PART I.

most part

subject to

arch of

III. That part of the Greek church which ac- CENT. knowledges the jurisdiction of the bishop of Con- XVI. stantinople, is divided, as in the early ages of SECT. III. Christianity, into four large districts or provinces, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jeru- Is for the salem, over every one of which a bishop presides with the title of Patriarch, whom the inferior the patribishops and monastic orders unanimously respect Constantias their common Father. But the supreme chief nople, of all these patriarchs, bishops, and abbots, and generally speaking, of the whole church, is the patriarch of Constantinople. This prelate has the privilege of nominating the other patriarchs, though that dignity still continues, elective, and of approving the election that is made; nor is there any thing of moment undertaken or transacted in the church without his express permission, or his especial order. It is true indeed, that, in the present decayed state of the Greek churches, whose revenues are so small, and whose former opulence is reduced almost to nothing, their spiritual rulers enjoy little more than the splendid title of Patriarchs, without being in a condition to extend their fame, or promote their cause, by any undertaking of signal importance.

ded into

districts

IV. The spiritual jurisdiction and dominion of and is divithe patriarch of Constantinople are very extensive, four procomprehending a considerable part of Greece, the vinces or Grecian Isles, Wallachia, Mouldavia, and several here deof the European and Asiatic provinces that are scribed. subject to the Turk. The patriarch of Alexandria resides generally at Cairo, and exercises his spiritual authority in Egypt, Nubia, Lybia, and part of Arabia [o]. Damascus is the principal residence of

[o] For an account of the patriarchate of Alexandria, and the various prelates who have filled that see, it will be proper to consult Sollerii Commentar. de Patriarchis Alexandrinis, which is prefixed to the fifth volume of the Acta Sanctorum,

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Mensis

SECT. III.

PART I.

CENT. of the patriarch of Antioch, whose jurisdiction exXVI. tends to Mesopotamia, Syria, Cilicia, and other provinces [p], while the patriarch of Jerusalem comprehends, within the bounds of his pontificate, Palestine, Syria, [q], Arabia, the country beyond Jordan, Cana in Galilee, and mount Sion [r]. The

Mensis Junii; as also the Oriens Christianus of Le Quien, tom. ii. p. 329. The nature of their office, the extent of their authority, and the manner of their creation, are accurately described by Eus. Renaudot, in his Dissertatio de Patriarcha Alexandrino, which is published in the first volume of his Liturgia Orientales, p. 365. The Grecian patriarch has, at this day, no bishops under his jurisdiction; the charepiscopi or rural bishops alone are subject to his authority. All the bishops acknowledge as their chief the patriarch of the Monophysites, who is, in effect, the patriarch of Alexandria.

[p] The Jesuits have prefixed a particular and learned account of the patriarchs of Antioch to the fifth volume of the Acta SS. Mensis Julii, in which, however, there are some omissions and defects. Add to this the account that is given of the district or diocese of the patriarch of Antioch, by Milch. Le Quien, in his Oriens Christianus, tom. ii. p. 670, and by Blasius Tertius, in his "Siria Sacra, ò Descrittione, Historico. Geographica delle due Chiese Patriarchali, Antiochia, et Gierusalemme," published in folio at Rome, in the year 1695. There are three bishops in Syria, which claim the title and dignity of patriarch of Antioch. The first is the bishop of the Melchites, a name given to the Christians in Syria, who follow the doctrine, institutions, and worship of the Greek church; the second is the spiritual guide of the Syrian Monophysites; and the third is the chief of the Maronites, who hold communion with the church of Rome. This last bishop pretends to be the true and lawful patriarch of Antioch, and is acknowledged as such, or at least receives this denomination from the Roman pontiff. And yet it is certain, that the pope creates at Rome a patriarch of Antioch of his own choice. So that the see of Antioch has, at this day, four patriarchs, one from the Greeks, two from the Syrians, and one created at Rome, who is patriarch in partibus, i. e. titular patriarch, according to the signification of that usual phrase.

[q] Syria is here erroneously placed in the patriarchate of Jerusalem, as it evidently belongs to that of Antioch, in which also Dr. Mosheim places it in the preceding sentence. [r] Blas. Tertii Siria, Sacra. lib. ii. p. 165. D. Papeprochii Comment. de Patriarch. Hierosolym, tom. iii. Actor. Sanct. Mens. Maii.-Le Quien, Oriens. Christ. tom. iii.

p. 102.

XVI.

SECT. III.

PART I.

The episcopal dominion of these three patriarchs CENT. are indeed extremely poor and inconsiderable; for the Monophysites have long since assumed the patriarchal seats of Alexandria and Antioch, and have deprived the Greek churches of the greatest part of their members in all those places where they gained an ascendant. And as Jerusalem is the resort of Christians of every sect, who have their respective bishops and rulers, that jurisdiction of the Grecian patriarchs is consequently confined there within narrow limits.

stantinople.

V. The right of electing the patriarch of Con- The patristantinople is, at this day, vested in the twelve archof Conbishops who reside nearest that famous capital; but the right of confirming this election, and of enabling the new chosen patriarch to exercise his spiritual functions, belong only to the Turkish emperor. This institution, however, if it is not entirely overturned, is nevertheless, on many occasions, prostituted in a shameful manner by the corruption and avarice of the reigning ministers. Thus it happens, that many bishops, inflamed with the ambitious lust of power and pre-eminence, purchase by money what they cannot obtain by merit; and seeing themselves excluded from the patriarchal dignity by the suffrages of their brethren, find an open and ready way to it by the mercenary services of men in power. Nay, what is yet more deplorable has frequently happened; even that prelates, who have been chosen in the lawful way to this eminent office, have been deposed, in order to make way for others, whose only pretensions were ambition and bribery. And indeed, generally speaking, he is looked upon by the Turkish vizirs as the most qualified for the office of patriarch, who surpasses his competitors in the number and value of the presents he employs on that occasion. It is true, some accounts worthy of credit represent the present state of the Greek

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PART I.

CENT. Greek church as advantageously changed in this XVI. respect; and it is reported, that, as the Turkish SECT. III. manners have gradually assumed a milder and more humane cast, the patriarchs live under their dominion with more security and repose than they did some ages ago [s].

The power of the patriarch among a people dispirited by oppression, and sunk, through their extreme ignorance, into the greatest superstition, must undoubtedly be very considerable and extensive; and such, indeed, it is. Its extent, however, is not entirely owing to the causes now mentioned, but to others that give no small weight and lustre to the patriarchal dignity. For this prelate does not only call councils by his own authority, in order to decide, by their assistance, the controversies that arise, and to make use of their prudent advice and wise deliberations in directing the affairs of the church; his prerogatives go yet farther, and, by the special permission of the emperor, he administers justice and takes cognizance of civil causes among the members of his communion. His influence is maintained, on the one hand, by the authority of the Turkish monarch, and, on the other, by his right of excommunicating the disobedient members of the Greek church. This right gives the patriarchs a singular degree of influence and authority, as nothing has a more terrifying aspect to that people than a sentence of excommunication, which they reckon among the greatest and most tremendous evils. The revenue of this prelate is drawn particularly from the churches that are subject to his jurisdiction; and its produce varies according to the state and circumstances of the Greek

[s] Le Quien, ibid. tom. i. p. 145.-Elsner, Beschreibungder Griechischen Christen in der Turckey, p. 54.

Greek Christians, whose condition is exposed to CENT. many vicissitudes [t].

XVI. SECT. III.

PART I.

trine of the

VI. The holy scriptures and the decrees of the first seven general councils are acknowledged by the Greeks as the rule of their faith. It is received, The dochowever, as a maxim established by long custom, Greek that no private person has a right to explain, for church. himself or others, either the declarations of scrip'ture, or the decisions of these councils; and that the patriarch, with his brethren, are alone authorised to consult these oracles, and to declare their meaning. And, accordingly, the declarations of this prelate are looked upon as sacred and infallible directions, whose authority is supreme, and which can neither be transgressed nor disregarded without the utmost impiety. The substance of the doctrine of the Greek church is contained in a treatise entitled, The orthodox confession of the catholic and apostolic eastern church, which was drawn up by Peter Mogislaus, bishop of Kiow, in a provincial council assembled in that city. This confession was translated into Greek [u], and publicly approved and adopted, in the year 1643, by Parthenius of Constantinople, and all the other Grecian patriarchs. It was afterwards published in Greek and Latin, at the expence of Panagiota, the Turkish emperor's interpreter, a man of great opulence and liberality, who ordered it to be distributed gratis among the Greek Christians;

[t] Ceper, a Jesuit, has given a History of the Patriarchs of Constantinople, in the Acta Sanctorum Mensis Augusti, tom. i. p. 1-257. There is also a very ample account both of the see of Constantinople and its patriarchs, in the first volume of the Oriens Christianus of Mich. Le Quien, who treats moreover of the Latin patriarchs of that city, in the third volume of the same work, p. 786. See also a brief account of the power and revenues of the present patriarch, and of the names of the several sees under his spiritual jurisdiction, in Smith, De Eccles. Græciæ Hodierno Statu, p. 48-59.

[u] It was originally composed in the Russian language.