Carthusians

The Carthusians, formally the Order of Carthusians (Ordo Cartusiensis, OS), are a Catholic religious order founded in 1084 by Bruno of Cologne at the Grande Chartreuse in the Chartreuse mountains near Grenoble, France. They live a combined eremitic and cenobitic life, seeking contemplative prayer in solitude and communal worship. Each monk resides in his own cell, with a small personal chapel and garden, and they meet only for the liturgy and limited collective activity. The order emphasizes silence, fasting, manual labor, and a strict daily schedule centered on the Divine Office. They take the traditional vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, plus a vow of stability to remain in a single monastery for life and, in practice, a vow of enclosure.

Monasteries are known as chartreuses or charterhouses; Grande Chartreuse remains the motherhouse. The order is small in numbers but influential in contemplative spirituality, with male Carthusians and, in separate communities, Carthusian nuns. Members live in monasteries organized around a church and cloister, with individual cells arranged along a central axis, and social contact with the outside world is extremely limited.

The Carthusians are also associated with Chartreuse, a herbal liqueur developed by the order and produced at Voiron, near Grenoble, from a long-secret recipe kept within the community. The liqueur has long been connected with the Carthusian order, though production involves external partners while the recipe remains confidential. Today, the Carthusians continue to maintain a small number of monasteries around the world, dedicated to a life of prayer, study, and work within their distinctive contemplative tradition.