236 



EASTERN CHURCHES. 



cation of native helpers and church represent- 

 atives of the Nestorians who are in commun- 

 ion with the Protestant missionaries, held in 

 October, 1867, ninety members were in at- 

 tendance. Bishop Mar Yohanan was elected 

 moderator of the meeting. The practical sub- 

 jects of education, benevolence, temperance, 

 family worship, and the means for promoting 

 the spiritual growth and efficiency of the com- 

 munion, were presented in able and well-pre- 

 pared papers, and were followed by free and 

 animated discussions. The increase of wine- 

 drinking, within the last two or three years, 

 among some of the communicants and a few 

 even of the helpers, received warning and re- 

 buke. Eighty accessions to the churches were 

 reported. The subject of self-support came 

 up, and in the discussion several pledged a 

 tithe of their possessions to the church. Dea- 

 con Yacob reported the sale of 1,900 Bibles 

 and Testaments in modern Russian, and many 

 other religious books and tracts, besides many 

 books in German and other languages. He 

 also spoke of revival-scenes, resulting in the 

 conversion and baptism of several adherents to 

 the Greek Church. A great work is opening 

 in many places in the Russian empire. It was 

 stated that the Emperor especially encourages 

 the circulation of the Scriptures in the spoken 

 language; allowing free passports to colpor- 

 teurs, and exacting no duties for the largest 

 sales, and that he has himself paid the expense 

 of translating and printing a large edition, and 

 has caused it to be circulated in the army and 

 among officials, free of expense. 



A number of Nestorians, in 1867, addressed 

 a letter to Archbishop Langley, of Canterbury, 

 and Bishop Tait, of London, saying that they 

 were in a state of great ignorance and dark- 

 ness, and that many of their rulers and guides 

 were not capable of instructing them a state 

 of things which apparently arose from their 

 chief spiritual offices being hereditary. That 

 being so, they applied to the English bishops 

 to come over and help them to send some one 

 to instruct and enlighten them. At the meet- 

 ing of the Anglo-Continental Society, the arch- 

 bishop remarked with regard to this appeal : 



I have reason to believe, from communications I 

 have had with Mr. Badger, who has been a mission- 

 ary in the country, that they are not at all wedded to 

 Nestorian principles, and that they might be led to 

 abandon them. I cannot but hope, therefore, that 

 inasmuch as this appeal has been made to us, and in- 

 asmuch as I have now publicly stated its nature, there 

 may be some wealthy and well-disposed people who 

 may be inclined to contribute to a mission to these 

 poor Nestorians. It would be entirely an indepen- 

 dent mission, because there is no existing society that 

 can exactly take it up. It does not belong to the 

 Society for the Propagation of the Gospel or to the 

 Anglo-Continental Society : but I think a separate 

 committee might be formed, and that it might send 

 out two missionaries. 



4. THE COPTS. The Pacha of Egypt, who is 

 paying much attention to the Coptic Patriarch, 

 still persecutes the American Presbyterian mis- 

 sionaries, and has closed their schools. A pres- 



byter of the name of Fam Stephanos, who has 

 been a Protestant for more than twenty years, 

 was only saved from deportation to the Blue 

 Nile by the interference of the missionaries, 

 who appealed to the American consul-general 

 for assistance. He was imprisoned at Esneh. 

 These missionaries, who have done more for 

 the regeneration of the Pasha's dominions than 

 all other influences put together, dare not now 

 print their tracts, nor teach freely in their 

 schools, nor preach as before. 



The labors of the United Presbyterian mis- 

 sionaries in Egypt begin to exercise a great in- 

 fluence npon the Coptic Church : 



The Coptic priests, finding so firm a preference for 

 the teaching which the children receive in our school, 

 were led to take a new and rather strange plan to keep 

 others from leaving their school. They concluded to 

 introduce Brown's Catechism into their school, and 

 have actually done so saying that the doctrine which 

 the Protestants teach the little ones is good, but their 

 teaching to the grown people is "bad referring no 

 doubt to those books which expose the corruptions 

 of the Eoman and Eastern Churches. We have sold 

 several copies of Brown's Catechism to them, and 

 they asked also for the Shorter Catechism (the West- 

 minster Catechism), which is taught in our school, 

 but our supply is exhausted, and therefore we cannot 

 accommodate them until we get more from Cairo. 

 This desire for religious books is a very pleasing con- 

 trast to the work of last year, when the Copts, to 

 please the Patriarch, burned many good books. One 

 man.whp had a copy of Brown's Catechism, when 

 the Patriarch came and commanded that all such 

 books should be burned, took the precaution to bury 

 his precious little book, lest it should be taken from 

 him and burned. 



5. THE ABTSSINIANS. The works on Abys- 

 sinia, which have been called forth by the con- 

 flict of England with the late King Theodore, 

 of Abyssinia, contain a great deal of impor- 

 tance on the religious and social condition of 

 the Abyssinian Christians. The following are 

 a few extracts from the work of Dr. Blanc, one 

 of the captives : 



" Churches abound one near every village, 

 and several in every town, is the rule. They 

 are by far the best-built houses in the country ; 

 surrounded as they are by guiches and cedars, 

 always in a commanding position, they add 

 much to the picturesqueness of the landscape. 

 They are all built on the same pattern that is 

 to say, a large circular stone building, com- 

 posed of three concentric circles. The smaller 

 central room is screened from the eyes of the 

 people, and the priests alone can enter it. It 

 is intended to represent the Holy of Holies. It 

 contains the tabet, or ark a small wood box, 

 the receptacle of the sacred volumes. The 

 sanctuary where the priests officiate is formed 

 by the second circle. This is in reality the 

 church, as the nave, where the congregation 

 assembles, is but a veranda. The interior of 

 the church, and sometimes also the veranda, 

 is adorned with rude paintings a strange 

 mixture, representing the favorite saints St. 

 Michael, St. George, the apostles, our Lord, the 

 Virgin Mary, God himself, the devil, and former 

 emperors. All Abyssinians who confess before 



