TERZ'ORDINE. — This is an association of the faithful who profess to strive for Christian perfection in a manner consonant with secular life, observing a Rule approved by the Holy See, under the guidance and according to the spirit of a religious Order (CIC, cann. 685, 702). The approved Rule, the corresponding juridical personality, and the juridical bond of stability of the profession preceded by the novitiate assimilate the T. O. to religious Orders; the absence of public or private vows prescribed by the Rule and the lack of common life distinguish it from the other states of Christian perfection; its purpose of striving for Christian perfection in the world differentiates it from other associations. The CIC treats of the T. O. at the end of Book II, as the first category of the three kinds of associations of the faithful.
Historically, the T. O. arose in the later Middle Ages from the spontaneous gathering of good laypeople around religious. In concrete terms, elements akin to the T. O. are found in the Oblates of s. Benedict and of s. Norbert, which were in fact little widespread and appeared at the beginning of the 12th century; toward the end of that same century there appeared the Poor Catholics and the Humiliati. The person who gave the T. O. its distinctive form was s. Francis of Assisi. The idea dates from about 1212, and the Saint gave it concrete form around 1220 by compiling, with the assistance of Cardinal Ugolino, the Rule, lost in its original form but whose substance is found in the Letter to the Faithful, and which passed into the Memoriale propositi fratrum et sororum de poenitentia (the first 5 chapters and part of the 6th seem to be original to 1221; from the middle of the 6th through the whole of the 12th, the substance is likewise from 1221, though with revisions continuing until 1228; the 13th and final chapter consists of 15 additions made up to 1247). The remarkable spread of the Franciscans brought a proportionate spread of the T. O. Pope Honorius III approved it, as nearby papal documents attest (Gregory IX, Innocent IV); the Popes favored and defended it, granting privileges in recognition of the great benefits for the Church accomplished by the T. O. in turbulent times. Nicholas IV reorganized the Franciscan T. O. with a new Rule in 20 chapters (bull Supra montem, 19 Aug. 1289). In the 14th century and thereafter, tertiaries tended to unite in common life on the religious model, with one or more religious vows, forming various congregations with their own statutes. Leo X (constitution Inter cetera, 20 Jan. 1521), in order to eliminate every variation, issued for these communities a Rule in 10 chapters, imposing solemn vows and common life on all of them; thus the regular T. O. came into being. Pius XI (bull Rerum conditio, 4 Oct. 1927) replaced the Leonine Rule with one in 8 chapters, updated in accordance with the CIC and new requirements, imposing it not only on the regular T. O. but also on the various congregations of simple vows that had arisen as tertiary communities and had been aggregated to II.
The Franciscan secular T. O. followed the Rule of Nicholas IV, with certain commentaries or revisions by various Popes (Julius II, Clement VII, Paul III, Innocent XI, etc.) up to Leo XIII, who saw in the association an effective means for Christian renewal and for this reason, among the many documents he issued on the matter, promulgated the bull Misericors Dei Filius (30 May 1883), by which he updated the ancient Rule.
The faithful eager for a better life also gathered around the other religious Orders. There are references, around 1220–25, to the Friars and Sisters of the Militia of Jesus Christ, associated with the Dominicans but pursuing different aims (defence against heresies); the master general Munio of Zamora (1285) revised the Rule, modelling it on the type of the T. O. (v. FRATI PREDICATORI, IX). Only later did the Holy See expressly recognize the right of the various religious Orders to aggregate analogous associations: the Dominicans in 1406; the Augustinians in 1409; the Servites in 1424; the Carmelites in 1452; the Minims in 1508; the Trinitarians and Premonstratensians in 1751; and the Benedictines in 1871. There is also the Mercedarian T. O. The T. O. must not be confused with other pious unions having different purposes, even when they are called T. O.
The influence of the T. O. on individuals and society has been immense: from its origin to the contemporary age, in Europe and America, numerous saints, blesseds, and men distinguished for virtue and learning have been found among both clergy and laity; tertiaries have engaged, and continue to engage, in the most varied works of charity and apostolate, established or promoted by them.
Only the Holy See can grant the privilege by which a religious Order may aggregate a T. O. (can. 703); once the privilege has been granted, superiors may enroll individual persons and erect the T. O. as a non-corporate body only in their own churches; in order to erect the confraternities as a corporate body (a collegiate person), they must have the bishop’s consent, except where a separate privilege exists or recourse is made to the Congregation of the Council against an unreasonable refusal; this is under pain of nullity (cann. 686 § 3, 703 § 2). The competent superiors with ordinary authority, which may also be delegated ad universalitatem causarum, are the general (for the Franciscans and Carmelites aeguo jure, all those of the various families, together with the general of the regular Franciscan Tertiaries), the provincials, and local superiors, including those of houses not formally constituted, provided that they are sui iuris, as well as their equivalents in mission territories and in provinces in formation (but not their vicars, unless the superiors have ceased to hold office or have been suspended). Their power (except, evidently, in the case of generals) is territorial with respect to confraternities; regarding the admission of isolated tertiaries, some authors would maintain that the power is not territorially circumscribed. Delegation may concern the erection of confraternities as a corporate body (a collegiate person) or simply as a non-corporate body, or the admission of isolated tertiaries; it may also concern the direction of confraternities already erected.
(from R. W. Chambers, A Fifteenth-Century Courtesy book, London 1911, between pp. 51–55)
TERZ'ORDINE - List of notable persons belonging to the Franciscan T. O. Fifteenth-century codex - London, Pennant collection, fol. 15 V.
In delegating authority for its establishment, they generally impose, for its licitness, certain restrictions intended to preserve harmony among the various families of the same Order that may exist in a given place. For the valid establishment of a sodality, the authorization of the First Order, the consent of the bishop (after the CIC; previously this was not certain), the presence of at least three professed members when it is an organized sodality, the written decree (after the CIC), and the register (at least provisional) are required. An unorganized sodality differs from an organized one in that it cannot perform collegial acts (the canonical election of officers) or establish statutes; moreover, without the bishop’s consent, such sodalities may be established in the churches of the First Order. Sodalities cease to exist 100 years after the death of the last member (can. 102), or by an act of the competent ecclesiastical authority that established them.
Isolated tertiaries must be the exception; they are obliged to undergo the novitiate, make profession, and observe the other prescriptions of the Rule not connected with the sodality. The sodalities of the Franciscan and Carmelite T. O., given the plurality of the First Order, when established by the proper or delegated authority of the superiors of one family, remain under the obedience of that family, even if in fact they are subsequently cared for by another family, unless the superiors of the establishing family consent to the transfer of obedience. Individual tertiaries, including members of sodalities, may instead pass from one obedience to another and from one sodality to another. Anyone enrolled in a T. O. may not belong to another T. O. without an apostolic privilege (one exists, for example, in Bologna with regard to the Dominican T. O.); they may, however, pass from one T. O. to another by renewing the novitiate (can. 705).
For admission, the following are required: a) the Catholic faith; those under notorious censures and public sinners cannot be validly enrolled (can. 693 § 1); b) a suitable age (14 years); c) the absence of public vows, even tem-
TERZ'ORDINE - TERZ'ORDINE REGOLARE DI SAN FRANCESCO
temporary (can. 704), since the purpose of the T. O. is thereby entirely absorbed; however, if someone were already a tertiary, he enjoys the graces of the T. O. until making his vows, and if he is dismissed after making his vows, he retains his enrollment in the T. O. Secular clerics may licitly enroll in a T. O. Enrollment begins the year of novitiate, which is also necessary for isolated tertiaries; profession is made only at its conclusion. It may reasonably be postponed for some time, but not for years; in such a case the novitiate must be considered interrupted. Interruption also occurs when an individual leaves the T. O. by public declaration or through legitimate dismissal. The obligations are generally not moral but juridical, so that the guilty person need only submit to the superiors’ sanctions.
Profession, unlike religious profession, does not constitute one in a sacred state, nor does it bind on religious grounds; it expresses only a public resolution, received in the name of the Church, to live in a determined manner, a resolution binding by reason of fidelity. A sanction inflicted ipso iure means that whoever does not wear the habit does not enjoy the graces and privileges; nevertheless, except in the case of rejection out of contempt, enrollment does not thereby cease. The habit may not be replaced by a medal without an individual, duly motivated dispensation (certain kinds of work, illness); it is not required that it be worn at night, next to the skin, or externally. It consists of the scapular of woolen fabric, rectangular in shape and in the color of the respective Order, worn hanging from the shoulders over the chest and back; and of the cincture (not a simple thread but a cord) worn around the waist, which may be made of wool, linen, hemp, or cotton. It is sufficient for them to be blessed the first time. In former times tertiaries wore a large outer habit (either full-length or in the form of a large scapular) at religious functions and also in civil life; today (can. 703 § 3) it may be used at sacred functions only with the bishop’s permission, without prejudice to customs, acquired rights, and its use at private meetings of tertiaries.
Neglect of the commitments undertaken through profession does not terminate membership, since this is a bilateral agreement whose dissolution requires the consent of the other party; it signifies only a lack of fidelity and generosity toward God and may provide grounds for dismissal.
Tertiaries, including novices and isolated members, directly enjoy the privileges granted to the respective T. O.; by privilege, some of them (as in the case of the Franciscan T. O.: Pius X, 5 and 17 May 1909) enjoy, by communication, the privileges and graces of the first and second Orders that are not strictly connected with the religious state. In general, these include: a) indulgences; b) absolutions and papal blessings; c) privileges for Mass and the Divine Office (privileged altar, etc.); d) the right (not the obligation) to take part in sacred functions with precedence over confraternities and pious unions; e) the right, for the sodalities, to possess and administer property, and, in organic sodalities, to elect internal officers (but not the chaplain), to hold meetings, and to establish statutes (cann. 697 ff., 701, 706). For precedence at sacred functions, collegiate participation is required, under one’s own Cross or banner (by privilege, sometimes under the Cross of the first Order) and with the proper habit (full-length and outer) or insignia. In some places there is a custom whereby enrollment in the T. O. gives one the right to be buried in the church where it is established, without the need for an election.
The T. O. depends on the bishop: a) for the establishment of organic and inorganic sodalities, with the exception, in the case of the latter, of the churches of the first Order; b) for the appointment or removal of the director or chaplain (with the exception of the churches of the first Order) and without prejudice to a contrary privilege (as exists in the Franciscan Order), although all faculties derive from the superiors of the first Order (can. 698); c) for the annual supervision of administration and the collection of alms; d) for the canonical visitation outside the churches of the first Order. It depends instead on the latter: a) for the authority to establish it; b) for the proposal (or appointment) of the director and the granting of faculties; c) for visitation and the internal disciplinary life of the sodality (presiding over meetings, enrollment, dismissal, etc.).
The director has the duties and rights necessary to the office (admission, conferences, absolutions, etc.); he does not have the right to appoint officers, to invalidate their election, to reserve the administration of property to himself, to demand payments from them, etc.