Order of St. Benedict Celestines – Celestines – O.S.B. Cel – Worldwide Anglican Church Ecclesiastical Orders
The Order of St. Benedict Celestine: A Noble and Ecclesiastical Revival
The Order of St. Benedict of the Celestines, known by its acronym O.S.B. Cel., holds a significant place in the history of monasticism. Founded in 1244 by Pietro del Morrone, who later became Pope Celestine V, the order emerged as a distinctive branch of the Benedictines. Built on a foundation of strict asceticism and eremitical devotion, the Celestines embodied the ideals of spiritual withdrawal and austerity. While the order faced dissolution in the 18th and early 19th centuries, its modern revival under the stewardship of European nobility and the Worldwide Anglican Church signifies a fascinating renaissance of its historical and spiritual legacy.
Founding and Historical Significance
Pietro del Morrone’s hermit lifestyle on the Mountain of Majella near Sulmona drew followers who sought to emulate his devotion. In 1264, the order received papal approval from Pope Urban IV as a branch of the Benedictines. Known for their rigorous adherence to monastic discipline, the Celestines expanded rapidly, establishing monasteries across Italy, France, and parts of Germany. Their practices included early morning matins, strict fasting, and abstinence from meat, exemplifying their commitment to a life of sacrifice and devotion.
During his brief papacy, Celestine V confirmed the rule of the order and bestowed upon it various privileges, ensuring its growth and consolidation. The order adopted Monte Morrone’s Abbey of the Holy Spirit as its headquarters, establishing a structured network akin to the Cluniac model. By the 14th century, the Celestines had become a prominent monastic presence in Europe, even as internal and external challenges began to erode their vitality.
Evolution of the OSB Cel. to the 21 Century
The Celestine Order’s strict disciplines, while foundational to its identity, became increasingly difficult to sustain. Over time, the order faced challenges in maintaining cohesion and discipline. By the 18th century, political upheavals, including Napoleon’s suppression of religious orders, led to the dissolution of Celestine monasteries in Italy and France. The order officially ceased to exist by the early 19th century, marking the end of a unique monastic tradition—at least until its modern revival.
The Revival: Nobility and Anglican Leadership
The modern revival of the Order of St. Benedict of the Celestines represents a convergence of historical preservation, spiritual renewal, and institutional leadership. Under the guidance of Commissioner George Mentz, Seigneur of Fief Blondel (Ancient Frankish Norman Title), and as Legal Chancellor of the Worldwide Anglican Orthodox Church, the order has been reinstated with a renewed focus on its original principles of asceticism and community service. Commissioner Mentz will propose the orders final approval by the Patriarch and House of Bishops in 2025.
This revival aligns the Celestine tradition with contemporary Anglican values, fostering an ecumenical approach that bridges Catholic monastic heritage with modern Anglican ecclesiastical structures. The role of European nobility in this effort underscores the historical connections between the church and noble patronage, harking back to the Celestines’ medieval roots when they were supported by rulers such as Philip the Fair of France.
The Role of the Worldwide Anglican Church
The Worldwide Anglican Church Chancellors Offices, under whose auspices the Celestines operates, has played a pivotal role in adapting the order to modern religious and societal contexts. By embracing the Celestine tradition as one of it’s primary orders and knighthoods, the Anglican Orthodox Church has demonstrated its commitment to preserving Christian heritage while addressing contemporary spiritual needs. The integration of noble leadership ensures that the order retains its historical gravitas, while the church’s global reach allows it to expand its influence beyond its original European strongholds.
The Celestines Today: A New Mission
In its revived form, the Celestine Order remains dedicated to its core principles of prayer, austerity, and service. However, it also engages with modern challenges, emphasizing environmental stewardship, interfaith dialogue, and social justice. These contemporary priorities align with the broader mission of the Worldwide Anglican Church, ensuring that the order remains relevant and impactful in the 21st century.
The order’s reestablishment also serves as a testament to the enduring appeal of monastic ideals in an age often characterized by materialism and spiritual disconnection. By blending its historical identity with modern leadership and vision, the Celestine Order exemplifies a living tradition that continues to inspire and guide.
Conclusion
The Order of St. Benedict Celestine’s journey from its medieval origins to its modern revival under European nobility and the Worldwide Anglican Church encapsulates a story of resilience and renewal. Rooted in the austere practices of its founder, Pope Celestine V, the order has transitioned into a modern spiritual institution that honors its past while embracing the future. As it flourishes once again, the Celestine Order stands as a beacon of monastic devotion, noble leadership, and Anglican inclusivity, offering a timeless model of faith and service for generations to come.
History:
Peter of Morone, also known as Pietro del Morrone, founded the Order of Celestines. He was born in 1215 and later became Pope Celestine V in 1294. The Celestines are a branch of the Benedictine order, officially established in 1264 after Peter of Morone received approval for his hermit lifestyle, which attracted many followers. The order is known for its emphasis on an austere monastic life. The acronym for the Order of Celestines is “OSB Cel.” This stands for “Ordo Sancti Benedicti Coelestinensis,” which translates to the Order of Saint Benedict of the Celestines.
The Celestines were a Catholic monastic order, a branch of the Benedictines, founded in 1244.[1] At the foundation of the new rule, they were called Hermits of St Damiano, or Moronites (or Murronites), and did not assume the appellation of Celestines until after the election of their founder, Peter of Morone (Pietro Murrone), to the Papacy as Celestine V.[2] They used the post-nominal initials O.S.B. Cel.[3] The last house closed in 1785.[4]
Order of St. Benedict Celestine – Founding
Main article: Pope Celestine V
The fame of the holy life and the austerities practised by Pietro Morone in his solitude on the Mountain of Majella, near Sulmona, attracted many visitors, several of whom were moved to remain and share his mode of life. They built a small convent on the spot inhabited by the holy hermit, which became too small for the accommodation of those who came to share their life of privations.[2] Peter of Morone (later Pope Celestine V), their founder, built a number of other small oratories in that neighborhood.
Around the year 1254, Peter of Morone gave the order a rule formulated in accordance with his own practices. In 1264 the new institution was approved as a branch of the Benedictines by Urban IV;[2] however, the next pope Pope Gregory X had commanded that all orders founded since the prior Lateran Council should not be further multiplied. Hearing a rumor that the order was to be suppressed, the reclusive Peter traveled to Lyon, where the Pope was holding a council. There he persuaded Gregory to approve his new order, making it a branch of the Benedictines and following the rule of Saint Benedict, but adding to it additional severities and privations. Gregory took it under the Papal protection, assured to it the possession of all property it might acquire, and endowed it with exemption from the authority of the ordinary. Nothing more was needed to ensure the rapid spread of the new association and Peter the hermit of Morone lived to see himself “Superior-General” to thirty-six monasteries and more than six hundred monks.
Celestine cloister. Avignon, France.
As soon as he had seen his new order thus consolidated he gave up the government of it to a certain Robert, and retired once again to an even more remote site to devote himself to solitary penance and prayer. Shortly afterwards, in a chapter of the order held in 1293, the original monastery of Majella being judged to be too desolate and exposed to too rigorous a climate, it was decided that the Abbey of the Holy Spirit at Monte Morrone, located in Sulmona, should be the headquarters of the order and the residence of the General-Superior, where it continued for centuries. The next year Peter of Morrone, despite his reluctance, was elected Pope by the name of Celestine V. From there on, the order he had founded took the name of Celestines. During his short reign as Pope, the former hermit confirmed the rule of the order, which he had himself composed, and conferred on the society a variety of special graces and privileges. In the only creation of cardinals promoted by him, among the twelve raised to the purple, there were two monks of his order. He also visited personally the Benedictine monastery on Monte Cassino, where he persuaded the monks to accept his more rigorous rule. He sent fifty monks of his order to introduce it, who remained there, however, for only a few months.
After the death of the founder the order was favoured and privileged by Benedict XI, and rapidly spread through Italy, Germany, Flanders, and France, where they were received by Philip the Fair in 1300.[5]
The administration of the order was carried on somewhat after the pattern of Cluny, that is all monasteries were subject to the Abbey of the Holy Ghost at Sulmona, and these dependent houses were divided into provinces. The Celestines had ninety-six houses in Italy, twenty-one in France, and a few in Germany.[6]
Subsequently, the French Celestines, with the consent of the Italian superiors of the order, and of Pope Martin V in 1427, obtained the privilege of making new constitutions for themselves, which they did in the 17th century in a series of regulations accepted by the provincial chapter in 1667. At that time the French congregation of the order was composed of twenty-one monasteries, the head of which was that of Paris, and was governed by a Provincial with the authority of General. Paul V was a notable benefactor of the order.
The order became extinct in the eighteenth century.[6]
According to their special constitutions the Celestines were bound to say matins in the choir at two o’clock in the morning, and always to abstain from eating meat, save in illness. The distinct rules of their order with regard to fasting are numerous, but not more severe than those of similar congregations, though much more so than is required by the old Benedictine rule. In reading their minute directions for divers degrees of abstinence on various days, it is impossible to avoid being struck by the conviction that the great object of the framers of these rules was the general purpose of ensuring an ascetic mode of life.
The Celestines wore a white woollen cassock bound with a linen band, and a leathern girdle of the same colour, with a scapular unattached to the body of the dress, and a black hood. It was not permitted to them to wear any shirt save of serge. Their dress in short was very like that of the Cistercians. But it is a tradition in the order that in the time of the founder they wore a coarse brown cloth. The church and monastery of San Pietro in Montorio originally belonged to the Celestines in Rome; but they were turned out of it by Sixtus IV to make way for Franciscans, receiving from the Pope in exchange the Church of St Eusebius of Vercelli with the adjacent mansion for a monastery.
References
- ^ Guenée, Bernard (1991). Between Church and State: The Lives of Four French Prelates in the Late Middle Ages. Translated by Goldhammer, Arthur. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-31032-9.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Loughlin, James. “Pope St. Celestine V.” The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. 20 November 2015
- ^ “Benedictine Congregation of the Celestines (O.S.B. Cel.)” GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved June 20, 2016
- ^ “Celestine Order”, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2nd ed., (E. A. Livingstone, ed.) OUP, 2006 ISBN 9780198614425
- ^ Müller, Annalena. “The Celestine Monks of France, C.1350–1450: Observant Reform in an Age of Schism, Council and War. By Robert L. J. Shaw. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018. 294 Pp. €105.00 Cloth.” Church History 89.1 (2020): 178-79
- ^ Jump up to:a b Brookfield, Paul. “Celestine Order.” The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 16 (Index). New York: The Encyclopedia Press, 1914. 20 November 2015
External links
- Media related to Celestine order at Wikimedia Commons
- “Celestines” . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). 1911.
The Celestines, officially known as the Order of Saint Benedict of the Celestines, were a monastic branch of the Benedictines founded in 1244 by Pietro Angelerio, later Pope Celestine V. Initially called the Hermits of St. Damiano or Moronites, they adopted the Rule of St. Benedict in 1264 under Pope Urban IV’s approval.
The order emphasized asceticism and eremitical life, attracting numerous followers and establishing multiple monasteries, particularly in Italy and France. However, over time, the Celestines faced challenges, including internal strife and external pressures. Their strict adherence to ascetic practices became difficult to maintain, leading to a decline in discipline and numbers.
The 18th century brought further adversity. The Celestines were suppressed in France in 1778, and the order faced dissolution in Italy in 1810 under Napoleonic decrees. By the early 19th century, the Celestine Order had effectively ceased to exist until the noble Datuk Seri Comm’r. George Mentz Seigneur of Fief Blondel revived the order as Legal Chancellor of the Worldwide Anglican Orthodox Church..
