NERI, St. Philip

£2,250 · Offered by Sokol Books

Rare second edition of the regulations of the Congregation of the Oratory founded in Rome by St. Philip Neri at the church of S. Maria in Vallicella, 1575, an exact copy of the first edition printed in 1630. The rule, not officially constituted till 17 years after Saint Philip's death, was approved by Pope Paul V in 1612. St Philip Neri was a holy man, charismatic by nature, who wished to return to the spirit of the early church and to concentrate his life on developing a community which prayed together, preached the gospel, and looked after the sick and needy. He found himself surrounded by a group of disciples who wished to live with him in community. He felt that vows might hold men against their wishes, and he wanted his community to be united only by love. Certain rules were made, simply for the efficient day to day running of the house and to help his fellow priests and lay brothers to live in charity. He was a practical man and realised that men who live together also need a degree of privacy. An Oratorian's room or "nest", as St Philip called it, was the centre of his temporal and spiritual life. The rules or the Constitutions of the Oratory are - still today- something of a curiosity in the Church, so much so that the Roman Curia has found it difficult to put the Oratory of St. Philip Neri into any of its usual categories. The Oratorians are undoubtedly secular priests, in that they have no vows, yet formerly they came under the direction of the Congregation for Reli

• Binding: Hardcover

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