The
Order of St. Basil the Great (OSBM , ,
Chyn Sviatoho Vasyliia Velykoho) also known as the
Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat is an
monasticMonasticism is the religious practice in which one renounces worldly pursuits in order to fully devote one's life to spiritual work...
religious orderA religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
of the
Greek Catholic ChurchGreek Catholic Church is a term which refers to the Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine liturgical tradition...
es that is present in many countries and that has its Mother House in Rome. The order received approbation on August 20, 1631. Its monks, brothers, and priests work primarily with
Ukrainian CatholicsThe Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , also known as the Ukrainian Catholic Church, is one of the successor Churches to the acceptance of Christianity by Grand Prince Vladimir the Great of Kyiv, in 988. UGCC is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with...
and are also present in other Greek-Catholic Churches in Central and Eastern Europe.
The order is based upon the ascetic writings of Saint Basil the Great (329-379, in accordance with the Rule of St Basil laid down by him and later developed by Saint Theodore the Studite (760-826),
Saint Theodosius of KyivTheodosius of Kiev is an 11th century saint who brought Cenobitic Monasticism to Kievan Rus' and, together with St Anthony of Kiev, founded the Kiev Kiev Caves Lavra...
(†1074), Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych (1580-1623) and the Metropolitan of Kyiv Joseph Benjamin Rutsky (1574-1637).
Monastic life began to develop in
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
in the times of Saint Volodymyr the Great (980-1015), when the first monks settled in the caves near Kyiv led by
Sts. Anthony and TheodosiusAnthony and Theodosius were sainted founders of the Russian and Ukrainian monasticism. They established the Kiev Pechersk Monastery in the mid-11th century. See Saint Anthony of Kiev and Theodosius of Kiev for details....
.
The
Order of St. Basil the Great (OSBM , ,
Chyn Sviatoho Vasyliia Velykoho) also known as the
Basilian Order of Saint Josaphat is an
monasticMonasticism is the religious practice in which one renounces worldly pursuits in order to fully devote one's life to spiritual work...
religious orderA religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
of the
Greek Catholic ChurchGreek Catholic Church is a term which refers to the Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine liturgical tradition...
es that is present in many countries and that has its Mother House in Rome. The order received approbation on August 20, 1631. Its monks, brothers, and priests work primarily with
Ukrainian CatholicsThe Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , also known as the Ukrainian Catholic Church, is one of the successor Churches to the acceptance of Christianity by Grand Prince Vladimir the Great of Kyiv, in 988. UGCC is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with...
and are also present in other Greek-Catholic Churches in Central and Eastern Europe.
History
The order is based upon the ascetic writings of Saint Basil the Great (329-379, in accordance with the Rule of St Basil laid down by him and later developed by Saint Theodore the Studite (760-826),
Saint Theodosius of KyivTheodosius of Kiev is an 11th century saint who brought Cenobitic Monasticism to Kievan Rus' and, together with St Anthony of Kiev, founded the Kiev Kiev Caves Lavra...
(†1074), Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych (1580-1623) and the Metropolitan of Kyiv Joseph Benjamin Rutsky (1574-1637).
Monastic life began to develop in
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
in the times of Saint Volodymyr the Great (980-1015), when the first monks settled in the caves near Kyiv led by
Sts. Anthony and TheodosiusAnthony and Theodosius were sainted founders of the Russian and Ukrainian monasticism. They established the Kiev Pechersk Monastery in the mid-11th century. See Saint Anthony of Kiev and Theodosius of Kiev for details....
. After the Mongol invasions in the 13th century the monks fled to western lands of
Halych-VolhyniaThe Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia or Galicia–Vladimir, was a principality in post-Kievan Rus in the late 12th century and existed until the middle of the 14th century...
and the
Grand Duchy of LithuaniaThe Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until 1795. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the pagan Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija...
, spreading Eastern Monasticism there. After the Eastern Rite
RutheniaRuthenia is a geographic and culturo-ethnic name applied to the parts of Eastern Europe populated by Eastern Slavic peoples, as well as to the past various states that existed in these territories. Essentially, the word is a Latin rendering of the ancient place name Rus...
n (modern day
BelarusBelarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel , Mahilyow and Vitebsk...
and
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
) Church has re-affirmed its communion with the Catholic Church in the
Union of BrestUnion of Brest or Union of Brześć refers to the 1595-1596 decision of the Church of Rus', the "Metropolia of Kiev-Halych and all Rus'", to break relations with the Patriarch of Constantinople and place themselves under the Pope of Rome, in order to avoid the domination of the newly established...
in 1596. The monasteries living according to the rules of St. Basil and St. Theodore Studite, previously undergoing a period of laxity and decline, were reformed by the initiative of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych and Joseph Benjamin Rutsky started in the monastery of the Holy Trinity in
VilniusVilnius Vilnius Vilnius as of 2008. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the...
. Following this reform in 1617 the individual monasteries united into a single congregation under a Protarchimandrite directly subject to the Metropolitan, similar to the path Western Rite monasticism took during the Middle Ages. In 1739 a second congregation was formed by monasteries in Halychyna and in 1744 both congregations were united in the Ruthenian Order of St. Basil the Great by Pope Benedict XIV.
The Order of St. Basil the Great spread and flourished across modern day Belarus and Ukraine and played a key role in the education both of laity and clergy and helped preserve the distinctiveness of the Ruthenian culture in the predominantly Polish and Roman Catholic
Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthThe Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was formed by the union of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569. The new Commonwealth was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th-century Europe....
until the
partitions of PolandThe Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The partitions were carried out by Prussia, Russia and Habsburg Austria dividing up the Commonwealth lands...
by the end of the 18th century. In 1772 the Order had over 200 monasteries and over 1000 monks, six
seminariesA seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of higher education for instructing students , sometimes at the postgraduate level, in philosophy, theology, spirituality and the religious life, to prepare students for ordination as clergy or other ministry...
, twenty schools and colleges and four printing houses.
In the last years of the 18th century most of the Ruthenian lands came under the
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, where the Order along with the whole Ruthenian Church was persecuted and eventually the monasteries were subjected under the Russian Orthodox Church. A small part of modern day Ukraine came under the
AustrianThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire founded on a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire centered on what is today's Austria that officially lasted from 1804 to 1867...
rule were the fate of the Ruthenian Church was much better. However, the Order suffered under the policies of Emperor Joseph II, directed generally against all religious orders. In the second half of the 19th century efforts were undertaken to renew the Order. By 1882 it was reduced to just 60 monks in 14 monasteries. With permission from Pope Leo XII the Basilian Constitution was updated with help from the
Society of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic religious order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits.Jesuits are the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church, with 18,815 members—13,305 priests, 2,295 scholastic students, 1,758 brothers and 827 novices—as of January 2008, although the...
starting with
DobromylDobromyl is a city in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is located at around , some 5 kilometers to the border with Poland. Population: 5,000 ....
monastery, changing the character to one less sedentary and more missionary, among other things allowing the monks to work with
Ukrainian diasporaThe term Ukrainian diaspora refers to the global community of ethnic Ukrainians, usually more specifically those who maintain some kind of connection, even if ephemeral, to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Ukrainian national identity within their own local community.-1608...
overseas. The Basilians reached
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
(1897),
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(1902), USA (1907) and
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
(1934). New provinces were established covering
TranscarpathiaTranscarpathia may refer to:* Carpathian Ruthenia, a historic region* Zakarpattia Oblast, an administrative unit of Ukraine-See also:* Carpathia* Subcarpathia...
,
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
and
YugoslaviaYugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century.The first country to be known by this...
and
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
. By 1939 the number of monks rose to over 650.
Following the Second World War, the Russians entered further into
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
and forced the
Ukrainian Greek Catholic ChurchThe Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , also known as the Ukrainian Catholic Church, is one of the successor Churches to the acceptance of Christianity by Grand Prince Vladimir the Great of Kyiv, in 988. UGCC is the largest Eastern Rite Catholic sui juris particular church in full communion with...
into the catacombs. In all of the Soviet controlled territories only a single Basilian monastery was left open, in the Polish capital of
WarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2009 was estimated at 1,709,781, and the Warsaw metropolitan area at approximately 2,785,000...
. Nonetheless, the Order survived among the Ukrainian diaspora in the free world (and in communist Yugoslavia where the regime was relatively benign) and in Ukraine itself where the monks secretly prayed and catechesized.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union the Order was reëstablished in independent
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
and other
CentralCentral Europe is the region lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. The term and widespread interest in the region itself came back into fashion after the end of the Cold War, which, along with the Iron Curtain, had divided Europe politically into East and West,...
and
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
an countries such as
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
,
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
and
SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
. Some old monasteries have been restored and new ones established. In 2001 there were over 600 monks, 300 of them in Ukraine.
Notable Basilians
- Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych - Bishop and Martyr
- Blessed Josaphat Kotsylovsky
Blessed Josaphat Joseph Kotsylovsky was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishop and martyr.Kotsylovsky was born 3 March 1876 in the village of Pakoszowka , of the Lemko Region. Kotsylovsky was of Lemko origin, and Ukrainian national orientation...
- Bishop and Martyr
- Blessed Paul Gojdič - Bishop and Martyr
- Blessed Severian Baranyk
Blessed Severian Stefan Baranyk was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest and martyr.Baranyk was born in Austrian Galicia . He entered the Monastery of the Order of St Basil the Great in Krekhiv in 1904. On May 16, he took his first monastic vows and then on September 21, 1910 he took his perpetual...
- Priest and Martyr
- Blessed Yakym Senkivskyi
Blessed Yakym Senkivskyi was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest and martyr.Senkivskyi was born in the village of Hayi Velykyi in Ternopil Oblast. He studied theology in Lviv, and was ordained a priest on 4 December 1921. He received a doctorate in theology from Innsbruck. In 1923 he went to...
- Priest and Martyr
- Blessed Vitaliy Bairak - Priest and Martyr
- Servant of God Andrew Sheptytsky - Confessor of the Faith
- Blessed Josaphata Hordashevska
Josaphata Hordashevska a Ukrainian Greek-Catholic nun, was the first member of the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate. In 1869, Mykhaylyna Hordashevska was born in Lwów...
- Foundress, Teacher, and Missionary
External links