Carthusians

Order of Carthusians
Ordo Cartusiensis
Formation15 August 1084; 940 years ago (1084-08-15)
FounderBruno of Cologne
Founded atFrance
TypeMonastic Order of Pontifical Right (for Men)[1]
HeadquartersGrande Chartreuse (Mother House)
Membership
About 380[2]
O.Cart.
Website
Painting by Sebastiano Ricci (1659–1734) depicting the founder of the Carthusians, Bruno of Cologne (c. 1030-1101), revering Mary, mother of Jesus and adoring the Christ Child, with Hugh of Lincoln (1135–1200) looking on in the background.

The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (Latin: Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called the Statutes, and their life combines both eremitical and cenobitic monasticism. The motto of the Carthusians is Stat crux dum volvitur orbis, Latin for 'The Cross is steady while the world turns'.[2] The Carthusians retain a unique form of liturgy known as the Carthusian Rite.

The name Carthusian is derived from the Chartreuse Mountains in the French Prealps: Bruno built his first hermitage in a valley of these mountains. These names were adapted to the English charterhouse, meaning a Carthusian monastery.[a] Today, there are 23 charterhouses, 18 for monks and 5 for nuns. The alcoholic cordial Chartreuse has been produced by the monks of Grande Chartreuse since 1737, which gave rise to the name of the color, though the liqueur is in fact produced not only as green chartreuse, but also as yellow chartreuse.

In Italy, the Carthusians are known as Certosini and their monastery as a Certosa.[3]

  1. ^ "Carthusian Order (O. Cart.)".
  2. ^ a b Renault, Marion (17 December 2020). "An Elixir From the French Alps, Frozen in Time". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  3. ^ Birt, Henry. "Charterhouse." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. Accessed 6 March 2021 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03634a.htm


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