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Basilian monks areEastern Christianity monks who follow the rule ofBasil the Great,bishop of Caesarea (330–379). The term 'Basilian' is typically used only in theCatholic Church to distinguish Greek Catholic monks from other forms ofmonastic life in the Catholic Church. In theEastern Orthodox Church, all monks follow the Rule of Saint Basil, and so do not distinguish themselves as 'Basilian'.
The monastic rules and institutes of St. Basil are important because their reconstruction of monastic life remains the basis for most Eastern Orthodox and some Greek Catholic monasticism.Benedict of Nursia, who fulfilled much the same function in theWest, took hisRegula Benedicti from the writings of Basil and other earlierChurch Fathers.
All religious who follow the Rule of St. Basil are embraced within the term "Basilians",[1] although the "Rule" is not a singular document like various Westernmonastic rules; rather, it is a collection of Basil's responses to questions about theascetic life: hence a more accurate, original name isAsketikon.
Attribution of the Rule and other ascetical writings to St. Basil has been questioned. But the tendency is to recognize as his, at any rate, the two sets of Rules: theGreater Asketikon and theLesser Asketicon. Perhaps the truest idea of his monastic system may be derived from a correspondence between him and St.Gregory Nazianzen at the beginning of his monastic life.
St. Basil drew up hisAsketikon for the members of themonastery he founded in about 356 on the banks of theIris River inCappadocia. Before forming this community, St. Basil had visitedEgypt,Coele-Syria,Mesopotamia, andPalestine to investigate monastic life in these countries. In Palestine andSyria, monasticism tended to become increasinglyeremitical and run to great extravagances in bodily austerities. When St. Basil formed his monastery in the neighborhood ofNeocaesarea inPontus, he deliberately set himself against these tendencies. He declaredcenobitical life as superior to the eremitical; thatfasting and austerities should not interfere with prayer or work; that work should be an integral part of monastic life, not merely as an occupation, but for its own sake and to do good to others; and therefore, monasteries should be near towns. St. Gregory Nazianzen, who shared the retreat, aided St. Basil by his advice and experience. All this was a new departure in monachism.[2]
In his Rule, St. Basil follows thecatechetical structure wherein the disciple asks a question to which the master replies. As he visited early ascetic communities, the members there would have questions. His responses were written down and formed the "Small Asketikon", published in 366.[3]
He limits himself to laying down indisputable principles which will guide superiors and monks in their conduct. He has his monks refer to Sacred Scripture; in his eyes, theBible is the basis of all monastic law and is the true Rule. The questions refer generally to the virtues monks should practice and the vices to avoid. The greater number of his replies quote one or several verses from the Bible, then comment on their meaning. The most striking qualities of the Basilian Rule are its prudence and its wisdom, leaving to superiors the care of settling the many details of local, individual, and daily life. It also does not delineate the material exercise of observance, or the administrative regulations of each monastery. Poverty, obedience, renunciation, andself-abnegation are the virtues which St. Basil cites as foundational to monastic life.[1] The rule's references to "diligent work", linked to the role of hospitality and care for the needy, are highlighted inPope Leo XIV'sexhortation to all Christians on "love for the poor".[4]
The Rule of St. Basil is divided into two parts, the "Greater Monastic Rules" and the "Lesser Rules". In 397,Rufinus translated these intoLatin as a single document,Regulae sancti Basilii episcopi Cappadociae ad monachos. St. Basil's influence ensured the propagation of Basilianmonachism; andSozomen says that inCappadocia and nearby provinces there were no hermits but only cenobites. This Rule was followed by some Western monasteries, and was a major source for theRule of St. Benedict.[3]
The monasteries ofCappadocia were the first to accept the Rule of St. Basil; it afterwards spread gradually to most monasteries in the East. Those ofArmenia,Chaldea, and of theSyrian countries in general preferred instead the observances known among them as the Rule ofSt. Anthony. Protected by emperors andpatriarchs, the monasteries increased rapidly in number. The monks took an active part in the ecclesiastical life of their time as monasteries became places of refuge for studious men. Many bishops and patriarchs were chosen from their ranks, and gave to the preaching of the Gospel its greatest apostles. The position of monks in the Empire was one of great power, and their wealth helped to increase their influence. Thus, their development ran a course parallel to that of their Western brethren.[1]
As a rule, monks followed the theological vicissitudes of the emperors and patriarchs, and showed no notable independence except during theiconoclastic persecution; the stand they took in this aroused the anger of imperial controversialists. The Faith had its martyrs among them; many of them were condemned to exile, and some took advantage of this condemnation to reorganize their religious life inItaly.
Of all the monasteries of this period the most celebrated was that ofSt. John the Baptist of Stoudio, founded atConstantinople in the fifth century. It acquired its fame in the time of the iconoclastic persecution while it was under the government of the saintlyhegoumenos (abbot) Theodore, called the Studite. In 781, Platon, a monk of the Symbola Monastery inBithynia, and the uncle ofTheodore the Studite, converted the family estate into theSakkoudion Monastery. Platon served as abbot, with Theodore as his assistant. In 794, Theodore was ordained byTarasios of Constantinople and became abbot. Around 797,Empress Irene made Theodore leader of the ancientStoudios Monastery in Constantinople. He set himself to reform his monastery and restore St. Basil's spirit in its primitive vigour. To do this and ensure its permanence, he saw need for a more practical code of laws to regulate details of the daily life, supplementary to St. Basil's Rules. He therefore drew up constitutions, later codified, which became the norm at Stoudios and gradually spread to the monasteries in the rest of the Empire. Thus, to this day the Rule of St. Basil and the Constitutions ofTheodore the Studite, along with the canons of the Councils, constitute the chief part of Greek and Russian monastic law.[2]
The monastery was an active center of intellectual and artistic life and a model which exercised considerable influence on monastic observances in the East. Theodore attributed the observances followed by his monks to his uncle, the saintly Abbot Plato, who first introduced them in his monastery of Sakkoudion. The other monasteries, one after another adopted them, and they are still followed by monks onMount Athos.
Monks from Athos participated at theSeventh Ecumenical Council of Nicaea of 787. In 885, a decree ofEmperor Basil I proclaimed Mount Athos a place of monks, with no laymen or farmers or cattle-breeders allowed to settle there. TheMonastery of St. Catherine onMount Sinai, built in 548, goes back to the early days of monasticism, and is still occupied by monks.[5]
Fine penmanship and the copying of manuscripts were held in honor among the Basilians. Among the monasteries which excelled in the art of copying were Stoudios, Mount Athos, the monastery onPatmos and that ofRossano in Sicily; the tradition was continued later by the monastery ofGrottaferrata nearRome. These monasteries and others were also studios ofreligious art, as the monks toiled to produceminiatures inmanuscripts, paintings, and gold objects.
Byzantine monasteries furnish a long line of historians who were also monks:Georgius Syncellus, who wrote a "Selected Chronographia"; his friend and disciple Theophanes (d. 817), Abbot of the "Great Field" nearCyzicus, the author of anotherChronographia; PatriarchNikephoros, who wrote (815–829) an historicalBreviarium (a Byzantine history), and an "Abridged Chronographia";[9]George the Monk, whose Chronicle stops at A. D. 842.
There were, besides, a large number of monks,hagiographers,hymnologists, and poets who had a large share in the development of Greek liturgy. Among the authors of hymns may be mentioned:Romanus the Melodist;[10]Andrew of Crete;Cosmas of Jerusalem, andJoseph the Hymnographer.
From the beginning, the Oriental Churches often took their patriarchs and bishops from the monasteries. Later, when thesecular clergy were recruited largely from among married men, this custom became almost universal, for, as the episcopal office could not be conferred upon men who were married, it developed to become a privilege of the religious who had taken the vow ofcelibacy. Owing to this, the monks formed a separate class akin to the upper clergy of Western Churches; this gave and still gives a preponderating influence to the monasteries themselves. In some of them theological instruction is given both to clerics and to laymen. In the East, convents for women adopted the Rule of St. Basil and have constitutions copied from those of Basilian monks.
St. Cyril and St. Methodius, the Apostles of the Slavs were noted Basilian missionaries. In 1980,Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints of Europe, together with St. Benedict of Nursia.
During theMuslim conquest, a large number of monasteries were destroyed, especially those monasteries inAnatolia and the region around Constantinople.
After theGreat Schism, most Basilian monasteries became part of theEastern Orthodox Church; some inItaly remained incommunion with theCatholic Church.
St. Nilus the Younger was a monk and a propagator of the Rule of St. Basil in Italy.[11] TheOratory of Saint Mark inRossano was founded by Nilus, as a place of retirement for nearby eremite monks. It retained the Greek Rite long after the town came underNorman rule. TheRossano Gospels is a 6th-century illuminated manuscriptevangeliary written following the reconquest of theItalian peninsula by the Byzantine Empire.
In 1004, St. Nilus founded the Basilian Monastery of Santa Maria, inGrottaferrata; it was completed by his discipleBartholomew of Grottaferrata, who was also of Greek heritage.[12] The emigration of Greeks to the West after thefall of Constantinople gave a certain prestige to these communities.Cardinal Bessarion, who was Abbot of Grottaferrata, sought to stimulate the intellectual life of the Basilians by means of the literary treasures which their libraries contained. Other Italian monasteries of the Basilian Order were affiliated with the Monastery of Grottaferrata in 1561.
Spanish Basilians were suppressed with the other orders in 1835, and have since not been re-established.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Basilian Monks".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 469. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Rule of St. Basil".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.| International | |
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