A Tale of Two Monasteries - Part I: Origins

I was fortunate that when I lived in South Carolina there were two monasteries close by where one could take a retreat and get away from it all. These monasteries are Mepkin Abbey, in Moncks Corner SC, and the Abbey of the Holy Spirit, in Conyers GA.

The interesting thing to me is that, while they both were descendants of the same monastery in Kentucky, the approaches (at least when it comes to retreats) are quite different. Both, however, offer a rewarding experience that refreshes the mind, body, and soul. So, in a 4 part series beginning with this post, I hope to offer you a glimpse of retreat life, and hopefully inspire you to seek out a monastery for a retreat of your own.

First and foremost, when you take a retreat at a monastery, you are taking yourself out of the world. There is no TV, no phone (leave your cellphone behind!), no computers. and while you do interact with others, this is really about you and God. Anyone can take a weekend retreat, which is what I did.

Gethsemani

The Cistercians began as a monastic order in 1098, when the first Cistercians settled in the French wilderness of Citeaux. These monks sought to live life simply, with mutual love and esteem as the founding principles, as well as a strict adherence to the Order of St., Benedict They also developed a revolutionary concept of daughterhouses, or other monasteries founded as extensions of the motherhouse. In this way, the Cistercians established a "family tree" which eventually reached to all corners of the world.

In 1142, two monks established an abbey at Melleray in Western France. This abbey would be considered a great granddaughter of the original Citeaux abbey. A church was dedicated in 1183 and is still in use today. By 1848, overcrowded conditions and political unrest made the founding of a new daughterhouse imperative, and the monks set out for America.

With the purchase of a farm from the Sisters of Loretto called Gethsemani in Kentucky, the Cistercians established their foothold in the United States. 44 religious made the journey across the Atlantic. In 1866, the permanent church was finished and dedicated.

As time went on , the daughterhouse in Gethsemani began to branch out with daughterhouses of its own. Two two monasteries I will be writing about was two of the first three daughterhouses established from Gethsemani - the Abbey of the Holy Spirit was the first daughterhouse, established in 1944, and Mepkin Abbey was the third, established in 1949.

In the next two posts I will take you on a monastic journey to both of these places of peace.

To learn more about Gethsemani, please visit http://www.monks.org/.