“Almighty God, give me wisdom to perceive You, intelligence to understand You, diligence to seek You, patience to wait for You, eyes to behold You, a heart to meditate upon You and life to proclaim You, through the power of the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.” ― St. Benedict of Nursia
Saint Benedict of Nursia, considered by many the father of Western monasticism, spent his life pursuing holiness and humility, forming monastic communities and guiding them in spiritual formation, encouraging them to mirror Christ in all ways. Christians today still look to his book of precepts, St. Benedict’s Rule, for wisdom and instruction. These traditions are exactly what inspired The St. Benedict Center for Spiritual Formation.
The Rev. Jack King
Fr. Jack King, Rector of Apostles Anglican Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, first studied spiritual direction while in seminary and it has continued to be one of his passions, particularly Benedictine Spirituality. After years of planning, The St. Benedict Center launched this year, August 15th, 2021.
The mission of the center is “to strengthen the inner lives of Christians by providing training and educational resources on spiritual formation and spiritual direction from an orthodox, biblical perspective”. While its main focus is to provide a training program for spiritual direction, it will also host semi-annual conferences and maintain a blog devoted to the same topics.
The Conversatio Course
The center’s two-year training program, The Conversatio Course, seeks to train both lay and ordained men and women to pursue Christlikeness through the classical practices of spiritual direction. Through regular interaction with instructors and fellow students, 6 in-person weekend modules, and more, the center’s hope for its students is to:
- promote the classical way of holiness in Christian spiritual direction: purification, illumination, and union with Christ
- to train men and women for spiritual conversations that seek the will of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit
The St. Benedict Center is accepting applications for the course until November 15, 2021. For more details on the Conversatio Course, click here.
Teaching Events
The St. Benedict Center will also host a semi-annual event, The Lectio Series. Each spring and fall, the center will host a conference featuring a series of talks from a keynote speaker based on spiritual formation. The inaugural Lectio event will take place on October 15 – 16, 2021, with Revd. Dr. Winfield Bevins speaking.
Online Resources
Oratio, The St. Benedict’s Center blog, features meditative and practical articles, as well as book reviews and instructive videos leading their viewers in the art of spiritual discipline.
When asked what he is most looking forward to now that the St. Benedict Center has launched, Fr. Jack said, “I believe Anglicans have a great opportunity in our time to offer spiritual depth in a world of superficiality and transient relationships. In most eras of the church’s history, there’s been a deficiency of spiritual directors. I’m most excited to walk alongside men and women called to the ministry of spiritual direction and see them lead others into the depths that can be found in Christ alone.”
If you are interested in learning more about the St. Benedict Center or have any questions, be sure to visit their website or email them at info@stbenedict-csf.org.