Editing St Benet's Abbey (section)

==Post-Reformation Abbot, Prior and Lay Monks of St Benet-at-Holme==
{{See also|Bishop of Norwich#Bishops during the Reformation|Bishop of Norwich#Post-Reformation bishops}}
[[File:Bishop_at_St_Benets_2017-05.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The [[Bishop of Norwich]] arrives by [[wherry]] at St Benet's for the 2017 annual service]]
During the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] the [[Vicar General]] was said to have noted the poverty in which the brothers of St Benet-at-Home committed to live in by contrast to the opulence of the Bishop of Norwich. It is unclear whether this was a deliberate choice to uphold principles of monastic [[Asceticism#Christianity|asceticism]] or due to the high levels of debt the monastery was said to be in. Holding the abbey up as an example of [[Christian monasticism|protestant monasticism]] during the [[Reformation]], [[Thomas Cromwell]] persuaded [[Henry VIII]] to spare the abbey, and unite it into the newly founded [[Church of England]], and to elevate the Abbot of St-Benet's to the Bishops [[cathedra]] uniting the two roles. It thus became the sole abbey spared during the dissolution, and was protected in statute by an extraordinary act of parliament in 1536. The act stipulated that the Abbot be permitted to forever maintain a Prior and twelve monks at the abbey. This makes it arguably the oldest [[Order of St Benedict (Anglican)|Anglican Order of St Benedict]] in England. By 1545 however the abbey had collapsed and the brothers had to abandon the site. The lands were leased to a succession of local farmers to pay down the debts. As the Bishops were enrobed amongst the [[Lords Spiritual]], the power that prior to the dissolution came with being an abbot was eroded, and successive Bishops of Norwich saw little point in using the title. However since 1939 Bishops of Norwich have once again used the title of Abbot of St Benet's reaffirming their historic role. The Bishop in their role as Abbot appoints a local vicar as Prior of St Benet-at-Holme, who in turn appoints 12 lay monks to assist with his role. Every year on the first Sunday of August the Bishop of Norwich, in their role as Abbot, arrives at St Benet's standing in the bow of a [[Norfolk wherry|wherry]], to meet pilgrims, and preach an annual service amongst the ruins of the abbey. The service takes place at the altar beneath the cross. The service follows an Anglican interpretation of the [[rule of Saint Benedict]].<ref>{{Cite web| title=A short history of St Benet’s Abbey | url=https://norfarchtrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/St-Benets-Abbey-Guide.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817224438/https://www.norfarchtrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/St-Benets-Abbey-Guide.pdf | archive-date=2021-08-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://traditionalcustomsandceremonies.wordpress.com/2022/07/31/custom-contrived-annual-service-at-the-st-benets-abbey-ruin-norfolk/ | title=Custom contrived: Annual service at the St Benet's abbey ruin, Norfolk | date=31 July 2022 }}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref name=bruce>{{cite book |last=bruce |first=alastair |date=1999 |title=Keepers of the Kingdom |location=London|publisher=Seven Dials, Cassell & Co|pages=114–115 |isbn=1841880736}}</ref>