EASTERN CHURCHES. 



EASTERN QUESTION. 



275 



ing Synod, I assume the duty of presenting their 

 answer to the Court of Bishops of the American 

 Episcopal Church, and beg you to accept the assur- 

 ance of the highest esteem of your brother and co- 

 servant in Christ Jesus. ISIDORE, 

 First Presiding Member of the Governing Synod 



of all the Eussias, and Metropolitan of Novgorod 



and St. Petersburg. 



In response to this communication, the Gen- 

 eral Convention of the Protestant Episcopal 

 Church, which met at Baltimore in October, 

 adopted the following resolutions : 



1. That this Convention cordially reciprocates the 

 expressions of fraternal regard so frequently received 

 within the past three years from the Most Reverend 

 the Patriarch of Constantinople, th.e Most Reverend 

 the Patriarch of Jerusalem, the Most Reverend the 

 Metropolitan of Athens, and the Holv Governing 

 Synod of the Orthodox Church of Russia, by digni- 

 taries of the Church of England, and by members of 

 this Church, both of the clergy and laity ; that it 

 takes grateful recognition of the generous action by 

 which the administration of holy rites for the burial 

 of the dead of our communion has been provided for 

 by the authorities of the Holy Orthodox Church 

 and that it earnestly desires the countenance and 

 increase of such brotherly intercourse and mutual 

 good offices of love. 



2. That the Joint Committee on the subject of in- 

 tercourse with the Russo-Greek Church be continued, 

 and be charged with the communication of the fore- 

 going resolution to the venerable authorities of the 

 several branches of the Holy Orthodox Church. 



3. That the said Joint Committee be also charged 

 with the duty of taking further steps for the acquisi- 

 tion and communication of such information as may 

 be mutually important and interesting to this Church 

 and to the Holy Orthodox Church in Constantinople, 

 Greece, and Russia, with such publications thereof 

 from time to time as may be deemed needful and 

 prudent. 



The Committee consists, on the part of the 

 House of Bishops, of the Bishop of Maryland, 

 W. R. Whittingham, D. D., LL. D. ; Bishop of 

 Illinois, H. J. Whitehouse, D. D., LL. D. ; Bish- 

 op of New Jersey, TV. H. Odenheimer, D. D. ; 

 Bishop of Western New York, A. Cleveland 

 Coxe, D. D. ; Bishop of Florida, J. Freeman 

 Young, D. D., LL. D. ; Bishop of Long Island, 

 A. N. Littlejohn, D. D. 



On the part of the House of Clerical and Lay 

 Deputies it consists of the Rev. John Fulton, 

 D.D., of Alabama; the Rev. R. M. Abercrom- 

 bie, D. D., of New Jersey ; the Rev. Charles 

 R. Hale, of Central New York; Hon. S. B. 

 Ruggles, LL. D., of New York ; Mr. Edward 

 Stanley, of California; Mr. Henry C. Pierre- 

 pont, of Long Island. 



The Bishop of the Russian Greek Church in 

 America recently made a tour in Alaska to 

 ascertain for himself the social, moral, and 

 spiritual condition of the Aleuts, the results of 

 which are thus summarized : "In his journey- 

 ings, Bishop Joannes was every where received 

 as the Prince of Peace and the Prophet of 

 God. The faithful surrounded him in flocks, 

 humbly kissing his hand, and prostrating 

 themselves before him with the deepest devo- 

 tion. In return, they were consoled and com- 

 forted by the performances of all the sacred 

 rites and ceremonies which the Greek Church 



dispenses to its enthusiastic devotees, and, 

 wherever the bishop found suffering and want, 

 he gave generous relief. A large number of 

 the better classes of the Aleuts are very eager 

 to have their children educated in San Fran- 

 cisco, where they can learn the English lan- 

 guage, and become better acquainted with the 

 customs and habits of the American people. 

 In compliance with the request, it is intended 

 to establish a school and seminary in San 

 Francisco, under the direction of the bishop 

 and co-laborers, for the education of Aleutian 

 youth. 



The first building in the United States 

 designed expressly for a Greek church was 

 erected in the city of New York, during 1871. 

 It is on Lexington Avenue, between Fifty-first 

 and Fifty-second Streets. The cost, about 

 $250,000, is defrayed by the Russian Treasury 

 in St. Petersburg. The church is attached to 

 the Russian legation in the United States, but 

 is directly under the supervision of the Metro- 

 politan at St. Petersburg, and is not in any 

 way connected with the diocese of the resi- 

 dent Greek bishop at San Francisco. 



EASTERN QUESTION. In December, 

 1870, the Government of England invited the 

 great powers of Europe to a conference on 

 the Eastern question, which was to be held in 

 London on January 15, 1871. In the mean 

 while, the exchange of diplomatic notes and 

 diplomatic negotiations was continued. Count 

 von Beust, in a note to Gortchakoff, dated 

 December 10, 1870, undertook to refute the 

 assertions of the latter, and remarked that Aus- 

 tria joined the Conference without precon- 

 ceived plans, and only in the hope to secure for 

 Turkey a peaceful development, and to bring on 

 a solution which would be apt to spare national 

 sensibilities without weakening the necessary 

 guarantees. The Russian reply was couched 

 in conciliatory language. On the part of Eng- 

 land, the exchange of notes with St. Petersburg 

 had not terminated when the invitations to the 

 Conference were issued. 



In the mean while, negotiations took place 

 between Russia and Turkey, which it was 

 thought would lead to the drafting of a new 

 special convention and to the consent of Russia 

 to certain modifications of. the "agreements," 

 the repeal of which had long been wished for 

 by Turkey. It also appeared that the Ottoman 

 Porte itself no longer attributed so great an 

 importance to the neutralization of the Black 

 Sea as some European diplomatists, for one of 

 its organs, the Turquie, of Constantinople, pub- 

 lished in December, 1870, several articles 

 which represented the abolition of the neutral- 

 ization as a measure involving no danger for 

 Turkish interests. When, therefore, the Lon- 

 don Conference met, on January 17th, consid- 

 erable preparations for a peaceful settlement 

 had been made by the two parties chiefly con- 

 cerned in it. After the introductory formalities, 

 the ambassadors of Turkey, Russia, Germany, 

 Austria, and Italy, expressed the wishes of their 



