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Whenever any important business has to be done in
the monastery, let the Abbot call together the whole
community and state the matter to be acted upon. (RB
3,1.2)
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Traditionally, the community would
gather here daily to read a chapter of the Rule, commented
upon by the abbot. Here, the solemnly professed monks – the
only ones to have a ‘voice in chapter’ – gather together
when their counsel is needed regarding important issues in
the life of the monastery.
It is
here that the monastic life officially begins with admission
to the novitiate and concludes, finally, with the return of
mortal remains to the cemetery.
This theme is captured in the fresco
on the rear wall, by Girolamo Tessari, also known as ‘Del
Santo’ (1520 ca.), which depicts the Deposition of Christ in
the sepulchre. St. Benedict
is depicted on the left side with the Rule’s book, and St.
Giustina, virgin and martyr, on the other side.
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