The Nestorians and their Rituals/Volume 1/Chapter 18
CHAPTER XVIII.
Before leaving for the Tyari country I had begun to fit up a small chapel in my own house for the use of our mission and the few English residents at Mosul, and my first care on my return from the mountains was to see it completed. Here we assembled daily, morning and evening, whilst in every other respect we endeavoured to conform strictly to the injunctions of our ritual. The moral effect of this measure upon the native Christians equalled our expectations. It brought before them in a tangible and unmistakeable form our service and discipline, and numbers who visited the chapel generally left with some remark of this kind: "We now see that what we have been told about the English, of their having no churches, no altar, no Eucharist, and no regularly ordained priesthood, is untrue."
Shortly after my return from the mountains we had associated with us, at the recommendation of the Lord Bishop of London and the Lord Bishop of Gibraltar, two Eastern ecclesiastics, Kas Michael Giamala, formerly of the convent of Rabban Hormuzd, and Kas Botros Hazaz, ex-superior of one of the convents in Mount Lebanon, the former a Chaldean and the latter a papal Syrian priest, who were refused communion in their own churches on account of their reformed opinions. Kas Michael I found to be a first-rate Syriac scholar, and intimately acquainted with the Chaldean rituals, and Kas Botros was equally well versed in the Arabic and in the Syriac of the papal Syrians and Jacobites. The nature of our further missionary proceedings may be gathered from the following extracts of a report to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, dated Mosul, June 15th, 1843.
"Our united efforts have been more successful than we anticipated: no less than fifty Chaldean families have declared themselves opposed to the Pope's assumed authority over their Church, and to the innovations which have been introduced among them during the last forty years, and these are now importuning us to form them into a separate congregation with Kas Michael as their curate. They do not desire to become proselytes to our Church, to adopt our ritual, or to come under the jurisdiction of our Primate, nor have we sought to induce them to throw off any of those ecclesiastical customs and ceremonies peculiar to their Church and community, acting in this respect in accordance with the principle sanctioned in our Thirty-fourth Article; but what has been added to, or taken from the faith and discipline of their forefathers they wish to expunge and restore, the heresy of Nestorius always excepted. The question now is, whether the Church at home will assist them in carrying out this reform, for without our help they must remain where they are, return back to Rome, or relapse into infidelity, either of which alternatives is greatly to be deprecated. Any attempt to open schools among the Chaldeans, while they remain within the pale of the Roman Church, is out of the question: the Papists here have schools of their own, nor will they here any more than elsewhere allow their children or people to avail themselves of our teaching either through the medium of schools or of books. It remains, therefore, for the Church to decide whether she will sanction our taking the initiatory measures for organizing a community of reformed Chaldeans, such as purchasing a house, fitting up a chapel, and engaging a deacon or more to assist Kas Michael, as their spiritual necessities may require. In connection with this congregation it should be our care, as it is a measure greatly desired by the well-disposed Chaldeans themselves, to establish a school wherein their children should receive such instruction as may fit them to become useful members in the Church of their forefathers.
"The idea has occurred to me more than once of opening our own chapel to the Chaldean congregation; but there are several reasons arising out of the political condition of the Christians in the Ottoman Empire, as well as the desirableness of making it appear to all that we aim at no final amalgamation of the two Churches, Anglican and Chaldean, or of subjecting any of the Eastern communities to our ecclesiastical obedience, which convince me that such a step would be imprudent, and tend greatly to defeat the object which we have in view.
"I have said little in my former communications respecting the Jacobite Syrians at Mosul; but since the arrival of Kas Botros our intercourse with them has been more frequent. The result, so far, has been a distinct offer on the part of the rector of one of the two parishes into which the town is divided, to receive the decrees of the council of Chalcedon, and to erase from their offices all passages against the orthodox faith and language. Upwards of a hundred families, one priest, and several deacons, are ready to follow the example of their rector when the Church at home shall pledge herself to afford them that assistance which they will require in their new position. In this case there will be no necessity for fitting up a chapel, as the right of the congregation to the parish church will hardly be disputed. … It therefore remains for the Church to authorize us to reconcile these Jacobites, and to give us whatever directions she may deem necessary for our future labours among them.
"I am still in communication with Mar Shimoon, the patriarch of the Nestorians; but such is the present disturbed state of the Christians in the Tyari, occasioned by the late and continued efforts of the Hakkari Emeer to rob them of their little remaining independence, that no fixed plan of operation can be successfully attempted among them, until their political condition is more favourable. We are not inactive, however, with regard to their interests generally, and are not without hope, if the will of God permit, that our efforts may eventually lead to the restoration of the Nestorians to the Catholic Church of Christ."
Early in the month of May I received a letter from Mar Shimoon, in which he informed me that the combined forces of Bedr Khan Beg and the Hakkari Emeer were about to make war upon the Nestorians, or to attack the Berwari district within the jurisdiction of Mohammed Pasha of Mosul, and to charge them with the invasion. On the 4th of June I received another letter in which the Patriarch thus describes the execution of this long-projected scheme: "If you inquire after our weal, be it known unto you that the Hakkari Emeer, Ismael Pasha, Bedr Khan Beg, and Tatar Khan Agha, the chief of the Artushii Coords, combined against us, and on the great feast of the Ascension made a sudden irruption into our territory, carried off an immense booty in sheep belonging to Melek Ismaeel and other of our people, murdered a number of men, women, and children, cut off their ears and sent them to Bedr Khan Beg. Moreover, we learn that they are preparing for a second onslaught, when they intend to burn, kill, destroy, and if possible, exterminate the Christian race from the mountains. From this you may see that what befel Job has fallen to our lot: our sons and daughters have been slain with the edge of the sword, and our flocks, herds, and property have become the prey of our enemies."
The worst fears of Mar Shimoon of a second attack upon the Christians were soon realized. The combined Coordish forces now advanced from the province of Dez into the Tyari country. Their passage of the Zab was warmly contested; but overpowered by numbers the Nestorians were obliged to give way, and the fierce invaders advanced towards the villages, burning and otherwise destroying whatever came within their reach. As an instance of the revolting barbarity of these infidels, I shall mention the following: The aged mother of Mar Shimoon was seized by them in Dez, and after having practised upon her the most abominable atrocities, they cut her body into two parts and threw it into the Zab, saying the meanwhile: "Go and carry to your son the intelligence that the same fate awaits him." Many women and children were taken captive during this second onslaught, most of whom were sent to Jezeerah to be sold as slaves, or to be bestowed as presents upon influential Mohammedans. No quarter was given to the men, and there remained no safety for the vanquished but in flight. Numbers fled to the almost inaccessible fastnesses of the mountains, whilst others took refuge in the Berwari districts, where an almost similar fate awaited them. Mar Shimoon, accompanied by one of his brothers, two attendants, Kash' Auraha and his family, effected their escape to Mosul, which they reached on the 27th of July. The Patriarch's party were hospitably received by Mr. Rassam into the British Vice Consulate, and the archdeacon and his family became part of our household.
But I cannot better describe the ravages committed by the Coords upon the unfortunate Nestorians, and the appeal made by the Patriarch for help, than by laying before my readers the following copy of a letter written by Mar Shimoon to the Archbishop and Bishops of the English Church, and forwarded by me to his Grace the Primate on the 12th of August, 1843.
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"From Mar Shimoon, by the grace of God, Patriarch of the Chaldeans in the East, to our most reverend and dearly beloved brethren, the good shepherds, Mar William, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Catholicos of England, Mar James, Bishop of London, and all our brethren, the reverend Bishops of the orthodox English Church, the successors of the Apostles, the master builders of the churches, and the confirmers of the true Christian faith—Peace.
"God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should be saved. And this Only-begotten (to whom be worship) has given us an especial precept, saying: A new commandment I give unto you, that ye should love one another. And again: By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, &c. Also when He commenced His Divine ministry, He gave us an example whereunto to conform ourselves, saying: Greater love than this can no man have, than that a man should lay down his life for his friends. And truly, my brethren, love is stronger than death; and we may well say this, since you have desired to inquire after our state, being prompted to do so by your wishes for the union of spiritual love, which love has been broken off since the fourth century until now through the envy of those who hate what is good, and the malice of the scatterer of Christ's flock which our Saviour purchased with His most precious blood. And we may truly say for our own part, that had not the Lord left us a remnant we should have been even as Sodom, and like unto Gomorrah. Yet hath not all this befallen us otherwise than by the Divine permission. And now we may say that the measure is full, and is running over; for, as saith the Divine Apostle: Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; yet it is not of him that willeth, neither of him that runneth, but of God which showeth mercy.
"And now we would briefly describe to you our condition, since you have requested to know the same from us. Be it then known unto you that, by the grace of God, we are holding fast the true faith of the Apostles, as it has been transmitted to us by the holy Fathers, and by the general councils; and that until now we have kept ourselves clean from all heretical defilement, having strong hope that we may continue established in this faith until the second coming of the Messiah, since we have the promise from the mouth of God: Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world. But you are not ignorant that from the fourth to the end of the seventh century the Lord gave Asia into the hands of the Greeks, and during this interval the country was distracted, and the Church separated into different communities of Chaldeans, Syrians, Greeks, Copts, Armenians, Maronites, and others, and when Islamism was introduced all Christians were oppressed and persecuted, becoming slaves to the Moslems when before they were as the kings of the earth. And in the fierceness of the persecution all the true and orthodox shepherds were destroyed, the colleges and schools abolished; and especially did this evil take place in our Eastern parts, so that knowledge perished therefrom. After this came the ravenous wolves in sheep's clothing, who, having found a seasonable opportunity, began to preach up the papal supremacy, and the universal jurisdiction of Rome. And seventy years ago these wolves came hither also, and have caused the sheep to stray from the fold, and by their sophistical treachery have they led away the flock, so that they obey not the staff of the true and lawful Shepherd. Nor do these deceivers cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord levelled out for us by the Saviour Himself and His holy Apostles.
"But as we dwell apart from these in a separate country called Tyari, these wolves have not as yet been able to come to us. Such was our condition, remaining in our own country in perfect peace and security, when about three years since persons came to us from the new world called America, and represented themselves to us as true Catholic Christians; but when we became acquainted with their way, we found that they held several errors, since they deny the order of the Priesthood committed to us by our Lord, nor do they receive the œcumenical councils of the Church, nor the true traditions of the holy Fathers, nor the efficacy of the sacraments of salvation, which Christ hath bequeathed to His Church, viz. Baptism and the holy Eucharist; on which account we must beware of their working among us. But when your messenger, the pious presbyter George came to us, and delivered into our hands your letters, we were filled with joy when we read their contents, and learned therefrom your spiritual and temporal prosperity. Whereupon we gave thanks to God, since before we had thought within ourselves what thought Elijah the prophet, when he said: They have slain Thy prophets, thrown down Thy altars, and I even I only am left; but when we saw that the Lord had reserved to Himself many thousands who had not bent the knee to Baal, and these in the Land of Angels,[1] we exulted and rejoiced, and gave thanks to the Most High. And we have now given up all others that we may be united with you in brotherhood and true Christian love. And this our confidence was awakened in us, when we became acquainted with your truly evangelical faith, clearly made known to us by your presbyter George. And since he in his praiseworthy and excellent conversation has apprised us of your great love towards us, we would make your brotherhood acquainted with the grievous afflictions which have lately befallen us.
"Be it then known unto you, brethren, that during the last two months, the enemies of the truth,—the tyrannical Ishmaelites of Coordistan,—have risen up against us, and have almost put an end to the Christians dwelling in the provinces of Tyari and Dez. They have smitten our priests and deacons with the edge of the sword, and have slain men, women, and children, without distinction, and the remnant, even a great multitude, they have carried away into captivity. Our churches and monasteries, wherein God was wont to be glorified, and His praises resounded at the offering up of the holy Eucharist and the appointed seasons of common prayer, have these infidels razed to the ground; and now, instead of prayer and praise is heard the loud voice of the Hanafites [Mohammedans] uttering blasphemies against the religion of Christ. Not content with the destruction of our churches, they have despoiled them of the holy vessels, the patens, and chalices, with the vestments, which they have defiled, and now our inheritance has passed into the hand of strangers, and our homes to those of infidels. We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers are as widows, our necks are under persecution, we labour and have no rest. We have given the hand to the Hakkari Emeer and the Beg of Jezeerah to be satisfied with bread. Truly our fathers have sinned, and we have borne their iniquities; servants bear rule over us, and there is none to deliver us out of their hand. They have ravished the women in Tyari, and the maids in the villages of Dez; our princes have been hung up by the hand, and the faces of our elders were not honoured; our elders have ceased from the gates, and our young men from their music. The joy of our hearts is gone, and our dances are turned into mourning. The crown is fallen from our heads. Woe unto us that we have sinned! For this our heart is faint, for these things our eyes are dim,—because the mountain of our Zion in Tyari is desolate. Moreover, they have destroyed all our books.
"This being our case, we beseech you to stir up your Christian care and zeal, and to assist us in our poverty by your benevolence and overflowing charity springing out, as it is written, from a cheerful heart, so that we may be enabled to re-build our churches and monasteries, and you will be the praiseworthy means of supporting and preserving our community now persecuted by the Gentiles, who hate the truth. And if it should please God to grant us through you a safe return to our home and office, we shall be, as it were, drowned in the sea of your bounty, and be enabled to recompense you in any way, since your help will bind us in obligation to you for ever. But the reward of the merciful is with God, nor shall even a cup of cold water be forgotten by Him. On this subject we would repeat to you the words of the righteous Job, saying: Have pity upon us, have pity upon us, ye our friends, and according to your ability help us; for the wise man saith: that the friend is known in adversity. And let this much suffice for your love. Finally, may the Lord Jesus guard and protect you. Amen.
"Written on Friday, the 30th day of Tammooz, in the city of Mosul, in the house of the presbyter George your deputy, in the year of our Lord 1843, and of the Grecian Era 2154, by the weak hands of the sinful presbyter Auraham of Tyari, the servant and archdeacon of Mar Shimoon."
l. s.
Sir Stratford Canning having been made acquainted with the untoward condition of the mountain Nestorians, used all his efforts with the Porte to obtain a cessation of hostilities and the immediate release of the captives. Mr. Rassam, on his part, zealously carried out the instructions of his Excellency, by pressing upon the local authorities the duty of preventing any further slaughter, and by doing all in his power to alleviate the distresses of this unfortunate people. Mohammed Pasha, however, refused to interfere, stating that the Coords had acted under orders from the Pasha of Erzeroom. The Pasha of Baghdad, on being applied to on the subject, directed the Pasha of Mosul to demand the slaves from Bedr Khan Beg; this he refused to do, saying that that functionary ought to make the demand himself. Thus the task was shifted from one to the other, while the poor Nestorians were languishing in captivity at Jezeerah. Mr. Rassam himself wrote to Ismael Pasha, whose family was living upon his bounty at Mosul, begging him to intercede for the release of Mar Shimoon's brothers, sister, and two other female relations. The Coord testified his gratitude in this instance and procured their liberation; but they were not allowed to join the Patriarch. About this time a Nestorian boy and girl were sent as a present by Bedr Khan Beg to the Kaim Makâm, or lieutenant governor of Mosul, and the sum of 27,000 piastres to Mohammed Pasha, clearly proving that these functionaries were not averse to receiving a share of the ill-gotten booty. Mr. Rassam strove to procure the liberation of the children, and fearing that he might succeed, the crafty Mohammedan sent them back to Jezeerah. Through the untiring efforts of our excellent ambassador a vizirial letter was now sent to the Pasha of Mosul, directing him to obtain the release of the captives; and Mr. Rassam having called upon him to fulfil the imperial mandate, he flatly denied having received any such order, and manifested the greatest indifference to all the appeals which were made to him on this head.
Let us now turn to notice what was going on in the mountains. The house belonging to the American missionaries at Asheetha had been seized by the invaders, and turned into a fortress by the addition of four turrets and other fortifications.[2] Ziner Beg was stationed here with a force of 400 Coords, and from this strong position practised the most barbarous cruelties upon the villagers of Tyari. The Nestorians bore his tyranny patiently for some time, but being promised assistance by several Coordish chiefs east of the Great Zab, in the month of October they attacked the garrison, slew twenty of their number, and besieged the remainder for the space of six days. On promising that they would immediately surrender and evacuate the fortress they were supplied with water by the Christians, when suddenly defying their besiegers a fresh conflict succeeded. In the midst of these renewed hostilities a company of 200 cavalry arrived from Bedr Khan Beg, and turned the fortunes of the day. The Nestorians taken by surprise were completely routed, no quarter was given, and men, women, and children fell in one common massacre. The slaughter on this occasion surpassed the former, the village was fired, and three bags of ears were cut off from the wounded, the dying, and the dead, and sent as a trophy to Bedr Khan Beg. While these outrages were being perpetrated upon the Tyari Christians, Mohammed Pasha had a large force stationed at Amedia, waiting, it was said, to take possession of the country should the Nestorians have succeeded in driving out the Coords.
A large number of Nestorians now escaped to Mosul and the surrounding villages. The condition of these unfortunate fugitives was deplorable in the extreme: many of them were almost naked, and all were driven to beg their bread from door to door. Mr. Rassam exerted himself to save them from any annoyance on the part of the Turks, and generously supplied the necessities of a considerable portion of them. The American missionaries took the care of about twenty, whilst, depending upon the charity of our societies, I hired a house and lodged and provided for the wants of from forty to sixty.[3] My sister, Mrs. Rassam, and Mrs. Badger were industriously engaged in making clothes for the poor women and children, and in otherwise sympathizing with them in their afflictions. The local authorities in the meantime refused any assistance, and continued to manifest the same indifference to the sufferings of the Nestorians.
The renewed hostilities in the mountains having been communicated to Sir S. Canning, fresh orders were sent out by the Porte to the different governors in these districts to obtain the release of the captives. Mohammed Pasha at length acknowledged that he had received orders to that effect, but at the same time had been enjoined to treat the Emeer of Buhtân with great lenity. About the middle of December he despatched the Kaim Makâm to Jezeerah on this mission, and sent by him a horse and silver trappings as a present to Bedr Khan Beg. A month after this forty-five captives, chiefly young women and children of both sexes were floated down on a raft to Mosul and brought to the British Vice-Consulate, where as many as two hundred Nestorians had assembled, all anxious to recognize the fond face of some dear relative of whose fate they were doubtful. It was a heart-rending scene which will never pass from my memory. Here a husband embraced his lost wife, there another heard that the partner of his bosom was still a slave; children ran to the arms of their mothers who wept over them with a parent's joy, whilst others heard the sad tidings that their offspring had been either sold, or slain by the hands of the infidels, or had thrown themselves into the Tigris to escape dishonour. A few little ones stood alone in the crowd whom no one seemed to claim: there were three sweet children among these who alternately wept and laughed as they saw those around them sad or joyful. Their tender age, their winning simplicity, their innocent unconsciousness, softened the hearts of several Mohammedan spectators, and I saw more than one shed tears over the fate of these unfortunate Christians. Two of the children, named Gool Yama and Rendi (the "flower of the sea" and "pretty,") became part of our own household, whilst my sister took charge of the third. Some of the remainder were added to those for whom we had already provided a separate dwelling, and the rest were taken by Mr. Rassam, who now hired a spacious Khan for their accommodation.
There still remained upwards of a hundred captives at Jezeerah, but these Bedr Khan Beg refused to surrender, on the ground that they had either become private property by purchase, or had embraced Islamism. Many more were scattered about in many parts, and were reclaimed by the unwearied exertions of Mr. Rassam, who despatched agents on this errand all over the country, so that by the end of January, he had procured the release of more than sixty Nestorians. In February 1844, Kemal Effendi, a Turkish commissioner appointed by the Porte, reached Mosul, and was soon after followed by Mr. R. Stevens, then Vice-Consul of Samsoon, who was directed to co-operate with him in obtaining the liberation of the captives, and in such other measures as might tend to the safety of the Nestorians in the mountains. Kemal Effendi had an interview with Bedr Khan Beg and obtained the release of forty or fifty captives; but it was evident from the after proceedings of this commission that the Turkish government was averse to any coercive or strong measures being adopted against this formidable chieftain. Notwithstanding the presence of Kemal Effendi at Mosul, the Nestorians of the mountains were still persecuted by the Coords, whilst the refuges in the city and surrounding villages were harassed by the Romish missionaries, who used the most questionable means to draw them over to their creed. A large sum of money, understood to have been sent by the French Ambassador at Constantinople, to relieve the wants of the fugitives, was placed in the hands of the priests, who distributed the alms at the church doors, in order to induce the Nestorians to frequent their services. Even Mar Shimoon was tempted in this way, and two agents were sent to him by Mar Zeyya, the Chaldean Patriarch, while he was at my house, and during my absence, who offered, on the part of their employer, that he would abdicate his dignity in favour of Mar Shimoon, and give him the jurisdiction over all the Chaldeans, and a sum of £800, if he consented to submit to the see of Rome. Moreover it was proposed by the papal party, that the government should be solicited to settle the Nestorians in the plains, and French agency strongly abetted a scheme which promised to bring this ancient community more within the reach of the political influence of the one and the ecclesiastical control of the other. Intrigues such as these were rife at this time; but so far as my information extends scarcely one proselyte was permanently added to the ranks of the Chaldeans during the sojourn of the Nestorians at Mosul.[4]
In order not to break the thread of the narrative, I have brought down the above summary of the Nestorian affairs, consequent upon their invasion by the Coords, to the time of our departure from Mosul early in May, and shall now retrace my steps to resume the account of our missionary proceedings up to that period. As I consider it more satisfactory to do this by quotations from our reports to the Gospel Propagation Society, the reader must pardon any repetition which this plan may entail.
In the month of August, we received a letter from the Committee, after they had read our two first communications, to the effect, that the Society declined acceding to our propositions, first, for want of funds, and secondly, because they never contemplated a permanent mission at Mosul. In consequence of this intimation, I forwarded to the Society another report, dated 23rd September, 1843, from which I extract the following:
"What effect the statement contained in my reports respecting our labours hitherto, and the means which we have put into operation for carrying out the spirit of our instructions, may have in leading the Church at home to prolong the residence of her agents here, to extend her original intentions towards the Christian communities in this region, or to withdraw them altogether, I hope you will not fail to communicate the same to us whenever she shall have passed her decision on the subject. In my former letters, I have given a full account of our proceedings; but it may not be out of place to recapitulate what we have done, and are still doing, in order that the Church may be the better able to judge what course it would be most expedient for us to pursue under the existing circumstances of the Christians to whom we are sent.[5]
"In the first place, we have endeavoured to the utmost of our power, to redeem the honour and orthodoxy of our holy Church from the wicked aspersions of her enemies, and the combined and almost equally baneful influence of schismatics, who, by identifying themselves and the irregular efforts of their respective societies with the Church of England, have led the Eastern Christians generally to consider her a promiscuous assembly of individuals, bearing indeed the Christian name, but divided into numberless sects, each holding an independent Creed, and acknowledging no other than human authority,—without any uniform liturgy, ritual, or discipline. This we have done by seeking opportunities to make known the doctrine and apostolical order of our Church, wherever we have travelled, and by opening our house at all times to the numerous visitors who frequent it from the town and country, and by distributing many copies of our Book of Common Prayer in Arabic to such as have asked for them. But the most effectual means to this end has been the opening of our little chapel, wherein we have carried out into practice the excellent order of our services. The daily matins and vespers, and the weekly celebration of the holy Eucharist, with a rigid observance of our festivals and fasts, have done more to make known the spirit of our Church than any other measure that could have been adopted. Numbers from the town and villages, have been present on various occasions, and since the unfortunate massacre, Mar Shimoon and many of his people from the mountains have had frequent opportunities of witnessing our order, and of commending it as true, primitive, and apostolical. … We have moreover distributed seven of the nine cases of the Holy Scriptures which we brought out with us, besides supplying schools and many private individuals with elementary treatises printed at the press of the Church Missionary Society at Malta.
"These efforts on our part have tended greatly to strengthen that portion of the Chaldean community who desire to restore the independence of their Church; but not having been confined to any particular denomination of Christians, they have had also a more general effect in weakening the hold which Rome has acquired over the greater portion of the Christian population in these districts.
"Agreeably with our instructions I very early entered into correspondence with Mutran Elîa of Alkôsh, the rightful successor to the Chaldean patriarchate according to the custom prevalent among the Nestorians, and by him we were encouraged to labour among his people, while he for the present declined taking any active part toward recovering his rights, or of openly co-operating with us. … But a great difficulty exists against any attempt to restore the patriarchal dignity to the old line, a difficulty arising out of the personal character of Mutran Elîa himself, which has proved a great source of discouragement to those who really desire that the Church should be freed from the Papal jurisdiction and restored to its original purity (Nestorianism always excepted) and independence. I have already given you an epitome of Mutran Elîa's early history, his embracing Nestorianism, and return to Popery, and the indifference with which he is treated by the ruling Papal party. Since exerting ourselves so much for his advancement and the freedom of his people, I have had several interviews with him, but find him so timid and supine that we almost despair of his ever coming forward to claim the patriarchate. He is naturally wanting in moral courage, and the ill-treatment which he and his family have received from the Papal party has rendered him doubly so. … All this while he is opposed to the encroachments of Rome, and I believe sincerely desirous that his people should be freed from its yoke, yet with all this no further effort can be made on his behalf unless he will come forward and act for himself. Whereas, on the one hand, his timidity and hesitancy have seriously affected the courage and cooled the zeal wherewith he would otherwise have been supported by a good portion of the Chaldean community; on the other, it has served to encourage the Romanists to greater assumptions and inspired them with a determination to put down, if possible, the spirit of reform manifested among the people at any cost. On this account it is that many who consort with us have had their taxes doubled, and have suffered other losses and indignities, for which they can expect no redress while the Papal party among the Chaldeans is recognised by the government as the Chaldean Church.
"The Church will at once perceive the difficulty in which we are placed by these circumstances: a difficulty which has hitherto prevented us from making any more direct efforts among the Chaldeans until we receive directions from home, or until by the providence of God the way shall be made plain and open for our further interference. I am persuaded that the Church would hardly sanction any ulterior measures which we might use to raise an individual, so little to be depended upon and so little respected by the generality of the Chaldeans, as Mutran Elîa, to the patriarchal dignity; nor do I believe that she would approve of any attempt on our part to create a schism by drawing over a number from their present spiritual rulers for the purpose of forming them into a distinct community. Besides the irregularity of such a proceeding, there are political difficulties in the way of its accomplishment which would render any means to this end abortive.[6]
"In connection with the Nestorians of Tyari we have also been labouring, with the sanction and co-operation of Mar Shimoon, among those who still people many villages in the province of Bahdinân. Kasha Mendu of Amedia has been engaged by us for some time in teaching the few Nestorian children in that town. Kasha Narsi, the priest of Inishk, in the valley of the Supna, who went over to Rome two years ago and had been followed by all the villagers, has since repented, and is now engaged by us in instructing his people and their children in the orthodox faith. Priest Gheorghees of Asheetha, who accompanied Mar Shimoon in his flight to Mosul, has been sent by me to the village of Musakan, in Upper Berwari, to take the care of the refugees from Tyari who have peopled it. He is also engaged to teach the children, and does occasional duty in one or two neighbouring villages which are destitute of clergy. He took with him letters from the Patriarch to Mar Yeshua-yau of Doori, the Bishop of the diocese in which Musakan is situated, requesting him to sanction the appointment. Having lately heard of several villages near Akra, who still maintained their ancient creed, and refused to submit to Mutran Yoosef, the Chaldean Bishop of Alkôsh, we sent Kas Stephan, a Chaldean priest favourable to reform, with letters from Mar Shimoon to visit in that direction. He found the villages ten in number, but in a very destitute state, chiefly owing to the exactions of the local government. Mutran Yoosef happened to be there at the time on his annual visitation to collect tithe, and was exerting his influence to bring these Nestorians into the bosom of the Church of Rome. He had succeeded with one village, but the remainder had sent in assurances of their obedience to Mar Shimoon, and begged that he would not fail speedily to consecrate a Bishop to watch over their spiritual interests. …
"The above is a summary of our operations among the Chaldeans and Nestorians since our arrival here, and I beg that the Church will speedily acquaint us whether we have thereby transgressed the spirit of our instructions. If so, however discouraging it may be to those who have begun to look up to her for support and protection, we must forbear, as it will be worse than futile to enter upon measures of general usefulness to the Churches and then have them to be taken advantage of by those who will only turn them against the truth. And I see not how we can continue even as we have begun to any available purpose, unless the Church intends to maintain an agency here for superintending the carrying out of her benevolent designs. For example, of what avail will it be to establish schools in the country unless the Church continues to support and watch over them? The plant thus sown must be watered, or it will inevitably droop and die for lack of moisture, and this the native Churches have no means of supplying. Should our Church abandon these Churches, there is too much reason to fear that ere long they will fall under the Roman yoke, as the Papal emissaries are as zealous as they are indefatigable, sparing neither men nor money to compass this object. I need not enlarge on the moral evil which would result from such an alternative. Rome has already filled the East with schism, by inculcating doctrines and superstitions which would certainly have been condemned by the Catholic Church as heretical, had they been propounded before the fifth century. And now that she has lost much of her hold upon the West, she is striving in the pangs of dissolution as it were to set up another kingdom in the East, founded on darkness and ignorance, such as she has established in South America, and which it will require more than human power to destroy or even to shake. While the ancient Nestorian Church exists (and I believe its existence may be prolonged and its life and vigour restored by the blessing of God upon the continued and zealous aid of our Church), Rome will be checked in her onward progress; remove this, and her triumph here will be complete. It is devoutly to be hoped that such will not be the fate of this venerable community, but that God in His mercy will call to mind the indefatigable zeal of many of its early worthies, who, braving the most fiery persecution, preached the Gospel in the extreme East, and bless them for the fathers' sake. We believe that He who has suffered them to decrease can multiply them a hundred fold, and who can tell but that a return on their part to Catholic orthodoxy may not be to them as life from the dead, and that this people may not yet spring up to be a praise in the whole earth? Blessed will that Church be which God shall honour as His instrument in so pious a work, a work which may pave the way for the conversion of the large infidel populations in these regions.
"The Papal and Jacobite Syrians.—What efforts we have made with respect to these communities, I have already communicated to your committees. Kas Botros has been very active among them, and I hope with success. We have supplied a great number of the Jacobites with copies of the Syriac, Carshooni, and Arabic Scriptures, and have assisted their schools in various ways, one of which is partly supported by us. Kas Botros is moreover engaged in educating a few of their children in the higher branches of science."
The following is an extract from a later report, dated December 18th, 1843:
"We have now about forty Nestorians at Mosul, for whom we make daily provision, and who are all lodged in a house opposite my own. These are exclusive of the Patriarch, his brother, and immediate attendants, who reside with my brother-in-law the consul, and his archdeacon, the archdeacon's wife, sister, and child, who live at our own table. There are among those under our immediate care, three priests, and eight deacons, with their wives, children, and other relatives. The children we have already formed into a school of fourteen boys and seven girls, the former superintended by Mr. Fletcher, who also teaches them English, and the latter by Mrs. Badger. A Nestorian priest and deacon are engaged in reading Syriac with them, and another ecclesiastic instructs them from a small catechism which I have lately had translated into the vulgar dialect for that purpose, with the approbation of the Patriarch. The Clergy attend prayers regularly with Mar Shimoon in his private room, and on Sunday our little chapel is crowded with Nestorians, the Patriarch and his clergy being always present at the service, from the commencement to the end of the liturgy, which we celebrate every Lord's day. The Church will at once see, that this estimation of our services by Mar Shimoon paves the way for our ready reception by his people: and I have no doubt, should the will of God be so, that if once restored to his country and Patriarchate, future messengers from us will be welcomed by the Nestorians, and their efforts to assist them will be received with joy and gratitude.
"Kash' Auraha, the Patriarch's archdeacon, has made a perfect revision of the [so-called] Syro-Chaldaic Gospels, printed by the London Bible Society, as well as of the Acts and Epistles published by the American Dissenters at Ooroomiah. We have now consequently from his hand a complete exemplar of the New Testament ready for the press. The archdeacon is also assisting me in revising the Syro-Chaldaic Old Testament and Apocrypha, no part of which has ever yet been printed."
About this time we received a letter from the committee of the Gospel Propagation Society, informing us that we might soon expect to be withdrawn from the sphere of our labours. The reasons given for this step were as follows: 1. The want of funds. 2. Because the Society was not prepared to sanction the principle of direct interference with the Eastern Churches.[7] 3. Because the Society was incapacitated by its charter from engaging permanently in any but colonial missions. We still continued our labours, however, being determined to work while the opportunity was given us, and not knowing but that God might open a way for our further sojourn among the Nestorians, of whom I thus wrote in a letter addressed to the Society, dated 28th December, 1843: "My late reports will convince you that much has already been done in paving the way for a rapid regeneration of this people. We have assisted in establishing schools among them in the district south of the Tyari, and have opened communications with most of the clergy in that region. Mar Shimoon, and several of his principal ecclesiastics, have now been with us for six months, and we have daily proofs of his increased attachment to our Church, and of his anxious desire that she should use all her efforts to benefit his people. The late massacre has driven a great number to Mosul, who have not only partaken of our charity, but have received instruction from us, and are now tolerably well acquainted with us as a Church. These still continue here waiting until Mar Shimoon's affairs shall be so far settled as to allow of their return to the mountains with safety. Up to yesterday they numbered eighty-four persons, exclusive of the Patriarch and his immediate attendants, and I am sure it would gratify you to see all these assembled every Sunday morning witnessing our services with the greatest decorum and reverence. The Patriarch and his clergy are always present on these occasions, and from what I have heard it only requires an invitation from me (which, however, I do not feel authorized to give), and Mar Shimoon himself and all his people would gladly receive the Holy Eucharist at our hands.[8]
"Besides this we have formed the children into two schools, as I have already acquainted your committees, and no less than sixty Nestorians receive daily catechetical instruction in our little chapel. From these facts you may gather that whenever Mar Shimoon is restored to his patriarchate, we shall have acquired so extensive an influence over this people as will bid fair, through the blessing of God, to open the way for our doing them essential service. Granting, therefore, that for the present we can do but little for the Chaldeans, will the Church of England draw back from the Nestorians just as she has stretched forth the hand to assist them, and that her proffer of assistance has been so eagerly received? What will become of this interesting people under such circumstances I have already stated again and again to your committees, and now repeat that without the special intervention of God, ten years will not elapse before the whole of the Nestorians in Central Coordistan, will acknowledge the jurisdiction and assent to the errors of the Church of Rome."
On hearing that our mission was about to be withdrawn, Mar Shimoon sent the following letter to His Grace the Primate.
ܞ
"From Mar Shimoon, Patriarch of the Chaldeans, to his beloved brethren in the Lord Mar William, Catholicos of all England, Mar James, Metropolitan of London, and all the worshipful Bishops,—may the Lord preserve them.
"After the kiss of salutation we inform you, beloved brethren, that previous to this present epistle we sent you another to which we are now waiting an answer; may God grant the delay to be for the best. You are undoubtedly acquainted with the combination of misfortunes, calamities, and evils, which we have suffered from the enemies of the Christian faith. These have massacred large numbers of our people, and carried into captivity very many of our women and children. They have burnt and destroyed our villages, our habitations, and our churches, and plundered us of all we possessed, so that the prophecy of Jeremiah has been fulfilled in us: My people have fallen into the hand of the enemy, and there was none to help them; the enemy saw them and laughed at their calamity. They pursued us in the mountains, and in the wilderness did they lay wait for us. Mine eyes are dimmed with tears, my bowels are troubled, my glory is poured out upon the earth for the destruction of my people; because the women, and children, and sucklings, have been sold as slaves in the towns and villages. The heart of our adversaries, namely the Romanists or Papists, rejoiced when they saw what had befallen us, because we would not give ear to their words when they would have turned us away from our old and righteous path.
"But because that God is plenteous in compassion and merciful, and with the temptation maketh a way of escape. He so ordered it that the presbyter George Badger and his colleagues should be in these parts to gather together such as had escaped the edge of the sword, and to provide them with food and clothing. Indeed had it not been for the presbyter just mentioned, and his exertions on our behalf, we know not what would have become of us, for after God he has been our supporter and help. May the Lord recompense you abundantly for having sent him unto us.
"We are not as yet delivered out of our troubles and calamities, but have strong hope in the Lord that we shall soon be saved from all our afflictions through the medium of Sir Stratford Canning, who is endued with godly zeal, a noble diligence, and sound policy on our behalf. May the Lord recompense him also for what he has already done for us; for undoubtedly had he not stood in the breach before us our enemies would have destroyed us utterly. The Lord God prolong his days, prosper his pious designs, and give him an incorruptible crown in His everlasting kingdom.
"But now our calamity has increased, and the trouble of our heart has been doubled, since we heard that the brethren are thinking to recal the presbyter George Badger to your country,—a measure we never expected, nor did we ever anticipate such a thing from them, especially while it is our lot still to be beaten about by the waves of adversity, and knowing that you are a refuge even for strangers, how much more then for those who are of the household of faith. And now that we have found a little respite, must we lose the chief foundation of our support, and become a prey to our spiritual enemies who mock us for having placed our dependance, after God, upon our English brethren, and taunt us by saying: The English only laugh at you, nor can they give you any assistance, neither do they keep their promises. Moreover I am certain it will be a source of deep regret to you, brethren, should you hear that so ancient a church as ours, viz. the Chaldean Church, is destroyed or broken up into sects; and so much the more because you yourselves have tasted of the cup of divisions in your own country. And shall this also befal our Church after it has continued one for so long, even from ancient time?
"Therefore I entreat you, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you do not reject this our petition, seeing that it is not a great thing with you, that you should continue to us the presbyter George Badger to assist us, and because the whole is for the glory of God and for the welfare of men. Nor can I think that this is a hard matter to a nation holding the true faith, and which sends forth so many messengers among the people and brethren, so that in you is accomplished the saying of the Psalmist: Their sound is gone out into all lands, and their words unto the end of the world. Is it not a small matter to such a nation to give up one person to those who are in so much need of his assistance? Moreover God has said: Call upon Me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee. We are now in great trouble, and shall our brethren betake themselves far from us? This is contrary to our hope. I therefore entreat you, and not I only but all my bishops, priests, and deacons, nay all my people join with me in the same request, that you will continue the presbyter George Badger to us until our urgent necessity is removed.
"Moreover we would acquaint you that we have made arrangements, when it shall be the Lord's will to deliver us out of our troubles, to open schools for the instruction and education of our people, and to take many other measures for their benefit, such as rebuilding the churches which have been destroyed, and bringing together and establishing the numbers who have been scattered about in Persia, in the mountains, in the plains, and in the villages and cities of the stranger; for great diligence is required to restore things to their former state, nay, but as we hope, even to a better condition.
"And now, brethren, I commit this matter into your hands, and expect an answer from you, that you will leave with us the presbyter George Badger and his colleagues. This is our great hope; and may the Lord prolong your life, while we in parting repeat a second and a third time the kiss of brotherly salutation.
"Written on Saturday, the first day of January, in the year of our Lord 1844, in the town of Mosul, in the house of the presbyter George Badger, by the hand of Kash' Auraha, the archdeacon and servant of Mar Shimoon."
l. s.
In the month of April we received a letter from the Committee of the Gospel Propagation Society informing us that they were obliged to adhere to their former decision, and directing us to return homewards. The feelings of Mar Shimoon on hearing this intelligence I conveyed to the Committee in the following extract from a letter, dated 19th April, 1844.
"It is not for me to offer any opinion on the propriety of the Society's determination to break up the mission to the Nestorians at a moment when our services are so much in request by them. The motives which induced them to do so I have fully explained to Mar Shimoon; but it is very difficult for him to understand the constitution of our Church Societies in England, and therefore I am not able to say, that with all my efforts I have succeeded in removing from his mind the impression that the authorities who commissioned us to offer assistance to his people have broken faith with him, and treated him with marked unkindness."
Before we left Mosul the Patriarch addressed the two following letters to the Bishops of the Church of England and to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts.
ܞ
"From Mar Shimoon, Patriarch of the Chaldean Church in the East, to the most holy father Mar William, Catholicos of the Church of England, and to the company of pious fathers and most reverend bishops, peace be with you, from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
"It is now more than a year since your deputy, the well-beloved presbyter George Badger, came to us with a message of peace and offer of assistance from your holy Church. Before the above-named presbyter came to us we knew but little of the glory and greatness of your orthodox Church, our intercourse with the western Churches having been cut off for a great length of time, and all we knew of them was through the medium of the Church of Rome,—that church which through her emissaries has raised up a strange faith and wicked traditions and practices contrary to the apostolical doctrine, which corrupt traditions we abhor. And this Church has been endeavouring within the last century to pervert the right way as found in these regions, and has succeeded in causing to err those who live in the plains from the royal path, and in turning them away from obedience to their lawful shepherds. But since the arrival of your deputy the greatest misfortunes and persecutions have happened to us at the hands of our enemies, with which you are doubtless well acquainted. We have been driven from our homes by the infidels, our houses have been destroyed, our property plundered, our churches razed and desecrated, our old men massacred, and our women and children carried into captivity In all these afflictions which have befallen us, under the providence of the Most High, your deputy has been after God our chief support and confidence. He has fed those among us who were hungry, and clothed our naked ones, he has collected those of us who were scattered abroad, visited the sick, helped the distressed, and has been all along as a father beloved of his children, and as an esteemed brother loved by all his brethren. We pray God to reward him in our stead for the kindness and bounty which he has manifested towards us; for it is indeed a small matter for us to give him this document as a testimony of all the various good which he has done for us and to us, for night and day he has laboured for our welfare, comforted us in our affliction, and never tired. And not this only, but on our behalf he has opposed our enemies, and like a second Moses has stood in the gap for us, and it is through his exertions that we are not entirely destroyed, and have not been mingled with a strange people.
"Moreover through your deputy we have learned with certainty that there still remains in the west a holy Church independent and free from the corruptions of the See of Rome, (which is the mother of error,) with a priesthood derived from the Apostles, a right doctrine respecting the holy Sacraments as well as a primitive ritual. All these things we have seen in practice in your deputy the presbyter George Badger, and herein we rejoiced, and do still rejoice and give thanks to God, praying that He may multiply you exceedingly, increase and strengthen your faith, and bless and establish your Church so that it may spread to the four quarters of the world.
"Finally, brethren, accept our sincere thanks for having sent us so esteemed and zealous a son, who though he has been with us for a short season, yet his services have been very valuable. We have good hope, moreover, that you will send him back to us without delay with glad tidings, and in the fulness of the Gospel of Christ, that he may accomplish what he has begun amongst us, through the blessing of our Lord, to whom be glory, and power, and dominion, in His holy Church, now and for evermore. Amen.
"Written on the fourteenth of Nisan, in the town of Mosul, in the year of our Lord 1844, and of the Grecian era 2155, by the hand of the undeserving Auraham."
l. s.
The following epistle is addressed to His Grace the Primate, as the President of the Gospel Propagation Society.
ܞ
"To the Most Reverend Mar William, Primate of England, and to all others of the holy Society for the Propagation of the living Gospel of Christ,—Mar Shimoon, Patriarch of the Chaldeans in the East, sendeth greeting in the Lord.
"Be it known unto you, dearly beloved brethren, that we begin to write this epistle with a heart full of pain and grief, since, as it appears, our two former letters cannot have reached you because no answer has yet reached us; the Lord grant that the delay may be for the best. But the distressful circumstances of our condition constrain us to write to your Holiness yet a third time by the hand of our dearly beloved son the presbyter George Badger, who is about to leave us and go away. There is no need that we should repeat what we have already informed you of respecting the misfortunes and troubles which have happened to us, for our afflictions are now doubled since our request that you would leave with us the above named father until our affairs were settled has not been complied with. And now you have ordered him to depart from this place and to leave us like orphans. One thing, however, consoles us, that our last epistle had not reached when you ordered his departure, and that if it had you would not have sent for him to go to you; for our confidence in you is that you would not leave us alone amidst devouring wolves. But still the affliction which his departure occasions us remains the same, while we continue in the same scattered condition in which we were previously. And be not surprised at this, for you could not have sent us one like-minded to care for our estate and to labour for us night and day. Perhaps you may have imagined that his services have become less necessary because others have been sent to our assistance; but, if this is the case you are mistaken. Verily I say unto you, that without him our affairs cannot be settled as we wish; and thus, if you have one real feeling of brotherly love and affection towards us, listen to our request and permit him to remain with us.
"Now the presbyter is preparing to go to Constantinople where he says you have permitted him to go for a time. It may be God's will that his sojourn there may be to our benefit, and may be the means of bringing about a happy termination to our affairs. We therefore obey and submit. Be it moreover known unto you that we have made him our deputy, that he may recommend what seems fit both for our temporal and spiritual building-up. And this we do wittingly, knowing his sincere affection for us, and his perfect knowledge more than that of any other person of all our affairs. He moreover takes with him two important documents which may be useful in supporting our cause. We therefore beg that you will allow him to remain there sufficient time to settle for us what is requisite, … and afterwards we wish that your Holiness will allow him to return to us, to put in order the things which have been destroyed, and to make straight what has been perverted, through the late misfortunes which have happened to us.
"And again we repeat our supplication that you turn not your face away from our request, which is but a little one, but made to a great people, and a blessed Church. For, behold, the messengers of the Pope are as spies among us, and are using every species of intrigue to get an opportunity of entering into our country, in order to deceive the hearts of the simple, and these come to us without our asking them. And do you wish to go far from us,—you towards whom we have a cordial will? as Isaiah saith: I was found of them that sought me not, I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me; but you neglect those who seek after you. And have you not heard that a cup of cold water given to your Christian brethren in affliction shall never be forgotten of God! Finally we pray to the Lord to pour His heavenly blessing upon your Church, and upon the blessed people who are under your spiritual government in the Lord, that you may spread the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus, and sow the divine Word, and bring forth fruit thereby, sixty, and a hundred fold, now and for evermore.
"Written at Mosul, the 9th of the month Nisan, in the year of our Lord 1844, and of the Grecian era 2155, by the hand of Kash' Auraha of Asheetha."
l. s.
The decision of the Committees at home called us to prepare to leave Mosul, but the pain of separating from the scene of our interesting labours was heightened by a domestic affliction, which I should hesitate to introduce here, but for the manifestations of public sympathy which attended it. My mother, who at an advanced age had accompanied my sister, Mrs. Rassam, to this far distant place, was now called to her rest. The news of the approaching departure of her only sou weighed upon her spirits, and for some time previous she seemed aware that her dissolution drew nigh. She breathed her last in my arms on the morning of the 28th of April. Her universal charity flowing from simple but fervent piety had won for her the esteem and regard of a great portion of the Christian population, and of many of the principal Mohammedans of the town—Mar Shimoon especially, who had already been an inmate of the same house for several months, loved her as a parent. Her careful attention to his wants, her anxiety to anticipate all his wishes, and her deep-felt sympathy for his misfortunes, had led him to regard her with no common affection. "She is an English saint," he would often say to my sister or to me; "She is mine and not your mother." When he heard of her death his sorrow was profound, and many tears were shed by the liberated captives and refugees, to whom she had been a bountiful benefactress. Mr. Rassam's relatives at once offered one of their family vaults for her interment, and many of the principal Chaldeans gladly acquiesced in the proposal. But the Latin missionaries interposed, and notwithstanding the united entreaties of many friends obstinately refused to allow one whom they deemed a heretic to be buried in a church over which they claimed jurisdiction. The strong feeling of resentment which such opposition created might have been fatal to their assumed power; but this was no time for angry debates. We wished to bury our dead out of our sight, and knew not where to lay her. The Jacobites spontaneously offered a spot in one of their cemeteries close to the grave of Dr. Grant, who had died a few days previously; but we at length availed ourselves of the generous proposal of Khawaja Tooma, Mr. Rassam's dragoman, and a Romanist Syrian, who, in spite of the protestations of the Latin monks, nobly placed his own family vault in the church of the Holy Virgin at our disposal. (May God reward him and his dead with life everlasting for this act of Christian charity.) It was my own sad duty to lead the funeral procession; the few resident Europeans and two American missionaries paid the departed this token of respect and followed her bier; then came Mar Shimoon, Kash' Auraha his archdeacon, and six Nestorian priests, two Jacobite Bishops and all their clergy, and an Armenian priest, each chanting their respective processional anthems, as the mournful company proceeded to the church. The concourse of Nestorian refugees, native Christians, and Mohammedans, was immense; and all that human sympathy could do to assuage the grief of the bereaved was manifested towards us on this occasion by a large circle of Eastern friends. The corpse was borne into the body of the church of the Tâhara, where, the chant of the Patriarch and Bishops ended, I read over the remains of my mother the first part of our Burial Service, and then committed it to the ground "in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life," when once the number of God's elect is perfected, and His kingdom shall come in all its glory. Most truly may it be said as it was of a mother like-minded: she was one—
"WHO LIVED A SAINTLY LIFE
ABOVE THIS WORLD;
AND, WRAPT IN HEAVENLY LOVE,
FIXED HER WHOLE SOUL ON COD,
AND FED UPON HIS WORD
IN DEEP COMMUNION:
WHOSE CEASELESS PRAYERS
FILLED UP THE HOURS OF THE DAY;
WHOSE CEASELESS MEDITATIONS
FILLED HER SOUL WITH HIM,
HER SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST,
IN WHOM
HER WASTED BODY RESTS
IN PEACE
AND BLESSED EXPECTATION:
WHOSE DISEMBODIED SPIRIT
DWELLS WITH HIM,
AND SEES HIS FACE;
AND, WITH THE CHURCH TRIUMPHANT,
SWELL THE SONG
OF ENDLESS PRAISE."[9]
The united part which the Nestorian Patriarch and Jacobite Bishops took on this mournful occasion is perhaps unique in the history of these contending sects since the time of Gregory Bar Hebræus, of whom Edward Gibbon, as already quoted in another place, thus writes: "In his death his funeral was attended by his rival the Nestorian Patriarch, with a train of Greeks and Armenians, who forgot their disputes, and mingled their tears over the grave of an enemy."
"O ye spirits, and souls of the righteous, bless ye the Lord: praise Him, and magnify Him for ever."
- ↑ Mar Shimoon was fond of calling England by this name after I had related to him the paronomasia of Pope Gregory.
- ↑ On their return to the Tyari the Nestorians razed this building to the ground, so that not a vestige of it remains.
- ↑ I record with thankfulness the response of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to my appeal. From the end of July, 1843, to the end of April, 1843, we had under our care from ten to sixty liberated and refugee Nestorians, including the Patriarch's archdeacon and family, for whom we provided clothing and daily food. Towards covering the expense of their maintenance, the Society honoured my bills to the amoimt of £121. 10s. 5d. The late Anglican Bishop at Jerusalem also contributed £5. to the same object.
- ↑ I had almost forgotten to mention here the sum of £200 sent by Sir S. Canning, in the month of March, for the relief of the Nestorians. This seasonable aid enabled Mr. Rassam to afford increased assistance to the sufferers, which he continued to do for many months, from his own resources, after this liberal donation was expended.
- ↑ I never felt more strongly the want of a competent authority to refer to, in questions relating to interference with the Eastern communities generally, than during the continuance of our mission. I was fully alive to the fact, that many subjects propounded in my reports could not be validly decided upon by the Society to which they were addressed, and hence I invoked "The Church," which really exists among us, but now unfortunately deprived of her legitimate action in such matters. Until she resumes that authority which Christ Himself imparted to her, but which man has filched from her for a time, the Church of England will not be instrumental in conferring any lasting benefit upon the ancient churches of the East.
- ↑ I ought to have mentioned before, that our efforts among the Chaldeans at Mosul were sanctioned by Mutran, sometimes called Mar, Elîa at the outset, since without this notice our proceedings may appear to have been in opposition to our principles. Except by the then dominant party he was generally regarded as the rightful successor to the Chaldean patriarchate, whose claims had been wrongfully set aside by the See of Rome, and was consequently held competent to grant us this licence. It is a matter for thankfulness, however, that no decided measures were taken to establish him in that dignity, not only because of the supineness of his character, but chiefly because I afterwards found, what will be more fully shown in the succeeding volume of this work, that the hereditary succession to the patriarchal office was an innovation on the more ancient custom and discipline among the Nestorians and in direct opposition to their recognised canons.
- ↑ Direct interference on our part with the Christian communities in the east, is doubtless a subject which demands the most serious deliberation before it is attempted, nor can any such action be legitimately decided upon but by the Church. The Greek, or Holy Eastern Church, the Jacobite, Armenian, and Nestorian sects, and the Dissenters therefrom which now acknowledge spiritual obedience to the Roman See, stand in different relations to us, and hence the same system of missionary operations cannot consistently be pursued towards all. I think there can be no doubt, that it is the duty of the Church to restore the bodies held to be heretical, even if she is ultimately obliged to resort to individual proselytism. Here, however, the existing communities already formed therefrom, through the efforts of Latin missionaries, and styled severally the "Syrian Catholic," "Armenian Catholic," and "Chaldean" Churches, present an obstacle in our way. These three dissenting bodies have abjured the heresies for which their forefathers were originally excommunicated by the councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon, and so far we may cordially rejoice in what has been done by the Church of Rome; but with their return to orthodoxy, they have either retained or embraced other doctrines which have not indeed been formally condemned by any œcumenical synod, but which are, according to our Articles, repugnant to Holy Writ, and perhaps equally dangerous to the soul's salvation. Are these communities to be regarded as true and lively branches of the Catholic Church, and may we conscientiously and approvingly look on whilst Rome accomplishes her triumph by reducing the whole of these alleged heretical sects to the obedience of the sovereign Pontiff, and to the creed of Pope Pius IV.? I trow not; and I think that our own recognized formularies, as well as the theory of the Church's doctrine and ecclesiastical discipline in the earliest and best ages of her history, will bear me out in regarding the new "Churches " formed in the east by missionaries from Rome as schismatical and hence ought not to be held as sound branches of the Catholic Church. But if so, let them be led, some may say, to join the Holy Eastern Church from which they originally dissented. Most heartily might we sanction such a return and union; but here again another difficulty arises. We ourselves are now separate from that Church, and there may be found to exist doctrinal as well as other differences, which may prevent our re-union thereto for some time to come, greater than exist in the way of a successful attempt to restore the heretical and schismatical eastern sects to the communion of the Catholic Church, by inducing them to abjure what is contrary to Sacred Scriptures in their present doctrines and practices. Moreover, the Greek Church makes no attempt to this end, and is in fact in too low and depressed a condition, spiritually as well as temporally, to make any such effort. And must we forbear to carry out the last command of the Saviour to His Church because another branch of that Church neglects its duty, or is unable to perform it?
I am aware that individual opinion is of little worth in deciding questions of this nature; but I think it will be allowed on all hands, by those who wish to be guided by the spirit of the Gospel, that missionaries generally, but more especially those who are sent to regularly organized Christian communities, ought to bear with them the authority of the Church, whose alone it is to lay down on what principles missionary efforts should be conducted. This subject, in its numerous bearings upon the welfare and prosperity of Christ's kingdom in the world suggests a powerful reason for the re-establishment of our two houses of Convocation.
- ↑ A few weeks afterwards, during divine service, Mar Shimoon requested through Kas Michael to be admitted to communion with us. I begged the priest to inform his Holiness, that it would be irregular for me to receive him under the circumstances of the case, which I endeavoured to explain after the liturgy was ended. This maintenance of discipline had the happiest effect upon the Nestorian clergy generally, and from the discussion which followed I had reason to believe that a right effort on our part would lead this people to remove whatever obstacles prevented the re- establishment of communion betwixt us and them. This disposition of the Nestorians to unite with our Church, will be more fully dwelt upon in the succeeding volume.
- ↑ "The Hours," from the Dedication.