Benedictine monasticism and the canonical obligation of common life

The 1983 Code of Canon Law, like previous church legislation, obliges members of religious institutes to observe common life. This dissertation is a study of that obligation from the perspective of one form of religious institute---Benedictine monasticism. The first two chapters of the dissertation examine common life according to the Benedictine patrimony and the final two chapters according to developments in ecclesiastical law as they relate to monasticism.; Chapter 1 focuses on common life according to the sixth-century Rule of Benedict, particularly as a synthesis of and divergence from pre-Benedict Christian monasticism.; Chapter 2 examines three "moments" and three "movements" in monastic common life from the sixth to the twentieth centuries. The moments are: (1) the period of regula mixta in the centuries immediately following the death of Benedict; (2) the Carolingian period, including the influence of Benedict of Aniane; and (3) the height of Cluniac monasticism from the tenth through twelfth centuries. The movements are: (1) clericalization of men's monasteries; (2) strict enclosure of women's monasteries; and (3) widespread engagement in apostolic works on the part of Benedictine monks and nuns.; Chapter 3 surveys church legislation on monastic common life chronologically from the Council of Chalcedon (451) to Vatican Council I (1870).; Chapter 4 examines twentieth-century canonical developments regarding common life. The chapter contains five sections: (1) monasticism and common life according to the 1917 Code of Canon Law; (2) Pope Pius XII's call for accommodata renovatio of religious life; (3) common life according to the documents of Vatican Council II, especially Perfectae caritatis; (4) monasticism and common life in the code revision process and the 1983 Code of Canon Law; and (5) common life in four post-conciliar church documents.; The general conclusion identifies contemporary questions and issues regarding common life within Benedictine monasteries, including the question of what it means that Benedictines have both a canonical obligation and right to common life.