The Superiority of a Monastic Theological Method
The Rev. Dr. Greg Peters speaking at the 2022 Breck Conference at Nashotah House.
By Greg Peters
The following is an excerpt from a post published on The Scriptorium Daily and previews Peters’ forthcoming book, Monastic Theology as Theological Method: The Superiority of the Monastery to the University.
It recently came to me that I have been formally studying monasticism for just under thirty years.
I discovered Bernard of Clairvaux in a not-very-creatively-named Church History II class in Fall
1993 at Philadelphia College of Bible (now Cairn University). Dr. Chip Hard told us that
Bernard was a Cistercian monk. Being a Southern Baptist kid from central Virginia I thought to
myself, what’s a Cistercian? Actually, what’s a monk? And so began a study of monasticism that
has not abated.
It was early in my monastic studies that I found Jean Leclcerq’s The Love of Learning and the
Desire for God. But it is only now that I have come to realize that Leclercq’s distinction between
“monastic theology” and “scholastic theology” is not just a way to categorize the historical
development of early and medieval theology but are actually two ways of doing theology. That is,
monastic theology and scholastic theology are distinct theological methods and I think I
understand how they are distinct and I think I can argue that a monastic theological method is
superior to a scholastic one. And if it is superior to a scholastic theological method, then it is
superior to many modern forms of theological methodology which are the children,
grandchildren, great grandchildren and perhaps even bastard children of this thing called
“Scholasticism,” which relies on a scholastic theological methodology.
Despite appearances, the discipline of theology is in trouble. It is true that there continues to be a
steady stream of theological publications and without doubt there are still doctoral programs with
theology students and seminaries brimming with divinity students. There are centers for pastor-
theologians, a nationwide “Theology on Tap” program, a network of Christian study centers
dedicated to lay theological training and conversation, and another network of theological
institutes offering advanced degrees and programs outside the traditional seminary structure.
Further, there remains publishing houses focused on theological books. And, of course, there are
still thousands of churches dedicated to preaching and catechesis, perhaps even theological
preaching and deep catechetical formation.
The Rev. Dr. Greg Peters is the Servants of Christ Research Professor of Monastic Studies and Ascetical Theology. Fr. Peters joined Nashotah House in 2018 and oversees the annual James Lloyd Breck Conference on Monasticism and the Church and teaches courses in monasticism and ascetical theology.
