Priesthood of St. Pius X

Ground

As well as the traditionalist movement as a whole, the Brotherhood of St. Pius X arose in the face of opposition to the changes in the Roman Catholic Church that followed the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). The founder and central figure of the Brotherhood was the French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre , who served in the Catholic Church as an apostolic delegate in French-speaking Africa , Archbishop Dakar, and General Rector of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit .

After his resignation from the post of general rector of the Congregation of the Fathers of the Holy Spirit in September 1968, Archbishop Lefebvre lived in Rome , leading a secluded life. When many disciplinary rules were canceled at the French seminary in Rome (wearing a cassock, a mandatory daily mass, etc.) and some moral principles were called into question, some seminarians turned to him for help: Lefebvre was known since the French seminary was located under the direction of the Fathers of the Holy Spirit. At first he refused, citing the lack of everything that is necessary, but as a result agreed to take some actions at the request of the seminarians, renting a house in Friborg in Switzerland. Seminarians lived in this house, went to classes at the unchanged Dominican University of Friborg , while other seminarians continued classes at the University of Lateran in Rome.

In 1969-1970, the New Order of the Mass appeared , which gradually replaced the Trent Mass . Friborg seminarians, worried about the idea that after ordination they would have to return to their dioceses under the leadership of modern bishops, asked the archbishop to establish a Brotherhood that would unite them to protect the dignity. After consulting and approving high-ranking prelates, Lefebvre wrote the Statute on the Brotherhood of Saint Pius X, and on November 1, 1970, it was officially approved by the local bishop, Francois Charlier.

When Archbishop Lefebvre decided to educate priests who would serve only the ancient Latin Mass, he assumed that sooner or later there would be a confrontation with those who promoted the renewal of the Catholic Church, especially through liturgical reform.

Confrontation with the Vatican

At the annual meeting in Lourdes in 1972, French bishops called the Econ Seminary "wild" and "dangerous." On November 11–13, 1974, at the request of the same bishops, two apostolic visitors arrived Econ and spent 48 hours there, the purpose of the visit was to verify the doctrinal orthodoxy of the seminary, so they questioned seminarians and priests, observed discipline, and attended classes. On November 21, 1974, outraged by the visitation process, Archbishop Lefebvre wrote his famous declaration: "We are committed to Eternal Rome with all our hearts ..." . On May 6, 1975, church authorities invited Lefebvre to close the seminary. The brotherhood was banned by the new bishop of Freiburg , Monsignor Mami, but Lefebvre continued.

Despite opposition from church authorities, on June 29, 1976, 12 seminary graduates were ordained priests. In his sermon, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre addressed the “Quo Primum” St. Pope Pius V , which states that any condemnation of the Trent mass is invalid: “And we also acknowledge that this Servant ... can be freely and legally used, without any embarrassment of conscience or fear, be subject to any punishment, condemnation or contempt, and by the Apostolic authority by this act allow and allow it forever. No bishops ... and anyone else from the white, somehow titled, or black clergy should be forced to serve a liturgy other than our established one. ” On July 11, 1976, the Congregation of Bishops imposed the term "suspens divinis" on archbishop Lefebvre, that is, a ban on priesthood, but formally Lefebvre continued to remain in the bosom of the Roman Catholic Church ^[1] .

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Lefebvre was repeatedly called to Rome to investigate his activities, met with Pope Paul VI and John Paul II and did not stop criticizing the Catholic Church’s renovationism. The Brotherhood especially criticized the visit by John Paul II of the synagogue in Rome on April 13, 1986, as well as the prayer organized by the Holy See for the peace of representatives of all religions in Assisi on October 27 of that year. During this period, the number of adherents of the Catholic tradition continued to grow, the Brotherhood extended its activities to a number of countries and, despite all the instructions of Rome, the services of the priests of the Brotherhood continued to be performed according to the old order. At the same time, recognition of oneself as an inseparable part of the Roman Catholic Church was emphasized, the Pope and local bishops recalled at the services.

1988 Ordinance in Econ

The contacts of the leaders of the Brotherhood with the Vatican resulted in steps to normalize relations. October 3, 1984 was published an indict of the Congregation of St. The ceremonies that legalized the Traditional Mass around the world, on May 5, 1988, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Archbishop Lefebvre signed a conciliation protocol. However, it was after the reconciliation attempts that the most serious conflict erupted.

In 1987, Archbishop Lefebvre turned 81 years old, in the event of his death, the Brotherhood would become dependent on bishops not belonging to the Brotherhood. Sensing the approach of death, on June 30, 1988, he, along with Brazilian Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer, ordained four new bishops without the permission of the Pope. This step was dictated by the desire to preserve the opportunity to ordain new traditionalist priests, which requires at least two bishops. Lefebvre claimed that his actions were necessary because the traditional form of the Catholic faith and sacraments would disappear without the traditionalist clergy. He called Econa’s ordinations an “opération survie”, referring in his defense to canons 1323 and 1324 of the Code of Canon Law , the first of which states that no person is punished for violating the law or the order of the person who “acted, compelled by intense fear (even if only relatively strong), either out of necessity or as a result of significant inconvenience, unless the act he committed was essentially malicious and did not harm souls, "while another canon says that" a person rshivshee offense, is not exempt from punishment; however, the punishment established by law or regulation should be mitigated or commuted by repentance if the crime was committed ... by those who were mistaken, but because of their own fault believed that one of the circumstances referred to in can. 1323, 4th or 5th. " The next day, the Congregation for the Bishops issued a decree expelling both ordained and ordained bishops from the church: Bernard Fellay, William Richardson, Alfonso de Galaretta and Bernard Tissier de Muller. On July 2, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic letter known as Ecclesia Dei , in which he condemned the actions of Lefebvre.

Some of the traditionalist priests, who did not approve of the consecration of bishops without the permission of the Vatican, left the Brotherhood and, with the approval of the Catholic authorities, they created the Brotherhood of St. Peter .

In 2009, the excommunication of the bishops was lifted by Pope Benedict XV I.

Modernity

In 1991, Marcel Lefebvre died. In 1994, Bishop Bernard Fellé became the general rector of the Brotherhood, and David Palyarani in 2018 ^[2] .

The main problem associated with the Brotherhood of St. Pius X is currently his unresolved canonical status, which has been the subject of controversy since the ordination in Econ in 1988. In recent years, the Brotherhood has received increasing recognition of its activities by the Holy See. . In 1999, Cardinal Ratzinger - the future Pope - celebrated the Mass of Trent in Weimar . In the early 2000s, the fraternity’s contacts with the official authorities of the church resumed. In August 2000, 6 thousand followers of the Brotherhood made a pilgrimage to the four main Roman basilicas, and negotiations were held with the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos. In December of the same year, the head of the Brotherhood Bernard Fellay met in the Vatican with John Paul II . On August 29, 2005, Benedict XVI gave an audience to the three bishops of the Brotherhood, discussing ways to restore unity. On September 8, 2006, a group of priests expelled from the Brotherhood, headed by Philip Lageri, with the consent of Pope Benedict XVI, founded the Institute of the Good Shepherd , a society of apostolic life. The path of reconciliation of the brotherhood with the Holy See moved forward in 2007 after Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree motu proprio " Summorum Pontificum " on the possibility of freely serving the Council of Trent ^[3] . The Brotherhood thanked the Pope for this step.

On January 21, 2009, the excommunication of Bishops Bernard Fellat , Bernard Tissier de Mulleray , Richard Williamson and Alfonso de Galarreta was canceled ^[4]

On November 20, 2016, the Holy See granted the priests of the Brotherhood permanent canonical jurisdiction for the remission of sins to all Catholics (Misericordia et Misera, 12) ^[5] , and later, on April 4, 2017, bishops were also allowed to admit the priests of the Brotherhood at the conclusion of a church marriage ^[6] . In addition, the Vatican appointed Bishop Fella as a judge in a canonical process against one of the priests of the Brotherhood ^[7] .

Although the Brotherhood is not listed in the Annuario Pontificio as a recognized society of apostolic life, it nevertheless received many significant benefits, which are usually provided only to recognized orders and societies. In the publication Angelus, the priest of the Brotherhood François Knittel wrote: “The church authorities gradually recognized the legality and validity of the ministry carried out by priests of the Brotherhood of St. Pius X. "

As of April 22, 2018 ^[8] within the framework of the Brotherhood of St. Pius X has 637 priests present in 37 countries and operating at 35,772 service points , 167 priors, 123 monks, 200 nuns, 79 oblasts, 204 seminarians in six seminaries, 56 men in three pre-seminaries, more than 100 schools, 7 houses the elderly, 4 Carmelite monasteries, 19 missionary sisters in Kenya and 2 university-level institutes. In the summer of 2018, the first Russian priest of the Brotherhood was ordained in Zeitzkofen .

• Priesthood fraternity Pia X in Moscow
• Priesthood fraternity Pia X in Belarus and the CIS
• New Priest of the Priesthood of St. Pius X