Pontifical Oriental Institute
The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity.
Type
1917
Rev. David Nazar, S.J.
350
00185 Rome, Italy
The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had been on the agenda of the Catholic Church since at least Pope Leo XIII,[1] but it was only realized in 1917 by Pope Benedict XV. The Orientale forms part of the consortium of the Pontifical Gregorian University (founded in 1551) and the Pontifical Biblical Institute (founded in 1909), both in Rome. All three institutions are run by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
While the Orientale depends on the Holy See, its management is entrusted to the Society of Jesus. Its chancellor is the Prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches and its vice-chancellor is the superior general of the Society of Jesus, while the Congregation for Catholic Education is the dicastery competent for approving the academic programmes of the Orientale. Each year, another approximately 400 scholars visit the library for research purposes.
The Institute has been incorporated along with the Pontifical Biblical Institute into the Pontifical Gregorian University under a single rector, as of 19 May 2024, when new statutes of the Gregorian take effect.[2][3]
Mission[edit]
The Pontifical Oriental Institute is a school of higher studies that has as its particular mission the service of the Oriental Churches. It is to make known to the churches of the East “the immense richness ... preserved in the treasure chests of their traditions” (GP II, Orientale Lumen 4) and equally to make known to the Latin West these riches so little explored. Its mission is to pursue research, teaching, and publishing related to the traditions of the Eastern Churches in their theology, liturgy, patristics, history, canon law, literature and languages, spirituality, archaeology, and questions of ecumenical and geopolitical importance.
The aim of the Orientale is to educate students already in possession of a first academic degree, irrespective of their religious affiliation, Latin or Eastern Catholic, Orthodox or otherwise, to deepen their knowledge of the Christian East in its Churches, theology, spirituality, liturgy, discipline, history, and culture. The student population comes largely from the countries of the Eastern churches: the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa (Egypt, Ethiopia, and Eritrea), and Asia (Mesopotamia; Kerala, India), with a significant number of students from Europe and the Americas interested in learning about the Christian East. Today, with the flood of migrants and refugees from some of the above countries, students also come from the diaspora communities.
The list of famous students begins with Blessed Eugène Bossilkoff, bishop of Nicopolis in Bulgaria and martyr. In April 2013, two alumni Orthodox bishops were kidnapped in Aleppo, Syria: Greek Orthodox Bishop Paul Yazigi and Syrian Orthodox Bishop Mor Gregorius Yohanna Ibrahim. Their whereabouts remain unknown. Other alumni of singular note are: Engelbert Kirschbaum, SJ, archeologist; Robert Murray, SJ, Syriacist; Alessandro Bausani, islamologist; Hans-Joachim Schultz, liturgist, Lambert Beauduin, OSB, founder of Chevetogne and René Vouillaume, prior of the Petits Frères de Jésus.[33] A promising theologian, who was shot dead by the Nazis during World War II, studied here, too: Yves de Montcheiul, SJ (1900-1942).[34]