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call themselves Basilians. St Basil's claim to the authorship of the Rules and other ascetical writings that go under his name, has been questioned; but the tendency now is to recognize as his at any See also:

RATE

rate the two sets of Rules. Probably the truest See also:

IDEA (Gr. Ibia, connected with i&eiv, to see; cf. Lat. species from specere, to look at)

idea of his monastic See also:

SYSTEM

system may be derived from a See also:

correspondence between him and St See also:

Gregory Nazianzen at the beginning of his monastic life, the chief portions whereof are translated by See also:

Newman in the See also:

Church of the Fathers, " Basil and Gregory," §§ 4, 5. On leaving See also:

Athens Basil visited the monasteries of See also:

EGYPT

Egypt and See also:

PALESTINE

Palestine; in the latter See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country and in See also:

SYRIA

Syria the monastic life tended to become more and more eremitical and to run to great extravagances in the See also:

MATTER

matter of bodily austerities (see MONASTICISM). When (c. 36o) Basil formed his monastery in the neighbourhood of469 Neocaesarea in See also:

PONTUS

Pontus, he deliberately set himself against these tendencies. He declared that the cenobitical life is See also:

SUPERIOR

superior to the eremitical; that See also:

FASTING (from " fast," derived from old Teutonic fastejan; synonyms being the Gr. vnorebety, late Lat. jejunare)

fasting and austerities should not interfere with See also:

prayer or See also:

WORK

work; that work should See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form an integral See also:

PART

part of the monastic life, not merely as an occupation, but for its own See also:

SAKE

sake and in See also:

order to do See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good to others; and therefore that monasteries should be near towns. All this was a new departure in monachism. The life St Basil established was strictly cenobitical, with See also:

COMMON

common prayer seven times a day, common work, common meals. It was, in spite of the new ideas, an austere life, of the See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind called contemplative, given up to prayer, the See also:

READING

reading of the Scriptures and heavy See also:

field-work. The so-called Rules (the Longer and the Shorter) are catechisms of the spiritual life rather than a See also:

BODY

body of regulations for the corporate working of a community, such as is now understood by a monastic rule.

Apparently no vows were taken, but obedience, See also:

PERSONAL

personal poverty, chastity, self-denial, and the other monastic virtues were strongly enforced, and a See also:

monk was not See also:

FREE

free to abandon the monastic life. A novitiate had to be passed, and See also:

young boys were to be educated in the monastery, but were not expected to become monks. St Basil's See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence, and the greater suitability of his institute to See also:

EUROPEAN

European ideas, ensured the See also:

PROPAGATION

propagation of Basilian monachism; and See also:

SOZOMEN

Sozomen says that in See also:

CAPPADOCIA

Cappadocia and the neighbouring provinces there were no hermits but only See also:

CENOBITES (from Gr. wale's, common, and f3ios, life)

cenobites. However, the eastern hankering after the eremitical life See also:

long survived, and it was only by dint of legislation, both ecclesiastical (See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council of See also:

Chalcedon) and See also:

CIVIL

civil (Justinian See also:

CODE (Lat. codex)

Code), that the Basilian cenobitic form of monasticism came to prevail throughout the Greek-speaking lands, though the eremitical forms have always maintained themselves. Greek monachism underwent no development or See also:

CHANGE (derived through the Fr. from the Late Lat. cambium, cambiare, to barter; the ultimate derivation is probably from the root which appears in the Gr. «a urmu', to bend)

change for four centuries, except the vicissitudes inevitable in all things human, which in monasticism assume the form of alternations of relaxation and revival. The second See also:

HALF

half of the 8th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century seems to have been a See also:

time of very See also:

general decadence; but about the See also:

YEAR

year 800 See also:

Theodore, destined to be the only other creative name in Greek monachism, became See also:

abbot of the monastery of the Studium in See also:

Constantinople. He set himself to reform his monastery and restore St Basil's spirit in its See also:

PRIMITIVE

primitive vigour. But to effect this, and to give permanence to the See also:

reformation, he saw that there was need of a more See also:

PRACTICAL

practical code of See also:

LAWS

laws to regulate the details of the daily life, as a supplement to St Basil's Rules. He therefore See also:

drew up constitutions, afterwards codified (see See also:

MIGNE, JACQUES PAUL (1800-1875)

Migne, See also:

PATROL, (Fr. patrouiller, connected with pane, foot)

Patrol. Graec. xcix.,1704.—1757) , which became the norm of the life at the Studium monastery, and gradually spread thence to the monasteries of the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest of the Greek See also:

EMPIRE

empire. Thus to this day the Rules of Basil and the Constitutions of Theodore the Studite, along with the canons of the See also:

COUNCILS

Councils, constitute the chief part of Greek and See also:

RUSSIAN

Russian monastic See also:

law. The spirit of Greek monachism, as regenerated by Theodore, may best be gathered from his Letters, Discourses and Testament.' Under the abbot were several officials to superintend the various departments; the liturgical services in the church took up a considerable portion of the day, but Theodore seems to have made no See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to revive the See also:

early practice of the Studium in this matter (see AcoEMET1); the rest of the time was divided between reading and work; the latter included the chief handicrafts, for the monks, only ten in number, when Theodore became abbot, increased under his rule to over a thousand.

One kind of work practised with great zeal. and success by the Studite monks, was the copying of See also:

MANUSCRIPTS

manuscripts, so that to them and to the See also:

SCHOOLS

schools that went forth from them we owe a great number of existing Greek See also:

MSS. and the preservation of many See also:

WORKS

works of classical and ecclesiastical antiquity. In addition to this, See also:

LITERARY

literary and theological studies were pursued, and the See also:

MYSTICISM (from Or. µuety, to shut the eyes; µuorrts, one initiated into the mysteries)

mysticism of pseudo-See also:

Dionysius was cultivated. The life, though See also:

SIMPLE

simple and self-denying and hard, was not of extreme austerity. There was a See also:

DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division of the monks into two classes, similar to the division in See also:

VOGUE, EUGENE MELCHIOR, COMTE DE (1848- )

vogue in later time in the See also:

West into See also:

CHOIR (0. Fr. cuer from Lat. chorus; pronounced quire, and until the end of the 17th century so spelt, the spelling being altered to agree with the Fr. chceur)

choir-monks and See also:

lay-See also:

BROTHERS, RICHARD (1757-1824)

brothers. The life of the choir-monks was predominantly contemplative, r Specimen passages, and also a general picture of the life, will be found in See also:

MISS

Miss Alice See also:

Gardner's Theodore of Studium, ch. v. being taken up with the church services and private prayer and study; the lay-brothers carried on the various trades and See also:

EXTERNAL

external works. There is little or no See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence of works of charity outside the monastery being undertaken by Studite monks. Strict personal poverty was enforced, and all were encouraged to approach See also:

CONFESSION (Lat. confessio, from confiteor, acknowledge, confess)

confession and communion frequently. Vows had been imposed on monks by the council of Chalcedon (451). The picture of Studite life is the picture of normal Greek and Slavonic monachism to this day. During the See also:

MIDDLE

middle ages the centre of Greek monachism shifted from Constantinople to See also:

MOUNT, WILLIAM SIDNEY (1807-1868)

Mount See also:

ATHOS (Gr. "Aytov "Opos; Turk. Aineros; Ital. Monte Santo)

Athos. The first monastery to be founded here was that of St See also:

ATHANASIUS (293-373)

Athanasius (c.

96o), and in the course of the next three or four centuries monasteries in great numbers—Greek, Slavonic and one Latin—were established on Mount Athos, some twenty of which still survive. Basilian monachism spread from See also:

GREECE

Greece to See also:

Italy and See also:

Russia. See also:

RUFINUS, TYRANNIUS

Rufinus had translated St Basil's Rules into Latin (c. 400) and they became the rule of life in certain See also:

ITALIAN

Italian monasteries. They were known to St See also:

Benedict, who refers his monks to "the Rule of our See also:

HOLY

holy See also:

FATHER

Father Basil,"—indeed St Benedict owed more of the ground-ideas of his Rule to St Basil than to any other monastic legislator. In the 6th and 7th centuries there appear to have been Greek monasteries in See also:

Rome and See also:

south Italy and especially in See also:

SICILY (Ital. Sicilia)

Sicily. But during the course of the 8th, 9th and loth centuries crowds of fugitives poured into See also:

SOUTHERN

southern Italy from Greece and Sicily, under stress of the Saracenic, Arab and other invasions; and from the middle of the 9th century Basilian monasteries, peopled by Greek-speaking monks, were established in great See also:

numbers in See also:

CALABRIA

Calabria and spread northwards as far as Rome. Some of them existed on into the 18th century, but the only survivor now is the monastery founded by St Nilus (c. loco) at See also:

GROTTAFERRATA

Grottaferrata in the See also:

ALBAN, SAINT

Alban Hills. See also:

PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

Professor Kirsopp See also:

Lake has (1903) written four valuable articles (See also:

Journal of Theological Studies, iv., v.) on "The Greek monasteries of South Italy"; he deals in detail with their scriptoria and the dispersal of their See also:

LIBRARIES

libraries, a matter of much See also:

INTEREST

interest, in that some of the chief collections of Greek MSS. in western Europe—as the See also:

BESSARION, JOHANNES

Bessarion at. See also:

Venice and a great number at the Vatican—come from the spoils of these Italian Basilian houses. Of much greater importance was the importation of Basilian monachism into Russia, for it thereby became the norm of monachism for all the Slavonic lands. Greek monks played a considerable part in the evangelization of the Slays, and the first Russian monastery was foundedat See also:

Kiev (c.

1050) by a monk from Mount Athos. The monastic institute had a great development in Russia, and at the See also:

PRESENT

present day there are in the Russian empire some 400 monasteries of men and 100 of See also:

WOMEN

women, many of which support hospitals, almshouses and schools. In the other Slavonic lands there are a considerable number of monasteries, as also in Greece itself, while in the See also:

TURKISH

Turkish dominions there are no fewer than too Greek monasteries. The monasteries are of three kinds: cenobia proper, wherein full monastic common life, with personal poverty, is observed; others called idiorrhythmic, wherein the monks are allowed the use of their private means and See also:

lead a generally mitigated and free kind of monastic life; and the lauras, wherein the life is semi-eremitical. Greek and Slavonic monks See also:

WEAR

wear a See also:

black See also:

HABIT (through the French from Lat. habitus, from habere, to have, hold, or, in a reflective sense, to be in a certain condition; in many of the English senses the French use habitude, not habit)

habit. The visits of Western scholars in See also:

MODERN

modern times to Greek monasteries in See also:

SEARCH, or VISIT AND SEARCH

search of MSS.—notably to St See also:

Catherine's on Mount See also:

SINAI

Sinai, and to Mount Athos—has directed much See also:

ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention to contemporary Greek monachism, and She accounts of these expeditions commonly contain descriptions, more or less sympathetic and intelligent, of the present-day life of Greek monks. The first such See also:

account was See also:

Robert Curzon's in parts iii. (1834) and iv. (1837) of the Monasteries of the See also:

LEVANT

Levant; the most See also:

RECENT

recent in See also:

ENGLISH

English is See also:

ATHELSTAN (c. 894-940)

Athelstan See also:

RILEY, JAMES WHITCOMB (1853– )

Riley's Athos (1887). The life is mainly given up to devotional contemplative exercises; the church services are of extreme length; intellectual study is little cultivated; See also:

MANUAL

manual labour has almost disappeared; there are many hermits on Athos (q.v.). The ecclesiastical importance of the monks in the various branches of the Orthodox Church lies in this, that as bishops must be celibate, whereas the parochial See also:

clergy must be married,the bishops are all recruited from the monks. But besides this they have been a strong spiritual and religious influence, as is recognized even by those who have scant sympathy with monastic ideals (see See also:

HARNACK, ADOLF (1851– )

Harnack, What is See also:

CHRISTIANITY

Christianity?

Lect. xiii., end). Outside the Orthodox Church are some small congregations of Uniat Basilians. Besides Grottaferrata, there are See also:

CATHOLIC (Gr. KcaBoXuK6s, general, universal)

Catholic Basilian monasteries in See also:

Poland, See also:

Hungary, See also:

Galicia, See also:

Rumania; and among the See also:

MELCHITES (lit. Royalists, from Syriac melcha, a king)

Melchites or Uniat Syrians. There have been Basilian nuns from the beginning, St Macrina, St Basil's See also:

SISTER

sister, having established a nunnery which was under his direction. The nuns are devoted to a purely contemplative life, and in Russia, where there are about a See also:

HUNDRED

hundred nunneries, they are See also:

net allowed to take final vows until the See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age of sixty. They are very numerous throughout the See also:

East. ii.), See also:

art. " Basilianer," and See also:

Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopcidie (ed. iii.), in articles " Monchtum," " Orientalische Kirche," and" Athos-See also:

BERG (Ducatus Montensis)

berg," where copious references will he found. (E. C.

End of Article: BASILIAN MONKS

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