(February 16, 1564) declaring again that the Albanians are to obey the diocesan authority of the local bishop; "but by this we do not mean that the Greeks themselves are to be taken from their Greek rite, or that they are to be in any way hindered by the Ordinaries or by others."[1] However, in spite of constant Papal legislation, there are many cases of bishops who do try to make the Albanians of their diocese turn Latin. For instance, in 1616 Mgr. Buonincontro, Bishop of Girgenti, made a determined but an unsuccessful effort to persuade those of the great colony of Contessa,[2] in his diocese, to adopt the Latin rite.[3] In 1622 Cardinal Gaetano, Archbishop of Taranto, forbade the Byzantine rite to the Albanians between Lecce and Taranto (the district called Albania).[4] Through such efforts as these, and through the prejudice of the Italians around them, which made their rite burdensome, during the course of time a great number of Albanians did finally give up their own peculiarities. This happened in various ways. Sometimes they kept their language, but adopted the Roman rite; sometimes, on the other hand, they lost their language, learnt to speak only Italian, but still preserved the Byzantine rite in Greek. It is not wonderful that among a minority, surrounded by suspicious Italian neighbours, many should eventually have become italianized. The wonderful thing is rather that, in spite of all, so many still keep their own language and rite.
In arranging their position the Holy See at first required that, where there were colonies of the Byzantine rite in the diocese, the Latin Ordinary should have a special Byzantine Vicar General to look after their affairs. But this did not really solve the difficulty. Without a bishop of their rite it was impossible that their state should be satisfactory. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries there are all kinds of confusion of rite. Byzantine clergy are ordained by Latin bishops, according to the Roman rite, and then themselves use that of Constantinople. The faithful frequent Sacraments according to the Roman rite when they cannot find a priest of their own; and conversely many Latins living in places where the majority is Byzantine go to the Byzantine churches
- ↑ Const. Romanus Pontifex, cf. Bull. Rom. (Rome, 1745, tom. iv, Part II, p. 169).
- ↑ See p. 167 for Contessa.
- ↑ The story is told in Rodotà, iii, 114-115.
- ↑ His excuse, or opportunity, was the arrival of a swindler who called himself Archbishop of Corinth, and ordained priests; but then turned out to be not a bishop at all. Rodotà, iii, 103.
