Basilian Salvatorian Order

Basilian Order of the Most Holy Saviour
Latin: Ordo Basilianus Sanctissimi Salvatoris Melkitarum
Abbreviation	BS
Nickname	Salvatorian Fathers
Formation	1684 (340 years ago)
Founder	Archbishop Euthymios Michael Saifi
Founded at	Saida, Lebanon
Type	Monastic order of pontifical right for men
Headquarters	Saida, Lebanon
Membership	94 members (includes 74 priests) as of 2020
Superior General	Antoine Dib, BS
Affiliations	Greek-Melkite Catholic Church

The Basilian Order of the Most Holy Saviour (Latin: Ordo Basilianus Sanctissimi Salvatoris) abbreviated BS,^[1] also known as the Basilian Salvatorian Order, is an Eastern Catholic monastic order of Pontifical Right for men of the Greek-Melkite Catholic Church. The name derives from its motherhouse, the Holy Saviour Monastery, at Joun in Chouf near Sidon, Lebanon.

History

The order was founded in 1683^[2] by Euthymios Saifi, bishop of Saida, with the aim of supporting pastoral and missionary activities by well-educated Melkite clergy, choosing for them the rule of Saint Basil. Saifi started to gather some monks in his episcopal residence, but it soon became too small for the community. In 1685 a miracle was reported during a pastoral visit of Euthymios Saifi to the village of Joun^[3] and thus some monks were sent to live in a farm near Joun. In 1710 Saifi succeeded in buying the farm and in 1711 the first building of the Holy Saviour monastery was erected.^[4]

The order was cited by Pope Benedict XIV in 1743 in the encyclical Demandatam, and on 20 April 1751 the Pope sent them a letter urging them to fully follow the Byzantine rite rejecting the Latinizations introduced by Cyril Tanas against the wishes of Rome. Their specific rules (constitutions) were formally drafted and approved only in 1934.^[5]

The Basilian Salvatorian Order soon became one of the two main religious orders of the Melkite Catholic Church. The other order was the Basilian Chouerite Order. According to their tradition, the Basilian Salvatorian Order had a more missionary aim, while the Basilian Chouerite Order was more contemplative. The Basilian Salvatorian Order recruited in the areas of Damascus and South Lebanon, while the Basilian Chouerite Order recruited in the areas of Aleppo, Homs, North Lebanon and Galilee. Attempts to unite these two orders in the 18th century failed: the opposition between them and between the different communities from which they recruit members is an important aspect to understand in the early history of the Melkite Catholic Church.

Up to the first half of the 19th century, these two religious orders ran a large number of parishes and provided most of the bishops of the Church. With the increasing importance of the celibate diocesan priests since the patriarchate of Maximos III Mazloum, the religious orders lost some of their importance. The 19th century saw moments of difficulty in the life of the Basilian Salvatorian Order: the main problems were the lack of respect for the vow of poverty by some monks and the antagonism between the Damascene wing and the Lebanese wing. Reforms in the early years of the 20th century solved the issues.

Statistics

As of 31 December 2020, the Basilian Salvatorian Order had 27 monasteries and 94 monks, of which 74 are priests.^[6] In 2012, it had 11 houses and 92 members (including 87 priests).

In the United States it maintains a center in Methuen, Massachusetts. The Order serves the Church in four main areas: pastoral service in parishes, social service, ecumenical activity and dialog among different religious communities in Lebanon.^[2]

Superiors general

Prelates from the order

The Basilian Salvatorian Order has given more than sixty bishops and eight Patriarchs to the Melkite Church: Cyril VI Tanas, Athanasius IV Jawhar, Cyril VII Siaj, Agapius II Matar, Athanasius V Matar, Macarius IV Tawil, Clement Bahouth, and Gregory II Youssef; Patriarch emeritus Gregory III Laham is also a member of this Order.

References

^ "Basilian Order of the Most Holy Saviour (B.S.)". GCatholic. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
^ ^a ^b Joseph Saghbini. "L'Order Basilien du St. Sauveur" (in French). www.pgc-lb.org. Archived from the original on 15 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
^ "Order Salvatorian Basilian". www.cssvj.edu.lb. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
^ "Ordre Basilien Salvatorien" (in French). Opus Libani. Archived from the original on 2008-11-13. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
^ Nasrallah, J. (1974). "Basiliani dal SS. Salvatore dei melchiti". Dizionario degli Istituti di Perfezione. Vol. 1. Rome: Edizioni Paoline. pp. 1090–1099.
^ "Basilian Order of the Most Holy Saviour (B.S.)".

External links

GigaCatholic

[1] "Basilian Order of the Most Holy Saviour (B.S.)". GCatholic. Retrieved 2022-01-14.

[Sahbini-2] Joseph Saghbini. "L'Order Basilien du St. Sauveur" (in French). www.pgc-lb.org. Archived from the original on 15 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-28.

[3] "Order Salvatorian Basilian". www.cssvj.edu.lb. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2009-03-28.

[4] "Ordre Basilien Salvatorien" (in French). Opus Libani. Archived from the original on 2008-11-13. Retrieved 2009-03-28.

[5] Nasrallah, J. (1974). "Basiliani dal SS. Salvatore dei melchiti". Dizionario degli Istituti di Perfezione. Vol. 1. Rome: Edizioni Paoline. pp. 1090–1099.

[6] "Basilian Order of the Most Holy Saviour (B.S.)".

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v t e Melkite Catholic Church
Byzantine Rite
Patriarchs	Cyril VI Tanas Athanasius IV Jawhar Maximos II Hakim Theodosius V Dahan Athanasius IV Jawhar Cyril VII Siaj Agapius II Matar Ignatius IV Sarrouf Athanasius V Matar Macarius IV Tawil Ignatius V Qattan Maximos III Mazloum Clement Bahouth Gregory II Youssef Peter IV Geraigiry Cyril VIII Geha Demetrius I Qadi Cyril IX Moghabghab Maximos IV Sayegh Maximos V Hakim Gregory III Laham Youssef I Absi
Eparchies	Archeparchy of Damascus Archeparchy of Aleppo Archeparchy of Bosra-Hauran Archeparchy of Homs Archeparchy of Latakia Archeparchy of Tyre Archeparchy of Beirut and Byblos Archeparchy of Baalbek Archeparchy of Baniyas Archeparchy of Sidon Archeparchy of Tripoli Archeparchy of Zahle and Forzol Archeparchy of Petra and Philadelphia in Amman Archeparchy of Akka Patriarchal Dependent Territory of Jerusalem Patriarchal Exarchate of Iraq Patriarchal Exarchate of Kuwait Patriarchal Dependent Territory of Egypt, Sudan, and South Sudan Patriarchal Exarchate of Istanbul Eparchy of Newton Eparchy of Saint-Sauveur of Montréal Eparchy of Nuestra Señora del Paraíso in Mexico City Eparchy of Nossa Senhora do Paraíso em São Paulo Apostolic Exarchate of Argentina Apostolic Exarchate of Venezuela Eparchy of Saint Michael Archangel in Sydney
Churches	Cathedrals: Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition, Damascus St. Elias Cathedral, Beirut St. George's Cathedral, Amman St. Elijah Cathedral, Haifa Cathedral of Our Lady of the Annunciation, Jerusalem Annunciation Cathedral, Boston St. Anne's Cathedral, Los Angeles Saint Sauveur Cathedral, Montréal Porta Coeli Cathedral, Mexico City Our Lady of Paradise Cathedral, São Paulo St. George's Cathedral, Caracas Churches: Sts Peter and Paul Church, Ottawa St. Peter and St. Paul Church, Shefa-Amr Synagogue Church, Nazareth St. George's Church, Milwaukee St. Jude's Church, Miami Chapel of Saint Paul, Damascus Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, Paris Shrine: Our Lady of Awaiting
Religious institutes	Basilian Aleppian Order Basilian Aleppian Sisters Basilian Chouerite Order of Saint John the Baptist Basilian Chouerite Sisters Basilian Salvatorian Order
See also	Mariam Baouardy Lebanese Melkite Christians Melkite
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