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(b zĭl´ēn)
, monks primarily of the Eastern Church. They follow the Rule of St. Basil the Great, which has been universal among them since the 7th cent. They have no centralized government; the rule treats proper monastic living, not organization. Their monasteries are collections of small cells, the whole group being called a laura. The chief monastery is the Great Laura of Mt. Athos; another famous Orthodox monastery is St. Catherine on Mt. Sinai. There are Basilians in communion with the pope. The chief figure of Basilian history is the reformer St. Theodore of Studium. See also monasticism.
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