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 BASILIANS

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BASILIANS

adopted the reform or were founded by the reformed monks. On 19 July, 1617, the reformed monasteries were organized into a congregation imder a proto- archimandrite, and known as the congregation of the Holy Trinity, or of Lithuania. The congregation increased with the growth of the union itself. The number of houses had risen to thirty at the time of the general chapter of 1636. After the Council of Zamosc the monasteries outside of Lithuania which had not joined the congregation of the Holj- Trinity formed themselves into a congregation bearing the title of "Patrocinium [Protection] B. M. V." (1739). Benedict XIV desired (17-14) to form one congrega- tion out of these two, giving the new organization the name of the Ruthenian Order of St. Basil and di- viding it into the two provinces of Lithuania and Courland. After the suppression of the Society of Jesus these religious took charge of the Jesuit colleges. The overthrow of Poland and the persecution in- stituted by the Russians against the L'niat Greeks was very unfavourable to the grow^th of the congre- gation, and the number of these Basilian monasteries greatly diminished. Leo XIII, by his Encyclical "Singulare pra?sidium" of 12 May, 1881, ordained a reform of the Ruthenian Basilians of Galicia. This reform began in the monastery of Dabromil; its members have gradually replaced the non-reformed in the monasteries of the region. They devote them- selves, in connexion with the Uniat clergj', to the various labours of the apostolate which the moral condition of the different races in this district de- mands.

V. Latin Basili.UsS. — In the sixteenth century the Italian monasteries of tliis order were in the last stages of decay. Urged by Cardinal Sirlet Pope Gregorj' XIII ordained (1573) their union in a con- gregation under the control of a superior general. Use was made of the opportunity to separate the revenues of the abbeys from those of the monasteries. The houses of the Italian Basilians were divided into the three provinces of Sicily, Calabria, and Rome. Although the monks remained faithful in principle to the Greek Liturgy they showed an inclination towards the useof the Latin I.iturgj'; some monasteries have adopted the latter altogether. In Spain there was a Basilian congregation which had no traditional connexion with Oriental Basilians; the members followed the Latin Liturgv*. Father Bernardo de la Cruz and the hermits of Santa Maria de Oviedo in the Diocese of Jaen formed the nucleus of the congrega- tion. Pope Pius VI added them to the followers of St. Basil, and they were affiliated with the monastery of Grotta Ferrata (1.561). The monasteries of Turdon and of Valle de Guillos, founded by Father Mateo de la Fuente, were for a time \mited with this congrega- tion but they withdrew later in order to form a separate congregation (1603) which increased very little, having only four monasteries and a hospice at Seville. The other Basilians, who followed a less rigorous observance, showed more growTh; their monasteries were formed into the two provinces of Castile and Andalusia. They were governed by a vicar general and were under the control, at least nominally, of a superior general of the order. Each of their provinces had its college or scholasticate at Salamanca and Seville. They did not abstain from wine. Like their brethren in Italy they wore a cowl similar to that of the Benedictines; this led to re- criminations and processes, but they were authorized by Rome to continue the use of this attire. Several writers are to be found among them, as: Alfonso Clavel, the historiographer of the order; Diego Niceno, who has left sermons and ascetic wTitings; Luis de los Angelos, who issued a work on "Instructions for Novices" (Seville, 1615), and also translated into Spanish Cardinal Bessarion's exposition of the Rule of St. Basil; Felipe de la Cruz, who WTOte a treatise

on money loaned at interest, that was published at Madrid in 1637, and one on tithes, published at Madrid in 1634. The Spanish Basilians were suppressed with the other orders in 1833 and have not been re- established. At .\nnonay in France a religious com- nmnity of men was formed (1822) under the Rule of St. Basil, which has a branch at Toronto, Canada. (See B.isiLi.tNs, Priests of the Co.miiun-ity op St. B.\sil.)

Besse. I^s moines dOrient (Paris. 1900*; Martin. Lea moines de Constantinople (Paris. 1897); Guepix. Un apdtre de Imion des iglises an XVII' sii-cle. St. Josaphat (Paris. 1897), I-erov-Be.wlieu La religion in L'empire des Tsars et les Riisses (Paris, 1SS9) III; Clavel, Antiniiedad de la religion y regla de san Basilio (XIadrid. I(i45i; Helvot, Histoire des ordres monasti^ues, I; Heimbucher, Die Orden and Kongrega- tionen. I. 44^7; Mlni.asi. San NUo (Naples, 1892); Rodot.I; Origine. progresso e stato attuale del rito greeo in Italia (Rome, 1755): Silbernagl-Schsitzer, Verfassung, etc . in Kirchen des Orients (Munich, 1905); Milasch-Pessic, Kirchenrecht d. morgene. Kirche (2nd ed., Mostar, 1905).

J. M. Besse.

Basilians (Priests of the CoMiirxiTY of St. B-^sil). — During the French Revolution, Mgr. d'Aviau, the last Archbishop of Vienne, saw his clergj- diminish so rapidly through persecution, that only about one-third of them remained, with no recruits to replace them. It was impossible to maintain a college or a seminarj', so in 1800 he founded a school in the almost inaccessible little village of St. SJ^n- phorien de Mahun, in the mountains of the Vivarais. This institution was placed in the charge of Father Lapierre, who had managed to take care of the parish of St. SjTnphorien during this period of persecution. His assistant was Father Marie Joseph Actorie, who had been professor of philosophy in the seminary of Die before the Revolution. In spite of its humble beginning and the many dangers to which it was exposed, the school prospered. In 1802, the state of the countrj- had improved to such an extent that concealment was no longer necessary, and Father Picansel, parish priest of Annonay, and vicar general of the diocese, succeeded in obtaining from the municipal authorities of that town the lease of a former Franciscan monasterj', to which the school was transferred. For many years the school per- formed the work which the bishop had expected from it, but the long fight against poverty and the perse- cution of so-called liberals threatened at last to be too much for those in charge. Some other method had to be tried, and in 1822, the professors asked to be permitted to found a religious community, with the college at .\nnonay for its mother-house. The Bishop of Viviers, in whose diocese the tonTi of Annonay was included, granted the necessary per- mission, and appointed a commission to draw up a rule for the new society. On 21 November, 1822, the ten members who were at the time the teaching staff of the college, made the promise which bound them temporarily to the work. They were, leathers Lapierre, Duret, Vallon, Polly, Tourvieille, Tracol, Martineche, Fayolle, Payan, and Pages.

In 1837 a constitution was dra%\ii up and sent to Rome for approval. By this the members of the society were to be bound by the simple vows of poverty, obedience, chastity, and stability. The vow of poverty, however, was limited. Each member of the commimity could retain all liis own property and his Mass intentions, and was to receive a small salary from the community. By his vow he could not accumulate and increase his possessions, but had to spend all his salarj' and the annual income from his property, and this included the prohibition of speculation or any other worldly monejTnaking. The community was to be under the direction of a superior general, residing at Annonay. in the Diocese of Viviers, France. The aim of the society was to be the education of Catholic youth, especially of such as intended to become priests. Tliis constitution was