GREEK cnimcir. 



GIMFKIN, CHARLES. 



881 



if tin- Clnircli in the principaliti. 

 tin- Patriarch of OODJttlltinOplt and hi-. Svnod. 

 iu-ivfotv would In- ;iii Ilth Independent 

 Group of tin- Greek Chui-rli. There are four 

 hish.ips in Wallachia, ::i;il three in Moldavia. 

 Til-- p-.'.ipl,- of S.-rvia and those of Bulgaria d.- 

 : their hishops a .similar iii(k'[)endence of 

 ntinople. 



!u tlu- opinion of the friends of a closer union 

 lioan and the Greek Churches, 

 this in. '\emeiit eontiiiues to make safi-factory 

 prog:-. ihe latter as Well as among the 



nd auiuial i/f th" 



: ern Church Society, ''encouraging commu- 

 'MIIS were received from Ucv. Messrs. Pillow 

 and "William:?. Mr. Pillow reported, as one of 

 the nn.-t important events of the post year, the 

 :ion to the patriarchal chair of Constanti- 

 nople of a prelate acceptable to all who desire 

 v that office independent of the intrigues 

 of statesmen and ambassadors. During the past 

 year Mr. Williams had likewise the opportunity, 

 during his journey through the East, to be- 

 come acquainted with the most distinguished 

 - among the orthodox Eastern cler- 

 He had convvr-. d with the Patriarchs of 

 mtinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem, and 

 with other eminent bishops of the same com- 

 munion. The patriarchs had expressed their 

 entire approbation of the union of the churches. 

 Mr. Williams declared, moreover, that the Me- 

 tropolitan of Scio had said to him that the time 

 for electing commissioners from both sides to 

 adjust the differences between them was at 

 hand ; and that the Patriarch of Antioch had 

 assured him that he proposes to found a school, 

 as a preparation for the union, and he desired 

 to obtain an Englishman as a professor in it, 

 that the members of it might learn the English 

 language. 



According to a Moscow correspondent of 

 the ( 7mrch News, an organ of this union party, 

 the letter of the Pan-Anglican Synod -was re- 

 1 with profound respect and unfeigned ad- 

 miration by several prelates of the Russian 

 Church. The correspondent adds: "The re- 

 union school at Moscow, well represented both 

 at the University and Theological Seminary, is 

 full of hope as regards the preparation of a 

 common basis for peace negotiations." 



A ukase was issued in 1867, by the Russian 

 Government, abolishing a curious custom which 

 has long prevailed among the Russian clergy. 

 In Russia the parish priests form a sort of ex- 

 clusive caste; the children of priests may cuter 

 other professions, but that of the clergy is ex- 

 clusively recruited from among their families. 

 This principle was carried so far, that not only 

 was a priest succeeded on his death by his son, 

 as a matter of course, but if he died without 

 male iue, the revenues of the benefice passed 

 into the hands of His eldest daughter until she 

 found a priest who would marry her, and un- 

 . rge of the parish. The abuses 

 to which this system gave rise have called for 

 the new ukase, by which it is provided that in 



the futuiv, \\hcn the priest dies, the Gorern- 

 mcnt .shall take immediate Btcjm for filling up 

 tin- vacant p<>-i with the candidate whom it 

 shall find best <|u:dili. d for it. 



In October, 1867, the Patriarch of Constan- 

 tinople !iddre-.-ed to Prince Charles of Konma- 

 nia a letter on the subject of the portion of 

 the Greek Church in the principalities, request- 

 ing the Prince to put an end to the abuses which 

 had grown up in the administration of chnrch 

 propcrtv. 



GRIFFIN", Brevet Major-General Cn.< 

 Colonel Thirty-fifth Infantry, t". S. A., a bravo 

 and accomplished army officer, horn in Ohio in 

 1826 ; died of yellow fever at Galveston, Texas, 

 September 15, 1867. II.- received his military 

 education at We.st Point, where he graduated in 

 1847 and was appointed second lieutenant in 

 the Second Artillery, and was soon .after or- 

 dered to Mexico, where he commanded a com- 

 pany under General Patterson in the campaign 

 from Vera Cruz to Puebla. In January, 1848, 

 he was ordered to Florida, and in December of 

 the same year to Fortress Monroe. In June, 

 1849, he was promoted to the rank of first lieu- 

 tenant, and, having been placed in command 

 of a company of cavalry, was ordered to New 

 Mexico, where he remained until 1854, serving 

 with distinction in the Navajo campaigns, and 

 taking part in other expeditions. Joining a 

 light battery at Fort McIIenry, the young lieu- 

 tenant was ordered to Fort Hamilton early in 

 the spring of 1857, remaining, however, but a 

 few months, and afterward being ordered west- 

 ward to Minnesota in command of a company. 

 From Minnesota his command was ordered to 

 Kansas, and thence in October of the same year 

 he revisited New Mexico in command of an es- 

 cort to the Governor of that Territory, whence, 

 returning through Texas, he joined his own 

 proper command at Fort Leavenworth. In 

 April following, having been assigned with his 

 company to, form a portion of the command of 

 Colonel Burke at Fort Riley, he reported at 

 that place for duty, remaining until 1859, when 

 he was sent to Fortress Munroe, where soon 

 after he received an appointment as Instructor 

 of Artillery at West Pojnt, in which capacity 

 he served until the breaking out of the war iu 

 1861. In January of that memorable year he 

 received orders to cross the mountains with his 

 battery (known as the West Point Battery) to 

 the railroad, and thence to proceed direct to 

 Washington. In command of this battery, 

 which was organized as Battery D of the Fifth 

 Artillery, the young officer fought with heroic 

 bravery at the first Bull Run. remaining until 

 June 9,1862, in the capacity of captain of the 

 artillery, when he was commissioned as a briga- 

 dier-general, and bore an honorable part in the 

 campaign of McClellan upon the Peninsula, 

 winning especial distinction at the battle of 

 Gaines's Mill, and commanding even the admi- 

 ration of the enemy. Again at Malvern Hill, 

 General Griftin in command of the artillery sup- 

 ported his brigade against the impetuous assault 



