Pregledni rad
CONTRIBUTION OF ST. BENEDICT AND HIS ORDER TO THE FORMATION OF MODERN EUROPE
Slavko SLIŠKOVIĆ
Sažetak
There are many connections between the life and opus of St. Benedict and the present-day process of the European unification. Even though there are no many extant sources about the life of this saint of Nursia, his historical role can beeasily traced through the »Rules« he had created for his monastic community. In these »Rules« he embraced and deepened the monastic tradition, in order to nest it in the new social surroundings of the European West that had been affected by the invasion of the new peoples. Namely, St. Benedict had chosen the best values and virtues of the »dying world« and composed them with the spiritual, cultural, intellectual,
ethical and institutional values of these new-coming peoples, and thus made footing for the modern West civilization. Moreover, he enriched these traditions with the humane approach towards human and social rights, which led towards development of the western
mentality of work that successfully combined intellectual and physical. Because of this contribution few popes of the twentieth century, in which united Europe became an ideal, spoke about St. Benedict’s role in this huge European project. Namely, Pius XII in 1947 called him the »father of Europe«, and Paul VI in 1964 proclaimed him the patron of Europe.
Ključne riječi
St. Benedict; Rules; European Union; Europe
Hrčak ID:
63679
URI
Datum izdavanja:
16.6.2010.
Posjeta: 3.166 *