History of the Chartreuse Order |
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The Chartreuse Order of cloistered monks (The Carthusians) was founded in 1084, making it – at more than 900 years old - one of the oldest religious orders in Christianity.
Its founder, Bruno – later Saint Bruno – was born in Cologne, Germany, in circa 1030. He studied at the University of Reims and later became a professor and then dean of the university. His skill and dedication as an educator made the university famous throughout all of Europe.
At the height of his celebrity, he decided to give up the honors and glory of the world and seek his true vocation – to live quietly and meditatively and embrace the monastic life. |
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He attempted several times to find an ideal site for meditative solitude but was unsuccessful in his search until June1084 when, arriving in Grenoble with six companions on a similar search, he met with the local bishop - Hugues - who had a reputation as a religious reformer.
Hugues had recently dreamed he saw God building a home for Himself in the heart of the Chartreuse Mountains.
In this dream, Hughes saw seven stars pointing to an unpopulated area that was known as "The Desert of Chartreuse".
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When Bruno and his six companions arrived, the bishop believed them to be the manifestation of his dream and led the seven companions to the place God had shown him.
They found the remote area exactly what they had been looking for.
The seven quickly built simple individual wooden cells.
Their leader, Bruno, felt the rigors of the solitary life needed occasional companionship so a couple of larger buildings -- a chapel and a dining hall - were built.
These principles - solitary meditation with rare brotherly congregation - direct the lives of the Chartreuse fathers even today.
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| For six years Bruno was able to live the life he so deeply loved. But his dream of solitude was interrupted in 1090 when one of his former students - now Pope Urban II - called him to Rome where the Pope wanted his counsel. Bruno, of course, responded to the call of His Holiness.
The Pope, while valuing Bruno's counsel, recognized Bruno's desire for solitude and prayerful contemplation, allowed him to establish another enclave of those seeking separation from the worldly life. Bruno went to the south of Italy where he lived for eleven years, Bruno died as his monastery in Calabria in 1101. |
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During the years following Bruno's death, hermitages other than Chartreuse and Calabria wanted to adopt the lifestyle of Bruno and his followers. As new monasteries sprung up throughout Europe, there was a need to make the mode of living in each uniform.
In 1125, Guigues, the fifth Father Superior of the Order, collected, in writing, the
customs of the order which remain the guide to the life of a Chartreuse monk.
In 1989, 864 years following Guigues labors, these customs were adapted to the considerations set forth by the Vatican II Council. They retain the lifestyle of Bruno adapted to the world of today.
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They give comprehensive details about the daily life of a monk and communicate the basis of a solitary life: the silence of the cell, permanent prayer, and humble work plus participation in the collective prayers, obedience to the Father Superior of their monastery as well as obedience to the decisions taken by the Chapter General of the Order.
Chartreuse monks are contemplatives, dedicating their lives to listening in silence to God. |
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Both fathers and brothers live in the monastery. Both live lives of prayer and contemplation. Both are properly called monks.
The Fathers are priests who have taken holy orders and spend most of their time alone in their cells. |
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The Brothers, in addition to the contemplative life, attend to the basic work necessary for the monastery. The lives led by fathers and brothers are complementary in that they each are looking for God in a solitary way of life. |
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| This solitude is neither a monk's retreat from the world nor a resignation from life but rather his choice of a mental, physical and spiritual freedom in which he can give his life to all humanity and from which he can engage in universal prayer.
In our modern world, change is constant but the Chartreuse Order is steadfast. There have been no significant changes in the life of a Chartreuse monk since Bruno arrived in the Desert of Chartreuse in 1084. The search for God is universal. The search for inner peace is universal. The desire for world-wide brotherhood is universal. It is for these universal blessings each Chartreuse monk prays.
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