On Tuesday, July10, 2007, a series of scholars shared papers and discussions on the Carmelite Rule at the International Medieval Congress held in the English city of Leeds, the largest gathering of medievalists in Europe.

The presentations were part of the celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the giving of the Carmelite Way of Life by Saint Albert of Jerusalem.

The day was organised by Johan Bergström-Allen, a member of the Carmelite Third Order and the Projects and Publications Worker for the British Province of Carmelites. The event was a collaborative project between the British Province and the Institutum Carmelitanum (the Order’s central academy of Carmelite Studies in Rome). It is planned that the papers given will be published jointly by Saint Albert’s Press and Edizioni Carmelitane. A number of different affiliates sponsored the various sessions: the British Province of Carmelites, the Carmelite Institute of Britain and Ireland (CIBI), the Institutum Carmelitanum, the International Anchoritic Society and the Lollard Society.

The day began with an introduction to the Carmelite Rule given by Very Reverend Joseph Chalmers, O.Carm., Prior General of the Carmelite Order. Other Carmelite speakers included: Father Patrick McMahon, O.Carm., (Praeses of the Institutum Carmelitanum) who spoke about the hermit community on Mount Carmel; Father James Boyce, O.Carm., (Fordham University) who spoke on early Carmelite liturgy; Johan Bergström-Allen (University of Lausanne) who discussed the question of language and the Rule of Saint Albert; Father Kevin Alban, O.Carm., (Heythrop College) who showed how the Rule was cited in medieval debates with heretics; and Father Paul Chandler, O.Carm., (Institutum Carmelitanum) who looked at the pressures on the Order at the time the Rule was approved. Another Carmelite involved in the Medieval Congress was Father Richard Copsey, O.Carm., who gave a paper on The Organization of the Medieval Carmelite Province.

The day closed with a round-table discussion chaired by Very Reverend Tony Lester, O.Carm., Prior Provincial of the British Province of Carmelites, which explored avenues for future collaboration between the Carmelite Family and the academic community.