The role of monks in the shaping of European cultural identity in the case of the Benedictines, Carthusians and Cistercians
On Tuesday, April 14, 2015, Stična hosted a one-day international symposium entitled »The role of monks in the shaping of European cultural identity in the case of the Benedictines, Carthusians and Cistercians«. At the symposium, organized by the Slovenian Museum of Christianity, nine speakers from Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain answer the question on how the monastic life affected the arts and in what sense would the latter be termed as »European art«. One of the interesting topics was the role of the Rule of St Benedict, the text written not for the artists, but for craftsmen.
Prof. dr. Anton Jamnik, Auxiliary Bishop of Ljubljana, gave a lecture on the identity of Europe based on Christian roots. P. dr. Anton Nadrah, a retired Stična abbot, talked about the influence of the Rule of St Benedict on European art. Mag. Annette Schäffer from Germany, which is responsible for museums and cultural events in community of Hirschaid, presented us the Cistercian and Benedictine Abbey and monasteries in the vicinity of Bamberg. Prof. dr. Maria Adelaide Miranda from Portugal, an associate professor of Mediaeval Art History at the Department of Art History at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities in Lisbon, had presented a remarkable Cistercian monastery of Santa Maria in Alcobaça, which was built as a global project of Cistercian art and spirituality. Prof. dr. Mija Oter Gorenčič, scientific fellow and researcher of the Middle Ages at the France Stele Art History Institute, Scientific Research Centre of the Slovene Academy of Science and Arts in Ljubljana, spoke about the profane in medieval art of reformed orders in Slovenia. Silvester Gaberšček, Secretary of the Cultural Heritage Directorate at the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, prepared presentation entitled »Christianity at the roots of Slovenian culture«. Lecturer from the Netherlands, Dr. Krijn Pansters is assistant professor at Tilburg University (School of Theology, Franciscan Study Centre) in Utrecht and researcher associate at the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies), talked about the spirituality of the Carthusians and their contemplation. Zvone Pelko, architect, photographer, designer and president of the Cultural Association Zgovorna tišina (Eloquent Silence), presented the project »The monk routs of Slovenia«. For many years he and his associates are making spiritual and cultural promotion of Carthusian monasteries in the Slovenian territory. Prof. dr. Miquel Tresserras Majó of Catalonia in Spain is Professor Emeritus at the Ramon Llull University in Barcelona and explores the audiovisual language and cultural changes, and the philosophy of film, visual arts and hermeneutics. He prepared a lecture entitled »Is it possible to have contemporary Christian art at analogous to that which was generated by Medieval monastic and the cathedratic communities?«.
The one-day international symposium entitled The role of monks in the shaping of European cultural identity in the case of the Benedictines, Carthusians, and Cistercians is one of the activities in the framework of the two-year European project entitled Religion in the Shaping of European Cultural Identity – RISECI ( www.riseci.eu). The museum joined the project, which also includes institutions from Spain, Sweden and Scotland, as a co-organiser in 2013.
The project is based on the idea that in order to know Europe we must know its religious heritage as well. At the same time, it is an opportunity for a new dialogue in contemporary Europe, one that will include both religious and non-religious traditions. In our globalized world religions have triggered an avalanche of unexpected consequences, which in very different ways relate to civil society. To disseminate knowledge is the essential objective of this project, in which universities, museums, societies, and cultural organisations participate from environments where either the Anglican, Lutheran, or Catholic Church dominates. As in the past, religion is important to the wider society in various ways in the present too. It is this diversity that lends the project a special character.
Nataša Polajnar Frelih, MA, Director
Programme of the international symposium The role of monks in the shaping of European cultural identity in the case of the Benedictines, Carthusians and Cistercians
9.00–9.15
Welcome Address
Nataša Polajnar Frelih, Director of the Slovene Museum of Christianity
p. Janez Novak, Abbot of Stična Abbey
Silvester Gaberšček, Representative of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia
9.15–9.40 Lectures
Anton Jamnik, Archdiocese of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Europe's Identity derives from its Christian roots
9.45–10.10
Anton Nadrah, Cistercian Abbey Stična, Slovenia
The Influence of the Rule of St Benedict on European Art
10.15–10.40
Krijn Pansters, Tilburg University, School of Catholic Theology, Franciscan Study Centre, Netherlands
The Construction of Contemplation. On the Spiritual Craft of the Carthusians
10.40–11.00 Discussion
11.00–11.30 Break
11.35–12.00
Annette Schäfer, Markt Hirschaid, Germany
Cistercian and Benedictine architecture in Franconia – abbeys and monasteries around Bamberg
12.05–12.30
Maria Adelaide Miranda, Instituto de Estudos Medievais/Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal
Santa Maria de Alcobaça: a global project of Cistercian art and spirituality
12.35–13.00
Mija Oter Gorenčič, France Stele Institute of Art History ZRC SAZU, Slovenia
The secular in the medieval art of the reform orders in Slovenia
13.00–13.20
Discussion
13.30–14.30
Lunch
14.40–15.05
Silvester Gaberšček, Ministry of Culture, Slovenia
Christianity at the roots of Slovene culture
15.10–15.35
Miquel Tresserras Majó, Facultat de Comunicació i Relacions Internacionals Blanquerna, Universitat Ramon Llull, Spain
Is it possible to have contemporary Christian art analogous to that which was generated by medieval monastic and cathedratic communities?
15.40–16.05
Zvone Pelko, Kulturno društvo Zgovorna tišina, Slovenia
The monk routes of Slovenia
16.10–16.35
Closing discussion
International symposium was partly co-financed by the Ministry of Culture.
