Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to
religious brothers, particularly in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from
choir monks or
friars in that they did not pray in choir, and from
clerics, in that they were not in possession of (or preparing for)
holy orders
In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...
.
In female
religious institutes, the equivalent role is the lay sister. Lay brothers were originally created to allow those who were skilled in particular crafts or did not have the required education to study for
holy orders
In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...
to participate in and contribute to the life of a
religious order
A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their Organizational founder, ...
.
History
“In early Western
monasticism
Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Chr ...
, there was no distinction between lay and choir religious. The majority of
St. Benedict's monks were not clerics, and all performed manual labour, the word ''conversi'' being used only to designate those who had received the habit late in life, to distinguish them from the ''
oblati'' and ''nutriti''. But, by the beginning of the 11th century, the time devoted to study had greatly increased, thus a larger proportion of the monks were in
Holy Orders
In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...
, even though great numbers of illiterate persons had embraced the religious life. At the same time, it was found necessary to regulate the position of the ''famuli'', the hired servants of the monastery, and to include some of these in the monastic family. So in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
the lay brothers were instituted; and we find similar attempts at organization at the
Abbey of St. Benignus at
Dijon, under
William of Dijon (d. 1031) and
Richard of Verdun (d. 1046), while at
Hirschau Abbey,
Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
William
William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
(d. 1091) gave a special rule to the ''fratres barbati'' and ''exteriores''.”
“At
Cluny Abbey the manual work was relegated mostly to paid servants, but the
Carthusians, the
Cistercians
The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
, the
Order of Grandmont, and most subsequent religious orders possessed lay Brothers, to whom they committed their secular cares. In particular, at
Grandmont, the complete control of the order's property by the lay brothers led to serious disturbances, and finally to the ruin of the order; whereas the wiser regulations of the Cistercians provided against this danger and formed the model for the later orders. In England, the
Benedictines
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
made but slight use of lay brothers, finding the service of paid attendants more convenient.” Nonetheless, they are “mentioned in the
customaries of the
Abbey of St. Augustine at
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
and the
Abbey of St. Peter at Westminster.”
In 1965, the
Second Vatican Council issued the document ''
Perfectae Caritatis'', which called upon all religious institutes to re-examine and renew their
charism. As part of the subsequent reforms and experimentation, many of the distinctions between lay and choir religious in terms of dress and spiritual regimen were abolished or mitigated. In many religious institutes, lay and choir religious wear the same habit.
Life as a lay brother
Lay brothers were found in many religious orders. Drawn from the working classes, they were pious and hardworking people, who though unable to achieve the education needed to receive
holy orders
In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...
, were still drawn to religious life and were able to contribute to the order through their skills. Some were skilled in artistic handicrafts, others functioned as administrators of the orders' material assets. In particular, the lay brothers of the Cistercians were skilled in agriculture, and have been credited for the tilling of fertile farmland.
Lay brothers were sometimes distinguished from their brethren by some difference in their
habit: for instance, the Cistercian lay brother previously wore a brown
tunic
A tunic is a garment for the torso, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the ankles. It might have arm-sleeves, either short or full-length. Most forms have no fastenings. The name deri ...
, instead of white, with the black
scapular; in
choir
A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
they wore a large cloak, instead of a
cowl; the
Vallombrosan lay brothers wore a cap instead of a hood, and their habit was shorter; the English Benedictine lay brothers wore a hood of a different shape from that of the choir monks, and no cowl; a
Dominican lay brother would wear a black, instead of a white, scapular. In some orders they were required to recite daily the
Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but usually their labor in the fields (and hence away from the church) prevented them from participating in the Liturgy of the Hours. Lay brothers would instead pray
Paters,
Aves, and
Glorias.
Lay sisters
Lay sisters were found in most of the orders of women, and their origin, like that of the lay brothers, is to be found in the necessity of providing the choir
nuns with more time for the Office and study, as well as creating the opportunity for the illiterate to join the religious life. They, too, wore a habit different from those of the choir sisters, and their required daily prayers consisted of prayers such as the Little Office or a certain number of Paters.
The system of lay sisters seem to have appeared earlier than that of lay brothers, being first recorded in a ninth century
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...
of
Saint Denis. In the early medieval period, there was also mention of lay brothers attached to convents of women and of lay sisters attached to monasteries. In both configurations, the two sexes were strictly kept separate, housed in distinct buildings. This arrangement, however, has since been long abolished.
See also
*
Orthodox brotherhood
*
Christian monasticism
*
Oblate
References
Further reading
*''Blessed Ambiguity: Brothers in the Church''. Michael F. Meister, F.S.C., ed. Landover: Christian Brothers, 1993.
*''Medieval Monasticism: Forms of Religious Life In Western Europe In The Middle Ages.'' C.H. Lawrence. London: Longman, 1984.
*''Who Are My Brothers?: Cleric-Lay Relationships in Men's Religious Communities.'' Philip Armstrong, C.S.C., ed. New York: Society of St. Paul, 1988.
External links
Religious Brothers Conference
{{Authority control