Online Zoom Forum: The Rule of St Benedict: The Spiritual Vision, Influence, and Impact.
Date: Wednesday 13 May 2026.
Time: 7pm-9pm (UK time).
Event Description:
Format: There will be five talks, each of 12 minutes, followed by discussion among the speakers and the chair, followed by Q & A.
Chair:
The Rev'd Canon John McLuckie:
Bio: John McLuckie is Rector of Old St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh’s Old Town.
He is also a teacher of spirituality, a retreat leader, spiritual director and Zen practitioner.
His research on William Johnston’s relationship with Zen Buddhism led to an MPhil thesis examining Johnston’s ritual practice as a participative form of comparative theology.
Speakers:
Abbot Brendan Thomas:
Title: Christ at the Gate: What the Chapter on Hospitality (RB 53) and his Portrait of the Porter (RB 66) show us of Benedict’s Spiritual Vision.
Bio: Abbot Brendan Thomas OSB is a monk of Belmont Abbey, England. Before becoming abbot he served as Novice Master for 22 years and a parish priest for 2 years. He was Director of the Monastic Formators’ Programme in Rome from 2002-2024 where he worked with Benedictine and Cistercian men and women from all over the world
Dr David G. Robinson:
Title: Exceptional Benedict: St. Benedict's Way of Everyday Humility and Adaptive Leadership.
Description: Exceptional Benedict explores Benedict's way of everyday humility into a life of joy, as expressed in chapter 7 of The Rule of St. Benedict, and Benedict's 12-steps of Humility. We will also look at Benedict's ancient but fresh approach to adaptive leadership, through moderation and grace.
Bio: David Robinson lives with his wife Trina in Cannon Beach on the north Oregon coast. Robinson is newly retired after serving for forty years as a pastor, including 31 years as Lead Pastor of Cannon Beach Community Church in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Robinson has written numerous spirituality books inspired by The Rule of St. Benedict, including Life Together in a World Apart: A 40-Day Devotional on The Rule of St. Benedict (Whitaker House, 2026); The Sacred Art of Marriage: 52 Creative Ways to Grow Your Married Life (Cascade, 2016), and Ancient Paths: Discover Christian Formation the Benedictine Way (Paraclete, 2010). Robinson is a Benedictine Oblate with Mount Angel Abbey, Oregon. Robinson is married with three married sons, three grandchildren. Robinson loves playing piano and walking with his wife Trina in places of wildness and beauty. Robinson received his Masters in Divinity degree and his Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary, California. His author website is waterpaths.org.
Sister Laura Swan (OSB):
Title: Obedience: A Life of Discernment.
Description: Obedience for Benedict was about discerning the movements of the Holy Spirit, both in our individual lives and, more importantly, in our communal lives. And this is closely tied to listening. We will explore what this meant for Benedict and his followers
Bio: Sister Laura lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest (north of David Robinson) and is a member of St Placid Priory (www.stplacid.org). She is the author of numerous books (including her first novel (academic suspense), The Hannah Document) and serves as archivist and formation director for her community. You can best find her at Youtube.com/BenedictineLauraSwan and https://lauraswanosb.com/
Prof James G. Clark:
Title: Living by the Rule: The Substance and Spirit of St Benedict in Medieval Europe.
Description: The monastic code known as the Rule of St Benedict is certainly the most familiar and perhaps the most enduringly influential in the Western tradition. It appears its primacy was established early in its history as it powered the expansion of monastic networks through northern Europe from the ninth to the twelfth centuries; even as monastic religion developed and diversified it held its ground as a primary source of inspiration for new forms of monastic living, first Carthusians and Cistercians and then Celestine, Camaldolese and Ursuline. Of the tens of thousands of men and women who lived monastically in Europe on the eve of the Protestant Reformation, the majority did so following patterns of life that were derived from the Regula Benedicti. But the name of Benedict and the renown of the rule that carried it do not necessarily reflect its role in the observant life of these medieval communities. How far they learned and lived by the letter of the rule remains open to question. Certainly, many stood at one remove from the classic, Latin text. Proxy guides to the religious observance often eclipsed the doctrine of the Rule itself. In the high and later Middle Ages, the monastic precepts of later practitioners inspired by Benedict – not least, the Cistercian Bernard of Clairvaux – came to eclipse those of the original father of Montecassino. Benedict himself was venerated as their patron in the liturgy and the imagery of their worship. For some of his medieval followers, the manuscript and fresco portraits of the saint bearing the open book of his rule was better known to them than the substance of its pages.
Bio: James G. Clark is Professor of History at the University of Exeter, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Society of Antiquaries of London. He has published widely on monastic culture in medieval and Reformation Europe. His books include A Monastic Renaissance (2004), Benedictines in the Middle Ages (2011), The Dissolution of the Monasteries. A New History (2021). His new book, Monasterium. Medieval Monasteries and the Making of Europe will be published by Allen Lane in 2027.
Prof Giorgio Mion:
Title: The Good Community: Managerial Lessons from Benedictine Rule.
Bio: Giorgio Mion has been an Associate Professor of Business Administration since 2011. He obtained his PhD in Business Administration at the University of Ca’ Foscari of Venice in 2003. Its major fields of research concerns virtue ethics in business, and hybrid and nonprofit organizations. He teaches, among other courses, Business Ethics and Economics and Social Enterprises. He published papers on journals such as Journal of Business Ethics, Long Range Planning, Business Strategy and the Environment, Journal of Business Research, and others. He actively collaborates with various religious and third sector organizations on strategic management and social reporting.
An archive recording will be made for the EICSP archive.
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Cost: By Paypal:
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If you are having a difficulty paying by Paypal, then you can pay by bank transfer instead.
NB: you must also email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so we can send you the Zoom sign-in details.
Here are the bank transfer details:
Account Name: Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace
Bank: Bank of Scotland
Bank Address: Edinburgh Royal Mile Branch
Account Number: 06131159
Sort Code: 802000
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The IBAN number:
GB70 BOFS 8020 0006 1311 59
BIC:
BOFSGB21168