abbey

The Latin word abbatia came to our language What abbey. The concept, in the first sense collected by the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE), refers to the office of the abbot or abbess.

By extension, an abbey is a region under the jurisdiction of the abbot and the church where it develops its functions. At present, the most common use of the term is associated with edifice of these temples.

It is important to note that the abbot is the religious who occupies the highest place in the structure of a monastery (the abbey). The abbot is considered the spiritual father of the group of monks who are part of the abbey in question.

In the first monastic-type communities, there was a common center that was surrounded by various constructions. In that center lived someone recognized for his asceticism or his holiness. Over the years, this almost spontaneous structure began to acquire more formality, with disciples congregating around the site where their spirit guide was retiring. In this way, the religious communities that led to the abbeys began to develop.

This person who congregated so many people around his house used to carry a hermit lifestyle, that is, away from the rest of society. On the other hand, they also stood out for following practices and norms that would guide them towards the achievement of virtue and the liberation of the spirit. Precisely, it was not in them the need to organize these communities in a formal way, but this arose over time and they had to adapt.

Although the term abbey is usually associated with Christianity, it is important to note that these types of communities did not appear for the first time in the context of this religion; For example, already in Judea there had been essenes (a Jewish movement whose emergence is estimated around 250 BC and lasted until the first century, according to various evidences), and in Egypt, the therapeutae (a order monastic type that was established a short distance from Alexandria, next to Lake Mareotis).

The Westminster abbey, located in London (England), is one of the most famous in the world. He had his consecration in 1065 and is part of the list of World Heritage who manages the UNESCO. Since 1066 henceforth, most of the English kings were crowned in this abbey.

The Cluny Abbey, which is also known as Clungy or Cluni, is located in France, in the current municipality namesake and its foundation took place at the end of the 1st century. Pope Sergius III was the authority of this abbey, in which Abbot Bernón de Baume lived. In the year 1790, a group of revolutionaries looted it and left it in ruins, and that is why at present we cannot fully appreciate it.

The Montecasino Abbey, for its part, belongs to the order of Saint Benedict and is located south of Rome, Italy, on a rocky hill that measures approximately 520 meters high. The fact that makes it so important is that Benedict of Nursia, considered nothing less the forerunner of western monastic life, destined this point for the establishment of the first monastery, and there the Benedictine order arose. In addition, in this abbey many confrontations were fought in the last stage of the Second World War.

The Lagrasse Abbey It belongs to the Benedictine order and is located in the homonymous French town, next to the Orbieu River. It was founded in the 7th century and it is one of the oldest on the European continent. Thanks to the privileges and donations that various lords gave it, such as castles and lands, this abbey enjoyed in a short time great riches.