Saint Benedict's Rules were based on three key elements - Poverty, Chastity and Obedience |
Poverty |
- No monk was allowed to have any personal possessions. Even his clothes were the property of the abbey.
- It was felt that owning things made the monks think about themselves instead of thinking about God.
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Chastity |
- Monks were not allowed to marry or to have anything to do with the opposite sex.
- Women joined the Cistercian Order as nuns, but lived separately from monks. Both were expected to devote their whole lives to God.
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Obedience |
- Every abbey was governed by an abbot, who was elected for life by the monks. The abbot's word was law.
- The monks had to give him instant and unquestioning obedience. The monks were expected to behave humbly and without pride.
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