Seventeenth-century records from southern Italy show how a Greek-rite Albanian community resisted pressure for religious uniformity while remaining loyal to the Catholic Church. The documents reveal how residents of Barile protected their worship, customs, and communal identity as church authorities sought tighter control after the Council of Trent.
The study, led by Francesca Vera Romano, examines church reports, letters, decrees and other records from Barile, a settlement in the Kingdom of Naples. Its Albanian population followed the Greek, or Byzantine, rite while recognizing the authority of Rome.
Albanian migrants preserve the Greek rite
The community formed part of a wider Albanian migration to southern Italy that followed Ottoman expansion in the Balkans. Descendants of these migrants, known as the Arbëreshë, preserved parts of their language, culture, and Eastern Christian heritage for centuries. That legacy remains visible in the Italo-Albanian religious tradition preserved in Italy.
Barile’s residents were Catholic, but their worship differed from the Latin rite practiced across much of southern Italy. Their priests celebrated the liturgy in Greek, used leavened bread for the Eucharist and followed other Eastern Christian traditions.
A bishop targets local customs
Tensions intensified under Deodato Scaglia, bishop of Melfi, in the early 17th century. Scaglia viewed many practices in Barile as evidence of “superstition” and feared that they could undermine Catholic discipline.
In a 1627 report, Scaglia described customs connected to childbirth, baptism, marriage, and divination. Some families reportedly carried newborns around their homes three times for protection. Babies could be taken to crossroads, where the first passerby might be asked to become a godfather.
Marriage and omens draw scrutiny
Marriage also involved customs that troubled the bishop. Couples threw pomegranates during wedding celebrations in hopes of having sons. Other rituals were intended to promote fertility or protect the marriage.
17th-century records reveal how Greek-rite Albanians in southern Italy resisted pressure for religious uniformity, preserving their traditions while remaining within the Catholic Church. Their story shows how faith, identity and power were negotiated rather than simply imposed. pic.twitter.com/3aIErdzfx7
— Tom Marvolo Riddle (@tom_riddle2025) October 5, 2026
Residents also reportedly interpreted dreams and everyday signs. A dream about losing a tooth or an eye could be taken as a warning that a relative might die. Some people used beans, flour, or other household objects to seek signs about absent relatives. Romano argues that church officials did more than condemn individual customs. The label of “superstition” gave authorities a way to portray cultural and ritual differences as problems of Catholic discipline and religious authority.
Conflict moves inside the church
The struggle also centered on physical space. Greek and Latin Catholics shared a parish church, and disputes emerged over altars, decorations, processions, and the order of ceremonies. Scaglia described Greek worshippers rearranging parts of the church for their services. Latin clergy also disrupted Greek observances. Disputes sometimes escalated during major feast days and Holy Week.
The study suggests these conflicts were about more than worship. Control of the church gave each community public visibility and helped establish its position in Barile.
Greek traditions survive in southern Italy
The community existed within a part of Italy where Greek traditions had survived for centuries. Greek-speaking communities in southern Italy still preserve elements of this long cultural presence. The region also retains numerous churches shaped by Italy’s Byzantine heritage.
Religious boundaries in Barile were also less rigid than church officials wanted. Marriages between Greek-rite and Latin Catholics created households in which customs mixed. Some people moved between rites because of marriage, family ties, military service, or local rivalries.
The dispute reaches Rome
The most important confrontation came in 1634. Scaglia sent another report to Roman authorities and sought stronger action against practices associated with the Greek rite. The Greek community responded through diplomacy rather than open rebellion. Representatives appealed to the Congregation of Propaganda Fide, a Roman body founded in 1622. Through the priest Andrea Paleologo, they accused Scaglia of persecution and asked for a separate church where they could continue their own rite.
A compromise protects Greek worship
Their appeal produced a compromise. The Latin community retained the main church of Santa Maria della Grazia, while Greek Catholics received the church of San Nicola. Latin parishioners were ordered to help pay for its restoration, and provisions were made to support a Greek priest. The settlement allowed the community to preserve its rite without rejecting Roman authority.
Scaglia continued his campaign. A diocesan synod in 1635 prohibited several practices he considered unacceptable, including infant Communion, certain marriage and funeral customs, and rituals associated with the moon. Yet the Greek rite itself survived.
Religious uniformity remains incomplete
Romano argues that Barile challenges the idea that Catholic reform simply imposed religious uniformity from above. The community neither fully surrendered nor openly broke with Rome. Instead, its members used family networks, shared spaces, and appeals to higher church authorities to negotiate the limits of religious control.
The records show that religious identity in 17th-century Catholic Europe could remain flexible. In Barile, church officials tried to narrow the boundaries of acceptable practice, while the Greek-Albanian community found ways to preserve its rite within the Catholic Church.
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