LIghT ThE WAy


their community. The monastery never actively recruited or advertised itself. However, a small but steady number were attracted by the opportunity to be a part of a welcoming community based on love and forgiveness.


In 1962, a new church was built at Taizé to meet the demands of the growing community and the expanding numbers of visitors from all Christian traditions. The church was built by volunteers, mostly from Germany. More than 100,000 people come to pray there each year.


Today, the ecumenical community of Taizé has about 100 members. These brothers are drawn from three different Christian traditions and come from more than thirty countries.


The brothers live simple lives. Following the ancient monastic tradition, the whole focus of each day is on prayer: the brothers come together to pray three times each day: morning, noon and evening. They dress as laymen but wear white hooded robes when in church.


The brothers do not accept donations. If a brother inherits something from his family, it is given up to the community to be sold to help the poor. The brothers earn their living making pottery and simple jewellery.


The brothers say that they want to show how peace and unity can come into people’s lives through faith in Jesus Christ. They try to set an example for others to follow.


Brother Roger was a musician. He encouraged a unique style of worship that involves the repeated singing/chanting of short phrases from the Psalms (i.e. poems found in the Old Testament). This repetition is intended to help people meditate.


REMEMBER! To meditate means to silently reflect on the meaning of something.


The music to which the Psalms are set was composed by the French musician Jacques Berthier, whom Brother Roger befriended in 1955.


The prayer services at Taizé are held by candlelight to create a calm, peaceful atmosphere in which to pray. The international flavour of the Taizé


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community is emphasised by the use of different languages in worship.


Icons, widely used by Orthodox Christians, are prominently displayed during worship at Taizé.


REMEMBER! An icon is a richly decorated religious image painted on a wooden board.


Icons are thought to help people to meditate on the important teachings of the Christian religion.


The brothers of Taizé have never tried to isolate themselves from the problems of the world outside the walls of their community. As early as 1962, they began to move out to establish other small fraternities (i.e. communities of brothers). These were set up in deprived areas, i.e. places where people suffer from the effects of poverty and division.


They help some of the most oppressed and poorest people on earth.


Since the late 1950s, the Taizé community has become an important place of pilgrimage for young Christians of all traditions. Each year, from early spring to late autumn, up to 5,000 young men and women, aged between seventeen and thirty, arrive in Taizé. They come from every corner of the globe to attend one of the week-long international youth meetings.


While in Taizé, these young people share in the simple lifestyle of the monks. They usually bring their own sleeping bags and camp in the fields around the monastery.


The schedule of a typical day includes:


ò morning prayer ò breakfast ò group Bible study led by one of the brothers


ò small group discussions where people share their own life experiences and insights in an atmosphere of openness and respect


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