Italo-Albanian Catholic Church

The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church [a] or Italo-Albanian

Italo-Albanian Catholic
Byzantine-Catholic Church[5] is one of the 23 Eastern Catholic
Church
Churches which, together with the Latin Church, compose the
Catholic Church. It is an autonomous (sui juris) particular church
in full communion with the Pope of Rome, directly subject to the
Roman Congregation for the Oriental Churches, but which follows
the Byzantine Rite, the ritual and spiritual traditions that are
common in most of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It uses two
liturgical languages: Koine Greek, the traditional language of the
Eastern Churches, and Albanian, the native language of most of its
adherents.

The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church extends its jurisdiction over

the Italo-Albanian people, who are the descendants of the exiled Byzantine Catholic mosaic of Christ
Albanians that fled to Italy in the 15th century under the pressure Pantocrator in the Italo-Albanian
of the Turkish persecutions in Albania, Epirus and the Morea Parish in Palermo, Sicily (Italy)
(Peloponnese). For over five centuries, they have managed, as a Classification Eastern Catholic
diaspora, to retain their language, culture, customs and beliefs.
Nowadays, they reside primarily in Southern Italy (Abruzzo, Polity Episcopal
Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria) and in Sicily, as well as in Central Governance Synod
Italy, where they are present only in the Monastery of Grottaferrata Structure Tri-ordinariate[1]
in the Lazio region. The Church also operates among the Italo-
Albanian diaspora in North and South America. It has about Pope Francis
80,000 faithful. It does not have a metropolitan, but is instead led Leader Donato Oliverio
by two eparchs and a territorial abbot.
(Eparch of
The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church considers itself the heir of the Lungro)
traditional Illyricum Church and is closely linked to the Albanian Giorgio Demetrio
Greek-Catholic Church, with which it shares a common history Gallaro
and traditions.[6] The fact that the Church has never broken away
(Eparch of Piana
from the Apostolic See of Rome is a rare testimony - another
degli Albanesi)
example being the Maronites - of the persistent unity of the Church
despite its diversity of traditions.[7][8] Sede vacante
(Abbot Ordinary
Name of Santa Maria di
Grottaferrata)
The Byzantine rite was brought to Italy in the 15th century by Associations Congregation for
Albanian exiles fleeing from Albania, Epirus and Morea because the Oriental
of persecution by Ottoman Turks of Muslim faith. Italy had already Churches
known Eastern Christian rites in previous centuries, but these had
since disappeared. The Albanians, Orthodox united in Rome with Region Southern Italy,
the Council of Ferrara-Florence, brought with them language, Sicily, Lazio
customs, and belief, zealously keeping the Byzantine rite and Liturgy Byzantine Rite
naturally bridging between East and West (see Albanian missions Origin 10 June 1732:
in Albania in 1690-1769, contacts with Ohrid, Cretan Byzantine Ordinariate of the
art and new missions of re-Christianization of Albania in 1900[9]). Italo-Albanians of
the Byzantine rite
The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church is therefore characterized by a
specific ethnic group: the Albanians of Italy, Arbëreshë or Italo- of Calabria
Albanesi. The Albanian ethno-linguistic group of Italy has appointed[2]
managed to maintain its identity, having in the clergy the strongest Branched from Catholic Church
guardian and the fulcrum of ethnic identification.
Congregations 45
The only place where the Byzantine Rite remained in Italy was the Ministers 82 priests, 5
Monastery of Grottaferrata, an Italo-Greek foundation, which had deacons[3]
become steadily latinized through the centuries. The Albanians of
Other name(s) Italo-Albanian
Sicily and Calabria, from the eighteenth to the present, were
bringing the monastery back to life, where most of its monks, Greek-Catholic
abbots and students were and are Italo-Albanian.[10] Church
Chiesa Cattolica

History Italo-Albanese
Kisha Bizantine
Arbëreshe
Byzantine period Official website Eparchy of
Lungro (http://ww
The conquest of Italy by the Byzantine Empire in the Gothic War
(535–554) began a Byzantine period that included the Byzantine w.eparchialungro.
domination of the papacy from 537 to 752. it/)
Eparchy of Piana
It is uncertain whether the Byzantine Rite was followed in any degli Albanesi (htt
diocese of Southern Italy or Sicily before the 8th century. The p://eparchiapian
spread of Greek monasticism in Italy received a strong impulse
a.org)
from the Rashidun Caliphate invasion of the Levant and Egypt,
and later from the ban on religious images or icons. The monks Territorial Abbacy
naturally retained their rite, and as the bishops were not of Saint Mary of
infrequently chosen from their number, the diocesan liturgy, under Grottaferrata (htt
favourable conditions, could easily be changed, especially since p://abbaziagreca.
the Lombard occupation of the inland regions of Southern Italy cut it/en/index.asp)
off the Greeks in the South from communication with the Latin
Church.[10]

When, in 726, Leo III the Isaurian withdrew Southern Italy from the patriarchal jurisdiction of Rome and
gave it to the Patriarch of Constantinople, the process of Hellenization became more rapid; it received a
further impulse when, on account of the Muslim conquest of Sicily, Greeks and Hellenized Sicilians fled to
Calabria and Apulia. Still, it was not rapid enough to suit the Byzantine emperors, who feared that those
regions would once again fall under the influence of the West, as had the Duchy of Rome and the
Exarchate of Ravenna. Finally, after the Saxon emperors had made a formidable attempt to drive the
Greeks from the peninsula, Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas and the Patriarch Polyeuctus made it obligatory
on the bishops, in 968, to adopt the Byzantine Rite. This order aroused lively opposition in some quarters,
as at Bari, under Bishop Giovanni. Nor was it executed in other places immediately and universally.
Cassano and Taranto, for instance, are said to have always maintained the Roman Rite. At Trani, in 983,
Bishop Rodostamo was allowed to retain the Roman Rite, as a reward for aiding in the surrender of the city
to the Greeks. In every diocese there were always some churches which never forsook the Roman Rite; on
the other hand, long after the restoration of that rite, there remained Greek churches with native Greek
clergy.[10]

Re-Latinization

The restoration of the Roman Rite began with the Norman conquest in the 11th century, especially in the
first period of the conquest, when Norman ecclesiastics were appointed bishops. Another potent factor was
the reform of Pope Gregory VII, who in his efforts to repress marriage among the Latin clergy found no
small obstacle in the example of the Greek priests. However, he and his successors recognized the
Byzantine Rite and discipline wherever it was in legitimate possession. Moreover, the Latin bishops
ordained the Greek as well as the Latin clergy. In the course of time the Norman princes gained the
affection of their Greek subjects by respecting their rite, which had strong support in the numerous Basilian
monasteries (in the 15th century there were still seven of them in the Archdiocese of Rossano alone). The
Latinization of the dioceses was complete in the 16th century. Among those which held out longest for the
Byzantine Rite were Acerenza (and perhaps Gravina), 1302; Gerace, 1467; Oppido, 1472 (when it was
temporarily united to Gerace); Rossano, 1460; Gallipoli, 1513; Bova (to the time of Gregory XIII), etc. But
even after that time, many Greek priests remained in some dioceses. In that of Otranto, in 1583, there were
still two hundred Greek priests, nearly all native. At Reggio, Calabria, Count Ruggiero in 1092 had given
the Greeks the church of S. Maria della Cattolica, whose clergy had a Protopope, exempt from the
jurisdiction of the bishop; this was the case until 1611. In 1695 there were in the same dioceses fifty-nine
Greek priests; after thirty years there was only one. Rossano still had a Greek clergy in the 17th century.
The few native Greek priests were afterwards absorbed in the tide of immigration (see below). Of the
Basilian monasteries the only one left is that of Grottaferrata, near Rome. In Sicily the Latinization was, for
two reasons, accomplished more easily and radically. First, during Muslim rule most of the dioceses were
left without bishops, so that the installation of Latin bishops encountered no difficulty; secondly, the
Normans had come as liberators, and not as conquerors.[10]

Important Greek colonies, founded chiefly for commercial reasons, were located at Venice, Ancona (where
they obtained from Clement VII and Paul III the church of S. Anna, which they lost in 1833, having been
declared schismatical in 1797), Bari, Lecce (where, even in the 19th century, in the church of S. Nicola,
Divine worship was carried on in the Greek tongue, though in the Roman Rite), Naples (where they have
the church of SS. Pietro e Paolo, erected in 1526 by Tommaso Paleologo Assagni), Leghorn (where they
have the church of the Annunziata, 1607).[10]

In Rome there was always a large colony observing the Greek Rite. From the end of the 6th century until
the ninth and tenth there were several Greek monasteries among which were Cella Nova, near S. Saba; S.
Erasmo; San Silvestro in Capite; the monastery next to Santa Maria Antiqua at the foot of the Palatine. Like
other nations, the Greeks before the year 1000 had their own schola at Rome. It was near the church of
Santa Maria in Cosmedin. Even in the pontifical liturgy - at least on some occasions - a few of the chanted
passages were in Greek: the custom of singing the Epistle and Gospel in both Latin and Greek dates from
that period.[10]

Albanian influx

Besides the first large emigration of Albanians which took place between 1467 and 1470, after the death of
the celebrated George Castriota Scanderbeg (when his daughter, who had become the Princess of
Bisignano, invited her countrymen to the Kingdom of Naples), there were two others, one under Ottoman
Empire Sultan Selim II (1566–1574), directed to the ports along the Adriatic Sea and to Livorno; the other
about 1740. In the course of time, owing to assimilation with the surrounding population, the number of
these Italo-Greeks diminished, and not a few of their villages became entirely Latin.[10]

To educate the clergy of these Greeks, Pope Gregory XIII founded in 1577 at Rome the Greek College of
St. Athanasius, which served also for the Greek Catholics of the East and for the Ruthenians, until a special
college was instituted for the latter purpose by Pope Leo XIII. Among the alumni of St. Athanasius was the
celebrated Leo Allatius. Another Greek-Byzantine ecclesiastical college was founded at Piana degli
Albanesi in 1715 by P. Giorgio Guzzetta, founder of an Oratory of celibate Greek-Byzantine clergy. At
Firmo the seminary of SS. Pietro e Paolo existed from 1663, erected by the Propaganda to supply priests
for Albania. It was suppressed in 1746. Finally Pope Clement XII, in 1736, founded the Corsini College in
the ancient Abbey of San Benedetto Ullano in the charge of a resident bishop or archbishop of the Greek
Rite. Later it was transferred in 1794 to San Demetrio Corone, in the ancient Basilian monastery of S.
Adriano. Since 1849, however, and especially since 1860, this college has lost its ecclesiastical character
and is now secularized.[10]

Seminaries for the Albanians of Italy were set up in San Benedetto Ullano, and then in San Demetrio
Corone, (Calabria) in 1732 and in Palermo, Sicily, in 1734.[11]

Ecclesiastical status

Until 1919, the Italo-Greeks were subject to the jurisdiction of the

Latin diocesan bishops. However, the popes at times appointed a
titular archbishop, resident in Rome, for the ordination of their
priests. When Clement XII established the Corsini College at San
Benedetto Ullano in 1736, he placed it in charge of a resident
bishop or archbishop of the Greek Rite. Pope Benedict XIV, in the
papal Bull "Etsi pastoralis" (1742), collected, co-ordinated and
completed the various enactments of his predecessors, and this Bull
was still law in 1910, regulating the transfer of clergy and lay Crowning rite during an Italo-Albanian
people between the communities of the Greek Church and Latin wedding in Calabria
Church, and specifying that children of mixed marriages would be
subject to the Latin Church.[10]

Sui juris

On 6 February 1784, the pre-diocesan ordinariate of the Albanians in Sicily was created, with Bishop
Papàs Giorgio Stassi, titular Bishop of Lampsacus, first holding that position.[2]

By 1909, another Ordinary for the Greeks of Calabria was residing at Naples.[10]

The 20th century saw the foundation in 1919 of the Eparchy of Lungro (an Eastern Catholic bishopric) in
Calabria,[12] which serves Byzantine-Rite Albanians in mainland Italy, and on 26 October 1937 of the
Eparchy of Piana dei Greci for those in Sicily promoted from the Ordinariate of Sicilia.[2] One month
before the foundation of the Eparchy of Piana dei Greci in 1937, the Byzantine-Rite Monastery of Saint
Mary of Grottaferrata, not far from Rome, was given the status of a territorial abbacy, separating it from the
jurisdiction of the local bishop.[13] 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.[11] On 25 October 1941, the Eparchy of Piana dei Greci was renamed as the Eparchy of Piana
degli Abanesi / Eparkia or Eparhia e Horës së Arbëreshëvet.[2]
 In 2004 and 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." They were submitted to the Holy
See and were still in dialogue as of mid-2007 in regards to their
promulgation.[14]

Organisation
An Italo-Albanian priest There are three ecclesiastical jurisdictions composing the
in Sicily during the rites Italo-Albanian Catholic Church:
of the Theophany
Eparchy of Lungro degli Italo-Albanesi
Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi St. Nicholas of
Territorial Abbacy of Santa Maria of Grottaferrata[15] Myra Cathedral,
Lungro of the
The eparchies themselves have not been organized as a Metropolitan church, and Albanians of the
remain on an equal footing, directly subject to the Holy See.[2][12][13] These eparchies continental Italy
allow the ordination of married men as priests, and they also govern a few Latin
Church parishes within the respective territories of the eparchies.

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.[3]

In the church there are the following religious institutions: the Italo-Albanian Basilian
Monks Order of Grottaferrata (present in Lazio, Calabria and Sicily), the Suore
Collegine della Sacra Famiglia, and the congregation of the Italo-Albanian Basilian Piana degli
Sisters Figlie di Santa Macrina (present in Sicily, Calabria, Albania and Kosovo). Albanesi
Cathedral of the
Italo-Albanian communities were formed in the cities of Milan, Turin, Rome, Naples, Albanians of the
Bari, Lecce, Crotone, Cosenza and Palermo, as well as in Switzerland, Germany, the insular Italy
United States, Canada, Argentina and Brazil. They depend, however, on Latin
dioceses and only in some cases is the Byzantine liturgy celebrated. Over the
centuries, albeit limited, there have been religious contacts between Albanians of Italy
with the Christian East (monasteries of Crete) and Albania (Archdiocese of Shkodër,
Durrës, Himarë). Important spiritual and cultural contributions have been made by the
monks and hieromonks at the Abbey of Saint Mary of Grottaferrata.
The Territorial
Outside of Italy, there are some diaspora communities Italo-Albanian organized in Abbacy of Saint
religious associations and parishes. Mary of
Grottaferrata
with Basilian
monks from the
Italo-Albanian
communities
In the United States, some Italo-Albanian Catholic parishes fall under non-Italo-Albanian episcopal
authorities. For example, the Italo-Greek Church of Our Lady of Wisdom in Las Vegas is under the
jurisdiction of the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix,[16] and the Greek Catholic Mission of Our
Lady of Grace in New York is under the jurisdiction of the Latin Archdiocese of New York.[14][17]

See also
Albanian Greek Catholic Church
Arbëreshë people
Byzantine Rite
Eastern Catholic Churches
Pontifical Greek College of Saint Athanasius

Further reading
Pietro Pompilio Rodota, Dell'Origine Progresso, E Stato Presente Del Rito Greco In Italia:
Osservato dai Greci Monaci Basiliani e Albanesi, Roma 1763.
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.
Ciro Pinnola, La S. Liturgia Greca di S. Giovanni Crisostomo. Canti tradizionali delle
Colonie Italo-Greco-Albanesi, Sac. Carlo Rossini, J. Fischer & Bro., New York, Printed in
Germany 1923.
Nilo Borgia, I Monaci Basiliani D'Italia in Albania: Appunti Di Storia Missionaria, Secoli XVI-
XVIII, Periodo Secondo, Reale Accademia d'Italia, 1942.
Oriente Cattolico (Vatican City: The Sacred Congregation for the Eastern Churches, 1974).
Ines Angeli Murzaku, Returning home to Rome: the Basilian monks of Grottaferrata in
Albania, Grottaferrata 2009. ISBN 9788889345047.
Italo-Albanian Catholicism (https://www.instagram.com/italo.albanian.catholic/)
OC Oriente Cristiano - Storico quadrimestrale dell’Eparchia di Piana degli Albanesi (http://w
ww.orientecristianopiana.it)

Notes
a. Latin: Ecclesia Catholica Italo-Albanica; Italian: Chiesa Cattolica Italo-Albanese;[4]
Albanian: Klisha Arbëreshe

References
1. Chronology of Catholic Dioceses:The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church (http://www.katolsk.no/
organisasjon/verden/chronology/orient_italoalbanian)
2. "Diocese of Piana degli Abanesi" (http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/pian0.htm).
GCatholic.org. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
3. Ronald Roberson. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2010" (https://web.archive.org/web/2015
0923222256/http://www.cnewa.org/source-images/Roberson-eastcath-statistics/eastcatholic
-stat10.pdf) (PDF). Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (http://
www.cnewa.org/source-images/Roberson-eastcath-statistics/eastcatholic-stat10.pdf) (PDF)
on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2010. Information sourced from Annuario
Pontificio 2010 edition
 4. "Italo-Albanese Catholic Church of the Byzantine Tradition" (http://www.catholic-hierarchy.or
g/rite/ia.html). catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
5. "Italo-Albanese Church. Eastern-Rite sui juris Catholic Church. Italy : Lungro, Piana degli
Albanesi, Santa Maria di Grottaferrata" (http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/rite-IA.htm).
gcatholic.org. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
6. G. Cimbalo, Conference “Cultural bridges between Himara and the Arbëresh diaspora
during the 16th and 18th centuries”, Vlora (Albania), 10-11 November, 2015.
7. Centro Internazionale di Studi sul Mito (Delegazione Sicilia), Tavola Rotonda sugli
Arbëreshë: "Shqiptarë nga gjuha Bizantinë nga riti kishtar Italjanë nga adoptimi: Arbëreshët
- Albanesi per lingua Bizantini per rito Italiani per adozione: gli Arbëreshë", Palermo 2015.
8. Considerations of the visits of the Orthodox Church of Albania (1940), of Greece (1973) and
of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (2019) to the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church.
9. Ines Angjeli Murzak, Returning Home to Rome: The Basilian Monks of Grottaferrata in
Albania, Grottaferrata 2009 (https://books.google.com/books?id=y2EPFRL-XJQC&dq=chies
a+italo+albanese&pg=PA75)
10. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Italo-Greeks" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_En
cyclopedia_(1913)/Italo-Greeks). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton
Company.
11. Roberson, Ronald G. "The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church. Page 1" (http://www.cnewa.org/d
efault.aspx?ID=57&pagetypeID=9&sitecode=US&pageno=1). The Eastern Christian
Churches: A Brief Survey. Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Retrieved 27 December
2011.
12. "Diocese of Lungro" (http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/lung0.htm). GCatholic.orgs.
Retrieved 27 December 2011.
13. "Territorial Abbacy of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata" (http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/dioces
e/zmar9.htm). GCatholic.orgs. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
14. Roberson, Ronald G. "The Italo-Albanian Catholic Church. Page 2" (http://www.cnewa.org/d
efault.aspx?ID=57&pagetypeID=9&sitecode=US&pageno=2). The Eastern Christian
Churches: A Brief Survey. Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Retrieved 27 December
2011.
15. "Italo-Albanese Church" (http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/data/rite-IA.htm). GCatholic.orgs.
Retrieved 27 December 2011.
16. "Our Lady of Wisdom Italo-Greek Byzantine" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120603182042/
http://www.byzcath.org/index.php/find-a-parish-mainmenu-111?sobi2Task=sobi2Details&cat
id=129&sobi2Id=372). Eastern & Oriental Catholic Directory. ByzCath.org. Archived from the
original (http://www.byzcath.org/index.php/find-a-parish-mainmenu-111?sobi2Task=sobi2De
tails&catid=129&sobi2Id=372) on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
17. "Our Lady of Grace Greek-Catholic Mission & Society (Italo-Graeco-Albanian)" (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20120603182150/http://www.byzcath.org/index.php/find-a-parish-mainmenu-
111?sobi2Task=sobi2Details&catid=593&sobi2Id=19). Eastern & Oriental Catholic
Directory. byzcath.org. Archived from the original (http://www.byzcath.org/index.php/find-a-pa
rish-mainmenu-111?sobi2Task=sobi2Details&catid=593&sobi2Id=19) on 3 June 2012.
Retrieved 28 December 2011.

External links
Italo-Albanese Catholic Church of the Byzantine Tradition (https://www.catholic-hierarchy.or
g/rite/ia.html)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Italo-Albanian_Catholic_Church&oldid=1170925991"