Birth of the Carthusian Order. Monasticism was able to reform itself in 1084, on the initiative of the German philosopher and theologian St. Bruno (Brunone) from Cologne, who, intolerant of the corrupt customs of the time and having become a tenacious defender of the moral integrity of the pastors of the Church, led a group of six companions (four clerics and two lay people) in search of solitude. He went to the bishop of Grenoble, Hugh (Ugone) (1053-1132), who granted him a location in the most impervious part of the Dauphiné Alps, on the Massif de la Chartreuse, where (1084) he founded a small monastery, Grande Chartreuse. Hence the name Carthusians, the monastic order he founded, emphasizing the importance of solitude necessary for waiting for God. To this end, he devoted a significant portion of his time to solitary and contemplative life, a characteristic that has endured over the centuries and makes the Carthusians the only order that has remained faithful to its initial ideal (a community never reformed because never deformed). In his letters, St. Bruno described the fundamental characteristics of the rules of life he followed: vigilant solitude, communion with his hermit brothers, and behaviors aimed at achieving the purity that allows union with God in solitude. Carthusian life involves a fraternal dimension that is expressed in the celebration of the Liturgy (“…when we gather for the Eucharist, the unity of the family finds its perfect satisfaction in Christ present and praying…”), establishing complete communion among the brothers for whose benefit each Carthusian is capable of personal sacrifice. Their life is not confined to a cell because the fathers gather three times a day for the communal celebration of morning prayer, mass, and afternoon vespers.
