Basilian

Basilian, member of any of several Christian monastic communities that follow the Rule of St. Basil. (The Basilians is also the name of a Latin-rite congregation founded in France in 1822 and later active mainly in Canada, its members devoting themselves to the education of youth.)

St. Basil, theologian and archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia (modern Turkey), set down his monastic rule between 358 and 364, and possibly was influenced by the monasteries founded by St. Pachomius of the Thebaid. St. Basil’s rule was simple but strict and called for his followers to live a life in common (cenobitism), in contrast to the followers of both St. Anthony of Egypt and St. Pachomius. Basil carefully avoided the extreme asceticism of the desert hermits. His rule, found in two forms, Regulae fusius tractatae (55 items) and Regulae brevius tractatae (313 items), follows a question-and-answer form and encourages ascetic practices as a means to the perfect service of God. The rule calls for community living under obedience with hours of liturgical prayer and with manual as well as mental work. Basil’s rule implied vows of chastity and poverty, similar to those set down in Western monasticism at a later time. Basil also called for children to be trained in schools attached to the monastery, along with opportunities for testing the students’ possible vocations to the religious life. The monks also were advised to take care of the poor. St. Theodore of Studios revised the rule of Basil in the 9th century.

There are five major branches of the Order of St. Basil in the Byzantine Rite: (1) Grottaferrata in the Italo-Albanian Rite was restored in 1880 in its Greek traditions and controls monasteries in southern Italy and Sicily. Grottaferrata was once famous for creating religious art and illumination and for copying manuscripts. (2) St. Josaphat in the Ukrainian and Romanian Rite was introduced in Kiev in 1072 by St. Theodosius and became the model for the Ukrainian, White Russian, and Russian monasteries. In the 17th and 18th centuries, its special interest was the union of the Ukrainian and Roman churches. Reformed by Pope Leo XIII, these Basilians spread into Galicia, Ruthenia, Yugoslavia, and Romania and then followed immigrants into the United States, Canada, and Latin America. The present name dates from 1932. (3) St. Savior in the Melchite Rite was founded by the Archbishop of Tyre and Sidon in 1684 and placed under the rule of Basil in 1743. Members engaged in parochial ministry in Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, and the city of Damascus prior to 1832. The Vatican approved their constitution in 1955, and they now have foundations in the United States as well. (4) The Basilian Order of St. John the Baptist, also known as the Order of Suwayr, or the Baladites, was founded in 1712 and added the vow of humility to the usual vows. Its motherhouse is in Lebanon, and the Vatican set its canonical status in 1955. (5) The Basilian Order of Aleppo separated from the preceding group in 1829 and was approved by the Vatican in 1832, with headquarters in Lebanon.