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Voices of the Dominican Order:
DOMINICAN GOVERNMENT AND
THE GENERAL CHAPTER IN BOLOGNA
BY PIETRO LIPPINI, OP
On November 15, 1997, in accordance with what was
established at the previous General Chapter (Caleruega, 1995, # 204), the Master of the
Order sent the 37 provinces, the 3 Vice-Provinces and the 9 General Vicariates (into which
the Order is subdivided), the Letter of Convocation to the next General Chapter, which was
held in Bologna at the Priory of St. Dominic from 13th July to 4th August 1998, the day on
which this city solemnly celebrated the feast of Saint Dominic, co-patron of Bologna,
where his tomb is preserved. If we do not count the 18 General Chapters celebrated during
the great western schism from that part of the Order which was professing allegiance to
the popes of Avignon, this will be the 287th Chapter since the approval of the Order on
22nd December 1216.
A General Chapter has great importance not only for
the Friars Preachers, the true title by which the sons of Saint Dominic are called in the
Church, and for all the members of the so-called "Dominican Family" (nuns of the
contemplative life, sisters of apostolic life and third-Order Dominicans living in the
world), but also for so many in the Church and outside it who are interested in the
Order's spirituality, history and pastoral, social and cultural activity. For this reason,
we consider that everyone would benefit from a detailed explanation of the nature,
functions and composition of a General Chapter, giving particular emphasis, without fear
of exaggeration, to the fact that the Dominican Order, by its composition, powers and
functions, is the first democracy of the Church and the world.
Nature and Functions of the General
Chapters of the Dominican Order
"The General Chapter, which possesses the highest authority in the Order, is
the assembly of the friars representing all of the Provinces of the Order, in order to
discuss and define that which pertains to the good of the whole Order and, if it be the
case, to elect the Master of the Order" (LCO 405).
As it is described in this definition from the Constitutions, the General Chapter
of the Dominican Order, in contrast to what ordinarily happens in other Orders or
religious Congregations, does not always involve the election of the Master of the Order,
nor does it take its importance from such an election; rather it is always invested with
the supreme legislative, juridical and executive powers and even the power to depose the
Master himself, irrespective of the date of the end of his mandate. The Chapter's
plenitude of powers and its legislative function certainly put the Order in a position of
continuous renewal, which has allowed it, in every age, to be in harmony with the demands
of changes in the Church and the world, and has saved it from the splits and divisions
that other religious families could not escape. It is worth keeping in mind, then, the
power and legislative function of the Chapters , which at the beginning, were held every
year (from 1220 to 1372) and afterwards became biennial and then triennial (LCO 411).This
power and legislative function is independent of whether they elect the Master of the
Order, whose term is for nine years. The task of the Chapter is fundamentally a
legislative one, and a law passed by it, out of respect for its authority, does not need
the confirmation of the Pope or the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life
and Societies of Apostolic Life. Every Chapter is fully autonomous and sovereign.
In order to avoid a law being promulgated or abrogated too hastily and without
proper experimentation, it was established in the first Chapter (1220) that a chapter
decision, although it can take effect immediately under the form of an "inchoation
with ordination" (or, as we would say today, in the form of a "legal
decree"), cannot be changed into a law with all of its effects - and therefore cannot
be added to or eliminated from the Book of the Constitutions - without the approval of
three consecutive Chapters: in the first by way of inchoation, in the second, approbation,
and in the third, confirmation.
This law is still in effect today for the "Constitutions," that is, for
those laws considered to be fundamental, those which pertain to the nature of the Order,
its purpose, its principal means, its way of life and its government. Because of changing
conditions, the other particular norms given by a Chapter - called simply
"ordinations" - preserve their obligatory character as long as they are not
revoked by a successive Chapter (LCO 284). If they remain in effect during five
consecutive Chapters and are approved in the sixth, they are then entered into the Book of
the Constitutions with the value of law (LCO 285).
From these considerations, one can see the wisdom of the democratic character left
by Saint Dominic and the first "Constitution-makers" of the Order (1220-1221),
who left open the possibility, in changing times and circumstances, of changing and
updating the primitive legislation from time to time - but only after having experienced
with each modification over a long period of time and having entrusted the decision, not
to a temporary majority, but rather, to the judgment of other Chapters that are not
contemporary but later in time.
Three classes of General Chapters
The wisdom of the democratic character of Dominican legislation is even more
obvious when one considers the fact that in the Order - and this is the only such case in
the Church - there are three classes of General Chapters (without counting the
"Capitulum Generalissimum" which I will discuss later), which differ in their
composition and the scale on which they are developed, but which are all endowed with
equal powers: the Elective Chapter, the Chapter of Definitors and the Chapter of
Provincials.
The first of the three, namely, the one which always begins the series after the
election of the Master of the Order, is the "Definitors" or representatives, who
are elected, one per Province, Vice-Province or General Vicariate, by their respective
Provincial Chapters.
Six years after the election of the Master, the Chapter of Provincials is held, in
which only Provincials, Vice-Provincials and Vicars General participate. They, too, are
elected democratically by the voting base, but in another way, they represent the ruling
class of the Order.
The third Chapter, given the duration of the nine years of his office, coincides
with the election of the Master, and for that reason - in order to increase the
participation in this election - both Provincials and Definitors participate, and
therefore on this occasion each Province has two representatives.
In this way, any law, before definitively becoming such, is examined - to describe
it in political terms by a "House" of Definitors, by a "Higher House"
of Provincials, and by the two combined Houses. This constitutes a unique and distinct
system in the history of the Church. Indeed, in spite of the fact that the establishment
of General Chapters happened before the founding of the Dominican Order, the idea of
entrusting legislative power to assemblies of a different composition has not been found
in any other religious order, either earlier ones (Cluny, Cistercians, Carthusians,
Camaldolese) or contemporary or subsequent ones (the Mendicant Orders, Jesuits, modern
Congregations).
I mentioned above the existence of a so-called "Most General Chapters"
(Capitulum Generalissimum), which is equivalent to three normal Chapters (LCO 276, III).
The convocation of such a Chapter needs the petition of the majority of Provinces and
should be announced at least two years ahead of time (LCO 421-423). The first Chapter of
this kind was convoked in Paris in 1228 by the successor of Saint Dominic, Blessed Jordan
of Saxony. The second took place in 1236. Given the authority that the normal Chapters
have to continually update the Constitutions over the course of three successive Chapters,
the Order did not consider it necessary to convoke another "Capitulum
Generalissimum" after these first two, not even after the Second Vatican Council or
after the promulgation of the new codes of Canon Law (1917, 1983).
In order to underline once again the democracy of the Dominican legislation, I
want to note as well that, in addition to the Provincials, Vicars and Definitors, who,
when it pertains to them, participate by law with full powers in the Chapters because they
are elected by a voting base, the Master of the Order can invite religious sisters and lay
people belonging to the Dominican Family to participate, but only with a consultative
function. Another interesting fact, which, if it is not unique is certainly rare in the
Church, is that the Vicar General, the Syndic, the Secretary and all the other Counselors
of the Master of the Order, out of respect for the strictest democracy, only have a
consultative vote since they, for the purpose of assuring a greater uniformity in the
Government of the Order, are not elected but appointed after the Master has consulted
their Provincials. They do not represent the electoral base. The only ones who have the
right to participate by personal entitlement in all Chapters are, on account of their
experience, the ex-Masters of the Order.
To this, one should add that each friar of the Order and, under certain
conditions, some members of the Dominican Family as well (Nuns and Third-Order
Dominicans), can send to the Chapter legislative proposals or proposals of a practical
kind, all of which are gathered in order to be examined.
Location and composition of the
1998 General Chapter of Provincials
The first General Chapter, which gave the Order its legislation, and
therefore can be defined as the "Dominican Constitutional Convention," was
celebrated in Bologna, beginning the Wednesday after Pentecost (20 May 1220). At it,
"by the common consent of the friars, it was established that the General Chapter
would have to be held alternatively in Bologna one year and in Paris the other; if it were
possible, the one on the following year would be held once again in Bo1ogna" (De
Principiis 87). This choice was surely motivated by the greater capacity of the two
priories to receive friars, but above all, because Bologna and Paris were at that time
both world-centers of intellectual and university life, which fact was of great interest
to the Order. This was the situation until 1244. The first Chapter held in a different
location - after having obtained a modification with the necessary approval of three
Chapters - met in Cologne in 1245. It was at this Chapter that the decision was made that
each Chapter would determined the location for the following one. This remains the policy
today (LCO 413, I).
As has already been mentioned, the 1998 Chapter was celebrated in Bologna--the
30th celebrated in this city. The Bologna priory has always had great importance in the
life of the Order, not only because it is the custodian of the tomb of the Founder, but
also because it is the location of the famous "Studium Generalis" which attracts
students from all over the world; because it is the principal see of a Province (formerly
called 'Lombardy" but now "Saint Dominic of Italy") comprising all of the
priories of northern Italy, from the Apennines to the Alps; and because of its glorious
history, giving the Order many of its Masters and giving the Church cardinals and popes,
among them Niccolas Boccasini (Pope Benedict XI), Michele Ghislieri (Pope St Pius V) and
Vincenzo Orsini (Pope Benedict XIII).
In addition to those who participated with full rights - Provincials,
Vice-Provincials, Vicars General, Regional Vicars and a representative from the houses
directly dependent on the Master (as is commonly the case at the Universities that the
Order maintains in the world) - many other religious participated with different
responsibilities: some members of the Curia, whom we have already mentioned;
representatives of the Nuns and of the Third Order; moderators, actuaries, masters of
liturgical ceremonies, interpreters, etc. - 124 persons in all.
The participants were subdivided into commissions: first to examine all of the
proposals that came to the Chapter on behalf of members of the Dominican Family. These
proposals were synthesized and prepared for submission, one by one, to the vote of the
Assembly of the Capitulars (Chapter Members). They also prepared each of the new texts or
the modifications of previous texts that the commissions thought should be submitted to
the Assembly, which were voted upon by secret ballot (using an automatic electronic
system) to accept or reject them. In the Assembly, the Master of the Order was one of
many: he has no special power to privilege or make void a proposal, though he will be able
to intervene to give his opinion, like all the others.
The Most Original and Oldest Democracy
In terms of what I have already said regarding General Chapters, it is impossible
to miss the democratic character of the legislation of the Dominican Order. But I would
like to underline that this character is completely original in comparison with preceding
Orders, and even though some later Orders have partially imitated it, it still remains
today the only one of its kind in the ecclesiastical world, even after the democratization
brought about by the Second Vatican Council.
Furthermore, I would venture to say that the Dominican Order, which began in the
Middle Ages, is the oldest democracy of the world, even when we consider the civil realm.
Slightly older, but only by five years, is the "Magna Charta" (also called the
"Charta Baronum" or the "Charta Libertatum") adopted by England June
15 1215, and considered the first democratic constitution. In reality, however, it was
nothing more than a type of bilateral contract between King John and his barons, to whom
he had conceded certain privileges in return for their submission. True democracy is
something entirely different.
The particular character of the bicameral system adopted by the Dominican Order
makes its legislation one of the most perfect, even when we consider those adopted by
civil democracies, since, in contrast to those embraced by the modern western states or in
use in Venice or Rome during consular times, it has a successive rather than a
simultaneous character. It entrusts legislative power to General Chapters of different
composition, which succeed each other, and in which the power of the Lower House or
Chapter of Definitors is identical to that of the Upper House or Chapter of Provincials,
as will be the next one in Bologna.
To emphasize its democratic character even more, one can add that the Order is
conceived as a large worldwide federation that, while united and respectful towards
central authority (all friars indeed pronounce a vow of obedience to the Master of the
Order), maintains a beneficial autonomy: the provinces into which the Order is divided are
autonomous and are not simply means of governing, of controlling or for administration.
They are not merely decentralized subdivisions, or "communication branches" from
top to bottom, but rather they enjoy self-government and their own legislative power.
Priories also were autonomous from the beginning, something that is probably
unique among non-monastic religious institutes. They elect their superiors and
autonomously organize their own life and activities. Priories and Provinces - although
they are bound to each other and have above them a general common law that unites and
directs the strengths of all - still preserve a certain independence that permits them to
exercise the charism of the Order in a special way, according to the different places and
situations in which the members live and work.
Niccolo Machiavelli fittingly wrote that "with Dominican laws, one could rule
a great and flourishing republic." It was perhaps in consideration of this valuable
judgment that one of the legislators of the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin -
as the story goes - consulted the Dominican Constitutions for inspiration on how to
regulate the autonomy of the different states of the American Union with respect to the
centralized authority.
Visit the official web site for the 1998 General Chapter
of Provincials: www.op.org/curia/bologna98/ |
