February 13 - Return to Christ

February 13 – Return to Christ

It certainly didn’t take long for the church to go from being a persecuted group of faithful Christians to selfish, greedy people who used their church to gain power and wealth. As much as the early church saw the error of the ways of the Israelites, they became much like them as they ignored the true calling of Christ and became one more cog in the wicked ways of the world.

William, Duke of Aquitaine (France) saw this happening and offered to set up a monastery in Cluny. It would be independent. Many of the monasteries of this time were controlled by land owners. William set this one up and then gave the power back to the Abbott and to the church. He kept his hands off and by doing so, enabled the monastery to actually grow. They followed Benedict’s rule – poverty, chastity and obedience. They succeeded because of their commitment to Christ – not to themselves.

From Cluny, other monasteries grew up in Europe – in France, Italy and Germany. Monasteries already in existence sent people to learn how to fix the problems that were occurring. It became a leader among the monasteries and built a massive church – the largest in the West. At one point, it may have led as many as 2000 monasteries.

The monks coming from this order spread throughout the kingdoms reforming the church. The priesthood of the church transformed as these monks moved into position as bishops. No longer was the priesthood purchased and no longer were concubines and wives allowed to the priests.

Another of the outgrowths, though of Cluny, was Christian chivalry among the knights. Cluny declared that from Thursday night to Monday morning, there could be no battles. While stopping many interior struggles among the noblemen, it didn’t stop battling between Christians and non-Christians, or infidels.

Cluny stood as a bulwark of piety in Europe for several centuries, offering a return to true Christianity.