PROTO-HEGUMEN JOSAPHAT OHOTSKYJ’S CIRCULAR LETTER (30.11.1784)

Abstract

Summary. The purpose of this study is to analyze the information content of the circular, highlighting the main thematic parts. Research methodology is based on the use of analytical and synthetic critique of the sources. To establish the objectivity of information, in the absence of the original letter, its content is compared with other handwritten copies and old printed copies which we found. The scientific novelty is seen in the fact that for the first time Proto-hegumen Josaphat Ohotskyj’s circular received a wide public access. Conclusions. The mentioned circular reflects the multilevel system of management of Basilian monasteries: the Apostolic See, the provincial chapter and the council. After all, in the period under consideration, the Basilian Order already held papal law. The Pope reserved the right to approve the decrees of the general chapters, making changes and additions to them. The provincial chapters considered issues not only related to the election of the provincial council, but also resolutions on the regulation of the ascetic structure of the monks, their spiritual and intellectual formation and the financial and property status of the monasteries. These decrees were based on the particular law of the Basilian Order according to which the provincial chapter was endowed not only with elective but also with legislative functions that were limited by territorial boundaries. Given the dispersion of the Basilian monasteries due to the first division of the Commonwealth, there was a political difficulty in convening a general chapter, as secular autocrats forbade monks to move outside the empires. Secular rulers demanded that the Basilian monastics form autocratic governing bodies for monasteries located within individual states. In such socio-political conditions, the importance of the provincial chapter and the council is growing.