Chevetogne Monastery

The castle, which is part of the building complex, was built first, in the mid-19th century by Charles Delvaux de Fenffe, then mayor of Chevetogne. In the years 1903-1923 a Benedictine congregation lived here. Then, in the 1830s, the castle became a refuge for Spanish Jesuits. The Chevetogne Monastery was founded by Lambert Beauduin, a monk from the Mont-César Abbey in Leuven, who moved here with his confreres in 1939. His encounters with the Christian East inspired him to found a monastery dedicated to Christian unity.   

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Dialogue between the churches of the East and the West

Nowadays, at the southern end there is a Byzantine church, built in 1955-1957. On the north side stands the Latin church, built between 1981 and 1988. On December 11, 1990, the Chevetogne priory was raised to the rank of abbey. In this unique place, masses are held daily according to Byzantine and Latin liturgical traditions. Since 1942, the Chevetogne Community has been organizing theological conferences to help establish dialogue between Christians of the East and the West. The monks living in the abbey eat their meals together and are subordinate to one abbot.  Since 1926, they have published the magazine Irénikon, recorded church music, and produced incense, which can be purchased in the monastery shop. 

The iconostasis of the Byzantine church was painted by Georges Morozoff. The frescoes decorating the sanctuary are the work of Leon Raffin. The decorations of the narthex ceiling and the column capitals were created by local artist Joseph Robert. All  the remaining frescoes in the church and in the crypt are the work of two Greek painters: Rallis Kopsidis and Georges Chochlidakis. 
The complex also houses a library with a collection of approximately 150,000 volumes, mainly relating to the Christian East and the Unity of the Churches. The Chevetogne Congregation makes its collections available to researchers.