In this volume, Johanna Pointke describes the transition from aristocratic rule to ecumenical community based on the chapter of the Freiweltliche Stift Brstel. At the beginning of the last century, aristocratic rule was still largely unchallenged. Political and social upheavals also radically changed the position of the chapter in the ecclesiastical sphere. The result was intensive conflicts between state and church. As the author shows, it was nevertheless possible to maintain the monastery's independence. With a new statute in 1956, possibilities for spiritual renewal finally opened up.