340 



GREEK CHURCH. 



to arbitration if all the great powers should 

 declare it to be an international question, that 

 was not to be decided by the courts of Greece. 

 The Austrian ambassador, Baron von Pottcn- 

 bnrg, had accordingly several conferences wit h 

 the Greek minister, without, however, obtain- 

 ing any satisfactory results. 



In February now elections took place for the 

 Chamber of Deputies. The Government ob- 

 tained a large majority. The new Chamber 

 was opened on February 20th, by the King, 

 who did not mention the Laurion question, 

 represented the relations to foreign countries 

 as satisfactory, and declared that brigandage 

 was now wholly extirpated. Soon after the 

 Laurion question was definitely settled by the 

 French-Italian Society Ronx-Serpieri transfer- 

 ring all its assets and liabilities to the banker 

 Syngros at Athens and the Uttomon bank in 

 Constantinople for 12,500,000 drachmas. The 

 new Laurion Company completed its organiza- 

 tion on April 26th. 



In March, the. Greek Government concluded 

 a treaty with the Porte for the joint extirpa- 

 tion of the bands of robbers infesting the fron- 

 tier of the two countries. 



On April 12th the ministry adjourned the 

 Chamber of Deputies to May 22d, because the 

 ministerial majority had shrunk to 73 members, 

 while the Opposition had increased to 93 mem- 

 bers. All the Greek embassies in foreign coun- 

 tries, except that of Constantinople, were abol- 

 ished, and the Greek Government declared 

 that it would carry on its transactions with the. 

 three protecting powers through their ambas- 

 sadors in Athens. When the Chamber reas- 

 sembled on May 23d, it elected the ministerial 

 candidate, I>eligannis, President, by a majority 

 of 8. The ministry had, however, no real 

 majority in the Chamber, and only the divis- 

 ion between the two sections of the Opposi- 

 tion, which are headed byZaimis ondBnl-aris, 

 prevented the passage of a vote of want of con- 

 fidence which had been moved by Zaimis. 



On August 2d the Chamber almost unani- 

 mously ratified the treaty which the Govern- 

 ment had concluded with the new Laurion 

 Company. A charter was given in August to 

 a company for constructing a canal across the 

 Uthmiis cif Cnrinth. 



(JRKEK CIIIT.CII. The excommunication 

 of the Bulgarians (tee ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA for 

 1*72, article EASTERN CHURCHES), by the Holy 

 nnd Grand Council of Constantinople, in Sep- 

 tember, 1879, was enthusiastically indorsed by 

 the (Ireck bishops and people in Turkey nnd 

 Greece. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, who had 

 refuted to sign the decree, was soon after 

 deponed from his office by a synod of the 

 pntrinrchute of Jerusalem. The following is a 

 translation of the official decree of deposition .- 



To-day, Tuesday, November 7t)i, of the year 1872, 

 In the twelfth hour, all tin; episcopal members of the 

 Hoto Synod ofJmsBtan. Aeruscmblinglnthe hull 

 yiiodal oion of tho monastery of the Holy 

 Sepulchre, and after taking into consideration the taut 

 doflnlU answer of hi* Holiness the Patriarch Ky- 



rillns II., relative to the acceptance of the resolution 

 of the Grand and Holy Council legally and oanoni- 

 cnlly convoked at Constantinople by which resolu- 

 tion phyletitm (that is, the distinction of races and 

 nationalities in the Church) was rejected and con- 

 demned, and all who approved this | hylctiMn, and 

 who, inspired thereby, have held up to this day il- 

 legal and clandestine in' lured to be 

 schismatics have unanimously decried and do de- 

 cree an follows : 



In consideration that his Holiness t rumpling 

 under foot all that he had written in his synodal 

 letter of January 24. 1869, to the Grand Church not 

 only aeted arbitrarily in Constantinople, and retusi d 

 to join in the recognition of the Grand Council, but 

 that he also, in Jerusalem, obstinately, and without 

 sufficient reason, opposed to the invitations and 

 1 r..\ . rs addressed by us to him the refusal to sub- 

 mit with us to the resolution of the Grand Council : 



In consideration of all this, we consider him us 

 having incurred the ecclesiastical censures which are 

 -lv contained in the said resolution of the 

 Grand Council, and as being, dt facto, schismatic. 

 And we find ourselves in the sad and painful neces- 

 sity to take back the oath of Mil misMVciiess and 

 obedience taken by us toward him, and henceforth 

 to break off all connection and communion with 

 him, nnd we shall never more perform any function 

 with him, or in ai.y respect act with him, and wo 

 shall no longer recognize him as head, and as our 

 lawful and canonical shepherd. In confirmation of 

 which the present act has been compiled and c i 

 into the great book of the Patriarchal Throne of Je- 

 rusalem. Moreover, copies of this act have been sent 

 to the Grand Church cod to all independent ortho- 

 dox Churches. 



Both the Patriarch of Constantinople and 

 the Turkish Government recognized the de- 

 position as valid, mid gave permission for the 

 election of a new patriarch. Before the elec- 

 tion took place. !< i -nsah m was the scene of 

 grave disorders. The patriarch refused to 

 recognize the decree of deposition, and, aided 

 by the consuls of Russia and Greece, cele- 

 brated vespers in the Church of the Holy Se- 

 pulchre. The Governor of Jerusalem was in- 

 timidated from noting against the patriarch, 

 while the consul-general of Germany, and the 

 diplomatic agents of other Towers, took side 

 with the clergy. An appial being made to the 

 Turkish Government, the Porte, in agreement 

 with the Patriarch of ( nstnntinople, instruct- 

 ed the Government of Jerusalem 1>\ telegraph 

 to protect the clergy, nnd no longer to recog- 

 nize Kyrillos as patriarch. T d pa- 

 triarch wnsordernl to take up his abode in the 

 little island Prinkipo, in the Sea of Marmora. 

 The decree of deposition had been signed by 

 the Archbishop of Gaza, nnd the Bishops of 

 Lydda, Napolis (Nablus). Sebasta, Tabor, Phi- 

 ladelphia, Jordan, and Tiberias. They now 

 I tho Archbishop of Gaza Patriarch of 

 Jerusalem. Those bishops and archimandrites 

 who at first had hided with Kyrillos, soon 

 deemed it safest to declare their submission, 

 whieh they did in the following letter to the 

 A reli bishop of Constantinople: 



To lit ffolint* tke (Ecumtmcal flttriareh Atitli- 

 moi, JmiMltm, Dtctmbtr 10 (N. 8. 22), lt-7'J. ^,, 

 the undersigned, the Metropolitans Beth- 



lehem and Niphnn of Ni:/iir"tli. :n .man- 



drites Yussuf, Chrvsnntlms, .1 u'orios, and 



tho Protosyngels tianicl, Gabriel, and tho others of 



