Who owns Mepkin Abbey?

the Order of Cistercians of
204). Current status – Mepkin Abbey – owned and operated by the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists monks). Grounds are open to the public.

How many monks are at Mepkin Abbey?

In keeping with broader declines in the ranks of priests, nuns and brothers, Mepkin’s monastic community is dwindling. Only 13 monks remain, down from a peak of 55 in the mid-1950s.

What did the Cistercians believe?

The Cistercian order maintained the independent organic life of the individual houses: each abbey having its own abbot elected by its own monks, its own community belonging to itself and not to the order in general, and its own property and finances administered without outside interference.

What does the word mepkin mean?

It is believed that the Native American word, mepkin, may mean serene and lovely, a fitting description of the beauty and tranquility that has been preserved by careful stewardship through the centuries.

Who lived in abbeys?

monks
Abbeys and Monasteries were populated by many different religious orders with their own beliefs, rules and restrictions. The medieval period saw the foundation of a wide number of religious orders including the popular Benedictines and Cistercians. It was not only monks and nuns who lived in abbeys and monasteries.

Why are places called abbeys?

abbey, group of buildings housing a monastery or convent, centred on an abbey church or cathedral, and under the direction of an abbot or abbess. In this sense, an abbey consists of a complex of buildings serving the needs of a self-contained religious community.

Are there Trappist nuns?

Trappists take their name from the Abbey of La Trappe, about 85 miles from Paris, France. The order includes both monks and nuns, who are called Trappistines. Today more than 2,100 monks and about 1,800 nuns live at 170 Trappist monasteries scattered throughout the world.

When was Mepkin Abbey established?

1949
One of the most peaceful places I have ever visited is Mepkin Abbey, home to a community of Roman Catholic Trappist Monks that was established in 1949. The abbey is on the site of the historic Mepkin Plantation, which is on the Cooper River just north of Charleston and outside of Monks Corner.

What religion is Mepkin Abbey?

Mepkin Abbey is home to a community of Roman Catholic monks who live, pray, and work on the lands of the historic Mepkin Plantation, Clermont Plantation, and Washington Plantation, all along on the Cooper River in Moncks Corner. The abbey rests on 3,000 acres.