Yorkshire . One of the cells has been reconstructed to illustrate howdifferent the lay-out is to monasteries of most other Christian orders, which are normally designed with communal living in mind.The Carthusian monk (or nun) lives a solitary life in a 'cell' (actually more like a small house), which typically consists ofthree small rooms on the ground floor - bedroom, study, and shrine - and a work area in the upstairs loft. Each cell has its ownwater supply and lavatory, and a tiny private garden planted with herbs and flowers. The garden would normally be cultivated bythe monk as part of his daily duties.

Today, there are 24 Charterhouses around the world, five of which are for nuns; altogether, there are around 370 monks and 75nuns. Most of these Charterhouses are in Europe - including one in Sussex, England - but there are also a couple in South Americaand even one in the USA, in Vermont .

The London Charterhouse gave its name to a square andseveral streets in the City of London , as well as to the Charterhouse public school (UK sense) which used part of its site before moving out to Surrey .

There is a museum on the Carthusian order next to the monastery of the Grande Chartreuse ; the monks of that monastery are also involved in the production of the Chartreuse liquor .

See also

• Order (religious)

External links

• Website of the Carthusian order
• http://www.laycarthusians.homestead.com