Evangelisches Klosterleben

In Lower Saxony the Reformation did not lead to the dissolution of all monasteries, convents and foundations; some continued as protestant monasteries, convents and foundations. The present volume begins by expounding the preconditions for the protestant “monastic landscape”: the alignment to the Württemberg model of reformation of monasteries and convents and the safeguarding of funding, which has made protestant monastic life possible to the present day. The central focus of the book is on studies on life in modern protestant monasteries, convents and foundations, their transition to Protestantism, day-to-day life and the life of worship in them. Individual monasteries and convents and nuns are presented as examples, highlighting the diverse ways of life. The final section comprises studies on the cultural tradition and how it has been handed down to the present day. The essays are based on lectures that were held in 2009 at the Medingen Convent on the invitation of the Society for the Ecclesiastical History of Lower Saxony.