St. Benedict Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Late in the fifth century the son of a well-off family in Italy left for isolation on his mission to truly seek god. This man was St. Benedict, who is credited with the first establishment of the concept of withdrawing from all temptation for Christian beliefs in the west. St. Benedict left his home and went to the top of a mountain, where he established a monastic community. In this community the individuals who resided there, constantly reiterated their faith. They sacrificed whatever they may have had to prove their true commitment to God. This became an early ideal of Christianity, that one must suffer loss and sacrifice to prove their loyalty to the faith. It was believed in this time period that if one is content with only what they truly need one is freer to think about other people and to think about God . These individuals were called Regular Clergies (monks) and were considered heroes of the faith.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  St. Benedict created three main characteristics that a Christian who truly seeks God should do. The first is live in peace with others, not always wanting his own way, or having an exaggerated idea of himself. The second is to live simply, not wanting to own many things in order to feel important and secure. The third and final main theme of St. Benedict is to pray often and read the bible. These characteristics were added upon, but the main three were the basis of the belief. From these original three the foundation of the monastery was built. Another saint who played a major influence on the church was St. Augistine. St. Augistine held the idea that Christianity gave ones life meaning and purpose. He believed that â€Å"Christians are not born but made. † St. Augistine was the author of a very influential book in the history of the church. This book was â€Å"The City of God.† This book told the history of the church and proved it to be a historically valid one. He believed that there was no use to civilization, and as faith increases civilization should decrease. The â€Å"City of the World† is the opposite of the â€Å"City of God†, and brings temptation and must be resisted. This reference to civilization was aimed towards Rome. St. Cuthbert also added to the monastic tradition. He also took himself into isolation to assert his faith. Following his death, after many years of loyalty to the faith, it was fo... ...he centuries following them, they did not work nearly as hard, or did they suffer the same sacrifice and separation from materialistic possessions and luxuries. The church and congregation itself also underwent a dramatic change. The church progressed with the times to be not only a powerful institution religiously, but also politically, economically and also socially. With this rise in power in many different areas besides religion came the involvement in many different areas in society. These ties in society created involvement in the â€Å"City of the World† which took away from aspects of the â€Å"City of God.† In closing, the decline of the monasteries and ultimately the â€Å"City of God† was due to the rise in the â€Å"City of the World.† The â€Å"City of the World† was the anti thesis of the â€Å"City of God.† They can be seen otherwise as church and state. When one was strong and powerful, the other could not be. The two could not exist in equilibrium. So therefore the stronger survived, and with the change of the times, this was the â€Å"City of the World.† The king, who at one time in history was strongly influenced by the church, took control of the Durham Priory, and all its worldly possessions.