
THE CARTHUSIAN ORDER
The Goal : Contemplation
In 1084, Saint Bruno led a small band of followers into the wilderness of the French Alps to fully embrace the call of Jesus Christ that “whoever does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.” In a tradition unbroken for over nine hundred years, Carthusians live as sons and daughters of Saint Bruno, inspired by the Desert Fathers of early Christianity, who thronged to the desert to lead solitary lives in poverty of spirit.
In twenty-four communities today, Carthusians monks and nuns enter an austere silence and solitude stripped of the comforts and consolations found in the city. There God leads them on a journey of surrender that surpasses the illusory happiness of worldly success and possessions.
The Charterhouse of the Transfiguration, North America’s only charterhouse, sustains a broad international culture of monks from all over the world. In a world so often torn apart by ethnic rivalries and excessive nationalism, the monks, bonded together by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, affirm the supremacy of God and contribute via their intense prayer to a harmonious family of humanity in search of its loving Creator. Flags representing the national origins of the monks fly at the entrance to Skyline Drive.
The monk journeys through the desert of silence, and thus no visitors are allowed in the monastery.
Learn More
To learn more about the history of the Carthusians
and the Charterhouse of the Transfiguration on
Mount Equinox, click below:
The History of the Carthusians
Source: Robin Bruce Lockhart, Halfway to Heaven: The Hidden Life of the Carthusians
circa 1030
Bruno is born in Cologne, Germany. As a young boy, he excels in his studies and is sent to the cathedral school at Rheims, France.