Taizé

The village of Taizé (Burgundy, France) is the location of an ecumenical and international Christian monastic community with the same name. Founded in 1940, the community became a focal point for the renewal of Christian traditions and churches in the 1960s and has duplicated its spirituality and liturgy all over the world via regional conferences and filial communities since the 1980s. Taizé thus contributed significantly to the development of (Christian) world spirituality.

The community of Taizé was founded by Roger Schütz, a Protestant lay person from Geneva, Switzerland. At the outbreak of World War II, he realized his vision to help refugees from occupied French territories, mostly Jews. After 2 years of hiding in Geneva, he returned with several companions in 1944 and helped orphans and prisoners of war, most of them German. In 1949, the first brothers took their vows, and in 1952 to 1953, Frère Roger wrote a rule for the community. In the 1960s and 1970s, Taizé was visited by thousands of young people searching for renewal of Christian tradition and churches in an undogmatic and ecumenical way, making Taizé a symbol of renewal. It is still visited by thousands of people, young and old, each year. In 2005, Frère Roger was murdered and was succeeded by Frère Alois. Taizé is not affiliated with a specific denomination and maintains a good relationship with Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox church leaders alike.

The prime activity of Taizé, besides prayer and communal life, is to receive people in their community and engage with them in Bible studies, discussion groups, liturgy, and prayer. Since the 1980s, Taizé has started regional conferences in Europe and later in other parts of the world, making it easier for people to participate in Taizé's spirituality. These meetings, held in Europe between Christmas and New Year, are also attended by thousands. Third, Taizé has started filial communities in other parts of the world such as Bangladesh, Brazil, and Korea, where brothers are engaged in prayer and social action alike. Finally, Taizé spirituality is present in local groups that assemble around its spirituality and typical liturgical forms.

Taizé has contributed extensively to the formation of a world Christian spirituality and culture. Its songs—simple texts and melodies that can be sung in different languages at the same time and are meditatively repeated over and over again—have found a place in the songbooks of various denominations. The absence of preaching or Holy Communion in their services has become a model for ecumenical meetings and offers a way of participating that relativizes and at the same time respects denominational differences. Through their meetings and discussion groups, young people broaden their view and learn to respect other traditions as well as their own. The regional meetings and filial communities further contribute to the glocalization of its spirituality. Not in the last place, the international and ecumenical community of brothers in Taizé is a model for the global coexistence of Christian denominations.