Difference between revisions of "Dominican Order" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:SaintDominic.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Saint Dominic]] saw the need for a new type of organization to address the needs of his time.]]
  
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The '''Dominican Order''', originally known as the '''Order of Preachers''', is a [[Roman Catholic religious order|Catholic religious order]] created by [[Saint Dominic]] in the early [[thirteenth century]] in [[France]]. Dominic established his religious community in [[Toulouse]] in 1214, officially recognized as an order by [[Pope Honorius III]] in 1216. Founded under the [[Augustinian]] rule, the Dominican Order is one of the great orders of [[mendicant Orders|mendicant friars]] that revolutionized religious life in [[Europe]] during the [[High Middle Ages]]. However, it notably differed from the Franciscan Order in its attitude toward ecclesiastical [[poverty]].
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[[Image:OP_sello2.gif|right|thumb|200px|''Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare'' (Praise, Bless, Preach)]]
 
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[[Image:SaintDominic.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Saint Dominic]] saw the need for a new type of organization to address the needs of his time, one that would bring the dedication and systematic education of the older monastic orders to bear on the religious problems of the burgeoning population of cities, but with more organizational flexibility than either monastic orders or the secular clergy]]
 
  
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The '''Order of Preachers''' ('''''Ordo fratrum Praedicatorum'''''), after [[15th century]] more commonly known as the '''Dominican Order,''' or '''Dominicans''' is a [[Roman Catholic religious order|Catholic religious order]], created by [[Saint Dominic]] in the early [[13th century]] in France. A '''Dominican friar''' is a member of one of the [[mendicant orders]], the [[Dominican Order]]. The word ''friar'' is etymologically related to the word for  "brother" in [[Latin]].<ref>{{cite web
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Established to preach the [[Gospel]] and to combat [[heresy]], the order is famed for its intellectual tradition, having produced many leading theologians and philosophers. It played a leading role in investigating and prosecuting heresy during the Inquisition. Important [[Dominicans]] include [[Saint Dominic]], St. [[Thomas Aquinas]], [[Albertus Magnus]], St. [[Catherine of Siena]], and [[Girolamo Savonarola]]. Four Dominican [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]]s have become popes.
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|url=http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?sourceid=Mozilla-search&va=friar
 
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|title=friar
 
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|publisher=Merriam Webster
 
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|accessdate=2007-06-23
 
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}}</ref>
 
  
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In [[England]] and some other countries the Dominicans are referred to as '''Blackfriars''' on account of the black ''cappa'' or cloak they wear over their white [[Religious habit|habits]] (for the same reason, [[Carmelites]] are known as "Whitefriars" and [[Franciscan]]s as "Greyfriars"—although the habit of the Franciscan friar is in fact brown). In [[France]], the Dominicans are also known as '''Jacobins''', because their first convent in [[Paris]] bore the name "Saint Jacques," and Jacques is ''Jacobus'' in Latin. They have also been referred to using a Latin pun, as "Domini canes," or "The Hounds of God," a reference to the order's reputation as most obedient servants of the faith, with perhaps a negative connotation or reference to the order's involvement with the [[Inquisition|Holy Inquisition]]. Members of the order often carry the letters '''O.P.''' after their name.
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In [[England]] and some other countries the Dominicans are referred to as [[Blackfriars]] on account of the black ''cappa'' or cloak they wear over their white [[Religious habit|habits]]. In [[France]], the Dominicans are also known as [[Jacobins]], because their first convent in [[Paris]] bore the name "Saint Jacques," or ''Jacobus'' in Latin. They have also been referred to using a Latin pun, as "Domini canes," or "The Hounds of God," a reference to the order's reputation as most obedient servants of the faith, sometimes with a negative connotation or reference to the order's involvement with the [[Inquisition]].
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{{toc}}
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Saint Dominic established a religious community in [[Toulouse]] in 1214, officially recognized as an order by  [[Pope Honorius III]] in 1216. Founded under the [[Augustinian]] rule, the Dominican Order is one of the great [[Roman Catholic religious order|orders]] of [[mendicant Orders|mendicant friars]] that revolutionized religious life in [[Europe]] during the [[High Middle Ages]]. Founded to preach the gospel and to combat heresy, the Order is famed for its intellectual tradition, having produced many leading theologians and philosophers. The Dominican Order is headed by the [[Master of the Order of Preachers|Master of the Order]], who is currently Brother [[Carlos Azpiroz Costa]].
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The Dominican Order is headed by the [[Master of the Order of Preachers|Master of the Order]], who is currently Brother [[Carlos Azpiroz Costa]]. Members of the order often carry the letters [[O.P.]] after their name.
  
 
==Foundation of the Order==
 
==Foundation of the Order==
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Like his contemporary [[Francis of Assisi]], Dominic saw the need for a new type of organization to address the needs of his time, and the quick growth of the Dominicans and [[Franciscan]]s during their first century confirms that the orders of mendicant friars met a need.
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Dominic saw the need to establish a new kind of order when traveling through the south of [[France]] when that region was the stronghold of heretical [[Albigensian]] thought—also known as [[Cathar]]ism—centered around the town of [[Albi]].<ref>Catharism was a name given to a religious sect with gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France in the eleventh century and flourished in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Catharism had its roots in the Paulician movement in Armenia and was also influenced by the Bogomiles with whom the Paulicians eventually merged. They also became influenced by dualist and perhaps Manichaean beliefs.</ref> To combat [[heresy]] and other problems in urban areas, he sought to establish an order that would bring the systematic education of the older monastic orders such as the [[Benedictine]]s to bear on the religious problems of the burgeoning population of cities. His was to be a [[preaching]] order, trained to preach in the [[vernacular]] languages, but with a sound background in academic [[theology]]. Rather than earning their living on vast farms as the monasteries had done, the new friars would survive by persuasive preaching and the alms-giving of those who heard them. They were initially scorned by more traditional orders, who thought these "urban monks" would never survive the temptations of the city.
  
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Dominic sought to establish a new kind of order, one that would bring the dedication and systematic education of the older monastic orders like the [[Benedictine]]s to bear on the religious problems of the burgeoning population of cities, but with more organizational flexibility than either monastic orders or the secular clergy. Dominic's new order was to be a [[preaching]] order, trained to preach in the [[vernacular]] languages but with a sound background in academic [[theology]]. Rather than earning their living on vast farms as the monasteries had done, the new friars would survive by begging, "selling" themselves through persuasive preaching. They were initially scorned by more traditional orders, who thought these "urban monks" would never survive the temptations of the city.
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The Dominicans were thus set up as the branch of the [[Catholicism|Catholocism]] Church to deal with heresy. The organization of the Order of Preachers was approved in December 1216 by [[Pope Honorius III]].
  
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Dominic saw the need to establish a new kind of order when travelling through the south of [[France]]. He had been asked to accompany his [[bishop]] from [[Burgo de Osma-Ciudad de Osma|Osma]] on a diplomatic mission to [[Denmark]], to arrange the marriage between the son of King [[Alfonso VIII of Castile]] and a niece of King [[Valdemar II of Denmark]]. At that time the south of France was the stronghold of [[Albigensian]] thought, centered around the town of [[Albi]].
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==History of the Order==
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===Middle Ages===
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The thirteenth century is the classic age of the order. It reached all classes of Christian society fighting [[Christian heresy|heresy]], [[Schism (religion)|schism]], and [[paganism]]. Its schools spread throughout the entire Church. Its doctors wrote monumental works in all branches of knowledge and two among them, [[Albertus Magnus]], and especially [[Thomas Aquinas]], founded a school of philosophy and theology which was to rule the ages to come in the life of the Church.  
  
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This unorthodox expression of Christianity held that matter was evil and only spirit was good, a fundamental challenge to the notion of [[incarnation]], central to [[Roman Catholic]] theology. The Albigensians, more commonly known as the [[Cathar]]s (a [[Christian heresy|heretic]]al [[gnostic]] sect), lived very simply and saw themselves as more fervent followers of the poor [[Christ]]. Dominic saw the need for a response that would take the good elements in the Albigensian movement to sway them back to mainstream Christian thought. The mendicant preacher emerged from this insight. Unfortunately, Dominic's ideal of winning the Albigensians over was not held by all office bearers and the population of Albi was decimated in the [[Albigensian crusade]]. The Dominicans were also set up as the branch of the Catholic Church to deal with heresy. It was in this early period of the Albigensian crusade that St. Dominic ordered the burning of several heretical books. Indeed, many years after this initial crusade, the first Grand Inquistor of Spain would be drawn from the Dominican order, Tomás de Torquemada.
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An enormous number of its members held offices in both Church and state—as popes, cardinals, bishops, legates, inquisitors, confessors of princes, ambassadors, and ''paciarii'' (enforcers of the peace decreed by popes or councils). A period of relaxation ensued during the [[fourteenth century]] owing to the general decline of Christian society. The weakening of doctrinal activity favored the development of the [[ascetic]] and [[contemplative]] life sprang up, especially in [[Germany]] and [[Italy]], an intense and exuberant mysticism with which the names of [[Meister Eckhart]], [[Heinrich Suso]], [[Johannes Tauler]], and [[Catherine of Siena|St. Catherine of Siena]] are associated, which has also been called "Dominican mysticism." This movement was the prelude to the reforms undertaken at the end of the century, by [[Raimondo delle Vigne|Raymond of Capua]], and continued in the following century. It assumed remarkable proportions in the congregations of [[Lombardy]] and the [[Netherlands]], and in the reforms of [[Girolamo Savonarola]] at [[Florence]].  
  
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The organization of the Order of Preachers was approved in December 1216 by [[Pope Honorius III]] (see also ''[[Religiosam vitam]]''; ''[[Nos attendentes]]'').
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Savonarola, an Italian Dominican priest and leader of Florence from 1494 until his execution in 1498, was known for religious reform, anti-[[Renaissance]] preaching, book burning, and destruction of what he considered immoral [[art]]. He vehemently preached against what he saw as the moral corruption of the clergy, and his main opponent was [[Pope Alexander]] VI. He is sometimes seen as a precursor of [[Martin Luther]] and the [[Protestant Reformation]], though he remained a devout and pious [[Roman Catholic]] during his whole life.
  
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==History of the Order==
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The Order found itself face to face with the [[Renaissance]]. It struggled against what it believed were the pagan tendencies in [[humanism]], but it also furnished humanism with such advanced writers as [[Francesco Colonna]] and [[Matteo Bandello]]. Its members, in great numbers, took part in the artistic activity of the age, the most prominent being [[Fra Angelico]] and [[Fra Bartolomeo]].
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The history of the Order may be divided into three periods:
 
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* The Middle Ages (from their foundation to the beginning of the [[sixteenth century]]);
 
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* The Modern Period up to the [[French Revolution]];
 
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* The Contemporary Period.
 
  
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===Middle Ages===
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====The Inquisition====
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[[Image:SaintThomasAquinas.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Universalis St. Thomas Aquinas considered by the Catholic Church to be its greatest theologian, is girded by angels with a mystical belt of purity after his proof of chastity]]
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[[Image:Pedro Berruguete - Saint Dominic Presiding over an Auto-da-fe (1475).jpg|thumb|200px|Saint Dominic presiding at an inquisition. Although the painting is anachronistic, the Dominicans indeed played a leading role in the Inquisition.]]
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The Dominican Order was instrumental in the [[Inquisition]]. In the twelfth century, to counter the spread of [[Catharism]], prosecution against [[heresy]] became more frequent. As the Dominicans were particularly trained in the necessary skills to identify heretics and deal with them, in the thirteenth century, the [[Pope]] assigned the duty of carrying out inquisitions to the Dominican Order. Dominican inquisitors acted in the name of the Pope and with his full authority. The inquisitor questioned the accused heretic in the presence of at least two witnesses. The accused was given a summary of the charges and had to take an oath to tell the truth. Various means were used to get the cooperation of the accused. Although there was no tradition of [[torture]] in Christian [[canon law]], this method came into use by the middle of the thirteenth century.
  
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The Dominican friars were the first to arrive in [[England]], appearing in [[Oxford]] in 1221.<ref>{{cite book
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The findings of the Inquisition were read before a large audience; the penitents abjured on their knees with one hand on a [[bible]] held by the inquisitor. Penalties went from visits to churches, [[pilgrimages]], and wearing the cross of infamy to imprisonment (usually for life but the sentences were often commuted) and (if the accused would not abjure) [[death]]. Death was by burning at the stake, and was carried out by the secular authorities. In some serious cases when the accused had died before proceedings could be instituted, his or her remains could be exhumed and burned. Death or [[life imprisonment]] was always accompanied by the confiscation of all the property of the accused.  
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  | last = Morgan
 
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  | first = Kenneth O. (Ed.)
 
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  | title = The Oxford History of Britain
 
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  | publisher = Oxford University Press
 
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  | date = 1993
 
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  | pages = p. 179
 
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  | isbn = 0-19-285202-7 }}
 
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</ref>
 
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The thirteenth century is the classic age of the Order, the witness to its brilliant development and intense activity. This last is manifested especially in the work of teaching. By preaching it reached all classes of Christian society, fought [[Christian heresy|heresy]], [[Schism (religion)|schism]], and [[paganism]] by word and book, and by its missions to the north of [[Europe]], to [[Africa]], and [[Asia]] passed beyond the frontiers of Christendom. Its schools spread throughout the entire Church; its doctors wrote monumental works in all branches of knowledge and two among them, [[Albertus Magnus]], and especially [[Thomas Aquinas]], founded a school of philosophy and theology which was to rule the ages to come in the life of the Church. An enormous number of its members held offices in Church and State—as popes, cardinals, bishops, legates, inquisitors, confessors of princes, ambassadors, and ''paciarii'' (enforcers of the peace decreed by popes or councils). The Order of Preachers, which should have remained a select body, developed beyond bounds and absorbed some elements ill-fitted to its form of life. A period of relaxation ensued during the [[fourteenth century]] owing to the general decline of Christian society. The weakening of doctrinal activity favoured the development here and there of the [[ascetic]] and [[contemplative]] life and there sprang up, especially in [[Germany]] and [[Italy]], an intense and exuberant mysticism with which the names of [[Meister Eckhart]], [[Heinrich Suso]], [[Johannes Tauler]], and [[Catherine of Siena|St. Catherine of Siena]] are associated. (See [[German mysticism]], which has also been called "Dominican mysticism.") This movement was the prelude to the reforms undertaken, at the end of the century, by [[Raimondo delle Vigne|Raymond of Capua]], and continued in the following century. It assumed remarkable proportions in the congregations of [[Lombardy]] and the [[Netherlands]], and in the reforms of [[Savonarola]] at [[Florence]]. At the same time the Order found itself face to face with the [[Renaissance]]. It struggled against pagan tendencies in [[humanism]], in Italy through Dominici and Savonarola, in Germany through the theologians of Cologne but it also furnished humanism with such advanced writers as [[Francesco Colonna]] (writer of the ''[[Hypnerotomachia Poliphili]]'') and [[Matteo Bandello]]. Its members, in great numbers, took part in the artistic activity of the age, the most prominent being [[Fra Angelico]] and [[Fra Bartolomeo]].
 
  
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===Modern Period===
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The Dominicans were sent as inquisitors in 1232 to [[Germany]] along the [[Rhine]], to the Diocese of Tarragona in [[Spain]] and to [[Lombardy]]; in 1233 to [[France]], to the territory of Auxerre; the ecclesiastical provinces of [[Bourges]], [[Bordeaux]], [[Narbonne]], and [[Auch]], and to [[Burgundy]]; in 1235 to the ecclesiastical province of [[Sens]]. By 1255, the Inquisition was in full activity in all the countries of Central and Western [[Europe]]—in the county of [[Toulouse]], in [[Sicily]], [[Aragon]], Lombardy, France, Burgundy, [[Brabant]], and Germany.
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[[Image:Bartolomedelascasas.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Bartolomé de Las Casas]], as a settler in the [[New World]], he was galvanized by witnessing the brutal torture and genocide of the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]]s by the [[Spain|Spanish]] colonists. He became famous for his advocacy of the rights of Native Americans, whose cultures, especially in the [[Caribbean]], he describes with care]]
 
  
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The modern period consists of the three centuries between the religious revolution at the beginning of the [[sixteenth century]] ([[Protestantism]]) and the [[French Revolution]] and its consequences. At the beginning of the sixteenth century the order was on the way to a genuine renaissance when the Revolutionary upheavals occurred. The progress of heresy cost it six or seven provinces and several hundreds of [[convent]]s, but the discovery of the [[New World]] opened up a fresh field of activity. Its gains in [[Americas|America]] and those which arose as a consequence of the [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] conquests in [[Africa]] and the [[Indies]] far exceeded the losses of the order in Europe, and the [[seventeenth century]] saw its highest numerical development. The sixteenth century was a great doctrinal century, and the movement lasted beyond the middle of the [[eighteenth century]]. In modern times the order lost much of its influence on the political powers, which had universally fallen into [[absolutism]] and had little sympathy for the [[democratic]] constitution of the Preachers. The [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] courts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were particularly unfavourable to them until the suppression of the [[Society of Jesus]]. In the eighteenth century, there were numerous attempts at reform which created, especially in France, geographical confusion in the administration. Also during the eighteenth century, the tyrannical spirit of the European powers and, still more, the spirit of the age lessened the number of recruits and the fervour of religious life. The French Revolution ruined the order in France, and the crises which more or less rapidly followed considerably lessened or wholly destroyed numerous provinces.
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The fifteenth century witnessed Dominican involvement in the [[Spanish Inquisition]]. [[Alonso de Hojeda]], a Dominican from  [[Seville]], convinced [[Queen Isabella]] of the existence of [[Crypto-Judaism]] among Andalusian ''conversos'' during her stay in Seville between 1477 and 1478. A report, produced at the request of the monarchs by [[Pedro González de Mendoza]], Archbishop of Seville and by the Segovian Dominican [[Tomás de Torquemada]], corroborated this assertion. The [[monarchs]] decided to introduce the Inquisition to [[Castile]] to uncover and do away with false [[converts]]. The Spanish Inquisition brought the deaths of many Jews found to be insincere in their conversions and resulted in the expulsion of the Jewish from Spain in 1492.
  
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===Contemporary Period===
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In 1542, [[Pope Paul III]] established a permanent [[congregation]] staffed with cardinals and other officials whose task it was to maintain and defend the integrity of the faith and to examine and proscribe errors and false doctrines. This body, the [[Congregation of the Holy Office]] (now called the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]]), became the supervisory body of local inquisitions.
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[[Image:OP_Caracas.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Spanish Mendicant friars from the Order of Preachers at Saint Thomas Aquinas' School, Caracas, Venezuela, 1952]]
 
  
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The contemporary period of the history of the Preachers begins with the different restorations of provinces undertaken after the revolutions which had destroyed the Order in several countries of the Old World and the New. This period begins more or less in the early [[nineteenth century]], and cannot be traced down to the present day without naming religious who are still living and whose activity embodies the present life of the Order. The revolutions not having totally destroyed certain of the provinces, nor decimated them, simultaneously, the Preachers were able to take up the laborious work of restoration in countries where the civil legislation did not present insurmountable obstacles. During this critical period the number of Preachers seems never to have sunk below 3,500. The statistics for 1876 give 3,748 religious, but 500 of these had been expelled from their convents and were engaged in [[Wikt:parochial|parochial]] work. The statistics for 1910 give a total of 4,472 religious both nominally and actually engaged in the proper activities of the Order. They were distributed in twenty-eight provinces and five congregations, and possessed nearly 400 convents or secondary establishments.
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====Dominicans versus Franciscans====
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In the [[Middle Ages]], theological debates took place at the [[University of Paris]] between the Aristotelian Dominicans and the Franciscan Platonists. Many of these encounters lacked what could be called [[Christian]] love in their search for truth. The Franciscans made themselves felt alongside of the Dominicans, and created a rival school of [[theology]] as contrasted with the [[Aristotelianism]] of the Dominican school.  
  
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In the revival movement France held a foremost place, owing to the reputation and convincing power of the orator, [[ Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire]] (1802-1861). He took the habit of a Friar Preacher at Rome (1839), and the province of France was canonically erected in 1850. From this province were detached the province of [[Lyon]], called Occitania (1862), that of [[Toulouse]] (1869), and that of [[Canada]] (1909). The French restoration likewise furnished many labourers to other provinces, to assist in their organization and progress. From it came the [[master general]] who remained longest at the head of the administration during the nineteenth century, Père [[Vincent Jandel]] (1850-1872). Here should be mentioned the province of St. Joseph in the United States. Founded in 1805 by Father [[Edward Fenwick]], afterwards first Bishop of [[Cincinnati, Ohio]] (1821-1832), this province has developed slowly, but now ranks among the most flourishing and active provinces of the order. In 1910 it numbered seventeen convents or secondary houses. In 1905, it established a large house of studies at [[Washington, D.C.]], called the [[Dominican House of Studies]].
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As a result, the Paris theology [[faculty]] protested the use of Aristotle's natural philosophy (but not his logic) in the arts preparatory courses, and succeeded in having it banned in 1210. [[Thomas Aquinas]] was one of the Dominicans who articulately defended Greek learning against the objections of the Franciscans. By 1255, however, Aristotle won the day it became apparent that [[students]] would start going elsewhere to study Aristotle if they could not get it in Paris.  
  
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The province of France (Paris) has produced a large number of preachers, several of whom became renowned. The conferences of Notre-Dame-de-Paris were inaugurated by Père Lacordaire. The Dominicans of the province of France furnished most of the orators: Lacordaire (1835-1836, 1843-1851), [[Jacques Monsabré]] (1869-1870, 1872-1890), [[Joseph Ollivier]] (1871, 1897), [[Thomas Etourneau]] (1898-1902). Since 1903 the pulpit of Notre Dame has again been occupied by a Dominican. Père [[Henri Didon]] (d. 1900) was one of the most esteemed orators of his time. The province of France displays greater intellectual and scientific activity than ever, the chief centre being the house of studies presently situated at [[Kain]], near [[Tournai]], [[Belgium]], where are published ''L'Année Dominicaine'' (founded 1859), ''La Revue des Sciences Philosophiques et Theologiques'' (1907), and ''La Revue de la Jeunesse'' (1909).
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In the Franciscan versus Dominican rivalry, pointed differences also occurred on the [[Mendicant Orders]]: the Dominicans adopted the existing [[monastic rule]], while the Franciscans did not allow personal [[property]]. After the death of the founders, [[St. Dominic]] and [[St. Francis]], re-discussions and reinterpretations of the notion of [[poverty]] continued. The quarrel continued for some 70 years and was at times extremely bitter.
  
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French Dominicans founded and administer the '''[[École Biblique et Archéologique française de Jérusalem]]''' ["French Biblical and Archæological School of Jerusalem"] founded in 1890 by Père [[Marie-Joseph Lagrange]] O.P. (1855-1938), one of the leading international centres for Biblical research of all kinds. It is at the ''École Biblique'' that the famed [[Jerusalem Bible]] (both editions) was prepared.
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===Modern Period===
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[[Image:Bartolomedelascasas.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Bartolomé de Las Casas]] became famous for his advocacy of the rights of Native Americans, whose cultures, especially in the [[Caribbean]], he describes with care.]]
  
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Likewise [[Yves Congar|Yves Cardinal Congar]], O.P., one of the emblematic theologians of the [[Twentieth Century]], was a product of the French province of the Order of Preachers.
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At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the progress of the [[Protestant]] "heresy" in Europe and Britain cost the Order six or seven provinces and several hundreds of [[convent]]s. [[Queen Mary I]] of [[England]] (r. 1553-1558) used the Dominicans in her effort to reverse the [[Protestant Reformation]], an effort which proved futile.
  
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The province of the [[Philippines]], the most populous in the order, is recruited from Spain, where it has several preparatory houses. In the Philippines it has charge of the [[University of Sto. Tomas]], recognized by the government of the [[United States]], two colleges including the [[Colegio de San Juan de Letran]], and six establishments; in [[China]] it administers the missions of North and South [[Fo-Kien]], in the Japanese Empire, those of [[Taiwan|Formosa]] (now Taiwan) and [[Shikoku]], besides establishments at [[New Orleans]], at [[Caracas]], and at [[Rome]]. The province of Spain has seventeen establishments in the Peninsula and the [[Canaries]], as well as the missions of [[Urubamba, Peru]]. Since 1910 it has published at [[Madrid]] an important review, ''La Ciencia Tomista.'' The province of the Netherlands has a score of establishments, and the missions of [[Curaçao]] and [[Puerto Rico]]. Other provinces also have their missions. That of Piedmont has establishments at [[Istanbul|Constantinople]] and [[İzmir|Smyrna]]; that of Toulouse, in [[Brazil]]; that of Lyon, in [[Cuba]], that of [[Ireland]], in [[Australia]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]]; that of [[Belgium]], in the Belgian Congo (now [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]), and so on.
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In spite of these setbacks, the discovery of the [[New World]] opened up a fresh field of missionary activity. One of the most famous Dominicans of this period was [[Bartolomé de Las Casas]], who argued forcefully for the rights of Native Americans in the Caribbean. The order's gains in [[Americas|America]], the [[Indies]] and [[Africa]] during the period of colonial expansion far exceeded the losses of the order in Europe, and the [[seventeenth century]] saw its highest numerical development.
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[[Image:San Domenico11.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Dominican in habit]]
 
  
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Doctrinal development has had an important place in the restoration of the Preachers. Several institutions besides those already mentioned have played important parts. Such is the Biblical school at [[Jerusalem]], open to the religious of the Order and to secular clerics, and which publishes the ''Revue Biblique.'' The faculty of theology of the [[University of Freiburg]], confided to the care of the Dominicans in 1890, is flourishing and has about 250 students. The [[Collegium Angelicum]], established at Rome (1911) by [[Hyacinth Cormier]] (master general from 1902), is open to regulars and seculars for the study of the sacred sciences. To the reviews mentioned above must be added the ''Revue Thomiste,'' founded by Père [[Thomas Coconnier]] (d. 1908), and the ''Analecta Ordinis Prædicatorum'' (1893). Among the numerous writers of the order in this period are: Cardinals [[Thomas Zigliara]] (d. 1893) and [[Zephirin González]] (d. 1894), two esteemed philosophers; Father [[Alberto Guillelmotti]] (d. 1893), historian of the Pontifical Navy, and Father [[Heinrich Denifle]], one of the most famous writers on medieval history (d. 1905).
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In modern times, the order lost much of its influence on the political powers, which had universally fallen into [[absolutism]] and had little sympathy for the [[democratic]] constitution of the Preachers. The [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] courts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were particularly unfavorable to them until the suppression of the [[Society of Jesus]] (the Jesuits). In the eighteenth century, there were numerous attempts at reform which created, especially in France, geographical confusion in the administration. Also during the eighteenth century, the tyrannical spirit of the European powers and the spirit of the age lessened the number of recruits and the fervor of religious life. The [[French Revolution]] ruined the order in France, and the crises which more or less rapidly followed considerably lessened or wholly destroyed numerous provinces.
  
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In 1910 the order had twenty archbishops or bishops, one of whom, [[Andreas Frühwirth]], formerly master general (1892-1902), was Apostolic ''[[nuncio]]'' at [[Munich]] (Sanvito, ''Catalogus omnium provinciarum sacri ordinis praedicato.
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===Recent period===
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In the beginning of the nineteenth century the number of Preachers reached a low of around 3,500. The French restoration, however, furnished many Preachers to other provinces, to assist in their organization and progress. From it came Père [[Vincent Jandel]] (1850-1872), who remained the longest-serving [[master general]] of the nineteenth century. The province of St. Joseph in the United States was founded in 1805 by Father [[Edward Fenwick]], the first Bishop of [[Cincinnati, Ohio]] (1821-1832). Afterwards, this province developed slowly, but now ranks among the most flourishing and active provinces of the Order.  
  
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==Mottos==
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In 1910, the Order had 20 archbishops or bishops, and a total of 4,472 both nominally and actually engaged in the activities of the Order. Since that year, the Order has published an important review in [[Madrid]], ''La Ciencia Tomista.''
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[[Image:OP_sello.gif|right|thumb|100px|]]
 
  
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1. ''Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare''
+
[[Image:San Domenico11.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Dominican in habit]]
−
 
+
French Dominicans founded and ran the French Biblical and Archæological School of Jerusalem, one of the leading international centers for Biblical research of all kinds. It was here that the famed [[Jerusalem Bible]] (both editions) was prepared. Likewise, [[Yves Congar|Yves Cardinal Congar]], O.P., one of the emblematic theologians of the twentieth century, was a product of the French province of the Order of Preachers.
−
:To praise, to bless and to preach
 
  
−
(from the Dominican Missal, ''Preface of the Blessed Virgin Mary'')'''
+
In 1992, the followers of St. Dominic from 90 countries sent representatives to the General Chapter of 1992 in [[Mexico]]. They were engaged in every imaginable work, from running an ecological farm in [[Benin]] to exploring Coptic verbs in [[Fribourg]], [[Germany]]. Recent General Chapters have tried to help the Order focus its priorities in face of such endless demands and possibilities. In particular, the apostolic commitment aims to achieve four main objectives: intellectual formation, world [[mission]], social [[communication]], and [[justice]].
  
−
2. ''Veritas''
+
Over the past 20 years, there has been a decline in the number of Preachers throughout the Dominican Order that has been most severely experienced in its emerging churches. Provinces which once sent large numbers of Preachers to evangelize in other countries are no longer able to do so. "This has led to an acute shortage of key personnel in a number of [[mission]] vicariates and provinces," notes the Order website, <ref>[http://www.op.org/international/english/index.html Dominican Order website], ''www.op.org''. Retrieved October 24, 2007.</ref> which adds that, “In certain cases the addition of just two or three would alleviate a critical situation.”
  
−
:Truth
+
==The four ideals of the Dominican spirit and heritage==
 +
The Dominican heritage intertwines a dynamic interrelatedness of four active [[ideals]]:  
  
−
3. ''Contemplare et Contemplata Aliis Tradere''
+
'''Study:''' Dominican [[tradition]] and [[heritage]] of study is [[freedom]] of [[research]]. Dominic set [[study]] in the service of others as his ideal when he made study an integral part of the life of the Order. Study and concern was focused on contemporary social issues, so that one would go from study of the world as it is to a commitment to envision and work for a world as it should be; to try to put right what is wrong in the world. Each person has to determine her/his own area of commitment, and then establish the desire and challenge to make this a better world. Dominic believed that you learn how to do something by doing it, not by formulating [[theories]] beforehand. Experience was the key.
  
−
:To study and to hand on the fruits of study (or, to contemplate and to hand on the fruits of contemplation)
+
'''Prayer/Contemplation/Reflection:''' For example, love of the [[Gospel of Matthew]].
  
−
==List of Dominicans==
+
'''Community:''' To work for a better, more just and loving world. If we try to do this alone, we can feel overwhelmed. We can help one another—that is the point of [[community]] and [[family]], to enable us to do what we cannot do by ourselves.
−
''See also: [[:Category:Dominicans]]''
 
  
−
Important Dominicans include:
+
'''Service:''' Compassion was one of Dominic’s outstanding qualities. For example, as a student in Palencia he said, “I refuse to study dead skins while men are dying of hunger.”
−
*[[Saint Dominic]]
 
−
*St. [[Thomas Aquinas]]
 
−
*St. [[Albert the Great]]
 
−
*St. [[Catherine of Siena]]
 
−
*St. [[Raymond of Peñafort]]
 
−
*St. [[Rose of Lima]]
 
−
*St. [[Martin de Porres]]
 
−
*[[Pope Pius V|Pope Saint Pius V]]
 
−
*Beato [[Jordan of Saxony]]
 
−
*[[Bartolomé de las Casas]]
 
−
*[[Tomás de Torquemada]]
 
−
*[[Giordano Bruno]]
 
−
*[[Henry Suso]]
 
−
*[[Johannes Tauler]]
 
−
*[[Bernard Gui]]
 
−
*[[Andrew of Longjumeau]]
 
−
*[[Girolamo Savonarola]]
 
−
*[[Nikolaus Cardinal von Schönberg]]
 
−
*[[Edward Fenwick]], first Bishop of Cincinnati, OH
 
−
*[[John Bromyard]]
 
−
*[[Nicolau Aymerich]]
 
−
*[[Meister Eckhart]]
 
−
*[[Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire]]
 
−
*[[Timothy Radcliffe]]
 
−
*[[Felix Faber]]
 
−
*[[Joseph Sadoc Alemany]]
 
−
*[[Albert Nolan]]
 
−
*[[Vincent McNabb]]
 
−
*[[Herbert McCabe]]
 
−
*[[Yves Congar]]
 
−
*[[Brian J. Shanley]], President of [[Providence College]]
 
−
*[[William Everson]] (Brother Antoninus)
 
−
*[[Edward Schillebeeckx]]
 
−
*[[Marie-Alain Couturier]]
 
−
*[[Martin of Opava]]
 
−
*[[Cosmos Rossellius]]
 
−
*[[Bishop Thomas]] (of [[Finland]])
 
  
−
Four Dominican [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]]s have reached the Papacy: [[Pope Innocent V|Innocent V]], [[Pope Benedict XI|Benedict XI]], [[Pius V]] and [[Pope Benedict XIII|Benedict XIII]].
+
These ideals developed as the Order developed under Saint Dominic and his successors. Dominic differed from founders of other religious orders of his time in that he sent his followers to engage in the life of the emerging [[universities]] of the thirteenth century. While they studied, they realized that there must be a spirit of [[prayer]], [[contemplation]], and [[reflection]] that would connect the world of ideas, the life of the mind, and the spirit of [[truth]], to the reality of the goodness of the Creator. This reflection and prayer could not be done in a vacuum, but must be done in and through the sharing of [[communal life]]. Coming full circle, the Dominicans were commissioned to share their knowledge and love of God with the people of the world. Thus, the Order of Preachers continues to share the [[Good News]] of the Gospel through the [[service]] and [[ministry]] they perform.
  
−
Currently, in the [[College of Cardinals]] there are two Dominican cardinals: [[Christoph Cardinal Schönborn]], Archbishop of [[Wien|Vienna]] and [[Georges Marie Martin Cardinal Cottier]].
+
===Mottos===
 +
1. ''Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare''
 +
:To praise, to bless and to preach
  
−
<!--
+
2. ''Veritas''
−
''To be integrated in the article:''
+
:Truth
−
:[[Albigensians]]
 
−
:[[sister]]s
 
−
:tertiaries
 
−
—>
 
  
−
==Dominican Sisters==
+
3. ''Contemplare et Contemplata Aliis Tradere''
−
:''Main article: [[Dominican nuns|Dominican Sisters]]''
+
:To study (or contemplate) and to hand on the fruits of study
  
−
As well as the friars, Dominican sisters , also known as the Order of Preachers, live their lives supported by four common values, often referred to as the Four Pillars of Dominican Life, they are: community life, common prayer, study and service. St. Dominic called this fourfold pattern of life the "holy preaching." Henri Matisse was so moved by the care that he received from the Dominican Sisters that he collaborated in the design and interior decoration of their [[Chapelle du Saint-Marie du Rosaire]] in [[Vence]], [[France]].
+
===Dominican Sisters===
 +
As well as the friars, Dominican sisters, also known as the Order of Preachers, live their lives supported by four common values, often referred to as the Four Pillars of Dominican Life, they are: community life, common prayer, study and service. St. Dominic called this fourfold pattern of life the "holy preaching." Henri Matisse was so moved by the care that he received from the Dominican Sisters that he collaborated in the design and interior decoration of their [[Chapelle du Saint-Marie du Rosaire]] in [[Vence]], [[France]].
  
−
==Scholarly interpretation==
+
==Important Dominicans==
−
Some scholars, including [[Lester K. Little]], in his book on religious poverty in the Middle Ages, have argued that the Dominicans and other mendicant orders were an adaptation to the rise of the profit economy in medieval Europe.
+
Important Dominicans include: [[Saint Dominic]], St. [[Thomas Aquinas]], [[Albertus Magnus]], St. [[Catherine of Siena]], St. [[Raymond of Peñafort]], St. [[Rose of Lima]], St. [[Martin de Porres]], [[Pope Pius V|Pope Saint Pius V]], Beato [[Jordan of Saxony]], [[Bartolomé de las Casas]], [[Tomás de Torquemada]], and [[Girolamo Savonarola]].
  
−
==Aquinas and the Sacraments==
+
Four Dominican [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]]s have reached the Papacy: [[Pope Innocent V|Innocent V]], [[Pope Benedict XI|Benedict XI]], [[Pius V]], and [[Pope Benedict XIII|Benedict XIII]]. Currently, in the [[College of Cardinals]] there are two Dominican cardinals: [[Christoph Cardinal Schönborn]], Archbishop of [[Wien|Vienna]]; and [[Georges Marie Martin Cardinal Cottier]].
−
For a discussion of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Sacraments, go to [[Aquinas and the Sacraments]].
 
  
−
==Views of Aquinas==
+
==Notes==
−
For the views of St. Thomas Aquinas on the death penalty, usury, forced baptism of the children of Jews and heretics and existentialism, go to [[Thought of Thomas Aquinas Part I]]
+
<references/>
  
−
==See also==
+
==References==
−
* [[Aquinas and the Sacraments]]
+
* Alemany, J.S. ''The Life of St. Dominic and a Sketch of the Dominican Order''. Kessinger Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-0548105597
−
* [[Thought of Thomas Aquinas Part I]]
+
* Hinnebusch, William A. ''The History of the Dominican Order''. Alba House, 1966. ISBN 9780818902666
−
* [[Third Order of St. Dominic]]
+
* Tugwell, Simon. ''Early Dominicans: Selected Writings''. Paulist Press, 1982. ISBN 978-0809124145
−
* [[Dominican Rite]] - The Separate Use for Dominicans in the [[Latin Rite|Latin Church]]
+
* Zagano, Phyllis, and Thomas McGonigle. ''The Dominican Tradition''. Liturgical Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0814619117
−
* [[Chinese Rites controversy]]
 
−
* [[Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament]]
 
−
* [[Sainte Marie de La Tourette]], modernist Dominican monastery designed by [[Le Corbusier]]
 
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
−
* [http://www.op.org/ Order of Preachers Homepage] - Available in English, French and Spanish
+
All links retrieved January 30, 2024.
−
* [http://english.op.org/ The English Dominicans]
 
−
* [http://www.australia.op.org/ Australian Dominicans]
 
−
* [http://www.dominicains.ca/ Canadian Dominicans]
 
−
* [http://www.opwest.org/ Western Province Dominicans USA]
 
−
* [http://www.op-stjoseph.org/ Eastern Province Dominicans USA]
 
−
* [http://www.domcentral.org/ Central Province Dominicans USA]
 
−
* [http://www.opsouth.org/ Southern Province Dominicans USA]
 
  
−
===Dominican-founded schools ===
+
* [http://www.op.org/ Order of Preachers] - Available in English, French and Spanish. ''www.op.org''.
−
* [http://www.aquinas.edu/ Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI]
+
* [http://domlife.org/ Dominican Life USA online news magazine] – ''domlife.org''.
 +
 
 +
===Dominican-founded schools===
 +
* [http://www.aquinas.edu/ Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI].
 
* [http://www.ai.edu/ Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis, MO]
 
* [http://www.ai.edu/ Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis, MO]
 
* [http://www.barry.edu/ Barry University of Miami, FL]
 
* [http://www.barry.edu/ Barry University of Miami, FL]
 
* [http://www.dom.edu/ Dominican University, River Forest, IL]
 
* [http://www.dom.edu/ Dominican University, River Forest, IL]
−
* [http://www.letran.edu/ Colegio de San Juan de Letran-Intramuros, Manila, Philippines]
 
 
* [http://www.dhs.edu/ Dominican House of Studies, Washington, DC]
 
* [http://www.dhs.edu/ Dominican House of Studies, Washington, DC]
 
* [http://www.dspt.edu/ Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley, CA]
 
* [http://www.dspt.edu/ Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley, CA]
−
* [http://fenwick.pvt.k12.il.us/ Fenwick High School, Oak Park, IL]
 
 
* [http://www.jordandesajonia.edu.co/ Jordán de Sajonia School, Bogotá, Colombia]
 
* [http://www.jordandesajonia.edu.co/ Jordán de Sajonia School, Bogotá, Colombia]
−
* [[Newbridge College|Newbridge College, IRL]]
 
 
* [http://www.providence.edu/  Providence College, Providence RI]
 
* [http://www.providence.edu/  Providence College, Providence RI]
−
* [http://www.sienahts.edu/ Siena Heights University, MI]
+
* [http://www.ust.edu.ph/ University of Santo Tomas. Manila, Philippines]
−
* [http://www.ust.edu.ph/ University of Santo Tomas/ Manila, Philippines]
+
 
  
−
=== Other ===
 
−
* [http://domlife.org/ Dominican Life USA online news magazine]
 
−
* [http://torch.op.org/ Dominican Preaching Online]
 
−
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12354c.htm Order of Preachers] - [[Catholic Encyclopedia]] article
 
−
* [http://philatelydominicanorder.org/index.htm Philately of Dominican Order]
 
  
 
[[Category:philosophy and religion]]
 
[[Category:philosophy and religion]]
 
{{Credit|154015226}}
 
{{Credit|154015226}}

Latest revision as of 17:16, 30 January 2024

Saint Dominic saw the need for a new type of organization to address the needs of his time.

The Dominican Order, originally known as the Order of Preachers, is a Catholic religious order created by Saint Dominic in the early thirteenth century in France. Dominic established his religious community in Toulouse in 1214, officially recognized as an order by Pope Honorius III in 1216. Founded under the Augustinian rule, the Dominican Order is one of the great orders of mendicant friars that revolutionized religious life in Europe during the High Middle Ages. However, it notably differed from the Franciscan Order in its attitude toward ecclesiastical poverty.

Established to preach the Gospel and to combat heresy, the order is famed for its intellectual tradition, having produced many leading theologians and philosophers. It played a leading role in investigating and prosecuting heresy during the Inquisition. Important Dominicans include Saint Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, Albertus Magnus, St. Catherine of Siena, and Girolamo Savonarola. Four Dominican cardinals have become popes.

In England and some other countries the Dominicans are referred to as Blackfriars on account of the black cappa or cloak they wear over their white habits. In France, the Dominicans are also known as Jacobins, because their first convent in Paris bore the name "Saint Jacques," or Jacobus in Latin. They have also been referred to using a Latin pun, as "Domini canes," or "The Hounds of God," a reference to the order's reputation as most obedient servants of the faith, sometimes with a negative connotation or reference to the order's involvement with the Inquisition.

The Dominican Order is headed by the Master of the Order, who is currently Brother Carlos Azpiroz Costa. Members of the order often carry the letters O.P. after their name.

Foundation of the Order

Dominic saw the need to establish a new kind of order when traveling through the south of France when that region was the stronghold of heretical Albigensian thought—also known as Catharism—centered around the town of Albi.[1] To combat heresy and other problems in urban areas, he sought to establish an order that would bring the systematic education of the older monastic orders such as the Benedictines to bear on the religious problems of the burgeoning population of cities. His was to be a preaching order, trained to preach in the vernacular languages, but with a sound background in academic theology. Rather than earning their living on vast farms as the monasteries had done, the new friars would survive by persuasive preaching and the alms-giving of those who heard them. They were initially scorned by more traditional orders, who thought these "urban monks" would never survive the temptations of the city.

The Dominicans were thus set up as the branch of the Catholocism Church to deal with heresy. The organization of the Order of Preachers was approved in December 1216 by Pope Honorius III.

History of the Order

Middle Ages

The thirteenth century is the classic age of the order. It reached all classes of Christian society fighting heresy, schism, and paganism. Its schools spread throughout the entire Church. Its doctors wrote monumental works in all branches of knowledge and two among them, Albertus Magnus, and especially Thomas Aquinas, founded a school of philosophy and theology which was to rule the ages to come in the life of the Church.

An enormous number of its members held offices in both Church and state—as popes, cardinals, bishops, legates, inquisitors, confessors of princes, ambassadors, and paciarii (enforcers of the peace decreed by popes or councils). A period of relaxation ensued during the fourteenth century owing to the general decline of Christian society. The weakening of doctrinal activity favored the development of the ascetic and contemplative life sprang up, especially in Germany and Italy, an intense and exuberant mysticism with which the names of Meister Eckhart, Heinrich Suso, Johannes Tauler, and St. Catherine of Siena are associated, which has also been called "Dominican mysticism." This movement was the prelude to the reforms undertaken at the end of the century, by Raymond of Capua, and continued in the following century. It assumed remarkable proportions in the congregations of Lombardy and the Netherlands, and in the reforms of Girolamo Savonarola at Florence.

Savonarola, an Italian Dominican priest and leader of Florence from 1494 until his execution in 1498, was known for religious reform, anti-Renaissance preaching, book burning, and destruction of what he considered immoral art. He vehemently preached against what he saw as the moral corruption of the clergy, and his main opponent was Pope Alexander VI. He is sometimes seen as a precursor of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, though he remained a devout and pious Roman Catholic during his whole life.

The Order found itself face to face with the Renaissance. It struggled against what it believed were the pagan tendencies in humanism, but it also furnished humanism with such advanced writers as Francesco Colonna and Matteo Bandello. Its members, in great numbers, took part in the artistic activity of the age, the most prominent being Fra Angelico and Fra Bartolomeo.

The Inquisition

Saint Dominic presiding at an inquisition. Although the painting is anachronistic, the Dominicans indeed played a leading role in the Inquisition.

The Dominican Order was instrumental in the Inquisition. In the twelfth century, to counter the spread of Catharism, prosecution against heresy became more frequent. As the Dominicans were particularly trained in the necessary skills to identify heretics and deal with them, in the thirteenth century, the Pope assigned the duty of carrying out inquisitions to the Dominican Order. Dominican inquisitors acted in the name of the Pope and with his full authority. The inquisitor questioned the accused heretic in the presence of at least two witnesses. The accused was given a summary of the charges and had to take an oath to tell the truth. Various means were used to get the cooperation of the accused. Although there was no tradition of torture in Christian canon law, this method came into use by the middle of the thirteenth century.

The findings of the Inquisition were read before a large audience; the penitents abjured on their knees with one hand on a bible held by the inquisitor. Penalties went from visits to churches, pilgrimages, and wearing the cross of infamy to imprisonment (usually for life but the sentences were often commuted) and (if the accused would not abjure) death. Death was by burning at the stake, and was carried out by the secular authorities. In some serious cases when the accused had died before proceedings could be instituted, his or her remains could be exhumed and burned. Death or life imprisonment was always accompanied by the confiscation of all the property of the accused.

The Dominicans were sent as inquisitors in 1232 to Germany along the Rhine, to the Diocese of Tarragona in Spain and to Lombardy; in 1233 to France, to the territory of Auxerre; the ecclesiastical provinces of Bourges, Bordeaux, Narbonne, and Auch, and to Burgundy; in 1235 to the ecclesiastical province of Sens. By 1255, the Inquisition was in full activity in all the countries of Central and Western Europe—in the county of Toulouse, in Sicily, Aragon, Lombardy, France, Burgundy, Brabant, and Germany.

The fifteenth century witnessed Dominican involvement in the Spanish Inquisition. Alonso de Hojeda, a Dominican from Seville, convinced Queen Isabella of the existence of Crypto-Judaism among Andalusian conversos during her stay in Seville between 1477 and 1478. A report, produced at the request of the monarchs by Pedro González de Mendoza, Archbishop of Seville and by the Segovian Dominican Tomás de Torquemada, corroborated this assertion. The monarchs decided to introduce the Inquisition to Castile to uncover and do away with false converts. The Spanish Inquisition brought the deaths of many Jews found to be insincere in their conversions and resulted in the expulsion of the Jewish from Spain in 1492.

In 1542, Pope Paul III established a permanent congregation staffed with cardinals and other officials whose task it was to maintain and defend the integrity of the faith and to examine and proscribe errors and false doctrines. This body, the Congregation of the Holy Office (now called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith), became the supervisory body of local inquisitions.

Dominicans versus Franciscans

In the Middle Ages, theological debates took place at the University of Paris between the Aristotelian Dominicans and the Franciscan Platonists. Many of these encounters lacked what could be called Christian love in their search for truth. The Franciscans made themselves felt alongside of the Dominicans, and created a rival school of theology as contrasted with the Aristotelianism of the Dominican school.

As a result, the Paris theology faculty protested the use of Aristotle's natural philosophy (but not his logic) in the arts preparatory courses, and succeeded in having it banned in 1210. Thomas Aquinas was one of the Dominicans who articulately defended Greek learning against the objections of the Franciscans. By 1255, however, Aristotle won the day it became apparent that students would start going elsewhere to study Aristotle if they could not get it in Paris.

In the Franciscan versus Dominican rivalry, pointed differences also occurred on the Mendicant Orders: the Dominicans adopted the existing monastic rule, while the Franciscans did not allow personal property. After the death of the founders, St. Dominic and St. Francis, re-discussions and reinterpretations of the notion of poverty continued. The quarrel continued for some 70 years and was at times extremely bitter.

Modern Period

Bartolomé de Las Casas became famous for his advocacy of the rights of Native Americans, whose cultures, especially in the Caribbean, he describes with care.

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, the progress of the Protestant "heresy" in Europe and Britain cost the Order six or seven provinces and several hundreds of convents. Queen Mary I of England (r. 1553-1558) used the Dominicans in her effort to reverse the Protestant Reformation, an effort which proved futile.

In spite of these setbacks, the discovery of the New World opened up a fresh field of missionary activity. One of the most famous Dominicans of this period was Bartolomé de Las Casas, who argued forcefully for the rights of Native Americans in the Caribbean. The order's gains in America, the Indies and Africa during the period of colonial expansion far exceeded the losses of the order in Europe, and the seventeenth century saw its highest numerical development.

In modern times, the order lost much of its influence on the political powers, which had universally fallen into absolutism and had little sympathy for the democratic constitution of the Preachers. The Bourbon courts of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were particularly unfavorable to them until the suppression of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). In the eighteenth century, there were numerous attempts at reform which created, especially in France, geographical confusion in the administration. Also during the eighteenth century, the tyrannical spirit of the European powers and the spirit of the age lessened the number of recruits and the fervor of religious life. The French Revolution ruined the order in France, and the crises which more or less rapidly followed considerably lessened or wholly destroyed numerous provinces.

Recent period

In the beginning of the nineteenth century the number of Preachers reached a low of around 3,500. The French restoration, however, furnished many Preachers to other provinces, to assist in their organization and progress. From it came Père Vincent Jandel (1850-1872), who remained the longest-serving master general of the nineteenth century. The province of St. Joseph in the United States was founded in 1805 by Father Edward Fenwick, the first Bishop of Cincinnati, Ohio (1821-1832). Afterwards, this province developed slowly, but now ranks among the most flourishing and active provinces of the Order.

In 1910, the Order had 20 archbishops or bishops, and a total of 4,472 both nominally and actually engaged in the activities of the Order. Since that year, the Order has published an important review in Madrid, La Ciencia Tomista.

Dominican in habit

French Dominicans founded and ran the French Biblical and Archæological School of Jerusalem, one of the leading international centers for Biblical research of all kinds. It was here that the famed Jerusalem Bible (both editions) was prepared. Likewise, Yves Cardinal Congar, O.P., one of the emblematic theologians of the twentieth century, was a product of the French province of the Order of Preachers.

In 1992, the followers of St. Dominic from 90 countries sent representatives to the General Chapter of 1992 in Mexico. They were engaged in every imaginable work, from running an ecological farm in Benin to exploring Coptic verbs in Fribourg, Germany. Recent General Chapters have tried to help the Order focus its priorities in face of such endless demands and possibilities. In particular, the apostolic commitment aims to achieve four main objectives: intellectual formation, world mission, social communication, and justice.

Over the past 20 years, there has been a decline in the number of Preachers throughout the Dominican Order that has been most severely experienced in its emerging churches. Provinces which once sent large numbers of Preachers to evangelize in other countries are no longer able to do so. "This has led to an acute shortage of key personnel in a number of mission vicariates and provinces," notes the Order website, [2] which adds that, “In certain cases the addition of just two or three would alleviate a critical situation.”

The four ideals of the Dominican spirit and heritage

The Dominican heritage intertwines a dynamic interrelatedness of four active ideals:

Study: Dominican tradition and heritage of study is freedom of research. Dominic set study in the service of others as his ideal when he made study an integral part of the life of the Order. Study and concern was focused on contemporary social issues, so that one would go from study of the world as it is to a commitment to envision and work for a world as it should be; to try to put right what is wrong in the world. Each person has to determine her/his own area of commitment, and then establish the desire and challenge to make this a better world. Dominic believed that you learn how to do something by doing it, not by formulating theories beforehand. Experience was the key.

Prayer/Contemplation/Reflection: For example, love of the Gospel of Matthew.

Community: To work for a better, more just and loving world. If we try to do this alone, we can feel overwhelmed. We can help one another—that is the point of community and family, to enable us to do what we cannot do by ourselves.

Service: Compassion was one of Dominic’s outstanding qualities. For example, as a student in Palencia he said, “I refuse to study dead skins while men are dying of hunger.”

These ideals developed as the Order developed under Saint Dominic and his successors. Dominic differed from founders of other religious orders of his time in that he sent his followers to engage in the life of the emerging universities of the thirteenth century. While they studied, they realized that there must be a spirit of prayer, contemplation, and reflection that would connect the world of ideas, the life of the mind, and the spirit of truth, to the reality of the goodness of the Creator. This reflection and prayer could not be done in a vacuum, but must be done in and through the sharing of communal life. Coming full circle, the Dominicans were commissioned to share their knowledge and love of God with the people of the world. Thus, the Order of Preachers continues to share the Good News of the Gospel through the service and ministry they perform.

Mottos

1. Laudare, Benedicere, Praedicare

To praise, to bless and to preach

2. Veritas

Truth

3. Contemplare et Contemplata Aliis Tradere

To study (or contemplate) and to hand on the fruits of study

Dominican Sisters

As well as the friars, Dominican sisters, also known as the Order of Preachers, live their lives supported by four common values, often referred to as the Four Pillars of Dominican Life, they are: community life, common prayer, study and service. St. Dominic called this fourfold pattern of life the "holy preaching." Henri Matisse was so moved by the care that he received from the Dominican Sisters that he collaborated in the design and interior decoration of their Chapelle du Saint-Marie du Rosaire in Vence, France.

Important Dominicans

Important Dominicans include: Saint Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, Albertus Magnus, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Raymond of Peñafort, St. Rose of Lima, St. Martin de Porres, Pope Saint Pius V, Beato Jordan of Saxony, Bartolomé de las Casas, Tomás de Torquemada, and Girolamo Savonarola.

Four Dominican cardinals have reached the Papacy: Innocent V, Benedict XI, Pius V, and Benedict XIII. Currently, in the College of Cardinals there are two Dominican cardinals: Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna; and Georges Marie Martin Cardinal Cottier.

Notes

  1. ↑ Catharism was a name given to a religious sect with gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France in the eleventh century and flourished in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Catharism had its roots in the Paulician movement in Armenia and was also influenced by the Bogomiles with whom the Paulicians eventually merged. They also became influenced by dualist and perhaps Manichaean beliefs.
  2. ↑ Dominican Order website, www.op.org. Retrieved October 24, 2007.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Alemany, J.S. The Life of St. Dominic and a Sketch of the Dominican Order. Kessinger Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-0548105597
  • Hinnebusch, William A. The History of the Dominican Order. Alba House, 1966. ISBN 9780818902666
  • Tugwell, Simon. Early Dominicans: Selected Writings. Paulist Press, 1982. ISBN 978-0809124145
  • Zagano, Phyllis, and Thomas McGonigle. The Dominican Tradition. Liturgical Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0814619117

External links

All links retrieved January 30, 2024.

Dominican-founded schools

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