Dubrovnik Benedictines in the Early Eighteenth Century and a New Constitution of the Congregation of Mljet

Iako je Mljetska kongregacija benediktinskog reda odoljela velikom potresu 1667. bez težih gubitaka, a njezini su članovi i dalje imali zapažene uloge u duhovnom životu Dubrovnika i svakodnevici dubrovačke Crkve, zbog premalog broja redovnika i državne i crkvene vlasti planirale su njezino ukidanje. Kao odgovor na te pokušaje generalni kapitul Kongregacije je 1709. usvojio novi pravilnik s potanko razrađenim odredbama o održavanju izbora unutar Kongregacije. Time se htjelo naglasiti čvrstu unutrašnju strukturu Kongregacije, koja je stegom i tradicijom prkosila vanjskim izazovima. Uz dopune ovom pravilniku prihvaćene 1741, pojednostavnjujući izborni postupak, smanjujući odgovornost predsjednika u korist drugih čelnika Kongregacije i baveći se važnim pitanjima poput školovanja novaka i svakodnevnog života redovnika, Kongregacija je stekla svoj konačni pravni okvir koji je zadržala do gašenja 1808. godine.The Great Earthquake of 1667 had little effect on the Mljet Congregation of the Benedictine order, apart from the fact that the priory on the island of St Andrew was abandoned. Ragusan Benedictines continued to act as cathedral preachers, theological advisers of the Republic government in the relations with the Church, participated traditionally in the solemn processions and assumed certain high positions in the Dubrovnik Archbishopric, while the convent of St James as the seat of the Congregation played an important role in the ceremony of the reception of new archbishops. However, modest number of members, which hardly ever exceeded ten to twelve, and the poverty caused by poor estate management and tax obligation to the Holy See made the Congregation increasingly dependent on the authorities of the Dubrovnik Republic. While Ragusan archbishops and the Holy See were considering the abolishment of the Congregation of Mljet, in April 1709 a general chapter of the Congregation was summoned in the convent of St James when a new Constitution of the Congregation of Mljet (Costituzioni della Congregatione Melitense) was accepted. Approved by the Congregation president, Abbot Bernard Sorgo, this document was grounded on the Rule of St Benedict and the rules of other congregations previously confirmed by the papal bulls. Most attention has been devoted to the organisation of the election within the Congregation, while the Constitution was to remain effective until the eventual merging of the Mljet Congregation with that of St Justine in Padua, i.e. with the Monte Cassino Congregation. However, in 1741, upon the prompting of Ragusan government and by consent of the Holy See, special regulations were accepted (Regolamenti per la Congregazione Melitense nello stato della Repubblica di Ragusa), designed to simplify electoral procedure, limit the responsibility of president, and regulate other important issues, such as education of novices and everyday monastic life. Most evident are the formal similarities between this Constitution of the Mljet Congregation and the statutes of the Ragusan confraternities, largely modelled after the practice of Ragusan councils. By drawing up the 1709 Constitution and its amendments in 1741, Mljet Congregation thus acquired its final legal framework effective until termination in 1808, after the abolishment of the Republic of Dubrovnik