The Word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Canticle 16 The Song of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;*
he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,*
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,

that he would save us from our enemies,*
from the hands of all who hate us.

he promised to show mercy to our fathers*
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham,*
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

Free to worship him without fear,*
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,*
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

To give his people knowledge of salvation*
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God*
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,*
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

The Early Abbots of Cluny 30 April 909

The monastery of Cluny (in France, northwest of Lyons) was a center for the reform and spiritual renewal of Western monasticism in the tenth and eleventh centuries. It was founded in 909 under Abbot Berno, as a reformed monastery, observing the Benedictine Rule with a strictness unusual at the time. Many monasteries in Europe at that time were dominated by a nearby king or nobleman. It was intended that Cluny should be independent of all but papal jurisdiction.

Its second abbot was Odo (born 879 at Tours, monk in 909, abbot in 927, died 18 November 942--one of my sources says 944). He obtained papal and royal charters which guaranteed the monastery freedom from outside interference. Under his guidance Cluny attracted many men seeking to follow its discipline, and Abbot Odo was instrumental in introducing the Cluniac observances into many Italian monasteries as well. He insisted on silence, simplicity of diet, and strict observance of chastity for his monks, but he was not rigid of temperament: many stories survive of his generosity to the poor and to prisoners. Because he had no wordly ambitions, he was often called to mediate disputes between men in power.

The third abbot was Aylward, who held office from 942 to 965. He was blind from 954 on.

Mayeul (or Maieul or Maiolus) was born at Avignon around 906, became a clergyman, was made archdeacon of Macon, and fled to Cluny in order to avoid being made bishop of Besancon. At Cluny, he was made librarian and bursar. When Abbot Aylward became blind, he appointed Maiolus his assistant, and in 965 at the death of Aylward he became abbot. Under his guidance, Cluniac influence expanded, but by example and advice rather than by jurisdiction. Maiolus had the support and admiration of the Emperors Otto I and Otto II, and the latter wanted to make him Pope in 974, but he refused. When old, he chose Odilo as his successor, and retired to contemplation and penance. He died on 11 May 994.

Odilo, the fifth abbot, was born around 962, became a monk as a young man, was made assistant to Mayeul in 991, and became abbot in 994. He held office for 55 years, during which time thirty abbeys accepted Cluny as their mother house, and its practices were adopted by many more which did not affiliate. Thus the Cluniac reform spread through Burgundy, Provence, Auvergne, Poitou, and much of Italy and Spain. The abbot of Cluny appointed priors for the daughter houses, which were thus permanently under a central jurisdiction, making the Cluniac monasteries (or some of them) into the first monastic order in the modern sense. In Abbot Odilo's day, there was a great deal of fighting of minor wars, raids, and skirmishes between feudal lords and others. Odilo reduced the effect of this by persuading the combatants throughout most of France and some other regions to agree that churches and monastic holdings were strictly off limits in fighting, and that there was to be a truce from Fridays to Mondays, as well as throughout all of Advent and Lent, to enable all parties to worship unmolested. Odilo wrote many sermons and poems on the mystery of the Incarnation, and his references to the role of Mary as the means through whom the Incarnation took place greatly influenced Bernard of Clairvaux a century later. Odilo instituted the observance of 2 November as All Souls' Day, a day of prayer at first for the dead brothers of the Abbey and later for all who had died in the faith of Christ. In the years from 1028 to 1033, when crop failures created great hunger among the poor in the vicinity of Cluny, he melted down and sold most of the treasures of Cluny to relieve them. As an abbot, he held both himself and his monks to a strict observance of the Rule, but he said that he would rather be damned for being too merciful than for being too severe. He died in 1049 at the age of 87.

Hugh, the sixth abbot, was born in 1024, the oldest son of a Burgundian nobleman (the count of Semur), entered Cluny when about 16, and became abbot when only 25 years old. He was abbot for 60 years, during which time the number of monastic houses that recognized Cluny as their mother house grew from about 60 to about 2000. It was under his abbacy that the Cluniac reform was introduced into England (at Lewes in Sussex in 1077). He increased the control of the mother house over the daughter houses (at the cost, as some have thought, of a certain flagging in their spiritual enthusiasm). Hugh was an accomplished diplomat sent at various times by nine different popes to conduct delicate negotiotiations in Hungary, Toulouse, Spain, and all over Europe. He mediated between pope and emperor in the confrontation at Canossa, and must be reckoned as one of the most influential figures of his day. He died in 1109.

The seventh abbot, Pons (or Pontius), was a secular-minded, contentious nobleman, unsuited to be an abbot. He took office in 1109, and by 1122 had created such a turmoil and so many factions that the Pope asked him to resign.

The eighth Abbot of Cluny was Peter the Venerable, born in 1092, prior of Vezelay in 1112, and elected abbot of Cluny in 1122. In 1125, when Peter was away, Pons returned with a band of armed men and seized control of the monastery. The Pope intervened and imprisoned Pons, who died in prison the following year. Peter was then involved in a dispute with Bernard of Clairvaux (see 20 August), the spokesman of the Cistercian monasteries, and disposed to view the Cluniac monasteries as in some sense a rival organization, who accused the Cluniac houses of being insufficiently strict in their monastic observances. Peter, instead of replying indignantly, considered the complaints, made some changes where he thought that changes were needed, and ignored the complaints that he considered ill-grounded. In 1140, when Bernard had succeeded in having the views of Abelard condemned (see 21 April), Peter gave Abelard shelter at Cluny, persuaded the Pope to deal mildly with Abelard, and reconciled Abelard and Bernard. He refused to have anything to do with the preaching of the Second Crusade, saying that the moslems should be met, not with armies, but with scholars prepared for rational dialogue. He sponsored the first translation of the Koran into Latin, so that Christian missionaries could understand what the moslems they were about to meet believed. He served as papal envoy to Aquitaine, England, and various states in Italy. He wrote religious tracts, poems, hymns, and many letters, of which about 200 survive. He defended the Jews against persecution and false accusations. He was abbot for thirty-four years, during which time Cluny was the most influential abbey in Europe. He died 25 December 1156, and with his death the golden age of Cluny was over. But it had lasted for well over two centuries, and had done much to advance Western civilization, both in spiritual and in secular terms.

written by James Kiefer

Prayer

O God, by whose grace your servants the Holy Abbots of Cluny, kindled with the flame of your love, became burning and shining lights in your Church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and walk before you as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass
against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Suffrages A

Show us your mercy, O Lord;

And grant us your salvation.

Clothe your ministers with righteousness;

Let your people sing with joy.

Give peace, O Lord, in all the world;

For only in you can we live in safety.

Lord, keep this nation under your care;

And guide us in the way of justice and truth.

Let your way be known upon earth;

Your saving health among all nations.

Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;

Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.

Create in us clean hearts, O God;

And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

Collect of the Day: Sixth Sunday of Pascha

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Peace

O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For Mission

O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh, and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

World Cycle of Prayer

The Press

Ecumenical Cycle of Prayer

We pray for our sisters and brothers, members of the Evangelical Episcopal Church.