Basilian Monks

[Diak]

So is there an actual “Basilian Order?” Or is it just a name given to the Eastern monks to happen to follow St. Basil’s rule? From what you write, it seems to be the latter.

The short answer is “yes” and it is somewhat confusing.

Most all monks of the Constantinopolitan tradition (whether Catholic or Orthodox) follow the *Longer Rules *of St. Basil the Great in one form or another. One popular “condensing” of the Longer Rules was done by St. Theodore the Studite for his urban monastery of the Studion. Others have spawned off of that rule, such as that of the Kyiv Caves-Pecherska Lavra.

So sometimes one is called “Basilian” because they follow the *Longer Rules * of St. Basil or a variant.

The Order of St. Basil the Great is a recognized monastic (some refer to them as paramonastic) community of both the Latin and Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church. The Latin and the Eastern branches have their own hierarchy and they are in essence completely separate.

While they do still adhere to a version of St. Basil’s Rules they were “reformed” especially in the 18th and 19th centuries to be more of an “order” rather than the usual Slavic monastic style of life where each monastery (lavra) had its own variation of the monastic rule or typikon. As has been previously mentioned they have been in the process of restoration to a more authentic Eastern monastic life since Metropolitan Andrey’s time.

The Eastern branches use the abbreviation O.S.B.M. (in Ukrainian ЧСВВ) In our Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church there is a Protohegumen and various Hegumens of the Basilians.

With the exception of the Russian Catholic Church (who had their own variations of Latin orders when active) which is very small I believe you can find Basilian priests and sisters still in ministry in the remainder of the Greek Catholic Churches.

So the short answer is when you refer to someone as “Basilian” it can mean more than one thing.
FDRLB

 

[ASimpleSinner]

The short answer is “yes” and it is somewhat confusing.

Most all monks of the Constantinopolitan tradition (whether Catholic or Orthodox) follow the *Longer Rules *of St. Basil the Great in one form or another. One popular “condensing” of the Longer Rules was done by St. Theodore the Studite for his urban monastery of the Studion. Others have spawned off of that rule, such as that of the Kyiv Caves-Pecherska Lavra.

So sometimes one is called “Basilian” because they follow the *Longer Rules * of St. Basil or a variant.

The Order of St. Basil the Great is a recognized monastic (some refer to them as paramonastic) community of both the Latin and Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church. The Latin and the Eastern branches have their own hierarchy and they are in essence completely separate.

While they do still adhere to a version of St. Basil’s Rules they were “reformed” especially in the 18th and 19th centuries to be more of an “order” rather than the usual Slavic monastic style of life where each monastery (lavra) had its own variation of the monastic rule or typikon. As has been previously mentioned they have been in the process of restoration to a more authentic Eastern monastic life since Metropolitan Andrey’s time.

The Eastern branches use the abbreviation O.S.B.M. (in Ukrainian ЧСВВ) In our Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church there is a Protohegumen and various Hegumens of the Basilians.

With the exception of the Russian Catholic Church (who had their own variations of Latin orders when active) which is very small I believe you can find Basilian priests and sisters still in ministry in the remainder of the Greek Catholic Churches.

So the short answer is when you refer to someone as “Basilian” it can mean more than one thing.
FDRLB

This is well stated. Perhaps also worth mentioning, any number of Latin orders that use a variation of a Rule commonly found in the west have experienced wide variation in its application and their community life. Benedictines and Carmelites who (in different places, and different times) have used manifold models of religous life. Benedictines in the 1950s (before the council) had many folks from within and without who were calling for a reform as different Benedictine communities had begun to look, feel, and act far more like Apostolic Religous communities than more pure monastics. (Some called for the withdrawl from parishes, colleges, and schools, and a return to the monasteries.)

One might argue that this “style drift” isn’t a pure Latinization per se (although it was also common to the Latins) inasmuch as not all Latin parties in communities that experienced it saw it as a natural or necessarily desirable progession. That is to say it isn’t a completely foregone conclusion that “in the West” such a style drift is always considered good and natural. This isn’t a completely agreed upon “Latin value”.

All this being said, I am prepared to suffer slings and arrows for being so bold as to suggest that there in fact may be room for both forms of religous life in the Eastern Catholic Churches, even if some of the more modern “Apostolic religous” models aren’t commonly found or met with enthusiasm among our Eastern Orthodox counterparts. (Though one Orthodox priest once said with a smile - only half jokingly - “Would that we had our own Jesuits!”)

 

[Diak]

The contribution of these holy men and women are tremendous, even to the point of martyrdom and canonization. There were several Basilians and Redemptorists (and some other congregations) included in the beatifications by John Paul II during his visit to Ukraine.

It can be both ways, indeed. It is often heard about how latinized and “hybridized” these congregations became. There are other stories as well - one being the Redemptorists such as Blesseds Mykola Charnetsky and Vasyl Vsevelod Velychkovsky who were responsible for adhering to and in some cases getting villages and communities in which they were ministering to return to the more authentic and traditional Eastern liturgical practices in fidelity to the directives of Metropolitan Andrey. And they continue to produce such bishops as +Vasyly and +Mykhaylo (Koltun) who are both faithful to their Church as shepherds and examples for fidelity to the authentic Kyivan monastic and liturgical tradition.

There are Benedictines and Oblates in the Orthodox Church. I know a man who is an Oblate attached to an Antiochian parish and they have the blessing of Metropolitan +Philip (Saliba) stcolumbachurch.org/benedictine_oblates.html

There is also an Oratory in Canada in the Western Rite (Our Lady of Glastonbury) that as I recall is working with ROCOR.
FDRLB