Abbot election among the Benedictines

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The choice of abbot (s) , the election of the head of a monastery , is described in chapter 64 of the Rule of Benedict . According to this (after the death or resignation of the previous abbot ) the most suitable person ( idoneity ) from the circle of monks should be unanimously chosen as abbot . The sanior pars , the “smaller part of the monks with the better understanding” sometimes played a special role. Should an abbot prove to be unworthy, the diocesan bishop , neighboring abbots or lay people have the duty to take action against him. I.a. medieval canons , e.g. B. the Triburer Synodal Resolutions of 895 , repeated these provisions.

Abbots are elected by their community by secret ballot. While in the past abbots were generally elected for life, there is now a trend towards a clearly defined term of office , for example six or twelve years. The requirements for a monk with passive voting rights to be elected abbot are specified in the constitutions of the respective congregation or order . Such conditions can e.g. B. be a minimum age or a certain number of years that must have elapsed since the solemn profession .

Case studies

In the 10th and 11th centuries (up to the investiture controversy ), the so-called Ottonian-Salic imperial church provided the framework for the availability of episcopal churches and imperial abbeys in royal politics. This environment naturally also influenced the elections for abbots, as the German ruler granted the imperial monasteries the right of free (canonical) elections for immunity and protection of kings in his privileges . Due to the Benedictine Rule and the resulting search for the most capable, the intervention of the king played a special role. The ruler usually confirmed the new abbot after the election by the monks and invested him, whereby the transfer of the monastery (the abbatia) was made by the king, so the abbot was placed at the head of the spiritual community. Sometimes the ruler only confirmed the abbot after a long period of reflection, sometimes the king did not agree with the chosen person at all. It could happen that the ruler appointed a candidate from outside the monastery as the new abbot, which sometimes provoked resistance from the monks. After the investiture , the abbot was consecrated in any case.

Within the Ottonian-Salian imperial church there was a give and take insofar as the abbot invested by the king and the monastery subordinate to him had to provide services for the ruler. These services fall under the concept of the servitium regis , the "royal service" and included: the prayer for the king and his family, lodging and catering for the king and his entourage, trips of the abbot to royal court days , obligation of the monastery to serve the army .

literature

  • Herkommer, Lotte: Investigations into the succession of abbots among the Ottonians in south-west Germany (= publications by the Commission for historical regional studies in Baden-Württemberg B 75) , Stuttgart 1973
  • Regula Benedicti. The Rule of Benedict, Latin / German . Edited on behalf of the Salzburg Abbots' Conference . Beuroner Kunstverlag, Beuron 3rd edition 2001, ISBN 3-87071-061-6
  • The Rule of St. Benedict , ed. on behalf of the Salzburg Abbots' Conference, Beuroner Kunstverlag, Beuron 3rd edition 2011, ISBN 978-3-87071-142-9