The Rule of St Benedict Chapter 52

Of the Oratory of the Monastery

Text

Let the oratory be what it is called; and let nothing be done there or stored there.

Oratorium hoc sit, quod dicitur; nec ibi quidquam aliud geratur, aut condatur.

At the completion of the work of God, let everyone leave in absolute silence, and reverence be paid to God; so that a brother, who perhaps wishes to pray by himself, may not be impeded by another’s wrongdoing.

Expleto opere Dei omnes cum summo silentio exeant, et agatur reverentia Deo; ut frater, qui forte sibi peculariter vult orare, non impediatur alterius improbitate.

But if another perhaps wishes to pray privately, let him go in simply and pray; not in a loud voice, but in tears and exertion of the heart.

Sed si alter vult sibi forte secretius orare, simpliciter intret et oret; non in clamosa voce, sed in lacrimis et intentione cordis.

He who is not occupied in a similar way is not permitted, at the completion of the work of God, to remain in the oratory, as has been said, lest he impede another.

Ergo qui simile opus non facit, non permittatur, expleto opere Dei, remorari in oratorio, sicut dicatum est, ne alius impedimentum patiatur.

The nuns’ choir at St Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, Isle of Wight

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Comment

This chapter is simple – peace and quiet must reign in the oratory. But what is an “oratory”? the word comes from the Latin noun “oratorium” which is defined as a place for speaking or prayer. The verb “oro”, which for us now means to pray, had a wider meaning in St Benedict’s day; in Roman times it also meant to speak (think “oratorical skills”), or plead, or even beg. It is something done by a more humble person towards someone more powerful. And I think that gets to the root of what St Benedict means by “oratory”. It’s a place where we meet God; we, lowly as we are, meet with him in a place set apart for that very purpose. Nothing must disturb that.

The word “oratory” meaning a place of prayer was clearly used by St Benedict in the early centuries of Christianity, and became defined as such in canon law. Many of the early ones were small structures built at the shrines of martyrs but they can be private or public. Often these days, we would use the word chapel instead for these small places, but an oratory does not need to have an altar; it can just be a room set aside for prayer. For example, it is not uncommon for monasteries to use a smaller space such as the Chapter House for the Divine Office, either when the main church is undergoing works or for some other reason.

The monks’ choir at Quarr Abbey, Isle of Wight, with some makeshift barriers to prevent people intruding into the choir/chancel area

If you visit a large cathedral or church, you will usually see the “choir” where the monks sit/sat, is separate from the body of the church. Often there are gates in the aisles on either side to keep the people out of these areas at certain times. These are all means to ensure that nothing disturbs the peace of prayer, even in a large church. The original shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury was in the crypt; the monks prayed in the choir above the crypt, thus keeping the pilgrims away from their space. This kind of thing was very common in the medieval period, reflecting the principles of this chapter.

The steps up to the late medieval shrine of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. To prevent disturbance and control the flow of pilgrims, these steps (and the mirror ones on the other side of the choir) are fitted with iron gates, the edge of which you can see here. They are still used today.

He says that nothing should be done or stored there. Why? The early Desert Fathers often wove mats while reciting the psalms. This was a practice when the monks were effectively hermits and they prayed in their houses. It seems some of those practices transferred to a later time, when prayer was carried out communally in oratories. St Benedict rules out this kind of thing very firmly.

If you ever observe monks or nuns processing out of church, you will see they do this silently and calmly, in order. When they have left, sometimes someone will come back in immediately and settle down to prayer; this is their private time with God.

He also bans loud prayer and what we might call “performative” praying. Prayer is a matter of the heart, not the voice.

Dom Delatte’ sums up this chapter:

St Benedict’s principle object is to preserve recollection, by saving his monks from the noise of much going and coming, and from the din of unnecessary talk. If there be one place in this world where we have a right not to be molested or given over to the mercy of the talkative, it is surely the oratory. It is closed to all who do not intend to pray there, and it is also closed, for the same reasons, to those whose too demonstrative piety might annoy their brethren.

One of the things I find very wearing in churches is people talking before and after Mass. They turn their backs on the Blessed Sacrament, they chat and discuss things, even in groups! It’s always and everywhere inappropriate and unacceptable. Time spent in the church is not about us, it’s about God, and we should always remember that.

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