CHURCHES-USAGES. 297 they are not a mere ceremony, but the cause of dreadful calamity, very probably in this life, and certainly in the future. The power, which excommunicated the offender, may restore him; but restoration is said not often to be granted without severe penances. X The churches of Greece are usually composed of three parts-the vestibule, the nave, and the sanctuary. The vestibule is entered from the west, by three doors. The nave, which is the central division, and the main part of the church, is separated from the sanctuary by a partition of pannel-work, raised to the ceiling, and covered with gilded pictures. Three doors lead into the sanctuary, of which the middle one is opened only in the more solemn parts of the service. Men and women have different places in the church, and enter by different doors. This is a very ancient custom. Cyril says, (A. D. 350,) that such was the practice in his church at Jerusalem. Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great, always prayed with the women, in their apartment. The dividing wall was usually made of wood. Chrysostom thus describes the origin of the custom: "Men ought to be separated from women," says he, "by an inward wall," meaning that of the heart; "but because they would not, our fathers separated them by these wooden walls: for I have heard from our seniors, that it was not so from the beginning; for in Christ Jesus there is neither male, nor female. Do we not read, that men and women prayed together in an upper room?” y The Turks rarely permitted the Greeks to use bells in their churches. Instead of them, wooden boards, or iron plates, were struck by a hammer, or mallet. We saw a specimen of the iron plates, in the convent of Megaspelæon. This, also, is a continuation of ancient customs. Bells were first used by the Greeks in their churches about the year 865. (x) We noticed two or three exceptions. 298 PUBLIC WORSHIP. Neither organs, nor any other wind instruments of music, are heard in Grecian worship. The use of organs for private amusement, is, however, more ancient in the east, than in the west. The first one seen in France, was a present from Constantine Copronymus to king Pepin, in the year 766. Chrysostom says, that instrumental music was permitted to the Jews, on account of the heaviness and grossness of their souls; "but we," says he, "employ our bodies in the praises of God." The Greeks use only the plain song, and that is as far removed as possible from melody. The service performed in the churches is most injudiciously long. As a consequence of this, it is performed so rapidly, that, even if it were not in a dead language, much of it would scarcely be understood. The prayers are offered standing, except on the day of pentecost, when an effusion of the Holy Spirit is supplicated on the knees. The learned antiquary in religious matters, to whom I have been repeatedly indebted, has shown, that the ancient practice of the church was to stand in prayer always, on the Lord's day, and also during the fifty days of pentecost, out of regard to Christ's resurrection. During the service, the priest and people frequently make the sign of the cross; that is, they join together the three first fingers of the right hand, and carry them to the forehead, and then to the right shoulder, and to the left. At the conclusion of the service, it is not uncommon for many of the people to approach the pictures of the favorite saints, and testify their affectionate veneration by kissing them, and making the cross, and bowing before them. It is to be observed, that the service is in the ancient Greek language, and the greater part of it is unintelligible to the people. This is true of the public worship of the Greeks everywhere. Among the Bulgarians, (z) Wind instruments were used in the churches of the west, for the first time, in 1290. (a) Bingham, vol. v. p. 233. (b) Bingham, vol. v. p. 259. SERVICE IN AN UNKNOWN TONGUE. 299 the offices of religion are performed either in the Greek, or in the ancient language of the country, neither of which is understood by the people. The Wallachians are believed not to be more favored in this respect; and the Russian service is in the Slavonian language, which is not well understood by the greater part of the modern Russians. In addition to this it may be remarked, in order to show how generally a vail has been drawn over the gospel, that the Armenians worship in their ancient language, and that the same is probably true of most of the great religious sects in the east. The nations professing the papal religion, as is well known, all employ the Latin tongue. How desirable that the priests, to whom the many millions of souls in these countries look for instruction, should all imbibe the sentiments of the great apostle to the Gentiles, who nobly says I would rather speak five words with_my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. I conclude this chapter with a brief notice of the celebrated colony of priests at mount Athos. This mountain is on a peninsula projecting into the northern part of the Archipelago, not far from the island of Lemnos. It is connected with Macedonia, and was so formidable to ancient navigators, that Xerxes is said to have cut a canal through the isthmus. The circumference of the mountain is about one hundred and sixty miles. Its summit is craggy and wild; but its middle and lower regions, being watered with springs and rills, are susceptible of cultivation, and abound with shrubs and trees. Here, singularly retired from the trade and travel of mankind, has been, for many ages, the chief nursery of monastic life in the Greek church. The number of monasteries on mount Athos is twenty-four, of which three have been long in ruins, and four were kept in considerable splendor before the Greek revolution. The number of monks connected with the monasteries was supposed to be about six thousand, though it was always the case that many were absent, and tribute was paid to the Turks for only half that number. Women were not allowed to enter these convents. c Mount Athos became the resort of monks as early as the reign of Constantine the Great. The members of the fraternity are divided into caloyers, or priests, and lay-brothers, the latter of whom manage the secular concerns. The duties of the caloyer are severe. He spends life in a hurried reading of the Psalter, and in making genuflections and prostrations. Thus he occupies the first two hours of the night, and the first two after midnight. At four he begins again, and the day is spent in these vain repetitions. The revenues of the monasteries are derived from the lands adjoining them on the mountain, from their metochia, or farms, in various parts of Turkey, and from collections made by travelling members of the fraternity. Mount Athos was one of the few places, where the privilege of using bells was allowed to the Greeks. In the first year of the revolution, the Turks imposed upon the colony a contribution of one hundred thousand dollars, and took hostages for the good behavior of the monks; and then they murdered the hostages, and many of the priests, robbed the churches of their rich and showy ornaments, and cruelly oppressed the whole community.d (c) "There are five modes, at mount Athos. The most rigid are the 'hermits'-puita-who live solitary. The second in severity are called dozira, 'ascetics:' they are not quite so savage in their mortifications as the hermits. The third are called now, from their having all things in common. The fourth are named idipulus, from their living after their own rhyme and reason. A fifth, called ra, are still more sumptuous, as they may have exλov, 'a room,' to themselves."-Jowett's Chr. Res. in Mediterranean. (d) Howe's Greek Revolution, p. 66. CHAPTER VI. THE CHURCH IN GREECE. General remarks upon the ignorance and superstition of the people-Reasong for anticipating a reform-Missionary operations-Remarks upon the measures to be pursued by Protestants for the benefit of oriental churches. THE few remaining observations will be limited to that small, yet peculiarly interesting, portion of the Greek church, which exists in liberated Greece. And it is impossible not to remark the spiritual darkness that has overshadowed it, corresponding almost with the strong language used by government in a late address to the bishops. The condition of the people, under Turkish despotism, is there compared to the confusion and gloom of chaos, and they are declared to have been so shrouded in darkness that, being unable to distinguish sacred things from profane, they confounded both in their practice. After a slavery of nearly four centuries, preceded by ages of decline and controversy-destitute of the Scriptures, with an illiterate priesthood, with the church service in an unknown language, with no preaching, with no general and enlightened system of education, and with the sword of Mohammed turning every way in the road to improvement-it would be injustice to the Greeks to expect anything short of general ignorance, and a general absence of spiritual life. Considering hu man nature, any other result would be miraculous. I know not that well informed Greeks pretend any other.. So far as we observed, the confession of ignorance was universal; and an admission, that some things in the church needed reformation, was by no means uncomThese admissions, however, had respect rather to the externals of religion, the rites and ceremonies, mon. |