Scholastica was abbess over female Benedictines, who also
lived by the Rule.• The system of governance for the monastery outlined by Benedict
is widely admired for its careful checks and balances.
o The abbot is elected by the monks and serves for life or until
he retires; monks are to be obedient to the abbot, but the abbot
also is to be obedient to the Rule.
o The abbot is not only checked from tyrannical behavior by the
Rule but must also consult with the chapter of monks and get
their counsel on important decisions. The monks can appeal
to the abbots of other monasteries should their abbot prove
tyrannical. Indeed, monasteries have regular outside visitations
to check on the state of the community as a whole.o The abbot appoints a prior and subprior as administrators, and
the Rule specifies a number of important positions that are
filled by capable monks appointed by the abbot: porter, novice
master, cellarer, and perhaps most significant, guest master.
Benedictines make hospitality the most important expression
of Christ’s love, especially the welcoming of the poor, who
“are to be received as Christ.”• The “school of the Lord’s service” is organized according to the
broad categories of work (labora) and prayer (ora).
o Work involves all the tasks required of the common life
(cooking, washing, tailoring, baking, receiving guests), as well
as the tasks of supporting the community through farming and
herding. Work is as essential as prayer: The cellarer is to regard
the implements for work as though they were “the vessels of
the altar.”
o In some monasteries, especially at founding or in difficult
circumstances, all the monks performed manual labor. In better
established monasteries, where division of labor was possible,
the “choir monks” devoted themselves to the full life of prayer