Spiritual and Religious Communities as Models of Organizing

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Abstract

Taking a more direct inspiration from the practice of organizing monastic life, this chapter scrutinizes the rules and conventions of Christian convents as an example of how religious beliefs and principles translate into secular institutional structures and governance styles. The first example comes from a Finnish Orthodox nunnery , whereas the second case reviews the meaning of St Benedict’s Rule in light of deeper metaphysical-theological questions. Monastic life is hierarchically organized, reflecting the idea of the centrality of submission to God . Monks and nuns train in humility and in surrendering of one’s autonomous will by engaging in tasks that call for extreme obedience to the authority of the spiritual elder. Tasks are often menial and monotonous, although this also enables silent prayer and meditation . Leadership of a monastery or nunnery is a mixture of authoritarian and caring styles. Behind the seemingly contradictory approaches is the pursuit of deification.

Keywords

Spirituality Religion Monasteries Organizational models Leadership style 
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Copyright information

© The Author(s) 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Management and EntrepreneurshipTurku School of EconomicsTurkuFinland

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