Who Runs a Monastery? Somebody Elected for Life

The position combines two things that are usually separated, namely spiritual direction of a community and the management of a substantial organisation. On the spiritual side the holder is responsible for the observance of the rule, for admitting and training new members, for correcting failings and for the individual progress of every person in the house. On the practical side the same person runs an institution that may own extensive estates, employ hundreds of people, conduct litigation, manage buildings and owe obligations to a bishop, a king or an order. The Benedictine rule treats the role as that of a father to a household, which is where the name comes from, and requires the community to obey while requiring the holder to consult it.

Selection follows rules set out in the governing documents:

• •Election by the members of the community themselves
• •Appointment for life in most traditions, though resignation is possible
• •Confirmation by a bishop, a superior or the order
• •A blessing ceremony conferring the office formally
• •Insignia including a ring, a staff and in some cases a mitre
• •Removal only for serious cause and through a defined process

Monastic houses accumulated land continuously through gifts from people seeking prayers for their souls, and because a corporation never dies, that land was never divided by inheritance and never sold, so holdings grew over centuries. The largest houses became major landowners, controlling estates across whole counties, running markets and mills, employing large numbers and drawing substantial revenues. Their heads sat in parliaments and councils, advised kings and conducted diplomacy. Several held the rank of a bishop for ceremonial purposes without being one. That wealth and independence made the institutions a target whenever a ruler needed money, which is what happened across England in the 1530s and across Europe repeatedly afterwards.

A large house was run by a hierarchy of officers, and the titles survive in words that have drifted into ordinary English. The prior or deputy ran the house day to day and acted in the head's absence, and a priory was a house headed by one rather than by a full superior. The cellarer managed supplies, stores and estates and was effectively the finance officer. The sacrist cared for the church, its vessels, its books and its clock. The almoner distributed charity. The infirmarer ran the sick house. The novice master trained entrants. The precentor directed the singing and frequently kept the library and the records, which is why so many chronicles were written by whoever held that post.

The role continues and has changed substantially in scale and in emphasis. Communities are far smaller, with many houses holding a dozen members or fewer and struggling to recruit, so the administrative burden falls on a person who may also be doing everything else. Terms of years have replaced appointment for life in a number of orders, on the reasoning that a fixed term allows renewal and reduces the damage a poor choice causes. Several communities of women have heads holding equivalent authority under a different title. The estates are gone almost everywhere, and the practical work now concerns running guest accommodation, maintaining listed buildings, and managing whatever enterprise supports the house.

The head of a monastic community directs it spiritually and runs it as an institution, elected by the members and traditionally holding office for life. Continuous gifts to a corporation that never dies made the largest houses major landowners whose heads advised kings and sat in parliaments. That wealth made them a target for rulers needing money. Communities are now small, and many orders have replaced life tenure with fixed terms.