United in one church, one order and finally one body in Christ.

One of the distinguishing features of the Cistercian Order has always been held to be its tight organisation. The structure was set down in the constitution of the Order, the Carta Caritatis, which was discussed above in chapter two. Individual Cistercian houses were joined together in familial bonds and arranged in a hierarchy. The abbot of Cîteaux stood at the head of the Order; below him were the abbots of the four eldest daughter houses of La Ferté, Pontigny, Clairvaux and Morimond. Thereafter all abbeys were organised according to their affiliation. Bouchard has recently argued that this structure was inspired by Gregory VII’s ‘vision’ of the papacy, whereby the pope stood at the apex of the pyramid, the archbishops were beneath, followed by the bishops and so on. By taking on the papal model the Cistercians not only adopted this hierarchical structure for themselves but acted as a conduit by transmitting it further both to monastic and to secular circles. Thus, under Peter the Venerable (1122–56) Cluny was organised according to a hierarchy, while Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (1152–90), the first German king to convert the great German counties and duchies into royal fiefs, was advised by the White Monks.

The organisational structure of the Cistercian Order was an effective way to promote unity and conformity of practice. This was implemented chiefly through the General Chapter and the annual visitation of each daughter house by its Father Immediate, who was not only to make sure that standards were upheld but to offer the brethren advice. The success of this system was widely acknowledged and was adopted by other orders. The Gilbertines and Premonstratensians took on both of these elements, while the Carthusians and Cluniacs introduced the practice of holding a general chapter. In 1215 Cistercian administration received the papal seal of approval at the Fourth Lateran Council, where Innocent III held this up as a model to the Benedictines and regular canons. He ruled that henceforth all orders should hold a general assembly every three years and that the Cistercians should guide them on how to implement this.