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GREEK CHURCH. 



GREEK CHURCH. No important change 

 occurred daring the year 1865, in the mutual 

 relation of the branches of the Greek Churches 

 to each other. In Austria, the Greek Church, 

 which, in accordance with an imperial rescript 

 of November 26, 1864, is henceforth to be offi- 

 cially designated as the " Greek-Oriental," in- 

 stead of, as heretofore, the " Greek Non-United " 

 Church, is now fully separated into two inde- 

 pendent Archbishoprics, one for the Greek 

 Slavi, and the other for the Roumanic nation. 

 For the latter, Andrew Baron de Schaguna WAS 

 appointed, in 1865, the first Archbishop. 



The Moldo-Wallachian Church has been de- 

 clared, by Prince Couza, to be henceforth whol- 

 ly independent of and disconnected from the 

 Greek Patriarch of Constantinople. Ecclesias- 

 tical communion remains perfect, as before; 

 just as between the Church of England and 

 the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United 

 States. This declaration of ecclesiastical inde- 

 pendence by the Church of the Principalities 

 did not please the Sultan, and at his instance 

 the Patriarch of Constantinople tried to re- 

 tain his former subordinates. He despatched 

 a bishop to Bucharest, to declare that the 

 law of civil marriage, the secularization of 

 convent property, and the institution of a Na- 

 tional Church, lately decreed by Prince Couza, 

 were contrary to the dogmas of the Greek 

 Church, and involved the penalty of excommu- 

 nication. Prince Couza, in reply, ordered the 

 bishop to be reconducted to the frontier by 

 gendarmes. The reorganization of the Church 

 lias since been completed, by the establishment 

 of a National Synod ; and, on the whole, the 

 Church of the Principalities seems to be the 

 most progressive of the branches of the Greek 

 Church. 



The movement toward a union between the 

 Anglican and the Eastern Churches has many 

 influential friends in Russia. The most import- 

 ant step which has yet been taken on the part 

 of Russians in favor of this movement was the 

 participation of several men of high position in 

 a meeting held in London, on December 16, 

 1865, at which about 80 of the bishops and 

 clergy of the Church of England were present. 

 As far as the position of the Anglican partici- 

 pants is concerned, we have referred to the 

 proceedings of this important meeting under the 

 head of ANGLIOAX CHURCH. Russia was repre- 

 sented on the occasion by Prince Orloff, Minis- 

 ter of Public Instruction in the Emperor's 

 Cabinet, and Count A. Tolstoi, the representa- 

 tive of the Russian Government in the Holy 

 Governing Synod, and author of a work on the 

 Latin Church, together with the Russian Chap- 

 lain in London, the Rev. Mr. Popoff. Prince 

 Orloff, in a letter to the " Moscow Gazette," 

 gives the following account of the attitude of 

 the Russian members of the meeting : 



Having premised that I was speaking in a private 

 capacity, I said that the Russian clergy, praying 

 daily for the establishment of a common Christian 

 Church, would be always inclined to promote it. In 



proof of this I alleged that the study of the English 

 language had been introduced into our ecclesiastical 

 academies, and that our clergy would be prepared to 

 sift privately all disputed points. I added, however, 

 that the most holy Philaret, the Archbishop of Mos- 

 cow, and lofty Patriarch of our Church, was of opinion 

 that this was a grave and difficult question, which 

 ought to be slowly matured, and, above all, investi- 

 gated closely and minutely. In conclusion, I moved : 

 1. That works should be published in England set- 

 ting forth the history, doctrine, and present condition 

 of the Anglican TDhurch, with a view to proving that 

 it is not a Protestant but a Catholic Church, and, ac- 

 cordingly, related to the Eastern Church. I also 

 remarked that the subject being altogether unknown 

 to the Russian public, it ought to be explained fully 

 and copiously. 2. That Anglican clergymen sympa- 

 thizing with the cause should be stationed at Moscow 

 and St. Petersburg. 3. That the matter should not 

 be precipitated, or urged with too much eagerness 

 or violence, but that we should trust in the Diving 

 assistance rather than in the success of our human 

 and short-sighted endeavors. What we had to do 

 now was to prepare the ground by elucidating the 

 question. The seed would grow up, and future gen- 

 erations, perhaps, would reap the harvest, if God 

 willed it. Father Popoff, who delivered an eloquent 

 speech, breathing the spirit of Christianity, expressed 

 himself to the same effect. After him some clergy- 

 men spoke on dogmatical points. I omit quoting 

 their opinions ; they will be probably communicated 

 by Father Popoff in his report to the Chief Procurator 

 of the Holy Synod. They nad no immediate reference 

 to the matter in hand. 



Before the close of the debates I rose again to de- 

 clare that the Russian Church being but one of the 

 five branches of the Eastern Catholic Church, the 

 matter was all the more complicated, and that the 

 subordinate members of our clergy were not at lib- 

 erty to decide any ecclesiastical questions, being 

 entirely guided by the rules and directions of their 

 Church. 



In a subsequent letter to the London " Times," 

 Prince Orloff gave the following further expla- 

 nations concerning this meeting : 



It has been insinuated that I was obliged to excuse 

 myself, in the eyes of my own countrymen, for having 

 participated in the prayers with which the meeting 

 opened and closed. The Eastern Orthodox Church 

 has never forbidden its members from joining in any 

 form of prayer with other Christians, more especially 

 with those who pray for " the peace of the whole world 

 and the union of divided Christendom." This insin- 

 uation is, therefore, totally devoid of foundation. The 

 Archbishop of Canterbury never expressed any inten- 

 tion to me of sending bishops to Russia. It was 

 rather a suggestion on my part that some learned 

 churchman might be induced to go there whenever the 

 idea of intercommunion should attain a greater devel- 

 opment ; for in 1864 an eminent member of the Church 

 of England had expressed to me his desire of visit- 

 ing Moscow in order to sound the opinions of the 

 Russian clergy, but abandoned his resolution on 

 hearing from me how few among them were ac- 

 quainted with the English language, and how little 

 the question of intercommunion nad been agitated 

 at that time. 



The " Church Journal " of New York, a de- 

 voted advocate of the union movement, regards 

 the part taken in this meeting by Russia as a 

 step more important and significant than any 

 thing that has been placed on record since the 

 time of the Council of Florence. The indica- 

 tions increase that this movement may become 

 one of importance. Our literary intercourse 

 with Eastern Europe is, however, still so re- 



