Italo-Albanian Catholic Church

The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church, official Italian Byzantine-Catholic Church (Circoscrizioni Ecclesiastiche Bizantine Cattoliche in Italia) also referred to as the Italo-Greek Catholic Church (Italian: Chiesa cattolica italo-greca) is one of the 22 Eastern Catholic Churches which, together with the Latin Church, comprise the Catholic Church. It is a particular Church that is autonomous (sui juris) and its members are concentrated in Southern Italy and Sicily.

Name of the Church

The name Italo-Greek Catholic Church is derived from the Italo-Greek (Italo-Græcus) demonym which was traditionally used to classify the inhabitants of Southern Italy and Sicily; people who are modern day Italians but are historically of Greek origin. The name inherited a dual meaning when it was assigned to the inhabitants of Italy and its islands (Sicily, Sardinia and formerly Corsica) who followed the Byzantine Rite in Koine Greek.

Italo-Greek Catholics are of three races: the original Greek-speaking inhabitants of Lower Italy and Sicily, which at one time all followed the Byzantine Rite, Albanians who immigrated to Southern Italy much later in the fifteenth century and to a even lesser extent, Levantine colonies that also migrated to the region. In the fifteenth century, the original Italo-Greeks were gradually being latinized but through an influx of Albanians of the Byzantine Rite, the church began to once again flourish.^[2] As a result, it is sometimes referred to as Italo-Albanian Greek Catholic Church or as the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church. In these names, "Greek" refers to the Byzantine Rite and the "Italo-" and "Albanian" components refer to the nationalities and languages used in the liturgy, although Greek is the historical liturgical language.

History

The Greeks first arrived in southern Italy and Sicily during the Late Bronze Age bringing with them their culture, language and religion. Their colonies flourished for centuries until Roman expansion in the 3rd century BC when then Hellenic people were either Latinized or enslaved in Rome. However, after the death of Christ, Constantinople (then Byzantium) became the 'New Rome' under the Emperor Constantine and a revival of Hellenic culture began to take root again in southern Italy and Sicily. As a result, Latin and the ensuing dialects were replaced with Greek and even ecclesiastical jurisdiction was transferred from the Roman Pontiff to the Patriarch of Constantinople. Consequently Byzantine Rite of worship became the liturgy of the Italo-Greek provinces and continued to be the rite leading up to the Great Schism when Frankish (and German) kings sought to once again latinized the southern Italians (Italo-Greeks). In some parts of southern Italy, mainly Calabria and pockets of Sicily, a form of the Greek language is still preserved. In fact, Sicily was almost entirely Greek when in 831, the Arabs began their conquest of the island causing the native Greeks to flee to mainland Italy. Between the Frankish and Arab conquests of southern Italy, the Italo-Greek church became marginalized. However, a large Albanian Arberesh population of the Greek Rite migrated to southern Italy fleeing the Ottoman invasions, particularly after the death of Skanderbeg in 1468.^[2]

Not all of these Albanians were of Byzantine Rite, since those from northern Albania were mainly of Latin Rite. Of the Byzantine-Rite arrivals, some were already Catholic, for example the Church of St. Vito in Piana degli Albanesi, and others soon accepted the authority of the local Latin-Rite bishops. Their presence attracted also the remnants of the earlier Greek-speaking communities and some others who had fled from Greece proper because of the Turkish conquest. In 1595, Pope Clement VIII promulgated an Instruction for the guidance of Latin-Rite bishops who had Greek Catholics in their dioceses, and Pope Benedict XIV revised this Instruction completely in 1742, providing the Italo-Greeks and Italo-Albanians with a small code of canon law. Schools and seminaries for them were founded in the eighteenth century.

On February 6, 1784, the Ordinariate of Silicia of the Italo-Albanese was created with Bishop Giorgio Stassi, Titular Bishop of Lampsacus, first holding that position.^[1] The twentieth century saw the foundation in 1919 of the Eparchy of Lungro in Calabria^[3], which serves Byzantine-Rite Albanians in mainland Italy, and on October 26, 1937 of the Diocese of Piana dei Greci for those in Sicily promoted from the Ordinariate of Silicia^[1]. One month before the foundation of the Eparchy of Piana dei Greci in 1937, the Byzantine-Rite monastery of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata, not far from Rome, was given the status of a territorial abbacy, separating it from the jurisdiction of the local bishop.^[4] In October 1940, the three ordinaries held an inter-eparchial synod for preserving their Byzantine traditions and unity with an Orthodox Church of Albania observation delegation.^[5] On October 25, 1941, Diocese of Piana dei Greci was renamed as Diocese of Piana degli Abanesi / Hora.^[1]

In 2004 & 2005, a second inter-eparchial synod was held in three sessions approving 10 documents for "the synod’s theological and pastoral context, the use of Scripture, catechesis, liturgy, formation of clergy, canon law, ecumenical and interreligious relations, relations with other Eastern Catholic Churches, re-evangelization and mission." Submitted to the Holy See and were still in dialogue as of Mid-2007 in regards to there promulgation.^[6]

Structure

There are three ecclesiastical jurisdictions composing the Italo-Greek Catholic Church:

• Eparchy of Lungro
• Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi
• Territorial abbey of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata^[7]

The eparchies themselves have not been organized as a Metropolitan church, and remain on an equal footing, directly subject to the Holy See.^[1][3][4] These eparchies allow the ordination of married men as priests, and they also govern a few Latin rite parishes within the respective territories of the eparchies.

Outside of Italy, there are two Italo-Greek communities in the United States: Our Lady of Wisdom Church in Las Vegas, under the jurisdiction of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix,^[8] and Italo-Greek Catholic Mission of Our Lady of Grace in New York,^[6] under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.^[9]

As of 2010, the Church's membership was estimated at approximately 61,000 faithful, with two bishops, 45 parishes, 82 priests, 5 deacons, and 207 religious brothers and sisters.^[6]

Territorial Abbacy of Santa Maria of Grottaferrata

The Territorial Abbacy of Santa Maria of Grottaferrata is the only Italian Basilian Order of Grottaferrata monastery and a territorial abbacy and the only remnant of the once-flourishing Italo-Greek monastic tradition. The Italian Basilian Order of Grottaferrata is the religious order of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church. It is located in Grottaferrata, Rome, Lazio, Italy. The Abbott Ordinary Emiliano Fabbricatore is also the Superior General of Italian Basilian Order of Grottaferrata.^[4]

History

It was founded in 1004 by St. Nilus of Rossano, a monk of Greek descent from Calabria, and has remained in continuous operation since then. It is the only one of the Italo-Greek monasteries that has survived. Most of them gradually fell into decadence, and the final blow came with their being taken over by the Kingdom of Italy when it secularized religious orders in 1866. Only the Grottaferrata monastery, considered a national monument, was allowed to continue, with the monks as its guardians. In the course of time, the civil authorities have allowed them increasing independence.

In 1880 the Holy See ordered the liturgy of the monastery to be purged of the Latin elements that had been introduced over the centuries. Vocations were sought no longer from the general Italian population, but instead chiefly among Italo-Albanians, and the monks set up new monasteries in Sicily and Calabria. On November 1, 1571, the Italian Basilian Order of Grottaferrata was established.^[12] On September 26, 1937, the Abby was made a Territorial abbacy.^[4]

See also

• Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church
• Albanian Orthodox Church
• Church of Greece

Sources

• Oriente Cattolico (Vatican City: The Sacred Congregation for the Eastern Churches, 1974)
• Annuario Pontificio
• "Italo-Greeks". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Italo-Greeks. 
• Fortescue, Adrian. The Uniate Eastern Churches: the Byzantine Rite in Italy, Sicily, Syria and Egypt. Ed. George D. Smith. New York: F. Ungar, 1923. Print.

References

External links

• "The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church," in The Eastern Christian Churches: A Brief Survey, by Ronald Roberson, on the CNEWA website.