Taizé Community

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Prayer in the Church of Reconciliation at Taizé
Prayer in the Church of Reconciliation at Taizé

The Taizé Community is an ecumenical Christian men's monastic order in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France.

Contents

[edit] Community

The community was founded in 1940 by Frère Roger (Brother Roger), who remained its leader until his death on August 16, 2005. The ecumenical community is made up of more than a hundred men from many nations representing Protestant and Roman Catholic branches of Christianity. Life in the community focuses on prayer and Christian meditation. Young people from all over the world visit Taizé each week to join in the community life.

The community, though Western European in origin, seeks to welcome people and traditions from across the globe. This internationalism is reflected by the music and prayers where songs are sung in many languages and increasingly include chants and icons from the Eastern Orthodox tradition.

At the heart of Taizé there is a passion for the Church. That is why the community has never wanted to create a “movement” or organisation centered on itself, but rather to send the young back from the youth meetings to their local Church, to their parish, group or community, to undertake, with many others, a “pilgrimage of trust on earth.” In many places across the world, ecumenical prayers using music from Taizé are organised by people, young and old, who have been in touch with the community. These times of prayer are very varied and are integrated in appropriate ways into the life of the local Church. The community's website provides reflections, prayers, songs and news of the “pilgrimage of trust on earth”.

Since Brother Roger's death in 2005, the prior of the community is Brother Alois, a German Roman Catholic, who was appointed by Brother Roger to be his successor eight years earlier.

[edit] Meetings

Small discussion groups
Small discussion groups

Since the late 1950s, the Taizé community has become an important destination for Christian pilgrimage with the number of visitors nowadays ranging from a few hundred to several thousand (during summer vacations), the week of Easter being an exception with a peak of more than 10,000 people. The weekly international youth meetings (primarily for young adults between 17 and 30 years of age) are the community's priority.

The schedule of a typical day in the youth meetings:[1]

  • Morning prayer
  • Breakfast
  • Large group Bible study led by one of the brothers
  • Small group discussions
  • Noon prayer
  • Lunch
  • Optional song practice
  • Practical tasks
  • Theme workshops
  • Dinner
  • Evening prayer

The evening prayer is recorded every Saturday and broadcast, also online, at 22h (Central European time) by the German radio station Domradio.[2]

[edit] New Year European Meetings

The Community also organizes New Year Meetings, which usually take place in a large European city, from 28 December to 1 January. Every year, tens of thousands of young adults take part in these meetings, and they are received by parishes and families of the host city.

The service appeals to those who like deep spiritual prayer and meditation.

[edit] List of host cities

[edit] Music

Taizé has spawned a unique style of worship music that reflects the meditative nature of the community. Taizé music emphasizes simple phrases, usually lines from Psalms or other pieces of Scripture, repeated and sometimes also sung in canon. The repetition is intended to aid meditation and prayer.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Meetings in Taizé – from the community's web page
  2. ^ Domradio programme
  3. ^ Prayer and song – from the community's web page

[edit] External links

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Coordinates: 46°30′49″N, 4°40′37″E

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