Chevetogne Abbey
| Chevetogne Abbey | |
|---|---|
-2.jpg) Convent building (former castle) and Byzantine church |
|
| location |
Belgium Province of Namur |
| Coordinates: | 50 ° 13 '5 " N , 5 ° 7' 57" E |
| founding year | 1925 |
The Chevetogne Abbey ( Monastère de l'Exaltation de la Sainte Croix - "Monastery of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross ") is an international Benedictine monastery in Chevetogne , a district of the Walloon city of Ciney , Province of Namur , on the northern edge of the Belgian Ardennes . The monastery lives an ecumenical vocation and cultivates the birituality .
history
The community was founded in 1925 by Lambert Beauduin († 1960) in Amay , Province of Liège , in a former Carmelite monastery . The year before, Pope Pius XI. In an apostolic letter to Abbot Primate Fidelis von Stotzingen made reconciliation with the Eastern Churches a special task for the Benedictines . Father Beauduin, conventual of Keizersberg Abbey ( Leuven ), took this with some confreres as an impetus for the new foundation, which was to be specifically dedicated to this goal. In 1928 the filiation became an independent priory . After the community had grown, it moved to the former chateau near Chevetogne in 1939. Since 1956 the Benedictines of Chevetogne have directed the Pontificio Collegio Greco in Rome and, attached to it, the church of Sant'Atanasio dei Greci .
On December 11, 1990 the elevation to the abbey took place . The first abbot was Michel Van Parys , who had led the community as prior since 1971 . In 1997 Philippe Vanderheyden succeeded him as Abbot of Chevetogne. After he resigned his office on August 6, 2016 for reasons of age, the previous Prior Lambert Vos was entrusted with the management of the monastery for three years as prior administrator .
building
In the middle of the 19th century Charles Delvaux de Fenffe had built his castle-like private house in the neo-renaissance style near Chevetogne . 1903–1923 it was inhabited by the Ligugé monks who had to leave France because of the radical separation between church and state . They built and expanded the castle. After they returned home, the buildings were rented to private individuals. 1932–1938 they were accommodation for Spanish Jesuits who had been expelled in the pre-phase of the Spanish Civil War . The Benedictines, who moved in in 1939, added a church for the Byzantine rite on the south side in 1955–1957 and a church for the Roman rite on the north side in 1981–1988 .
spirituality
The monks of Chevetogne live according to the Benedictine principle “pray and work”. The work includes agriculture, guest care - for individuals and ecumenical conferences - and science - the library contains around 150,000 volumes with a focus on liturgical and religious studies . The prayer takes place as a eucharistic and hour liturgy with the special feature that the Roman and the Byzantine rites are celebrated side by side with equal rights. In this way, monks and guests can become familiar with both and the traditions complement and deepen each other. In addition to building bridges to the United and Orthodox East, Chevetogne maintains close relationships with the Anglican community and the churches of the Lutheran and Reformed tradition.
Personalities
- Nikolaus Egender OSB (* 1923), from 1979 to 1995 Abbot of the Dormition Abbey in Jerusalem
- Michel Van Parys OSB (born July 10, 1942 in Ghent ), prior since 1971 and abbot of Chevetogne from 1991 to 1997, adviser to the Congregation for the Eastern Churches from 1997–2002, and from 2008–2013 papal envoy for the Armenian Mechitarist Congregation of Venice , 2013–2016 Hegumen of the Territorial Abbey of Grottaferrata
Web links
- Online presence of the abbey (German version)