Territorial Abbacy of Saint Mary of Grottaferrata

The Territorial Abbacy of Santa Maria of Grottaferrata is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction which administers the Abbey of Saint Mary in Grottaferrata located in Grottaferrata, Rome, Lazio, Italy. The Abbacy and its territory are stauropegic, that is, directly subordinate to a primate or synod, rather than to a local bishop. It is the only remnant of the once-flourishing Italo-Greek monastic tradition. It is the only monastery of the Italian Basilian Order of Grottaferrata, (abbreviated O.S.B.I.), a religious order of the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church. The abbott ordinary is also the superior general of the Italian Basilian Order of Grottaferrata.[1] Though normally led by a bishop, the Abbacy has been under the authority of Bishop Marcello Semeraro since Pope Francis named him Apostolic Administer of the Abbacy on 4 November 2013.[4]

Territorial Abbacy of Saint Mary of Grottaferrata

Beatissimæ Mariæ Cryptæferratæ [1]

Santa Maria di Grottaferrata
Cathedral of Exarchial Monastery of St. Mary of Grottaferrata
Location
CountryItaly
Ecclesiastical provinceHoly See[1]
Statistics
Parishes1
Churches1
Schools1
Members87[2]
Information
DenominationItalo-Albanian Catholic Church
RiteByzantine Rite
Established1937[1]
CathedralExarchial Monastery of St. Mary of Grottaferrata[3]
Patron saintNilo da Rossano[1]
Secular priests10
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
Abbot Ordinary[1]Vacant
Apostolic AdministratorMarcello Semeraro
Website
abbaziagreca.it

The abbey was founded in 1004[5] by Nilus of Rossano, a monk of Greek descent from Calabria. It 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 were seized 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.

On 1 November 1571, the Italian Basilian Order of Grottaferrata was established.[6]

In the 1880s, the Holy See in anticipation of rapprochement with the Orthodox churches, ordered the liturgy of the monastery to be purged of the Latin elements that had been introduced over the centuries.[7] Vocations were no longer sought from the general Italian population, but instead chiefly among Italo-Albanians, and the monks set up new monasteries in Sicily and Calabria.

On 26 September 1937, the abbey was made a territorial abbacy.[8]

The Territorial Abbey also operates a rectory church in central Rome, Saint Basil at the Sallust Gardens.[9] Abbot Apolemone Agreste, whose coat of arms appears on the arches within, had a church dedicated to Saint Basil built on St. Basil Street in Rome, not far from the Piazza Grimana, now the Piazza Barberini. Attached to it was a hospice. The monks of the Order of St. Basil had it restored in 1682, as an inscription on the doorway testifies.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Territorial Abbacy of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata". GCatholic.orgs. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  2. Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2010" (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2010. Information sourced from Annuario Pontificio 2010 edition
  3. "Exarchial Monastery of St. Mary of Grottaferrata". GCatholic.org. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  4. "Rinunce e Nomine, 04.11.2013" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  5. Pettifer, James; Nazarko, Mentor (2007-01-01). Strengthening Religious Tolerance for a Secure Civil Society in Albania and the Southern Balkans. IOS Press. ISBN 9781586037796.
  6. "Italian Basilian Order of Grottaferrata". Religious Orders. GCatholic.org. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  7. The Melting Pot and Beyond: Italian Americans in the Year 2000. American Italian Historical Association. 1987. p. 79.
  8. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). XXX. 1938. pp. 183–86. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  9. "Chiesa di San Basilio agli Orti Sallustiani". GCatholic. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  10. M. Armellini (1891). Le chiese di Roma dal secolo IV al XIX (in Italian). Roma. pp. 271–272.
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