Spanish Basilians were Latins, using the Roman rite; so they do not concern us here.[1]
To remedy so many evils, at last Gregory XIII (1572-1585) decided to form the Basilians of Italy, Sicily, and Spain into one Congregation under one general, after the manner of so many Western religious orders. This is pure Latinism. Nothing could be, in principle, more alien from the ideal of Byzantine monasticism than this organization as one Congregation. Yet, no doubt, it was the best way of remedying their disorders. If the purist regrets this case of latinizing a Byzantine institution, he should remember that the monks brought it on themselves. They could have kept their ancient system unchallenged if they had led decent lives. It is better for a monk obey even a latinized rule than none at all. Cardinal Sirlet persuaded the Pope to take this step. In 1579 Gregory issued his Constitution for the Order of St Basil in Italy, Sicily, Spain. Other Uniate Byzantine monks, for instance, those of Ruthenia, Hungary, Transylvania, though they had the same rule, were not to belong to this Congregation. The Pope abolished the abuse of the Commendatory Archimandrites, who were not monks at all. The monks are to be exempt from the jurisdiction of the Ordinaries. The Congregation is to hold a General Chapter every three years, to watch over discipline and reform abuses. This chapter is to elect a Minister generalis, visitors for the monasteries, and a procurator general. All monasteries of the Basilians in Italy, Sicily, Spain, are subject to the general. The first General
- ↑ The Basilian order spread into Spain at the time when the Spanish king also ruled Naples and the two Sicilies. The founder of the Spanish branch was a certain Fr. Bernard della Cruz in Andalusia, who obtained a Brief from Pius IV (1559-1565) in 1561. He went to Grottaferrata to learn the rule and made his own profession there. There were seven monasteries in Andalusia and six in Castile. But great disputes arose in Spain between a reformed and the unreformed branches of the order. Finally Gregory XIII united all Basilians of Italy, Sicily, and Spain in one Congregation (see above). Those of Spain were always Latins of the Roman rite. Gregory XIII, in his Constitution of 1577, says that, although the Holy See had required them, after a certain number of years, to adopt the Byzantine rite, "the time appointed is now past, and they, frightened by the labour of learning Greek, neglect the Greek rite and keep the Latin one in which they have been brought up" (see the text quoted by Allatius, "de Consensu," lib. iii, chap. ii, § 8, cols. 1092-1093, and Rodota, "del Rito greco," ii, p. 154, n.). There are now no longer any Spanish or other Latin Basilians. For their history see Rodotà, op. cit., ii, cap. ix, pp. 146-159; Moroni, "Diz. di Erud.," iv, 183-185; Hergenröther in Archiv. f. Kath. Kirchenrecht, N.F. ii (1862), p. 82.
