TOPOGEAPHY_, KACES, KELIGIONS^ LANGUAGES AND CUSTOMS. 61 



put into their mouths by the priests. They agree with 

 the Greek church, as the Nestorians do, regarding the Holy 

 Ghost, who they beheve proceeds from the Father only, 

 instead of from the Father and the Son as the Nicene Creed 

 expresses it. The Nestorians, on the contrary, kept clear of 

 all these innovations, and consequently they have been 

 styled by different American missionaries as " Protestants of 

 the east." They do not practise auricular confession, they 

 administer the Lord's Supper in both kinds to the laity, and 

 with the exception of the plain cross, they do not allow in 

 their churches any pictures or images. It is remarkable- 

 though both the Monophysites and Nestorians are considered 

 " heretics " by the Greek and Catholic Churches ; they both 

 hold as the foundation of their faith the Nicene Creed, and 

 are in every respect strictly Trinitarians. The reason the- 

 Nestorians object to call the Virgin Mary deoroKO^;, Theotocu& 

 (mother of God;, is because they say it is not scriptural, and 

 that it is also opposed to the belief in the atonement, as God^ 

 which means in its unity Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, could 

 not have been crucified. The Monophysites, on the con- 

 trary, believe that the Godhead suffered on the cross, and 

 they still maintain the old formula, introduced in the fifth 

 century by Peter, surnamed "Fuller, Bishop of Antioch," and 

 this is used in addition to the celebrated hymn, — the Greek 

 Trisagion — "0 Holy God, Holy Almighty, Holy Eternal,. 

 Who was crucified for us, have mercy upon us." 



The Armenians, both Monophysites and Homan Catholics^ 

 inhabit different parts of Coordistan, Asia Minor, Syria, 

 Mesopotamia, and Constantinople. A large part of tliem 

 reside in Russia, Persia, and India, and of all the Christian 

 nationalities in Turkey, they are the most numerous, the 

 most industrious, and the most progressive, as they have- 

 shown themselves in Russia, India, and Constantinople, where 

 they have a scope for their industry and perseverance. A 

 small section of them have joined the Roman Catholic 

 church outside the province known as " Armenia " ; but the 

 missionaries of the American Independents have succeeded 

 in proselytizing, in different parts, a large number of them 

 at Van, Bitlis, and other places in Asia Minor ; and at 

 Diarbekir there used to be a very important community of 

 them which has been, I believe, nearly annihilated by the 

 late massacres. The Roman Catholic Armenians have a 

 convent at Venice where books on all subjects are printed 

 in different languages. 



