- 4. The Monks of St Saviour and the Monks of Shuwair.
Two Congregations of Melkite monks have played so important a part in the history of their Church that we must add some notice about them here. It is well known that in Eastern Churches, at least originally, there was no such thing as a distinction of religious orders. An Eastern monk is simply a monk; no further description is needed. All, or nearly all,[1] follow the rule of St Basil; each monastery, possibly with its dependent houses, is a community independent of all others, though subject to the jurisdiction of the Ordinary.[2] However, this old principle has been considerably modified in the case of the Uniate Churches. Under Western influence most of these now have what comes to much the same thing as our distinction of religious orders. That is to say, Congregations are formed under one general head. Such a congregation adopts the rule of St Basil to its own special needs and circumstances, so as to make practically a rule of its own. Generally, all are Basilian, but with differences. Perhaps the best parallel in the West would be the various divisions of the Franciscan order. And then, of late years, there have been totally new Congregations, founded entirely on Western lines, like our Jesuits, Redemptorists, Passionists, and so on.
Two such Congregations of monks, eventually three, play a great part in Melkite history, forming rival centres, around which parties are grouped. These are the Congregations of the Salvatorians and the Shuwairites. The Salvatorians[3] were founded by the famous Euthymios Ibnu-ṣṢaifi, Metropolitan of Tyre and uncle of the Patriarch Cyril VI. In 1687, under Cyril V, Euthymios founded the monastery of St Saviour (Dair alMukhallis), near the village Ǵūn in the Kharrūb district of the Southern Lebanon.[4] He sent there a certain Father Na'amatullah as Superior, with several monks. In 1708 they began building their monastery. Needless to say, in view of their founder's known zeal, this monastery became a great centre of reunion. It was, of course, faithful to Cyril VI in his quarrel with Silvester of Cyprus; as soon as the Uniate Melkite Church was organized the monks of Dair alMukhallis
- ↑ There are some monasteries that follow a rule ascribed to St Antony, the first hermit.
- ↑ Stauropegia monasteries are subject immediately to the Patriarch.
- ↑ Their early history is told by C. Charon, Echos d'Orient, v, 24. They occur again throughout all accounts of the Melkite Church.
- ↑ Between Ṣaidā (Sidon) and Beirut.
