The revival at Rievaulx Abbey is obscure for us modern people, as we rarely value self-denial, and even less often monasticism – even inside the Christian community.
But within the twelfth century in England, monasteries were bursting on the seams, and large structures were needed to deal with them. The inspiring spiritual writings of their inhabitants overflow with enthusiasm for God and their experience of abiding in His love and sharing it with each other.
At Rievaulx Abbey, hidden away in a leafy quiet valley of deepest north Yorkshire, enough of the ruins remain as an example how large this community once was, filled with monks committed to getting closer to God, and willing to resign sex, money and luxury to achieve this.
The buildings are a powerful sight when up close, even of their dilapidated state. But when the community was first founded, in 1132, there have been just a number of wood huts to deal with the believers. Building in stone began in 1140, and inside a lifetime the structures were the towering spectacles that we will nearly still see.
Nowadays it’s sometimes believed that those that entered monasteries throughout history were doing so for worldly reasons: avoiding marriage, or poverty, for instance. Religious houses could possibly be lively in lots of other ways than prayer and worship, acting as hotels, hospitals, sites of learning, and providers of social welfare in some cases.
While it’s possible that other monasteries could have had the allure of worldly income, land rights and relative comfort, the individuals who joined the brand new Cistercian monasteries like Rievaulx were making a deliberate alternative of complete dedication to God, and the fruits would soon be seen.
The Cistercians rejected luxuries equivalent to stained glass, high quality cloth or gold for the altar. More impressively in a world without central heating within the chilly hills of the North York Moors, in addition they rejected fur-lined boots, warm bedclothes and cloaks. The purpose of this self-denial was to encourage devotion to God and meditation moderately than mental pursuit.
Such severity might chime with any negative stereotypes of medieval Christianity or religious communities that we occur to carry. But for this particular Abbey no less than, inside there was deep spirituality and warm love.
“They offered the monk the possibility of a detailed and mystical union with God,” write Lionel Butler and Chris Given-Wilson in Medieval Monasteries of Great Britain.
Any history of the medieval church is restricted by sources, but within the case of Rievaulx, its ethos and life is preserved in the various writings of its third abbot, St Aelred of Rievaulx. It was under his 20-year stewardship that the community grew to as many as 600 monks and lay brothers by the point of his death in 1167.
“It was Aelred’s patience and compassion towards the weak, the poor and the spiritually afflicted that drew so many novices [new monks] to Rievaulx,” write Butler and Given-Wilson.
“His concern was to cause them to a lifetime of fruitful work, prayer and discipline, bringing them peace of mind and spirit in an environment of charity and friendship.”
Contemporary biographer Walter Daniel wrote that “his whole concern [was] to like and be loved”.
It’s perhaps a sign of the spirituality of the community that two of Aelred’s best known books are with reference to love: the Mirror of Charity, and Spiritual Friendship, each in print with Cistercian Publications.
In the latter work, Aelred gave a moving account of walking across the cloister of his monastery: “The brethren were sitting around forming because it were a most loving crown. In the midst, because it were, of the delights of paradise with the leaves, flowers, and fruits of every single tree, I marvelled. In that multitude of brethren I discovered nobody whom I didn’t love, and nobody by whom, I felt sure, I used to be not loved. I used to be full of such joy that it surpassed all of the delights of this world.” The book vividly describes the importance of Christ as a foundation for friendship.
Starting in Burgundy in 1098, the Cistercians, or ‘white monks’ on account of their habits, desired to return to the simplicity and austerity of the earliest followers of the sixth century monk St Benedict, whose sensible “rule” or guide for monastic life was highly influential.
The movement spread rapidly. In the UK, it really took hold in when Walter Espec brought monks from the mother house in France to Rievaulx in 1132 to start the brand new community, “which awoke the English enthusiastically to the Cistercian mix of puritanism and compassion,” based on Butler and Given-Wilson.
Although Aelred’s winsome personality and clever teaching could have contributed to the rapid growth of his community, other local abbeys were similarly well populated within the twelfth Century. Rievaulx was a part of a Cistercian Yorkshire powerhouse that included Fountains Abbey and Byland Abbey, whose ruins also attract visitors today.
In our current age there are few Christian monasteries or convents that come anywhere near that size, within the UK no less than. Yet there are small signs of latest life for the monastic ideal: in Yorkshire there are small dedicated communities of enthusiastic young monks and nuns of the Franciscan Friars [or sisters] of the Renewal; in Devon are the Sisters of Mary Morning Star. Other small congregations and communities of committed Christians are gathering, keen to devote themselves to the Lord.
Seeking God at Rievaulx today
Entering Rievaulx Abbey requires £15 for every adult, because of English Heritage who manage the location. Perhaps consequently, only a handful of individuals were present to utilize the three or so staff available after I visited.
These sparsely populated ruins perhaps symbolise the spiritual fortunes of our country. Although there’s a tiny and delightful Anglican church next to the ruins – once just the ‘slipper chapel’ or entrance to the Abbey – it hosts only “occasional services” based on its noticeboard.
Yet over the road, there’s a more positive vision, and the local Anglican vicar Rev Melanie Burnside is stuffed with enthusiasm. The Rievaulx Methodist Church has a brilliant sign outside: “Jesus gives recent life and hope!” Advertised on its noticeboard is an ‘open air service’ where Mike Fitton from the Christian Motorcyclists Association might be preaching.
“I had the blessing of attending and might attest to it being an exquisite, grace-filled event,” Rev Burnside told Christian Today. “Mike Fitton spoke movingly about his own path to faith, his ministry and gave an invite to others to step into the sunshine and love of God.
“When I spoke to Mike afterwards we talked concerning the significance of being in view of the Abbey as we prayed, of the sense of all those that have gone before, faithful in prayer and worship and about there being something special concerning the Abbey’s brokenness in its enduring beauty.”
Inhabited, modern monastic structures are usually not too distant from Byland and Rievaulx, where pilgrims can board and take part with the worship – the “world’s first eco-friendly nunnery” at Stanbrook Abbey, and Ampleforth Abbey, which is adjoining to the eponymous school generally known as the ‘Catholic Eton’. They are relatively modern Catholic communities and buildings, built after post-Reformation legal restrictions were lifted.
There is a beautiful walk from the local town of Helmsley towards the abbey, with many other beautiful scenes and places to go to.
The local Christian community has developed a series of walks that go through local sites of religion called the Saint Aelred Pilgrim Trail that’s leading a walk and launch event on 14 September.
Perhaps someday, people will again flock to present their whole lives to the Lord and grow in love for Him and for each other, as these early monks of Rievaulx once did.
