ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 221 



IX. How happy, how glorious would it have 

 been for Chriftianity if all thefe heads of the vi- 

 fible church, all thefe vicars of Chrift, had been 

 animated with the fpirit of their Divine mailer ; 

 if they had been fagacious, learned, wile and 

 virtuous ; if they had all relembled Benedict XIV. 

 and Clc-ment XIII. But fuch was not the will of 

 Providence, for the tiara has been frequently born 

 by the moft criminal heads. It is not for us, 

 however, to fcrutinize the counfels of the Su- 

 preme Being, nor to be diflatisfied with thofe 

 inftruments of which he has thought proper to 

 make ufe, in executing his eternal decrees. 



X. (3.) The Hiftory of the Scbifms that have 

 arofe in the Chriftian church, and efpecially that 

 grand divifion by which it was divided into the 

 Greek and Latin churches. This fchifm began 

 about the year of Chrift 854. under the emperor 

 Michael of Conftantinople. Its origin and pro- 

 grefs are to be found in all the hiftorians i but 

 to form a juft judgment it is necefiary to read 

 the authors of both parties. The empire of the 

 Eaft has followed from that time the dogmas 

 and rites of the Greek church, and the empire 

 of the Weft the dogmas and rites of the Latin. 

 The empire of the Eaft being now in the hands 

 of the Mahometans, it is only the Greeks in Eu- 

 rope, in Afia Minor, and the iflands ; the Syrians, 

 the Georgians, and the Ruffians, who form the 

 Greek church, under the patriarchs of Conltan- 

 tinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerufalem and 



Ruffia. 



