Friday, March 21, 2025

It is the 21st of March 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You know 1517.org/chacelebrate and all that…. You may know yesterday’s show was on Isaac Newton- today marks the anniversary of the/a (?) conversion of John Newton. We did his show last year, and you can find the link in the show transcript https://www.1517.org/podcast-overview/2024-07-24 on the website. It is also the anniversary of the death of St. Benedict… the founder of Western Monasticism- see the transcript for that link (https://www.1517.org/podcast-overview/2023-03-02). And it’s the anniversary of St. Benedict's death that gives rise to our story today- the story of, perhaps, the most historically significant of all the Catholic Orders.

Real fast, for my fellow Protestants, a Catholic Order is a group of monks, nuns, or “tertiaries” (mysterious “third things” hold that thought) that take names like “Jesuit,” “Dominican,” etc… are somewhat parallel to denominations. These were groups with theological emphases and often regional variations. “Benedictine” was the first in the West to grow out of the monasteries set up by the Desert Fathers and Mothers.

So the Benedictines begin in the 500s, and by the 900s, things are getting a little “lax”- excessive entanglements with Emperors and feudal lords and money and land. The “Cluniac Reform” dates from here, and we see some reform until… you know, people are gonna people.

But out of this Cluniac reform began one of the most significant monastic movements for the High Middle Ages and beyond. It was initially Robert of Molesme, associated with Cluny, who, after his abbey (Molesme) failed to reform, joined just a few others near Dijon in a place called Cîteaux- the Latin name: Cistercium would give the order their name: the Cistercians.  

They would initially commit themselves to strict interoperation of Benedict's rule and uniformity amongst the houses of the order. They would also take new “habits”- the distinctive form of clothing- instead of the black of the Benedictine, they would wear white.

They would explode in popularity on account of one of the most charismatic men of the age, Bernard, who took up in a Cistercian abbey in Clairvaux. Bernard of Clairvaux, who would preach for, amongst other things, the Crusades, would see the new Cistercian abbeys and brothers (and soon sisters) populate the French countryside.

The Cistercians, who did many significant things, are most famous for disentangling themselves from feudal land arrangements and tithes and for admitting a new kind of member- the conversi. The Conversi did not take the same vows- but worked the fields and were farmers and architects responsible for the growth and much of the wealth of the new order. And then there were the Military Orders— Bernard, who was so influential in calling for the crusades, helped inspire the Knights Templar, who famously wore the white habit of the Cictercians but emblazoned with a red cross- this, be marked “crucesignatus” would later give rise to their names as “Crusaders.”

The Cistercians, like the Cluniacs before them and the Benedictines before them, would also grow lax in their observation of the order- with the opposition to all orders during the French Revolution, they drew down in number but saw a rebirth with an Abbey at Le Trappe, giving rise to their name: the Trappists. The Trappists would come to America and settle in, among other places, Kentucky, where the famed Abbey of Gethsemani was home to perhaps the most famous modern monk: Thomas Merton.  

The story of the Cistercians is one of attempted reform- reform of the bad habits that can seep into hardcore monasticism, and reform of the way they intersected with feudal lords and other temporal rulers. By rejecting (initially) much of the money and tithing that came with that they were able to remain somewhat independent of the corruption of the political world.  

Through the conversi’s, they reintroduced the central role of labor- it was initially “ora et labora.” Pray and work, but the work would sometimes be forgotten. They would be the engine behind many of the gothic cathedrals of the medieval world, not to mention things like world-famous cheeses, breads and beers, cakes, and even caskets.  

Today we remember the reforming monks who chose the anniversary of the death of St. Benedict- the 21st of March to launch their order- the Cistercians who date from this day in 1098.

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary, again from Revelation, and again ironic as we have some folks dressed like Cistercians in the text…

“To the angel of the church in Sardis write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 21st of March 2025, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who knows the Capuchin habit is brown with a white cap- such that the little brown coffee with the white cap is called a “cappuccino” he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who wonders if these revelation readings bring up more questions than anything else… I don’t know: ask your pastor! I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.