Who is Peter Damian, Monk at the heart of Church's 11th-century reforms?
A Camaldolese monk, advisor to multiple popes, and author, Peter Damian life's greatest battle was the reform of the Church, particularly combating the clergy's licentious ways
By Geneviève Pasquier at La Croix
February 21, 2024
Born into poverty in Ravenna, northeastern Italy, in 1007, Peter, the youngest of six, was abandoned by his mother after his father's death. Orphaned, he was taken in by a brother named Damian, a name he later added to his own in gratitude. Excelling in his studies in Faenza and Parma, he returned to Ravenna to become a renowned teacher.
As a Camaldolese hermit, drawn to a solitary and contemplative life, he in 1035 joined the small hermitage of Fonte Avellana in the Marches, Italy. The Camaldolese Order, a strict Benedictine monastic order founded by Saint Romuald, blends communal life with eremitism, with monks living secluded in their cells. In his short treatise Dominus Vobiscum, Peter Damian describes the cell as "the place where God converses with men... a witness to a secret dialogue with the divine; and what a sublime sight it is when the brother, secluded in his cell, sings the nocturnal psalmody, standing guard before the camp of God."
Tasked with reform
Quickly becoming the spiritual leader of small hermit groups, his fame spread, leading to invitations to teach at other monasteries. Eight years later, he was appointed prior of Fonte Avellana, where he reorganized the hermitage and founded others nearby. He connected with major monasteries of his time, like Cluny and Montecassino.
As an advisor to popes during a challenging period for the Church characterized by lax clerical lifestyles, Peter Damian fought against two prevalent issues: simony, or the buying of ecclesiastical offices, and nicolaitanism, the disregard of celibacy. His reputation for integrity and sanctity preceded his reaching Rome, and Pope Stephen IX called him in 1057 to assist in reforming the clergy, appointing him cardinal and bishop of Ostia. Over the next six years, the pope tasked him with missions of conciliation and reform, sending him as a legate to Milan, France, Florence, and Germany. In France, he defended the rights of Cluny's Benedictine monks against the Archbishop of Mâcon's abuses.
Doctor of the Church
He participated in the 1059 Lateran Synod, convened by Pope Nicholas II to combat investitures, the appointment of bishops and abbots by secular rulers. The synod reserved papal election rights to the cardinals alone and declared that no priest could receive a church from a layperson, a decision that faced opposition from monarchs who saw bishops as extensions of their authority. Peter Damian continued his reform efforts alongside Pope Gregory VII, challenging the Holy Roman Emperors' investiture practices. His confrontations with Emperor Henry IV of Germany, who insisted on appointing bishops and abbots, culminated shortly after Peter Damian's death. Henry IV, excommunicated and deposed, made a penitential journey to meet Pope Gregory VII at Matilda of Tuscany's castle in Canossa on January 28, 1077, giving rise to the phrase "to go to Canossa," meaning to submit to an opponent's demands.
A prolific writer, Peter Damian's theological works include an extensive correspondence with monks, clergy, popes, and kings. His surviving works comprise 158 letters, 75 sermons, poems, 60 saint biographies, and treatises addressing topics like the omnipotence of God, the Trinity, the Messiah, and simony. His moral rigor is evident in "The Book of Gomorrah," a pamphlet criticizing the clergy's misconduct, including illicit priestly unions and homosexuality. In 1067, he was permitted to return to Fonte Avellana, relinquishing the Ostia diocese. He died in February 1072, with the public acclaiming him a saint at his funeral. His sainthood was officially recognized by Pope Leo XII, who declared him a Doctor of the Church in 1828.
Read more at: https://international.la-croix.com/news/religion/who-is-peter-damian-monk-at-the-heart-of-churchs-11th-century-reforms/19221
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