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M E T 
Many attempts at fuch an expedient have been made, but 
it has never been brought to perfection till very lately. 
If it had exifted in Handel’s time, many of his compofi- 
tions would not be frequently injured by being performed 
too faft or too flow to fatisfy thofe who remember his 
works performed under his own direftion. See Music. 
METROPH'ANES, bifhop of Smyrna in the ninth 
century, was a native of Conftantinople, who was diftin- 
guifhe'd in the difputes which terminated in the fchilm 
between the Greek and Latin churches. In the year 858, 
when Ignatius was depofed from the patriarchate of C011- 
ifantinople, he ufed every effort in his power to prevent 
that event; but, notwithftanding, acknowledged Photius 
for patriarch, whom the emperor Michael appointed 
to fill the vacant fee. In the following year, however, 
a warm conteft arifing between the partisans of Photius 
and Ignatius, in which Metrophanes efpoufed anew the 
interefts of the latter, he was depofed in a fynod held at 
Conftantinople, and committed to the fame place of con¬ 
finement with his friend. Photius was depofed in his 
turn in 867, by Bafdius the Macedonian; in confequence 
of which change of affairs, Metrophanes recovered pof- 
feffion of his bifhopric, and was one of the moft aftive 
persecutors of Photius at the council of Conftantinople, 
held in the year 870. Upon the death of Ignatius, which 
happened in the year 878, the emperor took Photius into 
favour, and replaced him in the patriarchal dignity' of 
which he had been deprived; but Metrophanes refufed 
to acknowledge him ; and, as lie continued to periift ftea- 
diiy in that refufal, he was pronounced an obftinate fchif- 
matic by a council held at Conftantinople in 880, and at 
the fame time depofed from his epifcopate, and cut off 
from the communion of the faithful. He wrote “ A Let¬ 
ter to Manuel, a Patrician,” containing a narrative of 
what was done by Photius from 858 to 870, which ferves 
to throw light on the hiftory of the fchifm between the 
Greek and Latin churches. Gen. Biog. 
METRO'PI, a town of European Turkey, in the pro¬ 
vince of Livadia : twenty-eight miles fouth of Athens. 
METRO'PI, a fmall island in the gulf of Engia ; three 
miles weft of Engia. 
METROP'OLI, a town of the ifland of Candia, on the 
fite of the ancient Gortynia; of which many veftiges re¬ 
main. Metropoli was the fee of an archbifhop, and the 
metropolitan church dedicated to Titus the friend of St. 
Paul, who ,is fuppofed to have refided here. It is twenty- 
two miles fouth of Candia. Lat. 35. 1. N. Ion. 25.4. E. 
METROP'OLIS, in ancient geography, a town of 
Acarnania, a little to the fouth of Stratos.—Another, of 
Lydia; lituated between Colophon and Priene, near the 
Cayfter.—A third, of Phrygia; facred to the mother of 
the gods, who was here worlhipped.—A fourth Metropolis 
of Eftiotis, a diftribt in Thefi’aly, to the eaft of Gomphi, 
and the laft town of that diftribt. 
METROP'OLIS, J'. [Lat. from the Gr. mother, 
and ■jro4i?, a city'.] The mother-city; the chief city of 
any country or diftrift.—We flopped at Pavia, that was 
once the metropolis of a kingdom, but at prefent a poor 
town. AddiJ'on on Italy. 
His eye difeovers unaware 
The goodly profpedt of fome foreign land, 
Fii'ft Seen : or fome renown’d metropolis. 
With glift’ring fpire's and pinnacles adorn’d. Milton. 
The plural of this word is fometimes formed in the 
Engliih manner, metropolijes ; fometimes after the Latin 
construction, mctropoles. —Du Pin obferves, that in Afia 
there were metropolifes, merely nominal; i. e. which had 
no fuffragans, nor any rights of metropolitans. Chambers. 
—In general, however, they regarded as metropoles thofe 
cities which we call capitals. Netv Cyclopadia. 
The name metropolis was originally given to thofe Greek 
cities which had eftablifhed colonies in other places; and 
to thefe certain rights or privileges belonged, partly ho¬ 
norary, and partly profitable. Thofe of the firft kind 
principally related to religion. The colonies were obliged 
to lend annually to their metropolis deputies for offering 
facrifices on their behalf to the gods of the country', and 
to prefent to them their firft fruits. If the facred fire 
fliould by'any accident be extinguished, the colonies could 
not rekindle it any-where but in the prytaneum of their 
founders. The colonies were under art obligation to pro¬ 
vide themfelves with priefts, particularly thofe of their 
tutelar deity, from their metropolis. The firft places in 
the public folemnities, their games, See. belonged to citi¬ 
zens of their refpeftive metropolis. It was alfo the cuf- 
tom for the colonies to adorn the temples of their an¬ 
cient country with confiderable prefents, fuch as the fpoils 
of enemies, trophies, ftatues, and other embellishments ; 
and it was alSo ufual for the greater number of the Greek 
cities to pay a yearly tribute of certain meafures of grain 
to that of Athens. Among the profitable rights we may 
reckon the following: the citizens of the metropolis had 
power of forming alliances, contrafting marriages, See. 
without having their children ccnfidered as Strangers; 
they had likewife the power of purchafmg land, and 
other commodities, in the territory of the colonies; the 
rights of hofpitality took place between the metropolis 
and its colonies ; and, moreover, the metropolis had a 
right of appointing legislators for their colonies, establish¬ 
ing their form of government, and reviving certain prac¬ 
tices that had been abolished : they might alfo fend new 
citizens into their colonies, who might Share in common 
the benefits of the ancient colonists: generals were fome¬ 
times obtained from the metropolis, and new establish¬ 
ments required its fanftioti; but the moft important right 
was that of demanding Succour from its colonies in time 
of war, both of Soldiers and of Ships, and affording an 
afylum to the citizen^ of the befieged metropolis. Belides 
thefe general privileges, fome metropoles had peculiar 
claims on their colonies. The metropolis, on the other 
hand, had certain fervices which they were required to 
perform on behalf of their colonies ; and, if they failed, 
the colonies were justified in withdrawing from them their 
refpeft and obedience. 
The title of metropolis was lefs regarded among the 
ancient Romans; for, though they multiplied their colo¬ 
nies, they had but one metropolis, wdiich was Rome ; and, 
as this was the firft city of an immenfe empire, they con¬ 
sidered the inhabitants of colonies merely as fubjedts. In 
general, however, they regarded as metropoles the cities 
which we call capitals, and thefe were places in which 
were held the general affemblies of the province, or where 
exifted tribunals of the laft refort. 
^Metropolis is alfo applied to archiepifcopal churches, 
and fometimes to the principal or mother-church of a city. 
The Roman empire having been divided into thirteen 
dioceles, and one hundred and twenty provinces, each 
dioceie and each province had its metropolis, or capital 
city, where the proconful, or the vicar of the empire, had 
his residence. To this civil division the ecclefiaftical was 
afterwards adapted ; and the bifhop of the capital city had 
the direction of affairs, and the pre-eminence over all the 
bishops of the province. His refidence in the metropolis 
gave him the title of metropolitan. The erection of me¬ 
tropolitans is referred to the end of the third century, 
and was confirmed by the council of Nice. 
METROPOLITAN,/! [ynetropolitanus, Lat.] A bifhop 
of the mother-church ; an archbifhop.—He was promoted 
to Canterbury upon the death of Dr. Bancroft, that 
metropolitan who underftood the church excellently, and 
countenanced men of the greatest parts in learning. 
Clarendon. 
METROPOLITAN, adj. Belonging to a metropolis.— 
Their patriarch, of a covetous defire to enrich himSelf, 
had forborn to institute' metropolitan bifhops. Raleigh. 
METROPOLIT'ICAL, adj. [from metropolis.'] Chief 
or principal of cities.—He fearing the power of the Chris¬ 
tians was gone as far as Gratia, the metrapolitical city of 
Stiria. Knol[ts. 
METROP'TASIS, 
