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To do justice to both historical groups of believers, those of Nicea vs. those of the era of Filioque and later Unia/Dis-Unia:

We should recognize that Arianism was of the greatest significance and cut right against the heart of who Christ Is. Christians were obligated to fight and die on this issue.

The issue of the procession of the Spirit, when understood to be termed theologically (Eastern description) or Economically (Western description), is of not even of one quarter of the significance of the Christological debate of the 4th century, and, as I think we all agree, did not force East and West out of commune with each other.

For Albanians/Epirotis arriving in Sicily and Southern Italy from 1500 to circa 1750, it was simply a question of having a new Patriarch in their new land. NO ONE said to them, "repent of being Easterners out of communion and now be received into the communion of the Western Church."

They are the very best evidence that the East/West split was a movement of glacial speed and one which ultimately hinged on the two Marian dogmata and the dogma of Papal Infallibility ex-Cathedra.

In the Risen Christ,
Andrew

PS: In numerous homes of Southern Italians and Sicilians, families have no current knowledge of any prior association with the Eastern Rite, one will find icons passed down from centuries past, family heirlooms that speak volumes regarding a time when the whole region was Eastern Rite!

Dear Vito,

Yes, you mention the Greeks of Salento, whom I know of personally. Some were attracted to the Italo-Albanian Greek Rite parish of San Nicola in Lecce while I was worshipping there.

There are twelve villages that are identified as Greek and whose dialect, according to Dr. Giorgio Filieri and other experts, is that of Ancient Greek, or shall we say "Magna Greaca." Fascinating!

In the Risen Christ,
Andrew

Bill,

Both the US/Canadian and Latin American/Mexican Armenian jurisdictions were erected back in 1981, although both were initially styled as Vicariates Apostolic (which I had forgotten). I think you're right as far as its actual proclamation as an Exarchate - that happened in 1991 or 1992. Bishop Manual is the third hierarch and second Exarch for the US/Canada; Bishops Mikail Ners�s S�tian (Vicar Apostolic) and Hovhannes Tertsakian (first Exarch), both of blessed memory, preceded him. Even so, it is a long time.

The Latin American/Mexican jurisdiction has been vacant, since the hierarch there became Armenian Eparch in Argentina about 15 years ago.

Many years,

Neil

My maternal grandparents were born in Sacco Salerno. Two towns over is Felitto, home of the annual Madonna of Constantinople Festa in September, dating to the 1700s. For more info about the Festa and a slide show of the area's towns (including Sacco and a pic of St. Sylvester's, of course a Saint in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches), go to www.felitto.net [felitto.net] and enjoy.

Christ Is Risen!

Three Cents

intereparchial synod of the italo-albanian church:
session 1 from oct. 17 to 22 2004
session 2 from nov. 15 to 19 2004
session 3 from jan. 10 to 14 2005

Dear Vito,

Thank you!

Andrew

Vito,

Thanks very much for that info

Many years,

Neil

It is great to see that the Italo-Albanian church of Italy has done much to brink itself back from extinction. It is not so long ago the monks of Grottaferrata wore Benedictine habits and were organised under the same consitutions as Monte Cassino and said the Tredentine Mass in their own monastery church as well as provided prests for their Latin parishes. They still have a way to go but at least they are trying.

Received an answer from Fr. Francis.
1. The Italo-Greek church is a church that uses the Byzantine liturgy and therefore the liturgical language is Italian and Greek. This is how it was in the Latin Church the language of the liturgy was latin not all the people were latin.
2. The Italo-Greek communities were in existence long before the Albanians joined the church because they ran from their country do to persecution.
3. As you stated the people who began the parish are Italo-Greeks from Lungro and Piano Dei Greci in Sicily as they die off there will be many mixtures.
4. Society of Our Lady of Grace is mixed Italians.
5. GrottaFerrata is also mixed in the Sicilian & Basilian Fathers who are at the Monastery.

In answer to the original question, the most informative book I have read on the Italo-Greeks (even better than Fortescue's, and without the somewhat condescending tone Fortescue takes) is David Paul Hester's "Monasticism and Spirituality of the Italo-Greeks". It's published by the Patriarchal Institute of Patristic Studies in Thessaloniki and also by the Pontifical Institute for Medieval Studies in Toronto. While it does describe the forced Latinization that was inflicted on the Italo-Greeks by the Franciscans after about 1500, it does provide a somewhat more conciliatory view of the decline in that (a) it attributes the widespread change of rites in part to the Saracen invasion, destruction of Byzantine churches, and the subsequent re-population of Sicily with Normans and Latin churches which less spread apart; (b) it describes the attempts by the Norman kings - a couple of whom built more Byzantine churches and monasteries than Latin ones - to preserve the Byzantine rite; and (c) it attributes the Tridentine and post-Tridentine Papal suppression of the Byzantine rites to the corruption and decadence which the Greek monasteries had fallen into and their refusal to learn Greek (despite being provided with tutors by the local Roman bishops) or use unadulterated liturgical books. Forcing them to adopt the Latin rite in its integrity since they would not practice the Byzantine one in ITS integrity was simply part of the reform movement going on through the whole Church. (As anyone who has seen a bad Divine Liturgy knows, when the Divine Liturgy is said wrong it can fall almost as far as the bad Novus Ordos.)

Hester also describes the Zoghby-style communion the Italo-Greeks had with both Rome and Constantinople after 1054. St. Bartholomew of Simeri, for example, made a pilgrimage to Constantinople to visit the Patriarch, who sent him to Athos to reform one of the monasteries there; when he made it back to Italy, he then paid a visit to the Pope to request that his monastery there be granted independence from the jurisdiction of the local Italo-Greek bishop (a request which the Pope granted).

I am also Sicilian-American, btw; I didn't know that Las Vegas had an Italo-Greek church and I'm glad to see that there's one out there somewhere. Viva Sicilia!

I believe that it is the only one in the US to have weekly liturgy.

And Fr. Frances certainly qualifies as a "character"

Hi, Jumping in a conversation very late in the game.

Does anyone have a link to the liturgical text for Italo-Greek Byzantines? I attend Our Lady of Wisdom - and yes, Fr. Vivona is quite a character. I adore him!

I am neither Greek nor Italian. So there are things they say in the native language. I am hoping for a text so I can learn.

Help!

He's got a growing number of Roman refugees fleeing drums, electric guitars and homilies about bad films. So we're kind of mucking up the works.

God bless.

Max,

I'm unaware of any on-line links to the Italo-Greek liturgical texts. If there are any, I suspect that Vito, Deacon Andrew Rubis, or Debora Scatuccio will be those most likely to know the url.

Many years,

Neil

http://www.webmit.it/LUNGRO.htm - your one stop resource.

More Albanian and Italian texts. The 3 byzantine jurisdictions in Italy are really for Italo-Albanians.

Without them there would be nothing left in Italy.

Good link though.