ought to be fixed processes of initiation, an emphasis on obedience to the abbot, a lifestyle focused on prayer, work, and study, and, above all, adherence to the Rule of Saint Benedict, which could be augmented only by additional regulations that were in keeping with its spirit. Any monk who felt that he might not be up to the rigors of the life was to seek ordination as a cleric—joining the ranks of the institutional Church and coming under the jurisdiction of his local bishop. There were, therefore, two ways to go within the Frankish empire: you were either in the Church proper or under the
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