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EASTERN CHURCHES. 



the Ethnological Society of New York .and the 

 Historical Society of Brooklyn. At the time of 

 his decease he was engaged in the work of in- 

 troducing our customs and books into the 

 schools of the Spanish American States, and the 



translation of our works of instruction into 

 that language. He was a man of the most sen- 

 sitive uprightness and sincerity, and was ever 

 ready to lend a helping hand in the advance 

 ment of any good cause. 



E 



EASTERN CHURCHES, or ORIENTAL 

 CHURCHES, is the collective name given to 

 a number of churches in Eastern Europe, in 

 Asia, and Northeastern Africa, which hold to 

 the doctrine of the apostolical succession of 

 bishops. These churches are: 1. The Greek 

 Church. (See GREEK CHURCH.) 2. The Arme- 

 nian Church. 3. The Syrian or Jacobite Church. 

 4. The Nestorian, or Chaldean Church. 5. The 

 Coptic Church, in Egypt. 6. The Abyssinian 

 Church. V ; The Christians of St. Thomas, in 

 eastern India. The Maronites, another of these 

 communions, has for several centuries been 

 united with the Roman Catholic Church. Of 

 all the others, the last-mentioned has gained 

 over a portion, which have embraced her doc- 

 trines, but have retained some usages which 

 differ from those of the Catholic Church, as 

 the use of an Oriental instead of the Latin 

 language at divine service, and the marriage 

 of priests. Thus, there are " United Greeks " 

 (and within a few years, " United Bulgarians "), 

 "United Armenians," "Chaldeans" (united 

 Nestorians), " United Syrians," " United 

 Copts." More recently, an "Eastern Church 

 Association " has been established in England 

 for the purpose of bringing about a reunion be- 

 tween the Anglican and all the Eastern churches. 

 This association last year published its first an- 

 nual report, from which it appears that among 

 its patrons are several Greek bishops of 

 Servia. The report also states that negotia- 

 tions are pending for a reunion between the 

 Greek and Armenian Churches, and an account 

 of these negotiations, written by the Greek 

 Metropolitan of Chios, is published in the re- 

 port. The association presented a letter of 

 Christian and brotherly greeting to the Synod 

 of the Armenian Patriarchate assembled at 

 Constantinople for the election of a new 

 " Catholicos " (head of the Armenian Church) 

 at Etshmiadzine. The Patriarch of Constanti- 

 nople received the letter with great kindness 

 and courtesy. (See ANGLICAN CHURCHES and 

 GREEK CHURCH.) 



At the election of a new " Catholicos " 

 (head of the Armenian Church) at Etshmiad- 

 zine, a convent in Asiatic Russia, held in 

 1866, the candidate favored by the Russian 

 Government was chosen over the one favored 

 by the Turkish Government. There was, in 

 1866, a great excitement among the Armenian 

 community in Constantinople. The Patriarch 

 was reported as being eager to undermine the 

 old predominance of the laity in the govern- 

 ment of the " nation," and to secure for the 



clergy a similar ascendency and immunities 

 to those enjoyed by the priesthood in Cath- 

 olic countries. The attempt was as firmly 

 resisted by most of the lay heads of the com- 

 munity, with whom, also, the greater part of 

 the lower clergy have sided. The Sultan's Ar- 

 menian subjects are mainly governed by a rep- 

 resentative "national" assembly, with a secu- 

 lar and clerical medjlis sub-committee the 

 whole chosen according to a fixed electoral 

 law by the Armenians themselves. Finding 

 himself successfully resisted by the liberal ma- 

 jority of the people and clergy the Patriarch 

 resigned. The minister A'ali Pacha refused to 

 accept his resignation, and abolished both the 

 secular and clerical medjlises, naming a new 

 mixed one of eleven members, chosen by him- 

 self to revise the constitution. In December, 

 1866, an American missionary at Constantinople 

 wrote on the reformatory movements among 

 the Armenians as follows: 



For some time past a party in the Armenian 

 Church has been laboring quietly for a thorough re- 

 form. The American missionaries in Turkey hare 

 labored among these people for thirty years, and 

 have succeeded in carrying the Bible into every vil- 

 lage. But church and nation are so confounded in 

 Turkey that thousands have hesitated to leave their 

 church, although they were convinced of its errors. 

 Now these thousands are combining to compel the 

 church to renounce these errors, and go back to the 

 simple teachings of the Bible. They propose to re- 

 tain the Episcopal form of church government as 

 better adapted to Turkey than any other. Their Cen- 

 tral Committee is in constant communication with 

 Protestant pastors and missionaries, and is drawing 

 up a creed as a basis for their party to act upon. An 

 Armenian paper this week declares that all the 

 young men are joining this new movement, and 

 prophesies that it will succeed. I am not quite so 

 sure about immediate success, for the corrupt eccle- 

 siastical hierarchy has unlimited power for evil; 

 but the movement is a striking evidence of the sue 

 cess of the American missionaries in bringing the 

 people back to the Bible as their only sure guide. 



The position of the Nestorians in Persia 

 was greatly improved in 1866, consequent upon 

 the English intervention in their behalf. The 

 Levant Herald, of Constantinople, thus refers 

 to their improved condition. 



The sectarian quarrel between the Nestorians 

 round Oorumiah has ended in the Roman Catholic 

 party ousting the Protestants from a church which 

 the latter had long occupied, and so leaving them 

 (in the village concerned) without any place of pub- 

 lic worship. As in every way the best means of 

 smoothing over the quarrel, Mr. Alison recently se* 

 on foot a subscription to build the ejected Protesi- 

 ants a span new church of their own, and on the 

 matter being mentioned to the Shah, his majesty most 



