Life As A Lay Brother
Many Lay brothers were illiterate peasants who performed the domestic or agricultural work of the community. Some were skilled in artistic handicrafts, others filled administrative positions. Generally speaking, however, lay brothers roles were limited within most communities. This is not to suggest that lay brothers were unimportant; in fact, the economic success and stability of the monastery or community depended upon the skills and labor of the lay brothers.
Lay brothers were sometimes distinguished from their brethren by some difference in their habit: for instance, the Cistercian lay brother previously wore a brown tunic, instead of white, with the black scapular; in choir they wore a large cloak, instead of a cowl; the Vallombrosan lay brothers wore a cap instead of a hood, and their habit was shorter; the English Benedictine lay brothers wore a hood of a different shape from that of the choir monks, and no cowl; a Dominican lay brother would wear a black, instead of a white, scapular. In some orders they were required to recite daily the Little Office of Our Lady, but usually their labor in the fields (and hence away from the church) prevented them from participating in the Liturgy of the Hours. Lay brothers would instead pray Paters, Aves, and Glorias.
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