AUGUSTINIANS OF THE ASSUMPTION (ASSUMPTIONISTS; Pia Societas Presbyterorum ab Assumptione). - A religious congregation founded in 1845 by Fr. ARZON (v.). Its primary aim is to work for the restoration of higher education according to the principles of St. Augustine, to combat the enemies of the Church organized in secret societies, and to strive for the unity of the Church. To achieve this vast program, the founder wished his sons to be both modern and monks at the same time.
Modern, in their readiness to undertake whatever may contribute to the propagation of the Kingdom of God (it should be noted that the A. were the initiators of the movement of great pilgrimages to Lourdes, Rome, and Jerusalem), especially through the press; monks, because they seek to reconnect, as far as possible, with the monastic tradition through common life, the choral office, etc.
After d'Alzon's death, Fr. François Picard, his successor, gave a vigorous impetus to the young congregation, particularly developing the missions in the East and good press work. However, Freemasonry showed from the outset its hostility toward the A., denouncing them as excessively militant monks, and in 1900 it induced the government to dissolve them, deceitfully claiming that this was the only way to save the other congregations. In 1903, following Picard, Fr. Emmanuel Bailly became superior general, during whose administration (1903–17) a new flourishing of the Congregation was observed.
Since 1946 it has been divided into seven provinces. Three of these have their centers in France: Paris, Lyon, and Bordeaux; the other four are constituted as follows: Belgium, Holland, England, and North America. To the provinces of Lyon, Bordeaux, and Belgium, Holland, and North America is attached a territory of expansion or mission, i.e., a "vicariate": Lyon with the Near East, Russia, Manchuria, and North Africa; Bordeaux with Latin America; Holland with its own missions in Brazil; Belgium with the Belgian Congo and Colombia; North America with Mexico. At present the Congregation has 1,800 religious.
For many years the A. devoted themselves in the East, where they founded schools, colleges, and seminaries for the formation of the local clergy. In 1897, in the heart of Istanbul, they inaugurated an Eastern seminary for priests of the Greek rite. At Plovdiv (Bulgaria), Slavic-rite religious conduct the seminary and the united Catholic parish. At Yamboli the A. also have a Slavic parish alongside the Latin one. Since 1924 they have been established in Romania: at Bucharest, Blaj, and Beiuș there is a good number of Eastern-rite religious. The Institute of Byzantine Studies, founded in 1895 by the Assumptionist Louis Petit—then superior of the monastery of Chalcedon and in 1912 Latin archbishop of Athens—remains a true center of Byzantinism, with its scholarly journal, *Les Échos d'Orient*, intended to promote better knowledge of the separated Christians. A rich library of rare books, all relating to Eastern Christianity, has been built up through indefatigable labor. Among the works published by these religious we may recall *L'Église byzantine de 527 à 547* by Fr. G. Pargoire (Paris 1905); *Theologia dogmatica christianorum orientalium ab Ecclesia catholica dissidentium*, 5 vols., by Fr. M. Jugie (Paris, 1926–35); *Le Schisme Byzantin* by the same author (Paris 1941); and *Praxis Missionarii in Oriente servata* by Fr. R. Souarn (Paris 1908). Transferred to Bucharest, the Institute is now working on the *Regestes du Patriarcat de Constantinople* and publishes its journal under the new title *Études Byzantines*.