English Benedictine Congregation
The English Benedictine Congregation (abbr. EBC) unites autonomous Roman Catholic Benedictine communities of monks and nuns and is technically among the oldest of the 18 congregations that are affiliated in the Benedictine Confederation (the oldest being the Camaldolese).
History and administration
Although the EBC claims technical canonical continuity with the congregation erected by the Holy See in 1216, that earlier English Congregation was destroyed at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1535-40. The present English Congregation was revived and restored by Rome in 1607-33 when numbers of Englishmen and Welshmen had become monks in continental European monasteries and were coming to England as missioners.
At the beginning of the 21st century the EBC has Houses in the United Kingdom, the United States, South America and Africa.
Every four years the General Chapter of the EBC elects an Abbot President from among the Ruling Abbots with jurisdiction, and those who have been Ruling Abbots. He is assisted by a number of officials. Periodically he undertakes a Visitation of the individual Houses. The purpose of the Visitation is the preservation, strengthening and renewal of the religious life, including the laws of the Church and the Constitutions of the congregation. The President may require by Acts of Visitation, that particular points in the Rule, the Constitutions and the law of the Church be observed.
The current Abbot President is the Right Reverend Dom Richard Yeo, former Abbot of Downside Abbey.
Houses of the English Benedictine Congregation
Houses of the Congregation in exile
| Religious house in Europe | Location | Dates | Successor house in England |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Gregory's Priory, Douai | Douai, Netherlands | 1607–1798 | Downside Abbey |
| Dieulouard Priory | France | 1608–1798 | Ampleforth Abbey |
| St. Malo Priory | St. Malo, Brittany | 1610 approx. -late 17th century | n/a |
| St. Edmund's Priory, Paris; later St. Edmund's Abbey, Douai | Paris | 1615-1798 (Paris); 1818-1903 (Douai) | Douai Abbey, Woolhampton |
| Cambrai Priory | Cambrai, Flanders | 1625–1794 | Stanbrook Abbey |
| Our Lady of Good Hope Priory, Paris | Paris | 1651–1794 | Colwich Abbey |
| Lamspringe Abbey | Lamspringe, Lower Saxony | 1630–1803 | Broadway Priory, 1826–34; Fort Augustus Abbey, 1886–1998 |
Houses of the present Congregation
United Kingdom:
- Ampleforth Abbey, fdd 1608 at Dieulouard
- Belmont Abbey, fdd 1859
- Buckfast Abbey, fdd 1882
- Colwich Abbey (nuns), fdd 1651 in Paris
- Curzon Park Abbey (nuns), fdd 1868
- Douai Abbey, fdd 1615 in Paris
- Downside Abbey, fdd 1607 in Douai
- Ealing Abbey, fdd 1897
- Stanbrook Abbey (nuns) fdd 1625 in Cambrai
- Worth Abbey, fdd 1933
United States:
- Portsmouth Abbey, fdd 1918
- Saint Louis Abbey, fdd 1955
- Saint Anselm's Abbey, fdd 1923
Zimbabwe
- Monastery of Christ the Word, fdd 1996
Peru
- Priory of the Incarnation
Notes
Sources
- Website of the EBC
- History of the EBC
- Religiosus Ordo, The Apostolic Letter of Pope Leo XIII of 12 November 1889, concerning the modification of the government and discipline of the EBC(with an outline of the EBC history since the 16th century)
- The Benedictine Yearbook 2005
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