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THE BROSS LIBRARY
VOLUME V

THE BROSS LIBRARY

The Problem of the Old Testament,
by James Orb, D.D. (Bross Prize,
1905)  net 81.50
The Bible: Its Origin and Nature,
by Mabcus Dods, D.D. net SI. 00
The Bible of Nature, by J. Abthub
Thomson, M.A  me< 81.00
The Religions of Modern Syria and
Palestine, by Feedebick Jones
Bliss, Ph.D  net 81.50
The Sources of Religious Insight, by
JosiahRoyce, Ph.D., LL.D. reeJS1.25

COMMUNION LOAF OR OBLATION OF THE HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCH

THE BROSS LECTURES . . 1908
THE RELIGIONS OF
MODERN STRIA AND PALESTINE

LECTURES DELIVERED BEFORE
LAKE FOREST COLLEGE
ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE LATE
WILLIAM BROSS

BY
FREDERICK JONES BLISS, Ph.D.
AUTHOR OF
"EXCAVATIONS AT JERUSALEM, 1894-1897"
'THE DEVELOPMENT OP PALESTINE EXPLORATION," ETC.

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
NEW YORK .... 1912

THE BROSS FOUNDATION
The Bross Lectures are an outgrowth of a fund es
tablished in 1879 by the late William Bross, Lieutenant-
Governor of Illinois from 1866 to 1870. Desiring some
memorial of his son, Nathaniel Bross, who- died in 1856,
Mr. Bross entered into an agreement with the "Trustees
of Lake Forest University," whereby there was finally trans
ferred to them the sum of forty thousand dollars, the in
come of which was to accumulate in perpetuity for successive
periods of ten years, the accumulations of one decade to be
spent in the following decade, for the purpose of stimulating
the best books or treatises " on the connection, relation, and
mutual bearing of any practical science, the history of our
race, or the facts in any department of knowledge, with and
upon the Christian Religion." The object of the donor
was to " call out the best efforts of the highest talent and the
ripest scholarship of the world to illustrate from science, or
from any department of knowledge, and to demonstrate the
divine origin and the authority of the Christian Scriptures;
and, further, to show how both science and revelation coincide
and prove the existence, the providence, or any or all of the
attributes of the only living and true God, 'infinite, eternal,
and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness,
justice, goodness, and truth.' "
The gift contemplated in the original agreement of 1879
was finally consummated in 1890. The first decade of the
accumulation of interest having closed in 1900, the Trustees
of the Bross Fund began at this time to carry out the pro
visions of the deed of gift. It was determined to give the
general title of "The Bross Library" to the series of books
purchased and published with the proceeds of the Bross
Fund. In accordance with the express wish of the donor,
that the "Evidences of Christianity" of his "very dear
friend and teacher, Mark Hopkins, D.D.," be purchased

viii THE BROSS FOUNDATION
and "ever numbered and known as No. 1 of the series,"
the Trustees secured the copyright of this work, which has
been republished in a presentation edition as Volume I of
the Bross Library.
The trust agreement prescribed two methods by which
the production of books and treatises of the nature con
templated by the donor was to be stimulated:
1. The Trustees were empowered to offer one or more
prizes during each decade, the competition for which was
to be thrown open to "the scientific men, the Christian
philosophers and historians of all nations." In accordance
with this provision, a prize of $6,000 was offered in 1902 for
the best book fulfilling the conditions of the deed of gift,
the competing manuscripts to be presented on or before
June 1, 1905. The prize was awarded to the Reverend
James Orr, D.D., Professor of Apologetics and Systematic
Theology in the United Free Church College, Glasgow, for
his treatise on "The Problem of the Old Testament,"
which was published in 1906 as Volume III of the Bross
Library. The next decennial prize will be awarded in
1915, and the announcement of the conditions may be ob
tained from the President of Lake Forest College.
2. The Trustees were also empowered to "select and
designate any particular scientific man or Christian phi
losopher and the subject on which he shall write," and to
" agree with him as to the sum he shall receive for the book
or treatise to be written." Under this provision the Trus
tees have, from time to time, invited eminent scholars to
deliver courses of lectures before Lake Forest College, such
courses to be subsequently published as volumes in the
Bross Library. The first course of lectures, on " Obligatory
Morality," was delivered in May, 1903, by the Reverend
Francis Landey Patton, D.D., LL.D., President of Prince
ton Theological Seminary. The copyright of these lectures
is now the property of the Trustees of the Bross Fund. The
second course of lectures, on "The Bible: Its Origin and
Nature," was delivered in May, 1904, by the Reverend
Marcus Dods, D.D., Professor of Exegetical Theology in
New College, Edinburgh. These lectures were published

THE BROSS FOUNDATION ix
in 1905 as Volume II of the Bross Library. The third
course of lectures, on "The Bible of Nature," was deliv
ered in September and October, 1907, by Mr. J. Arthur
Thomson, M.A., Regius Professor of Natural History in
the University of Aberdeen. These lectures were pub
lished in 1908 as Volume IV of the Bross Library. The
fourth course of lectures, on "The Religions of Modern
Syria and Palestine," was delivered from November 30
to December 14, 1908, by Frederick Jones Bliss, Ph.D.,
of Beirut, Syria. These lectures are embodied in the
present volume.
JOHN SCHOLTE NOLLEN,
President of Lake Forest College.
Lake Forest, Illinois,
February, 1912.

PREFACE
This volume is an expansion of the Bross Lectures de
livered at Lake Forest College in 1908. In order to collect
material two journeys were made from the United States
to Syria and Palestine, one before and one after the delivery
of the lectures. For a large part of his life, moreover, the
author has been resident in these lands, Syria, indeed, being
his birthplace. While many books have been consulted,
it is in human documents that the richest material has been
found. The Greek liturgies have been studied, but the
manual acts of the mass were explained to me in the sitting-
room of a kindly parish priest whose wife had baked the
communion loaf which he reverently used in illustration.
Learned books on the dervishes have been consulted, but
it was through the quaint tales of a gentle-eyed sheikh in
Jerusalem, who left his humble task of scouring pots and
kettles to make me a visit, that I learned past all forgetting
that, in spite of the wild demonstrations which travellers
witness for a fee in Constantinople and Cairo, the con
trolling motive of the dervish life is the hunger and thirst
after righteousness. Everywhere I was received with kind
ness. I had interviews with the Orthodox patriarchs of
Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria. Members of the hier
archies of other Eastern churches — Greek Catholic, Syrian,
Maronite — imparted valuable information. Missionaries,
Roman Catholic and Protestant, gave of their knowledge
and experience. Moslems of all classes spoke freely of
their religion. To the students and graduates of the
Syrian Protestant College at Beyrout I am greatly in
debted. A list of those from whom I have received help
would swell to catalogue dimensions. Such a list, indeed,
would be sadly incomplete, for I know not even the names
of many who courteously answered my questions as we
chanced to travel together. Without invidiousness I may

xii PREFACE
mention the Orthodox Bishop of Beyrout; the Reverend
J. Stewart Crawford, Professor of Biblical Studies at the
Syrian Protestant College; the Reverend Dr. Hoskins, of
Beyrout; the Reverend J. E. Hanauer, Missionary of the
London Jews' Society, at Damascus; Mr. Serapion Murad,
of Jaffa; Dr. Taufiq Sallum and the Reverend Abdallah
Messuh, of Hama; Mr. A. T. Gelat, Mr. E. A. Gelat,
and Mr. George Said, of Jerusalem; Mr. George Yanni, of
Tripoli; Mr. Hanna Khubbaz, of Hums; Mr. Gibran
Luis and Mr. Amin Faris, of Damascus. I have also
received information from that intrepid traveller, Miss
Gertrude Lowthian Bell, author of "The Desert and the
Sown." Valuable use has been made of the original
Syrian journals of the late Dr. Samuel Ives Curtiss. Some
of these were loaned to me by the authorities of the Chicago
Theological Seminary. The latest journals, which Dr.
Curtiss never lived to use in literary work, were confided to
my care by the late Professor Scott of the same institution,
whose property they were. After his death his family
generously permitted me to continue using them.
A certain lack of proportion may be observed in the space
here devoted to the different cults respectively. For ex
ample, there are no chapters dealing exclusively with the
Jews or with the secret religions, the latter being briefly
treated as heretical offshoots of Islam. In order to adapt
the great amount of material which had been collected to
the space allotted to a volume of the Bross Library, both
condensation and elimination became imperative. The
final form was determined by a number of reasons which it
is not necessary to detail. I hope to develop in the future
the material already gathered but not here used, material
relating to the Jews, Druses, Nuseiriyeh, and Isma'iliyeh.
F. J. B.
Rochester, N. Y.,
January, 1912.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Historic Setting:
Introductory Note  3
I. Development of the Cults  7
II. Inter-Relations of the Cults  22
II. The Constitution of the Eastern Churches:
Introductory Note  35
I. The Orthodox Church  39
II. The Recent National Movement in the
Orthodox Church  60
III. The Jacobite or Old Syrian Church . . 74
IV. The Uniates  81
V. The Maronites  96
VI. The Monasteries  113
III. The Ritual of the Eastern Churches:
Introductory Note  123
I. The Eastern Liturgies  128
II. Baptism, Marriage, and Burial .... 140
III. The Church Year  155
IV. The Five Pillars of Islam:
Introductory Note  171
I. Confession of the Creed  177
II. Prayer  199
III. Fasting and Legal Alms  210
IV. Pilgrimage  217
xiii

xiv CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
V. The Religious Orders of Islam:
Introductory Note  225
I. The Mohammedan Hagiology  227
II. The Dervish Organization  234
III. The Dervish Life  255
VI. Other Features of Islam:
Introductory Note  276
I. Woman and Marriage  278
II. Death and Burial  291
III. The Shi'ah Sect  294
VII. The Influence of the West  313
Appendix  337
Index  345

THE RELIGIONS OF
MODERN SYRIA AND PALESTINE

CHAPTER I
THE HISTORIC SETTING
Introductory Note
Twenty-five hundred feet above the Mediterranean, and
within sound of its waves, there is an irregular line of five
villages stretching for about two miles along the seaward
slope of the Lebanon. This small group, taken almost at
random from the hundreds of mountain towns, may serve
to illustrate the scope of this volume. The largest village,
Suq-el-Gharb, or the Western Market, is peopled mainly by
members of the Greek Orthodox Church, though it contains
also a number of families now Protestant. Separated on the
north from the Western Market by no perceptible boundary
runs out Mekkin, with its large convent belonging to the
Greek Catholics, or Greeks now united to Rome. Below
Suq-el-Gharb and a little to the south, partly concealed by
a grove of ancient oaks, nestles 'Aitat, inhabited almost en
tirely by Druses, followers of a religion of secrecy and mys
tery, one of the heretical offshoots of Islam. Higher up on
the range is planted the hamlet of Kefun, which contains
nothing but Mohammedans, not Orthodox Sunnis, like those
resident in the city of Beyrout, which gleams on the plains
below, but Metawileh Shi'ahs, of the sect of Islam that rules
in Persia. And, last of the group, to the south is Shemlan,
where are found practically none but Maronites, proud of
their membership in the National Syrian Church of the
Lebanon; like the Greek Catholics, Eastern in rite and prac
tice, and, like them, giving allegiance to a Western pope.
Thus segregated by groups in the compass of a few hundred
yards, we find examples of all the religions to be here dis
cussed at length, except the Sunni Moslems and the Jacobite
and Catholic Syrians. 3

4 THE HISTORIC SETTING
Before showing how and when these various bodies found
a home in Syria and Palestine, we may dwell for a moment
on the hold which religion itself, apart from any particular
form, has on the whole Syrian people. The religious con
sciousness, everywhere and at all times, is the consciousness
of the relation of the individual to God, whatever the idea of
God may be. Apart from the quality of the conception,
I assert that the idea of God is present to the common con
sciousness in Syria and Palestine with a vividness lacking to
the common consciousness in Western Protestant lands at
the present time. Rain, in the Holy Land, not only falls on
the just and the unjust, but the just and the unjust unite in
believing that God sends it. Such belief is more than a re
ligious tradition: it is actual, potent. "Inshallah" ("If
God will ") is often uttered merely as the equivalent of " I
hope so," but the stereotyped use of the phrase has not
usurped its real meaning. The language of daily life is
permeated with similar religious phrases. Sometimes a
gesture suffices. While writing this book, I questioned a
statement made by an Egyptian peddler at a summer resort
in the United States. Instantly his fat, jolly face became
solemn. Not a word he uttered; he only pointed upward.
God was there, and ready to witness. Owing to this para
mount instinct of religion, as well as to other conditions that
will presently appear, a Syrian is always labelled with the tag
of the particular faith which he follows. Asking the details
of a murder, you may receive the answer: "A Moslem killed
a Jew" or "A Christian shot a Druse." You are likely to
describe your servants, for example, as " Two Orthodox, one
Maronite, and a Greek Catholic." How common is this
form of category may be illustrated by the question a person
may ask when wishing to know the composition of a tasty
dish or of any inanimate object. "Shu dinu?" he says in
colloquial Arabic, "What is its religion?"
All Syrians of whatever faith have a knowledge of the out
ward forms of their religion, which is rare among the laity
of the United States. In the Syrian Protestant College at
Beyrout may be found followers of nearly all the faiths
mentioned in this work, The information in regard to the

INTRODUCTORY NOTE 5
details of belief and practise which I obtained from under
graduates usually stood the test when later I sought for ver
ification from other sources. These, it may be objected,
were picked men. Listen, then, to the following tale.
Some years ago my father stopped for lunch by a fountain
in northern Syria, and had this conversation with a shep
herd lad who held his horse:
" What is your religion ? " was the lad's first question.
" I will not tell you directly," answered my father, " but
I will answer any questions you ask about it."
"Do you believe in God?" said the lad.
"Yes," said my father.
"Then you are not a heathen," said the boy. "Do you
believe in Christ?"
"I do."
" Then you are a Christian. What sect do you belong to ? "
"I won't tell you that yet," was the answer. "Go on
asking me questions."
The lad paused, looked puzzled, suddenly brightened, and
then said:
"Do you believe that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the
Father and the Son or from the Father alone?"
Recalling the ancient theological formula of the West, my
father said that his church believed in the procession from
the Father and the Son.
"Then you are a Maronite!" said the boy triumphantly.
The Maronites, it may be added, differ from the Greek
Church in accepting the Western formula, with which Prot
estant theology is in accord. What explanation my father
made does not concern us here. The point for us is
that this Syrian peasant, barefoot, unlettered, untravelled,
had it on the tip of his tongue to name the controversy
that had split the church universal eight hundred years
before. This is not the place even to enumerate the reasons why
the conception of God is more vivid and more all-pervading
among Oriental peoples than it is in the West, but in justice
to ourselves a few words may be added in partial explanation
of the difference. There has been no more important mo-

6 THE HISTORIC SETTING
ment in the history of religion than when the great Hebrew
prophets unveiled the truth that as far as He is related to
human life God is pre-eminently a God of righteousness.
Since the time of that vision, for all who have true spiritual
apprehension, religion without morality has been inconceiv
able. This union of religion and morality has continued to
be the ideal of Judaism, and since their inception has been
also the ideal of Christianity and in a lesser degree the ideal
of Islam. But in the actual practice of these three religions
the ideal has suffered change. In Islam and in Eastern
Christianity this conception of the vital relation between
morality and religion is far from clear at the present time.
In Western Christianity the ideal, which had grown dim,
was rekindled by the Reformation. Since then it has gov
erned the Protestant world. Freedom from superstition,
however, was bought with a price. Personal religion has
been enormously benefited, but, in the very process of puri
fying the individual conception, what may be called the com
mon consciousness of God has suffered loss. The strict
Puritan theory, logically carried out, tends to the following
position: If man's relation to God must of necessity include
an acknowledged desire to fulfil all moral obligations, it
follows that those who deliberately stifle conscience end in
having no personal relation to Divine Providence. Shut out
from their moral world, God is shut out from their entire
cosmos. Protestantism tends to divide the sheep from the
goats in this world. To the unethical man it offers no re
ligious consolation; it expects from him, remaining uneth
ical, no religious duties. That the converse is practically
true in the Eastern church and in Islam explains both the
strength and weakness of these cults. For the "uncon
verted" Protestant, then, religion is in eclipse. Such a con
dition reacts on the " converted." Living in a world where
by the majority God is disregarded as a vital factor of the
common life of work and play, they are subtly affected by
the enveloping atmosphere. Their own relation to God,
being private and individual rather than objective, is defi
nitely realized only in moments of direct spiritual commun
ion. These moments naturally form the exception, not

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CULTS 7
the rule, of their daily life, for we are speaking of aver
age Christians, not of the saints. Providence in all of its
common manifestations is largely relegated to the realm of
the theoretic. Intellectually, the idea is accepted and, if
questioned, would be stoutly defended; but as a matter of
experience it is imperfectly vitalized.
That such a tendency exists in Protestant Christendom
cannot be gainsaid. That historically it had its inception in
a nobler conception of God than had hitherto prevailed we
have already indicated. That it is far less widely operative
among the simple people than among the intellectual is true.
That it has been nourished by many other influences is
probable. But that it has been incidental rather than neces
sary to the development of the nobler conception may be
confidently asserted. What we need is a synthesis of the
ideas of the Orient and of the Occident. If ever the East
and the West consent to learn the best from each other, the
Oriental conception of God will become purer, more ethical,
more effective, while the Western conception will grow more
vivid, will touch the common life of the religious man at a
thousand new points, and will appear as a vital force to those
whom now it influences not at all.
I. Development of the Cults
When on the day of Pentecost the Apostles were inflamed
with the purpose of preaching the new religion, later called
Christianity, they did not foresee that this was to take root
and to flourish chiefly among the Gentiles or heathen. In
the beginning their message was delivered exclusively to the
Jews. At that time the population of Syria was between six
and seven millions of souls, of whom about one million were
Jews. In Palestine where the population was less, the Jews
numbered about seven hundred thousand.1 The earliest
Christian church of Jerusalem, thus, was Jewish. But as
a practical result of the great revelation of the universal
1 Professor Harnack is authority for these numbers. This section is
further indebted to his "Expansion of Christianity," vol. XIX of "The
Theological Translation Library" (New York, 1904).

8 THE HISTORIC SETTING
character of Christianity, vouchsafed first to Peter and then
to Paul, the gospel was soon preached to the Gentiles also.
With Peter the idea of fellowship with the Gentiles who had
become Christians was largely theoretic. His failure to put
it into practice at Antioch brought him into sharp colli
sion with Paul. For with Paul the idea had become vital,
paramount, controlling. It altered his whole career. He
was pre-eminently the Apostle to the Gentiles. And Paul,
historically speaking, laid the foundations of Christian
empire. The Jewish converts counted for little or nothing
in the subsequent history of the church. Numerically they
were always weak. The mother church of Jerusalem dis
appeared oompletely when Hadrian prohibited all circum
cised persons from entering the town of Aelia Capitolina,
which he had built on the ruined site of the Holy City sixty
years after its destruction by Titus. In the nineteenth year
of Hadrian's reign, the Bishop of Jerusalem was one Marcus,
a Greek Gentile. From him the present Greek patriarch
claims ecclesiastical succession in unbroken chain. In the
second century a large part of the Jewish church became
Hellenized and was merged in the main body of Christendom.
So alienated did the unimportant remnant grow that about
the year 180 A. D. the Catholic Church branded Christian
Jews as heretics. In the course of the ages the Jewish pop
ulation of Palestine almost disappeared. It is quite pos
sible that the remote ancestors of the eighty thousand Jews1
now resident in the Holy Land proper were numbered
among the Jews of Palestine in the time of Paul, but in the
majority of cases their immediate progenitors came from
Spain, Russia, Poland, Roumania, or Arabia. The sixty
thousand Jews, however, at present dwelling in Syria, at
Damascus, Aleppo, and in other places are, in all but re
ligion, native Syrians, following the customs, sharing the
superstitions, and speaking the native Arabic language of
the land. It is not improbable that the ancestors of many
1 It may be acknowledged at once that all statements as to the num
bers of any given sect in Syria and Palestine are, at best, only approxi
mate, and often mere guesswork. The total population is probably
between three and three and one-half million.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CULTS 9
of these have lived in Syria continuously since the time of the
Diaspora. For the ancestors of the various Christian peoples now liv
ing in Syria and Palestine we must look, then, in the main,
to the Gentiles or heathen to whom Paul and his fellow-
missionaries preached. Though divided into many bodies,
the modern Christians may be roughly classed together, but
at the time when Christianity was first preached the heathen
ism of Syria and Palestine was in no sense a unit. In the
cities the Greek forms of worship prevailed; in the coun
try the local cults were followed. Some of these had sur
vived from the earliest days, having never been stamped out
by Judaism. Others were of later origin. Especially in
Syria there had been developed what may be called syn
thetic or eclectic cults, by grafting borrowed ideas on the
local religions. Against the gospel propaganda, which flour
ished in an extraordinary manner, notwithstanding the
fierce government persecutions, all the old religions made
stout resistance. Even after the Emperor Constantine rec
ognized Christianity officially, the proud cities of Ascalon
and Gaza were strongly pagan. While the coast towns of
Phoenicia were nominally Christian, inland places contin
ued to be homogeneously heathen. "Pagan" (rural) and
"heathen" became synonymous terms. During the pagan
reaction under Julian, called "the Apostate," Christians
were savagely tortured in the centres of the old cults. The
edicts of Theodosius, the last of which was issued in 390,
closed the temples, confiscated the religious property, and
abolished the privileges of heathen priests. Then, indeed,
paganism crumbled away. Gibbon speaks of the phenom
enon as "the only example of the total extinction of any
ancient and popular superstition." "The generation that
arose in the world after the promulgation of the imperial
laws," so he goes on, "was attracted within the pale of the
Catholic Church, and so rapid, yet so gentle, was the fall of
paganism, that only twenty years after the death of Theo
dosius the faint and minute vestiges were no longer visible
to the eyes of the legislator." x
1 "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," chap. XXVIII.

10 THE HISTORIC SETTING
A foot-note to this passage states that the younger Theo
dosius was afterward satisfied that his judgment was some
what premature. He did well to look deeper. Vestiges
there are to-day of the old cults, and neither faint nor mi
nute, though fifteen hundred years have passed away since the
edicts of Theodosius the Elder. As an organism, paganism
indeed crumbled, but its soul continued to hover over the
Holy Land. There is no religion after the Order of Melchize-
dek, without father, without mother, without descent. In its
localized worship of saints and martyrs Christianity had an
immediate legacy from Polytheism, with its god for every
place and its god for every need. This legacy was later
shared by Islam. The Cult of the Shrines, common to-day
to Moslems, Christians, and Jews, is essentially the old Cult
of the High Places. In monasteries where the Christians
vow to Elijah or to Saint George, there the Moslems vow
to the mysterious Khudr, the Ever Green or Ever Living
One, whom they identify with both. At the Moslem Shrines
of the Khudr Christians invoke Saint George. At Jobar,
near Damascus, the Arabic-speaking Jews pay vows at the
Shrine of Elijah, whom they too call Khudr, and take part
in a nature dance, the men separately from the women.1
Persistence of some of the details of heathen worship among
the fastnesses of the mountains north of the Lebanon doubt
less accounts for some of the elements still found in the re
ligions of the Nuseiriyeh and of the Isma'iliyeh. The sur
vival of the spirit of paganism around the roots of Mount
Hermon may explain the ready acceptance by the inhab
itants of the strange doctrines of the Druses, brought to

1 The late Dr. Samuel Ives Curtiss, whose latest note-books I have
had the privilege of studying (see Preface), is authority for this state
ment. He also gives examples of the contradictory stories related of
Khudr. Some Moslems accept the double identification with Elijah
and Saint George. Some accept the first but not the second. Others
claim that Elijah and the Khudr were different persons. Baldensperger
(see his article, "Orders of Holy Men in Palestine," "Quarterly State
ment of the Palestine Exploration Fund," 1894, p. 25) gives a prayer
used at a Dervish initiation in which Elias (Elijah) and Khudr are called
brothers.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CULTS 11
them from Persia by way of Egypt early in the eleventh cen
tury. Traces of old sacrificial ideas may still be found in
the colloquial Arabic phrases. Once, when camping under
the ancient cedars of the Lebanon, my father was taken
ill. His recovery was rapid, but the next day my beautiful
horse fell sick and died, notwithstanding the care of the
faithful Christian muleteers. " Fedahu!" "It is his redemp
tion!" they said, regretting the loss of the horse but rejoic
ing in my father's recovery.
Christianity in Syria and Palestine developed along two
parallel lines, following two parallel lines of civilization:
Hellenic in the cities, Syrian in the country. The new re
ligion took root in both zones of civilization and was colored
by each type. Thus two types of churches arose: the Hel
lenic, using in their services the Greek language, and the
Syrian, using the Syriac or Aramaic. In Palestine the Greek
type was represented almost exclusively, though in a few
churches services were conducted in both languages. In
Syria the two types operated, but from different centres. In
course of time Antioch came to be the head-quarters of the
Greek type and far-away Edessa the head-quarters of the
Syrian type. The line of cleavage between the zones was
not definite. Undoubtedly, in the Greek zone of influence,
especially in the villages out of touch with the great cities,
there were congregations that long continued to follow the
Syrian type of worship, conducted in their own Syrian lan
guage. The two types have survived to the present day, the
Greek type being represented by the Greek Orthodox, and
the Greek Catholic Melchites, who split off from the Ortho
dox as late as 1724. The Syrian type is represented by the
Syrian Jacobites, by the Syrian Catholics (a comparatively
modern body), and by the Maronites, who constitute the
National Church of the Lebanon. The term Melchite, re-
adopted by that branch of the Greek Church which accepted
the allegiance of Rome, is charged with the memories of a
storm that came near to wrecking Catholicism in the fifth,
sixth, and seventh centuries. Orthodoxy in those days was
maintained by imperial power. Christians in Syria who
clung to the heresies relating to the person of Christ con-

12 THE HISTORIC SETTING
demned by the Council of Ephesus (431), by the Council of
Chalcedon (451), and the Third Council of Constantinople,
(680) came to be known as Mardaites or Rebels. In turn
they applied the nickname Melchites to those who bowed
to the imperial will in matters of belief. Melchites, then,
signified Royalists or King's Men. In Syria the Monophy-
site heresy took deep root among those who followed the
Syrian forms of worship. It seems never to have infected
the churches of Palestine.1 The first definite split with the
Catholic Church in Syria was effected by the monk James,
or Jacobus Baradaeus, who died in the year 578. Such of
the Syrian clergy as held Monophysite views he organized
into a regular hierarchy, with their own Patriarch of Antioch.
Members of the new organization came to be known as
Jacobites. The seat of the patriarch was later transferred
to Mesopotamia, where it still is. At one time the Syrian
churches, including the Nestorian (which does not fall
within the pale of our discussion), threatened to outrank the
Orthodox body, but after the eleventh century their decline
was assured. The Jacobite communion to-day plays no
important role among the Christian churches of Syria,
though it continues to be a power in Mesopotamia. Even
there, however, the portion that has seceded to Rome, under
the name of Syrian Catholics, threatens to overshadow the
old Syrian communion.
Far more germane to our present discussion is the origin
of the Lebanon Maronites, who to-day form the largest and
most compact Christian body in Syria. The form of heresy
which these warlike inhabitants of the Lebanon finally en
tertained was really the invention of that imperial opportu
nist of the seventh century, the Emperor Heraclius. As a
compromise between Orthodoxy and Monophysitism, he
proposed to substitute a doctrine that came to be known as
Monothelitism.2 This was condemned at the Third Council
of Constantinople (680), but the Syrians of Lebanon indig
nantly refused to give up the doctrine, imperial in inception,
1 To this day no native church flourishes in Palestine proper but the
Orthodox, though others are represented.
2 See foot-note on p. 35.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CULTS 13
but now imperially repudiated, and thereby earned a fresh
title to the name Mardaites or Rebels, in which they gloried.
In 685, five years after the council, they organized them
selves into a separate body, electing as their patriarch one
John Maro. The Maronites of to-day, however, derive their
name from an alleged Saint Martin, who is supposed to have
established a monastery at the source of the Orontes in the
fifth century, gathering about him three hundred and fifty
monks. Originally a Syrian church in language and in
ritual, the Maronite body underwent little alteration even
after its submission to the authority of Rome in 1182. Its
tendency to conform to Roman practice dates from com
paratively modern times. When in the next chapter we
follow the fortunes of the Maronites more closely, we shall
note that they claim to have always formed a part of the
Roman Catholic Church, stoutly denying all charges of
former heresy.
It is clear, thus, that from the earliest times to the present
day the liturgical language of the Jacobites and Maronites
has been Syriac. The Greek Orthodox and the Greek
Catholics, the modern representatives of the old Melchites,
have long used the Byzantine liturgies and other Greek
forms of service, though at the present day Arabic transla
tions of all these are used in the Syrian churches.1 The
Byzantine liturgies of Saint Chrysostom and Saint Basil,
now universally used in the Orthodox Church in all lands,
date from the eighth century. Just when these were
adopted by the Orthodox Churches of Syria is not known,
though they probably were in use by the end of the twelfth
century. It is quite conceivable that before that time con
siderable latitude was allowed among the Melchites in the
use of the liturgies. We have seen that purely Greek types
of worship characterized the Syrian towns, but in country
districts such churches as remained loyal to the king's party
probably continued to retain for some time their form of
1 Jacques de Vitry, Bishop of Acre in 1217, informs us that the Syrian
Orthodox of his day used Greek services not understood of the people
who spoke Arabic. See his "Historia Hierosolymitana," LXXIV,
found in the "Gesta Dei per Francos," edition of Bongars.

14 THE HISTORIC SETTING
worship, sometimes in the Syriac language, sometimes in
Greek translation.1
While the church of the Byzantine Empire was being rent
by the questions whether Christ had one nature or two
natures, one will or two wills; while its subjects were rang
ing themselves either as King's Men or Rebels; while, in
the passion for correct thinking about Christ, the idea of
right living in the name and after the example of the meek
and lowly Jesus was fast disappearing, in far-away Arabia
a great religious genius was burning with the passion to
make known, by persuasion or by force, the simple truth
that God is One. In the spiritual lifelessness and the
doctrinal divisions of Christianity lay the opportunity of
Islam. Mohammed's flight from Mecca to Medinah with
a few faithful followers dates the beginning of the Moslem
era at 622. Ten years later, Islam, by the power of tongue
and of sword, had conquered Arabia, and under Khaled,
the Sword of God, was attempting the conquest of Palestine.
It was a holy war. Empire was sought over men's souls as
well as over men's bodies. The leaders of the movement,
'Omar, Khaled, Abu 'Obeidah, were men of great faith. It
was with much the same purpose, according to the Hebrew
narrative, and with much the same methods of war that Caleb
and Joshua had led the forces of Israel over the same ground
two thousand years before. Bosrah, "on the other side of
the Jordan," was the first town to fall, betrayed by its gov
ernor, who publicly accepted the religion of his conquerors
with the declaration: "I choose Allah for my God, Islam
for my Faith, Mecca for my Temple." Six years after this
first victory, the whole of Syria and Palestine had come un
der the Moslem sway. And under this sway, save for the
brief period of crusading rule, these lands have remained
for thirteen centuries. No previous domination of which
we have any clear chronological account — Jewish, Persian,
Greek, Roman, Byzantine — has lasted as long. The de-
1 For a discussion of this question see Lammens, in "Al Machriq"
(published at the Jesuit Press at Beyrout), March 15, 1900. Also
R. P. Vailh^ in the "Echos d'Orient," tome VI (1903), p. 143.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CULTS 15
scendants of Khaled are prominent in the life of Jerusalem
to-day. Among them I have counted as friends men of
noble character and keen wit. To the tomb of Khaled at
Hums still flock thousands at one of the great local festivals
of the year.
When the Moslem conquest of Syria and Palestine be
gan, the population was nominally Christian. To-day the
Christians number less than half as many as the Moslems.
The conquerors offered to the inhabitants the choice of
acceptance of Islam, tribute, or death. Great numbers of
the Christians were killed in actual battle. In the fierce
fight on the plain between Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrtn) and
Ramleh, fifty thousand Christians are said to have perished.
The Christians of to-day are descendants of those who chose
to pay tribute to conquerors. The continued survival of so
great a number through all the subsequent persecutions testi
fies to a vitality of the faith which all the dry-rot of theological
speculation has never destroyed. As to the ancestry of the
present followers of Islam only a guess can be made. The
greater number must be descendants of such Christians as
accepted the faith of the conquerors.1 These probably in
cluded many whose Christian belief was hardly more than
a veneer over a never-eradicated Pagan basis. Following
many of the immemorial religious customs, keeping the old
feasts under other names, worshipping at the old shrines, a
change of allegiance from Christianity to Islam made little
difference to them. This, however, is merely conjecture.
Certain it is that the great noble Moslem families to-day
trace their pedigree to Arabia, through the early heroes of
Islam. Many Moslems of the humbler class are doubtless
the descendants of the common soldiers of the Arab army,
who formed alliances with the Syrian women. It would be
a task, both interesting and fruitful, to go through the his
torical records in search of such chance clews as would throw
more light on the obscure question of the ethnic relations of
the present inhabitants of Syria and Palestine.
1 Dr. Harvey Porter, professor of history in the Syrian Protestant
College at Beyrout, states that from his general reading he has formed
the impression that about one-half the population became Moslems at
the time of 'Omar.

16 THE HISTORIC SETTING
Through the victory of Islam, organic Christianity in these
lands received a terrible set-back, from which it has never
recovered. Bright spots, however, illuminate the dark pict
ure of the conquest. According to the view of Gibbon, the
toleration prevailing at Damascus through the gentler coun
sels of Abu 'Obeidah accounts for the present large Christian
population. The superb arrogance of Sophronius, Patri
arch of Jerusalem, who, after the Holy City had been be
sieged four months by Abu 'Obeidah, refused to make terms
with any one but the Caliph 'Omar himself (forced to travel
from Arabia for the purpose), secured for the Christians of
the city a Covenant or Bill of Rights which has been ratified
by all the subsequent Moslem dynasties. Writing three
and a half centuries later the Moslem historian Muqad-
dasi ("the Jerusalemite") complains that in his native city
"everywhere the Christians and the Jews have the upper
hand." To this day the relations between Moslems and
Christians in Jerusalem are more harmonious than in other
towns of the same size. When there resident I used to
patronize a barber's shop where a Christian and a Moham
medan worked in partnership.
After the death of Sophronius, however, no patriarch was
resident in the Holy City for sixty years. The See of
Antioch was vacant for over a century, though the line was
kept up by a Patriarch of Antioch, resident at Constanti
nople. Everywhere Christian churches were converted into
mosques. The speech of the conquerors came to be the
speech of the conquered. The Syriac language fled into the
mountain recesses. The only traces of it to-day are found
in three small villages, Ma'lula, Bukh'a, and Jeb'adin, in
the hill ranges, north-east of Damascus, where a hybrid
Aramaic, strongly impregnated with Arabic forms and words,
is still spoken, though it is never written.
Even while, with an apparently unbroken front, the Mos
lems were invading Syria and Palestine, the seeds of discord,
planted at the death of Mohammed, were preparing to ger
minate in the soil of Islam. The story of the schism which
resulted in the main division of the Moslem world into
Sunnis and Shi'ahs will be sketched in a later chapter. It is
touched on here simply that we may understand, at the be-

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CULTS 17
ginning of our study, why there exist to-day in Syria two dis
tinct bodies of Mohammedans, bitterly antagonistic, the one
toward the other. The Syrian Shi'ahs go by the local name
of Metawileh, Moreover, in consequence of this schism
were later developed the secret religions whose followers to
day inhabit the Lebanon and the mountains to the north,
being known under the name of Druses, Nuseiriyeh, and
Isma'iliyeh. Schism in Islam was originally caused by the question of
the Caliphate, or the succession to Mohammed. One party
rallied around Abu Bekr, the prophet's father-in-law, and
the other around 'Ali, his nephew and the husband of his
favorite daughter, Fatima. At first the party of Abu Bekr
prevailed, and succeeded in electing not only him but the
two succeeding caliphs, 'Omar and 'Othman. 'Ali, in
deed, became the fourth caliph, twenty-three years after the
death of Mohammed, but the revolt of the contrary party
provoked a long and bloody conflict. 'Ali was killed. He
was succeeded by his eldest son, Hasan, who soon abdicated
in favor of Mo'awiyah, the candidate of the other party, and
founder of the 'Omayyad Dynasty of Caliphs. In the con
flict that continued to rage, flosein, the brother of Hasan,
was killed on the field of Kerbela, which ever since has been
sacred ground to the Shi'ahs or partisans of the family of
'Ali. The split then became final. The Sunnis — the so-
called Traditionalists — and the Shi'ahs, thus, agree on two
caliphs only: 'Ali and Hasan. With the Shi'ahs the term
Imamate takes the place of the Sunni term Caliphate. The
main body of Shi'ahs believe in a hereditary line of twelve
Imams. The first was 'Ali, the last was the child of Hasan-
el-' Askari, Mohammed, who disappeared from sight in
878, but who is still supposed to be living in the world in
a disguise which is revealed only by exception.
But among the Shi'ahs themselves was produced a schism
by this very question of the Imamate. On the death of this
sixth imam, Ja'afar-es-Sadiq, one party recognized as imam
his second son, Musa-el-Qasim, while the other turned to
Mohammed-el-Habib, the son of Ja'afar's eldest son, Is-
ma'il, who had predeceased his father. Hence arose the

18 THE HISTORIC SETTING
sect of the Isma'iliyeh, whose esoteric doctrines were destined
to wield such baneful influences. From this sect was de
rived the Order of the Assassins, which filled Europe with
terror at the time of the Crusades. From his castle fortress
north of the mountains of Lebanon, Rashid-ed-Din Sinan,
Grand Prior of the order for Syria, known to the Crusaders
as the Old Man of the Mountains,1 sent forth his white-robed
emissaries to plunge a secret dagger into the heart of any
prince who had incurred his anger. Under their generic
name of Isma'iliyeh the descendants of these Assassins still
live to the number of ten or twenty thousand near their
old Syrian haunts, sending from thence a yearly tribute to
Bombay, where lives the successor of the Old Man of
the Mountains.
The sect known as Druses separated from the main body
of the Isma'iliyeh about the same time as the Assassins.
Both sects thus resulted from a triple schism in Islam.
The Fatimite Dynasty of Caliphs or Imams was founded
by the Shi'ahs of Egypt in the year 969 A. D. These rulers
held themselves to be incarnations of the Divine Reason.
One Darazi, a leading missionary of the Batini section of
the Isma'iliyeh, encouraged in his pretensions to divinity
the third caliph known as El-flakim, who began to rule in
985. This extraordinary person appears to have been a
mixture of monster and buffoon. One fancies that both
Dickens and Stevenson must have been reading Gibbon
when they invented Quilp and Captain Teach. Certainly
his mad pranks can be paralleled only in fiction.3 It is
from Darazi that the ordinary name of the Druses is derived.3
According to a disputed tradition he preached the divinity
of the mad caliph to the inhabitants of the Wady-et-Teim
at the foot of Mount Hermon. At any rate this place was
1 This title was rightly the prerogative of the Grand Master of the
order living at Alamut, in the mountains of Persia, but it seems to have
been assumed by Sinan, who aimed to rival his superior.
2 For his strange career, see chap. LVII of Gibbon's "Decline and
Fall of the Roman Empire."
3 In Arabic "Durzi" signifies one; "Druz," two or more members
of this sect.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CULTS 19
the cradle of the Druse cult in Syria. It is quite possible
that the inhabitants were already indoctrinated with the
peculiar vagaries of the Isma'iliyeh, which were wide-spread.
This would account for their readiness to swallow the latest
developments. The Druses, however, who acknowledge
no name but that of Unitarians, execrate the memory of
Darazi as heartily as they revere the name of Hamzeh,
another missionary of the Isma'iliyeh, who became influ
ential with El-Hakim, and whom they claim to be the
author of most of the one hundred and eleven treatises con
tained in the six volumes that enshrine their secret doc
trines. There are about one hundred and fifty thousand
Druses to-day, mostly grouped in the southern part of the
Lebanon, and also in the Hauran, where they are in fre
quent feud with the Arab tribes and in frequent revolt
against the Turkish authorities. A recent rebellion was
"crushed" in the spring of 1911.
The Nuseiriyeh in the mountains north of the Lebanon,
though strongly impregnated with the doctrine of the Is
ma'iliyeh, claim to believe in the twelve imams of the main
body of the Shi'ahs. According to some estimates they
outnumber the Druses; other guesses would make them a
smaller body. Members of all these secret religions claim
to be Moslems when it suits their convenience, and repu
diate this allegiance with equal ease. In this they are fol
lowing a tenet of conformity shared by all Shi'ahs and ex
plicitly emphasized by the Ismailian teaching.
We have now accounted for the origin of the main cults
to-day found in Syria and Palestine. The Samaritans, in
deed, probably represent a longer unbroken religious tradi
tion, still followed at the centre of worship, than does any
other cult, but they are now reduced to a mere handful — a
hundred plus or minus. The Behais, or Babis, represent
the very last schism of the oft-split Shi'ahs. 'Abbas Effendi,
their head, now dwells at Acre with a few Persian followers.
But the Behais have never sought to extend their cult by
propaganda in Syria, which they entered merely as exiles.
The main body of Behais is still in Persia, where the Bab,

20 THE HISTORIC SETTING
or Door, held to be the forerunner of Beha Allah, was mar
tyred in 1852, though they claim that their converts in the
United States and elsewhere are very numerous. It may
be noticed in passing that 'Abbas Effendi, while preaching
the divinity of his late father, Beha Allah (who died at Acre
in 1892), has now definitely repudiated the doctrine as per
sistently applied to himself by many of his followers all over
the world " 'Abdul Beha," he says, referring to himself,
" is the servant of the word of the Blessed Beauty [i. e.,
Beha Allah] and the manifestation of absolute servitude in
the threshold of the Lord. He has no other station, grade,
class, or power. The great Manifestation was fulfilled and
consummated in the Blessed Beauty of Abha, and his Holi
ness the Supreme (the great Bab) was the Herald of the
Blessed Beauty."1
It is with reluctance that we omit all but the briefest
reference to that most dramatic episode in the religious his
tory of the Holy Land, the domination of the Crusaders.
This, however, had very little influence on the subsequent
religious life of the land, which is our thesis. Probably a
certain portion of the native Latins or Roman Catholics,
now resident in Jerusalem and other parts of Palestine, de
scend from the Pullani (fellahin), or offspring of the Cru
saders by the native women; though it is definitely known
that the ancestors of many of the present Latins were once
Maronites. The lasting influence of the Crusaders was
social rather than religious, as they introduced into the
Holy Land those feudal ideas that controlled the "life of the
Lebanon until the year I860.2
As it has been a political tradition, now happily on the
wane, after a change of party in our National Government,
to make a clean sweep in all public offices, so when the
Crusaders superseded the Saracens the ecclesiastical posi
tions held by the Greek Christians, under the supervision of
their Mohammedan masters, were filled by Latins. Each
party regarded the other with contempt. Jacques de Vitry,
consecrated Latin Bishop of Tyre in 1217, calls the Syrian
1 See "The Behai Bulletin" (New York), December, 1908.
2 See pp. 104-108.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE CULTS 21
Orthodox " double dealers, cunning foxes, liars, turn-coats,
traitors, open to bribes, deceivers, thieves, and robbers." x
But there was no real break in the Greek hierarchy. Greek
patriarchs of Jerusalem and Antioch kept up the ancient
lines at Constantinople, and sometimes even attempted to
reside quietly in their sees. The last Latin Patriarch of
Antioch was killed at the altar by the Saracens in 1268.
We gather from Jacques de Vitry that the Greek bishops
continued in their own dioceses to wield actual, if un
official, power over their people. " As for the Latin prelates,"
he writes, " in whose dioceses they dwell, they obey them in
word but not in deed; and only in outward show they say
that they obey them, out of fear of their masters according to
the flesh, for they have Greek bishops of their own and would
not fear excommunication or any other sentence from the
Latins in the least . . . for they say among themselves that
all Latins are excommunicated, wherefore they cannot give
sentence on any one." 2 No wonder that the worried bishop
felt sore and called names.
When the Crusaders lost their final foothold in Syria in the
year 1292, all members of the Greek hierarchy had slipped
back into their places. Since then the ecclesiastical changes
have been chiefly those of allegiance. The Maronites had
abjured heresy and had joined themselves to the Roman
Church in 1182. In consequence of persistent missionary
effort, in connection with the Roman Propaganda, the Greek
Catholic Melchite Community was formed, the definite split
with the Orthodox dating from 1724. The Syrian Catholics
had separated from the Jacobites some time before. The
ten thousand Protestants now numbered among the native
Christians are due to the work among the old churches con
ducted by foreign societies, beginning with the American
Board in 1821.
'"Historia Hierosolymitana," op. eit., LXXIV. This quotation is
from the English translation in vol. XI of the " Palestine Pilgrims' Text
Series." 'Ibid.

22 THE HISTORIC SETTING

II. Inter-Relations of the Cults
The inter-relations of the cults in Syria and Palestine can
be better understood after the relation of each to the Turkish
Government is made clear. When, in 1453, the first Otto
man sultan, Mahmud II, mounted the throne of his Byzan
tine predecessors, he was made to realize that the Shari'a,
or Sacred Law of Islam, which makes no distinction between
matters civil and religious, could not from the very nature of
things be applied in all its bearings to the large numbers of
his conquered subjects who were Christians.1 The Shari'a
implies duties and privileges which only the followers of the
Prophet can observe and enjoy. . Moslem legislation respect
ing marriage, divorce, inheritance, etc., could not be adapted
to the circumstances of Christians. The Sultan Mahmud
had forced upon him the alternative of creating an especial
code or of permitting these peoples to follow their own regu
lations. The latter alternative was chosen. In all cases
where they could not be treated on the same legal footing
with the Moslems, Christians were in the eye of the law sep
arated into groups, according to the religions which they
professed. At first, the Moslem authorities, not compre
hending the theological distinctions that kept the churches
apart, or the differences in their rites, confounded all Chris
tians together as Greek Orthodox or Roum. Little by little,
however, as these distinctions came to be recognized, sepa
rate communities were formed. Each group became a millet
or nation, really a state within a state. A man was labelled
by his religion. This arrangement was solemnly confirmed
by a berat, or firman, granted to each patriarch or accredited
head of the community. By virtue of these firmans the
heads of sects or nations are still regarded not only as relig
ious but as civil authorities. At the episcopal courts certain
civil as well as religious cases are tried. The Greek Ortho
dox first obtained and have always enjoyed more extended
1 The authority on this subject, whom we closely follow, is the Count
van den Steen de Jehay, in his careful work, " De la Situation Legale des
Sujets Ottomans non-Musulmans " (Bruxelles, 1906).

INTER-RELATIONS OF THE CULTS 23
privileges than any other community. The last of the
firmans was issued in favor of the Jews in 1864, recognizing
their right to be represented at the Sublime Porte by the
Grand Rabbi. The Protestants were organized as a distinct
body, under a wakil, or agent, resident at Constantinople, by
virtue of two firmans dated 1850 and 1853; respectively.
Alone of the Christian churches the Maronites have no
actual firman. The fact that ever since 1516 they have
enjoyed all the privileges of a " nation," recognized by the
sultans, is considered to be sufficient. Precedent takes the
place of formal authorization.
Much stress is laid by Western students of religious affairs
in Turkey on one feature of the Tanzimat, or Corpus of
Reforms, provoked by the Great Powers, beginning with
the famous Hatti Sherif of Gulhane", 1839, and culminating
in the Hatti Houmayun of 1856. This latter is often called
the Magna Charta of religious liberties in Turkey, having
been regarded, at its issue, to be a guarantee of full religious
liberty to all Turkish subjects of any creed or faith. The
Count de Jehay, however, points out that it is a mistake to
think that the Tanzimat had fundamentally the aim of ex
tending the privileges which had been granted to the Chris
tian communities. Indeed, the very principles of equality for
all Turkish subjects before the law, which they advocated,
logically entailed the curtailing of certain especial privileges,
not strictly involving religious questions, which had been
long enjoyed by the Greeks. Among other rights the Patri
arch of Constantinople had full power to condemn those
under him to exile, to send them to prison, to levy taxes with
out government interference. But Jhat was not all. He
could actually demand the assistance of government officials
in carrying out his desires by force. In the broad interests
of justice the Hatti Houmayun ordained that each Christian
or non-Mussulman community should have its immunities
re-examineo! by a commission appointed in its midst. The
status of the Greek community was thus readjusted on a
basis which in general still controls it. In 1879, however, the
Porte made another attempt to curtail the privileges of the
Greek Orthodox. The hierarchy stoutly resisted. Two

24 THE HISTORIC SETTING
patriarchs resigned, in 1884 and 1890 respectively. At one
time, the patriarchal throne being vacant, the Holy Synod
of Constantinople requested all Greek churches within
the empire to close their doors and suspend services, as
a demonstration against the government. This religious
strike lasted for a month. In 1891 a modus vivendi was
agreed on. The patriarch is now allowed jurisdiction in
matters relating to marriage, divorce, and, with certain
restrictions, to inheritance. No priest can be arrested by
the government except through the patriarch or bishop, who
acts as intermediary. A priest cannot be put in the com
mon prison unless he has been unfrocked, after having been
convicted of actual crime.
At the time of the Moslem conquest it was ordained that
Christians should be excluded from the army, but in lieu of
military service each male was obliged to pay a poll-tax.
Theoretically, this system was abolished by the Hatti Hou
mayun, which arranged for drafting Christian soldiers. This
change, however, was not carried into effect until after the
revolution of 1908. In the meantime the poll-tax continued
to be paid, though a certain change was made in the manner
of imposing it. On the march to Constantinople in the
spring of 1909, when the counter-revolution of 'Abd-el-Hamid
was crushed, for the first time Turkish generals led a mixed
army of Moslems, Christians, and Jews. Since then soldiers
have been regularly drafted irrespective of creed, though this
radical change is being introduced with some caution. The
newly created parliament is open to members of all faiths,
but naturally Moslems greatly preponderate.
The Hatti Houmayun granted some leeway to members
of the same non-Moslem community concerning the matters
which may be brought before the especial tribunals. To a
certain extent, thus, recourse to these constitutes a right
rather than an obligation. For example, should two members
of the Greek Orthodox Church be about to go to law concern
ing some minor matters not explicitly declared to be under the
exclusive jurisdiction of the patriarch, and should they have
some reason for avoiding the ecclesiastical courts, the tri
bunals of the empire are open to them. In all criminal cases,

INTER-RELATIONS OF THE CULTS 25
of course, these government courts have sole jurisdiction.
Also before them alone are tried cases between a Moslem
and a non-Moslem, or between non-Moslems of different
religious communities.
For about four centuries after the Mohammedan conquest
the Turkish courts followed but one procedure, that of the
Shari'a, or Sacred Law. During the reign of 'Abd-el-Mejid,
side by side with these courts were established a set of
tribunals, criminal, civil, and commercial, under the general
name of 'Adliyeh, or Courts of Justice, all closely following
the Code Napoleon. The development of his new system
appears to have been slow, but it was firmly established in
Jerusalem, for example, about forty years ago. These
tribunals have no jurisdiction over matters pertaining to
wills and minors, which must be taken before the Shari'a
court. In other matters the accused may choose before
which court he may be tried. As a matter of fact, in many
places the business of the Shari'a courts is limited to Moslem
religious affairs. Moslems, of course, try their best to have
their cases with Christians tried according to their sacred
law. The proclamation of the Sultan 'Abd-el-Hamid, in
his last desperate struggle to recover his lost power, con
tained this phrase, intended, under cover of its non-committal
diction, to inflame Moslem fanaticism: "The Shari'a is to
be honored!"
The Qadhi, or Moslem religious judge, has authority over
both the Shari'a and the 'Adliyeh tribunals, except the
criminal court of the latter. The heads of the 'Adliyeh
tribunals must always be Moslems, but the judges may be
half Moslems and half Christians. In Jerusalem, where this
proportion exists, the head-quarters of the 'Adliyeh are at
the Seraya, or Government House, and those of the Shari'a
are at the old Mahkamy, or Place of Judgment, near the
Temple Court.
The widely circulated statement that the testimony of a
Christian as against a Moslem is not valid in Moslem law
is literally true. It, however, creates a false impression.
"Testimony" is "shehadi," and no Christian can bear she-
hadi against a Moslem. But shehadi is a technical term

26 THE HISTORIC SETTING
applying merely to witness borne in or referred to the Sha
ri'a courts. In an 'Adliyeh tribunal any one, irrespective
of creed, can give " akhbar " or " information," which is, to
all intents and results, witness or testimony. In the large
centres of Syria and Palestine, a Christian is thus under no
legal embarrassment in the matter of testimony, save as he
is obliged to enter the Shari'a courts, if his litigation in
volves minors, or some one of a few other questions in which
it has sole jurisdiction. Practically, however, there are
many ways in which a Christian who has no backing, can
be embarrassed in this as well as in other regards.
It is clear that such divisions as exist among the cults
of Syria and Palestine must be accentuated by the official
groupings which have just been reviewed. This holds true
not only of the main divisions into Christians, Jews, Mo
hammedans, Druses, and Nuseiriyeh, but of the subdivisions
as well. The relations of a man to his sect being not only
religious but secular, he is never allowed to forget that he is
Maronite, Greek, Jacobite, or Protestant. The distinction
of religion is a controlling force in political life. The Leb
anon, for example, is divided into districts, each governed
by a qaimaqdm, who belongs to that sect which predomi
nates numerically. Thus, in Zahleh the qaimaqdm must
be a Greek Catholic; in the Kura, Greek Orthodox; in the
Shuf, a Druse; in the Kesrouan, a Maronite. The other
districts are ruled by Druses or Maronites according to the
same law. A similar law has regulated exactly the pro
portion of minor offices which each sect can claim, down to
the very position of sweeper in the Government House!
The segregation of cults in villages, already touched upon,
or in different quarters of the same town, fosters the sense
of division which led to its adoption. One speaks of a
Christian village or a Moslem village. Every casual trav
eller to Palestine, where such segregation appears to be the
rule, must have noted that Bethany is Moslem while Beth
lehem is Christian. Jerusalem has its Christian quarter,
its Moslem quarter, its Jewish quarter. To a certain ex
tent this system applies to the business section. On a

INTER-RELATIONS OF THE CULTS 27
Saturday you may pass from a crowded street, where trade
is brisk at all the little shops, to another street where all the
doors are closed: one is the street of the saddlers, who are
mostly Moslems, the other is devoted to general retail trade,
now largely in the hands of the Jews. Even in " Christian
Street" half the shops are closed on the Jewish "Sabbath."
The number of antagonisms among the cults of Syria and
Palestine is bewildering. First we find Moslems ranged
against each other: Orthodox Sunni bitterly hating Shi-
'ah Metawali. Feuds between Nuseiriyeh and Isma'iliyeh
have been constant. Christians despise Jews. Strife be
tween Druses and Christians (political rather than religious),
which had blazed up in civil war in 1845 and 1860, resulted
in the complete reconstruction of the Lebanon Government
at the last-mentioned date. Since then the mutual relations
have been peaceful. And finally, the Christian bodies are
often in dispute among themselves. But before glancing at
the painful details of these divisions, we may refer again to
the common fund of superstitious beliefs in which all share.
That some of these have been inherited from an ancient
form of worship antedating them all has been already
hinted. Christians, Moslems, Jews, and Nuseiriyeh visit
each others' shrines. The Moslems take their insane, or
"possessed," to get rid of their evil spirits in the cave
of Saint Anthony, belonging to the Maronite convent of
Qozhayya, in the Lebanon. Christians go on a similar
errand to the well at the shrine of Sheikh Hasan er-Ra'i
(the Shepherd) near Damascus. Dr. Curtiss reports in
stances of Christians who vow "sacrifices" to Moslem
saints turning the head of the sheep toward Mecca while
they kill it. During the procession on Good Friday, barren
Moslem women pass under the cloth on which is stamped
the figure of Christ, in hopes that they may bear children.
Christian women in Hums consult Dervish diviners. The
Nuseiriyeh observe Christmas, though they subordinate
Jesus to 'Ali. A Greek priest told me of a Druse who re
cently had his child carried through the sanctuary of the
Church of the Virgin in the Palm Sunday procession, that,
through blessing received, he might not die as had all the

28 THE HISTORIC SETTING
other children. Instances of Moslems seeking baptism for
their children as a sort of charm have been reported from
all parts of Syria and Palestine, from Es-Salt on the south
to Ras-Ba'albek on the north. A Mohammedan of Zahleh
has had all his children baptized, though the priest insists
on a Christian god-father. At Jaffa a Moslem woman
begged a Protestant missionary to baptize her sick baby.
Learning that she had no idea of rearing it as a Christian,
he refused, and she applied to the Greek priest. Dr. Curtiss
heard of a Moslem's baptism where the priest performed the
act with "maimed rites," omitting to use the consecrated
oil of baptism. Baldensperger mentions secret baptisms
among the fellahin, and ascribes this desire to the belief of
the Moslems that the rite destroys a certain odor, peculiar
to themselves, which attracts ghosts! 1 This falls in line
with information I have received from Christians. Once,
in speaking with a Maronite peasant about the frequent
ablutions of the Moslems, I remarked on the fact that the
Christians have no such ceremonies. "No," he replied,
"the Moslems were never cleansed in baptism as we are,
and are always trying to get rid of their natural evil odor
by washing themselves all over, but without success.
Thank God, I have had no need of a bath since I was bap
tized." It is hardly necessary to add that for this physical
theory of baptism the Maronite Church cannot be held
officially responsible.
The relations between Moslems and Christians varies in
different centres of Syria and Palestine according to the
ratio which they bear to each other. This ratio takes ac
count of wealth and influence as well as of numbers. In
places like Beyrout, where the Christians not only prepon
derate numerically, but control business, the Moslems tend
to be antagonistic. In Damascus, on the other hand, the
Moslems, who form the bulk of the well-to-do population,
can afford to feel friendly toward their Christian neighbors.
Moreover, they have never forgotten how Moslems were
1 See article, " Birth, Marriage and Death among the Fellahin of
Palestine," by P. J. Baldensperger, found in the "Quarterly Statement
of the Palestine Exploration Fund" for 1894, p. 127.

INTER-RELATIONS OF THE CULTS 29
hung in the streets for the massacre of Christians when
fanaticism was aroused by the events of 1860. A foreign
resident declared in my hearing that the Christians are
overbearing toward the Moslems, who show a courteous
demeanor. But even at best, between followers of the two
religions there runs a sharp line of cleavage. The Moslems
are ever conscious that theirs is the religion of the race that
conquered Syria. The Christians can never forget that
theirs is the faith that was conquered. On the one side are
often found hatred, arrogance, and contempt; on the other,
hatred, fear, and suspicion. The smouldering embers are
liable to be fanned into flame by any sudden event. After
months and years of apparently peaceful relations, the
murder of a Moslem by a Christian or of a Christian by a
Moslem may provoke a series of reprisals, which, if not
checked by the government with a strong hand, contain
the possibilities of massacre.
This fundamental antagonism between the two cults has
proved to be not incompatible with real friendship between
individual Moslems and Christians. It is a well-authenti
cated fact that during periods of massacre Moslems, at the
risk of their own lives, have often sheltered their Christian
neighbors. Good men of both religions honor and respect
one another. Owing to the general march of civilization,
Christians suffer much less from the Moslem domination in
Syria than they did a hundred years ago. Then sumptu
ary laws were in force. As late as 1820 no Christian in
Damascus could wear anything but black or could ride a
horse.1 The lack of harmony between the various Christian sects
is not only bad religion; it is bad policy. From any point
of view it is lamentable. In face of the overwhelming
strength of Islam it is sheer folly. In passing, one may be
permitted to note that the same criticism applies to different
Protestant mission bodies working at cross-purposes any
where in the world of Islam. Happily, in this case such
criticism is less needed than formerly. The lines of cleav
age among the Syrian churches are sometimes curious and
1 See "Fifty-three Years in Syria," vol. I, p. 28, by Dr. H. H. Jessup.

30 THE HISTORIC SETTING
puzzling. The antagonism between Orthodox Greeks and
Maronites is natural. The former repudiate, the latter ac
cept the papal claims. It is also natural for the Orthodox
to feel bitterly toward the papal Greeks, who, after a fierce
quarrel, separated from them in 1724. A century and a
quarter after the split, according to Churchill, " the Greek
Catholic bishop in Beyrout was violently assaulted at the
altar by the Orthodox bishop's party, ... his robes were
torn from his back, and he was driven ignominiously into
the street." x But in some places the papal Greeks hate
the papal Maronites more than they do their former Ortho
dox brethren. With the Maronites they have nothing in
common but ecclesiastical allegiance; with the Orthodox
they share a common inheritance of tradition and ritual.
Such elements of discord among the different Christian
sects always exist, but, it should be added with emphasis,
they are by no means constantly active. As Moslems and
Christians may live side by side in harmony, even to a
greater degree among the antagonistic Christian bodies
there may be long periods of peaceful intercourse. In
the ordinary villages and towns the normal relations are
friendly. For hot-beds of strife, ever threatening to break
out, or at best rendering ecclesiastical life an armed truce,
one must turn to the holy places of Palestine.
It is in the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem, and in
the Church of the Anastasis, or Resurrection, at Jerusalem
(popularly called the Church of the Holy Sepulchre), that
the antagonism among Christian bodies develops into posi
tive scandal. In the Bethlehem church, where a quarrel
between Greek and Latin priests precipitated the Crimean
War, Moslem soldiers are always on guard. A friend of
mine asked a Turkish soldier why he stood exactly in one
place. "It is to watch that nail," he said, pointing to the
wall. "The Armenians drove it in, boasting they would
hang a picture on it. The Greeks threatened to prevent
them. It is my business to stand here and see that no one
touches the nail. If the Armenians get at it, they will hang
1 "Mount Lebanon," vol. I, p. 185, by Colonel Churchill (London,
1853).

INTER-RELATIONS OF THE CULTS 31
their picture and crow over their victory. If the Greeks
come near it, they will pull it out and claim that they have
won their point against the Armenians. So I must guard
the nail till I am relieved by another soldier."
Every pilgrim or traveller who would visit the alleged
Sepulchre of Christ must pass the low platform, just within
the entrance, where lounge the supercilious Moslem guards
who keep the keys of the Anastasis. As a matter of fact,
they are the safest custodians that could be found in Jeru
salem under the present conditions. Archdeacon Dowling
declares that the real proprietor of the Holy Sepulchre is the
sultan.1 I have heard this question violently disputed, pro
and con, by prominent citizens of Jerusalem, Greeks and
Latins. Practically, the different bodies — Latins, Greeks,
Armenians, and Syrians — have no more than the right of
custody of different parts. Such an arrangement, which
follows the minutest regulations, is imperative. Whoever
may be the actual owner of the building, the Turkish Gov
ernment is ultimately responsible for its care. Should the
Latins, Greeks, and Armenians fail to agree to make some
needful repairs of the pavement around the tabernacle over
the tomb, which they guard in common, this must be done
at the expense of the municipality.
A few years ago there was a dispute between the Greek
and Franciscan priests as to the right to sweep the steps
leading up from the court-yard to the Latin Chapel of the
Agony of Mary. Members of both parties waited for hours
at the foot of the stairway for the decision of the Turkish
governor and of the French consul, who were in communi
cation regarding this weighty matter. Doubtless, old doc
uments were ransacked for precedent. Meanwhile, crowds
collected in the court and on the roofs of the surrounding
buildings. Stones were thrown at the monks and priests,
quite likely by partisans of both factions. In the fight that
was precipitated the Latins got the worst of it. Leading
Greek priests and monks, in whose garments hatchets were
found concealed, were arrested, tried, and condemned before
1 See his pamphlet, "The Patriarchate of Jerusalem," p. 22 (London,
1908).

32 THE HISTORIC SETTING
the Turkish courts. Eventually these were pardoned by
the sultan.
From these scenes of strife it is a relief to turn to one
of the most extraordinary social and religious phenomena
chronicled in history. For a month, beginning with July
24, 1908, when the suspended constitution of 1877 was again
proclaimed, the various cults of the Turkish Empire forgot
their differences in what may be called, without any exaggera
tion, a prolonged love-feast. In an ecstasy of relief at de
liverance from the inhuman autocracy of 'Abd-el-flamid, the
antagonistic peoples found an unlooked-for bond. As vic
tims of a common oppression they had suffered apart; they
now came together as sharers in a common joy. Stirred to
its very bottom, human nature in Turkey for once brought
only its best elements to the surface. Among foreign on
lookers, optimists were triumphant; pessimists were for the
moment silenced. In the universal shouts of liberty, equal
ity, and fraternity, the accent was at first on fraternity. The
manifestations were too natural and gay to be hysterical.
Every one was simply happy. Speaking generally, this car
nival of joy was no epidemic. Rather it was manifested
by spontaneous outbursts occurring all over the empire at
the same time. At Constantinople people of all nationalities
fell on each others' necks in the streets. Moslems joined
Christians in decorating the graves of massacred Armenians.
Banners and draperies were stretched over the narrow streets
of the old town of Beyrout; the pavements were strewn with
rugs; shops were temporarily supplied with furniture from
home, as an invitation to hospitality. In his exuberance,
one merchant publicly exhibited the pictures of his children.
Different districts vied with each other in entertaining the
rest of the city. Among the huge crowds there was nothing
but good-nature. No one was drunk. Pickpockets forgot
their trade. Rowdies became polite. A knot of people,
discussing the new spirit of religious equality at the street
corner, would hail two passers-by, a Greek priest and a
Moslem sheikh, and make them kiss each other, in dramatic
illustration of the subject. The Moslem roughs of the old
city, who had been in deadly feud with the Christian toughs

INTER-RELATIONS OF THE CULTS 33
of the suburbs, invited their former enemies to a feast in
a public square, serving them with their own hands. In
Jerusalem the Greeks gave an entertainment where the
patriarch sprinkled the Jews with rose-water. The Arme
nians invited the whole city to a reception at their convent,
especial attention being paid to the Moslems. Not to be
outdone, the Latins hired the theatre and offered free dra
matic exhibitions to the entire community. Nine months
later, at a public meeting at Damascus, orators prophesied
an era of humanity, justice, and brotherhood in the Turkish
Empire, in which members of all races and creeds would
dwell together in harmony. The speeches were loudly ap
plauded by the audience, which included the Turkish gov
ernor, the Orthodox patriarch, Jewish rabbis, and Moslem
sheikhs. This meeting, which has been described by Mr. James
Creelman,1 occurred in the early summer of 1909, soon after
the terrible massacres of Armenians at Adana, which to
the superficial observer seemed to give the lie to the protes
tations of the summer before.2 It is manifestly unfair to in
dict a whole people for events happening in one district. But
I would go further than mere general statements. To me
the assertion seems quite legitimate that the counter-revolu
tion, of which the massacres formed an incident, proved that
below the froth of the summer's sentiment there lay some
thing more solid which later prevented the spirit of massacre
from spreading over a wide area. After the events of Adana
stories were everywhere afloat in the towns of Asia Minor,
Syria, and Palestine, telling of orders from the reactionary
party at Constantinople for the massacre of Christians,
which were set aside by the authorities, civil or military, as
the case might be. These stories have been neither authen
ticated nor disproved. That some of them have a basis in
truth is morally certain. It is a fact that no more massacres
occurred. But had the Moslems wanted a general massacre,
no authority at that time, civil or military, could have pre-
1 See his article, entitled "After the Great Massacre," in Pearson's
Magazine, October, 1909, p. 454 ff. (New York).
2 Compare with pp. 192-3.

34 THE HISTORIC SETTING
vented it. The inference is that the people did not want it.
Why, then, should we hesitate to ascribe their reluctance to
memories — acting consciously or unconsciously — to mem
ories of the strange, glad days when they declared their
new-born love for their Christian neighbors? Those, in
deed, were days of prophecy. The complete fulfilment may
be far in the future, but surely a foretaste has been already-
vouchsafed.

CHAPTER II
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE EASTERN
CHURCHES
Introductory Note
From the point of view of their origin, the Eastern
churches fall under four categories. In the first is the Holy
Orthodox or Greek Church, whose claim to be the most
lineal representative of the primitive church maybe conceded.
In the second are the national churches, which arose during
the fifth and sixth centuries in protest to the decisions of the
Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon, and which are more or
less tainted with the so-called heresies condemned by those
councils. These are the Nestorian, Gregorian or Armenian,
Coptic or Egyptian, Abyssinian, and Old Syrian or Jacobite
Churches.1 In the third category are such portions of all the
above-mentioned churches as have submitted to the author
ity of Rome, and are thus known as the Uniate, Uniat, or
1 The Nestorian heresy of the two persons in Christ was condemned
at the Council of Ephesus, 431 A. D. Its followers constituted the
Nestorian Church. The Monophysite doctrine, which maintained the
existence of a single nature in Christ, was condemned at the Council of
Chalcedon, 451 A. D. In consequence of this the churches of Syria,
Egypt, and Armenia broke away from the Orthodox Church, forming
the Jacobite, Coptic, and Gregorian National Churches. The Copts,
however, alone held to the purely Monophysite view, that the divinity
and humanity make up one compound nature in Christ. The Gregori-
ans, and later the Jacobites, embraced the Eutychian form of the doc
trine that the divinity constitutes His sole nature. In the seventh
century, the Emperor Heraclius sought a common ground for agreement
between orthodox and heretics in the expression, " One divinely human
mode of working and willing in Christ. ' ' This doctrine became known as
Monothelitism. It was condemned at the Third Council of Constanti
nople in 680, but was adopted by the Maronite or National Syrian
Church of the Lebanon. 35

36 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
United bodies. These are governed by a local hierarchy
under the control of the Papal See, but preserve almost in
tact the ritual, discipline, and customs of the churches from
which they have severally seceded. These churches are the
Greek Catholic Melchite Church, the Chaldean or United
Nestorian Church, the Armenian Catholic, Coptic Catholic,
Abyssinian Catholic, and Syrian Catholic Churches. In the
fourth category the Maronite or the ancient national church
of the Lebanon stands alone. Resembling the Uniate bod
ies in the terms of its submission to Rome, it differs from
these in being the only example of a heretical national church
that has thus submitted in its entirety. There are Grego
rian Armenians and United Armenians, Copts and Coptic
Catholics, and so forth through the list; there are no non-
united Maronites.1
In our present study we are concerned with only five out
of these thirteen churches, namely, the Holy Orthodox or
Greek Church, the Greek Catholic Melchite Church, the
Maronite Church, the Old Syrian or Jacobite Church, and
the Syrian Catholic Church. Six of the remaining eight
are quite beyond our geographical pale: the Coptic, the Cop
tic Catholic, the Abyssinian, the Abyssinian Catholic, the
Nestorian, and the Chaldean or United Nestorians. Copts
and Abyssinians have a foothold in Jerusalem, and a share
in the cult of the Holy Sepulchre, but they are practically
strangers in Syria and Palestine. In a somewhat modified
sense the same holds of the Armenians and Armenian
Catholics. It is true that many thousand Armenians, both
Gregorian and United, are domesticated in the northern
part of Syria, but only as an overflow, as it were, of the
Armenians of Asia Minor; it is also true that the Armenian
convent at Jerusalem, with its resident patriarch accredited
to the Holy City, is rich and influential, playing an important
role in the affairs of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, as
well as in the Church of the Nativity, at Bethlehem, but the
1 This list of thirteen bodies covers only the Eastern churches of
Turkey, Egypt, and Abyssinia. On page 95 may be found the names
of other ecclesiastical bodies following Eastern rites in Europe and
recognized by Rome.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE 37
number of Armenians, Gregorian and United, actually resi
dent in or near the Holy City amounts only to about twelve
hundred. In other parts of the land, exclusive of the extreme
north, there may be found about four thousand more. The
picturesquely situated Monastery of B'zummar became a
centre for the Armenian Catholics, who fled to the Lebanon
from government persecution in Aleppo about the middle
of the nineteenth century, being for some time the residence
of their chief, styled the Patriarch of Cilicia.1 This digni
tary now resides at Constantinople.
Of the five Eastern churches which claim our attention
in Syria and Palestine proper, the Maronite is the strongest
numerically, with about thirty-six per cent of the total Chris
tian population of about nine hundred thousand, but the
Greek Orthodox Church follows closely with about thirty-
four per cent.2 The Greek Catholic communion has less
than half as many followers as the Greek Orthodox. Sub
tracting the Latins or Roman Catholics and the Protestants,
who, taken together, amount to several thousand, the rest of
the Christian inhabitants, amounting to about five per cent
of the whole number, is divided between the Jacobites or
Old Syrians and the Syrian Catholics, with some nineteen
thousand of the former and some twenty-four thousand of the
latter. The Greek Orthodox are spread all over Syria and
Palestine; the Greek Catholics are strongest in Central Syria;
the Maronites are largely concentrated in the Lebanon and
in Beyrout; while the Syrians (both Jacobite and Catholic)
are mainly confined to northern Syria.
These five churches have many things in common, both
among themselves and with Rome. From a Protestant
point of view, these matters in which there is agreement
1 See "Mount Lebanon," vol. I, pp. 22 and 93, by Colonel Churchill
(London, 1853). " The Turkish Empire," vol. II, p. 147, by R. R. Mad
den (London, 1862).
2 These statistics, based on Baedeker's list (edition of 1906), should be
taken with caution, as should all the greatly varying estimates of the
population of Syria and Palestine, their being no scientific government
census for these lands. The figures, however, probably indicate with
approximate correctness the relative numerical strength of the various
Christian bodies.

38 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
must overshadow the points of difference. In the same
manner the divisions of non-episcopal Protestantism must
be a constant puzzle to Roman Catholics, who must recog
nize in all denominations one main trend of doctrine and
practice. Sharing in common, among other things, a be
lief in the seven sacraments, these five Eastern churches all
hold to baptismal regeneration, confession and absolution,
the sacrifice of the mass, apostolic succession, the three
ecclesiastical orders, intercession of the Virgin and the
saints, as well as to the underlying points of theology proper.
This basic unity of doctrine and practice explains the ease
with which large bodies from all the churches have been
received into communion by Rome, with hardly any altera
tion in church services and ecclesiastical customs. But,
taken together, these five Eastern churches show several
points of difference from the Roman Catholic or Western
church, apparent in all, though, in some particulars, dis
tinctly less emphasized in the united bodies, and especially
less in the Maronite, the most ultramontane of all. These
will appear clearly in our detailed treatment, but it may be
well to group together some of them in this introductory note.
Thus we may specify the more democratic character of the
Eastern churches, illustrated in the non-united bodies by
the people's part in the choice and election of patriarchs
and bishops; a free use of the vernacular in the church
services, in oontrast with the general use of Latin by the
Romans; the emphasis laid on the mass as a mystery, by
screening the sanctuary and altar from the view of the
people, a practice common to all the Eastern churches, ex
cept the Maronite; the number and rigidity of fasts (re
laxed in the united communions) ; the ordaining of married
men as parish priests; the wearing of beards by the clergy;
communion of the people in both kinds and the confirmation
of infants immediately after baptism, both practices common
to all but the Maronites.

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 39

I. The Orthodox Church
That great branch of the church universal, variously
known as the Orthodox, Eastern, or Greek Church, has
itself many branches. Though independent in control,
one of the other, these members acknowledge one common
head, the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that He has no
vicar on earth, and one common doctrine and practice,
which indissolubly bind them together. The fullest form
of the title of this church is: "The Church of the Seven
Councils, Ecumenical, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic."
Claim is thus officially laid to the term Catholic. Since the
separation of the churches in the eleventh century, however,
the Eastern church has been ordinarily contented with the
title, "The Holy Orthodox Church," which distinguishes
it from the Western church, especially designated as Cath
olic. When a member of the Orthodox Church in Syria
to-day speaks of a Catholic, he uses the term as equiva
lent to papal. Nor is the Eastern choice of a badge with
out vital significance. The Orthodox Church is one as the
Roman Catholic Church is one, but with a different bond
of unity. With the latter this bond is expressed, in the last
analysis, by a personal loyalty to the Pope of Rome; with
the former it is expressed by an impersonal loyalty to ortho
doxy, as laid down by the Ecumenical Councils, represent
ing the different branches of the whole church. Greek
theologians hold that since the last of the seven great
councils, the term ecumenical can no longer be applied
technically to the councils of the church, but from time to
time such general assemblies may be summoned under the
name of local councils. The last was called in 1872 by
the Patriarch of Constantinople, to settle the status of the
Bulgarian church, delegates being present from all branches
of the Orthodox Church, except that of Russia, which, as
an interested party, had no representation.1
The points of belief and practice, which essentially differ-
1 This reason was assigned to me by a prominent ecclesiastic of the
Jerusalem Monastery.

40 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
entiate the Orthodox communion from the papal, were in
1895 summed up as follows by Anthimus, then Patriarch
of Constantinople: (1) Procession of the Holy Ghost from
the Father alone. (2) The necessity for triple immersion
in baptism. (3) The use of leavened bread in the mass, as
over against the azyma, or unleavened bread. (4) The
form of the epiclesis, or invocation of the Holy Spirit upon
the worshippers and upon the sacramental gifts. (5) Com
munion of the people in both kinds. (6) The denial of
indulgence and purgatory, though disbelief in the latter is
held to be consistent with prayers for the dead.1
It is a fundamental axiom of the Orthodox Church, in
herited from the Byzantine Empire, that wherever there is
an independent state, there also must be an independent
church. Thus, as far as Greek orthodoxy is concerned,
temporal and spiritual authority have the same geographical
limits. While coextensive, they are not necessarily coin
cident, hence an autonomous Greek church can exist in an
autonomous Moslem state.2 As a corollary to this general
proposition, whenever a given country becomes independent
the Orthodox Church within its borders should become not
only self-governing, but autocephalous : that is, having the
right to elect its chief or the members of the synod which
directs it without the necessity of obtaining confirmation of
the election from any other patriarch or synod. At the
present day the one hundred million members of the Ortho
dox Church are grouped in at least fifteen of these auto
cephalous churches. In the following list the dates indi
cate the year when the independence of a given church was
either claimed or acknowledged. From a study of these
dates it will be at once apparent that many of these churches
owe their independence to the comparatively recent lopping
off of territory from European Turkey. In some cases the
independence of the church is almost synchronous with that
1 This list is found in an encyclical and synodical letter, dated 1895,
addressed to clergy and people. Quoted by Comte de Jehay, "De la
Situation Legale des Sujets Ottomans non-Musulmans," p. 91.
2 The state religion of Turkey is Islam, but the sultan claims a certain
control of all the churches. Compare with page 43.

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 41
of the state; in others, the full independence of the church
in relation to the See of Constantinople follows after a
longer or a shorter interval. Thus the supremacy of the
Holy Synod of Belgrade over the Servian church followed
almost immediately on the recognition of the independence
of the kingdom at the Congress of Berlin. On the other
hand, though Greece achieved independence in 1833, the
independence of the Church of Greece was not recognized
by the Patriarch of Constantinople till 1850. In the fol
lowing list, the fifteen self-governing branches of the Ortho
dox Church are placed in order of acknowledged rank.1
(1) The Ecumenical Church, which has for its chief the
Patriarch of Constantinople. (381 A. D.) The extent of
his jurisdiction, past and present, is referred to later.
(2) The Patriarchate of Alexandria. (About 67 A. D.)
(3) The Patriarchate of Antioch. (53 A. D.)
(4) The Patriarchate of Jerusalem. (451 A. D.)
(5) The Church of Russia. This body, consisting of
some ninety million communicants, is now directed by the
Most Holy Governing Synod, which sits at Saint Peters
burg. The independence of this church dates from 1589,
with the universal recognition of the patriarchate, which,
however, lasted only until 1700, when Peter the Great re
placed it by the synod. The organization of this body re
mains unchanged, with a membership of bishops and
priests appointed by the czar, under the presidency of the
Metropolitan of Saint Petersburg. The function of the
high procurator, a layman, who sits with the body, is to
secure a conformity between the ecclesiastical decisions and
the laws of the empire.
(6) The Metropolitan Church of Cyprus. (431 A. D.)
This church still stoutly asserts its independence, estab
lished at the Council of Ephesus. In 1900, when it was
impossible for the synod to agree on the election of a metro
politan archbishop, the offer of the Patriarch of Constanti
nople to nominate the candidate was refused as militating
against autocephalous rights.2
1 See the work of de Jehay, op. cit., p. 82.
2 See de Jehay, op. cit., p. 142.

42 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
(7) The Church of Greece, directed by the Holy Synod
of Athens. (1850; but see above.)
(8) The Archbishopric of Mount Sinai. (About 1775
A. D.) The archbishop receives consecration from the
Patriarch of Jerusalem, but claims independence over this
Convent in the Desert, constituting what is probably the
smallest church in the world. This claim is recognized by
Russia, but not by Constantinople;1 but theologians who
acknowledge it give Sinai the eighth rank.
(9) The Church of Servia, governed by the Holy Synod
of Belgrade. (1879 A. D.)
(10) The Church of Roumania, governed by the Holy
Synod of Bucharest. (1885.)
(11) The Church of Montenegro, whose head is the Vla-
dika or Chief Bishop, of Cettigne. (1766.)
(12) The Patriarchate of Karlowitz, in Croatia-Slavonia,
Hungary. (Founded in 1743; re-established in 1848.)
(13) The Metropolitan Church of Hermannstadt, in
Transylvania, Austro-Hungary. (1868.)
(14) The Metropolitan Church of Cernowitz, capital of
Bukowina, Austro-Hungary. (1873.)
(15) The Bulgarian Church, whose head is called Exarch.
•The imperial firman granting the Bulgarians a right to pos
sess their own exarchate independent of the Patriarch of
Constantinople was issued in 1870. This right was natu
rally contested by the patriarch, as long as Turkey continued
to have a shadow of authority in Bulgaria. The continued
residence of the exarch in Constantinople, since the complete
independence of the kingdom, is merely in the interests
of the large number of members of the Bulgarian church
who live in Macedonia.
To these fifteen churches should now be added the
churches of Bosnia and Herzegovina,2 which indeed have
been practically independent since the Congress of Berlin,
although not formally annexed to Austria till the autumn
of 1908. When any one of the autocephalous churches
1Ibid.
2 It may be noted that the Patriarch of Constantinople seldom gives
up his control without protest and struggle.

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 43
elects a new head, "letters of peace," to announce his elec
tion, are sent to the heads of all the other churches.
It will be noticed in the above list of autocephalous
churches, that the first four— namely, the Ecumenical Church
under the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Patriarchates
of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem — are all in the Turk
ish Empire, for in theory Egypt is still a dependancy of
Turkey. Thus the general rule of ecclesiastical government
in the Orthodox Church, according to which temporal and
spiritual jurisdiction have the same geographical limits, is
so far modified in the Turkish Empire that the ecclesiasti
cal authority is divided among four independent branches.
The reasons for this exception, having their roots in primitive
church history, do not concern us here. Independent though
they be, the four patriarchates have two central points of
contact: one in the person of the sultan of the empire, who
in a manner inherits the ecclesiastical prerogatives of his
Byzantine predecessors, and without whose final sanction no
patriarch may be enthroned;1 the other in the holy places of
Palestine, which belong to the whole church as found in the
empire, and the control of which is shared by all the patri
archs. This complete independence of the four sees is not
generally recognized by the outside world, or even by many
Western scholars, who maintain that the Patriarch of Con
stantinople exercises supreme authority over the Greek
Church throughout the empire. Thus in his recent history,
Adeney states that when Constantinople came under Turk
ish rule the patriarch " was set over all the Orthodox Chris
tians in the Ottoman Empire, including those of the three
other Patriarchates of Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria."2
1 De Jehay (op. cit.) asserts that Mohammed II assumed not only the
right of investiture but also employed the very Greek formula used by
the Byzantine emperors, though this included the phrase "The Holy
Trinity that has given me the empire!" (p. 90). On page 52 we give
an illustration of imperial power, whereby a Greek ecclesiastic was exiled
for refusing to recognize a patriarch confirmed by the sultan. All
patriarchs must be Turkish subjects.
2 " The Greek and Eastern Churches," by W. F. Adeney, " Internation
al Theological Library," 1908, foot-note 1 to p. 312. The author in an

44 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
Again referring to Silbernagl as authority, he calls the pres
ent ecumenical patriarch " the spiritual head of the whole
Orthodox Church (sic) and the secular head of the Greek
Church in the Turkish dominions." x Adeney acknowl
edges the present rights of the Patriarchs of Antioch and
Jerusalem to choose their own patriarchs without reference
to the Ecumenical Church, but adds that " the Patriarch of
Alexandria is still subject to the Patriarch of Constanti
nople." 2 Similar generalizations are made by Tozer.3
Such a view of the supremacy of the Patriarch of Con
stantinople over the other three, mistaken though it is, rises
not unnaturally from the misinterpretation of certain facts.
The title Ecumenical is itself misleading. It seems to have
misled the Turks themselves. Since the taking of Constan
tinople in 1453, the resident patriarch has been regarded
as head of the Orthodox in Turkey, by the government,
which has attributed to him the title of Millet-Bassi, or Chief
of the (Greek) Nation.4 As a matter of fact, he is supreme
over by far the larger part of the empire. His see to-day
includes Asia Minor, the iEgean Isles, Crete, and all of
European Turkey, though in portions where the sultan has
but nominal sway, the sway of the patriarch is also but nom
inal. Subject to him there are eighty-eight metropolitans
and bishops (not including suffragans), over against forty-
two in the combined Patriarchates of Antioch, Alexandria,
and Jerusalem, most of the prelates of the last-named see
being merely titular. Moreover, his see to-day is materially
shrunken from its former proportions. In the middle of the
last century it also included Greece, Bulgaria, Servia, and
Roumania, then parts of the empire. Supremacy over the
Russian Church, which had lasted, with ever-lessening grip,
for six centuries, came to an end formally only with the
establishment of the Russian Patriarchate in 1587. In the
earlier chapter (p. 136), dealing with patristic times, states that "in
the last resort each patriarch is independent in his own sphere."
1 Ibid., p. 336. » Ibid., p. 337.
3 "The Church and the Eastern Empire," p. 47, by H. F. Tozer
(1904). 4 For the significance of this title see page 46.

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 45
palmy days of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, those of
Syria, Palestine, and Egypt were, by comparison, mere
country parishes. But apart from geographical extent this
patriarchate has always enjoyed many evident advantages
over the other three. While these latter fell under the blight
ing influences of Islam from its earliest days, Constantinople,
the seat of the former, remained the capital of the Byzantine
Empire till 1453, whence a certain imperial glamour has
never ceased to hang about the Ecumenical Church. It was
in Constantinople that the Patriarchs of Antioch and Jerusa
lem found exile when their thrones were usurped by Latin
prelates, and in Constantinople were their lines kept up
for over a century and a half of crusading domination in their
own sees. In the imperial city they were under the wing,
as it were, of the Ecumenical patriarch, until he, in his turn,
was temporarily forced from his throne by the establishment
of the Latin Empire, which lasted from 1204 to 1261. For
more than two centuries previous to 1843 the Patriarchs of
Jerusalem were usually resident at Constantinople, thus
acknowledging it to be the practical centre for ecclesiastical
affairs. Because of his nearness to the imperial throne the
Ecumenical patriarch has often acted as intermediary be
tween the sultan and the other patriarchs. From their
brother at Constantinople these prelates to this day, under
normal conditions,1 receive the chrismatic oil. In com
paratively recent times (from 1724 to 1850) the Patriarchate
of the Holy Synod of Antioch, at Damascus, by reason of
internal weakness delegated the election of its own patri
archs to the Holy Synod of Constantinople. To the outside
world, such voluntary delegating of inherent rights might
well appear to be an acknowledgment of superior control.
In view of what has seemed to me to be a general misappre
hension of a somewhat delicate matter — namely, the inter
relations of the four patriarchs — application was made to
the Bureau of the Patriarchate of Alexandria for official
answers to a number of questions covering the points at
1 During the recent dispute between the Sees of Antioch and Con
stantinople, the former received the chrism from the chief metropolitan
of the Russian Church.

46 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
issue. These questions of mine with the answers are given
fully in the Appendix, but it may be well here to present the
gist thereof, even at the risk of some repetition of facts
already stated.1
The four Patriarchates of Constantinople, Antioch, Jeru
salem, and Alexandria are equal and independent in ad
ministration one of the other, although they share one
doctrine, that of orthodoxy, and are governed by the same
rules, those of the Ecumenical Councils. Whenever it is
evident that, in any one of the sister churches, the orthodox
doctrine or the rules of the whole church are imperilled,
every other church has, of itself, the right to interfere. Each
patriarchate has the right to communicate with the govern
ment at Constantinople, either by direct correspondence
or, mediately, through such representatives as it may have
at Constantinople. The Patriarch of Constantinople may
act as intermediary between the other patriarchs and the
government, but never without their direct request. In the
same way the Ecumenical patriarch may intervene in the
internal affairs of the other patriarchates, but only at their
especial invitation. Should such intervention appear to prej
udice their recognized privileges it would be refused. The
title of Ecumenical, bestowed on the Patriarch of Constanti
nople, for local reasons, in the year 588 A. D.,2 and enjoyed
by all his successors, carries with it no especial privileges;
this patriarch being, relative to the other patriarchs, as
well as to all bishops not immediately subject to the throne
of Constantinople, merely Primus inter pares. The title
"Millet-Bassi," or Chief of the (Greek) Nation,3 attributed
to him since the Turkish conquest of Constantinople, gives
him no spiritual domination over the members of the com
munity in the other patriarchates, which are in every way
independent of the See of Constantinople. The Ecumenical
patriarch distributes the holy chrism to the other patriarchs
for two reasons, both purely practical, and in no way involv-
1 See Appendix, where questions and answers are given in French.
2 The title was assumed by John IV in summoning a synod to settle
the affairs of the Church of Antioch. Adeney, op. cit, p. 140.
s See page 44.

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 47
ing the idea of supremacy; first, its preparation is extremely
costly, and, second, this ceremony requires the presence of
at least twelve prelates, the assembling together of whom is
often a difficult matter in any one of the other patriarchates,
where the entire number of prelates is smaller. The reason
why all the patriarchs share the right to control the affairs
of the Holy Sepulchre in Jersualem, is that the holy places
and the shrines of pilgrimage constitute properties belong
ing to the entire nation of Greek Orthodox, said proper
ties having but one agent, the Brotherhood of the Holy
Sepulchre, whose chief is the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and
whose principal mission is to guard the holy places, and
to keep them in a good and secure condition, by means of
the offerings of Orthodox pilgrims, and of all other con
tributors. Attention may be called to a few points in the above
authoritative statements, as they may serve to explain the
misapprehension that has arisen in regard to the relative
position of the Ecumenical patriarch. In the first place it
becomes clear that the title of " Millet-Bassi," or Chief of the
Nation, attributed to the Patriarch of Constantinople, in
dicates a point of view from which the government regards
this functionary, and not the point of view from which he
is regarded by his fellow-patriarchs. During the first years
of Turkish rule in Constantinople, all the Christian sects
(Greeks, Armenians, Syrians, etc.) were confounded under
the general title of Roumi (Greek), being, from' the govern
ment point of view, submitted to the Orthodox patriarch.
Moreover, the government point of view has become purely
theoretic, for, as shown above, the sultan now treats with
each patriarchate directly, unless the friendly offices of the
Patriarch of Constantinople has been sought for practical
reasons.1 No better proof could be adduced concerning the
difference between the points of view of the sultan and the
church itself than the status quo of the Patriarchs of Antioch
and Jerusalem in the year 1909; both these patriarchs were
1 For about two centuries previous to 1843 the sultan's firman con
firming the Patriarch of Jerusalem was transmitted through the Patri
arch of Constantinople.

48 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
recognized by the sultan's government, though, for two en
tirely different reasons, they were not recognized by the
Ecumenical patriarch. Another illustration of this difference
of point of view is furnished by the split in the early part of
the eighteenth century, which led to the establishment of
the two lines of patriarchs, existing ever since, each claiming
to be Greek Patriarch of Antioch, one Orthodox, the other
Catholic. For over one hundred years the Turkish Govern
ment ignored the division, treating members of both churches
as belonging to one communion and recognizing only the
Orthodox patriarch.
The second statement calling for notice is as follows:
"Whenever it is evident that, in any one of the sister
churches, orthodox doctrine or the rules of the whole
church are imperilled, every other church has of itself the
right to interfere." In case of such interference being
attempted, it is evident that friction might easily be caused
by a difference of opinion between the church criticised and
the church criticising as to what constitutes a menace to
orthodox doctrine or practice. Such friction would natu
rally be exaggerated if the interference came from that
patriarch who enjoys the title primus inter pares, and who
resides in the imperial city. Ambitious motives might
be attributed. It is conceivable that they might be enter
tained. An assertion of supremacy would be suspected.
As a matter of fact it often has been suspected. In the re
cent contest for the possession of the Patriarchate of Antioch
(to be detailed later), between the native Syrian and the
so-called Ionian or foreign elements, the former bitterly ac
cused the Patriarch of Constantinople of an unwarrantable
attempt to usurp authority in the internal affairs of a sister
patriarchate. "We will have no pope to rule over us!"
cried the excited Damascenes. "Nothing can control us
but a General Council!" Leaders of the Ionian faction
vehemently deny this charge. One of these, himself a prel
ate of the See of Alexandria, declared to me that " never,
never, never," had the Ecumenical patriarch attempted such
arbitrary interference in any one of the sister patriarchates:
he was the first to make war against the idea of the papacy;

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 49
so he would be the last to claim it for himself.1 If the
Damascenes accused the present Patriarch of Constanti
nople of the attempt to usurp authority over their affairs,
they misunderstood a merely kindly warning. "In no
sense," added this prelate, " can the Ecumenical patriarch
be called the head of the Orthodox Church in Turkey."
Speaking to me in the same line, a member of the Holy
Synod of Jerusalem confirmed the statement that the title
"ecumenical" signifies no more than a theoretic difference.
The Patriarch of Jerusalem is independent in internal
matters, but should he be called upon to make an important
decision concerning the faith he must consult with the other
patriarchs. Finally, among the official statements, we
may note still one other, which suggests that conditions
might arise appearing to justify an outsider in ascribing
a certain supremacy to the Ecumenical patriarch: namely,
the statement that all four patriarchs share in the control
of the Holy Sepulchre and other shrines of Palestine. As
sertion of his rights in this matter might easily be misinter
preted, not only by outsiders, but even by the Orthodox in
the See of Jerusalem. The recent quarrel in that see, to
be touched on later, had some of its roots in these very
conditions. The hierarchy of the Greek Church includes the three
main orders of bishops, priests, and deacons. Theoretically
the metropolitan (who corresponds to a Western archbishop)
is the bishop of the chief city of a district, with supervision
over the other bishops therein, but under the present strait
ened conditions of Syria and Palestine, the distinction be
tween the two grades is merely a matter of title, not only in
the Greek, but in all the churches. As a matter of fact,
1 It would appear, however, that before the papal claims were defi
nitely made, the Patriarch of Constantinople had entertained similar
ambitions. "In the year 550 Justinian conferred on the Patriarch of
Constantinople the privilege of receiving appeals from the other patri
archs. By this time, backed by the power of the autocrat, the bishop
of the chief city of the empire was threatening to become a veritable
pope, in our later sense of the title." (See Adeney, op. cit, p. 139.)

50 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
members of both grades are commonly referred to in Arabic
as mutarin' (singular: mutran', the equivalent for metro
politan), the term is'qof (ordinary bishop) being rarely
heard. The patriarch, on the other hand, is in a very real
sense chief bishop of all, exercising supreme supervision
and discipline over his see. The first chapter has touched
on conditions in the Turkish Empire by reason of which
the power of the prelates of the different churches has been
differentiated from those pertaining to corresponding offices
in the Western church. The differences may be here
summed up by the statement that the patriarch is the civil
as well as the religious head of his flock throughout the see,
and that the bishops, subject to him, occupy similar rela
tions to their own dioceses. The patriarch is assisted in his
duties by the Holy Synod, a clerical body whose constitu
tion differs in the several sees. Thus the Holy Synod of
Jerusalem includes the patriarch, nine metropolitans, ten
archimandrites,1 and an archdeacon.2 The Holy Synod of
Antioch consists solely of all the bishops. The Holy Synod
of Constantinople has only twelve members, though the
number of bishops of the see amounts to eighty-eight. Ac
cording to de Jehay,3 the Holy Synod of Alexandria, con
sisting of four metropolitans, exists only in name, but I
found it in session in the summer of 1909. At Constanti
nople certain church affairs are also regulated by a mixed
assembly, clerical and lay. A similar body exists at Alex
andria, at least in theory, and demands for the creation of
one at Jerusalem, formulated by the Syrian or National
party, were granted in 1910.
The rules governing the election of patriarchs differ in the
four sees. In our present work we are especially concerned
with those of Antioch and Jerusalem. However, as the
1 A title of honor given a priest occupying a prominent administrative
position, as head of school or monastery, and corresponding in a general
way to the title of canon.
2 See " The Patriarchate of Jerusalem," p. 12, by Archdeacon Dowling.
(London, 1908).
3 See "De la Situation Legale des Sujets Ottomans non-Musulmans,
par le comte F. van den Steen de Jehay," p. 129 jf. (Bruxelles, 1906).

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 51
democratic spirit of the Greek Church has a better illustra
tion in the election of the patriarchs of Constantinople and
of Alexandria, we may briefly touch on these also. In the
electoral assembly at Constantinople the lay element is
decidedly preponderant. While the clerical voters range
from twelve to twenty members only, the laymen should
number seventy-three and represent a great variety of in
terests.1 Final confirmation of the election must be re
ceived from the Porte. For centuries after the Turkish
occupation, most of the patriarchs of Alexandria were ap
pointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, but the present
incumbent was elected in a truly democratic fashion. The
present procedure is as follows: In the cathedral church
there meet delegates from all over Egypt, chosen as their
representatives by members of the various trades and profes
sions, who nominate an indefinite number of clergy. The
list of names, thus chosen, is then transmitted to Constan
tinople for revision by the Porte, representing the suzerain
power, and then is sent back for confirmation by the khedive,
who may create further delay while he consults with the
Porte. From this revised list the electors then choose three
names, which are submitted to the above-named authorities
as before. Finally, from this trio of names one man is
elected. At the election of the present patriarch, Photios,
by an overwhelming majority, there were one hundred and
sixty-nine electors, including two bishops and many priests,
the rest being laymen. His beatitude is one of the promi-
1 The constitution of the Electoral Assembly at Constantinople is as
follows: I. Clerical members. 1. The twelve members of the Holy Synod.
2. The Metropolitan of Heraclius, who may be a member of the Holy
Synod. 3. Other metropolitans who may be found in the capital.
II. Lay members. 1. The three highest dignitaries of the patri
archate. 2. The eight lay members of the Mixed Council. 3. Eight
state functionaries, civil and military. 4. The governor of Samos or
his representative. 5. Three representatives from the Danubian prin
cipalities. 6. The four most distinguished men of learning: as doctors,
lawyers, professors, etc. 7. Seven merchants. 8. One banker. 9.
Ten representatives of the most esteemed corporations. 10. Two dele
gates from the parishes of the capital and the Bosphorus. 11. Twenty-
eight delegates from the provinces. (See de Jehay, pp. 99-100.)

52 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
nent figures in the Eastern church to-day. Still of imposing
and erect carriage, with a rare combination of dignity and
charm, he has a stormy and romantic past behind him.
He was elected Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1882, while still
only archimandrite,1 but failing to receive imperial confir
mation, he rightly refused to recognize the rival patriarch,
elected and enthroned over his head, until his own resig
nation should be accepted. The refusal of the government
and his quiet persistence in holding to the validity of his
election produced a deadlock, which was terminated by the
decision of the Porte to exile him to the monastery-fortress
of Saint Catherine. Here, among the desolate rocks of
Sinai, he studied Russian that he might be able to preach
to the pilgrims in their own tongue. It was the privilege
of Rendel Harris and myself to observe the magic effect of
his eloquence upon the rapt and awed faces of the simple
peasants, whom he welcomed to the Chapel of the Burning
Bush. At Sinai, too, we heard him read the Eucharistic
discourse of our Lord in the sonorous Greek, as well as
passages from the great tragedians. When his "captivity
was turned," in consequence of the election of a new patri
arch, friendly to himself, he resumed his position of secre
tary to the Jerusalem monastery. At the time of his elec
tion as Patriarch of Alexandria, he was Bishop of Nazareth,
but in the meantime he had once more been an unsuccessful
candidate for the throne of Jerusalem. His full title is:
" The most Blessed Pope and Patriarch of the great city of
Alexandria, Lybia, and Pentapolis, Ethiopia and all the Land
of Egypt."
The Rev. Henry Fanshawe Tozer2 speaks of the Orthodox
Church of Alexandria as "practically extinct." A statis
tical table prepared by my request at the secretary's office
of the Patriarchate of Alexandria suggests a more optimistic
view. The population is acknowledged to be floating, and,
1 It is of interest to note that his famous namesake, Photios, was a lay
man when appointed Patriarch of Constantinople in 857, but in a few
days passed through the orders which led up to the patriarchate.
2 See "The Church and the Eastern Empire," p. 82, a volume of the
series entitled "Epochs of Church History."

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 53
in absence of a census, impossible to estimate with full ac
curacy; but the compiler suggests one hundred thousand as
a fair estimate of the Orthodox in the see, including three
thousand in Khartum. Of this total number about one-
tenth are Arabic-speaking Syrians, the rest being of Hel
lenic origin.1 The Episcopal sees are eight, five of which
had bishops in 1908. The list of towns or villages where
churches exist shows a total of thirty-three. In fourteen
of these there are schools. At the patriarchate in the city
of Alexandria there is a printing-press, from which are
issued two theological periodicals, one monthly and one
weekly. The former is called 'EK/cX^o-iao-Tt/eo'? <j>dpo<;.
Since 1875 the election to the throne of Jerusalem fol
lows, theoretically at least, a fixed order of procedure.2
Before this date much irregularity prevailed. From the
time of the Patriarch Theophanes (1608-1641) up to 1843,
the Patriarchs of Jerusalem were non-resident, occupying a
palace in the Phanar, on the Golden Horn, at Constantinople.
It became the custom for each patriarch to designate a suc
cessor during his active lifetime, subject to the approval of
that powerful organization, the Brotherhood of the Holy
Sepulchre — of which he was president, and whose head
quarters were then at Constantinople — and apparently
without reference to the Holy Synod of Jerusalem as such,
whose canonical rights were thus passed over. The Ecu
menical patriarch had no part in the election, but through
him the Porte transmitted the firman confirming each new
patriarch. This state of affairs lasted till the death of the
Patriarch Athanasius, in 1843, which was followed by a
bitter ecclesiastical dispute, involving the retirement of the
appointed successor, and resulting in the election of one

1 The native Egyptian church is the Coptic, with a patriarch resident
at Cairo. The Greek Catholic (United Greek) community of Egypt is
under the charge of a patriarch, resident at Damascus, who since 1838
has borne the triple title of Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria, and
Jerusalem. Occasionally he resides in Egypt.
- 2 It is one of the complaints of the native Syrians to-day that their
rights of representation at the patriarchal election, recognized in 1875,
are practically ignored. Compare with note to page 70.

54 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
Cyril directly by the Holy Synod of Jerusalem, which thus
reassumed its lawful prerogatives. After this the patriarchs
once more resided in Jerusalem, though for some time each
continued to nominate his successor, subject to the confir
mation of the Holy Synod.1 The regulations of 1875 are
in substance as follows:
On the death of the patriarch the Holy Synod elects a
locum tenens, called a Qaimaqam. He sends letters to the
heads of the monasteries in all parts of the see, bidding
them notify the people to send to Jerusalem as their repre
sentatives a certain number of married priests. These as
semble at the Holy City, and with the members of the Holy
Synod, together with such archimandrites2 as may be found
present, nominate by written ballot an indefinite number
of candidates. These names are transmitted to the Porte
through the local government. When the revised list is re
turned, the assembly reunites, and, by a majority of votes,
chooses the three most eligible candidates. Then, follow
ing an ancient custom, the members of the Holy Synod,
who are the sole electors in this final stage, enter the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre, and, by closed ballot, but in the
presence of the people, choose one. Before the patriarch-
elect can be enthroned, imperial confirmation is necessary,
as in the case of all patriarchal sees. According to the
canon governing the election of bishops, this should be
made by vote of laymen and clergy. It is one of the com
plaints of the Syrians to-day that the people are no longer
given a voice in the matter. Of the eighteen metropolitans
and bishops of the see, only three ordinarily reside in their
dioceses: the Metropolitan of Nazareth and the Bishops of
Bethlehem and Ptolemais (Acre). Of the rest, many are
now only titular; but the people are demanding that such
bishops as have a flock should become resident.3
The full official title of the patriarch is: "The most
1 For a detailed account of this matter see "The Holy City," vol. II,
pp. 541 ff., by George Williams (London, 1849).
2 This would include the priests belonging to the Brotherhood of the
Holy Selpuchre, all of whom have this title.
3 For a list of the dioceses, see Appendix.

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 55
Blessed and Holy Patriarch of the Holy City Jerusalem,
and all Palestine, Syria, Arabia beyond Jordan, Cana of
Galilee, and Holy Zion." The present patriarchate extends
from Egypt on the south to the diocese of Acre on the north
(which it includes): from the Mediterranean on the west
to the desert on the east. Widely differing estimates are
made of the number of the Orthodox in the see, from sixteen
thousand, quoted in Baedeker, to sixty thousand or sixty-
five thousand, made by a leading Orthodox citizen of Jerusa
lem. The figures of the Count de Jehay agree closely with
the larger estimate.1 The Orthodox of the Holy City num
ber four or five thousand. These different estimates of the
population may be compared with the careful statement
(approximate but tabulated by towns and villages) issued, by
the command of the patriarch, in 1838, which gives sixteen
thousand six hundred and ninety souls for the whole see and
six hundred souls for the Holy City.2 Allowing for the nor
mal increase in population, we judge that the higher estimate
of the present population of the whole see is probably nearer
the mark than the lower. The increase in the number of
Orthodox resident in the city of Jerusalem itself is striking.
Besides common schools in Jerusalem and the towns and
villages of the see, the Greek Church maintains a large
boarding-school for boys (now almost exclusively Ionian or
foreign Greeks) within the walls, and a theological training-
school, with preparatory department, at the ancient Con
vent of the Cross, one and one-half miles to the west of the
city. Syrians, with but one or two exceptions, are excluded
from the theological course, which is open to Hellenic stu
dents from all parts of Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, who
usually return to their native districts. The college has its
library and museum. Archdeacon Dowling gives the num
ber of students for 1908 as thirty-five; 3 in 1909 I was told
that they numbered sixty. The Greek ecclesiastics main
tain a city hospital with accommodation for forty beds. In
1 See his work, op. cit., p. 141.
2 See Williams's "The Holy City," vol. I, pp. 490-495.
3 See his pamphlet, "The Patriarchate of Jerusalem," op. cit, pp.
19-20. Other interesting particulars are given.

56 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
the patriarchate is a printing-press from which liturgical
publications are issued. A Greek theological magazine
called "Nea 2«»z/" ("The New Zion"), which began to ap
pear in January, 1904, as a bimonthly, is now issued
monthly. To the great Monastery of Constantine, which
dominates the Greek Church in Palestine, we shall refer
later. The Patriarchate of Antioch includes the Diocese of Sidon
and Tyre on the south, and that of Adana on the north;
extending from the Mediterranean on the west to Diabekr on
the east. It includes both the Lebanon and the Hauran.
The present patriarch informed me that he would estimate
the number of his flock at about four hundred thousand.
This is not far from the estimate of the Imperial Russian
Society quoted by de Jehay,1 but is far in excess of some other
estimates, also quoted by him. The residence of the patri
arch, who is ex officio Metropolitan of Antioch with episcopal
jurisdiction over the city of Damascus, has been in the latter
city since 1531, when Antioch was ruined by earthquake.
Of the sixteen bishops, who alone constitute the Holy Synod,
fourteen are resident in their sees. The Bishops of Edessa
and Eironopolis, being in partibus, should reside at Damas
cus, but these posts are now vacant. At present all the bish
ops are called by courtesy metropolitans.2 The election of
the patriarchs has not followed officially recognized rules, but
recently proposals have been submitted to the Porte for con
firmation, asking that the electoral body shall consist of all
the bishops, the laity to be represented by three electors from
the city of Antioch, eight from Damascus, and three from its
Faubourg of the Midan : all thus being from the episcopal
diocese of the patriarch. In the election of bishops the
synod alone has the voting power, but the laity of a given
diocese are often in practical control. A few years ago the
Orthodox inhabitants of Beyrout insisted on the sole nomina
tion of their candidate (the present bishop) instead of the
canonical three, thus creating a deadlock between themselves
1 See his work, op. cit., p. 133. This estimate is 356,000.
2 This I have from one of their number. For a list of the dioceses
see Appendix.

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 57
and the electoral body of bishops. The people boycotted
the churches and threatened to secede to the Anglican Com
munion. The resident chaplain of the Anglican bishop in
Jerusalem refused to receive the dissidents as a body, but
while leaving them to settle their dispute he proffered his
friendly offices in the general interests of peace. The dead
lock was finally relieved by the agreement of the synod to
recognize the nomination of two dummies; thus the canoni
cal demands were satisfied while the people secured the
election of their admirable candidate, whose popularity has
been amply justified by a wise and brilliant administration.
He has begun the construction of a large building which is
destined to be a college. At present the Greeks of Syria
have no university, but almost forty per cent of the students
of the Syrian Protestant College are Orthodox, including
near relations of the Patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria.
There are Orthodox high-schools at Hums, Tripoli, and
Damascus, the last being under the direct control of the
laity. Many of the common schools in the see were estab
lished and are conducted by the Imperial Russian Society of
Palestine, of which we speak later. The theological college
is at the Monastery of Bellament (Belmont), in the district
of the Kura, some twelve miles inland from Tripoli. This
was opened by the abbott, in the early half of the seventeenth
century, for the higher education of the Syrian youth, in
secular as well as theological studies, but was closed by the
Ionian Patriarch Methodius (died 1850) as part of his anti-
National programme.1 It was reopened as a training-school
for Syrian aspirants to higher clerical rank, as archiman
drites or bishops, by Malatios, the first Arab patriarch of
Antioch in modern times, who was enthroned in 1899. The
school is financed by the patriarch, who sends as many pupils
as he pleases, while the bishops may nominate one or two
boys each. The clerical graduates remaining unmarried
cannot hear confessions after ordination. The course covers
six years, including theology, church history, exegesis, and
philosophy. All teachers are native Syrians, but not neces
sarily in holy orders. 1 See pages 64 ff .

58 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
It is the rule that the Orthodox parish priests of Syria and
Palestine should be married before ordination to the diaco-
nate, marriage after ordination being uncanonical. A sec
ond marriage is prohibited. A bishop must be a celibate
at the time of his ordination, but he may be a widower. The
case has been known of a patriarch who was later succeeded
in office by his legitimate son. As the service books are all
translated into Arabic, the parish priests do not require a
knowledge of Greek, except for a few words and phrases of
peculiar sanctity. As a rule they have little education be
yond the most elementary. The priest of a given parish is
often chosen from the same family from generation to genera
tion, the office being thus quasi-hereditary. This tendency
is said to militate against an educated priesthood, especially
in the rural districts. The hair is not cut: when mass is
celebrated and during some other services it hangs down over
the shoulders; ordinarily it remains coiled up under the
headdress, which resembles a college cap with enormously
elongated cylindrical base. The soutane, or cassock, is of a
dark color, but not necessarily black. With exceptions to be
noted, the parish priests have no regular salary, but are paid
out of the funds of the Church, a sum ranging (in the town
churches) from twenty to eighty-two cents for each mass said
on Sunday or on a feast-day. Daily mass is almost unknown
except in the cathedral churches.1 In addition there are the
prices of masses for the dead and fees for baptisms, mar
riages, funerals, etc. In Jerusalem the parish priests have a
fixed salary of twelve dollars a month (three napoleons), paid
by the convent, besides their ordinary fees for baptisms, etc.
In some of the Orthodox cathedral towns of the East,
where there are a number of churches, there obtains a regular
circuit system, not unlike that of the Methodists, only more
localized. This is not recognized by the canons, but is mere
custom, obtaining, however, in places as widely separated as
Alexandria, Jerusalem, Beyrout, Hums, and Constantinople.
It is not practised in Latakia, which has five Orthodox
churches, nor yet in Mersine, both cathedral towns. The
1 In the Cathedral Church at Alexandria there is no daily mass.
Dailv mass is said in the Great Convent at Jerusalem.

THE ORTHODOX CHURCH 59
system has different modifications at different centres, but
is everywhere based on a common democratic principle,
which recognizes the parity of the parish clergy and their
common right to share the ecclesiastical emoluments of a
given city. In Beyrout, for example, there are nine priests
and nine churches, including eight "parish" churches and
the cathedral Church of Saint George. In the vicinity of
each church lives a married priest, who during the week
attends to the general duties of the " parish," hearing con
fessions, visiting the congregation, sprinkling the houses
with holy water monthly, conducting baptisms, marriages,
funerals, etc. He has, however, Sunday duty in his own
church but one Sunday out of ten. According to the rules
of the circuit he says Sunday mass in a different parish
church for eight weeks, coming on the ninth Sunday to the
cathedral church, where he begins his duties with high mass,
for which he receives an especial fee. For a week, then, he
is called Master of the Circuit (Sa'hib ed Dowr) or Master of
the Week (Sa'hib ej Jim'a: Greek, E^ny/ieptos), receiving
a fixed salary of two Turkish dollars (about $1.65) for say
ing daily mass. He has the right to demand a Turkish
dollar for every funeral or church wedding which he at
tends during that week in any part of the entire city, or to
demand a quarter of that sum in case he remains absent.
On the second Sunday, after saying early mass in the
cathedral church, he gives place to his successor, who in
turn becomes Master of the Week. The tenth week is a sort
of vacation for the retiring priest.1 This system appears in
some cases to affect the solidarity of the parishes. The
priest resident at Ras-Beyrout tells me that in no strict sense
has his church a people, his " parishioners" feeling at liberty
to attend mass anywhere. It is interesting to note that the
Orthodox point to the origin of this circuit in the " order of
the course" of priestly service, which Zacharias fulfilled.2
1 The exact carrying out of this system at Beyrout would appear to
require ten priests. In Hums, where a similar system obtains, there are
only four churches with the cathedral, while the number of priests is
seven. In this city it would appear that each priest would remain
periodically without duty.
2 The word in Luke 1 : 58 is l<t>nuepln

60 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
The Arabic word for deacon is shemmas'. The Ortho
dox Church in Syria recognizes, theoretically at least, four
grades in the diaconate: archdeacon, deacon, subdeacon,
and anagnost, or reader. Practically, however, the term
archdeacon is hardly more than titular, and the minor or
ders are rarely filled. The only Greek archdeacon that I
ever heard of is Cleophas Kikilides, the learned librarian of
the Convent of Jerusalem. He is a member of the Holy
Synod, although not in priest's orders. For it is to be noted
that, unlike the Anglican archdeacon, the Greek dignitary
is but the chief of the deacons. The office of the mass con
tains a full service for the deacon, but as a matter of fact this
is generally taken by the priest or omitted. There is no
deacon definitely attached to the Beyrout Cathedral even.
The diaconate is merely a stepping-stone to priestly ordina
tion, which requires no definitely prescribed interval between
itself and the previous admission to deacon's orders. Dur
ing the actual interval, the deacon may attend on the bishop
of the diocese. With the bishop there are usually also a
certain number of celibate deacons who are looking forward
to becoming archimandrites or bishops. A deacon must
marry before ordination or remain celibate. The single
canon that would appear to sanction the contrary has never
been put in practice. In a later section will appear the
contrasting conditions of the diaconate in general in the
Syrian Church, where all grades play an important and
practical part in the life of the church.
II. The Recent National Movement in the
Orthodox Church
A traveller, interested in the Greek Church, passing from
the Patriarchate of Antioch to the Patriarchate of Jerusalem
to-day, would be sensible of a sudden change of ecclesiastical
atmosphere. In the former see he would find a truly na
tional church, with native Syrian clergy, including patriarch
and bishops, all speaking the Arabic language as a mother-
tongue. Especially noticeable would be the scarcity of
monks, so few that he might not meet a single individual.
In the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, however, while he would
find native Syrian parish priests, he would at once learn

RECENT MOVEMENT IN ORTHODOX CHURCH 61
that these are dominated by prelates of an alien race. This
Ionian control would confront him most vividly in the Pa
triarchal Palace, the Great Convent, and the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre. Here, indeed, he might find Syrians,
but only among the worshippers. As he wandered over
the bewildering congeries of courts that form the convent,
swarming with priests and monks, he would hear spoken
nothing but Greek, except when, with a marked foreign
accent, an order was addressed to an Arab servant. Our
stranger would emphatically get the idea of a Greek Church,
Greek in language as well as in control. Had the date of
his visit fallen in 1909, he would have found all the parish
churches closed, and might even have chanced on a native
Syrian priest holding a service, with a few followers, in the
cemetery. In order to understand these contrasting conditions, we
must study for a moment the origin of the famous monastic
Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, which at present
dominates the Greek Church in Jerusalem, and which has
only recently lost control of the Greek Church in the Patri
archate of Antioch. According to ecclesiastical tradition,
the establishment of the brotherhood which has for its
chief function the care of the holy places of Palestine, dates
from the erection of the Church of the Resurrection, by
order of Constantine, early in the fourth century. It, how
ever, represented a development from an earlier monastic
order, originating in very early days at Cffisarea. By the
year 494 A. D. its members were everywhere recognized by
the name ^LirovSaioi, or Zealots. The organization under
the present rules dates from the Patriarchate of Dositheus,
which began in the year 1662. According to these rules,
the patriarch, who is ex officio president of the brotherhood,
must be chosen from the members; custom has also re
stricted the choice of bishops to members of the order, who
must be Ionian Greeks — that is, Greeks in race and language
though Turkish subjects.1 At the present time, native
Syrians are refused membership, but for about one hundred
'Many members of the order who are merely in priest's orders bear the
honorary title of Archimandrite. The only Syrian archimandrite is res
ident in the monastery at Tiberias.

62 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
and fifty years after the enthronement of Dositheus this ex
clusion did not extend to Syrians from the Patriarchate of
Antioch, two at least of whom rose to the dignity of Patri
arch of Jerusalem. The local natives, however, whose
grievances have been summed up in a fiery- tract,1 date their
exclusion from the brotherhood, and thus practically from
the possibility of attaining episcopal rank, as far back as
the Patriarchate of Germanus, which began in 1534, the
year of the inception of the Order of the Jesuits. Up to the
time of the enthronement of this Peloponnesian monk, so they
maintain by a somewhat naive historical argument, all pa
triarchs, bishops, priests, and monks had been natives of the
see. Thus, from primitive times genuine natives of Pales
tine had been the lawful custodians of the holy places.
After the Arab occupation, their rights were confirmed by
the famous Covenant of 'Omar, preserved to this day in the
dependancy of the Jerusalem Convent at Constantinople.
These rights, temporarily in abeyance during the crusading
period, were severally confirmed, and always to the native
church, by the Eyyubite and Mameluke dynasties, and
finally by the Turkish conquerors. With the usurpation of
authority by Germanus, as the native Orthodox deem it,
the church of Jerusalem lost its natural independence and
self-control. During a patriarchate of forty-five years, he
filled up all the episcopal sees with his fellow Grecians.
With the independence of the native Syrians went their
guardianship of the holy places. This loss of legitimate
control, so goes on the native argument, logically involved
the further division of the holy places, which soon followed,
among Latins, Armenians, and other foreigners, for the
original Greek usurpers were themselves foreigners! At
tempts, they say, have been made by the Ionians to prove
that from the beginnings of Christianity the Orthodox of
(Historical Glance at the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre.) This
was issued in 1893 under the pseudonym of Sheikh 'Abd-el-Ahad-esh-
Shafi, which covered a composite authorship. It was brought down to
date and reprinted in 1909.

RECENT MOVEMENT IN ORTHODOX CHURCH 63
Palestine were all of their race, but they themselves help to
disprove their own argument by excluding the native Syrians
of to-day from the brotherhood, thus acknowledging them
selves to be aliens. This confession, so triumphantly add
the native apologists, is clearly involved in one of the prayers
of the Order in commemoration of the patriarchs, which
begins with the name of Germanus, to the exclusion of the
line of Arab patriarchs who went before. The motives
assigned for this usurpation is a greedy desire to hold the
purse-strings of the Holy Sepulchre. The annual income,
estimated by the native party at over a million Turkish
dollars,1 accrues from the gifts of pilgrims, as well as from
the dependencies of the convent at Constantinople, Moscow,
Smyrna, Athens, Crete, etc. The accounts are open to no
one but the monks. The income is not used for the good
of the native Syrians of the see. Charity is withheld from the
¦ native poor, while the monks themselves become rich.
Syrians are debarred from a higher education. The school
at the Convent of the Cross was established in 1845, chiefly
for the Ionian students, euphemistically called nephews of
the monks, who alone are allowed to take the theological
course, the natives being confined to the preparatory stud
ies. Common schools have been opened and again closed.
Were it not for the foreign schools no native Orthodox
child would be able to read or write in his own language.
It was to defend the pilgrims against the Ionian monks that
the Imperial Society of Russia was formed. Previously
they had sold indulgences, contrary to Orthodox doctrine,
and had even taken money for baptizing dead children.
Charges of gross personal immorality are hurled at all the
Ionian clergy and monks. In fact, the language of the
Syrian apologists becomes so sweeping and bitter that the
reader of the indictment is driven to ask whether the
brotherhood, too, may not have a side to maintain.
1 It is alleged that the figures (equal to about eight hundred thousand
dollars) were copied by the secretary of the Imperial (Russian) Society
of Palestine from the accounts of the Jerusalem Patriarchate in 1890.
Compare this with the semi-official statement made to the writer (p. 73)
placing the annual income at about two hundred and forty thousand
dollars.

64 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
Before attempting, however, to show the point of view
of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre in this unhappy
quarrel, we must turn to review briefly the relations between
this organization and the Patriarchate of Antioch. Ac
cording to the native chroniclers this patriarchate remained
independent of Ionian control until the events following the
Catholic schism of 1724. Before the death of Athanasius,
the last of the line of Arab or local patriarchs, he recom
mended the Holy Synod of Damascus to choose for patri
arch one Sylvestre, of the Ionian clergy of Constantinople,
who might be able to give dignity and authority to their
weakened cause in the eyes of the Turkish Government, and
also, if possible, to heal the breach. Thus Sylvestre was
elevated to the See of Antioch, by appointment from the
Holy Synod of Constantinople, at the official request of the
Holy Synod at Damascus, who had elected him. This
practice was kept up for one hundred and fifty years with
out infringement on the real independence of the See of
Antioch. Instead of healing the breach, however, from his
first entry into the see, Sylvestre so antagonized the people
that many followed the seceders into the Greek Catholic
Church, just organized under a rival patriarch.1 His five
successors, one or another, are accused of simony, neglect
of native educational institutions, filling up the bishoprics
with Ionians, exploiting the see for the use of their relatives
abroad, intriguing with the Brotherhood of the Holy Sep
ulchre, and persecuting the Greek Catholics. Summing up,
the indictment declares that instead of realizing the hopes
of the Orthodox, and thus preventing the spread of schism,
these six patriarchs, from 1728 2 to 1850, through their abuse
and cruelty, were the direct means of driving many of the
Orthodox into the fold of the papacy, thus precipitating the
official recognition by the Turkish Government of the Greek
Catholics as members of an independent church.
The line of patriarchs, who besides being Ionians were
also members of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre,
began in 1850. According to custom, the Holy Synod at
1 See page 91.
2 Date of the recognition of Sylvestre by the Porte.

RECENT MOVEMENT IN ORTHODOX CHURCH 65
Damascus, on the death of the patriarch, requested the
Holy Synod at Constantinople to appoint a certain Gregory,
or failing him, any other desirable person. Thus Erotheos,
a member of the brotherhood, who was reported to be of
enormous wealth, was chosen by the Constantinople clergy,
and accepted by the Holy Synod at Damascus, consisting
at that time chiefly of Ionians. The contemptuous native
account of the long rule of Erotheos, which lasted from 1850
to 1885, accuses him of all the faults and vices of his six
Ionian predecessors, as well as of personal immorality. In
fact the obviously exaggerated indictment overreaches itself
in the final statement that during his patriarchate the Church
of Antioch was disgraced, irreligion and immorality flour
ished everywhere, churches and schools were razed to the
ground. "Had he lived longer," so the campaign docu
ment excitedly winds up, "the utter destruction of the
church would have been certain." Stripped of its exag
geration, the account certainly reveals a very -serious con
dition of misrule. Before the death of Erotheos, the laymen
of Damascus, backed by the national party throughout the
see, had determined to get rid of foreign control by working
for a restoration of the status quo ante, with a purely native
hierarchy from the patriarch down. Even in the worst days
of Ionian rule, the Holy Synod had never lacked for one or
two native bishops. In the struggle to secure the next patri
arch, the native or "national" element, was beaten, so it
alleges, by an intrigue, headed by Nicodemus, Patriarch of
Jerusalem, assisted by his brother of Constantinople and by
the Greek Government successfully supporting the candidacy
of Gerasimos. This prelate was a cultivated man of gra
cious bearing and good scholarship, but his Greek blood,
together with his membership in the brotherhood, made him
persona non grata to the natives. The object of this intrigue
was to persuade the Sublime Porte that the native element
was working in the interests of Russian influence in the see.
Russia has always been the bogie-man to dangle before the
eyes of Turkey. To this day the cry of " Wolf! Wolf! " (if
one may thus call the Russian bear) is the final resource
employed to down an opponent. In 1891, Nicodemus fell

66 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
victim to this same cry. This time, however, it was raised
against himself, forcing him to resign his see. Gerasimos
was translated from the See of Antioch to that of Jerusalem,
but from his new throne was instrumental in securing the
election at Damascus of one Spiridon, also a member of the
Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre. The " Constantinople,"
a Greek journal, exulted in the defeat of the "hot-headed
Syrians," who, it maintained, actuated by pride and avarice,
had tried to usurp the spiritual power. The Syrians, in
turn, declared that Spiridon had bought the Patriarchate of
Antioch cheap by a bargain with the nobles of Damascus.
The charge of working in the interest of Russia they vehe
mently deny. There was no mistaking the note of genuine
conviction in the voice of the Damascene gentleman who,
in relating the events which I am about to chronicle — events
in which he was a principal actor — repudiated the idea of
subserviency to Russia. "Why change the rule of the
Ionians for that of the Russians?" he asked. "Why run
from the rain to seek refuge under the water-spout? We
have made use of Russia, in permitting her to establish
schools for our benefit, but with the exception of allowing
one Russian priest to make an annual visit to confess and
communicate members of the Russian church in our see,
we do not allow a single Russian ecclesiastic or monk to set
foot in the patriarchate!"
From the enthronement of Spiridon dates the final strug
gle between the two parties. It began immediately in a
quarrel for the control of the " wakf," or church revenues.
At first the Turkish Government stood behind the patriarch.
At one time the people took to the old resort of boycotting
the churches, assembling for service in the cemetery, which
being consecrated ground was more suitable than a private
house. Increasing in courage and solidarity, the national
party held out against the strong combine of Greek Church
and Turkish State, until, in 1896, some of the demands were
granted. Two or three years later the laymen persuaded
the governor (now brought over to their side) to permit the
assembling of the Holy Synod to impeach the patriarch.
The actual crisis was precipitated by an unwise act of Spiri-

RECENT MOVEMENT IN ORTHODOX CHURCH 67
don himself. In the summer of 1898 he granted to one of
his flock, who was interpreter to the governor, a decree of
divorce which appeared to the indignant Orthodox to be
irregular. The long-smouldering rebellion broke into a blaze.
The following day the people crowded into the cathedral,
shouting: "We won't have a patriarch who gives such di
vorces!" Men seized on the ropes and tolled the great bell
as for a funeral, while the crowd shouted: "Our patriarch
is dead! Our patriarch is dead! We must have another!"
Hard by in his palace, Spiridon heard the death-knell of his
sovereignty. The uproar spread through the city, reaching
the ears of the civil governor and the military commander,
who immediately inferred that a revolution against the
government had broken out. Revolution indeed it was, but
ecclesiastical, not political. Together the two pachas hur
ried to the cathedral, entering, however, with no show of
force. The civil governor demanded to know what was the
matter, but was answered only by renewed cries: "Our
patriarch is dead! He is against our religion!" Finally
grasping the situation, he attempted to mediate between
patriarch and people, hastening from cathedral to palace,
from palace back to cathedral. Not until he gave his per
sonal guarantee that the decree of divorce would be annulled
were the people willing to disperse. But not yet did the
patriarch understand their temper. With a fatuous stub
bornness that predicted his downfall, he threatened to arrest
two native priests who had omitted his name in the com
memoration of the mass. They fled to the sanctuary of the
cathedral, as it were to the very horns of the altar. To the
cathedral at midnight came the patriarch's creatures, with
a guard of Turkish soldiers; the former broke down the door
and entered, the soldiers remained tentatively passive out
side. A parley ensued, resulting in the surrender of the
priests. "The sanctuary must not be defiled by Turkish
soldiers," they said. " Rather we will go with you." At once
the entire Christian quarter was aroused. By two o'clock
six hundred Orthodox had gathered in the cathedral; by
dawn the crowd numbered four thousand, including Chris
tians of all sects, all shouting at the top of their voices. This

68 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
time they were not to be quieted, even when the governor
brought back the priests who had been detained in the com
mander's room. Soon his excellency realized how far this
ecclesiastical revolution had spread. His office was flooded
with telegrams from the bishops, wanting to know what the
matter was, demanding permission to come to settle it in
conclave. This permission being received, one by one the
bishops assembled in Damascus from the limits of the see.
As a condition of his official support of the popular party,
the governor demanded and received from the leaders the
promise that they would elect, as new patriarch, Germanus,
Bishop of Tarsus, one of the four Ionian bishops, even
though the Syrians by that time held a majority of the sees.
That the national leaders knew what they were doing soon
transpired. In the game of diplomacy that followed they
scored at each turn, though candid admiration must be
seasoned by candid acknowledgment of pretty sharp practice.
The first business of the synod was to get rid of Spiridon, who
in the meantime had fled to the Convent of Sedanaya to
escape the dreaded examination of accounts. He, however,
presently eliminated himself, proceeding to Constantinople,
under the advice of the Patriarchs of Constantinople and
Jerusalem, who, counting on the people's promise, felt sure
in any case of the continuance of Ionian control. The
synod, then, resolving itself into an electoral body, named
as patriarchal vicar, Germanus, upon whom the mantle of
the fatuous Spiridon appears to have fallen. Now, in default
of a recognized code of procedure for the election of patri
archs the national party had received official permission to
follow in principle the Constantinople regulations. This
was the first strategic gain, for, in the first place, it gave the
laity a goodly number of votes, and, in the second place,
it disqualified as candidates the three other Ionian bishops,
whose tenure of their sees had not reached the required
number of seven years. Angered at the trap in which they
had allowed themselves to be caught, the three bishops left
the conclave, followed most stupidly by Germanus, the pre
siding officer, who by sticking to the general Ionian cause
threw away his own chances for the patriarchate. For, by

RECENT MOVEMENT IN ORTHODOX CHURCH 69
leaving the conclave on account of his objections to the
officially endorsed regulations, he not only became persona
non grata to the government, but by persisting in his refusal
to return, after repeated warnings and requests, he accepted
the position of forcing the only too-delighted conclave, now
homogeneously Syrian, to elect another presiding officer,
who was soon confirmed by the sultan!
Ionian control of the Patriarchate of Antioch was not
abandoned without a sharp struggle. The other patriarchs,
led by the Ecumenical patriarch, succeeded in blocking the
proceedings at Damascus by presenting one technical ob
jection after another to the Porte at Constantinople. As
to the validity of their objections I claim to be no judge. It
is sufficient to chronicle the triumph of the national leaders,
who, after waiting for months for an authorization of candi
dates from Constantinople, executed a coup d'etat by electing
as patriarch one Malatios, a Syrian bishop, a man praised
by his fellow-countrymen as being devoted to the interests
of the church, but neither clever nor learned. The Porte
was notified, and in four months the official confirmation
arrived (1899). According to custom, the new patriarch
wrote "letters of peace," announcing his election to the
heads of the independent churches, receiving friendly an
swers from Russia, Servia, and Roumania, but none from
Athens or the three other patriarchates. The official reason
given for this refusal of recognition was that the election con
travened the ecclesiastical canons as well as the prevailing
customs of the See of Antioch. That racial feeling, however,
played the strongest part was proved by the refusal of the
same churches to recognize the election of Malatios's suc
cessor, which took place on June 5, 1906. That this was
technically legal I have been assured by one of the Ionian
prelates. Terms of reconciliation between the See of Anti
och and the three patriarchates, sought as early as 1908,
were finally agreed upon in 1910. The present Patriarch of
Antioch, Gregorios, is a native of the Lebanon, said to be a
preacher of eloquence and well versed in Arab history and
the Moslem religion. An American missionary, for almost
forty years resident in Syria, regards the successful out-

70 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
come of the long struggle of the natives to recapture the
See of Antioch as the fruit of the growing independence and
self-confidence of the Orthodox people, who, in the early
days of his residence, did not consider the Ionian domination
as pure evil, but freely acknowledged their need of some out
side power to keep the church from disintegrating through
the disputes of local factions.
The struggle between the native and Ionian parties in
the See of Jerusalem did not reach an acute stage until
the autumn of 1908, when the newly revived constitution
awakened new hopes of independence and liberty in all
branches of the people over the Turkish Empire. The
native Syrians formulated a demand for certain church re
forms, including the organization of a mixed assembly, lay
and clerical, Ionian and native, authorized by the constitu
tion of 1877 to control ecclesiastical affairs.1 A similar
body has been in operation at Constantinople for some years.
To press their claims, the Orthodox natives elected a com
mittee of forty. Pending government action upon these,
the whole community of some five thousand souls went on a
religious strike, boycotting the churches, which remained
closed, while their priests conducted an occasional service
in the Cemetery of Zion. The splendid rites of Holy Week
and of Easter of 1909 and 1910 were unattended, save by the
Ionians and foreigners. Meanwhile the patriarch, Dami-
anus, having become persona non grata to the Holy Synod,
was deposed by that body, who accused him, unofficially at
1 Their demands, found in an open letter, published as an Arabic
leaflet, were briefly as follows:
1. That the law should be enforced, giving the representatives of the
people votes at the election of the patriarch. (They claim that for a
long period their representatives have simply been allowed to be pres
ent, with no vote.) 2. That the regulations regarding the election of
bishops be enforced. 3. That the native Syrians be granted admission
to the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, and thus be eligible to the
higher ranks of the hierarchy. 4. That a mixed assembly of clergy,
secular and regular, and of laymen be appointed to regulate temporal
and spiritual affairs. 5. That all bishops be resident in their sees.
6. That Syrian pilgrims be entertained in the convent. (They admit
that this last had been conceded, but they want "all or nothing.")

RECENT MOVEMENT IN ORTHODOX CHURCH 71
least, of favoring the native Syrians. These, then, espoused
the deposed patriarch's cause, not because they believed he
was any more favorable to themselves than was the synod,
but because they held his deposition to be an infringement of
their constitutional rights, as they had not been consulted in
the matter. In the spring of that year there was presented
in the Holy City a condition as topsy-turvy as it was scanda
lous. On one side of the narrow lane, crossed by the bridge
connecting patriarchate and convent, were stationed two
hundred armed Orthodox natives, assisted by a posse of
Turkish soldiers in guarding a patriarch whom they refused
to commemorate in their prayers. On the other side of the
lane, the convent was picketed by a body of armed monks,
reinforced by two hundred Turkish soldiers, and — so the
story goes — by one hundred Cretans, dressed up as monks
and armed to the teeth. For nine days the peace of Jeru
salem was seriously disturbed by this recrudescence of
the Middle Ages. A number of murders occurred. In
vestigation by a commission, headed by the governor of
Syria, and sent by the Porte to inquire into the legality of
the deposition of Damianus, resulted in his re-establish
ment on the throne. Patriarch and people, with great
shouting and firing of guns, marched in procession to thank
the pacha at his hotel. The prelatical ringleaders of the
Ionian opposition were sent into exile, amid the execra
tions of some over-excited native Orthodox assembled at
the station to witness their departure. The Holy Synod,
perforce, accepted the ruling of the commission. The
Patriarchs of Constantinople and of Alexandria dissented.
Thus, at the close of the year 1909 the Orthodox Church
in Syria and Palestine presented the following combina
tions: A Patriarch of Antioch not recognized by the Pa
triarchs of Constantinople, Jersualem, and Alexandria; a
Patriarch of Jerusalem not acknowledged by the Patri
archs of Constantinople and Alexandria; a native Ortho
dox people triumphant in the See of Antioch; and, finally,
a native Orthodox people in the See of Jerusalem still on
religious strike, with closed churches, still demanding their
share in the financial and spiritual control, still distrusting

72 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
the patriarch, whom they had helped to reinstate, and who,
they declare, had not helped their cause one whit.
The report of the government committee at Constanti
nople in answer to the demands of the Syrians was made
during the first half of the year 1910. On the face of it this
was favorable to the national party, as it sanctioned the
formation of the mixed assembly, and appeared also to
sanction the admission of Syrians to the Brotherhood of the
Holy Sepulchre, and thus to higher clerical rank. The
Syrians, however, by continuing to boycott the churches,
evinced their scepticism as to the real intentions of the
Ionians in control of the brotherhood to throw open the
doors for their admission.1 On the other hand, they began
to feel some hope that by means of their influence in the
newly constituted assembly the educational rights of their
children might now at last be recognized. While thus in
the summer of 1910 the Ionian and Syrian factions were
still at variance in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the four
Greek Patriarchs of Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem,
and Alexandria had again become reconciled.
We must not leave this unhappy ecclesiastical quarrel,
which naturally evokes considerable sympathy for the na
tional party in Jersualem, without stating the contention of
the leaders of the Ionian faction, which, in turn, presents
its plausible side.2 The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre,
they declare, was founded for the preservation of the holy
places: this is the burden of their whole argument. Native
Syrians were at first admitted to its membership, thus
becoming eligible to higher clerical rank; but later their
exclusion was found to be necessary, because their loyal
co-operation in the preservation of the holy places was sus-
1 The churches at Jaffa and, I understand, at some other places which,
though in the patriarchate, are not in the patriarch's own Episcopal See
of Jerusalem, had been reopened before this. In such churches it is not
necessary at the liturgy to commemorate the patriarch, but only the
bishop of the diocese. In Jerusalem the people objected to commemo
rate their patriarch-bishop, whom, as president of the brotherhood, they
regarded as responsible for their exclusion.
2 The Ionian position was stated by a dignitary of the convent in a
private interview in 1909.

RECENT MOVEMENT IN ORTHODOX CHURCH 73
pected. Could their loyalty be assured, they would be read
mitted at once. They have, however, shown in several
ways that they cannot be trusted. Holy places, formerly
turned over to them, were either neglected or given to the
Latins. When appointed to the higher positions in the
church, their ecclesiastics have intrigued with Russia, whose
programme, in charge of the Imperial Society of Palestine,
is to get control of the holy places. To this end it stirred
up national feelings which had not been active before.
Russia, they still declare, made the first Syrian Patriarch
of Antioch. Another reason for the exclusion of the natives
from control is that they might yield to the temptation of
appropriating moneys of the church for the benefit of their
relatives living on the spot, a temptation far less strong in
the case of foreign monks, who nevertheless have sometimes
yielded to it. They acknowledge that the convent, which
is the head-quarters of the brotherhood, has often failed in
performing its duties, and this for many reasons, notably
such as naturally arise from government conditions. They
are eager to establish a modus vivendi by which the natives
might enjoy their just rights, but these can never include
financial control. The reason for withholding this is simple
but cogent; the Syrians contribute nothing toward the reve
nues of the see, which, coming from foreign sources, should
be under foreign control. Among the monks are representa
tives of all the lands from which the revenue comes. On
the contrary, while the natives contribute nothing, they re
ceive much. Of the revenue of the convent, which is only
sixty thousand napoleons (two hundred and forty thousand
dollars) annually, one-quarter is spent on the care of the
holy places, etc., three-quarters being devoted to the good
of the see. Seventeen thousand napoleons (sixty-eight
thousand dollars) a year are spent on the Orthodox in Jeru
salem, who receive bread twice a week gratis, house rent
(ranging from ten to thirty napoleons), the amount of their
military taxes, the salaries of their priests, and the educa
tion of their children. The balance of the forty-five thou
sand napoleons is spent on the rest of the see.
In regard to this matter of education, as in other dis-

74 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
crepant statements, we must point the reader back to the
contention of the Syrians, who declare that, as a matter of
fact, their own children are excluded from the higher schools.
As to the income of the convent, they maintain the whole
financial system to be so rotten that no one knows whence
it comes or whither it goes. The controversy plainly has
two sides. It is in effect a controversy between a wealthy
corporation, determined to keep control of the funds which
it has been the means of collecting, but also using its power
to control ecclesiastical legislation outside of its own imme
diate jurisdiction, and the people who undoubtedly benefit
by it, but who, as undoubtedly, have lost many of their
rights because of its dominating influence.
III. The Jacobite or Old Syrian Church
The ecclesiastical body which we are now about to
consider is known to the outside world by two names:
the Jacobite Church and the Old Syrian Church; but the
members themselves dislike the former title. Both names
serve to distinguish it from the Syrian Catholics. Its head
quarters are at the monastery Deir-ez-Za'feran, near Mardin,
which became the seat of the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch,
in the eleventh century.1 The bulk of the old Syrians in
habit Mesopotamia, only about one-tenth being found in
Syria. Of the total number in the Turkish Empire widely
varying estimates are made. Parry notes the ignorance of
the patriarch in regard to the number of his flock,2 but esti
mates the Turkish subjects under his control as being
somewhere between one hundred and fifty thousand and
two hundred thousand.3 With this estimate that of Tozer
agrees.* Parry states, however, that the number of Jaco
bites in Syria proper, " in the villages scattered about Hums
and Damascus," is ten thousand,5 which is only about half
1 " Six Months in a Syrian Monastery," p. 300, by O. H. Parry
(London, 1895).
2 Ibid., p. 67. * Ibid., p. 346.
4 "The Church and the Eastern Empire," p. 80, by H. B. Tozer.
s Vide supra, p. 345.

THE JACOBITE OR OLD SYRIAN CHURCH 75
the estimate of nineteen thousand given at the beginning of
our chapter. On the other hand, Huber, as quoted by
de Jehay,1 places the total number in the Turkish Empire
at only one hundred thousand. At Hums I was told there
are four thousand or five thousand. At Hama there are
but four hundred or five hundred. Parry places the old
Syrian population of Sudud (the ancient Zedad, the northern
boundary of the Promised Land) at three thousand. In
Damascus the Syrians are mostly Catholics. There, some
years since, I had an interview with the well-known scholar,
the late Joseph David, Syrian-Catholic bishop, in the well-
stocked library of his spacious mansion, which later I was
able to contrast with the meagerly furnished upper room
occupied by the shabbily dressed priest of the Jacobite
Church, who bitterly declared that the Syrian Catholics, in
going over to the pope, had stolen all the church property of
the Jacobites! Conditions are similar at Aleppo, where the
Jacobite Church is said to be a poor affair in comparison
with the churches of all the other communions. In Mesopo
tamia itself, poverty characterizes the community. Schools
are of the most primitive type. The Jacobites are repre
sented in Palestine by one hundred and fifty to two hundred
households in Bethlehem, and by some ten households in the
Holy City. Most of the men in both places are masons.
In Jerusalem a Jacobite bishop presides over a convent,
with four resident monks.2 In communion with the Jaco
bite Church, and thus under the nominal control of its patri
arch, are the non-Catholic Syrians in Malabar and Ceylon,
Nestorian in origin, estimated at three hundred and thirty
thousand souls. Of these we shall speak later.
The official title of the Jacobite patriarch is: "Exalted
Patriarch of the Apostolic See of Antioch and of all the
Jacobite Churches in Syria and the East." It has been
stated that the patriarch must be elected by unanimous
vote of all the people. However, a young man who has
1 "De la Situation Legale des Sujets Ottomans non-Musulmans, par
le comte de Jehay," p. 37.
2 See article, "The Syrian (Jacobite) Patriarch in Jerusalem," by the
Jerusalem correspondent of "The Living Church," September 26, 1908.

76 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
acted as secretary to the present patriarch informs me that
the election is now solely in the hands of the bishops. The
patriarch always assumes the name Ignatius. Tozer says:
" Though this custom arose at the end of the sixteenth cen
tury, there can be little doubt that the name is derived
from that of the saint who was the first bishop of An
tioch." J When chaplain to his predecessor, the present
patriarch visited England, where he was cordially received
by Archbishop Benson and other Anglican dignitaries.
On state occasions he wears a black silk robe over a pur
ple soutane, two heavy gold chains, one with pectoral
cross, rubies and diamonds massively set, and one with a
medallion.2 The Jacobite Church recognizes a unique dignitary called
'Mafrian, theoretically a sort of suffragan-patriarch, to repre
sent the patriarch in the Far East, Persia, and Arabia, as
primate or catholicos. The title has become purely hon
orary,3 but in early times the mafrian consecrated bishops,
blessed the chrism or holy oil, and enjoyed other patriarchal
privileges. According to Parry the designations Mutran'
and Is'qof (properly applying to metropolitan and bishop,
respectively) have a curious use in the Syrian Church. He
states that the bishops are divided into two classes, those
chosen from among the monks, called mutrans, and those
chosen from the parish priests who are widowers, called
isqofs. These latter rank below the mutrans, and are not
eligible to the patriarchate.4 This puts a premium on
celibacy in the Syrian Church, which is not found in the
Orthodox Church, where, as we have seen, a widower may
become patriarch. The Syrian bishops wear a large round
head-dress, upon a card or canvas frame, covered with
black cloth in five folds.5 The Maronite clergy, including
the parish priests, used to wear a similar head-gear, but
it is now rather out of fashion. The Syrian bishops wear
1 "The Church and the Eastern Empire," op. cit, p. 81.
* Article in "The Living Church," op. cit.
3 At present no one holds it.
4 "Six Months in a Syrian Monastery," op. cit, p. 318.
6 Ibid., p. 318.

THE JACOBITE OR OLD SYRIAN CHURCH 77
neither mitre nor ring, but carry a staff topped with two
serpents.1 The parish priests must be married before they can be
ordained. Those who become widowers are usually ex
pected to retire to a monastery, as the services of a celibate
are not wanted by the people. In striking contrast to the
long-haired Greek clergy, the Jacobite priests should keep
their heads closely shaved, but a beard must be worn. The
title of Chorepiscopus, or Country Bishop, which disap
peared in the West early in the Middle Ages, survives among
the lower clergy of the Syrian communions, including the
Maronites. Among the Jacobites to-day it is usually given
to the leading priest of a town, whose position is something
like that of an Anglican rural dean.2 He outranks the other
priests, but is subordinate to the bishop of the diocese.
Khuri, the ordinary term for parish priest in Arabic, is
supposed to be an echo of the term chorepiscopus.
Among the Syrians, the term Shemmas (deacon) is com
monly applied not only to the archdeacon, the deacon proper,
and the subdeacon, but also to the singers and readers.3
This practice appears to be a survival from primitive times
when no emphasis was laid upon the distinction between
the "Ordines Majores" and the "Ordines Minores."4
All play an important part in the active life of the Syrian
churches to-day, both Jacobite and Catholic. All proudly
refer to themselves as deacons. No city should contain
more than one archdeacon, but a large church may possess
(say) eight deacons, six subdeacons, and some fifty readers
and singers. The two lower orders may be held by mere
boys.5 In case of all but the lowest (singers), ordination
1 For a list of the episcopal sees consult Appendix.
2 This comparison is made by Parry, p. 325.
3 The lower orders appear to be filled in the Coptic Church also. A
young Copt told me that he had been regularly ordained, at the age of
ten, as an acolyte, under the general name of shemmas, or deacon.
4 See article, "Ordines," in the new Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia.
5 My information in regard to this is conclusive, the numbers quoted
being an estimate for the churches of Mardin and Mosul. Parry, how
ever, declares (page 326) that the lower orders of the " Psaltes, the reader
and the hypodiaconus, are almost obsolete."

78 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
must be administered by the bishop, who clips off a bit of
hair from the candidate, returning it to him in a paper.
Though not in priest's orders, the archdeacon may say mass
by especial order of the bishop. However, this order ap
pears to be lapsing in the Jacobite Church, and is not recog
nized by the Syrian Catholics. The deacon proper is called
in Arabic Shemmas' Anji'li, as he reads the Gospels. He
may marry before his ordination to this degree, but is
"unfrocked," as it were, by marriage afterward. Many
remain full deacons all their lives, without passing to the
priesthood, but during the week carry on their ordinary
business. The Shemmas Anjili figures prominently in the
church services. He prepares the holy bread, swings the
censer, passes on the kiss of peace to the people from the
sanctuary,1 communes in both kinds separately, drinking
from the cup, and sometimes gives the holy elements from
the priest's hands to the people. During the celebration
all "deacons," including the singers, wear white surplices,
with gayly decorated stoles. These are worn "with a
difference"; thus the archdeacon wears his over the right
shoulder, the reader, in the form of a cross. All who take
part in the sanctuary or chancel should wear a girdle.
"The celebrant wears a special alb, with colored girdle,
and over this a chasuble split down the front and fastened
at the neck by large silver buckles. Over the sleeves of this
alb he wears long richly embroidered gauntlets, and over
his head he draws from time to time the top part of a veil,
that hangs over his back like a kind of amice. He has on
his head besides this only a skull-cap of the same sort as
generally worn under the turban, but more richly em
broidered with white crosses on black ground. Under the
chasuble he wears an undivided stole, like a scapular, and
on his feet the yellow shoes always exchanged within the
sanctuary for the usual black or red ones." 2
A large number of Syrians, estimated at about four
hundred and forty thousand, have their head-quarters at
St. Thomas, on the Malabar coast, being found also in
1 See page 137
2 Parry's "Syrian Monastery," op. cit, p. 346.

THE JACOBITE OR OLD SYRIAN CHURCH 79
Ceylon.1 They owe their existence to the missionary zeal
which distinguished the Nestorian communion in the sixth
century, when a portion of the native population of Mala
bar was assimilated. One-quarter of these now acknowl
edge papal supremacy. The old party may be said to be
linked with our subject, as their bishops now receive ordi
nation from the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch, or from his
representatives.2 This practice began in 1665, when, cut
off from communion with their own Nestorian Catholicos
in Mesopotamia, they turned to the Jacobite Metropolitan
of Jerusalem, who opportunely appeared among them.
As a matter of fact, in many cases ordination continued
to be irregularly conducted, often without reference to
the Jacobite Patriarch of Antioch. About the middle of
the last century the question of supremacy of this prelate
over the Syrian Church of India gave rise to ten years of
litigation, ending in the triumph of the suzerain power.3
The question, however, has been recently reopened, one
party in the Malabar church (which contains some highly
educated men) demanding "home rule." As this volume
goes to press the Jacobite patriarch has not yet returned
from a long visit to Malabar, where he went to assert his
authority in person. Two years before the early submission
to the Jacobites, in 1665, there was a split among the Malabar
Syrians, a large number, under the name of Palayacoor,
or the Old Community, definitely refusing to submit any
longer to the claims of the Roman See, which were as defi
nitely acknowledged by the minority under the name of
Puthencoor, or the New Community. The descendants of
the papal adherents to-day are said to number some one
hundred and ten thousand, or only one-third as many as
the Palayacoor. They do not form an organic part of the
1 See "The Greek and Eastern Churches," p. 530, by W. F. Adeney,
a volume of the International Theological Library.
2 See also article in "The Living Church," September 26, 1908, "The
Syrian (Jacobite) Patriarch in Jerusalem." " In his suite were also . . .
Syrian monks from Malabar, southern India, who receive episcopal
consecration at the hands of the patriarch."
3 W. F. Adeney, op. cit, pp. 530-533.

80 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
Chaldean or United Nestorian Church, but are governed
directly by three apostolic vicars.
The Nestorians of the near East do not come strictly un
der our purview, as they have no connection with Syria or
Palestine. They do not now use this name, but call them
selves Chaldeans, Syrians, or simply Christians. They are
found on the eastern confines of Turkey, but are chiefly
grouped in the mountains of Kurdistan, in Persia proper,
and on the plains north of Mosul, with colonies in Mosul
itself and in Diarbekir. As they represent, however, a
most primitive form of Christianity, we may add a word
about them. Their head-quarters are a remote and rugged
valley in Kurdistan, on the banks of the Greater Zab.1
Here in a village called Kochannes dwells their patriarch.
Their numbers are estimated at one hundred thousand.
The Persian branch, estimated at from twenty-five thousand
to thirty thousand members, formally joined the Orthodox
Church of Russia in 1898.2 Since 1450 the patriarchal dig
nity has been hereditary, passing from uncle to nephew,
not according to age, but following the choice of the family.
The candidate must be a celibate. Not only should he
never have eaten meat, but his mother should have followed
a vegetarian diet during her pregnancy and nursing. The
episcopate, too, is quasi-hereditary, and Nestorian bishops
of twelve years and younger may be found. Priests may
marry even after ordination. It is clear that the Roman
Church, in forming a united branch under the name of
Chaldeans out of this communion, found much to " reform"
in faith and practice.
1 See "The Church and the Eastern Empire," op. cit., p. 77. Com
pare " De la Situation Legale des Sujets Ottomans non-Musulmans, par
le comte de Jehay," pp. 32-33.
2 See article, " Nestorians," in the " New International Encyclopedia."
According to other estimates the number of perverts is much less.

THE UNIATES 81

IV. The Uniates

In any survey of the divisions in the church universal
three crucial centuries stand out clearly: the fifth, the
eleventh, and the sixteenth. The fifth century saw the
entering wedge of schism, affecting, however, only outly
ing portions of the church, though affecting these perma
nently. The eleventh saw a definite cleavage in the main
body, between the Eastern and Western branches. The
sixteenth saw the split in the Western church, resulting in
the formation of the various Protestant bodies. The early
unity of the church, which, in spite of many heresies and
some minor temporary schisms, had remained practically
intact, was impaired in the fifth century by the secession of
the Syrian-Nestorian body, the first organized of the hereti
cal churches which split off by reason of dissent from the
decisions of the Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon. In
the next century followed the Syrian-Jacobite, Coptic, and
Armenian schisms, while the Monothelite Maronites ap
pear to have been well organized by the close of the seventh
century. The two Syrian churches, alone, at one time
threatened to outrank the main body of Christians, in
numbers if not in influence, but any fear of such rivalry
was allayed by the decline of the powerful Nestorian com
munion in the eleventh century. In the meantime the
original church had remained united, though forming two
branches, one in the East, with the four independent
Patriarchates of Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and
Alexandria, and the other in the West, under the jurisdic
tion of the Bishop of Rome. In the eyes of the Eastern
prelates the Roman dignitary was but the patriarch of the
West (a title still borne by the holy father), primus inter
pares in relation to themselves. Such, indeed, was their
theory, as over against the claims to papal supremacy, ad
vanced as early as the fifth century and growing more arro
gant, though still vague, until they were definitely formulated
in the pontificate of Nicholas I (858-867), who recognized
as genuine the celebrated false decretals, asserting the

82 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
doctrine on the testimony of forged documents, purporting
to be letters and decisions of the early bishops of Rome.
Notwithstanding their theoretic attitude of independence,
the Patriarchs of Constantinople, often rivals of the popes,
did in sporadic cases, when it suited their convenience, lend
countenance to the papal claims by appeals to the judgment
and authority of the occupants of the Roman See, especially
in regard to the iconoclastic controversy, which threatened
to split the Eastern church between the years 726 and 842.
The final breach between the East and the West, seriously
threatened in the ninth century under the leadership of
Photios, Ecumenical patriarch, became actual in 1054,
when Leo X was pope and Michael Cerularius was Patri
arch of Constantinople. The council then held at the East
ern capital by request of the emperor, Constantine Mono-
machus, and intended to adjust differences, which by that
time included many matters besides the papal supremacy,1
came to nothing. The patriarch definitely refused to sub
mit to the pope's authority, while the papal delegates, be
fore departing in anger, laid upon the altar of Saint So
phia a terrible sentence of anathema on Michael and his
followers. The definite nature of the split is illustrated in
the crusading period by two contemporary lines of patri
archs over the Sees of Constantinople, Antioch and Jeru
salem, respectively, the one Greek, the other Latin. On
the other hand, this period witnessed the beginnings of one
permanent return to Rome, when in 1182 the Monothelite
Maronites acknowledged their errors to the Latin Patriarch
of Antioch. Various attempts at reconciliation between the
two main branches of the church were made, with only brief
results. The last found voice at the Councils of Ferrara
and Florence, held in 1438-1439. At the closing scenes of
the Council of Florence an act of union of the Eastern and
Western churches was signed, notwithstanding the fierce
opposition of the party led by Mark, Bishop of Ephesus.
1 Besides the chief points of difference — the procession of the Holy
Spirit or filioque clause, the papal supremacy, the azyma, purgatory,
and the enforced celibacy of the clergy — such minor matters as the
beards of the priests were included.

THE UNIATES 83
But Rome scored only a paper victory. It was never car
ried into effect. The document was not even signed by the
Patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria, prelates intimately
concerned in the matter. Paper victory though it was, the
Council of Florence furnished a powerful argument for
the Roman propaganda to recover portions of the lost
adherents.1 Roman Catholic missionary activity among the Eastern
churches was stimulated by the failure of the Council of
Florence, was further increased by the founding of the
Society of the Jesuits in 1543, and was definitely organ
ized under the Propaganda of the Faith, established in
1622 by Pope Gregory XV. The work of proselytizing, or,
from the Roman point of view, the work of restoring to the
mother church, was directed not only toward the "schis-
matical" Greek Church, but toward the "heretical" na
tional churches, whose dissent from the decisions of one or
another of the general councils placed them in a different
category from that of the Greek Church, which accepted
them all. The policy adopted in all cases was by preach
ing Catholic doctrine to honeycomb a given church until,
through individual conversions, a sufficient number of ad
herents, lay and clerical, warranted the formation of a sepa
rate body, with the name Catholic added to the original name.
Such churches share the general name of Uniats or Uniates.
It has always been assumed that any given union with Rome
constitutes an actual reunion, a return to an early allegiance
that had been forsworn when the original schism was effected.
This was strongly brought out in 1599 at the Synod of
Diamper, which was convened " for the increase of Catholic
faith among the Syrians of Malabar," and which claimed
to put an end to a separation which had lasted over a thou
sand years.2 The basis of union has ever been submission
to papal authority and acceptance of Catholic doctrine. In
1 Before the Turkish occupation in 1453 nine ruptures and renewals
of relations between the Sees of Rome and Constantinople have been
counted. The first lasted ninety-three years, from 489 to 582; it was
concerned with matters of jurisdiction, not of dogma.
2 "The Greek and Eastern Churches," by W. F. Adeney, p. 529.

84 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
return for this double allegiance, the following concessions
have usually been made by Rome, with such modifications
as the main basis of union necessitated: government by
the local hierarchy under papal supervision; retention by
a given church of its ritual in the sacred language or
vernacular of that church, together with its ecclesiastical
customs and traditions; permission for a married priest
hood. This last-named concession is not inconsistent with
the historic attitude of Rome toward the celibacy of the
clergy. This is not a matter of doctrine, which is im
mutable, but of discipline, which is subject to regulation.
While maintaining that continence is a more holy state
than matrimony, and that celibacy is especially desirable
for the clergy, the Roman church has not felt herself ab
solutely bound to impose it on her ministers at all times
and places, nor has she always done so. As early as the
fourth century attempts were made in the Western church
to secure an unmarried clergy; but even as late as the
eleventh century synods found it necessary to pronounce
the marriage of persons in holy orders not only unlawful
but invalid. Toleration toward the Uniats in this matter
is thus justified by a similar toleration toward the Western
clergy in earlier days.
As a rule each united church is governed by its own local
hierarchy, under the supervision of an apostolic vicar or
delegate, representing the Congregation of the Propaganda.
Since 1890 the Apostolic Vicar of Aleppo has been resident
in Beyrout, bearing also the title of Apostolic Delegate in
Syria for the Orientals. Under his general jurisdiction,
thus, are placed the Maronites, the Greek Catholics, the
Syrian Catholics, and the Armenian Catholics found in
Syria. His position as between the local ecclesiastics on
the one side and the Turkish Government on the other is
delicate. Being necessarily a foreign subject, he does not
share with the Oriental patriarchs, nominally under his
care, the privilege of direct communication with the Porte,
nor can he exercise the civil or administrative functions
which they enjoy. His duties technically require him to
be present at the actual election of the Greek Catholic

THE UNIATES 85
patriarch, but as the Porte objects to this on the ground of
foreign interference in a matter over which it exercises a
certain amount of control, he must practically content him
self with attending the ceremonies, preceding and succeed
ing. The election of any united patriarch must have the
confirmation both of the Porte and of Rome. Members
of the united churches may, for their own advantage, play
patriarch and delegate off against each other. In the
latter part of the nineteenth century the Maronite monks of
the Congregation of the Libnaniyeh or Beladiyeh withdrew
from the jurisdiction of the patriarch, placing themselves
under the protection of the delegate. It is said, however,
that repentance soon followed this change of allegiance
when the delegate attempted to dictate in the election of
the abbott-general. The power of the delegate appears
to have greatly grown since 1852, when Churchill wrote of
his influence among the Maronites as being slight, and re
ferred to the despotic authority of the patriarch, against
which there was no appeal. Every Maronite enjoys to-day
the right of final appeal to Rome. A long-standing quar
rel between the nobles and people of Rishmaya, in the
Lebanon, arising from the insistence of the sheikhs on
their alleged rights to bury their dead in the parish church,
was settled at Rome in favor of the people.
Papal authority in Jerusalem and Palestine is exercised
by a line of Latin patriarchs, re-established as a local insti
tution in 1847. As the united bodies are very sparsely
represented in the Holy Land proper, the jurisdiction of
the patriarch is chiefly extended over the Latin community
of a few thousand members, consisting of Europeans, of
native descendants of the Crusaders, and of other natives
whose ancestors were Maronites. The custody of the holy
places of Palestine is in the hands of the Franciscans, whose
immunities, granted by the Mameluke sultans, are honored
by the Ottomans.
The first papal missionary work on a large scale among
the Eastern churches appears to have been that conducted
among the Nestorians of Malabar, to which reference has

86 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
been made in this and in the previous section. In its early
labors the papal see made certain demands of conformity to
Roman practice which it learned later to abandon. Thus,
at the Synod of Diamper (1599), not only was celibacy
made binding on the Malabar Catholic clergy, but priests
already married were required to divorce their wives. The
Malabar Catholic Church is at present governed directly
by three resident apostolic vicars, sent from Rome, and
thus is not organically connected either with the Syrian
Chaldean Church, formed by a split among the Nestorians
of the near East, or with the Syrian Catholic Church, de
rived from the Jacobite Church, to which the non-united
Syrians of Malabar are now nominally subject. The term
Chaldean was applied to individual converts from this body
as early as 1445, soon after the Council of Florence. At this
council a closer papal union with the Maronites was effected.
The present line of Nestorian Catholic or Chaldean pa
triarchs of Babylon began in 1681, but previously there
had been individual patriarchs who acknowledged papal
authority. The beautiful Armenian Catholic Convent at
Venice witnesses to the zeal of Mechitar, a pervert from the
Armenian Church, who became active at the very beginning
of the eighteenth century in trying to reconcile the Arme
nian Church to the papal see. The establishment of the
Armenian Catholic Community at Constantinople was not
accomplished without a bitter struggle with the old Grego
rian Armenians. The Porte took first one side and then
the other, issuing decrees of banishment against the papal
missionaries and the old Armenians alternately. For many
years the new community was under the spiritual jurisdic
tion of a Latin archbishop, but owing to pressure from the
French Government the Porte in 1829 finally authorized
ecclesiastical autonomy under a chief styled Patriarch of
Cilicia.1 The Coptic Catholic Church, formed in 1732, has
a patriarch resident in Alexandria. The united Abyssinians
are subject to a Latin apostolic vicar, resident among them.
1 A valuable account of the formation of the Roman Catholic Arme
nian community may be found in the "Turkish Empire," vol. II,
pp. 133-152, by R. R. Madden (London, 1862).

THE UNIATES 87
Of the Uniat bodies represented in Syria, the Syrian
Catholics, the Greek Catholic Melchites, and the Maronites,
the two last are practically local churches, with centres in
Syria itself. The head of the Syrian Catholics, however,
though styled Patriarch of Antioch, has his residence at
Mardin. The present line of patriarchs began in 1783, as
a result of the Roman propaganda which had been going
on among the Jacobites for some time.1 The Syrian Catho
lic patriarch is elected by the bishops alone. Before he can
be enthroned he must be confirmed first by the Porte and
then by Rome. How the Syrian Uniat community over
shadows the Jacobite, both at Damascus and Aleppo, has
been already indicated. In the heart of the Maronite dis
trict, Kesrouan, in the Lebanon, is the Syrian Catholic mon
astery of Deir-esh-Sherfi, the seat of a theological training-
school. A similar school for the instruction of candidates
for the Syrian Catholic priesthood is under the charge of the
Benedictine monastery, situated on the so-called Mount of
Offence, east of Jerusalem.
The split in the Orthodox communion which gave rise to
two contemporary lines of patriarchs of Antioch, each fol
lowing the Greek rite, the one called Greek Orthodox, the
other Greek Catholic Melchite, dates from 1724. This
definite schism was but the culmination of a Roman Catholic
propaganda which began as early as 1583, when the pope,
Sixtus V, sent a delegate to the East to seek for terms
of union which might be more successful than those pro
posed almost a century and a half before at the Council of
Florence. This embassy was a failure. But what direct
diplomacy could not effect was brought about, at least
partially, by the quiet and persistent work of Roman
Catholic missionaries, thoroughly organized, by the middle
of the seventeenth century. Jesuit and Capuchin fathers,
highly trained for the work, were domiciled among the
simple Syrians, whom they gradually acquainted with the
ideas and principles of the Roman Church. By force of a
1 A sketch of the papal propaganda among the Syrians may be found
in "Six Months in a Syrian Monastery," by O. H. Parry, pp. 301 ff.
Compare with page 75 of this present work.

88 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
genuine conviction of the righteousness of their cause; by
assuming authority to relax the system of Greek fasts,
whose number and rigidity far exceeds Western practice;
by throwing their influence at the right moment, this way
or that, in local disputes concerning the election to ec
clesiastical office; as well as by any means which a subtle
knowledge of human nature might suggest, they succeeded
in converting or perverting to Rome numbers of laity
and clergy. The see became honeycombed with papal ad
herents. Even patriarchs connived at the propaganda,
while by 1686 four bishops had actually sent in their sub
mission to Rome.1
The ecclesiastical history of the half century preceding
the schism of 1724 shows passages of genuine melodrama.
Here is a bewildering succession of intrigue and counter-
intrigue: two rival patriarchs of Antioch, Cyril and Atha
nasius, backed in turn by the Porte, alternately ousting each
other from the see; popes of Rome, Circassian janissaries,
members of the Holy Synod at Constantinople, all taking a
hand in the game; bribery freely used and acknowledged;
sudden imprisonment followed by dramatic release; and,
finally, a cynical compromise between the two prelates, now
both advanced in years, by which Cyril keeps the throne,
sharing its revenues with Athanasius, who is promised the
right of succession. Out of this welter of events a few
facts emerge with tolerable clearness.2 The papal see had
but a single aim, namely, to get control of the Patriarchate
of Antioch, and thus favored alternately both of the rival
claimants, according as each might show ability to further
the cause. Both Cyril and Athanasius were determined to
1 See Dr. Wortabet's chapter on the Greek Catholic Church in his
"Religion in the East" (London, 1860).
aThe story of this stormy period is told in a highly partisan spirit
in two separate sets of chronicles (found in Arabic MSS. in the library
of the American Presbyterian Mission at Beyrout). The Orthodox
chronicler is one Bureik, who brings his account down to 1792. The
Greek Catholic chronicles are dated 1758, and are by the Rev. Yuhanna
Ajaimeh, who calls his work "The Book of the History of the Sect
[Tayyafeh] in Explanation of the Affairs of the Patriarchate of Anti
och."

THE UNIATES 89
hold the throne at any price. Each was controlled by am
bition rather than by conviction. Each vacillated between
Orthodox and Catholic allegiance. Cyril, indeed, after the
compromise which gave him the throne for life, formally
presented his submission to the pope in a letter sent to
Rome along with his crozier, but apparently he never
frankly declared- in Damascus for the Catholic position.
The tergiversations of Athanasius were even more re
markable. Before Cyril's death, in 1720, he had appeared
to be the more Catholic of the two, but finding himself once
more patriarch, he proceeded to Constantinople, where he
put under the ban the whole Western church, and promised
the Holy Synod to persecute the Catholics on his return to
his see. Once back in his old domains, however, he repudi
ated the Constantinople promises, at the same time defend
ing these as the only means by which imminent danger was
averted from the Catholics themselves. And yet on his
death-bed, four years later, he refused to make a Catholic
confession to the Jesuit fathers.
The death of Athanasius gave the Catholic party a chance
to elect a candidate whose adhesion to the cause was un
equivocal. About the same time members of the Orthodox
party, doubtless suspicious of the fidelity of any local can
didate, sought to strengthen their greatly enfeebled cause
by delegating their rights to the Synod of Constantinople,
which elected as Patriarch of Antioch one Sylvestre, an
"Ionian" Bishop of Cyprus, Greek by blood and speech.
How this intrusion of a foreign element changed the whole
complexion of the hierarchy of the Orthodox See of Antioch
for about one hundred and seventy-five years, when the
native element again came into full control, has been shown
in a former section. Of the election of Seraphim Tanas,
the Greek Catholic candidate for the throne, two widely
differing accounts were early circulated. The Greek Cath
olics declare that it was conducted with perfect legality by
order of the governor of Damascus, and that Seraphim
was ordained as Cyril IV in the Damascus Cathedral by
three bishops, one of whom had been especially consecrated,
so that the canonical number of three might be present.

90 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
The Greek chronicler asserts that the governor was bribed,
while the ordination was most irregularly and informally
conducted by a Capuchin father. The tale of the same
writer regarding the manner of the consecration of Sera
phim as bishop, which took place at some time previous,
appears on the face of it to be widely improbable, even
for those feudal times, though the cautious Dr. Wortabet
credits it "with a considerable appearance of historical
veracity." x According to this legend, the priest Seraphim
engaged the powerful interest of the Emir Heidar Shehaab,
a Mohammedan chieftain of the Lebanon, who coerced
three bishops of Catholic proclivities to take Seraphim off
for consecration. The party was driven by storm into a
cave, where all were plied with wine by the emir's servants,
who threatened to kill the bishops unless they carried out
the chief's orders then and there. Whereupon the prelates,
terrified and half intoxicated, proceeded to consecrate Tanas,
addressing him at the same time with the extra-canonical
words: "O thou excommunicate! Abhorred of God, and
full of evil!"
Such a story, whatever its basis, serves to indicate the
fierce and bitter nature of the controversy between the
Orthodox and Catholic parties in the See of Antioch. Dis
credit is thrown on the consecration of other Greek Catholic
bishops by further tales of the Greek chronicler, who would
thus seek to disprove the validity of the rival priesthood in
general. The struggle for the throne of Antioch between
Cyril VI and Sylvestre followed many of the methods of the
previous contest between Cyril V and Athanasius, but dif
fered from it in that the contestants now unequivocally
represented the two rival parties. It would be idle to follow
the details of the struggle. The outcome was the recogni
tion of Sylvestre by the Porte in 1728, and the consequent
exile of Cyril from Damascus, where he had held the throne
for over three years. Sylvestre signalized his triumph by
a violent persecution of the Catholics, which led to his own
expulsion from the see. This was only temporary, and in
1731 he seems to have been secure on the throne. His ar-
1 "Religion in the East," foot-note on pp. 82-83.

THE UNIATES 91
rogance and tactlessness did much to widen the breach
which it was hoped he might heal. Cyril, who had settled
in Lebanon, was acknowledged as rightful Greek Patriarch
of Antioch by the pope in 1730, receiving the pallium from
Rome three years later.1 Before his death, in 1760, he had
organized the Greek Catholics, who by this time were very
numerous, into a separate community, with a distinct hier
archy of their own. In the eyes of the Porte, however, the
sect continued to be under Orthodox jurisdiction till 1831,
when it was officially associated with the Armenian Catholic
community. Since 1848 the government has recognized
the Greek Catholic patriarch as representing a separate
body. The full name of the communion, Greek Catholic
Melchite, is due to the revival of an early title applied in
the fifth century to that party in the Patriarchate of Antioch,
which accepted the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon,
promulgated by the Emperor Marcion. Melchites, then,
constituted the king's party, as over against the Mardaites,
or Rebels, who persisted in heresy. After the Arab con
quest the term was used to describe the Syrian Greeks in
general, but later became obsolete.
By the schism of 1724 the Orthodox community of the
Patriarchate of Antioch was greatly weakened. Writing
of the Greek Catholics as late as 1860, Dr. Wortabet de
clared: "In Aleppo, Damascus, Sidon, and Tyre they de
cidedly predominate over all other Christian sects in number,
wealth, and influence. The most intelligent men in Syria,
those whose views are most liberal, are found in this com
munion." 2 In the last fifty years the status of the Greek
Orthodox and of the Maronites has risen, so that such a
comparison no longer holds true, but the Greek Catholics
continue to form a body of much influence in the Lebanon
and elsewhere.
The two Greek communions in Syria take two diamet
rically opposed views of church history. Though each calls
the other schismatic, each regards its own patriarch as the
direct descendant of Saint Peter, the founder of the see,
1 Jehay (op. cit.) dates the sending of the pallium at 1744.
2 "Religion in the East," pp. 84-86.

92 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
through a chain which is identical up to 1724. The Ortho
dox hold that before the great schism of 1054, notwith
standing the growing pretensions of the Bishop of Rome to
supremacy, the four patriarchs of the East had remained
independent of the patriarch of the West, as well as of
each other. This independence was naturally accentuated
by the great schism. Accordingly they maintain that the
split of 1724 was caused by the desertion of such members
of the Orthodox Church as yielded to the unlawful claims
of the Roman See. The Greek Catholics declare that from
the rise of the church to the middle of the ninth century, the
entire Greek communion was perfectly Catholic, acknowl
edging the pope as its head. The schismatic movement
which began with Photios in 848, which culminated in the
definite schism of 1054, and which continued to persist,
notwithstanding the attempted reconciliation at the Coun
cil of Florence in 1439, at no period prevented many in
dividuals in the Orthodox Church from acknowledging
their allegiance to Rome. Thus there has always been a
distinctly Catholic party in the See of Antioch, which from
time to time has included even patriarchs among its num
bers. The open submission of Cyril VI to the pope was
but the official acknowledgment of a claim which had ever
been valid, but which had been denied for many centuries
by the Patriarchate of Antioch as a whole. Thus from
the Greek Catholic point of view the schism of 1724 effected
the restoration to Rome of the ancient church founded at
Antioch by Saint Peter.
By this assumption the Greek Catholics claim a unique
position among the Uniat bodies. They regard the Syrian
Catholic and Maronite Patriarchs of Antioch as possessing
merely courtesy titles. "National dignitaries, recognized
as such by Rome," so a learned Greek Catholic archi
mandrite described them in a recent conversation. This
contention has doubtless been responsible for the conserva
tism shown by the sect in refusing to adopt most of those
Western customs which in late times the Maronites have
so easily assimilated, although the Maronite Church was
not only purely Eastern in origin, but continued to remain

THE UNIATES 93
so for some centuries after the union with Rome. For
almost a century and a quarter after the submission of
their patriarch to the pope, the Greek Catholics continued
to follow the Eastern calendar, thus observing the fixed
feasts twelve days later than the Roman church, with which
they were supposed to be in full communion, and, cele
brating Easter also at a different date, save on such rare
occasions when the movable feasts of the paschal week
happened to coincide. The sudden order issued by the
patriarch in 1857 to his bishops, commanding them to
enforce the celebration of Easter at the same time with the
Latins, threatened to disrupt the Greek Catholic commun
ion. This order involved the adoption of the whole Roman
calendar. Two parties were at once formed: one in sup
port of the patriarch, the other in defiant rebellion. This
controversy troubled the peace of the Greek Catholic
Church for a number of years. The seceders secured two
churches in Beyrout and Damascus, with the intention of
establishing a new rite under the name of Oriental Greeks,
but in 1865 they decided to follow the example of the Syrian
and Armenian Catholics and of the Maronites, and joined
the patriarch's party in celebrating Easter of that year ac
cording to the Roman calendar.1
This concession to Western practice, however, has not
altered the essential Eastern character of the Greek Catholic
Church. Members of the local hierarchy jealously guard
against attempts at encroachment on their rights which
they suspect the Jesuits and other Latin orders of enter
taining. Their theology is tridentine, but not so their
discipline and ritual. The two Greek communions use
practically the same service books, though the Greek Catho
lics have slightly altered some of the prayers. A Roman
Catholic would find it hard to detect any difference, as be
tween the two Greek communions, in the interior arrange
ment of churches, in the conduct of services, and in the
ordinary appearance and ecclesiastical vestments of the
clergy. Differences there are, but covering minor matters
1 See de Jehay (op. cit), p. 274, and "Religion in the East," by Dr.
John Wortabet, pp. 98-100.

94 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
of detail. For example, during the larger part of the ser
vices, the Orthodox draw curtains before all the entrances to
the ikonostasis, which in the Eastern churches screens off
the sanctuary from the body of the church, or close the en
trance with actual doors; in the Greek Catholic churches
the entrances are kept open, save that in some cases a cur
tain is drawn across the central opening before the high
altar. Again, the Orthodox clergy never cut the hair, while
the Greek Catholic priests are permitted to wear it short,
though they are at liberty to follow the old custom if policy
so directs.
Eastern though the Greek Catholic Church essentially
remains, the influence of Rome can be traced in many
ways. At present the patriarch is elected by the bishops in
conclave (subject to confirmation from Rome, as well as
from the Porte), thus following the method used in papal
elections, as over against the more Eastern method of elec
tion by popular vote of the chief men of the see, which ap
pears to have been followed by the sect as late as I860.1
Again, in the matter of a married priesthood, a right re
served to the Uniat bodies, there may be observed among
the Greek Catholics (though not as strongly as among the
Maronites) a growing tendency to conform to the Western
practice of a celibate clergy. This appears to be the result
of example rather than of direct precept. A French father
in the theological seminary conducted in Jerusalem under
the supervision of the White Fathers of Africa, for the train
ing of the Greek Catholic priesthood, informed me that no
pressure whatever was brought to bear on the students to
influence them against marrying before ordination, though
as a matter of fact no graduate ever had married. In this
matter of education by which the parish clergy of the
Greek Catholics are superior to those of the Orthodox, may
also be traced the influence of Rome. Besides the Jerusalem
training-school, the Greek Catholics have a theological
college at the Propaganda at Rome under the care of the
Benedictines. The patriarchal college at Beyrout provides
a general education for boys. One of the first printing-
1 See Dr. Wortabet's "Religion in the East," p. 86.

THE UNIATES 95
presses ever used in Syria was established by this sect at
Shweir, a village in the heart of the Lebanon. Before the
second half of the last century many very valuable books
had been issued from this modest establishment.1 Among
their patriarchs, the Greek Catholics can rightfully boast
of at least one man unusually distinguished in talent and
learning: Maximus IV, commonly known as Maximus
Muzlum, who died in 1856.
The Greek Catholics have held four general councils or
synods.2 The acts of the first, summoned in 1806, were
cancelled by Pope Gregory XVI. The canons enacted by
the second, held during that same year, were confirmed.
These continued to regulate the church till 1909, as the acts
of a third council, held at Jerusalem in 1849, had been
annulled by Rome. At Whitsuntide, 1909, the patriarchs
and bishops again met in general council at Ain Trez, a
monastery in the Lebanon which had been the seat of the
patriarch till this was moved to Damascus.3 At this time
all the canons of the church were overhauled.4
The papal propaganda among the members of the Greek
Church in Turkey-in-Asia was concentrated in the ancient
Patriarchate of Antioch, where it was practically confined.
The Greek Catholic Church has a bishop resident at Acre,
in the north of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem,
but the Greeks of the district are mostly Orthodox. Small
bodies of Greek converts to Rome in the See of Constan
tinople were organized in 1861 under the name of "Greco
Puro," subject to an apostolic delegate resident at the
capital. There are also bodies of united Greeks in Rus
sia, Austria, and Bulgaria.5 There is a Greek Catholic
colony in Calabria, said to consist of descendants of those

1 See Dr. Wortabet's "Religion in the East," p. 85.
2 Ibid., pp. 88-96. Also de Jehay, p. 277.
3 The patriarch at present occasionally takes up his residence in Egypt,
where his church has a considerable following.
' Confirmation from Rome had not yet been received up to the sum
mer of 1911.
5 Consult "La Gerarchia Cattolica" (year-book of the Catholic clergy),
pp. 26-27 (Roma, Tipographia Vaticana).

96 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
who immigrated from Albania at the time of Scander-beg,
about the middle of the fifteenth century. Thus, in Italy
istelf, in the very shadow of Rome, there exists a community,
fully loyal to the pope and yet possessing a married clergy.
V. The Maronites1
Among the Uniates the Maronites occupy a distinct place.
Alone of all these bodies they represent an Eastern church
which has given its allegiance to Rome in its entirety. The
Greek Church in Syria and Palestine is only one-third papal.
The Maronite Church of the Lebanon, though more truly
national, both by reason of its history and of its present con
dition, is wholly ultramontane. It is a strict tradition that
the Maronite patriarch, as lord of the Lebanon, should
never leave his mountain rocks, but this tradition must be
set aside if a summons comes from Rome. With the
Maronites, the elements of home rule and imperial loyalty
have been, for the most part, firmly united. It is not too
much to say that wisdom, tact, adaptability, and diplomacy
have never worked more successfully than they have in the
dealings of the See of Rome with the proud and independent
mountaineers, who as late as 1850 cried, " Our patriarch is
our sultan!" when the Turkish Government threatened to
interfere in their internal affairs. Thoroughly Eastern in
origin, the Maronites are to-day more Western than any
other united body, but Rome has never forced innovations
upon them.2 When in 1584 a Maronite theological semi
nary was established at Rome, the ritual and practice of the
Maronite Church differed little from the Jacobite. One hun-
1 In preparing this section, which contains considerable new material,
I have used freely my more elaborate article entitled "The Maronites,"
printed in the Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund
for 1892. The paper has the following sub-sections: I. The Mar
onites and the Lebanon. II. The Clergy, Churches, and Schools. III.
The Monasteries. IV. The Ritual. V. The Calendar. Material from
the article is also used in the next section and chapter.
2 Note on p. 102 the statement that Pope Paul V, in 1610, actually
requested the Maronite patriarch to restore certain ancient Eastern
practices that had been abandoned.

THE MARONITES 97
dred and fifty years later at the Maronite Council of the
Lebanon it was enacted that resident students should be for
bidden to receive the sacraments of confirmation and ordina
tion by any rite except their own, while all those whose
loyalty to their own church was doubted should be instantly
sent back to the Lebanon.1 The especial reference, of course,
was to the temptation, ever before the students, to become
Latinized. The acts of this council were ratified by the papal
see. But already in the century and a half which had
elapsed since the founding of the college, the Maronite
Church itself had been brought into closer harmony with the
Latin, through the influence of graduates of this very insti
tution, returning to positions of ecclesiastical authority at
home. Rome had rightly calculated on the subtle influence
of her environment. The Gregorian calendar was adopted
in 1606. Other changes followed. How far this Romanizing
tendency has proceeded can be illustrated to-day by a com
parison between the interiors of a Roman Catholic and a
Maronite Church in the same city, where no essential dif
ference between the two can be observed. In both churches
mass is said in full view of the congregation. Certain
ruined Maronite Churches in Batrun, where the typically
Eastern ikonostasis (or screen dividing the sanctuary from
the nave) remains, emphasizes the difference between past
and present. While the use of old liturgies is freely per
mitted, the daily mass now usually employed is a Syriac
adaptation from the Latin mass. On the other hand, the
Eastern services for baptism, marriage, burial, as well as
for feast-days, are largely retained. Further signs of con
formity to Roman practice are shown by the use of the
unleavened wafer in communion; in the abandonment of
triple immersion in baptism; and in the administration
of the sacrament of confirmation in later years, instead
of causing it to follow immediately after baptism. This
Romanizing process distinguishes the Maronites from all
other Uniate bodies. With the Syrian Catholics the present
1 1 was recently informed by the head of the school in Rome that
this rule is still in force.

98 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
tendency is to restore such few ancient practices as they had
abandoned. And yet with all their conformity to Rome, the Maron
ites are proud of their national church; proud of their
Syriac and Arabic ritual; proud of such ancient practices
as they still retain. Marun, their alleged founder, and
Mar Yuhanna Marun, their first patriarch, are still their
patron saints, though neither has been canonized by the
holy see. This very confidence of solidarity may account
for the ease with which they have adopted certain Western
ways. Abandonment of established ritual and practice on
the part of united Greeks or Syrians would tend to a loss
of identity; would advertise a visible departure from tradi
tions still observed by the Jacobite and Orthodox bodies,
from whom they respectively separated merely on the
ground of ecclesiastical allegiance, and a few points of
theology, while professing to differ from them in no other
way. No outward conformity on our part, the Maronites
may be conceived to say, can alter the fact that we are the
Maronite Church, we are the Maronite nation.
It is as a nation, though as a nation repentant of " heresy"
and desirous of reunion with Rome, that the Maronites
first clearly emerge into history, through the pages of
William, Latin Archbishop of Tyre, who began his famous
work on the Crusades about the year 1183, while the
Franks still held the Holy City. That their annals previous
to this are for the most part obscure, a fact plain to the
impartial student, was acknowledged to me even by a
Maronite ecclesiastic prominent in the work of education?
It is clear, however, that toward the end of the seventh
century the warlike Syrian Christians of the Lebanon
were called Mardaites or Rebels, thus being distinguished
from the Melchites, or Royalists, whose descendants are the
present members of the Greek communions. These moun
taineers were further called Maronites, but it is a question
whether they owe their name to one Abbott Marun, who is
said to have died in the year 400, or to their first patriarch,
Yuhanna Marun (John Maro), whom they claim to have
1 See foot-note 1 to p. 135, regarding the origin of this doctrine.

THE MARONITES 99
been chosen in the year 685, and who died in 707.1 Most
Maronites trace their name to this abbott, whose memory is
still connected with the remains of a monastery near the
source of the Orontes, which is said to have been erected on
the spot where he once lived.2 While it is quite possible that
the "abbott" is mythical, it may be taken to be a matter of
history that Yuhanna Marun was the first patriarch of the
Maronites. The learned Josephus Assemanus (to use the
Latinized form of Yusif es-Sim'any), in his "Bibliotheca
Orientalis," a ponderous work in four tomes (1719-1728),
not only defends the first Maronite patriarch from the
charge of heresy, but declares that " he cultivated the vine
of the Lord so faithfully in the shores of Phoenicia as to
bring into obedience to the Church of Rome many Mono-
physites and Monothelites." 3 This is not the place to dis
cuss in detail a purely academic question, which my Maron
ite clerical friend acknowledged could be defended by good
arguments on both sides; for the Maronites, whatever they
may have once believed, have been loyal to Catholic doc
trine for over seven hundred years. The arguments relative
to the question whether or not they ever held the Monoth
elite idea of the nature of Christ have been elaborately
presented, in accordance with the given point of view, both
by the late Joseph Dibs, Maronite Bishop of Beyrout,
naturally maintaining "perpetual orthodoxy," and by the
late Joseph David, Syrian Catholic Bishop of Damascus,
antagonizing the claim.4 The Maronite partisans are able
to quote the authority of Pope Benedict IV, who declared
1 Dr. Wortabet argues that the name Maronites was used prior to
the name Mardaites, as the Lebanese were called Rebels in consequence
of their persisting in the heresy of Marun. ("Religion in the East,"
p. 104.)
2 Dr. Robinson describes these remains in his famous "Researches,"
vol. Ill, p. 539.
3 " Bibliotheca Orientalis," tome I, cap. 43, pp. 496 ff. Cf. my
article on "The Maronites," op. cit, p. 129.
4 See "La Perpetuelle Orthodoxie des Maronites," translation by
T. Vazeux of an Arabic work by Dibs, Arras, 1896; also an Arabic work
by Joseph David, with the subtitle in French: "Recueil de documents
et de preuves contre la pr^tendue orthodoxie perpetuelle des Maron
ites." (For sale in Cairo.)

100 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
(1774) that near the end of the seventh century when the
Monothelite heresy threatened to overwhelm the Patriarch
ate of Antioch, the Maronites secured the election of a
patriarch who was confirmed in office from Rome, receiving
the dignity of the pallium.1 But even granting what is de
cidedly open to doubt, namely, that this pope was correct
in his statement regarding the papal confirmation of the
election of John Maro, which took place more than one
thousand years before he wrote, the contemporary testi
mony of William of Tyre to the condition of the Maronites
in the twelfth century proves that the nation had long been
in a state of heresy and schism. Here is a translation of the
passage from the prolix Latin of the period.
"In the meantime, while the kingdom [the Latin king
dom of Jerusalem] rejoiced in temporal peace, as we have
said before, a certain nation of Syrians in the province
of Phoenicia, dwelling in the region of the heights of the
Lebanon, near the city of Byblos, experienced a great change
in their condition. For while they had for almost five hun
dred years so followed the error of a certain arch-heretic,
named Maro, as to be called Maronites; and, being es
tranged from the church of the faithful, had maintained
a separate worship, returning now, through divine influence,
to a sound mind, by shaking off their lethargy, they joined
themselves to the Patriarch of Antioch, Aimericus, who was
1 Quoted by Pere S. Vailhe" in his recent article, " Origines Reli-
gieuses des Maronites," found in the "Echos d'Orient," tome IV (1901).
Tomes VI and VII contain articles by the same author, dealing with
different phases of the question; that in the former being an answer
to Dibs's work, above mentioned. The Maronite literature regarding
the subject is considerable. As early as 1679 Faustus Nairon published
in Rome an elaborate treatise entitled " De Origine ac Religione Maron-
itarum." Other works are by Gabriel Sionita, Stephen Edenensis,
Abraham Echelensis, G. Notain Der'auni, etc. The work of the last-
named author entitled "Cerenici Storici sulla Nazione Siro-Maronita,"
published in Livorno (Leghorn) in 1890 , attempts to prove that the
true succession to the chair of Antioch is exclusively in the line of
the Maronite patriarchs. In the prints of Yuhanna Marun, found in
the ecclesiastical books, he is represented as a patriarch in full canon
icals, treading under foot a half-naked man, representing heresy, who
grasps an open book from which a serpent is crawling.

THE MARONITES 101
the third Latin prelate to preside over this church; and
abjuring their error, which had all too long and danger
ously bound them, they reverted to the unity of the Catholic
church, accepting the Orthodox faith, prepared to embrace
and observe with all reverence the traditions of the Roman
church. Now, this was no small body of people, but was
said to exceed the number of forty thousand, who, as we
have said before, inhabited the dioceses of Byblos, Botrys,
and Tripolis, on the heights and slopes of Mount Lebanon;
they were mighty men, and strenuous in arms, very useful
to us by reason of the important engagements which they
very often had with the enemy; hence also their conversion
to the pure faith gave us the greatest joy. Now, the error
of Maro and his followers is and was, as is stated by the
Sixth Synod, . . . that in our Lord Jesus Christ there is
and has been from the beginning but one will and opera
tion." In this return to Rome, so adds our somewhat
long-winded archbishop, the people were led by the patri
arch and some bishops.1
This testimony from one who should be an authority
on church matters is almost contemporary with the event
chronicled. William of Tyre began his "History" in 1183,
and the alleged conversion may be dated at about 1182
by comparing the context with the "Life of Saladin,"
by Beha ed Din, where contemporary events are dated.
Jacques de Vitry, consecrated Bishop of Acre in 1217,
repeats the story. He, however, testifies in detail to the
addiction of the Maronites to Roman practice in his day,
and states that their patriarch was present at the Lateran
Council of 12 16.2 The union with Rome was further
'This quotation is from book XXII, cap. viii, of the "History of
William of Tyre," found on pp. 1021 and 1022 of the collection of
Bongars, called "GestaDei per Francos," etc. (Hanover, 1611). The
full title of William's work is: "Incipit Historia Rerum in Partibus
Transmarinis Gestarum a Tempore Successorum Mahumeth, usque ad
Annum Domini MCLXXXIV. Edita a venerabili Wulermo Tyrensi,
Archiepiscopo. "
2 See his "Historia Hierosolymitana," LXXVII, found in the "Gesta
Dei per Francos," op cit. English translation in vol. XI of the works
of the Palestine Pilgrim's Text Society.

102 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
strengthened at the Council of Florence, in 1439, when the
Maronites acknowledged the supremacy of Rome in eccle
siastical discipline. After the middle of the sixteenth cen
tury the papal see kept careful watch on the Maronites.
In 1562 Pope Pius IV granted authority to the patriarch to
absolve certain heretics of the Maronite nation. In 1577
Gregory XIII sent to the patriarch an Arabic translation
of the decrees and canons of the Council of Trent. Paul V
in 1610 wrote the patriarch concerning the restoration of
certain Maronite rites, not contrary to Catholic doctrine,
which the latter had changed. In 1713 Clement XI de
clared the deposition of the patriarch null and void com
manding the bishops to yield him subjection. In 1736 the
Maronites held a general council in the Lebanon, author
ized by Clement XII.1 No wonder, in view of such an
accumulation of documentary evidence as to the relations
of the Maronites with the holy see, that members of the
nation, almost without exception, sturdily maintain the his
torical position of "perpetual orthodoxy" of their church
from the earliest times, even in the face of the testimony
of William of Tyre, which to impartial students, includ
ing many Catholics, appears to offer proof positive to the
contrary. No historic question could be more complicated than that
of the ethnic relations of the present inhabitants of Syria
and Palestine. It is, however, almost universally acknowl
edged that the Maronites are the descendants of the early
dwellers on the slopes of the Lebanon, with but little ad
mixture of other strains of blood. The Maronites them
selves believe that their race accepted Christianity at its
first teaching. Renan appears to stand alone in the posi
tion that "the Lebanon is truly the tomb of an old-world
gone-by, which has disappeared body and soul. A total
substitution of race, language, and religion has taken place.
Maronites, Greeks, Metawileh, Druses, Moslems, Arabs,

1 These references are to documents reproduced at the end of the
Latin version of the acts of the Lebanon Council.

THE MARONITES 103
and Turcomans are all there of recent date." x Echoes of
the old Syriac or Aramaic speech are heard in the broad
Arabic vowels sounded in the Maronite villages near the
cedars of Lebanon. The fair complexions and blue eyes
common among the Greek Christians are seldom seen
among the Maronites of the Kesrouan district above Bey
rout. The typical face of this thickly populated region is
round rather than oval; the eyes are well-set, almond-
shaped, and black or brown in color; the nose is inclined
to be broad; the teeth are white and regular; the complex
ion is a healthy olive with almost no red color; the stat
ure is medium. In the cedar district in the north of the
Lebanon the women are handsome, with round faces and
pink-and-white complexion.
About three hundred thousand Maronites now live in the
Lebanon, forming about three-quarters of the entire popula
tion. They are mainly concentrated in the northern half,
beyond the Dog River, but they are scattered as well through
the southern half, which is sometimes called the Mountain
of the Druses. One hundred thousand more are found
in Beyrout2 and the other maritime cities of Syria, in
Aleppo, Damascus, Cyprus, Egypt, and in foreign lands.
For some years there has been a considerable Maronite
floating population in the United States, Brazil, Australia,
etc. A few hundred Maronites live in Nazareth, Jerusalem,
and elsewhere in Palestine, but at present their hold on the
Holy Land proper is feeble. After the expulsion of the
Crusaders they had possessions in the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, but it is said they were forced to sell these to the
Franciscans. About the middle of the eighteenth century
they still had several churches in Jerusalem, with a con
siderable following, but owing to a double persecution
from the government on the one hand, and from the Fran
ciscans on the other, their property was taken over by the
Greeks and the Franciscans, while the majority of the people
became Latins, that is to say, Roman Catholics proper. In
the same way the native Latins of Nazareth are said to be
1 See the "Mission de Phenicie," by E. Renan, p. 335.
2 The Maronite population of Beyrout is 50,000.

104 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
descendants of Lebanon Maronites. Since the re-estab
lishment of the Latin patriarchate in 1847, at each Latin
mission station on either side of the Jordan, in accordance
with a friendly agreement between the Roman Catholic and
Maronite authorities, there have been in residence two
priests, one in charge of the mission, ordained according to
the Latin rite, though he may be a native, the other or
dained as a Maronite, who usually does the actual parochial
work, saying mass, baptizing, preaching, hearing confes
sions, etc., all according to the Maronite rite. In 1895 the
sect again secured a foothold in Jerusalem, building a hos
pice and chapel, under the direction of a priest who repre
sents the patriarch. I was officially informed that this
move was forced on the Maronites by the failure of the
Franciscans to provide for Maronite pilgrims, according to
the agreement made when they took over the property.
The parallel chronicles of the Druses and Maronites
contain the last chapters in the history of feudalism. This
institution, which was organized on an international basis
in the Holy Land at the time of the Crusaders, took deep
root in Syria and Palestine, surviving in these lands long
after it had disappeared from Europe. Its last refuge was
in the Lebanon Mountains, where it received its death
blow but a half century ago. The constant rivalry for po
litical control of the Lebanon between Maronite and Druse
chieftains, which had caused the civil wars of 1845 and
1860, provoked, in the latter named year, the interference
of Napoleon III, who sent an army of occupation to the
Syrian coast. As a result of this foreign intervention the
Lebanon government, feudal for centuries, was reorgan
ized under a Christian governor, to be nominated by the
sultan and confirmed by the great powers. The Lebanon
continues to be a sort of imperium in imperio, the status
of which was unaffected by the revival of the Turkish con
stitution in 1908. The governors have been appointed
from the Christian pachas in service of the Turkish Em
pire, and have included Armenians and an Italian, but
never a Syrian. The local nobility, thus, have been rele
gated to subordinate positions in the government.

THE MARONITES 105
Among the Druses the hereditary feudal rite of the nobles
to command the services of the people of a given district,
Christians as well as Druses, was unquestioned up to this
time. Peasants were expected to haul stone from the
quarry and firewood from the forest, receiving as their only
pay a meal from the sheikh at the end of the day.1 A year
or two before the massacres of 1860, my father, then resident
at Suq-el-Ghurb in a house belonging to a well-to-do Prot
estant of Orthodox extraction, heard a cry wafted up from
the roof of a house in 'Aitat, a village of Druse sheikhs on
the slope below. "Ya Nasif Machail!" sounded the voice.
" Ya Nasif Machail ! He has spoken ! " Nasif Machail, who
knew that by this phrase his presence was commanded,
immediately dropped his work, hastened down the slope,
and, humbly saluting, entered the presence of him who had
"spoken," his liege lord, the head of the house of Tal-
huk. " Take this letter at once to Baqlin," briefly said the
sheikh. Now, Baqlin is not far from 'Aitat as the crow
flies, but for man or beast it was in those days a weary jour
ney of many hours along a stony path that twice dipped
down to the bottom of deep valleys and mounted the steep
slope beyond. Without question this Protestant Christian
delivered the letter of the Druse chieftain and returned home
along the same weary route. I myself remember well a
benign and stately old sheikh of this same family of Talhuk
who in the earlier times had ordered his servants to beat a
man simply because he had failed to rise from his seat on
the wayside when his lord was passing along another path
further up the same slope.
According to unvarying feudal law, in return for such
services the peasants received protection, leadership in
war, and unbounded hospitality. Churchill states that the
Emir (Prince) Beshir Shehaab' would entertain for days
together two or three thousand footmen and five or six
hundred horsemen. The Earl of Carnarvon, writing of a
visit made in 1853, testifies to similar hospitality among
the Druse sheikhs, who impressed him with their dignity
1 "Mount Lebanon," vol. I, p. 285, by Colonel Churchill (London,
1853).

106 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
and social ease.1 The Shehaabs, descendants of a collateral
tribe of the Qureish, remained entirely Mohammedan until
about the middle of the eighteenth century, at which time
the Lebanon branch became Maronites. The Hasbeya and
Rasheya branches on the slopes of Hermon are still Moslems.
The fame of the terrible and beneficent rule of the Emir
Beshtr, who was at the height of his power a century ago,
still lingers in the mountains. Old men have told me tales
of his appearance which they had heard described by their
fathers. He was short of stature, but had the head of a
lion, with flaming brown eyes and a shaggy beard falling
to the waist, the hairs of which stood on end when he was
enraged. Once a man seeking to curry favor with the
prince said to him: "My lord, yesterday on the fearsome
plain of the Buqa'a I met a woman whom I knew not,
walking alone and covered with jewels. 'How dare you
thus fare abroad alone?' I asked her. 'Know you not,'
she answered, 'that the Emir Beshir rules in Lebanon?'"
"Take the dog away," roared the emir, "and give him forty
lashes for speaking to the woman!"
The complete disappearance of feudalism can be no bet
ter illustrated than by the present condition of the numer
ous Shehaab emirs, some of whom are so impoverished
that they have become drivers. One of these recently had
a "fare" who bargained to be taken to a certain Lebanon
village and back again. Impatient of the slowness of the
horses, the traveller had been loudly cursing the coachman
all along the route, when, on approaching the village, the
latter, who had been taking the verbal onslaught quite
passively, pulled in the reins and leaning back said gently,
"Would your excellency mind leaving the rest of your
curses for the return journey ? This happens to be my own
village, and I am still prince here."
There is another family of Maronite emirs in the Leba
non, namely, the house of Abu Lemm'a, originally Druse,
but turning Maronite Christian shortly after the "con
version" of the Shehaabs. These princes had become so
1 " Recollections of the Druses of Lebanon and Notes on their Re
ligion," p. 37, by the Earl of Carnarvon (London, 1860).

THE MARONITES 107
reduced in estate before the massacres of 1860 that Church-
hill declared that the presentation by the peasants of fowls,
coffee, and sugar, according to immemorial custom on
the birth of a son to one of the emirs, had come to be
"anticipated as a means of existence," whereas once it had
been " accepted as a mark of dependence." x Unlike these
two families of emirs, the three chief families of Christian
sheikhs, those of Kha'zin, Habeish', and Dahdah', are purely
Maronite in origin. The house of Habeish appears to be
the oldest. According to Churchill, sheikhs of this family
were allies of the Crusaders. The Khazins, by far the most
important of these families, became powerful in the Kes-
rouan toward the close of the sixteenth century. Later
they made alliances with the French kings, who became
protectors of the Maronite nation, a tradition that not
yet' has lost all its power. In a similar way the Druses
still look to the English as their special friends. Sheikh
Naufal el-Khazin received as gifts from Louis XIV a sword
and a ring. At Ghosta, once a centre for the Khazins, there
may be seen, perched boldly on top of a hill that slopes
precipitously fifteen hundred feet to the amethyst bay of
Juneh, an ancient Maronite Church, with a quaint Latin
inscription that might have been edited by an ancestor of
Mrs. Gamp, with a turn for the dead languages: "Ex
Ludovigi XV. Galliarum Regis Munifigentia Edifigium
hoc erctum [sic] est 1769."
The power of the Khazins in the Kesrouan, though be
coming somewhat abated, lasted till the year 1858, when
the peasants, restive under the feudal yoke, rose in insurrec
tion and drove out the nobles. Years later they returned,
but in the meantime the reconstitution of the government
had deprived them of all power as a family. Such traces
of feudalism as continued to be manifested in the ingrained
respect shown by the people to their nobility have been
wellnigh obliterated by the lessons of personal indepen
dence learned in the United States and brought back by re
turned emigrants, who now fairly permeate the Lebanon
1 "Mount Lebanon," op cit, vol. I, p. 97.

108 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
as well as the rest of Syria, by no means to the improvement
of the national manners.
The Maronite hierarchy is organized on the same lines
with those of all Eastern communions. Peculiar national
conditions, however, have accentuated the powers of the
Maronite patriarch both in spiritual and in temporal mat
ters. The official title of this head of the Maronite Church
is Patriarch of Antioch and of the whole East. To his own
name the patriarch must add that of Peter, the Founder of
the Sea. Since 1440 the official seat has been the ancient
monastery of Qannubin, in the gorge of the Qadisha River,
to be described later. In recent years the patriarchs have
spent their summers in the monastery of B'diman, on top
of the cliff opposite to Qannubin, and their winters at
B'kerky, in the Kesrouan district, a dozen miles from Bey
rout. The duties and privileges of the patriarch are de
tailed in the acts of the Council of the Lebanon, which was
held at the monastery of Lowaizy in the year 1736. The
acts of this only council ever held by the Maronite Church
still regulate its affairs.1 At this time the power to depose
a bishop for fault was taken out of the patriarch's hands,
but it was enacted that pending the decision from Rome
he could imprison the suspected prelate in a monastery.
The patriarch may entertain appeals in regard to cases
tried by the bishops; he alone may permit marriages within
the forbidden degrees of relationship; he may establish
new fasts and feasts; he may make changes in the ritual
provided that the substance is unaltered; he is to consecrate
the chrismatic oil; in all grave matters he is to consult
the bishops, and certain questions must be referred to Rome.
The patriarchal revenues, which amount to several thousand
pounds annually, accrue from the following sources: the
incomes from the patriarchal estates and from affiliated
monasteries; tithes from the Maronite nation; large sums
of money sent from Europe for masses; the price of masses
1 The acts of the council are published both in Arabic and in Latin.
For an account of this council, see my article, "The Maronites," above
quoted, pp. 77-79.

THE MARONITES 109
from wealthy Maronites, etc. According to the laws of this
church each male adult is taxed three piasters, or about
twelve cents, annually. For many years, however, the tax-
gathering has not been strictly enforced. In some cases
the bishops are allowed to retain a large portion of the tithes,
and in others the parish priests may keep them.
Ten days after the death of a Maronite patriarch the
bishops proceed to elect his successor. It is recommended
that the candidate be a bishop, but a simple priest may be
chosen for elevation. In any case the candidate must have
completed his fortieth year. Six bishops may form a quo
rum. According to a hereditary privilege the doors of the
church where the election takes place may be guarded by a
sheikh of the house of Khazin. The presiding officer, who
is the senior bishop, writes his choice on a bit of paper, seals
it, and drops it in a cup on the altar. When all have thus
cast their votes, these are counted by two of the bishops;
if they do not correspond with the number of voters they
are thrown, unopened, in a brazier of coals near the door,
and a new vote is taken. The successful candidate must
receive two-thirds of the whole number of votes cast. Elec
tion by acclamation is legal only when it is absolutely unan
imous. The first Sunday or feast day after the election
is appointed for the consecration, after which the new
patriarch writes a letter to the pope, professing obedience
and praying for confirmation of his electioYi and enthrone
ment. One of the bishops is sent as special envoy to Rome,
bringing back the pallium.
Like all other Oriental prelates in the Turkish Empire,
the Maronite bishops exercise civil as well as ecclesiastical
jurisdiction over their people. The patriarch has the sole
authority in episcopal election and consecration, but he
should have the advice and consent of his bishops. More
over, the ancient Eastern customs of consulting the wishes
of the people, disregarded by the Greek Catholics, is kept
up by the Maronite hierarchy by sending agents to confer
with the priests and chief men of the diocese. According
to the canons the nomination may be made either by the
patriarch or by the people. The candidate must be at
least thirty years of age, and should have been six months

110 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
in priest's orders. The patriarch usually consecrates the
bishop-elect, but upon necessity he may delegate the duty
to three other bishops. Among the Maronite bishops of
recent times there have been some fair scholars. The
Bishop Na'amtallah, of the noble house of Dahdah, told me
somewhat naively that he had studied fifteen languages,
including Chinese. The late Bishop Dibs, of Beyrout, an
author of some local note, established in his city a large
college for boys and young men, with a seminary attached.
The episcopal revenues vary with the different dioceses.
They include the income from property belonging to the
diocese and, in certain cases, a portion of the tithes. When
making a visitation a bishop often receives the prices of
masses from rich members of the see.1
We have seen that the ecclesiastical grade of Chorepis
copus (Country Bishop), which disappeared centuries ago
from the Western church, still actively survives in the
Jacobite communion. This grade is recognized by the
canons of the Maronite Church, as is that of Periodeuta,
whose functions originally were to tour among the villages
of the diocese examining the general condition of churches
and monasteries. Until the patriarchate of the late Hanna-
el-flaj, who was enthroned in 1890, these grades had prac
tically lapsed, though the honorary title "berdut'" (the
Arabicized form of periodeuta) was occasionally held by
priests representing the patriarch in distant parts. Under
flanna-el-flaj and his successor, the present patriarch, both
grades have been systematically revived. Each diocese may
now have one periodeuta exercising the canonical function
of itinerancy, with power to investigate. The number of
chorepiscopi is not limited. They act as representatives of
the patriarch. Thus the priest in charge of the Jerusalem
hospice was first made a "berdut" by patriarchal consecra
tion, and later was consecrated as chorepiscopus, responsi
ble to the patriarch.2
The Maronite parish priests are elected by the people,
1 For a list of the Maronite dioceses, see Appendix.
2 The Arabic word for chorepiscopus, vjiJUw^l £\y^- , found in
the canons is a curious and involved instance of "false etymology." The

THE MARONITES 111
who usually choose a member of their own town. In the
village of Hammana the families are divided into three
groups, each of which has a church with one or more priests
from its own members. In case of a number of priests
over one church, they divide the parish work. The parish
priests receive no regular salary besides the price of masses,
but may collect fees for marriages, baptisms, funerals, etc.
In the growing tendency to ordain unmarried men the subtle
influence of Rome may be traced. Thus in the Beyrout
church of Mar Elyas, the three priests are all celibate.
The Maronite parish clergy is better educated than that of
any other Syrian body except the Greek Catholics and pos
sibly the Syrian Catholics. Besides the theological schools
at Rome and at the Dibs College at Beyrout there are
seminaries at 'Ain Wa'raqa, Rumi'yeh, Reifun' and Mar
'Ab'da in the Lebanon.1 At these schools much is made of
Syriac, the original language of the church, and still used
exclusively in the mass. A smattering of Syriac is even
taught in the village schools. For the usual lack of preach
ing in the parishes, a certain compensation may be found
in the itinerant visits of an order of regular clergy.
In a hollow of the hills opening toward the sea above the
Bay of Juneh nestles the convent of missioners called Deir-
el-Kreim, with a bishop at the head. The priests may be
known by a small red cross at the top of the cap. At dif
ferent seasons, but especially in Lent, members of this
order go from village to village, usually by twos, making at
each place a visit of eight days, beginning with Sunday.
The people are expected to regard this mission as a sort of
retreat, giving up their work as far as possible in order to
attend the three daily preaching services, and keeping silence
the rest of the time. The discourses are occasionally con
troversial, if the local circumstances appear to demand
colloquial Arabic term for priest, khuri, is supposed to have been origi
nally an abbreviation of chorepiscopus. Accordingly, in seeking an
Arabic translation for this latter term, the second part of which plainly
meant "bishop," the phrase "khuri-el-isqof," or "the bishop's priest,"
which loosely defined the functions, was employed.
1 See my article, "The Maronites," op. cit, p. 138.

112 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
it, but as a rule they deal with themes of practical con
duct. Many who have not confessed for years yield to
the persuasion of the priests. Truly the phenomena of a
"revival season" do not differ essentially in the different
faiths. The power of the Maronite hierarchy, so subtly uniting
spiritual and temporal elements, has received a decided
blow in recent years. It had partially recovered from the
first attack made upon it during the administration of
Rustem Pacha, who became governor of the Lebanon in
1873, when it was again threatened by the activity of the
societies of Freemasons and other popular benevolent as
sociations which have sprung up in the Lebanon since the
beginning of the century in consequence of the liberal ideas
brought back from the New World by returned emigrants.
These societies are not anti-religious, but only anti-clerical,
in so far as the clergy has unduly attempted to influence
legislation in the Lebanon courts. Thus two parties have
been lately formed among the Maronites: the one backing
the patriarch, who still openly claims territorial jurisdic
tion over the Kesrouan; and the other antagonizing the
claim, with all that it involves. The popular party in
cludes some parish priests. The controversy, once started,
waxed fierce indeed. Not only was a bitter pamphlet and
newspaper war waged, but the patriarch put under the ban
the Freemasons and other societies. On the death of the
late governor, Muzuffar Pacha, a cable with one thousand
signatures was sent to Constantinople, protesting against
the appointment of a gubernatorial candidate who might be
favorable to the clerical party. At one time the people of
Ghazir', a hot-bed of clericalism, boycotted the church,
threatening to invite the Moslems to build a mosque under
the very eyes of the patriarch. The issues are by no means
yet settled, but it is claimed that' the popular party has al
ready undermined the clerical influence in the government
courts. This popular uprising among the Maronites against the
higher clergy chronologically followed similar conditions in
the Greek patriarchate of Antioch, and is synchronous with

THE MONASTERIES 113
the troubles in the patriarchate of Jerusalem. But between
the Maronite and Greek movements there is one salient
difference. While the native Greeks have been rebelling
against the domination of an alien Ionian hierarchy, the
Maronite people have been endeavoring to curtail the privi
leges which a Maronite hierarchy of their own flesh and
blood has exercised unquestioned for centuries.
VI. The Monasteries
To call this section "The Eastern Monastic Orders"
would be misleading. Among the united bodies of Syria
may be found, indeed, genuine orders whose members
follow the ancient monastic rules of the East, preserved
since the time of Saint Anthony, but the co-ordination of
these rules into a rigid constitution, and the elaborate
system of almost military control, culminating in a gen
eral of the order, was based on Western models. Among
the Orthodox, orders comparable to these are not to be
found. Such communities of monks as exist in the Greek
Church were established for some practical purpose. Thus
the original community of Mount Athos was founded for
the copying of manuscripts, though it should be added that
with the lapse of this function, consequent both on the
lapse of learning in the Greek Church and on the discov
ery of printing, the monastic establishments of Mount
Athos did not cease to flourish.1 The Brotherhood of
the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, which ramifies all over
Palestine, and also extends beyond seas, has for its justi
fication the preservation of the holy places. The Convent
of Mount Sinai exists for a similar purpose. Numerous
independent Greek monasteries, however, exist in Greece,
Asia Minor, the Lebanon, and elsewhere, each being quite
unconnected with any other monastery. Such establish-
1 In 1902 the monks of this place numbered some seven thousand
five hundred, divided among twenty monasteries, other smaller estab
lishments, and hermit cells. The entire community is regulated by a
holy synod, an institution that appears to be organized on thoroughly
democratic lines.

114 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
ments, which are under the control of the patriarch or of
the bishop of the diocese, have been usually founded by
wealthy and charitable Greeks, with the understanding
that the surplus income be devoted to the maintenance of
schools or hospitals. Orthodox monks follow the rule of
Saint Basil, with modifications differing in different estab
lishments. Of the four ancient divisions of Jacobite-Syrian
monks, the Eremites, the Stylites, the Coenobites, and the
Inclusi, only the two latter remain. A few still live in cells.
All are under episcopal jurisdiction.1
Of the origin and development of the Brotherhood of
the Holy Sepulchre we have already written at length.
The head-quarters are in the very heart of the Holy City,
at the celebrated Convent of Constantine, popularly known
as the Greek convent, or Deir-er-Rum. In the bewilder
ing jumble of its open courts, dim, vaulted passages, quaint
little gardens, and steep stairways a stranger might easily
get lost. This mass of buildings, which covers a large area,
is joined on the north to the patriarchate by a bridge over
a narrow lane, and on the east to the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre by the roof of a covered arcade under which
flows the life of the city along the so-called Christian street.
Since the Middle Ages the history of this Greek convent is
intertwined with the history of Jerusalem. One is tempted
to trace, at least to a certain extent, the friendly relations
between Christians and Moslems which distinguishes the
life of Jerusalem to the dominating influence of this insti
tution, which for centuries not only has given employment
to the poor of all classes, but which has extended patron
age in return for protection to the noble Moslem families.
A similar tale might be told of the Franciscan convent.
The Greek convent has much property at different points
within the city walls, as well as large and remunerative
agricultural estates, mainly on the south-west side of the
town. The president of the brotherhood is, ex officio, the patri
arch, who thus must have been elected from the monks of
this order. In the Convent of Constantine are resident eight
1 "Six Months in a Syrian Monastery," p. 325, by O. H. Parry.

THE MONASTERIES 115
bishops and nine archimandrites, all seventeen being mem
bers of the Holy Synod; twenty-one other archimandrites,
twenty-six ordinary priests, nineteen deacons, and fifty-five
lay brothers, making a total of one hundred and thirty-
eight.1 Some of the bishops are in partibus, but others have
been criticised by the native Syrians for not residing in
their sees. Seventy-six members of the order are resident
elsewhere in Jerusalem and vicinity, while the other holy
places of Palestine are guarded by one hundred and seventy-
one other members, lodged in monasteries or other estab
lishments east and west of the Jordan. The traveller
from Jerusalem to Jericho should turn aside to look across
the deep canyon of the Wady-el-Kelt at the Monastery of
Mar Yuhan'na (Saint John), which clings to the opposite
cliff. He may also note the ladders which lead to the en
trances of the cells of hermits, who still inhabit caves in
this desolate gorge. The convent also has establishments
in Constantinople, Athens, Cyprus, Crete, and Moscow.
The entire membership of this closest of close corporations
is over four hundred. How deeply the native Syrians re
sent their exclusion from the brotherhood, which is in the
hands of an Ionian hierarchy, we have seen already. The
members on entering the order take the vows of obedience
and chastity, but not that of poverty. At death, however,
all properties in the possession of monks lapse to the gen
eral fund.
The great convent contains three churches, the largest
of which is dedicated to Saint Thekla, hence the establish
ment was called the Monastery of Saint Thekla, in 1400.
Contiguous to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre are the
churches of Helena and of Constantine. In the former
mass is said daily, except on Good Friday and on the
two Sundays preceding Lent. The convent library con
tains about three thousand manuscripts and ten thousand
printed books. Among the former are over one hundred
ancient Greek works on vellum, including the famous
Didache, or Teaching of the Apostles, found in the Jeru
salem library at the Phanar, on the Golden Horn, Con-
1 See Appendix.

116 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
stantinople. The librarian is the learned and courteous
Archdeacon Cleophas Kiklides.
The reception of pilgrims is one of the chief functions of
the establishment, and of its ten sub-convents elsewhere in
the city. The pilgrims take their first meal in one of the
three synod chambers (now no longer used for the original
purpose) containing a long stone table and stone seats.
Russian pilgrims are mainly cared for in the Russian build
ings, north of the town walls, under the auspices of the
Imperial Society of Palestine.1
While the patriarchate of Jerusalem is thus honey
combed with Greek monastic establishments, all under the
control of the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre, among
the Greeks of the patriarchate of Antioch, the monastic
profession is followed to-day by scarcely sixty individuals,
scattered among the following unco-ordinated monasteries:
Bellament (Belmont, near Tripoli); Mar Elyas' Shweiy'ya
(Saint Elijah, near Bekfay'ya in the Lebanon); Mar Jir'jius
(Saint George, between 'Akkar' and Hums); and in five or
six smaller establishments in the Lebanon, as well as in the
Convent of Sedanay'ya, where there are some twenty-five
nuns. The bold, rocky site for this convent of Our Lady
is said to have been indicated in a dream by a dove, which
apparently has continued to be the protector of the place.
According to a recent tradition, when in 1860 the building
was packed with Christians escaped from Damascus for
fear of the massacres, the Moslems were kept away by this
dove, which hovered around the massive walls. The nuns
of Sedanayya itinerate among the towns and villages of the
land, collecting oil to be used for the Feast of the Virgin, as
well as for convent use during the rest of the year. At this
feast thousands congregate from all over the country, bring
ing no food, as this is supplied by the convent. In many
features it differs in nowise from all popular religious fes
tivals of whatever creed in Syria and Palestine, though the
total abstinence of the Moslems happily rules out at their
1 For other interesting details in regard to the Greek convent, see
the valuable pamphlet of Archdeacon Dowling, entitled "The Patri
archate of Jerusalem." (London, 1908.)

THE MONASTERIES 117
functions the drunken brawls, sometimes ending in murder,
which often disgrace the Christian feasts. In recent years
the crowds at Sedanayya are said to have been better be
haved than formerly.
In the Lebanon there may be found some forty monas
tic establishments under the sole control of the Maronite
patriarch, falling thus, like the Greek establishments, un
der the category of the unco-ordinated monasteries. Such
Maronite establishments, however, include fifteen nunneries,
the rest being episcopal seats, schools, etc. Where monks
are resident in these monasteries they belong individually
to one of the three orders, which were organized on a
Western basis in the eighteenth century, out of the exist
ing monastic units. From the early days of Christianity,
hermits and coenobites, following the rule of Saint An
thony, dwelt in the Lebanon. Later veritable monas
teries were founded. When the first movement toward co
ordination took place I have not ascertained, but it seems
probable that it was well under way when the Maronite
scholar of the eighteenth century, Germa'nus Farhat', as
a monk in the monastery of Mar Elisha' organized the an
cient rules into a constitution, later confirmed by the pope.
The first division among the monks of Saint Anthony was
made in 1700, when the sub-order of Mar Isha'ya (Isaiah)
was formed. The original body continued to bear the
name of the monks of Mount Lebanon till 1768, when they
were divided into the two orders of Aleppines (Halabi'yeh)
and Lebanese (Libnani'yeh or Beladi'yeh), sometimes called
the monks of Qozhay'ya, from their chief convent. The
monks of the three orders combined are said now to num
ber some fifteen hundred. In the year 1890 about sixty
per cent of the total of one thousand one hundred and
sixty belonged to the Libnaniyeh, twenty-six per cent to the
monks of Isha'ya, and fourteen per cent to the Halabiyeh.1
Since the split in the Greek Church in 1724, the Greek
Catholics have organized three orders of monks called the
Mukhallasi'yeh (from their chief establishment, Deir-el-
1 See my article, "The Maronites," op. cit, p. 322.

118 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
Mukhal'lis, or Convent of Our Saviour), the Beladi'yeh
(local or national), and the Halabi'yeh (Aleppines), which
have at present some two hundred and fifty, one hundred
and eighty, and sixty members respectively. In their per
sonal discipline the monks, like their Orthodox brethren,
follow the rule of Saint Basil, but as a corporate body, with
mutual relations among the members, each order is organ
ized on lines similar to the Maronite. Among the Greek
Catholics, the nuns, who number about one hundred and
twenty, are all contemplative, that is, keeping within con
vent bounds. Thus among these two united churches,
Greek Catholic and Maronite, in the Lebanon alone, there are
over two thousand monks and nuns, as over against a total of
sixty among, the Orthodox of the whole patriarchate of Anti
och, of which the Lebanon is but a small part. From the
West the Maronite monks have borrowed the tonsure.1
As the three Maronite orders are controlled in much the
same way, the following summary, based on a study of the
rules of the order of Mar Isha'ya, may be taken as apply
ing generally to all three, as well as to the Greek Catholic
orders organized along the same lines.2 Controlling each
order is an abbot-general elected once in three years at a
general council. With the Halabiyeh and the monks of
Mar Isha'ya this meeting is opened and closed by the
patriarch; with the Beladiyeh, by the pope's delegate.
The abbot-general is assisted in his duties by four general-
directors, whom he is obliged to consult in some cases.
Groups of monasteries are under the charge of district
directors. Each monastery has its superior, who is to choose
at least three monks as advisers. These aid but cannot
control him. The temporal affairs are in the hands of the
steward, who in his contact with the world is urged by the
rules to try to improve it. He is to make accounts with the
peasant partners of the monastery. The revenues of some
1 When a Greek monk takes the vows, bits of hair are cut off from
the four sides of his head, but there is no regular tonsure.
2 These rules have been printed at Rome in Karshuni (Arabic lan
guage in Syriac text). For a full analysis of this volume, see my article,
"The Maronites," op. cit, pp. 146-153.

THE MONASTERIES 119
of these establishments are considerable, that of Deir-en-
Na'meh, near the mouth of the Damur, aggregating from
eight thousand dollars to ten thousand dollars yearly. Each
monastery should also have its confessor, preachers, sacris
tan, librarian, readers — whose function is to read to the
monks while they eat — porter, steward of the store-room,
and steward of the sick. There is also a steward of the
clothes, who " should care for them as for the poor of Jesus
Christ." This phrase reminds me of another on the lips
of a gentle old monk in the rock-hewn monastery of Elisha'
at the bottom of the gorge of the Qadisha. I asked him
what his function might be in the establishment. With a
deprecating smile he answered: "I pray in the food"; thus
signifying in his Oriental euphemism touched with mysticism
that he was the cook. Many of the minor offices just men
tioned appear to have lapsed.
The range of the Lebanon follows the sea-coast for about
one hundred and twenty miles from south to north, hav
ing a maximum breadth of twenty-five to thirty miles.
The power of the Catholic orders in this region may be
gathered from the statement that from one-seventh to one-
sixth of the land belongs to the monasteries of the different
churches, over four-fifths of this monastic property being
Maronite. Viewed from the harbor of Beyrout, the Kesrouan
district, whose ashen hills rise almost straight from the sea,
appears to be dominated by the monasteries. These rise
from the bold summits, perch on the outstanding crags,
hang against the sheer mountain walls, lie gently on the
lower slopes. The majority are Maronite, but among these
are establishments belonging to the Syrian Catholics and
to the Armenian Catholics. Some occupy the veritable
heathen "high places" of old. Above the ravine of the
Beyrout River is the Maronite Deir-el-Qula'a, or Convent of
the Castle, on the site of an ancient temple, whose massive
walls and pillars may still be seen in ruins. In the name of
the site of the Armenian Catholic monastery, B'zummar
(house of singing), there may be an echo of some former
Baal worship.
During the early days of monasticism in the Lebanon,

120 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
however, the salient sites were not chosen. Monks sought
rather the ravines and mountain clefts, not only because
these were more fitted for the solitary life, but probably also
for prudential reasons. Around the irregular plateau of the
cedars, which has an elevation of some six thousand five
hundred feet, mountains from three thousand to four thou
sand feet higher sweep in a vast half-circle. The plateau
terminates abruptly in a falling precipice, in the face of which
a cavern sends forth a stream tumbling in a series of cascades
and soon entering the deep canyon once formed by itself.
This is the gorge of the Qadlsha, or Sacred River, thus
named, probably, because from the earliest times it was the
refuge of hermits. Indeed, a handful of these may be found
here to-day, and also in the gorge of the Dog River. Near
the head of the Qadisha canyon is the ancient Convent of
Mar Elisha'. While groping among its dim corridors and
musty cells, the visitor finds it hard to distinguish between
built masonry and the wall of the mountain. From the win
ter isolation of this convent the monks may now escape to
a fine new establishment built high up on the edge of the
opposite cliff.
A few miles farther down where the gorge is over fifteen
hundred feet deep, crouching under the cliffs some three
hundred feet above the stream, is the famous convent of
Qannubin (dedicated to the Virgin), built according to
tradition by the Emperor Theodosius in the fourth century.
The chapel, which is built into a cave, opens on an irregular
court-yard surrounded by rooms, some of great antiquity,
some quite modern. The vaulted roof and walls of the
chapel were once covered with frescoes, but at the time of
my visit in 1889 the priest explained to me with some pride
that in the interests of neatness he had whitewashed the
entire interior except the bit over the altar! This fresco
represents a company of kneeling patriarchs, with a num
ber of violin-bearing cherubs hovering over them. Qan
nubin has been for centuries the titular residence of the
patriarchs, who still in the summer occupy the monastery
of B'diman, on the top of the opposite cliff, wintering, as
we have seen, at B'kerky, near Beyrout.

THE MONASTERIES 121
A few miles below Qannubin a smaller side gorge enters
the Qadisha Valley from the south. Under the eternal
frown of its mountain walls stands the locally celebrated
monastery of Mar Antanius Qozhay'ya. The best approach
is from Eh'den, which lies on the hills above. As the rough
and tortuous path approaches the convent, it passes between
two rock pinnacles joined above by an arch surmounted
by a cross. The present monastery, one of the richest in the
Lebanon, was built in 1732, and contains over one hundred
monks. There is a printing-press, whence Arabic and
Syriac books have been issued. But the interest of Qoz-
hayya centres in a cave, not far from the convent, which
pierces far into the mountain above. Here, so runs the
legend, once slept Saint Anthony himself, when he came
from Egypt to visit the Lebanon hermits. Hence to this con
vent and cave are brought the " possessed " of all creeds, in
cluding Moslems and Druses, that Saint Anthony may drive
out the evil spirit. As we walked about the place together,
a priest told me that sometimes the patients are cured by
simply passing under the arch and cross, which are over
the approaching path; others, when they enter the convent
ual precincts; and still others in the church, where a priest
exorcises the evil spirit by adjuring him in the name of God,
and beating the patient on the head, sometimes with a shoe.
If the spirit will not leave the man, he is taken into the
cave, where an iron collar is fastened around his neck. If
violent, his limbs are shackled. A number of madmen may
be chained in the cave at the same time. The priest in
charge visits the cave occasionally, giving the patients to
drink of the holy water which drops from the roof, but
feeding them very little. The cure is assured when the
patient is found without the collar. Its removal is said to be
the work of Saint Anthony, whose appearance is sometimes
described by the victims. If no cure is effected the priests
conclude that the man has no devil to be exorcised, but
only a disease of the brain for which the place professes to
have no cure ! That belief in diabolical possession is strong
in the land is indicated by the ordinary Arabic term for
insane, "mejnun'," which is, literally, "possessed by a jinn,

122 CONSTITUTION OF EASTERN CHURCHES
or spirit." The exorcist is still a recognized functionary in
the Maronite Church, and in recent times devils have been
cast out not only at Qozhayya, but in some of the village
churches.1 Other Maronite monasteries besides Qozhayya possess
valuable assets in the alleged healing powers of the patron
saint. Some of these are specialists. At the convent of
Mar No'hara (Lugius) there is a well of water said to be
good for weak eyes. Mar 'Ab'da el-Mashum'mar is visited
by barren women who desire children. Mar Shalli'ta, the
patron of animals, is invoked when mules are sick or mares
will not bear. Pebbles from the convent of Mar Dhu'mit,
which stands near the sea-shore, in the vicinity of Jebail
(Byblos), are blessed by the saint to the cure of rheumatism.
Mar Ruha'na is supposed to cure hernia. Mar Ephraem
is the patron of memory. Miracle-working is by no means
confined to the saints who lived in early times. Some fifty
years ago a holy monk called Na'amtal'lah el-Hardi'ny was
buried in a vault of the convent of K'fefan'. Some two
years later it was found that his body had not decayed, but,
though dried up, preserved perfectly the form and features
of the monk. Thus K'fefan' began at once to attract
hundreds of sick folk who sought cure from the new saint,
bringing much gain to the coffers of the establishment.
1 Up to the year 1900 there was no establishment in Syria and Pal
estine for the scientific treatment of mental disease. In that year the
Lebanon Hospital for the Insane was established by Theophilus Wald-
meier at the 'Asfurl'yeh, near Beyrout.

CHAPTER III
THE RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
Introductory Note
Lsr considering the ritual of the five chief Eastern churches
of Syria and Palestine, we shall find that we are dealing
with three types only: the Greek, the Syrian, and the
Maronite, for the Greek Catholic and the Syrian Catholic
communions made little alteration in the ritual practised
by the churches whose authority they exchanged for that of
Rome. Indeed, broadly speaking, the types are only two,
the Byzantine and the Syrian. Up to the twelfth century
the history of the Maronites formed but a part of the gen
eral history of the Syrian Church, and to this day they have
in common a number of anaphorse, or liturgies, while their
other services are similar.
The official language of the Holy Orthodox Church, with
its derivative, the Greek Catholic Melchite Church, is the
ancient Greek. The main service books, however, have
been translated into the national languages of all the coun
tries where the Greek Church is organized. The natives of
Syria and Palestine have a peculiar advantage in their Ara
bic versions. The ability of the common people to under
stand the services varies much with different countries. In
Bulgaria, for example, the translation was made into the
ancient Slavic language, little of which is now comprehensi
ble to the uneducated.1 In the Arabic translation, on the
other hand, while the classical language is also employed,
this can readily be followed by the masses, though of course
they could not speak it. The same is true of the Protes
tant translation of the Bible. In Syria and Palestine the
1 The gospel is now read in modern Bulgarian.
123

124 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
Orthodox parish priest does not need to know any Greek
beyond a few phrases, such as Kyrie eleison, for all services,
including the mass, are read from the authorized Arabic
translations. At Jerusalem, in the Anastasis (commonly
known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre) Greek is the
only language used, as the officiating clergy are Ionian Greek
monks. In the cathedral church of Damascus (the seat
of the Patriarch of Antioch, who is at present a native Syr
ian) the two languages are used indifferently; the singers
on one side may chant in Arabic while those on the other
are using Greek. Less concession is made to the vernac
ular by the Syrian and Maronite churches, whose sacred
language is ancient Syriac. The commonest service of all,
the mass, is entirely in Syriac, though in the Maronite
liturgies a few authorized Arabic phrases may be substi
tuted.1 On the other hand, the marriage and baptismal
services of the Maronites, together with many others, are
in Arabic. This holds true of similar services among the
Jacobites and Syrian Catholics. The books containing
these are written or printed in Syriac character, this com
bination of Arabic words and Syrian form being known as
Karshuni. Both types of service books, the Greek and the
Syrian, are teeming with passages of profound spirituality
clothed in language noble and poetic. Large parts of the
services are rendered in weird Oriental chants. The ser
vice books of the Greek Church are in fourteen quarto
volumes. They would appear to cover every possible oc
casion. There are, for example, prayers to be used by the
priest when a corner-stone is laid, when a threshing-floor is
constructed, when a well is dug, when a well is polluted,
when insects must be conjured from the vines, when devils
must be exorcised, when silk-worms are being cultivated,
when a sick man cannot sleep, when one has been harmed
by the evil-eye.
1 1 was told by a former Jacobite sub-deacon from Mosul that he
himself, by the advice of the priest (who was following a precedent),
once made, during service, an at-sight translation of the epistle into
Arabic, pronouncing in Syriac the words he did not understand! The
gospel is always read in the vernacular.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE 125
The interiors of all Eastern churches except the Maronite
differ from those of Western churches in the use of a screen
to divide nave and sanctuary, entirely shutting off the latter
from the view of the congregation. This division has its
origin in the conception of the mass as a mystery which
should be celebrated by the priest in secret. As has already
been noticed, ruined Maronite churches in Batrun, where
the screens may still be seen, testify that the complete con
formity of this communion to Roman custom in the matter
of internal church arrangement is but recent. In the Greek
Church the screen is called the ikonostasis, as upon it are
hung the ikons. These may be pictures painted on a flat
surface, or may be metal representations in low relief which
are not supposed to contravene the unwritten law of the
Orthodox Church forbidding statues in the round.1 The
ikonostasis may be merely a plain stone wall rising to the
ceiling, as found in the old church of the village of Mahardy,
in northern Syria; or it may be a real ornamental screen made
of stone or of marble; or it may consist of wood, elaborately
carved and overlaid with gilt or painted in rich, sombre
colors. It should have at least three openings which may or
may not be fitted with wooden doors, but curtains are al
ways found in the Orthodox and Jacobite churches, not
always in the United churches. In some large buildings
there are five doors; the Greek Catholic cathedral at Da
mascus has nine, with a curtain hung only before the central
opening, called the royal gates, in front of the high altar.
In the Orthodox Church all curtains are drawn aside dur
ing the week following Easter. The ikons or pictures are
usually of the unchanged Byzantine type, but modern art
is creeping in. At the right of the royal gates is the picture
1 The permission in the Orthodox Church to use ikons while statues
are practically forbidden presents, in the words of Tozer ("The Church
and the Eastern Empire," p. 125), "a curious anomaly." He calls
it "a distinct departure from the principles of the Seventh General
Council " (which restored the images), a change that "must have been
brought about very gradually; so much so that no trace remains to us
of the steps by which it came to pass." It is quite possible that the
Greeks may have been unconsciously influenced by the abhorrence of
images felt by their Moslem masters.

126 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
of Christ; at the left, that of the Virgin. To the left of this
may hang the ikon of the patron saint. Saint George, the
Forty Martyrs, etc., are common subjects. Sometimes pict
ures of the twelve apostles are ranged along the top of the
ikonostasis. Pictures in modern style may be found in
the United churches; with the Maronites the seven stations
of the cross are common. Parry states that the only pict
ure strictly allowed in Syrian churches is a portrait of the
founder frescoed on the wall. He adds that most churches
contain pictures either as fresoos or framed paintings, but
that these are modern and little venerated.1 Some years ago
I found elaborate frescos, by no means modern, on the
walls of the Jacobite church at Sudud, representing, among
other subjects, a spirited fresco of the last judgment, and
a picture of a robust sea-monster either swallowing or dis
charging the Prophet Jonah, who was dressed in full epis
copal canonicals, with meekly folded arms.
The sanctuary (Arabic: hai'kal, or temple) is usually
approached by one step. In Greek churches the central
part is called the bema, the northern part the prothesis, and
the southern part the vestry; but often the three parts form
a single chamber. At the east end there is usually an apse,
where is placed the patriarch's chair. At the cathedral
church of Saint Mark's, at Alexandria, the apse is stepped,
as in the old basilicas, the patriarchal throne being in the
centre of the top step, while the bishops are ranged around.2
The patriarch also has a chair in the nave. The high altar
is called, both in Greek and in Arabic, simply the table.
It is often, but not necessarily, surmounted by a canopy
or dome, supported by four pillars, like an open belfry.3
This is wanting in the cathedral church of Alexandria.
On the table should always be found a cross, a lighted
1 See "Six Months in a Syrian Monastery," p. 334, by O. H. Parry
(London, 1895).
2 A similar stepped apse was found near the pool of Siloam in exca
vating a church dating from the fifth or sixth century. The steps,
however, were too narrow for seats. See " Excavations at Jerusalem,
1894-1897," p. 204, plate 18, by Bliss and Dickie.
3 Found also in Jacobite churches.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE 127
lamp, the ciborium ("house of the body," in Arabic),
and the Gospels, which rest on the sacred cloth called the
antimins. Any table may be temporarily converted into
an altar if the antimins be placed thereon. In large
churches there may be two smaller altars to the north and
south of the high altar.1 In Saint Mark's, at Alexandria,
these are actually parts of the building, being merely shelves
in circular niches in the east wall of the church. Such a
shelf constitutes, in most churches of the East, the table
of oblations, or medhbah, literally the place of sacrifice,
where the holy gifts are prepared in connection with an
elaborate service, to be noticed later. Each separate table
must have its own medhbah to the north. Where there is
but one table the medhbah is supposed to be in the pro-
thesis; however, at the Mahardy Church, where the sanct
uary is actually divided into three separate rooms, the
medhbah is a small wooden table in the bema itself, to the
north of the altar. In the east wall of the cathedral
church of Alexandria there are six circular niches of equal
size, three to the north and three to the south of the great
altar. The shelf of the first niche to the north constitutes
the medhbah of this great table or altar; the second shelf
stands for another table or altar, having for its medhbah
the third shelf. The first niche to the south contains the
medhbah of the third altar, which is constituted by the
shelf of the second niche; the third niche is not used. In
the Greek Catholic churches side altars have been intro
duced in the nave.
In the Orthodox churches the nave is usually bare of
seats, as it is the practice for the men to stand during the
service, but there may be stalls at the sides for the aged
and infirm. Benches, however, are coming into use in the
United churches. At the west end there is a gallery for
women. In churches where there is a pulpit, this is usually
attached to the north-west pillar, being approached by a
circular stair. From this pulpit the deacon should read
the gospel. The baptismal font is sometimes found in the
south-west corner. In front of the screen on either side of
1 Found also in Jacobite churches.

128 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
the royal gates are desks for the singers. The Eastern
churches have no organs.1 Though in general the interior
arrangement of all Maronite churches is modelled on the
Roman Catholic, sometimes a latticed screen may be found
shutting off the western third of the nave for the use of
women. The older village churches are all dark, the only windows
being small openings very high up. In former times there
was little difference between the appearance of the churches
and that of the ordinary square, flat-roofed houses. But
it is now customary to build at one of the corners of the
roof a light open belfry, with a dome, which is sometimes
surrounded by four ornamental chalices, and is always
topped with a cross. In the cities, among all communions,
large windows and tiled roofs are coming into fashion.
I. The Eastern Liturgies
The liturgies used by the churches of Syria and Pales
tine are all derived from the ancient Greek liturgy of Saint
James, and thus belong to the Hierosolymitan family of
liturgies.2 Those used by the Greek Churches are of the
Byzantine branch, while the numerous liturgies of the
Syrian and Maronite Churches, called also anaphorse, de
scend through the Syriac Saint James, which itself was
translated from the Greek Saint James.3 The Orthodox
Church employs four liturgies. These communion services
are much longer and more elaborate than the Roman
mass, teeming with a greater volume and variety of sym-
1 There is an organ in the Maronite cathedral at Beyrout and in the
chapels of some of the schools, but the innovation is recent.
2 The term liturgy is here used in its technical sense for the office of
the mass.
3 See the following works: "The Liturgies of Saint Mark, Saint James,
Saint Clement, Saint Chrysostom, and the Church of Malabar," trans
lated by Rev. J. M. Neale (London, 1860). Also, " Prselectiones de
Liturgiis Orientalibus, habit® in Universitate Friburgensi Helvetiae, a
Maximiliano, principe Saxoniae. Friburgi Briscovise, sumptibus Herder,
Typographi editoris pontificii. MCMVIII." Also "Liturgies Eastern
and Western," by F. E. Brightman (Oxford, 1896).

THE EASTERN LITURGIES 129
bolism. Though screened from the eyes of the people by
the ikonostasis, save at such moments when the doors are
opened, the ceremonies are essentially more spectacular and
dramatic than is the Roman function. The service in or
dinary daily use is the liturgy of Saint Chrysostom, an
abbreviation of that of Saint Basil. The latter is said on
Christmas and Epiphany, when falling on Sunday or Mon
day, otherwise on their eves, and on the first Tuesday after
Christmas. The liturgy of the presanctified, which will
be explained later, is said on Wednesday and Friday of the
first six weeks of Lent, on Thursday of the fifth week, and
on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of Holy Week, and
may be said on certain other days of Lent. In the Ortho
dox Church mass may be said only once a day at a given
altar. In the large churches the three masses celebrated
on the great feast must be said by different priests at the
three altars in turn. The Greek Catholic Church permits
the same altar to be used more than once the same day.
The number of extant Syrian liturgies — both Jacobite
and Maronite — is over forty. The Old Syrian or Jacobite
Church still uses a great number of these. The printed
Maronite collection contains eight and the Syrian Catholic
seven. At my request a comparison between the two col
lections was made by a professor in a Syrian Catholic sem
inary, who found that they have three in common, being
identical not only in title, but in substance, i. e., those of
Saint James, Saint Peter, and Saint Zystos, the pope. The
liturgy most commonly used by the Maronites is an adapta
tion of the Roman mass.1 In general much liberty is left
to the celebrant in the use of these various anaphora?,
though some are appointed for feast days and other occa
sions.2 For example, in the Maronite Church the anaphora
of Saint James should be said not only on his feast, but also
1 Prince Maximilian states (tomus I, p. 12) that this liturgy was com
posed by the Maronites in Syriac, having some prayers similar to those
in the Roman rite, but I was informed on authority at the Beyrout
Maronite College that it is mainly a translation from the Roman mass.
2 1 was assured by a Maronite chorepiscopus that he was at liberty
to use any one of the eight anaphorse to the exclusion of all the rest.

130 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
at the consecration of priests. In this church mass may
be celebrated at the same altar by different priests succeed
ing each other on the same day. The Jacobite Church
absolutely forbids this Roman practice, thus agreeing with
the Greek Orthodox.
While confession before communion is obligatory in all
the Eastern churches under consideration, the discipline is
not always imposed with severity. The Oriental Greek
Church provides a long and elaborate order of confession,
to be read separately over each person desiring to com
municate. In it the doctrine is clearly set forth that, while
the priest has authority to pronounce absolution, confes
sion is not made to him, but through him to Almighty God,
who alone can forgive sin. To follow this long order
would be impracticable in the case of a large number of
penitents, and a parish priest tells me that it is now rarely
used, a short informal service, without book, being sub
stituted. The people may be confessed in church or in
their own homes. The priest repeats the ten command
ments, demanding whether these have been broken. He
may put other questions, the number and character vary
ing with his knowledge of the penitent, but the minute
catechising, sometimes obtaining in the Roman Church, is
unknown or is at least very rare. For the absolution may
be repeated any one of the seven prayers to be found in the
formal order of confession. In Jerusalem and vicinity, to
the rule of the Orthodox Church that no priest who has not
been married may confess the people, is added the further
practical restriction that a priest may not hear confession
unless he is the father of children! In fact, until that time
he is not called "khuri," but only "qussis," a term also
applied to a celibate priest or monk in orders. Penance is
imposed in the Greek Church, but the sacrament has never
developed into the elaborate system found in the West.
Confession is technically required in the Syrian-Jacobite
Church, but laxity in enforcing this sacrament has been
charged upon the Jacobite priests since the time of the
Crusaders. Jacques de Vitry, Bishop of Acre in 1217, de
clared that the Jacobites " confess their sins not to priests,

THE EASTERN LITURGIES 131
but to God alone in secret, setting frankincense on fire be
side them, as though their sins would ascend to God in the
smoke thereof." x In recent times Parry makes the broad
generalization that confession is "almost obsolete" in this
church.2 He adds that it is doubtful if it ever implied any
more than a formal confession of sin, as it is the custom,
where confession is made, for several to confess together
at the steps of the altar. Parry's statemen. was only par
tially confirmed for northern Syria, where I was informed
that the service might be read over a number of penitents
together, but that each must make confession separately.
According to another account given me by a man from
Mosul, the penitent kneels by himself before the priest,
who is seated on the floor of the church. After repeating
the formula of confession, and detailing his sins, the penitent
answers the questions of the priest, who then gives good
advice and pronounces absolution. Women must never
confess to an unmarried priest. A Jacobite told me that
his father received especial permission from the bishop to
commune without confession. The laxity of the Jacobite
clergy in this matter is further illustrated by the case of two
American travellers to whom, quite recently, the Jacobite
priest of Sudud (on the edge of the Syrian desert) insisted
on giving the communion at the mass, even when they de
clared themselves to be Protestants who do not confess to
a priest. In the Greek Church3 the liturgy is preceded by an elab
orate service, lasting about an hour, during which the ele
ments are prepared for consecration. At the time of the
great schism, one of the chief questions in dispute was
whether leavened or unleavened bread should be used in
the communion. The Eastern church stood for the former,
1 " Historia Hierosolymitana Abbreviata." Latin found in Bongars's
" Gesta Dei per Francos." Our quotation is from the translation in the
eleventh volume of the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society's Works, p. 73.
2 " Six Months in a Syrian Monastery," p. 342, by Oswald H. Parry
(London, 1895).
3 When no exception is stated, it may be assumed that under this
phrase the Greek Catholic Church is also included.

132 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
the Church of Rome for the latter. After its closer union
with Rome, the Maronite Church adopted the use of the
leavened bread, as have also the Abyssinian Catholics, but
the other Uniate churches still follow the Eastern custom.
The Greek Catholic Church, in its Council of 1806, declared
the matter to be indifferent, thus justifying its own use of
the leavened bread while at the same time not condemning
the Roman practice.1 In the Greek churches — both Ortho
dox and United — the loaves or cakes used in the ordinary
mass are furnished by the priest, being usually prepared by
his wife with the family baking. They measure about five
inches in diameter and one-half inch in thickness. They
are solid all through, and not hollow, as is much of the
native bread. In the centre is stamped a seal measuring

IC

xc

NI

KA

one and a half inches across, with an abbreviation of
the Greek sentence: 'lvo-ow ^/sto-ro'? Nt«a ("Jesus Christ
conquers"). This seal is known in ordinary Arabic as the
" je'sed," or body. The whole cake is called the "qurban,"
or the "oblation." On the Saturdays especially set apart
for the commemoration of the dead (as well as on other
similar but less formal occasions) loaves or cakes of pre
cisely the same kind are furnished by the people.
Several varying customs obtain in the Jacobite Church in
the matter of furnishing the bread. I was told by a former
"deacon" in northern Syria that the people used to bring
1 The acts of this council were never ratified by Rome.

THE EASTERN LITURGIES 133
flour to the church on Saturday night in small bags. The
priest, after noting the amount brought by each, would mix
the portions together, so that each contributor might feel
that his flour entered into the composition of the one loaf
to be consecrated later. He then would sift the flour, re
serving the finer portion for the church and keeping the
rest himself. The dough should be kneaded by a virgin,
or by a young man, and baked in the house, not in the
public oven. The cakes are much smaller and thinner than
those used in the Greek Church, being barely two inches
across. They may be stamped in several ways: with
crosses, or with a dozen rosettes, divided in four parts by
a cross (the specimen of this variety which I have seen
came from a Syriac Catholic Church), or, on Maundy
Thursday, with the emblem of a lamb.1 My north Syrian
informant added that at the present time it is customary
for the people to substitute for the weekly contribution of
flour a certain amount of corn, presented to the priest
annually. A similar custom holds at Mosul, where the
people at odd times may make contributions of flour to the
qandaleft, or sexton, who is responsible for the making up
of the loaves. In Mardin the flour is said to be bought by
the church.
The Preparation of the elements is performed at the table
of oblations or small altar in the pro thesis; but, as has
already been stated, this may be no more than a shelf in a
niche of the east wall, to the north of the high altar. In
Arabic the small table or niche is called the medhbah, or
altar of sacrifice, and the high altar, simply the mayyidi, or
the table. While the Preparation2 is in progress the people
may be present in the nave of the church, if they so desire,
but they see and hear nothing of the service which is said
1 The Abyssinian oblation sometimes bears the figures of Christ and
the twelve Apostles.
2 At least two forms of this service exist. One simply called " The
Arrangement " may .be found in a work in Greek and English called
"The Divine and Sacred Liturgies of Our Fathers among the Saints
John Chrysostom and Basil the Great," edited by J. N. W. Robert
son (London). In the liturgy published in Greek and Arabic at the

134 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
"secretly," or whispered, as indeed are many prayers of the
liturgy itself. The service begins with the sacrifice. For
this is used one of the five stamped loaves, called oblations,
or qurbans which the priest has brought into the sanctuary,
in commemoration of the five loaves of the miraculous feed
ing.1 This chosen loaf is called the irpanv. Taking this
in his left hand, the priest, using a small knife called the
lance, with his right cuts out the stamped seal, or the
" je'sed" (leaving, however, the under crust intact), quoting
at each incision phrases from the passage beginning "He
was led as a lamb to the slaughter " (Isaiah 53). The seal
is then placed inverted on the paten for the sacrifice. This
is symbolized by two deep incisions made in the form of a
cross (corresponding to the divisions of the seal), but these
do not penetrate the upper crust, which thus serves to hold
the parts together when the seal is turned right side upward
on the paten. The priest then pierces the right side with
the lance, repeating the verse describing the piercing of our
Lord's side from which came forth water and blood. Im
mediately the deacon — or the priest, if there be no deacon
present — pours wine and water into the chalice.
After the sacrifice there follows the preparation for the
commemoration of the living and the dead. The seal oc
cupies the centre of the paten. To the right of this is now
placed, in commemoration of the Virgin, a triangle of bread
smaller than the seal. This may be cut from one of the
other four cakes or from the remaining portion of the
qurban, or oblation, from which the seal has been taken for
the sacrifice. I was told by a parish priest, who explained
the service to me, that this oblation was held in more es
pecial honor than the rest. In a similar way, nine still
smaller portions — tiny triangles that would be formed by
press of the Holy Sepulchre, in Jerusalem, 1907, the service of prepara
tion is divided into two parts, the first part is used during the robing
of the priest, the washing of hands, etc., and the second during the
actual preparation of the elements. The first portion differs considerably
in detail from the corresponding part in the London publication.
1 In the Syrian and Coptic Churches three or more cakes are brought
into the sanctuary, but only one is consecrated.

ARRANGEMENT OF PORTIONS OP HOLT BREAD ON PATEN

1. The " Seal " cut from the centre of the Communion Loaf.
2. Large triangle to commemorate the Virgin.
3. Small triangles to commemorate the Archangels, Prophets, Apostles,
Martyrs, etc.
4. Crumbs to commemorate the Patriarch or Bishop, Clergy and People —
living and dead.

THE EASTERN LITURGIES 135
the tip of the lance — are arranged to the left of the seal, to
commemorate the archangels, prophets, apostles, martyrs,
saints, and doctors of the church. The patriarch, or bishop,
of the diocese, founders of the church, clergy, and people
(living and dead) are symbolized by crumbs placed below
the seal, to an indefinite number.1 The crumbs may be
taken from any one of the five loaves. At the close of the
preparation these portions, small and great, are gathered
together with a sponge under the seal, awaiting the conse
cration at the liturgy itself. In the meantime the paten
is covered with three veils, the corner of which rests on the
asterisk, a sort of frame preventing the lowest veil from
contact with the holy bread. The portions of the oblations
not thus reserved for consecration and communion are cut
up by the sexton, to constitute the anti-doron, or blessed
bread, which is distributed to the people after the liturgy,
in the manner of the pain beni used in France.2 As the
remaining portions of the oblation from which the seal, or
" body, " has been cut are mingled with the rest, they are
held to lend a certain sanctity to all. The commemoration
itself immediately succeeds the consecration in the liturgy.
On the two Saturdays dedicated to the commemoration
of the dead (one falling eight days before Lent and the
other on the Saturday before the Transfiguration) each
family may bring to the church five oblations, or loaves of
their own baking, wrapped in a cloth, with a paper inscribed
with names of their dead. Money for the priest is also
enclosed. During the preparation the priest takes crumbs
from one of the five loaves to symbolize the commemora
tion of the dead in a particular family. At the end of the
mass the head of each family receives back his qurban, or
oblation (minus the parts used in commemoration), wrapped
in the cloth. The rest of the loaves, which at any given
time may number scores, are at the disposal of the priest,
to break up for distribution, to give away whole, or to take
1 Over the medhbah where the preparation is made sometimes hangs
a paper with a list of people to be commemorated.
2 It is said that the most ascetic among the Russian monks takes no
other food in Lent but this anti-doron.

136 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
home, as he pleases. This practice is not confined to the
Saturdays mentioned above, but may obtain whenever the
dead are especially commemorated.
These oblations furnished by the people in commemora
tion must not be confused with the large loaves brought
to the church on the saint's day of some worshipper, who
by giving notice of his intention "pre-empts the feast."
For example, in a given church there may be several men
by the name of Thomas, but only one can celebrate Saint
Thomas's day in this way. The loaves, which are some
times eighteen inches across, are stamped in the centre
with a seal of the usual form, but of larger size, while five
smaller stamps appear around the circumference. They
do not bear the name oblation. All five are blessed by the
priest at an especial service in the nave, but no portions of
them are consecrated. One loaf may be taken by the priest
for himself, one by the sexton, another may be broken up
for distribution after the service, and the other two may
be returned to the man keeping the feast to take home, as
a blessing. A Beyrout priest tells me that this practice is
now moribund.
The preparation of the elements in the Syrian Church
is conducted in the southern part of the sanctuary. The
elaborate ceremony above described, including the cutting
out and sacrificing of the seal and the arrangement of the
commemorative portions of the bread around it on the paten,
is confined to the Holy Orthodox Church and to its deriva
tive the Greek Catholic. For the commemoration of the
living and the dead in the Syrian and Maronite liturgies,
no such symbolism is used. In the Jacobite churches in
Mardin, just before the commemoration the priest advances
to the door of the sanctuary and reads from a list those
names for whose mention money has been paid. Similar
lists are known in the Syrian Catholic Churches at Hums.
At the time of the commemoration the priest makes the
sign of the cross over the paper and over the paten. In the
Syrian churches, however, the distribution of the anti-
doron (Syriac: burctho) at the close of the mass occupies
an even more prominent feature than it does in the Greek.

THE EASTERN LITURGIES 137
In some cases the number of cakes that a man receives is
in direct proportion to the amount of flour he has contrib-'
uted. Many of these cakes are taken home by the bishop
to be distributed to the people at his reception after the
service. On Maundy Thursday, at Mosul, each church
goer is entitled to receive two of these cakes, which the sex
ton has brought to the church in two large sacks.1
The scope of the present work forbids a detailed analysis
of the liturgies themselves. A few words, however, may
be said regarding some peculiar features connected with the
kiss of peace and with the communion itself. Under one
form or another the kiss of peace finds a place in all ancient
liturgies, Eastern and Western, but in the Syrian Church it
is given a very especial prominence, in a ceremony which
vividly symbolizes the actual kiss exchanged by members
of the early church. That the form of this ceremony varies
in different churches may be indicated by a comparison,
which the reader may make for himself, between the account
found here and that given by Parry in his " Six Months in
a Syrian Monastery." 2 Though retained by the Syrian
Catholics as a body, I am told that the practice has fallen
into disuse in the cathedral church in Beyrout. The fol
lowing account I received from a minor "deacon." After
the recital of the creed, the serving deacon advances to the
priest, holding up the chain of the censer for him to kiss;
this deacon then kisses the priest's hand as well as the gospel,
after which he presents the chain for the other deacons in
the sanctuary to kiss; then, advancing to the door of the
sanctuary, he holds up the chain in view of the congregation,
while the chief man of the church comes forward, kisses
the chain, and then smooths down his cheeks and the sides
of his body, as if to communicate the blessing to his whole
frame; then, turning to the nearest worshipper, he draws
the two palms of the hands of the latter between his own,
thus passing on the peace (salaam), and again smooths down
his own cheeks and body; in a similar way the man who
1 The anti-doron should be blessed by the priest before distribution,
but I gather that this is not always done.
2 Op. cit, p. 340.

138 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
has just received the peace may pass it on to a number
of worshippers, each one of whom may do the same, so that
in a short time the whole congregation has shared in the
blessing. It is interesting to note that when the Moslem
procession bearing the sacred flags to Neby Musa, or the
shrine of Moses, passes along the streets of Jerusalem, the
by-standers smooth down their faces and bodies in a similar
manner. It may be added here that at different points of
the Syrian mass the deacons beat cymbals and jingle fans
which consist of long staves, having a round plate at the
top encircled with bells. In the Eastern churches, especially
in those not united to Rome, the people cummunicate in
frequently, usually only at Easter and at Christmas, and
perhaps on the day of the patron saint of the communicant.
In the Jacobite Churches of Mosul the Easter communion
is made preferably on Maundy Thursday, in direct com
memoration of the institution.
The Church of Rome, followed by the Maronite, differs
from the purely Eastern churches in allowing the laity com
munion in one kind only.1 In the Coptic and Abyssinian
Churches alone, however, do the people partake of the
wine separately. In the other churches there is consider
able variation in the manner of combining the two elements.
We have seen that in the Greek Church the priest conse
crates only the seal which has been cut out from the oblation,
together with the commemorative fragments and crumbs.
During the Fraction he breaks the seal into four parts, ar
ranging them in the form of a cross on the paten. The part
marked IC he puts in the chalice, after which he adds warm
water to the wine; the part marked XC he partakes of him
self, sharing with the deacon and bishop, if they be present.
Priest and deacon then partake thrice of the cup; the other
two parts, marked NI and KA, together with the commemo
rative fragments, are also put in the cup. In communicating
the people, the priest mentions each person by name, giv
ing each with a spoon a minute portion of the fragment
1 The practice which grew up in the Roman Church of withholding
the wine from the laity was made binding only in 1563 at the Council
of Trent.

THE EASTERN LITURGIES 139
marked IC, soaked in the wine. The rest of the sop is
consumed at the close of the service by the deacon or priest.
On certain week days in Lent, when the mass of the pre-
sanctified is said without consecration, the priest does not
partake of the cup. At the consecration of the bread
which has taken place the previous Sunday, the priest has
crossed the bread with consecrated wine three times, so
this element enters into the communion, but in a dried
form. Wine is poured into the chalice, as in ordinary
masses, but in the procession around the church, with the
paten and chalice previous to their being placed on the
high altar, the priest carries the chalice in his left hand,
instead of in his right, to signify that it contains only ordi
nary wine, not destined to be transmuted into the blood of
Christ.1 The Armenian practice is not unlike the Greek,
though the whole oblation or cake is consecrated. This
the priest immerses in the wine, so that it may become en
tirely permeated. After partaking himself of the soaked
bread and then of the wine, he holds the cake down into
the full cup with one hand, and with the other he breaks
off a tiny fragment, dips it again into the wine, and gives
to each communicant. In the Syrian churches, while the
priest and deacon commune in both kinds separately, the
people receive hardly more than a symbol of the wine, as
the cake is merely moistened, here and there, in crossing
lines, made by a bit of the cake which the priest has previ
ously broken off and dipped into the chalice.2 The priest
does not call the communicants by name. The Maronite
Church strictly follows the Roman, not only in the use of
the unleavened wafer, but in communicating the laity in
one kind only. I am informed that the Abyssinian Catho
lics also observe the Roman practice.
1 This is stated on the authority of a parish priest.
2 At the Coptic and Abyssinian communion the cake is similarly
crossed by the wine, though the people partake also of the cup.

140 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES

II. Baptism, Marriage, and Burial
There is no fixed rule, applying to all the Eastern churches,
to govern the position of the baptismal font. In the Greek
churches this is sometimes found in the south-west corner
of the nave. In the Greek Catholic Church the south
end of the sanctuary may be used as a baptistery. In
the Jacobite Churches baptisms may be celebrated at the
north end. Among the Greeks, baptisms are common in pri
vate houses, but this practice is forbidden by the Jacobites.
While the baptismal services differ in detail in the different
Eastern churches under consideration, they have the follow
ing salient features in common: the exorcising of the evil
spirit; the blessing of the water; the anointing of the child
with oil; the clothing of the child in white garments. In
all churches but the Maronite a second sacrament, that of
confirmation by use of the holy chrism, or the meirun, im
mediately follows.
In the service books of the Greek Church the exorcising
of the evil spirit is a part of a ceremony called the Making
of a Catachumen1 immediately preceding the actual service
of baptism. When delivered in the sonorous Arabic, with
the clear enunciation that marked the utterance of a priest
who conducted a private baptism in my hearing, these
prayers are most impressive. The following extract from
the first exorcism follows the excellent translation of Dr.
Wortabet:2 " The Lord God who became incarnate and dwelt among
men, that he may break thy violence and save mankind,
rebukes thee, O Satan. ... I conjure thee by God who
manifested the tree of life and appointed cherubims with a
flaming sword to keep and preserve it. I conjure thee by
him who walked upon the sea as upon dry land, who re-
1 Thus it is named in the " Book of Needs of the Holy Orthodox
Church," done into English by G. V. Shann (London, 1894). The
Arabic service book containing the rites of baptism, marriage, burial,
etc., is called "Agiasmatari-el-Kebir" (Beyrout, 1884).
2 "Religion in the East," op. cit., p. 23.

BAPTISM, MARRIAGE, AND BURIAL 141
buked the storm, whose looks dry up the deeps and at
whose threats the mountains melt. He now commands
thee by us to fear and come out and depart from this creat
ure; and neither to return to him nor to be concealed in him,
nor to meet him with any evil act by day or by night, at the
middle of the day, or any other hour; but do thou go to
Tartarus appointed for thee, until the great day of judg
ment. . . . Come out and depart from him who has been
sealed and elected to be a new soldier of Jesus Christ our
God. I conjure thee by him who walked on the wings of
the wind and who makes his angels a flame of fire. Come
out and depart from this creature, thou and all thy powers
and angels!"
After the three exorcisms the priest breathes on the
child's body "in the manner of a cross," saying: "Dispel
from him every evil and polluted spirit which may lurk in
his heart — the spirit of error, and evil, and idolatry, and in
temperance, and excess, the spirit of lying and of all abom
ination produced by the suggestion of the devil. Grant °
him to be a rational lamb in the holy flock of Christ, an
honorable member of thy church . . . and thus attain the
joy of thy saints in the kingdom."
With the Maronites the exorcisms are also three, two
being uttered at the door of the church, where the priest
receives the child. Besides breathing "crosswise" on the
child's face, the priest blesses some salt which he puts in
the child's mouth, saying: "Receive, O child, this salt of
wisdom that it may benefit thee to everlasting life." J In
the second exorcism are found the words: "I adjure thee,
thou evil and accursed spirit, in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, that thou depart from
this thy servant in the strength of the Lord Christ, by which
he walked on the waves of the sea as if it were dry land, and
in the strength by which he put forth his hand and saved
Peter when he was about to sink." After the third exor
cism, which takes place within the church itself (following
the recital of the Lord's Prayer and of the Nicene Creed),
the priest, placing his hand on the nose of the child, says:
1 This practice appears to be borrowed from the Latin church.

142 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
" Open, O nostrils, and breathe in the sweet odors of God,
and flee thou accursed one baffled because the judgment
of God is upon thee. " 1 I have not examined the Jacobite
service, but I am told that the exorcisms are brief, being
uttered "secretly" by the priest.
In the Greek Church the service for making catachu-
mens concludes with an elaborate catechism or dialogue
between the priest and the child represented by his or her
godparent. The questions are pressed with solemn itera
tion. Turning the candidate to face the west, the priest
first asks three times: "Dost thou renounce the devil and
all his works, etc?" and then again three times, as if to
place the matter beyond any possible doubt: "Hast thou
renounced the devil?" After the last answer the priest
exclaims: "Spit on the devil!" which command is supposed
to be obeyed by the godparent at once. In the same way,
after the godparent with the child in the arms has been
turned to face the east, come the questions, each put three
times: "Dost thou make a covenant with Christ?" and
"Hast thou made a covenant with Christ?" After the re
cital of the creed, which is to be repeated three times, the
last question is asked once more, after which follows a short
prayer that the child may be made worthy of baptism.
In the Maronite service the catechising of the child as
to its belief (through the godparent) takes place after the
anointing. Thus in both the Byzantine and Maronite ser
vices two identical ideas are emphasized before the act of
baptism : the expulsion of the evil spirit and the acceptance
of the faith. In the private Greek baptism which I wit
nessed the child was taken off to be undressed after the
catechising. The Greek baptismal service proper begins with several
prayers followed by the consecration of the water. In the
prayer of consecration occur the following petitions : " Make
it a fountain of immortality, granting sanctity, forgiving
1 See the book containing the rites of baptism, betrothal, marriage,
extreme unction, etc., printed at Rome in 1840, in "Karshuni," with
the Latin title: "Ritus administrandi nonnulla sacram., ad usum eccl.
Antiochena Maronitarum."

BAPTISM, MARRIAGE, AND BURIAL 143
sins, dispelling desires, destroying devils, unapproachable
to satanic powers, full of angelic power. . . . We pray that
no evil spirit may descend with the baptized into it. . . .
And do thou, O Lord, who has bestowed on us from above
regeneration by water and by the spirit, come upon this
water, and grant the candidate for baptism to be changed
by his putting off the old man, which is corrupt accord
ing to the deceitful lusts, and by putting on the new man,
which is created anew after the image of his Creator, etc." 1
Later a large cross is made on the water by dropping in
the consecrated oil.
In the Maronite service the priest lets fall three drops of
tallow from a lighted candle into the water, saying: " In this
water man is regenerated by a new birth, and becomes the
first-born of Heaven. . . . Drive out, O Lord, every evil
spirit and every satanic wile from this water, that nothing
opposed to the mystery of baptism may have influence in
it, now or forever." The priest also breathes on the water,
plunges into it a lighted candle, and puts in it some of the
oil of baptism as well as some of the meirun, or holy chrism,
a practice held in common with the Jacobites.
In the consecration of the holy oil among the Greeks
the priest breathes upon it praying that it may become
"an unction of immortality, a weapon of righteousness, a
regeneration of soul and body." The priest then anoints
the child in the form of a cross on forehead, breast, back,
ears, feet, and hands, with appropriate sentences, as, for
example, in anointing the ears "for the hearing of faith";
in anointing the feet " that he may walk in thy paths." It
is interesting to note here that the Moslems in their required
ablutions before prayer may use similar petitions appropriate
to the washing of the various members. Thus, in washing
the ears they say: "Make me, O God, to be of those who
hear thy word and perform it!" . The Maronites -anoint
the breast and shoulders of the child. According to Parry,
the Jacobite practice is to anoint the whole body.
Triple immersion is obligatory with the Greeks, who
recognize the validity of no other form; is sometimes prac-
1 Translation of Dr. Wortabet, op. cit, p. 27.

144 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
tised by the Jacobites; and is not forbidden to the Maron
ites, who once uniformly practiced it. With the Greeks
the infant is passed three times rapidly through the water,
first in the name of the Father, then in the name of the Son,
and lastly in the name of the Holy Spirit. When I saw the
rite performed, the priest first straightened the arms of the
infant, clutched it firmly with one hand, and kept the mouth
and nostrils closed with the fingers of the other, so as to
prevent choking during the process of immersion. With
the Maronites, the baptism is performed by pouring a hand
ful of water on the child's head three times, once for each
person of the Trinity. In the Jacobite Church immersion
may be complete, as with the Greeks, or partial, by dipping
the child up to its neck three times in the font (so Parry).
In some cases the child is held erect in the font, with the
water up to its neck, while the priest pours three handfuls
of water on its head.
After a Greek baptism the priest dries the child with a
towel and clothes it in a white robe, cap, and girdle, offering
an appropriate prayer. He then proceeds with the second
sacrament of confirmation, anointing the child on the fore
head, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, breast, hands, and feet with
the holy chrism, or meirun, consecrated by a patriarch1 and
twelve bishops. Though performed by a priest, confirma
tion, with the Greeks, as truly as with the Latins, is a purely
episcopal function, the priest acting merely as representa
tive of the bishop. The meirun, so a learned Greek prel
ate explained to me, symbolizes the episcopal laying on
of hands. In the Jacobite Church the rite of the chrism
may precede the dressing of the child, in cases where the
chrismatic oil is smeared over the whole body, a practice
common but not universal.2 Sometimes the little baptismal
suit of clothes is owned by the church. This must be re
turned after the "ghusl," performed by the priest the same
1 See p. 162.
2 In Mosul the priest touches the different parts of the child's body
with his thumb, which has been smeared with the meirun, then pours
the rest in the palm of his own hand, with which he scours the child's
head.

BAPTISM, MARRIAGE, AND BURIAL 145
day or the day after, when the meirun is washed off. With
the Greeks this washing is appointed to be done in church
by the priest seven days after the baptism, an observance
made much of by the Hellenic Greeks. In Syria, however,
the meirun is usually washed off at once by the godmother
quite informally, unless the priest happens to be present,
in which case he may say one of the appointed prayers.
Both the water of baptism and the water of the washing
should be poured off in some clean place, to escape pol
lution. With the Maronites the priest washes the child before
clothing it in a white veil, and immediately after anointing
its forehead with the meirun, the latter ceremony being a
curious instance of a symbol surviving the thing symbolized,
and recalling the old times when the Maronite infants like
all other Syrians were confirmed immediately after baptism.
Confirmation is now administered, according to the Roman
custom, to children of seven years old and upward, during
an episcopal visitation.
In the Greek and Syrian Churches, the child, having
been confirmed in full membership by use of the chrism,
may now be communicated. According to the Greek usage,
the priest places, with a spoon, on the tongue of the infant
a minute bit of the sop, brought in a small vial. With the
Jacobites, the wafer is passed over the lips of the child
and then given to the godparent to eat. The formal ser
vices always terminate with a procession around the church,
or room, where the baptism has been performed. The
priest then takes down, for registration at the patriarchate,
the baptismal name, which is that of the patron saint and
may be quite different from the name by which the child is
actually to be called.
Before celebrating a marriage between two people in
any one of the Eastern churches, the priest must ascertain
the exact degree of relationship which may exist between
them. This is especially important in view of two facts:
not only is it the custom for a youth to seek a bride among
his relations, but the fee for the episcopal or patriarchal

146 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
license to marry within the prohibited degrees varies with
the nearness of the relationship. In computing the de
gree of relationship the Eastern church counts all persons
up to the common ancestors. For example, first cousins
are said to be related in the fourth degree; an uncle and
his niece in the third degree; children of first cousins in
the sixth degree. The Greek Church prohibits marriage
(without especial license) in the sixth degree. In no case
may first cousins marry. According to the acts of the Coun
cil of the Lebanon the Maronites are forbidden to marry
within the eighth degree, Eastern computation, fourth de
gree, Latin computation. Licenses, however, cover the mar
riage of first cousins.1
In Syria and Palestine the usual time for solemnizing
weddings is Sunday. At the village of Mahardy, in north
ern Syria, where the population is Greek Orthodox, there
is but one wedding day in the year, usually a Sunday in
October. The priest goes from house to house, reading
the marriage service over each couple in an abbreviated
form. The festivities, however, are celebrated in common
during four or five days when the whole village thinks of
nothing else.
In the ritual of the Greek Church the offices of betrothal
and coronation (the marriage proper) constitute two sep
arate services. Eor a second marriage the two are com
bined in the abbreviated office called simply a marriage
service. In former years in Syria the betrothal service was
used at the time of the actual engagement to marry, which
might precede the wedding by an indefinite period. The
sanctity of the service, however, was threatened by the
scandal of broken engagements, hence some twenty years
ago, so I am told, the formal betrothal service was post
poned to the time of the wedding, and a shorter service was
authorized for the time of contract, it being stipulated that
the party breaking the engagement should pay a certain sum.
1 Divorce is permitted by the Greek Church but not by the Uniate
Bodies. A Greek lawyer informed me that a man may divorce his
wife for adultery and for conspiring to kill him. A woman may di
vorce her husband on the latter but not on the former ground.

BAPTISM, MARRIAGE, AND BURIAL 147
For the betrothal the Eastern churches use rings. The
Greek rubric prescribes a gold ring for the man and a silver
ring for the woman, but as far as I am aware the distinction
is no longer made in Syria, both rings being of gold. Ac
cording to the rubric, before putting on the rings the priest
first pronounces the engagement formula three times over
the man: "The servant of God, M, is betrothed to the
handmaid of God, N, in the name, etc.," signing him each
time in the form of a cross, touching his forehead with his
ring. He then pronounces the same formula over the
woman (names being inverted), signing her forehead with
her ring. Finally, he signs the forehead of each with two
rings held together. This practice is sometimes elaborated
in Syria as follows: At each repetition of the formula over
the man the priest touches his forehead with his ring, then
the woman's forehead with the same, then, as he adds " In
the name of, etc.," he makes the sign of the cross by touch
ing with the ring the groom's forehead, breast, right shoul
der, and left shoulder. The same process, mutatis mutandis,
is repeated with the woman's ring. The betrothal ends
with a long prayer.
In the Eastern churches the marriage office is called the
coronation, from the "crowns" used during the ceremony.
Indeed, a Syrian, in announcing his marriage, will say: "I
have been crowned for such a girl." The following is the
order in the Greek Church, as found in Syria and Palestine:
Lighted candles being placed in the hands of the bridal
pair, the priest reads the 128th Psalm, with responses to be
chanted by the singers. After this follows a species of
litany not found in the Russian service, which substitutes
questions to bride and groom regarding their intentions to
marry and their freedom from other matrimonial engage
ments. The three prayers that follow are practically the
same in both the Syrian and Russian services. The first
two prayers are long, and teem with Scriptural references to
the married state. Among many other things, supplication
is made that the pair may enjoy the blessings that were
granted to Abraham and Sarah, to Isaac and Rebecca, to
Jacob and Rachel, to Joseph and Asenath, to Moses and

148 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
Zipporah, to Zacharias and Elizabeth;1 that they may re
ceive the protection extended to Noah in the ark, to Jonah
in the belly of the whale, to the three children in the fire;
and that they may have a chaste life; love for one another
in the bond of peace; grace upon their children and grand
children; houses full of corn and wine; all earthly blessings,
and an unfading crown of glory.
The last prayer, in part, is as follows: "O Thou Holy
God who formed man from dust, and fashioned the woman
from his side, and joined her to him for a helpmate, for thus
it pleased thy Majesty that man should not be alone upon
the earth; do Thou now, O Lord, stretch forth thy hand
from thy holy habitation and unite thy servant M to thy
handmaid N, for from thee proceeds the union of man and
woman, etc." At the mention of the names in the fore
going prayer, the priest hooks together the little fingers of
their right hands, which so remain during the rest of the
service. The priest then takes a wreath of flowers, called the
"crown," and touches the man's head, saying the words:
" The servant of God, M, is crowned for the servant of God,
N, in the name, etc." Then touching the woman's head
with the same crown, he says the words a second time,
finally, the crown is placed on the man's head while the
formula is said for the third time.2 Then follows the crown
ing of the woman " for the man " in a precisely similar way.
Then the priest, stretching out his crossed arms toward
the heads of the pair, announces the blessing of the crowns
three times: "May the Lord our God crown them with
glory and honor." 3 Here follows the Epistle (Eph. 5 : 20)
and the Gospel (Saint John 2:1). After more prayers
1 In the Moslem marriage ceremony the qadhi (judge) prays for such
mutual love upon the pair as existed between Adam and Eve, Abraham
and Sarah, Moses and Zipporah, Mohammed and Ayesha, etc. See p. 288.
2 The rubric requires that the formula should be said three times
over each one, but the touching of the woman's head with the man's
crown, and vice-versa, is merely popular practice.
3 During the first blessing the right arm is crossed over the left;
during the second, the left over the right, and finally, during the last,
the right over the left again.

BAPTISM, MARRIAGE, AND BURIAL 149
and some chanting, the congregation repeats the Lord's
Prayer. The priest then takes a cup of wine and blesses it with
the following prayer: "O God, who created all things by
thy power, and confirmed the inhabited earth by thy might,
and adorned the crown of all things created by thyself,
bless with a spiritual blessing this cup of communion, etc."
This is not the sacramental wine, but the name cup of
communion ("common cup" or "shared cup") indicates
that it symbolizes the spiritual union of man and woman.
Of this wine both partake three times. Then the priest
leads the married pair around in a circle, while the grooms
man holds on their crowns from behind. Then, as he takes
off their crowns, the priest says, first to the man: "May
God magnify thee, O bridegroom, as Jacob, and may He
bless thee as Isaac, and may He give thee increase like
Jacob. Live thou in peace, and follow in righteousness
the commandments of God." And then to the woman:
" And thou, O bride, may God magnify thee as Sarah, and
may He make thee joyful as Rebecca, and give thee increase
like Rachel. Be glad with thy husband, and keep the law
of chastity without sin, for this is well-pleasing to God."
Eight days after the marriage the priest is supposed to take
off the crowns with the prayer given in the manual, but
this practice has now lapsed in Syria.
In the Maronite Church the betrothal with rings and the
" coronation," or marriage ceremony, are united in a single
service. A formal engagement used to be read at the time of
contract, but this has now lapsed in the usage. The mar
riage service begins with the blessing of the rings by the
priest. In presenting these he says to each in turn : " May
the right hand of the Lord be given unto thee with grace."
Then follows the blessing of the "crowns," which may be
either wreaths or rosaries. At a Lebanon church wedding
which I attended, the wreaths were made of natural flowers:
roses and carnations, with green leaves. After the Epistle
(Eph. 5 : 22-23) and the Gospel (Matt. 19 : 3-6) follows
a prayer in which the Lord is besought to bless the crowns
to the pair with the blessing vouchsafed to Abraham and

150 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel. The pair
are then crowned with the prayer that they may receive
the crown of righteousness. The Greek custom of touch
ing the bride's forehead with the groom's crown, and vice-
versa, is not observed. A crown is also put on the head of
the groomsman, or, if he be married, in his hand. The
bridesmaid is also crowned. In the subsequent exhortation
to the bridal prayer, the groom is urged to love his wife;
not to insult her; not to strike her nor to curse her relations.
The bride is urged not to disobey her husband unless he
command her to sin; not to tell his secrets; not to' come
between him and his relations; not to answer him with
bitter words. The priest then joins their right hands and
pronounces the marriage formula in the name of the
Trinity. After various prayers and responses the priest
looses the hands of the pair and takes off the crowns, say
ing: "Thou who didst wear the crown of thorns to take
from us the thorns of sin, remove from this pair these per
ishable crowns, and place upon them the crown that never
perishes." The ceremony closes with another exhortation
and a prayer.
At the Lebanon wedding at which I was present there
followed a "procession," in which the bride did not join.
A small space was cleared around which the priest circled,
walking backward, thus facing the groom, who carried a
veiled crucifix, followed by the singers, each carrying the
half of a pair of cymbals which he clanged with a book.
Behind these were boys with candles. The chanting was
to a weird native tune. Indeed, all through the service
even the amens were rendered in a sort of cadenza style,
full of roulades and shakes and quirks. At the end the
groom kissed the crucifix and then the priest's hand.
With the Syrians (Jacobites and Syrian Catholics) the
"crowns" are not wreaths, but fillets or embroidered hand
kerchiefs. Taking a fillet in his hand, the priest holds it
over the head of the groom, shaking it well, to symbolize
the descent of the Holy Spirit, and uttering these words:
"From Heaven has come this crown in the hands of our
Saviour; and the priest will place it on the head of him who

BAPTISM, MARRIAGE, AND BURIAL 151
deserves it." He then shakes the same fillet over the head
of the bride, and once again over the head of the groom.
A similar process is gone through with the bride's fillet.1
The fillets are then tied around the necks of the pair, the
ends being tucked under their clothes. In some places for
the fillets are substituted embroidered handkerchiefs, which,
after the shaking, are tied respectively to the tarboosh (fez)
of the man and the head-gear of the woman. The grooms
man has a handkerchief similar to the groom's. Moreover,
around the necks of each of the three is bound a scarf,
which is then crossed down over the back. These fillets or
handkerchiefs should not be unloosed till the priest takes
them off, with an especial, prayer, sometimes within a day
or two. In some places the handkerchiefs are then sent,
for good luck, to unmarried friends. In neither the Mar
onite nor the Syrian service do the pair drink wine as with
the Greeks.
With the Maronites the rite of extreme unction is ad
ministered when the person is supposed to be at the point
of death. The service is in Arabic. The priest anoints
the eyes with the sacred oil, praying that the sins of sight
may be forgiven, and then anoints the ears, nostrils, mouth,
hands, and feet. Reference is made in the final prayer to
the commands of the Apostle James, to pray over the sick,
anointing them with oil, and petition is made that the sick
man may be restored to health. The Greeks emphasize, in
the administration of the sacrament of unction, the feat
ure indicated in the last phrase. The rite may be em
ployed during any period of an illness, not being supposed
to have any peculiar efficacy at the moment of death.
Thus the idea of "extreme unction" is lacking. Confes
sion and communion, however, are supposed to be admin
istered while the dying man is still conscious, though non-
observance in case of a sudden death is not regarded as
a calamity. "It was God's will," they say. The oil of
unction is consecrated in a long and elaborate rite by seven
priests twice a year. Sick people may be brought to the
1 With the Jacobites a fillet is also shaken over an infant at baptism.

152 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
church at the time of this service, to be formally anointed
by each priest separately. People, however, whenever they
are sick, may anoint themselves with no formal rite, if they
have by them at home a bit of cotton which has been soaked
in the oil. Should the cotton become dry, the efficacy is
not lost.
In the Greek Church the funeral service for laymen is
very long, but about one-third of it may be omitted if the
late hour of the day or other cause for haste should demand
this.1 As Easter week is a season of peculiar joy, the ru
bric directs that an abbreviated service should be used at
this time always. The office for the burial of priests is
almost twice as long as that for laymen; for example, five
extracts are read from both Gospels and Epistles. There
is also an especial service for monks as well as for in
fants.2 The service for laymen begins at the house, where the
priest incenses the body, which has previously been washed,
but with no especial prayer. As the procession is on the
way to the church the priest intones chants. In the church
itself, after various prayers and psalms, and a sort of litany
with responses, there follows a series of eight odes, each
ending with an apostrophe to the Virgin. After this series
comes the Idiomela of John of Damascus, in eight parts,
each part chanted to a different tone: quaint meditations
on death, full of an old-world flavor. Then come the beati
tudes, interspersed with more reflections, Epistle (Thess.
4 : 13-17) and Gospel (John 5 : 24-30). Here follows the
chanted invitation to friends to advance and give the last
kiss to the dead. Parts of this I give in free translation:
" Come, O brothers, let us give the last kiss to the dead,
thanking and praising God. For he has left his kinsfolk
1 With all sects in the East burial takes place if possible on the day
of the death.
2 This service may be used for children up to the age of ten or twelve,
except where the bishop insists on an earlier date for its discontinu
ance. The service assumes that the infant dies without sin. The
Jacobite Church makes the same assumption and has an especial ser
vice. This church has separate burial offices for men and women, but
they differ only in the Scripture lesson.

BAPTISM, MARRIAGE, AND BURIAL 153
and relations, and now goes to the grave in haste. No
more has he concern for the vanities of the flesh and its
heavy toil. Where now are we his kinsfolk and his friends ?
For we are parted from him: therefore let us beseech the
Lord to give him rest." This chant wanders on and on, in
a leisurely strain of gentle melancholy, dwelling on the fu
tility of this present life and on the barrenness and silence
of the grave rather than on the joys of heaven, though
these are touched upon. It closes with these words, put
in the mouth of the dead man himself: "O brothers and
friends and acquaintances and relatives, if ye take note of
me lying here voiceless and deprived of breath, weep over
me, all of you! For but yesterday I was speaking to you,
and now suddenly the hour of dread death has come upon
me. But approach all ye that love me, and kiss me with
the last kiss, for never shall I walk with you again, nor hold
converse with you. I depart now unto the Judge who
knows no partiality and no respect of persons; for the slave
and the master, the king and the warrior, the rich and the
poor shall stand together in the same degree. Therefore,
I beg that you pray Christ God for me unceasingly, that I
be not appointed to the place of torment for my sins, but
that He appoint my lot where is the light of life."
In the service for a child the invitation to give the last
kiss is even still more touching: " Who would not weep, my
child, at thy sad removal from this world? . . . For, like
a bird, thou hast quickly flown before thy time, and to the
Maker of all things hast taken thy course. O my child,
who would not weep and lament to behold now faded the
beauty of thy face, that once was like a rose for comeli
ness? . . . Come, O my friends and relatives and neigh
bors, that together we may kiss this child as we commit
him to the grave."
The coffin being opened, opportunity is then given to
the friends to kiss the dead. After more prayers the priest
repeats three times in a loud voice these words: "Eternal
is thy memory, O our brother; worthy of blessing and of
lasting remembrance!" The absolution, pronounced over
the corpse in the Russian service, is not found in the Arabic

154 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
manual. The body is then carried to the grave where it
is sprinkled with dust in the form of a cross, and on it
is poured the oil from the lamp, or else ashes are scat
tered from the censer.1 The priest closes the service with
the following words: "Glory be to God who thus has
wrought!" All the burial services in the Maronite Church are in
Syriac. The especial office for a patriarch I attended on
the occasion of the death of his Beatitude, Boulos Mes'ad,
Maronite patriarch from 1854 to 1890. This was conducted
in the small church attached to the convent of B'kerky,
now a fine establishment, but at that time consisting of a
humble group of buildings, which the Patriarch Boulos re
fused to improve or enlarge. " My Master lived on earth
as a poor man," he is reported to have said; "why should
his followers live in luxury?" On the day of the funeral
the chancel was packed with priests, among whom a few
Greek and Armenian Catholics chanted their own prayers
before the Maronite rite began. In the chancel were also
placed the distinguished guests: the pope's delegate, the
French consul-general, the head of the Jesuit mission, and
members of the Maronite nobility. Court and corridors
were densely crowded, while Lebanon soldiers attempted
to preserve order at the door of the church. The dead
patriarch, dressed in full canonicals and covered with his
orders, including the decoration of the Legion of Honor,
received from Napoleon III, and the First Order of the
Medjidie, conferred on him by the sultan, was seated up
right in an arm-chair placed in an opening in the altar rails.
In one hand was a large cross, in the other his pastoral staff.
His refined, delicate face, framed by soft, silky white hair
and beard, preserved in death his sweet and gentle ex
pression. Behind him stood a priest on guard. After the
burial service was closed by a simple and eloquent address
given by one of the bishops, the patriarch's outer garments
were changed, but the lace pallium sent from Rome was
1 Dust and oil from the lamps are both used at the Jacobite fu
nerals. The latter is applied over the clothes in the form of three large
crosses.

THE CHURCH YEAR 155
again put upon him. Then followed a somewhat ghastly
scene, as the chair was hoisted into the air and the dead
prelate was borne by men in slow procession a number of
times around the church, while the mitre shook and almost
fell over. Outside the church the body was seated in a sort
of sedan-chair with curtains, and carried to a large oak,
where it rested during the delivery of speeches by a number
of laymen. Then the bishops and chief guests returned to
the convent for dinner, with more speeches, at least one of
which contained a reference to the coming patriarch. In
the meantime the sedan-chair had again been raised on
the shoulders of peasants, who were bearing it two thousand
feet or more up the steep mountain-side to the little village
of 'Ashqut, where the patriarch had been born of poor and
humble parents. Many relations followed with the peasants
of the district. As the procession approached a village,
the men of the place would come out and put their shoulders
under the sedan-chair, to bear it to the next village. The
interment was in a vault of the church of 'Ashqut, where,
in accordance with the universal Eastern rule for the burial
of bishops, the body of the patriarch was seated in a chair.
At the church of Ghosta, referred to already, two bishops
are buried in vaults or chambers in the thick walls of the
church itself.
III. The Church Year
The Greek Orthodox and the Jacobite Churches still fol
low the Julian calendar, now thirteen days behind the Grego
rian calendar, to which, as we have seen, the bodies united to
Rome, the Greek Catholic Melchites, the Syrian Catholics,
and the Maronites now conform. In 1908 the ecumenical
patriarch at Constantinople asked his synod to join him in
the effort to have the calendar referred to a committee of
scientific men chosen from the universities of the world, in
order that they might adjust, finally, the chronological dif
ferences between the Eastern and the Western churches,
which he declared to be matters quite removed from the
ology or churchmanship. The synod refused, but the in-

156 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
cident is significant.1 The inconvenience to a community
of maintaining a double calendar is great, as it involves a
double dating of ordinary business letters, as, for example,
October 22/November 4.
The Syrian ecclesiastical^ year begins with the 1st of
October, which is still commemorated in the Maronite
calendar.2 The Greek year begins on the 1st of Septem
ber. In all churches abstention from work is required on
the great movable feasts. With the Maronites labor should
also be suspended on twenty-two fixed feast days; with the
Greeks, on twenty. Fourteen of these feasts fall theoreti
cally on the same dates, though, owing to the difference of
calendar, with the Greeks they are actually celebrated
thirteen days later than the Maronites.3
The fasts of the Eastern church have always been more
frequent and more rigorous than those of the Western. In
the Greek communion they may amount to two hundred
and twenty-six days of the year, including all Wednesdays
and Fridays. Besides Lent there are three great periods
of fasting. The Fast of the Nativity (Advent) lasts forty
days; the Fast of the Apostles is variable in length, begin
ning with Whit-Monday and terminating on the eve of the
Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, June 29; there is also
a fast of fourteen days preceding the Feast of the Repose
of the Virgin, August 15. Meat, eggs, cheese, and milk are
forbidden in all fasts. Fish may be eaten during the fasts
of the Apostles and of the Nativity (except on Wednesdays
and Fridays), and also on Palm Sunday and the Feast of the
Transfiguration, which falls in the Fast of the Virgin. In
the towns of Syria considerable laxity is said to prevail
among the Orthodox in the matter of fasting. Theoreti-

1 See article, "From Rome to Constantinople," describing an inter
view with the ecumenical patriarch, by Dr. Silas McBee (" The Church
man," June 3, 1911).
2 See the complete Maronite calendar in my article on the Maronites,
op. cit., pp. 308-318. It contains a curious mixture of Eastern, West
ern, and local saints.
3 For list of feasts when Maronites and Greeks forbid work, see Ap
pendix.

THE CHURCH YEAR 157
cally, all these fasts are incumbent on the Greek Catholics,
but many indulgences are granted.
In general the Jacobite fasts are the same as the Greek.
However, the Fast of the Nativity lasts only fifteen days
and that of the Apostles only twelve. During the third
week before Lent the Syrians fast Mondays and Tuesdays
as well as Wednesdays. This is called the Fast of Nineveh.
The very strict are said to abstain absolutely from all food
from the Sunday supper to the mid-day meal of Wednes
day. The Syrian Catholics are granted many indulgences
in the observance of these fasts. Fasting with the Maron
ites is even less severe. The Fast of the Nativity lasts
only twelve days, that of the Apostles only four, and that
of the Virgin,, in August, only eight. Members of the
Society of the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
abstain from meat on Saturdays as well as on Wednesdays
and Fridays, when they also are forbidden eggs and milk.
Space forbids us to follow the Eastern ritual systemati
cally, but some of the peculiar practices which take place
during the ecclesiastical year may be briefly noticed. In
the Maronite Church, on December 15, the priest conse
crates two wafers; he partakes of one and the other he
puts in the ciborium on the altar, to be elevated every
evening from the 16th to the 24th, in commemoration of
the nine months of the Virgin's pregnancy. On Christ
mas eve he partakes of the second wafer. Sometimes for
this ceremony is substituted the carrying of the picture of
the Infant Jesus around the church on the nine days pre
ceding Christmas. In some of the larger Maronite churches
may be found representations of mangers, with toy images
of the Mother and Child, cattle, and sheep. This is quite
unknown in the Greek churches, where images are not
tolerated. There is a quaint ancient Christmas practice
still obtaining in some of the Syrian churches of the interior
— Catholic as well as Jacobite — to commemorate the vigil
of the shepherds in the bitter cold of the fields of Bethle
hem. On the stone pavement of the nave is heaped a pile
of wood; around this stand children dressed in white, hold
ing torches made of brushwood with which they kindle

158 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
the bonfire. As this blazes up the priest reads the early
Christmas service.
Curious ancient Syrian practices are sometimes also con
nected with the blessing of the holy water at the Feast of
the Baptism of Christ, January 3. After the service the
water is distributed among the people, to be taken home in
small bottles; but one bottle is kept on the altar, to be min
gled with the water that is to be consecrated the next year.
In churches where this practice has been long handed down,
this holy water is said to be as old as the buildings them
selves. In some cases, instead of a general distribution,
the water is sold to the highest bidder, the proceeds going
to the church. Another analogy with the Protestant church
fairs of the United States sometimes appears at this service.
The priest makes an auction of the Bible, the large cross,
the ikons, etc., which belong to the church. To carry these
in the procession after the holy water is an honor worth
paying for, and this honor falls to the lot of the highest
bidders for these articles, which, when all is over, are re
stored to their places in the sanctuary or on the ikonostasis,
as the case may be. In the Maronite celebration of this
feast the priest takes a coal from the censer and immerses
it thrice in the bowl of holy water, which is later distributed
among the people. Similar distribution is made among
the worshippers of the Greek Church, who are supposed, on
each of the seven following days, to drink a little of the
water which they have carried home. On the eve of this
Feast, at the Harbor or Mlna of Tripoli, the Greeks light
bonfires in their court-yards, and at midnight go down to the
shore, the sick with the well, there to seek the blessing of
a bath in the sea. After this night ablution they proceed
to the church for early mass. Up to the sixteenth century,
pilgrims used to seek baptism in the Jordan at this feast,
but the ceremony was then changed to Easter week, where
it is still regarded as constituting the proper termination
of the pilgrimage.
In the Maronite churches, at the Feast of the Presenta
tion of Christ to the Temple, sometimes called the Purifica
tion, there is placed on the lectern a tray of candles which

" THE CHURCH YEAR 159
are blessed and sprinkled with holy water. They are then
distributed among the people who make an offering of
money. These candles are supposed to possess the virtue
of warding off sickness and evil spirits, especially at the
time of death. Sometimes th'ey are burned in booths where
silk-worms are being raised. The Greeks have no such
custom at this feast.
The Feast of Mar Marun, the alleged founder of the Mar
onites, is celebrated on February 9, when his picture is
borne around the church in procession. He is also com
memorated on the second Sunday of every month. Yu
hanna Marun (John Maro), the first Maronite patriarch,
is commemorated on March 2, and the three hundred
and fifty monks of Mar Marun on July 31, all three days
being feasts of abstention from labor.
In the Eastern churches Lent begins on Monday, called
the Monday of the Fast. In Syria it is popularly known
as Monk's Monday, from an indefinite legend that some
monk, once upon a time, at the beginning of Lent, came
riding into town on a donkey. So it is the fashion for
crowds to go out to the outskirts of the town " to meet the
monk." In Mosul it is also known as Mocking Monday,
or Tantalizing Monday, as the Moslems then make a
counter-demonstration in the form of a huge picnic, where
they ostentatiously feast upon meat and "greasy food."
During Lent the Greek churches are draped in red cloth,
great care being taken to cover the gilded portions of the
ikonostasis. In the Maronite churches, during Holy Week,
the pictures are draped in black, and before the altar is
hung a black curtain on which have been sewn, in white
cloth, models of the cross, the crown of thorns, the nails,
hammer, pincers, the scourge of ropes, the striking hand,
Pilate's ewer and basin, the cock, the torch, the sword, the
sun, moon and stars, the sponge, and the spear.
The observance of Ash Monday by the Maronites is as
follows: On the evening of the Saturday previous the sac
ristan takes some dried olive twigs, which have been pre
served in the sacristy ever since the last Palm Sunday, and
reduces them to ashes in a brazier. At the Monday ser-

160 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
vice the priest sprinkles the ashes with holy water and in
censes them, praying for a blessing upon them. Then, one
by one, the people advance and the priest makes the sign of
the cross upon their foreheads with the ashes, saying: "Re
member, O man, thou art dust and to dust thou shalt re
turn." The Greek service has no especial features. With
the Syrians oil is used instead of ashes.
On the Saturday before Palm Sunday a practice, now
moribund, used to be common to all the churches and still
may be seen in the interior. According to this custom the
school-boys go from house to house enacting a crude sort
of miracle play written on a roll of paper and commemorat
ing in poetical language the raising of Lazarus. Two boys
hold the extended roll while the other boys chant the story,
except the one who lies on the ground underneath the roll
to represent Lazarus. When they reach the point where
the dead man comes forth, the boy gets up and the paper is
rolled up again. The collection made of money and prod
uce is supposed to go to the teacher who copied the story.
In former days on Palm Sunday the Maronites used
sometimes to erect an olive tree in the church, but the pull
ing of this to pieces, branch by branch, by the people pro
duced such an unseemly disturbance that the practice was
abandoned. At present a tray of olive twigs or small
branches rests on the lectern while the service takes place.
After being blessed, these are carried in procession, while
the singers chant the words: "Hosanna to the Son of
David!" The twigs are taken home for a blessing. The
thrifty Syrians, who have a similar service but may omit
the procession, sometimes sell these at auction for the bene
fit of the church. With the Greeks, dried palm branches,
cut and braided, are carried in the procession by the people
and later taken home.
The ceremony of washing the disciples' feet on Maundy
Thursday has ever had a wide celebration. As the Lord's
anointed, kings have performed this. The King of Spain
still "washes the feet" of twelve old men, and the queen, of
twelve old women. The Emperor of Austria also follows
the practice. In the Greek Church the washing must be

THE CHURCH YEAR 161
done by a bishop, and the disciples must be represented by
men who are at least in priest's orders. In Jerusalem this
function is performed with great pomp and splendor in
the court-yard of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where
a platform is erected on which are seated the patriarch and
twelve bishops, whose feet he washes, while the thousands
of spectators crowd the court and the roofs of the sur
rounding buildings. Owing to the difficulty of assembling
twelve priests, the function is often omitted in Syria. In
the villages the event is symbolized by smearing the altar
with oil and anointing it with holy water.
A similar regulation, requiring the presence of a bishop
and twelve priests, obtains with the Syrians, but I am told
that on necessity two priests may represent the bishop and
that deacons may take the place of all the disciples except
Peter. In the town of Hama (Hamath) an amusing and
homely practice used to take place after this Syrian ser
vice. The people would hoist the bishop in a chair, cry
ing: "Bring us the feast!" On the bishop's replying:
"The feast is far off," they would renew their laughing
cries of "We must have the feast! Give us the feast!"
Whereupon the bishop would say: "The feast is in three
days!" for not till then would they let him down.
With the Maronites the service requires the presence of
one priest only, hence it is commonly observed in all towns
and villages. For the use of small churches the service book
gives an alternative rite. It is said that after the ceremony
is over the school-boy who is supposed to have represented
Judas is sometimes mocked and beaten by his comrades,
in a spirit of mischief. Some years ago I witnessed the
full service in the Maronite cathedral of Beyrout. On a
platform built out into the nave below the pulpit had been
placed twelve chairs, six facing six, on which sat twelve
school-boys in surplices. The bishop in his ordinary sou
tane mounted the platform, and there was robed in full
canonicals, with mitre and staff. He then took his seat at
one end. In the pulpit a priest and a deacon chanted the
account in the Gospel of John. When they came to the
words: "He arose from supper," the bishop arose, was

162 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
disrobed of his canonicals, and was girt about with a towel.
The bishop then washed the heel of the right foot of three
boys. He was then robed again and took his seat, while
some chanting went on. After a second reading by priest
and deacon, the bishop, being again disrobed, proceeded to
wash the feet of three other boys, as before. This was
done a third and a fourth time, but after the feet of two of
the last trio of boys had been washed, when the reader
reached the words: "Then cometh he to Simon Peter and
Peter saith unto him," the last boy arose and read from a
paper: " Lord, dost thou wash my feet ? " The bishop then
read the reply. When the colloquy was completed, with
no attempt at dramatic effect, the bishop completed the
washing. On this same Thursday the Maronite patriarch at his
seat, with two or three bishops, consecrates the oil of bap
tism, oil for extreme unction, and the holy chrism (the
meirun), all three kinds of oil to be distributed by the bish
ops among the Maronite churches for use during the com
ing year. Oil remaining from the year before is burned.
As we have seen, the Greek patriarch of Constantinople,
with twelve bishops, consecrates the meirun for all the four
patriarchates, its preparation being very costly. During
the recent periods of his alienation (for two different rea
sons) from the patriarchs of Antioch and Jerusalem, they
received the meirun from the metropolitan of St. Peters
burg. On Good Friday no mass is said in any of the Eastern
churches. They all maintain the service of the Adoration
of the Cross, known usually in Arabic as the jennaz, or the
burial, which is ordinarily conducted in the afternoon,
though the Maronite rubric appoints it for the morning.
In the Greek Church the ceremony includes the follow
ing features: On the altar is placed a richly embroidered
cloth on which is imprinted the figure of the dead Christ.
For this, in poorer churches, may be substituted the anti
mins, or cloth on which the Gospels always rest between
services, and on which the cup and paten are placed dur
ing the liturgy. At the burial the cloth is covered with

THE CHURCH YEAR 163
flowers. When the long service comes to a close the priest
places the cloth on his head, with some one behind to hold
out the ends, and leads a procession three times around the
church. Sometimes, instead of resting on the priest's head,
the cloth is hung over a combination of bier and coffin, open
on four sides, and overarched, which the priest carries with
uplifted hands. Sometimes the cloth is borne by four lay
men. In any case, as it is carried around the church sick
people and women desiring children pass under it "for a
blessing." When a "bier" is used this is then set down on
the floor of the nave; or, if there is no bier, the cloth is
placed on a table. In the nave it remains till Saturday
evening, when it is placed, unfolded, on the altar, there to
rest till the eve of Ascension Day. If the antimins has
been used, this practice cannot be carried out, as this sa
cred object must always be folded when the Gospels rest
under it. The flowers are distributed among the people.
The Maronite service of the burial I once attended at
the church of Mar Elyas, in Beyrout. In the centre of the
nave there was erected a small platform, upon which was
placed a short, deep bier, hung with white lace and pink
cambric, and surrounded by candles. As the people came
in they threw bunches of flowers into the bier. In front
of the altar there was a wooden stand with steps, on which
was erected a cross with a colored plaster image of the
Saviour fastened to it, about three feet high and covered
with crape. On either side there was a candle, one veiled
in crape. A round table covered with service books stood
just outside the altar rails at one side; the priest and lay
men both read from the same books, the former standing
within, the latter without the rails. The priest wore no
vestments, but at times assumed the stole. When the ser
vice, which was long and impressive and included many
Scripture selections, had continued for some time, the can
dles were lighted and the priest unfastened the image from
the cross. Bearing it into the body of the church, he placed
it in the bier and covered it up with flowers. Four men in
surplices took up the bier by its handles and carried it
around the church three times, preceded by the priest walk-

164 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
ing backward and swinging the censer, and followed by a
procession of men and boys chanting and bearing candles.
When they put down the bier in the nave, the priest walked
around it, prostrating himself on each side. He then took
a large silver crucifix and held it up for the people to kiss,
repeating as they pressed forward the Arabic salutation for
feast days, equivalent to "Many happy returns of the day!"
literally, "Every year may you be at peace!" As the peo
ple went out they stopped before a small table at which was
seated the " wakil," or lay-agent of the church, with a plate
before him containing a mixture of oil and dough, into
which he dipped a candle, making the sign of the cross on
the forehead of those who left a piece of money. Later
the image was placed in the " tomb," or opening under one
of the side altars at the south of the nave, which had been
decorated with flowers and candles in preparation for the
burial. In the villages the ritual is less elaborate. A sim
ple crucifix is placed on a black cloth resting on a chair,
the cloth taking the place of the bier.
Our account of the Syrian "burial" follows, in the main,
the description given me by a late deacon in the Jacobite
Church, with some added details. At the south side of the
nave, in front of the ikonostasis, is erected a life-size cross,
in shape of a T, the top vertical bar being supplied by a
small cross, which later is removed. At either end of the
crossbar of the T are placed candles. In the course of the
reading, when reference is made to the breaking of the legs
of the two thieves, the candle on the left is broken and then
put out by one of the laymen. At the reference to the "vin
egar and gall" a liquid under this name is given to the
people to drink. Toward the close of the service the priest
takes down the cross, and laying it on a long towel that
rests on his open palms, bears it in procession three times
around the church and into the sanctuary. On the altar
is a basin of water mingled with vinegar and sweet per
fumes. Washing the cross in this water, he covers it with
cotton and wraps it in a towel, and places it in the space
under the altar, amid spices, with a lamp by its side and a
curtain in front. Here it remains till Easter. According

THE CHURCH YEAR 165
to an old custom, apparently forgotten in some churches at
the present time, two deacons sit by this "tomb," quietly
reading psalms, till they are replaced by another pair, who
maintain their part in a continuous vigil that lasts till
Easter morning. The water in which the cross was washed
is distributed among the people, to be drunk on the spot or
to be taken home in little cups. It may be added that the
Syrian Catholics observe this same service.
On Saturday noon of Holy Week the bells which have
been silent since Thursday morning are again rung. In
some country places the ancient naqus, or board struck with
a hammer, takes the place of a bell. Holy Saturday has no
distinctive features except in the Church of the Holy Sep
ulchre, at Jerusalem, where the oft-described ceremony of
the holy fire attracts thousands of visitors and demands the
presence of the Turkish governor as well as of many sol
diers to prevent disturbance among the rival Christian
bodies. The simple people believe that the fire, which is
passed out from a small hole in the tabernacle or cubicu-
lum built over the alleged tomb of Christ, has actually de
scended from heaven, and thus does not burn like ordinary
fire. Accordingly, in their ecstasy they pass their kindled
torches over their faces and beards. In the presence of the
Greek patriarch of Jerusalem, I heard a Greek bishop pro
test against the popular Protestant description of the holy
fire as a stupendous fraud. He volunteered the statement
that it is kindled by a priest, adding that the present hier
archy cannot be held responsible for the belief of pilgrims
that it descends from heaven.
At about half-past three on Easter morning the bells of
the Greek churches begin to ring. The service opens with
a procession led by the priest dressed in full canonicals,
carrying the ikon of Christ and cross and swinging the cen
ser. Three times the procession passes out of the west door
of the church and in at the south door. But the last time
a pause is made in the porch while the priest reads the
Gospel, having rested the ikon on a chair. After saying
"Christ is risen!" he leads the procession once more into
the church and the ikon is placed on a stand in the centre

166 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
of the nave, there to remain till Ascension Day. The priest
then enters the sanctuary for the completion of the service.
The usual Easter salutation is "The Lord is risen," with
the answer: "He is risen indeed." In Russia they add:
" And has appeared unto Peter."
With the Maronites the Easter service begins immedi
ately after midnight. After preliminary prayers, the priest,
fully vested, approaches the "tomb" where the image has
lain since Good Friday, and, incensing it, calls out in Syr
iac three times: "Christ who rose from the house of the
dead has had mercy upon us!" He then takes out the
image, covers it with a white veil, and carries it held up in
front of his face, while the people follow in grand proces
sion, singing and chanting. After all have kissed the cross,
the flowers are distributed " for a blessing."
In the Syrian churches, very early Easter morning the
priest goes into the sanctuary alone and takes out the cross
from the " tomb " under the altar. Then opening the gates
of the screen, he holds it up in the sight of all the people,
saying in a loud voice: "To-day the Lord is risen from the
dead!" It was many, many years since the friend who de
scribed this service to me had been a Syrian " deacon," and
during the interval he had preached as an ordained Protes
tant minister from behind a desk in the bare chapels or
school-houses of the American Presbyterian Mission, but
the reflection of that Easter glow was still on his face as he
told of the joy that filled his heart when he heard these
words, and saw the simple act which brought to a climax
the quaint symbolism with which the Syrian Church depicts
the history of the passion.
Easter Monday and Tuesday are both feasts, but only on
Monday is cessation from labor obligatory. The season is
celebrated by wearing new clothes and by making visits
of ceremony. The children amuse themselves by coloring
eggs, which they strike together in a regular game. The
great Greek Easter procession called Dowra-el-Ba'uth is
made on Easter Monday and sometimes also on Tuesday.
In former days all the priests in Beyrout used to assemble
at the episcopal residence, where they assumed their vest-

THE CHURCH YEAR 167
ments and then invested the bishop. All would then go in
grand procession to the cathedral in the town, followed by
a huge crowd, with the constant firing of guns and revolv
ers in the air, which did not cease even when the priests
entered the cathedral. In consequence of such disorderly
scenes the out-of-door function was prohibited and for it
was substituted a procession three times around the interior
of the cathedral. It is still the custom for the priests to
follow each other in reading the Gospel for the day, verse
by verse, in as many languages as possible: Greek, Arabic,
Turkish, Russian, English, and French.1
An extraordinary elaboration of this Easter procession,
which appears to have fused together elements both Chris
tian and pagan, has been evolved at the Orthodox village
of Mahardy, near the gorge of the Orontes, in northern
Syria. It is the crown of the Easter festival and may be
celebrated Monday or Tuesday. Indeed, when I saw it in
1909 it had been postponed to Wednesday, on account of
bad weather. Originating as a simple procession within
the church, the dowra later girdled the exterior of the build
ing, and now in encircling the town itself moves over a cir
cumference of more than a mile. The start is made from
the church, which is also the terminal point. Every one is
in gala dress. Bridal couples of the autumn before don
their wedding raiment. On the dark bands around the
brides' foreheads glitters the gold of ornaments, nor do
their sober outer skirts conceal the gorgeous crimson of
silken dresses. Moslems from neighboring villages and
Arabs from the Eastern desert join the crowds. The air is
full of the sharp crack of pistols. Horsemen dash across the
fields, hurling at each other long light sticks, in the play of
the jertd. But it is the dance of the Debky that dominates
the feast. For four days, Sunday included, dress rehearsals
have been going on. Everywhere parties are formed, young
men joining hands with girls, in circles that begin with a
dozen but that grow with extraordinary elasticity before the
bewildered eyes of the spectator who cannot note how many
slip in. As they dance they sing. At the reading of the
1 This is sometimes done on Easter Sunday.

168 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
Gospels the dancing, indeed, stops. In former times the
Gospel was read at the four cardinal points of the village,
but now the reading is confined to one spot near the ceme
tery. When this is over the impatient youths and maidens
dash on ahead to weave new dancing circles. In the mean
time the reformed procession continues on its circular route.
In the forefront may be seen a massive silver cross carried
by a layman; then comes a copy of the Gospels held high
in the air by bearers who constantly relieve each other; a
flaming torch, carried near the Gospels, represents a can
dle; next follows the priest in gold brocade, and behind him
comes a man who carries a pole twenty feet high from which
flies a flag of blue silk with white stars. Priest and people
chant as they walk. The church is in the centre of a laby
rinth of little lanes which encircle the rude brown houses.
As the distant sound of the chanting — "Christ is risen!
Christ is risen!" — reaches the church, an advance crowd
pours into the small court-yard, swarms up the outside steps
leading to the roof, throngs the roofs of adjacent buildings.
Instantly, as if by magic, the seething mass of humanity in
the court-yard resolves itself into three dancing circles. The
leader in the centre of each circle strikes up a merry tune.
As the procession comes near, the droning chants of Chris
tianity strike discordant against the saucy rhymes of pa
ganism. Then for a brief moment Church is triumphant.
Dancing and singing suddenly cease; chatter dies away;
faces grow sober; while the priest takes his stand at the
door of the sacred building and begins to explain the relig
ious significance of the ceremony. But hardly is the last
word out of his mouth when paganism rebounds with a
leap. The broken circles are reformed; an increased fury
of fun seizes the dancing boys and girls; into the swaying
movements has come a new abandon. The dowra season
is passing, so the tense faces seem to say, let us make the
most of it! Even so have danced their ancestors before
them, through the long centuries, while cult has replaced
cult on this ancient plain of the Orontes.
Between Easter and Pentecost the Maronites do not
kneel in the churches nor prostrate themselves, signifying

THE CHURCH YEAR 169
by erect posture that they are " risen in Christ." Accord
ingly, on the latter feast, on which they return to their kneel
ing, there is an especial rite, divided into three parts, in
honor of the three persons in the Godhead respectively.
At the end of the first part the priest says in a loud voice,
turning to the people: "Kneel before the Lord upon the
left knee." The people obey. After a prayer the priest
says: "Rise in the strength of God and worship him who
rides upon the sun-settings, etc." In the second part they
kneel upon the right knee and in the third upon both to
gether. The Greeks do not ordinarily kneel in the churches,
except during Lent from Mondays to Fridays inclusive, but
on the Day of Pentecost they have a service called Es-Sejdi,
similar to the Maronite rite in that they kneel three times.
Parry describes a curious Pentecostal custom obtaining
among the Syrians. After the sermon all deacons begin to
chant, but suddenly stop and pretend to be asleep. Then
each man taps his neighbor's shoulder to wake him, while
the priest prays and scatters water with an almond branch
over the people. This act, performed three times, signifies
the gift of the Holy Spirit descending on the sleeping mem
bers of the church.1
The Feast of Corpus Christi is solemnly observed by the
Maronites under the name of Khamis-ej- Jesed, or Thursday
of the Body, but not by the Greeks. As the host is carried
from church to church, all in the streets and shops are ex
pected to rise. The following feasts are common to all the
churches. At the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul,
June 29, a basin of water is placed on the lectern in the
Maronite churches, and after it is blessed the people fill
bottles to take home. On the feasts of Mar Elyas, July
20, and of Es-Sayyidy (the Repose or Assumption of the
Virgin, August 15) huge crowds, bent quite as much on
merrymaking as on worship, flock to the convents that
bear the names of the Prophet Elijah and the Virgin. On
September 14, the Feast of the Finding of the Cross, bon
fires are kindled in memory of the signals that flashed Hel
ena's great news from Jerusalem to Constantinople. As
1 " Six Months in a Syrian Monastery," op. cit, p. 341.

170 RITUAL OF THE EASTERN CHURCHES
seen from Beyrout, the Lebanon mountain-side fairly blazes
with a multitude of brilliant lights. All-Saints is celebrated
by the Maronites on November 1, but by the Greeks on the
Sunday succeeding Pentecost, thus taking the place of the
Trinity Sunday of the West.

CHAPTER IV
THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
Introductory Note
While Christianity and Islam hold many great and es
sential truths in common, the difference between them as
systems is fundamental. Christ's conception of life was not
Mohammed's conception of life. The attitude of Christians
toward Jesus is not the attitude of Moslems toward their
prophet. Of these points the present chapter furnishes
abundant illustration. But the difference between the two
religions is not only a difference between systems, it is a
difference of atmosphere. In each case, moreover, the sys
tem creates the atmosphere. It is the belief of Christians
that they may draw direct inspiration from the glorified
Christ, or, as one school of theology would express it, from
the Heavenly Father, of whom they may have the best
knowledge only through the words and life of Jesus. Such
a belief, stimulating personal loyalty from the beginning,
has through the ages produced a moral atmosphere, at once
warm and buoyant, in which idealism has never ceased to
be a force. Chilled and relaxed the atmosphere may be
come during periods when the belief itself is distorted and
obscured; the force of the ideal remains latent notwith
standing. Mohammed uttered noble words: he had lofty
aspirations, but the record of his life can never draw his
followers upward to the heights of the Christian ideal.
Christendom has, during the course of its history, sunk to
low depths of morality, but its standards have still remained
terribly high. Religion does not claim to control an indi
vidual against his will, but every religion powerfully affects
the community, which consists simply of individuals in the
mass. In the best Christian lands to-day, lands in which
171

172 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
the ideal flames the most brightly, flagrant evils may flour
ish which religion neither prevents nor destroys; but such
evils are generally abhorred; they are practised at the risk
of heavy punishment; and their ultimate suppression is re
garded as both necessary and possible. Even in such lands
the moral atmosphere, sensitive both to good and evil, may
fluctuate. Fluctuations occur in our own land. But in
spite of our alarming national record for divorce, reflecting
the attitude toward marriage of a small but unhappily in
creasing minority; in spite of the frequent failure to convict
for crimes of violence, due to an overscrupulous regard for
legal technicalities; and, more important still, in spite of the
consequent lowering of the moral atmosphere, breathed by
the whole body politic and thus subtly affecting even those
whose personal ideals and practice may remain on the high
est plane, but who at the same time are unconsciously in
duced to relax their belief in the universal applicability of
these ideals, or to view with a certain indulgence those who
deny the moral imperative of these ideals — in spite of all
these tendencies, it is to be thankfully believed that the
ideals and practice of the sound majority will again clarify
the moral atmosphere. In our land even a distant approach
to conditions prevailing in the Mohammedan world is in
conceivable. For a relaxed moral atmosphere pervades Islam, even in
countries where its tenets are most purely followed and
where the characteristic Oriental decorum or outward re
spectability is most noticeable. A low view of marriage is
stereotyped in the Koran, with its legislation regarding po
lygamy. The temporary marriages permitted to the Shi'ahs
constitute a legalized prostitution. With the Sunnis, not
only polygamy and concubinage with slaves are sanctioned,
but divorce may depend practically on the caprice of the
husband. Formal sins against purity, stigmatized by the
Koran, are held in toleration and are regarded with indul
gence even by many Moslems who would utterly shrink
from practising them. In such an atmosphere innocent
children have a knowledge of vices unknown even by name
to many adults in Christian lands. My foreman reported

INTRODUCTORY NOTE 173
an inconceivable license of speech among the fellahin, em
ployed in the excavations where men, women, and girls
worked together. The petrifying formalism of Mohamme
danism, acknowledged by advanced Mohammedan think
ers,1 which produces the tendency, often nobly withstood, a
tendency to divorce the practice of religion from the prac
tice of morality, has greatly helped to preserve a low moral
atmosphere. The popular conception of a sensual paradise
has further tended to the same result.
It should not be necessary to add that in spite of its low
idealism Islam has always had its saints and has its saints
to-day. "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see
God" was uttered as a universal truth with no limiting
phrase. The followers of Jesus can never rise higher than
his teachings, but Moslem practice is sometimes better
than Moslem precept. How the desire for inward holi
ness finds expression in the religious orders we shall see in
our next chapter. But good men are everywhere found
among the rank and file of Islam. Oriental Christians ac
knowledge that their conscientious Moslem neighbors often
show a high type of character. British merchants in Syria
have testified to the absolute integrity of Moslem agents.
Missionaries declare that they have found true men of God
among the Mohammedans. "To do justice and to love
mercy" is the common aim of all good men. In no coun
try is the best type of Moslem character more widely repre
sented than in those under present consideration. A well-
known American missionary in Arabia, where some of the
worst features of Mohammedanism are accentuated, once
remarked: "In Syria and Palestine Islam is at its best."
It is inevitable that in the chapters dealing with Islam
comparison should be made, explicitly as well as uncon-
1 "For the last few centuries Islam has become, in the minds of a
large number of its votaries, associated with a lifeless formalism, the
practice of its rules of morality has given place to mere profession, and
its real aim as a creed to live by has been forgotten." "The Spirit of
Islam or the Life and Teachings of Mohammed," by Ameer Ali, Syed
(Calcutta, 1902), preface to popular edition, p. ix.

174 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
sciously, between the Koran and the Bible. Such a com
parison, however, should always be cognizant of the great
differences between them, relating not only to matters in
ternal but to external facts. The Koran was the work of
one man: Mohammed, the unlettered prophet of Arabia.
Many writers contributed to the Old and the New Testa
ments: historians, jurists, poets, prophets, philosophers,
sages. The Koran is claimed to have been revealed, bit by
bit, through the brief period of twenty-three years. Mate
rial for the formation of the Bible canon took from twelve
to sixteen centuries for its accumulation, to quote the two
extremes of chronological estimate. The New Testament
forms less than one-quarter of the whole Bible. The Koran
is about two-thirds the length of the New Testament. The
Bible was written in three languages: Hebrew, Aramaic,
and Greek. The Koran was composed in Arabic alone.
Biblical theology must recognize many trends of thought
and a gradual development of doctrine through centuries.
Variations of teaching in the Koran are confined to the
slight changes of belief of one man during religious experi
ences covering but a quarter of a century.
It is extremely doubtful whether Mohammed ever came
into actual contact with the Jewish and Christian Scriptures.
Biblical stories plainly filtered down to him through oral
rabbinical traditions of the Talmud. From the same
source was derived his eschatology. His account of the life
of Jesus seems to have reached him through a corrupted
oral tradition or through echoes of the apocryphal Gospels.
His conception of the doctrine of the Trinity, as consisting of
the Father, the Son, and the Virgin Mary, was his inter
pretation of the only sort of Christianity he knew. All this
reflects light upon the source of his doctrine of God and
of his noblest spiritual conceptions. It is inconceivable
that a man who regarded Mary the mother of Jesus as one
with Mary the sister of Moses, and who believed that
Haman was prominent in Pharaoh's court, had so searched
the Scriptures as to assimilate their religious teachings.
The Koranic doctrine of God has much in common with
the view of the Old Testament, but the coincidence, in my

INTRODUCTORY NOTE 175
opinion, arises from Mohammed's direct spiritual intuition,
which led him to a vision of some of the truths revealed to
the Hebrew prophets. From the same inner source came
his other lofty spiritual sentiments, examples of which
have been grouped in the next section after a careful search
through the pages of the Koran.
In regard to these brief but vital spiritual utterances, it
must be acknowledged that, though they are plainly the
cries of a soul in touch with the great realities, and though
they often ring true to universal experience, when con
trasted with similar passages found in the Bible they not
only fall short in range, depth, and intensity, but they lack
in glow, in tender comfort, and in the inspiring practical
suggestion and persuasiveness that accompany sustained
argument. Thus no distant parallel can be found to the
one hundred and third Psalm, or to the fortieth chapter of
Isaiah, or to the eighth of Romans, to name, out of scores,
examples that first suggest themselves. It is, however, the
inestimable good fortune of Moslems in Syria and Palestine
to have an access to such passages that is withheld from their
brethren in other parts of Turkey, as the circulation of the
Koran, except in Arabic, is forbidden in the empire. To
the majority of Turkish subjects the Koran is practically a
closed book, opened for them by their teachers only on
formal occasions.1 In the Holy Land the Moslems may
study their Scriptures in their mother tongue, at home or in
the mosque, where, as we shall see, copies are sometimes
kept for the especial use of the public in the fast month of
Ramadhan. In studying the Koran, it should be constantly kept in
mind that for much that is taught and practised in Islam
to-day we would search through it in vain. Islam is a the
ocracy, and theoretically the Koran, as the word of God, is
both source and arbiter of all questions, relating not only
to theology and to practical religion, but also to matters
of jurisprudence. For the Sha'ri a, or Mohammedan law,
like the Pentateuch, knows no distinction between matters
1 In India a number of translations into different languages are in
daily use.

176 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
sacred and secular. But as the Jewish Pentateuch was
overlaid by the Talmud, so the Mohammedan law has
practically buried the teaching of the Koran under the
traditions of the prophet and the decisions of the 'Ulama
or learned. Christianity has not escaped a similar tendency,
for the teaching of the New Testament has often been
weighted down, and has at times been obscured by elabo
rate theological systems. The traditions of Mohammed, re
cording what he said, what he did, and what he permitted
to be done in his presence, have come to possess an infalli
ble authority, practically equal to that of the Koran, while,
unlike the Koran, they touch on the minutest matters of
ceremonial and practice, thus exercising this authority in a
realm immensely wider.1 Belief in the universality of their
binding power is largely responsible for the rigidity and
formality of the Mohammedan religion. Lord Cromer has
acutely said: "Islam, speaking not so much through the
Koran as through the traditions that cluster around the
Koran, crystallizes religion and law into one inseparable
and immutable whole, with the result that all elasticity is
taken away from the social system." 2
Mohammed prophesied that Islam would be divided into
seventy-three sects, every one of which was destined for hell
but that one which represented the religion of himself and
his companions. The number named in the prophecy has
been far exceeded, as 'Abd-el-Qa'dir ej-Jila'ni estimated in
the twelfth century that there were one hundred and fifty.
Each sect naturally believes that it alone is following the
religion of the prophet and of his companions, thus consti
tuting the Na'jiyeh, or " those who are being saved." The
outside world, however, takes cognizance only of the two
main divisions into Sunni and Shi'ah, based on different
views of the nature and personnel of the caliphate. The
Sunnis overwhelmingly predominate. The Shi'ahs are
mainly confined to Persia, where they are in the majority,
with a few thousand in India, also in Syria, where they are
popularly known as Meta'wileh. The entire population of
1 Compare with p. 194.
2 "Modern Egypt," vol. II, pp. 134-135.

CONFESSION OF THE CREED 177
Syria and Palestine is approximately three and a quarter
millions; of these about one million nine hundred thousand
are Moslems. The present chapter deals with the practice
of the Orthodox, or Sunnis, leaving the presentation of the
Shi'ah variations for the sixth chapter.
I. Confession of the Creed
The world of Islam is .supported by five pillars of practical
religion: Witness to the creed, prayer, fasting, alms, and
pilgrimage.1 The practice of these ordinances is enjoined
by the Koran, which, however, does not lay down the
method of observance with the detail characterizing the
later development of the ritual. No stream can rise higher
than its source. It is equally true that every stream falls
below the level of its source. All large streams, moreover,
are joined by confluent streams, by other waters that give
a new color, a new quality to the parent stream. Islam as
practised to-day is based, as we have seen, not only on the
Koran, but also on the traditions of Mohammed, both
interpreted by the decisions of the learned.2 These tribu
taries have not only enormously increased the volume of
the waters, but have affected their nature. In gazing at
the turbid stream of Islam to-day, we must not forget the
freshness and sparkle of the fountain that burst from the
deserts of Arabia in the seventh century. A few prelim
inary words, then, concerning the Koran, which is for all
Moslems, at least in theory, their final source of authority
will be in place.3
1 This is the list of the Sunnis. That of the Shi'ahs omits the first
item as belonging rather to the list of beliefs, substituting for it (in
the fifth place) the jihad, or holy war.
2 For the influence of the traditions on Moslem jurisprudence, see
foot-note to p. 194.
3 The Koran is divided into one hundred and fourteen chapters, called
surahs, revealed piecemeal during a period covering twenty-three years.
The surahs are subdivided into verses, called ayat. Each surah is
named, more or less arbitrarily, from some word contained in its text.
Equally arbitrary was the early arrangement — never altered by Mos
lems — effected by placing the longer surahs first, the shorter last, and

178 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
Islam is emphatically a book religion, and for the Mos
lem this book contains naught but the very words of God,
revealed, indeed, to Mohammed through the Angel Gabriel,
but written before time began in the " Mother of the Book,"
which lies open before the throne of heaven. The words
throughout are uttered in the first person: God is the
speaker, and Mohammed is the one addressed.1 No the
ory of inspiration could be more mechanical. Moham
med, so holds Islam, was but the vehicle of divine truth.
For followers of other religions this theory, as applied to
by prefixing to the collection the opening prayer, or fafhah. Each
surah has prefixed to it the name of the place, Mecca or Medinah,
where it was revealed, but verses plainly composed at one place are
sometimes inserted in surahs marked with the name of the other.
No exact chronology, thus, has been preserved, and an approximately
correct succession can only be inferred by the references to passing
events and by a study of the style of composition. As a working hy
pothesis, Noldeke's chronology is now widely accepted. (See Palmer's
Introduction to his "Translation of the Koran," p. lxiv.) This writer
recognizes not only the two general classes of surahs, separated by
the Hegira, or flight to Medinah, but he subdivides the Meccan surahs
into three parts, in all of which Mohammed appears as prophet. In
the first Meccan period he teaches the unity of God in a series of rhe
torical outbursts, with the rhyme but without the rhythm of poetry,
appealing to the feelings rather than to the reason. The surahs of the
second period, couched in more prosaic language, are characterized by
long-winded and tediously reiterated stories (borrowed from the Jew
ish haggadah) telling of the rejection of the prophets of old by unbe
lieving generations, with the plain moral that the rejection of Moham
med would inevitably result in the same punishment. The surahs of
the third Meccan period are even less interesting in style and contain
little new material. In the Medinah surahs, Mohammed appears as
the law-giver. The style is usually dull, but its almost plain prose is
relieved by a few of the old passages of power and beauty. (See the
admirable analysis of Stanley Lane Poole, in his "Studies in a Mosque,"
pp. 157-160.) The legal sections, contained almost entirely in surahs
II, IV, and V (amounting to about one-tenth of the Koran), do not
constitute a systematic code of jurisprudence. The legislation, often
arising from concrete cases, is practical rather than theoretical; at the
same time it is general rather than particular. It forms but the basis
of the complicated law and ritual which the development of Islam
has built upon it. For the contradictions and inconsistencies the book
contains, see p. 189.
1 The fat'hah, or opening prayer, is an exception.

CONFESSION OF THE CREED 179
the Koran, is, of course, untenable. But in repudiating
this theory we must not fly to the other extreme. It is
often hastily assumed that the only alternative is to call
Mohammed an impostor. Those who would thus argue
not only misread history, they misread psychology. That
this great religious genius believed himself to be inspired
by God, when he gave utterance to the early surahs, I take
for granted, just as I take for granted that Joan of Arc be
lieved in the reality of her visions. If the doubter ask for
proof, let him read these surahs in a humble spirit. For
this earliest portion of the Koran rings with conviction,
with authority. It is full of life and movement and poetry.
It is, as Stanley Lane Poole calls it, " one long blazonry of
nature's beauty." The main theme is the same with the
Psalmist's: The heavens declare the glory of God and the
firmament showeth his handiwork.
" By the sun and its noon-day brightness !
And the moon when it follows Him!
And the day when it displays Him!
And the night when it covers Him!
And the Heaven and what built it !
And the earth and what spread itl
And the soul and what fashioned it,
And taught it its sin and its piety 1
Prosperous is he who purifies it !
And disappointed is he who corrupts it!"1
But the genuine spirit of these early surahs is evinced
not only by such spontaneous outbursts, recognizing God
in nature. Listen to the following short surah, uttered dur
ing the lonely days of the prophet's early struggle:
" By the splendor of the morning,
And the still of the night !
The Lord hath not forsaken thee nor hated thee I
And the future shall surely be better than the present,
And the Lord will surely give to thee and thou shalt be
well pleased.
1 Surah XCI, 1-10. When not otherwise stated, we follow Palmer's
translation. (See "Sacred Books of the East," vol. VI.)

180 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
Did he not find thee an orphan and sheltered thee?
And found thee erring and guided thee?
And found thee poor and enriched thee?
Then as for the orphan oppress him not,
And for him who asketh of thee, chide him not away,
And for the bounty of thy Lord, tell of it."1
Here are no words of a self-conscious impostor, but rather
of one convinced of the truth of his message and of the
divine care enfolding the messenger, rejected by his own
people. In regard to Mohammed's belief in the divine inspira
tion of all that is contained in the later surahs of the Ko
ran, especially of those composed at Medinah, when the
growing triumph of Islam added to his r61e of prophet those
of law-giver and ruler, we can speak with less confidence.
This confidence almost vanishes in the case of the conven
ient "revelations" scattered through surah XXXIII touch
ing the prophet's private life. Among these is included a
list of marriages which he may contract, terminating with
the phrase, "A special privilege this for thee above all
other believers" (verse 49). Criticism of his marriage
with the divorced wife of his adopted son Zaid was si
lenced by a revelation legalizing the union (verses 37-38).
There are other instances, where the exact allusion is ob
scure, whose object is clearly to guard the prophet's com
fort or his reputation.2 All such passages, whatever their
1 Surah XVIII. Translation by Stanley Lane Poole.
2 It may be conceded that this especial legislation is announced with
quaint simplicity. According to Palmer's interpretation of verse 53,
the believers are warned not to hint for an invitation to dine with
the prophet by following the Arab custom of sitting around the tent
watching for the pot to boil. Earlier in the surah, verses 27 and 28,
Allah is represented as commanding Mohammed, who, it is alleged, has
been annoyed by his wives' demands for new dresses, to give them the
choice between divorce on the one hand, and on the other contentment
with what they have here, plus the promise of reward in the hereafter.
The chapter of the Prohibition (surah LXVI) contains, without doubt,
a rebuke to the women of Mohammed's household. Palmer follows
the commentators, who link it with a squalid story of jealousy of the
Coptic maiden Mary, on the part of 'Ayeshah and Hafsah. This is

CONFESSION OF THE CREED 181
interpretation, are doubtless blots on the Koran, but they
do not, it seems to me, justify the use of the crude title im
postor. Mohammed was at first intensely conscious of be
ing human. In the Mecca surahs he stoutly combats any
contrary view: " I am but a mortal like yourselves, I am in
spired to announce that your God is one God." 1 " I am not
an innovator among the Apostles; nor do I know what will
be done with me or with you if I follow aught but what I am
inspired with; nor am I aught but a plain warner." 2 As
an offset to the favorable especial legislation of later years,
we find a rebuke to the prophet, especially revealed at
Mecca, for his impatience with a blind man.3 Even in a
later Medinah surah "his early and his later sin are
acknowledged as needing pardon." 4 On the other hand,
as regards his office as prophet and legislator he came to
have a most exalted idea: "Whoso obeys the prophet, he
obeys God ! " 6 he cries. " Verily those who disbelieve God
and his Apostles desire to make a distinction between God
and his Apostles, and say, ' We believe in part and disbelieve
in part, and desire to take a midway course between the
two'; these are the misbelievers, and we have prepared for
the misbelievers' shameful woe!"8 Thus in later years a
subtle change came over the prophet of Arabia. When the
first glory of his visions had faded; when for the ennobling
victory of the idea was substituted the demoralizing victory
of the sword; when perplexing questions of legislation de
manded an immediate decision that could not wait on in
spiration; when through his own personal conduct, or rather
misconduct, the invasion of his personal prestige, so subtly
identified with the prestige of the cause, was threatened;
then, consciously or unconsciously, a temptation came to
pronounced "absolutely false and malicious" by Ameer Ali, Syed, the
modernist of Islam, who sees in the surah no more than a reference to
the remorse of the prophet at yielding to his wives' request that he
give up the eating of honey, thus repudiating a good gift of God.
Ameer Ali also takes a more lenient view of Mohammed's much crit
icised conduct in the matter of the divorced wife of Zaid. (See "The
Spirit of Islam," op. cit, p. 195.)
1 XLI, 5. 2 XLVI, 8. 3 LXXX.
* XLVIII, 2. 6 IV, 82. 6 IV, 149-150.

182 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
this unlettered cameleer raised to royal power, a temptation
to live up to his profession of prophet at any cost, a tempta
tion to fuse his conception of Mohammed the erring mortal,
with Mohammed the mouth-piece of the Almighty, or, in
other words, a temptation to confound the will of God with
the will of Mohammed. And to this temptation he yielded.
A sacred book may be fairly judged by its conception of
God. The Koran has but one great message — a message
about God. Mohammed's glory was the recovery of the
monotheistic idea and its enthronement in the southern
Semitic world. He claimed to announce no discoveries
in theology. He bade the idolatrous pagan tribes, as well
as the semi-pagan Christians, of Arabia look back to Abra
ham, to Abraham the fianif (that is, "inclined" to the true
religion), who contended for the worship of the one true
God against a heathen generation. He pointed to the other
prophets and showed how disregard of their warnings had
ever resulted in confusion to the unbeliever. He declared
the signs of God in nature, animate and inanimate, outlin
ing, in poetical form, the argument from design.1 He
preached Islam — self-surrender to the will of God — thus
defining the Moslem simply as the man who is resigned.2
He rehearsed the divine attributes, singly and in groups,
so that from the Koran most of the ninety-nine beautiful
names of Allah, so often repeated by the pious Moslem,
may be culled.
At this point we are led back to the first of the five pillars
of Islam, the confession of the creed : I testify that there is
no God but God, and that Mohammed is the apostle of
God. This shortest creed in the world is called the kal'-
imah, or word. It sets forth in splendid brevity the kernel
of the Moslem faith: the unity of God as revealed by the
seal of the prophets. It is cried five times a day from every
' For a good example, see surah VI, 95-99.
2 Compare surah LI, 35, "And we sent therefrom [i. e., Sodom] such
as were in it of the believers; but we found only one house of Moslems."
All the prophets from the time of Abraham are held to have been
Moslems.

CONFESSION OF THE CREED 183
minaret; it is repeated in every formal prayer; it is inscribed
on banners and door-posts; it is used for the comfort of the
dying. This confession must be made aloud by every con
vert. Indeed, it is said that the idle repetition of the words
by a Christian, in the presence of ignorant Moslems, may
put him in danger of an enforced circumcision. Unequiv
ocal adhesion is thus constantly testified by the Moslem to
the doctrine of one God. We can have no real notion, how
ever, of the qualities which he attributes to this one God
without a study of the Koran. This reveals a conception
of Allah similar, in many respects, to the conception of Je
hovah, held by the Israelites of the great prophetic period,
but also with differences covering matters of vital impor
tance. For both, God, the Creator of all things, is omni
present, omnipotent, jealous of worship due to him, venge
ful on wrong-doers, gracious and compassionate to those
who fear him. There is little in the following descriptions
of the Koran that might not have been uttered by a Hebrew
prophet :
" He is God than whom there is no God, who knows the un
seen and the visible. He is the merciful and compassionate!
He is God than whom there is no God, the King, the Holy,
the Peacegiver, the Faithful, the Protector, the Mighty,
the Repairer, the Great! — He is God, the Creator, the
Maker, the Fashioner; His are the excellent names! His
praises whatever are in the heavens and in the earth do
celebrate; for God is the mighty, the wise!" x " God, there
is no God but he, the living, the self-subsistent. Slumber
takes him not, nor sleep. His is what is in the heavens, and
what is in the earth. Who is it that intercedes with him
save by his permission ? He knows what is before, and what
is behind them, and they comprehend naught of his knowl
edge, but of what he pleases. His throne extends over the
heavens and the earth, and it tires him not to guard them
both, for he is high and grand." 2
The important difference between the Jewish idea of God
1 Surah LIX, 22-24.
2 II, 256. This is the celebrated "Verse of the Throne," found often
inscribed on mosques.

184 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
and the conception of Islam involves a question of emphasis
and a question of omission.1 First, then, for the emphasis.
In striking contrast to the main trend of its teaching the Old
Testament contains a few passages in regard to God in which
predestination appears to shade into fatalism. Among these
are the oft-repeated phrases in Exodus: "I will harden
Pharaoh's heart," "The Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart,"
which alternate with the expression: "And Pharaoh har
dened his heart." Saint Paul echoes this doctrine in his
letter to the Romans : " Therefore he hath mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." 2
Similar passages, however, are very much more frequent
in the Koran. Whereas in the Bible they are exceptional,
in the Koran they are fundamental. They cast a dark
shadow over many of its pages. Over and over again oc
curs the terrible expression: "God leads astray." Many
passages are unqualified. "He whom God leads astray
there is no guide for him! He leaves them in their rebel
lion blindly wandering on." 3 " But whomsoever God doth
lead astray thou shalt not find for him a way." i "But he
whom God wishes to mislead thou canst do nothing with
God for him: these are those whose heart he wishes not
to purify, for them in this world is disgrace, and for them in
the next is mighty woe." 5 With this class of passages belong
the following: "It is not for any person to believe save by
the permission of God: he puts horror on those who have
no sense." 6 " We have created for hell many of the jinn
and of mankind, etc." 7 But as we may balance one bibli
cal teaching by another, even more, in dealing with the
Koran, the work of a single individual, may we permit it
to interpret itself. For such noxious passages as those just
quoted the Koran itself at least suggests an antidote. Over
1 The Koran recognizes the inspiration of the Zabur' (the Psalms)
and of the Taurat' (the Law), as well as of the Injil' (the Gospel),
though the Moslems hold that the text of the two latter has been cor
rupted. There appears to be but one direct quotation from the Bible
in the Koran, and that is from Psalm 37 : 39.
2 Romans 9 : 18. 3 Surah VII, 185. ' IV, 142.
6 V, 46. a X, 100. ' VII, 177-178.

CONFESSION OF THE CREED 185
against their grim fatalism may be placed the reasonableness
of the following: "He leads astray only the evil-doers,"1
" God would not have wronged them but it was themselves
they wronged." 2 " Verily God guides not him who is a mis
believing lear."3 "Hast thou considered him who takes
his lusts for his God, and God leads him astray wittingly,
and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart, and has
placed upon his eyesight dimness? Who then shall guide
him after God ? " 4 May we not compare this passage with
the sane words of James? "Let no man say when he is
tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted
of evil, neither tempteth he any man; but every man is
tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust and en
ticed. " 5 At any rate, in these last-quoted passages from
the Koran, Mohammed appears, if only in temporary re
coil from a bald fatalism, to be groping after something
that may harmonize the doctrine of the divine decree with
that of man's responsibility.
So much for the question of emphasis. The question
of omission is even more grave, for it involves the loss of the
very doctrine which in the Bible softens its own stern teach
ing regarding the divine decrees. The fundamental doc
trine of the fatherhood of God in relation to man, amply
illustrated in the prophetic period of the Old Testament, the
central idea of the New Testament, is explicitly excluded
from the teaching of the Koran. "But the Jews and the
Christians say, 'We are the sons of God and his beloved!'
Say, ' Why then does he punish you for your sins ? Nay,
ye are mortals of those whom he has created!'"8 This
denial naturally follows on the denial of the sonship of Jesus
which is often and sometimes passionately made in the Ko
ran.7 The prophet of Arabia was unable to rise to a spiritual
1 II, 24. This occurs as an explanation to an actual objection to the
doctrine. 2 XXIX, 39. 3 XXXIX, 5. ' XLV, 522.
5 James 1 : 13, 14. 6 Surah V, 21.
7 The scattered notices of the Koran in regard to Jesus have been
systematized by Hughes in his "Dictionary of Islam. " We here present
his brief summing up with our own additions in brackets. " It will be
seen that Mohammed taught that Jesus was miraculously born of the

186 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
conception of the words father, son. The nomenclature
connoted for him a physical relationship, amounting to a
taint, which he could not disassociate from the Christian
doctrine. " How can he have a son when he has no female

Virgin Mary, who was sister of Aaron and the daughter of 'Imran.
[This is one specimen of the extraordinary ignorance of chronology
shown by Mohammed.] That the Jews charged the Virgin with being
unchaste; but the Babe, speaking in his cradle, vindicated his mother's
honor. That Jesus performed miracles, giving life to a clay figure of a
bird, healing the blind, curing the leper, quickening the dead, and
bringing down a table from heaven "as a festival and a sign." [This
is possibly a reference to the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.] That
he [Jesus] was especially commissioned as the apostle or prophet of
God to confirm the law and to reveal the gospel. That he proclaimed
his mission with many manifest signs, being strengthened by the Holy
Spirit. [Moslem commentators interpret the Holy Spirit as a title of
the Angel Gabriel, through whom the Koran was revealed.] That he
foretold the advent of another prophet, whose name should be Ahmed.
[Arab commentators see here a prophecy of the mission of Mohammed,
whose name is equivalent in meaning to Ahmed, and signifies "the
praised." The reference is to the promise of the paraclete in John
16 : 7, where, so it is held, the word irap&KhnTos has been substituted
for irepiftXTjTis.] That the Jews intended to crucify him, but God de
ceived them, for they did not crucify Jesus, but only his likeness.
[See surah IV, 156. "God took him up into heaven." Commentators
differ as to who was crucified in his place, even Judas being suggested;
others say it was a spy sent to entrap him, etc.] That he is now in one
of the stages of celestial bliss. That after he left this earth his disciples
disputed among themselves, some calling him a God, and making him
one of a trinity of the " Father, the Mother, and the Son." [See surah
V, 116: "And when God said, 'O Jesus, Son of Mary, is it thou who
didst say to men, Take me and my mother for two Gods beside God'?"
This charge is vehemently denied in the reply of Jesus.] That he will
come again at the last day, and will slay antichrist, kill all the swine,
break the cross, remove the poll-tax from the infidels. That he will
reign as a just king for forty-five years, marry, and have children, and
die and be buried near Mohammed at Al-Madinah, between the graves
of Abu-Bekr and 'Umar."
From this summary it will be seen that Jesus occupies an exalted
place in Moslem teaching. However, he is of little or no practical ac
count to the ordinary Moslem to-day. The Gospels are practically
ignored. In Palestine even Abraham seems to occupy a more promi
nent position in the peasant consciousness, while Mohammed, as the
seal of the prophets, usurps almost all of the honor and attention due
to his predecessors. The cult of local saints is very strong.

CONFESSION OF THE CREED 187
companion and when he has created everything and every
thing he knows ? " 1 "They say, ' The Merciful has taken to
Himself a son'; ye have brought a monstrous thing! The
heavens wellnigh burst asunder thereat, and the earth is
riven, and the mountains fall down broken, that they attrib
ute to the Merciful a son! there is none in the heavens or
in the earth but comes to the Merciful as a servant." 2 To
the Moslem of to-day the affirmation of the divine pater
nity, in any form, is equally repugnant. " We are all God's
children," I once said in attempted consolation of a noble
old man who had met with a loss in his family — the family, I
may add, of Khaled, the sword of God, who conquered
Syria for Islam. "No," he gently reprimanded me, "not
God's children: God's servants — God's slaves."
The names Son of God, sons of God, thus, were emphati
cally rejected by Mohammed. But it is fair to ask whether
he was merely obsessed or hypnotized by nomenclature.
Did he indicate a filial relationship indirectly under other
terms? For the idea is expressed in the Old Testament
indirectly as well as directly. Note, for example, the ex
quisite metaphor in the Song of Moses: "As an eagle
stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth
abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings, so
the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange God
with him." 3 To such tender words as these I am bound to
say I can find no parallel in the Koran. Allah is indeed the
Merciful, the Compassionate, the Faithful, the Forgiver,
the Guardian, the Guide, the Patient, an Excellent Help,
but these titles are not the exclusive attributes of fatherhood
they may belong to sovereign, master, teacher as well. In
one passage God is termed the Loving,4 but the idea is in
general subordinated to other conceptions. Here are some
instances : " God loves the kind." 5 " God loves those who
fear." 6 "Verily to those who believe and act aright, verily
the Merciful will give love."7 "Verily God loves the just."8
1 Surah VT, 101; compare XVII, 42. 2 Surah XIX, 91-93.
3 Deut. 32 : 11 and 12. ' Surah LXXXV, 14.
6 III, 128. 6 IX, 4.
7 XIX, 96. 8 XL, 9.

188 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
"Verily God loves those who fight in his cause."1 Light
these passages surely cast, but it pales before the glow of
the Old Testament words: "Like as a father pitieth his
children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." 2 It pales
before the fire and splendor of the New Testament words:
" For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things
to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall
be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord."3 And again, "But God com
mended his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us." i
These last-quoted words suggest one of the chief differ
ences between the Bible and the Koran. This difference
is in the treatment of sin. Pardon for sin repented of,
punishment for sin persisted in, the Koran constantly re
iterates, but the deep, inward experiences of the fifty-first
Psalm, of the seventh chapter of Romans, are nowhere
approximated. We hear nowhere of a broken heart, of a
contrite spirit. We miss not only the sense of defilement,
the sighs of anguish, but the joy of redemption, the ec
stasy of relief. If we find nothing like the confession:
" Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned," 5 we miss
also the jubilant cry: "He hath put a new song in my
mouth." 6
In a conception of God which denies fatherhood, and in
which love is subordinated to power, the relation between
God and man will naturally lack the tender intimacy in
volved in the conception which regards God as Father and
God as Love. This relationship, however, may be both
strong and vital. Both strength and vitality I find in the
Koran's conception, and the fruits thereof in the lives of
the best Moslems. Here I find myself in disagreement with
the sweeping generalizations of Dr. Zwemer and the school
of criticism that he represents. "God stands aloof from
his creation," he writes; "only his power is felt, men are
1 Surah LX, 4. 2 Psalm 103 : 13. 3 Romans 8 : 38 and 39.
1 Romans 5:8. 5 Psalm 60 : 8. » Psalm 40 : 3.

CONFESSION OF THE CREED 189
like the pieces on a chessboard, and he is the only player." x
In reading the Koran it should be constantly remembered
that it contains both inconsistencies and contradictions.
Certain fatalistic passages which support Zwemer's con
tention have already been quoted, but the very inconsist
ent and contradictory nature of the book permits us to find
passages which teach a close personal relationship between
God and man. "O ye who believe! answer God and his
apostle when he calls you to that which quickens you, and
know that God steps in between man and his heart, and
that to him ye shall be gathered." 2 Though on a far lower
spiritual plane, does not this quotation from the Koran seem
to belong to the same order of ideas with the New Testa
ment words: "Behold! I stand at the door and knock"?3
At any rate it is a far cry from the Great Player, arbitrarily
moving the chessmen! Or again: "We created man and
we know what his soul whispers, for we are nearer to him
than his jugular vein." * If, as Zwemer objects, this pas
sage describes the nearness of God to man rather than that
of man to God, we may point to the following: " When dis
tress touches man, he calls us to his side, whether sitting or
standing, but when we have removed him from his dis
tress he passes on as though he had not called on us in a
distress that touched him." 6 Here is the old story, once
told by Malachi, of the willingness of God to help, and of
man's callous refusal. Or again: "Whosoever takes tight
hold on God he is guided in the right way." 8 " Are not
verily the friends of God those on whom there is no fear,
neither shall they be grieved?" 7 "Those who believe and
whose hearts are comforted by the mention of God — aye!
by the mention of God shall their hearts be comforted
who believe and do what is right. Good cheer for them
and an excellent resort." 8 " Be ye glad, then, in the cove-
1 "The Moslem Doctrine of God," pp. 69 and 70, by S. M. Zwemer.
Compare the famous arraignment of W. G. Palgrave, "Narrative of a
Year's Journey through Arabia" (1862-3), vol. I, pp. 365-367.
2 Surah VIII, 24. ' Rev. 3 : 20. * Surah L, 15.
•X, 12. ° III, 96. 7X, 64.
8 XIII, 28.

190 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
nant which ye have made with him, for that is the mighty
happiness! Those who repent, those who worship, those
who praise, those who fast, those who bow down, those who
adore, those who bid what is right and forbid what is wrong,
and those who keep the bounds of God — glad tidings to those
who believe!"1
A corollary to the disbelief in the fatherhood of God is a
disbelief in the brotherhood of man. A distinction, how
ever, should here be made. Every religion practically rec
ognizes some sort of brotherhood among its own members,
whatever the conception of God may be. It was not until
the Hebrew prophets began to see dimly that God was the
father of the human race, that any sense of a brotherhood,
including the whole family of man, became possible. That
Christianity was intended by its founder to be a world re
ligion, as over against the religion of a " peculiar people,"
was revealed to Peter in that vision in Joppa. This doc
trine constituted for Saint Paul a startling discovery; it was
" the mystery hid from ages " : 2 his warrant for the title
" Apostle to the Gentiles." Historically, thus, the doctrine
made an early appearance in Christendom, but it has been
the last doctrine to be transmuted into the actual daily ex
perience of Christians. To desire to extend the privileges
of one's own religion to "the heathen" or "the infidels" is
one matter. Moslems share this desire with Christians;
to regard all members of the human race as brothers, irre
spective of their conversion, is not an ideal of Islam, and is
still hardly more than an ideal of Christianity. The his
tory of the treatment of Christians in Syria and Palestine
since the Moslem domination, notwithstanding many ter
rible interludes, shows long periods of toleration, but this
toleration has been the toleration for an inferior, always
tempered with disdain, often discounted by oppression.
This point has already been touched in the first chapter.
The Koran teaches that the infidels are to be regarded as
the enemies of all true believers. It preaches the jihad, or
holy war, against all who refuse belief in Islam. However,
among the enemies of the faith a distinction is made. The
1 IX, 114. 2 Col. 1 : 26 and 27; cf. Eph. 3 : 3-6.

CONFESSION OF THE CREED 191
mushrikin' (variously translated " idolaters" and " those who
join other gods with God") are regarded as worse than the
Ahl-el-Kitab' ("the people of the book"); that is, the Jews
and the Christians.1 It is against the former that the fol
lowing terrible passage is directed: "But when the sacred
months have passed away, kill the idolaters wherever ye
may find them; and take them, and besiege them and lie
in wait for them in every place of observation; but if they
repent and are steadfast in prayer, and give alms, then let
them go their way; verily God is forgiving and merciful." 2
The jihad against the Christians and Jews is preached in
milder terms : " Make war upon such of those to whom the
Scriptures have been given as believe not in God, or in the
last day, and forbid not that which God and his apostle
have forbidden, and who profess not the profession of the
truth, until they pay tribute out of hand, and they be hum
bled." 3 The Moslem commentators agree that the duty
of the holy war is meant to extend to all time.
In the Book of Joshua may be found description of events
that indeed seem to parallel the deeds and spirit of the
jihad. But no one has arisen in Islam to say: "Ye have
heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor
and hate thine enemy, but I say unto you, Love your ene
mies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate
you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and per
secute you." The spirit of these words, I repeat, enters
vitally into the ideal of Christianity, but it does not enter
into the ideal of Islam, as presented in the Koran or as held
1 The attitude of the Koran in regard to Christians is self-contra
dictory. It is usually stated that, as the years went on, Mohammed
underwent a change toward them, from a spirit of conciliation to one
more uncompromising. However, surah V, according to Noldeke the
last one revealed, contains two of the most conflicting statements. In
verse 56 we read: "O ye who believe, take not the Jews and Christians
for your patrons (or friends); they are patrons (or friends) of each
other; but whoso amongst you takes them for patrons, verily he is of
them, and verily God guides not an unjust people." But in verse 85
we are told that of all men nearest in love to believers are those who
say "we are Christians"!
2 Surah IX, 5-8. » IX, 29 (Hughes's translation).

192 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
by its votaries. Saint Bartholomew's Day and the massa
cres at Kishineff, to take example from a long catalogue of
events dishonoring to Christianity, constitute a direct denial
of this ideal. What shall we say of the massacres of Adana,
when within a few days at least 12,000 men, women, and
children of the district were murdered with unspeakable
horrors; when this slaughter was sometimes preceded by a
sermon in the mosque, and often accompanied by cries on
the prophet and curses upon Christianity ? The answer is
by no means simple. It must not be forgotten that, while
the fanaticism of the people was doubtless utilized, these
massacres are supposed to have formed but a part of that
counter-revolution started by 'Abdul-Hamid, in a last des
perate attempt to retain his sovereignty;1 it must not be
forgotten that agents of the reaction terrified the people by
insinuating the conviction that the Moslem supremacy was
threatened by the Armenians, color being given to this in
sinuation by the actions of a few hare-brained Armenian
revolutionists; it must not be forgotten that the ingrained
passions of cruelty and greed and lust are bound to rage in
any uncontrolled mob when once it has become inflamed;
it must not be forgotten that the Sheikh-ul-Islam, the relig-
1 The Armenian massacres of 1895-6, in which 100,000 people were
butchered, were arranged and ordered by the central government at
Constantinople. At this time the province of Adana was not affected.
After the Adana massacres of 1908, stories were afloat in different
centres of Asia Minor and Syria, telling of orders from Constantinople
for the massacre of Christians which were set aside by the local authori
ties, civil or military. None of these stories has, as far as I am aware,
been authenticated, but not all have been disproved. The parliamen
tary committee, consisting of three young Turks and two Armenians,
sent to investigate the Adana massacre, in spite of their predisposition
to accept evidence implicating the old sultan, failed entirely to find
this. Dr. Shepard, of 'Aintab (see article in the "Journal of Race De
velopment," January, 1911, p. 339), states that seventy Moslems were
hanged for killing Christians in the general uprising. The same writer
says of the massacre (p. 327) : " It seems to have been a spontaneous
local outbreak, and its only connection with 'Abdul-Hamid was that
when the reactionaries got the welcome news that he was again in the
saddle, they thought that by the massacre of Armenians they could
feed fat their ancient grudge, enrich themselves, and at the same time
ingratiate themselves with the sultan."

CONFESSION OF THE CREED 193
ious head of the Mohammedans of Turkey, has officially
repudiated these atrocities as contrary to the teaching of
Islam,1 and finally it should not be forgotten that in many
cases Christians escaped death by finding shelter with kindly
Moslems. Two things, however, are certain. If ever the
day dawns when the Sermon on the Mount shall control
the actions of Christendom, on that day the spirit that made
Saint Bartholomew's or the tragedy of Kishineff a possi
bility will vanish; but as long as Islam repudiates the
fatherhood of God, thus repudiating at the same time the
universal brotherhood of man, so long will a recrudescence
of the Adana massacres remain as a menace to the Turkish
Empire. The noble affirmations of Islam are in constant
danger of paralysis from its negations.
The second part of the kalimah, or creed, states that Mo
hammed is the apostle of God. It is important to remem
ber that Mohammed did not claim to be the founder of a
new religion, but merely to announce a new covenant. The
Koran calls him the seal of the prophets.2 He thus is be
lieved to have at once confirmed and superseded the revela
tions made to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.
We have seen that Mohammed in the Koran distinguishes
between himself as an erring mortal and as the prophet of
God. For his followers to-day, however, the distinction has
faded out of sight. While any direct attribution of divinity
would be universally and indignantly repudiated by his fol
lowers, his practical apotheosis is wellnigh complete. He
is held to have been sinless. Every perfection of character
is attributed to him. Prayers are never addressed to him,

1 See article, "The Moslem Answer to Christendom," in "Pearson's
Magazine" for August, 1909, pp. 165-168, by James Creelman, who had
an interview with the Sheikh ul-Islam shortly after the massacres.
"There is nothing," said the sheikh, "in the law, nothing in the Koran,
nothing in Moslem policy or intention that sanctions hatred or strife
between subjects of the empire, be they Moslems, Christians, or Jews.
. . . _I say this officially and without any reserve." "We look upon
the massacres with horror," etc., etc.
2 Surah XXXIII, 40.

194 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
but his name is never mentioned without a prayer.1 He is
to be the intercessor at the day of judgment. His example
in matters of faith and practice, as substantiated by the
traditions, which profess to be the records of what he did,
of what he said, and of what was done in his presence, un
forbidden by him, is practically as binding as the teaching
of the Koran itself. Practice based on the example of the
prophet is called "Sunnah." The traditions — often called
the table-talk of Mohammed — vary greatly in their authen
ticity, which has been the subject of much learned discussion.
For example, Abu Daud received only 4,800 out of 500,000! 2
1 There is a phrase constantly on the lips of the peasants of Syria
when they wish to emphasize the importance of a statement which is
capable of misinterpretation by strangers who translate it carelessly,
" Pray to the Prophet." This phrase has been explained to me by a
noted Arab grammarian as an ellipsis for a longer phrase. When a man
is adjured with the words ,<-*-*-'' J*£ iS~»o, he at once responds:
iv-Lw. s-yLc xJJI iJlo (God has prayed for him and blessed him).
Hence the full meaning of the adjuration is: " Say, God has prayed for
Mohammed and blessed him" — a quotation from the daily prayer.
When the adjuration is put in the form of a question, it means some
thing as follows: "Are you paying strict attention? Are you in a suf
ficiently serious frame of mind regarding the matter in hand that you
can say: 'God has prayed for the prophet?'" etc. Sometimes porters
when carrying a load call out "Ya rusul Allah" (O prophet of God!),
just as they call out "YaKhalil" (O Abraham!), or just as the dervishes
address the long-dead founders of their orders.
2 See article, "Traditions," in Hughes's "Dictionary of Islam." In
regard to the bearing of the traditions on Moslem theology, Stanley
Lane Poole makes the following observations in his "Studies in a
Mosque," pp. 164-167. "A large portion of what Moslems believe and
practice is not found in the Koran at all. We do not mean that the
traditions of Mohammed are not as good authority as the Koran — and,
indeed, except that in the latter case the prophet professed to speak the
words of God, and in the former he did not so profess, there is little to
choose between them — nor do we assert that the early doctors of the
law displayed any imaginative faculty in drawing their inferences and
analogies, though we have our suspicions; all that we would insist on is
that it is a mistake to call the Koran either the theological com
pendium or the corpus legis of Islam."
The Sunnis recognize four Orthodox schools of interpretation — the
Hanafi'yeh, Shafi'i'yeh, Malaki'yeh, and Hanbalf'yeh. Their differ-

CONFESSION OF THE CREED 195
Though held in extreme reverence, the prophet's name is
freely bestowed on the children of Moslems. Mohammed is
the commonest name in all Islam.
Before passing on to the second pillar of practical relig
ion, we may glance rapidly at the remaining points of Mos
lem theology.1 Of the six articles which enter into the
Iman' Mufas'sal, or formal declaration of Moslem belief, we
have sufficiently considered the first and third, the unity
of God, and the sacred books. In our sketch of the idea
of God, we have also touched on the sixth, the doctrine of
predestination. We may add here that, as taught by the
Koran, the doctrine agrees with the Westminster confes
sion that "God foreordained whatsoever comes to pass."
The traditions say that God preordained five things on his
servants; the duration of life, their actions, their dwelling-
places, their travels, and their portions. However, the influ
ence of the doctrine on the mental attitude of Moslems finds
but a partial analogy in the outlook on life of those Chris
tians who to-day subscribe to the Shorter Catechism. For
them belief in predestination has become purely academic.
But in the Mohammedan world all the decrees of God are
potent forces. On them is based that Islam or resignation
ences consist chiefly in minor variations of ritual and varied interpre
tations of Moslem law. The .Shi'ahs have a corpus of traditions of
their own, including many sayings of 'Ali and the other Imams. They
reject the corpus of the Sunnis, especially repudiating the traditions pre
served by the first three caliphs.
In the great mosque at Damascus there are four mihrabs, or prayer-
niches, for the use of the four Orthodox schools respectively. The Ma-
lakiyeh are few in Syria. On the other hand, the Shafi'iyeh, who fol
low the easiest rites, are common, outnumbering, at least in Damascus
and environs, the followers of all other schools, and including the mass
of the people, fellahin and tradesmen. The Hanafiyeh have been called
the Pharisees of Islam, as their sheikhs wear intensely white turbans
and teach stricter forms of ablution, etc. Their followers are found
among the aristocrats and high Turkish officials.
1 As recognized by all Western commentators, the theology of Islam
is a synthesis of ideas borrowed, in more or less distorted form, from
heathenism, Christianity, and Talmudic Judaism, the last-named ele
ment greatly predominating. A tabulated analysis of the sources of
the different elements, which represents the point of view of the com
piler, is given in "Arabia the Cradle of Islam," by S. M. Zwemer.

196 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
which names the religion itself. The practical effects of
the doctrine, however, range between two extremes. At
one extreme is the apathetic fatalism of the ignorant masses
that refuses to take precautions against disease even in the
midst of an epidemic. At the other is true submission to
the will of a just God, experienced by many a pious Mos
lem, a submission which another great Semitic religion has
voiced in the expressions: "Shall not the judge of all the
earth do right ? " " Though he slay me, yet will I trust in
him"; and into which Christianity has transfused its own
gentler spirit, breathing forth in the hymn " I worship thee,
sweet will of God." One saying of Mohammed, which
softens the harshness of the doctrine, may be quoted : Once
the prophet was sitting under a wall that suddenly began
to totter; quickly rising, he crossed over to the other side
of the road. When the on-lookers accused him of fleeing
from the decree of God, he replied: " By the decree of God
I have fled from the decree of God to the decree of God ! "
There remain to be noticed briefly the doctrines concern
ing the angels, the prophets — apart from Mohammed — and
the resurrection, including the judgment, heaven, and hell.
A belief in angels, jinns, and devils is not only taught by
the Koran and the traditions, but enters vitally into the life
of Islam. There are four archangels: Gabriel, through
whom the Koran was revealed; Michael, the patron of the
Jews; Azrael, who is the Angel of Death; and Israfel, who
will sound the last trump. Every believer is said to be
attended by two recording angels, to note respectively his
good and bad deeds. The numerous bands of angels also
includes Mun'kar and Naktr', who preside at the examina
tion of the tomb, to be described later.1 The jinns or genii
comprise spirits of various shapes, and include both good
and bad. The Koran is full of teachings in regard to their
nature and doings, while the possibility of their appearance
is a constant source of terror to simple-minded Mohamme
dans. Equally numerous are the devils, headed by Satan,
who is called both Shaitan' and Iblls'. With tiresome iter
ation the Koran tells the story of his expulsion from para-
1 See p. 293.

CONFESSION OF THE CREED 197
dise because he refused to adore Adam along with the other
angels. The Moslem commentators distinguish between the or
dinary prophets, who indeed are held to have been directly
inspired of God, and the apostles, who, over and above the
ordinary prophetic function, are intrusted with especial
missions. Mohammed is related to have said that there
had been 124,000 an'biya, or prophets, and 315 ru'sul, or
apostles. Six of the latter have especial titles: Adam, the
chosen of God; Noah, the preacher of God; Abraham, the
friend of God; Moses, the converser with God; Jesus, the
spirit of God; and Mohammed, the messenger of God.
Enoch (Idrfs'), Methuselah, Lot, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph,
Aaron, David, Solomon, Job, Elijah, Elisha, Zacharias, and
John the Baptist (Yah'ya) were all prophets. Some in
clude Alexander the Great and .ZEsop, though Moslem
commentators differ as to whether they were actually in
spired. Many of these are no more than names to the
people, but the ejaculation "Ya KhahT" ("O Friend"), by
which Abraham is signified, is common in southern Pales
tine — where, indeed, Hebron, the burial-place of the patri
archs, ordinarily goes by the name of El-Khalil; while the
cult of Elijah is universal, whether under his own name or
under that of Khudr, the ever living one, or that of Saint
George, with both of whom he is identified.1
The theology of Islam is dominated by its eschatology.
In the Koran there are no descriptions more graphic and
detailed than those of the resurrection and the day of judg
ment, of heaven and hell. It is the consensus of Moslem
interpretation that the accounts are to be taken literally.
The descriptions of the resurrection and the day of judg
ment are not without a certain grandeur of moral dignity.
The description of paradise is, on the face of it, sensuous
rather than sensual, though Palmer seems to state the case
altogether too euphemistically when he says: "It appears
. . . from the Quran, to be little more than an intense real
ization of all that a dweller in a hot, parched, and barren
land could desire, namely, shade, water, fruit, rest, and pleas-
1 Compare with p. 10.

198 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
ant companionship and service." J Attention should be
called to a very few passages which rise to a higher concep
tion of paradise, involving the idea of moral purity. " They
shall hear there no folly and no sin; only the speech, Peace,
peace!" "They shall pass to and fro a cup in which is no
folly and no sin." Paradise is to contain " no folly and no
lie." It is a place for "those not lusting."2 But whatever
may be the ideas of the Koran, the " table talk" of Moham
med is strongly tainted with sensuality. The least of the
believers is promised eighty thousand slaves and seventy-
two thousand women. Popular conception agrees with offi
cial interpretation in taking such statements literally.
The description of hell is crudely realistic, coarsely lurid,
reeking with loathsome physical detail, reiterated with
horrid unction, with odious gusto. Heaven, in one of its
seven divisions, is the final destination of all Moslems.
Hell, also in seven divisions, is the eternal reward of all
those who reject Islam.3 Opinions differ as to an interme
diate purgatorial state for those Moslems who have com
mitted great sins. The accounts of the day of judgment,
with its balance, in which good and evil deeds are weighed,
favor the purgatorial idea.4 The time of the great day is
unknown to all save God alone: not even Gabriel could re
veal it to Mohammed. It is to be preceded by the resur
rection, which is to be ushered in by many signs: 5 among
these will be the descent of Jesus to inaugurate a short pe
riod having the millenial marks of universal harmony; the
appearance of Gog and Magog; various convulsions of nat-
1 See the introduction to Palmer's translation, p. Ixx.
2 LVI, 24, 25; LII, 23; LXXVIII, 35; LXXIX, 40.
3 So the general teaching, though the following passage appears to
point the other way: "Verily whether it be of those who beheve, or
those who are Jews or Christians or Sabseans, whosoever believe in God
and the last day and act aright, they have their reward at their Lord's
hand, and there is no fear for them, neither shall they grieve." (Surah
II, 59.)
1 For this I find confirmation in a satiric anecdote once told me by a
Moslem friend, involving the punishment of hell for those Moslems
who do not fast in Ramadhan.
5 Many of these are borrowed from the Talmud.

PRAYER 199
ure; a recrudescence of idolatry, and the coming of the
Mahdi, or guide. On the great day, God alone is to be the
judge, though Mohammed will act as intercessor, after the
office shall have been refused in turn by the other great
prophets from Adam to Jesus. After the ordeal is over,
those destined for heaven take the right-hand way, and
those destined for hell the left, but both must first pass over
the bridge called Es-Sirat, which is laid over the mouth of
hell,1 and which is finer than a hair and sharper than a
sword. Such are the mere outlines of the Moslem escha-
tology, which ramify into extraordinary detail.
II. Prater
The second pillar of practical religion is prayer. While
the privileges of private or personal prayer, unrestricted by
formula, at any time the believer's heart is turned toward
God, is recognized by the Koran, and doubtless enjoyed by
many a pious Moslem, prayer is usually a fixed liturgical
formula uttered at set times and in a prescribed series of
positions. For these stereotyped forms the Koran is not
responsible, as not even all the five times of prayer are in
dicated together in any one place. The stated hours of
prayer are at dawn, a little after mid-day, in the middle of
the afternoon, a few minutes after sunset, and when the
night has closed in. Established centuries before the time
of clocks and watches, the tradition of the seasons of prayer
is not kept with exactitude. I have seen a man at his mid-
1 P. T. Baldensperger, brought up in Jerusalem, declares that the
phrase, "Guide us in the straight or right way," found in the first
surah of the Koran, refers to this bridge, which "will be fixed on the
temple wall of Jerusalem on one side and on the top of the mosque of
Mount OUvet on the other, whilst a huge fire will fill the Valley of
Jehoshaphat below. On the judgment-day, when all men will be as
sembled on the temple area, Mohammed will make them pass the
bridge. AU such as have said their prayers will pass to the other side,
whilst such as have omitted them will fall into the fire. But Moham
med will save the Moslems after their having burned for a while."
(See article, "Woman in the" East," found in the "Quarterly State
ment of the Palestine Exploration Fund," 1899, p. 146.)

200 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
afternoon devotions within three-quarters of an hour of sun
set. I have heard the cry wafted from the minaret two hours
before sunrise, when the dawn was not even a promise.
This adhan, or call to prayer, sung in a sort of florid chant,
rings out above every mosque in Islam. In Turkey the flag
often floats over the minaret during the function. The crier,
or muadh'dhin, is often chosen for the strength and sweet
ness of his voice. In a closely built city like Sidon it is in
spiring to listen from the house top to this human carillon,
borne through the sunset glow from minaret to minaret, with
many a variety of key and cadence. The singer first faces
the south, turning to the other points of the compass as the
chant proceeds. In the minarets of the large mosques the
singers may be two or more, chanting now alternately, now
in unison. "God is great!" they call four times, and then
repeat the phrases: "I testify that there is no God but
God! I testify that Mohammed is the prophet of God!
Come to prayer! Come to salvation! God is great. . . .
Mercy and peace be unto thee, O prophet of God!" In
some lands after the first or morning call the words are
added: "Prayer is better than sleep!"
While the call to prayer is borne over their heads, the
worshippers should murmur appropriate responses, though
some of them may still be going through the prescribed
ablutions (wadhu'a') at the large pool in the court-yard,
washing their mouth, face, nostrils, hands, arms, up to the
elbows, and feet up to the ankles. It is meritorious to ejac
ulate a brief prayer appropriate to each action.1 Where
water is unavailable, as in the desert, sand may be used in
stead. But the Moslem does not need to enter a mosque to
perform these regular devotions. He may make any clean
spot a place of prayer. Islam has none of the mauvaise
honte or false shame attaching to the practice of Protestant
Christianity. Your Moslem visitor may interrupt the con
versation for a few minutes, while he says the noon prayer
1 These are given in Wortabet's "Religion in the East," p. 212.
Note that these ablutions necessary before each prayer are to be dis
tinguished from the Ghusl, or washing of the whole body, prescribed
after certain acts that produce legal impurity.

PRAYER 201
on the rug in your reception-room. I once saw a man put
down his prayer-rug on the floor of a railway car. As the
train was winding through the tortuous valley leading up to
Jerusalem, the worshipper, who had begun his prayer with
his face turned southward toward Mecca (as is required), J
soon found himself twisted toward every point of the com
pass, till finally he suspended his devotions to consult the
company, who comforted him by agreeing that God would
doubtless recognize his good intentions in the matter of ori
entation. Pilgrims for Mecca may be seen adjusting their
rugs on the steamer deck by a small pocket compass.
No matter when or where it is uttered, the Moslem for
mula of prayer is unvarying. The prescribed series of posi
tions — standing, bowing, kneeling, with the head at times
bent to the earth and the hands in various positions : hang
ing at the side, folded on the stomach, stretched out from
the lobes of the ears, touching the knees, or spread on
the earth— these positions, with the accompanying ejacula
tions and quotations from the Koran, constitute a rak'ah,
or prostration. The number of rak'ahs employed varies
with the different times and with the zeal of the worshipper.
The rak'ahs are ordinarily designated either fardh, obliga
tory, or sunnah, voluntary — a purely subjective distinction,
as the formula is practically the same in both cases. When
a Moslem is performing a fardh, or obligatory prostration,
he is supposed to be following a positive command of God;
when he declares his prostration to be sunnah, or voluntary,
he is following the example of his prophet.2 We might,
perhaps, rank in theory the sunnah prostration with those
called nafl and witr, which are acknowledged to be works
of merit or supererogation. As a matter of practice, how
ever, the sunnah prostrations are seldom omitted by the
Orthodox Moslem unless pressed for time, though their
performance is sometimes less formal than that of the fardh
devotions, as we shall see shortly.3 It is estimated that
1 Moslems at first prayed toward the temple in Jerusalem.
2 These distinctions apply to many practices besides prayer. (See
Hughes's "Dictionary of Islam," p. 286.)
3 For the Shi'ah practice, see p. 303.

202 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
if the believer follows out all the number and variety of
rak'ahs required and recommended, he will repeat the same
formula seventy-five times in a day! x A Syrian Moslem
has the advantage over his coreligionists in all other parts
of Asia, except Arabia, in that his oft-repeated prayers are
uttered in his mother-tongue. Mohammed gloried in his
Arabic Koran, just because it was in the speech of the com
mon people, but his successors guard jealously this Arabic
Koran from translation, even such parts as enter into the
daily devotions of millions of Moslems, in China and India,
who cannot understand what they are repeating! Dr.
Zwemer estimates that three-fourths of the Mohammedan
world pray five times daily in an unknown tongue.2
Every prayer to be acceptable must begin with a formal
declaration. The exact wording varies with the education
of the worshipper, but the sentiment should be expressed
in some such words as, "I have purposed to pray to Al
mighty God (say) two fardh rak'ahs at this present noon,
a duty which I owe to Almighty God, facing toward the
Holy Ka'aba." After this declaration the man invalidates
his prayer if he interrupts it to answer a question, and this
cannot be done unless he first turns to the right and left,
addressing the words, " Peace be upon you," to the inhabi
tants of the spirit world. He then must begin afresh with
the declaration. After uttering the first ejaculation, " God
is great," the prayer is invalidated if for more than three
times the worshipper relaxes the prescribed positions of
the hands, in wiping off perspiration, or brushing off a fly.
The prayer actually begins with the repetition of the faf
hah, or first chapter of the Koran, which has been called
the Lord's Prayer of Islam, so constantly is it uttered: "In
the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful, Praise
be to God, the Lord of the Worlds, the Compassionate, the
Merciful, King of the Day of Judgment! Thee we worship,
1 See the article, "Prayer," in Hughes's "Dictionary of Islam," where
the number of rak'ahs to be said at different times is given with illus
trations of all the postures, and full text of the ritual.
2 "Islam: A Challenge to Faith," p. 104, by S. M. Zwemer (New
York, 1910).

PRAYER 203
and Thee we ask for help. Guide us in the right way, the
way of those to whom Thou art gracious; not of those
upon whom is Thy wrath, nor of the erring." 1 After this,
the worshipper should recite one long or two short verses
from the Koran, but he may extend the quotations at his
discretion. The choice often falls on the short chapter of
the unity: "Say: He is God alone; God the Eternal! He
begetteth not, and is not begotten; and there is none like
unto him.2 The rest of the rak'ah consists of other verses
from the Koran and of brief ejaculations in praise of God
and of his greatness, uttered in various postures. The
second rak'ah is a repetition of the first. At the end the
worshipper, being on his knees, says, "Salutations and
mercies and good things are unto God. The mercy and
blessing of God be unto thee, O prophet!" Here follows
the creed: "There is no God but God, and Mohammed is
the prophet of God" — during the recital of which the Mos
lem raises the right forefinger. This performance is re
peated at the end of each pair of rak'ahs which closes with
the prayer: " O God have mercy on Mohammed and his peo
ple, as Thou hadst mercy on Abraham and his people, and
bless Mohammed and his people as Thou didst bless Abra
ham and his people, for Thou art full of praise and glory."
The worshipper then turns his head to the right and to the
left, saying to the angels and to the spirits of the departed :
"Peace be unto you!" The third and fourth rak'ahs re
peat the features of the preceding, omitting the chapter
after the fat'hah. The declaration is not repeated unless
there be a change from sunnah to fardh, or vice versa. At
the close of the series the man is at liberty to go about his
business, but the pious man will continue crouched on his
knees, with his hands open before him, engaged in private
supplication, praying in his own words for blessings on his
family, for forgiveness, for guidance, or for anything he
needs. Some continue long in such prayers, extending the
1 Translation of Stanley Lane Poole. The fat'hah is sometimes
preceded by a short quotation from the Koran in the first rak'ah
alone. 2 Surah CXII.

204 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
time of worship further by praising God with the help of
the rosary.1
The sunnah, or voluntary prayer, is always said by a man
alone, or independently of an imam', or leader, and it is
always whispered. When several persons are to offer the
fardh, or obligatory prayer, at the same time, it is proper
that some one of their number should act as leader, saying
parts of the service in a loud voice, while at some points the
others make responses. When alone, a man says part of
the fardh prayer aloud and whispers the rest. It is clear,
thus, that wherever a Mohammedan may be, he may per
form to the full his duties toward God, independent of
priest and mosque. Nevertheless, with the development
of the powerful body of the 'ulama, or learned, whose learn
ing is usually confined to the study and interpretation of
the Koran and the traditions, has developed also a sort of
clergy — indeed, a sort of hierarchy. But it is a clergy de
facto rather than de jure; a clergy of practical convenience
rather than of ordination. Moreover, though the "clergy"
act as an official body, the members are originally self-
appointed. Any one, by devoting himself to the study of the
Koran, or by attaching himself to a mosque, may assume
the white turban of a religious sheikh. At any time he
may "unfrock" himself by discarding the turban. The
nearest approach to ordination, as far as I am aware, ob
tains in central Asia, where the turban is bound on the
head of the would-be sheikh by a chief mowlawa, or scholar.2
Of course, many of these religious sheikhs cannot techni
cally aspire to the name of 'ulama, or learned men, but they
may be loosely classed with them. Like them they live
and move among the people, and yet are subtly separate
from the mass. The 'ulama may engage in secular busi-
1 The Moslem rosary consists of ninty-nine round beads, loose on a
string, divided into three sections by two extra round beads, called
"showa'hid, " or "witnesses," with an elongated bead at the end called
the "mai'dany," the word used for "minaret."
2 See Hughes's "Dictionary of Islam," article, "Clergy." Compare
with a similar function among the Palestine dervishes, p. 241, of the
present work.

PRAYER 205
ness, but their whole bearing is stamped with their religious
calling. In my employ in the Lachish excavations was a
very poor young, white-turbaned " sheikh," whose conditions
of life were the same with those of his fellow-workmen,
save that he could read and write, while they could not;
yet he was subtly differentiated from them by that inde
scribable air which in one way or another marks the " theo
logical student" of whatever race or religion. As a class,
the 'ulama appear to be devout, fanatic, obscurantist, jeal
ous of the least encroachment, resentful of any innovation.
Of course, exceptions occur. Nothing could have exceeded
the helpful courtesy of well-known Moslem 'ulama extended
to me when I was making researches in Damascus. One
of these, Sheikh Ta'hir el-Mugh'raby, whom I surprised
with a visit, unintroduced and unannounced, proved to be
an enthusiastic scholar, living by choice in the humblest
quarters, that he might buy books, which absolutely hemmed
him in on every side, and which were by no means confined
to Koranic studies. With the generosity of the true savant,
he was eager to extend his enjoyment of his treasures to
others. During his last journey, the late Dr. Curtiss had
similar experiences. Resident Christian missionaries have
cordial relations with the more liberal-minded sheikhs. The
influence of the 'ulama on public life is instanced by a large
number of deputies to Parliament, elected from this class.
Theoretically, at the head of Islam is the caliph (kall'fah),
or successor of the prophet. Though the sultans of Turkey,
being not even Arabs, of course fail to satisfy the canonical
rule requiring all caliphs to belong to the Qureish, or tribe
of Mohammed, they, by virtue of their guardianship of the
Hall of the Holy Garments, at Constantinople, containing the
prophet's mantle, staff, and standard, are generally recog
nized as caliphs, except by certain African Mohamme
dans, notably by the inhabitants of Morocco, whose sultan
strengthens his claim to the caliphate by an undoubted sher-
ifian pedigree.1 The Turkish sultans, however, have prac-
1 The claim of the Ottoman sultans to the caliphate rests on the
following transaction: The temporal power of the Abbasside caliphs
of Baghdad, who ruled from 750 to 1258 A. D., was overthrown at the

206 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
tically delegated their religious duties to the chiefs of the
'ulama. Thus, even the caliph himself is bound by the
"fet'was," or authoritative interpretations of the Koran
delivered by the Sheikh-ul-Islam, who represents the final
court of religious appeal in Turkey. At Mecca the religious
power is exercised by the Grand Sherif, whose nomination
must be approved by the Sheikh-ul-Islam at Constantino
ple. The Moslem "hierarchy" is not sacerdotal, neither
does it distinguish between religion and law. The ordinary
grades are imam', mufti, and qa'dhi. The imam1 is prac
tically the "minister of the parish"; leading in prayer at
the mosque, sometimes preaching the sermon, and perform
ing the religious ceremony usual at marriages. The great
mosque at Aleppo has a large staff, supported by the " waqf,"
or religious endowments, including eight imams, five preach
ers, twenty-five teachers, and twelve muadh'dhins, or those
who call to prayer. The qa'dhi is the judge and adminis
trator of the Koranic law. It is customary for him to lead
the prayers at a funeral, though this function may be per
formed by the imam. He also may conduct the marriage
ceremony. The mufti assists the qa'dhi in the capacity of
legal adviser. His " fet'was, " or decisions of different legal
questions, are recognized as authoritative.
In the Koran the believers are commanded, when they
hear the call to prayer on congregation day, to leave all
traffic and hasten to the remembrance of God. The ref
erence is to Friday, the day on which Mohammed entered
latter date by Khalak Khan. Their natural descendants, however, who
resided in Cairo for some three centuries, continued to claim the spiritual
power. From the last of these titular caliphs, Sultan Selim I of the
house of 'Othman obtained, in 1517 A. D., a transfer or cession of rights
to the succession, the legality of which has been strongly disputed and
strongly defended. For a discussion of this much-involved question,
see Hughes's "Dictionary of Islam," article, "Khalifah."
1 The word imam is used by the Sunnis in different senses to de
note the following classes of persons: (1) The khalifah, or successor
of the prophet. (2) The great doctors of divinity. (3) The leader of
prayers in any mosque. For the use of term by the Shiahs, see p. 301.
In the villages of Palestine the term khatib', scribe, school-master, ap
pears to be equivalent to imam.

PRAYER 207
Medinah for the first time. On this day, in Syria and Pales
tine, all government offices are closed. Prayer, then, is at
tended with extraordinary merit, the chief services at the
mosque being at noon.1 It is estimated that at Broussa, the
ancient capital of Turkey, ninety-five per cent of the popu
lation attend the mosque regularly. At Nablus, the ancient
Shechem, now a strong centre of fanaticism, Moslem men
found in the street at this noon hour on Friday are liable to be
stoned by Moslem children. The interiors of the mosques,
large or small, are of striking simplicity. In the south is
the mihrab', or small apse directed toward Mecca.2 To
the right of this should stand the mim'bar, or pulpit. In
many small mosques this is wanting, as there is no preach
ing. On the walls, usually whitewashed, but sometimes
richly decorated with marbles, hang no pictures. No seats
cover the exquisitely neat floor, which may be strewn with
mats. Shoes must be left outside the low bar or partition
at the door. In the centre of the arcaded court-yard often
attached to mosques there is usually a large tank in which
the worshippers perform the preliminary ablutions.
Most mosques in Syria and Palestine, including the most
celebrated, occupy the sites of Christian churches. Such
are the great mosques at Aleppo, Beyrout, Damascus, Je
rusalem, Hebron, and Gaza. Sometimes the old church
was destroyed, sometimes radically remodelled, sometimes
adapted to the new cult with the minimum of alteration.
The sanctuaries or ha'rams at Jerusalem and Hebron il
lustrate the history of three great religions. The enclosing
walls of the Hebron ha'ram are Herodian. At the south
end of the court-yard the crusaders built a church which
the Moslems turned into a mosque. Their claim that the
cenotaphs of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with those of their
wives, are placed above the cave of Macphelah is ordinarily
accepted by scholars. Verification is impossible, as no one is
permitted to search beneath the floor. Indeed, with the
1 The classical name for mosque is mas'jid, that is, a place of worship.
The name ordinarily in use in Syria is ja'mia', or place of congregation.
2 The great mosque at Damascus contains four praying niches for
the respective use of the followers of the four schools of interpretation.

208 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
exception of a half-dozen great personages with their suites,
who have faced the local fanaticism with an imperial per
mit, no Christian is allowed within the enclosure. The
Ha'ram-esh-Sherlf, or noble sanctuary at Jerusalem, in
the view of the Mohammedan world, is second in holiness
only to the great mosques at Mecca and Medinah. The
term ha'ram applies to the whole area, once forming the
temple court, and still enclosed by massive walls, which
contain stones of many periods, including wonder-compel
ling courses of megalithic Jewish masonry, both below and
above ground. Within this area stand the Kub'bet-es-
Sakh'ra, or Dome of the Rock, and the Mas'jid-el-Aq'sa,
which is the chief place of worship in the Holy City. The
former building (wrongly known as the Mosque of Omar),
octagonal in shape, is not ordinarily used as a mosque,
though it contains a praying-niche. It was built as a memo
rial shrine, at the end of the seventh century, by the Caliph
'Abd-el-Me'lik to cover the extended outcrop of rock around
which so many Jewish and Mohammedan traditions have
gathered. According to the former, here is the spot where
Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac; according to the
latter, it was the point of departure for Mohammed, on his
celebrated night journey to paradise. It was probably the
site of the great altar of sacrifice of the Jewish Temple.
During the crusading period the building was turned into
a church called the Templum Domini. The guardianship
is hereditary in one family. It contains famous ancient
copies of the Koran, as well as banners of Mohammed and
'Omar. The Masjid-el-Aqsa on the south wall of the en
closure, was originally built by Justinian as a church to
the Virgin.
Merit, attaching to the Friday devotions, is still further
increased by attending the noon prayer at the Aqsa Mosque.
Here assemble not only the faithful from the Holy City, but
many peasants from the environs. Long before the time
for service, the people begin to choose their places, seating
themselves in long lines across the matted floor, for the nearer
the worshipper is to the imam, or leader, the greater will be
the blessing. Perhaps he may have already offered the in-

PRAYER 209
formal sunnah prostrations in the vast grassy area outside;
if not, he performs them in the place he has secured. Thus,
at the same time, a single line may show worshippers in
every posture of prayer. At noon a dozen or more sheikhs,
in the gallery opposite the pulpit, begin to chant verses of
the Koran, or hymns composed for the service. At the
mention of the name of Mohammed, those who are not taken
up with their own devotions murmur, in true Methodist
style, "God prayed for him and blessed him!" In the
meantime the imam has been donning the especial Friday
vestments — a green cloak or sort of soutane and an ample
green turban. Staff in hand, he walks through the long
lines, preceded by a lesser sheikh acting as verger, to clear
the way. At the gate of the pulpit stairs they pause, while
the verger turns to the people and warns them, by quoting
a saying of the prophet, not to disturb the service, even by
whispering "Be quiet" to a neighbor! While the imam
is making his slow and stately ascent of the high pulpit stairs
with a pause on each step,1 the great mosque is sounding with
the call to prayer. Verse by verse the verger repeats this
adhan; verse by verse it is echoed by the sheikhs in the
gallery; verse by verse it is caught up by a singer at the
door, who in a loud voice passes on the holy summons to
the hundreds of worshippers outside extended in parallel
lines over the ancient court-yard.
The imam has now completed his ascent of the pulpit,
and, staff laid aside, is standing between the two banners
of the mosque, ready to begin the sermon. This lasts for
fifteen or twenty minutes, and may be delivered extempore,
but more often is the sermon for the day read from a printed
book of discourses for every Friday in the year. They treat
of subjects of practical morality: the vanity of the present
world, the evanescence of kingly power, the importance of
good works. After the sermon, the imam offers a prayer
for the sultan, which he may have written out and com
mitted to memory. While he is praying, the people may
take advantage of a favorable opportunity, as they sit silent,
1 The imam sometimes repeats the fat'hah, or first chapter of the
Koran on each step.

210 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
to offer private petitions. Then the imam goes down from the
pulpit and proceeding to the mihrab, or small apse, toward
the south, stands with his back to the people as their leader
in the main function of the service — the two fardh, or obliga
tory prostrations, which, because of the especial merit at
taching to the day, take the place of the usual four. In con
trast to the sunnah, or voluntary prostrations, which, as we
have noticed, each man performs independently, these ob
ligatory rak'ahs are gone through with military precision.
The hundreds of worshippers in long lines make a most
impressive sight: now standing erect, with hands folded on
the breast, now bending downward from the waist, now
down on their knees with forehead touching the ground,
and, at the close, all turning the head to the right and to the
left, as they breathe the word of peace to the spirits of the
departed. At the conclusion of the recital of the fafhah
by the imam, the people murmur "Amen!" and while he is
uttering the next passage from the Koran, they all whisper
together the words of the fat'hah. When the two required
fardh prostrations are over, the lines are often at once
broken up, one man taking a step forward, another a step
backward, as it is usual to change the position before the
two remaining sunnah or voluntary rak'ahs are performed,
independently of the imam, as before. All through the ser
vice representatives of the mendicant pilgrims have been
going between the lines quietly dropping before each man a
leaflet upon which have been written verses from the Koran,
exhorting to charity. A collection is continuously made of
such coins as the worshippers may have put on the papers.
Many remain in the mosque after the service is over, listen
ing to more chanting, or repeating the beautiful names of
Allah, as they tell the ninety-nine beads of the rosary.
III. Fasting and Legal Alms
For the Moslem, the third pillar of practical religion is
fasting. This is regarded as an atonement for sin. While
many seasons are recommended for fasting, it is obligatory
only during the month of Ramadhan, when the Koran was

FASTING AND LEGAL ALMS 211
revealed from heaven. In regard to its observance the
book is most explicit. It begins on the first day of the month
only when a reputable witness is able to announce that he
has seen the new moon. If the night is overclouded at a
given place the fast is postponed there to the second day.
From early dawn, when one can distinguish a white thread
from a black, till sunset, all adults should abstain from
food, water, tobacco, and from every sensuous indulgence,
including even the smelling of flowers. As the Moslem
year is lunar, each Ramadhan occurs eleven days earlier
than the previous, so that in the course of about thirty-
three years it has fallen in the depth of winter, when the
gnawings of hunger lengthen out the short days, as well as
in the fierce heat of summer, when the thirst becomes al
most unbearable.1 From these strict exactions are exempt
young children, infirm persons, and women who are preg
nant or giving suck. The sick and travellers on a journey
of more than three days may remit the fast, but must make
up later an equal number of days. The season is supposed
to offer a means of grace. It is practically a Moslem equiv
alent for Lent. The devout seclude themselves, spending
much of the time in the study of the Koran. To the weight
of every pound of charity done at this season, God is said
to add three pounds. Many give up indulgence in doubtful
practices, such as gambling. Old quarrels are made up.
On the other hand hunger and thirst themselves foster ex
asperation and dispute. "Ramadhan temper" is a recog
nized disorder. Wortabet says: "It is computed that more
cases of divorce take place during this month than in any
other two of the year." 2 Fanaticism is easily aroused.
The rich spend much of the day in sleep, but the poor must
go on earning their daily bread. I can testify to the rigid
observance of the fast-day by the large majority of my half
a hundred peasant workmen in southern Palestine, when
1 As established by the prophet, the Mohammedan year consists of
twelve lunar months, without any intercalation to make it correspond
with the course of the sun, and amounts very nearly to three hundred
and fifty-four days and nine hours.
2 "Religion in the East," op. cit., p. 218,

212 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
Ramadhan fell in the torrid month of May. At noon recess,
instead of eating with the women, almost all the men and
youths lay down to rest till the whistle summoned them to
work again, unrefreshed by food or drink. On the other
hand, some of the townspeople make a pretence of fasting
for the sake of public opinion. " I cannot eat in town," said
a young man whom I found seated by a stream on one of
my country rides near Beyrout; "and as, of course, I must
eat, I am forced to have a picnic with some of my friends
who have just gone home." On the whole, however, fast
ing is much more rigidly observed than are the five daily
hours of prayer. Sometimes this observance is most me
ticulous, as when a woman with a bad throat in the hos
pital demurred to having her tongue held down by an iron
presser, on the ground that nothing should pass her lips.
The rigid conscience of the poor creature doubtless suspected
even the clinical thermometer of concealing some forbidden
nourishment. Ample compensation for the day's fasting is offered by the
night's feasting, which may begin with sunset and last till
dawn, though, as a rule, only two meals are taken. Indeed,
Moslems have assured me that the long hours of fasting leave
the stomach so disinclined for food that a man eats less
than usual. The choicest food of the year, however, is
prepared for the nights of Ramadhan. Confectioners then
drive their richest trade. All the fruits of the season are
temptingly exposed in the shops. Night is turned into day.
The coffee-houses are crowded with men leisurely pulling
at the gayly decorated narghileh, with a sense of luxury
fostered by a day's abstinence from tobacco. The mosques
and minarets are brilliant with lights. One night in Beyrout
I came across a large company seated in an open space near
a mosque, listening to a sort of sacred concert. From the
lofty minaret was borne the sound of the fresh young voices
of boys ornamenting their singing with many a flourish and
roulade and florid cadenza, showing a flexibility of the vocal
cords that a diva might well envy.1 The night's sleep is
1 My recollection does not include the day of the month or the
exact hour of night. The function was probably either the towhish'

FASTING AND LEGAL ALMS 213
short enough in Ramadhan, but it must be interrupted by
the drum, or tom-tom, beaten by the man who goes about, in
the small hours of the morning, chanting a summons to the
faithful to rise and pray, and take their last meal before
making the declaration of fasting for the next day, without
which their abstinence would be of no avail as a religious
rite.1 After the meal care should be taken lest any food be
left even between the teeth.
During Ramadhan after the evening, or last hour of
prayer, twenty additional prostrations, or rak'ahs, should be
offered. In Jersualem, these are performed in the Aqsa
Mosque, which is brightly illuminated. Between every pair
of rak'ahs there is chanting. After the Friday noon prayer,
there is formed in the same place a procession of sheikhs,
dervishes, and people, who then move toward the alleged
tomb of David, or Neby Daud, chanting, as they go, " There
is no God but God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God,"
"God is great," with other sentences. At the shrine they
offer prayers, and then have a huge zikr. This function,
which in its elementary form consists in the repetition of the
divine name alone or in unison, is by no means confined to
the dervishes, as is sometimes supposed. Any set of Mos
lems may come together for a zikr, which is literally "a
remembrance."2 In the Kubbet-es-Sakhra, or Dome of
the Rock, there are especial functions through the month
of Ramadhan. Under the great dome, whose elaborate
arabesques are traced in rich and sombre colors, dimly
or farewell to Ramadhan, which is celebrated in this manner after mid
night, on the last three days of the fast. Or it may have been a mow'-
lad, or a recital of poetry celebrating the birth and miracles of the
prophet, interpolated with singing. The recital may be arranged in
fulfilment of a vow (accompanied by a feast), or may be offered by
a bridegroom, at any time of the year, but especially in Ramadhan, in
a private house or from a minaret.
1 For words of the chant used among the fellahin of Palestine, see
the article by P. F. Baldensperger, entitled "Orders of Holy Men in
Palestine," in " Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund,"
1894, p. 38.
2 It should be noted, however, that the zikr of the uninitiated, called
the zikr of imitation, is not supposed to have the mystical efficacy in
herent in the function when performed by the dervishes. See p. 258.

214 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
glowing in the molten light that filters in through the jewelled
glass studding the windows below, there assemble from noon
on those who would study the Koran from the big volumes
furnished by the guardians. An hour before the afternoon
prayer, sheikhs representing the four great schools of Ortho
dox or sunnite interpretation, begin to lecture in different
parts of the building to groups of followers.1 In front of
the sheikh, who may be seated either on a platform or on the
floor, is a pupil, who reads the verse to be interpreted by the
master. Women are allowed to listen from behind the grille
surrounding the great outcrop of rock, which may have
been the site of Abraham's sacrifice. The afternoon prayer
is said by each sheikh in the place where he has been lectur
ing, acting as imam for his disciples. In the meantime the
governor and staff may have come in to attend the function
of the khafmeh, which follows upon the prayer. Every
day one-thirtieth part of the Koran is chanted by paid singers
from a platform. Near by, leaning on his staff and holding
a big Koran in his lap, sits the imposing figure of the chief
guardian, alert to correct in stentorian tones any mistake
that may be made. At any mention of prostration, he
ponderously gets up, turns to the south, and elaborately
prostrates himself, touching the floor with his forehead, fol
lowed by the whole company. At the end of the chanting,
in which each singer has taken a turn, they all join in the
words: "The great God spake truth." On the twenty-
seventh day is chanted not only a thirtieth portion, but all
that remains, according to the usual procedure with the
khatmeh.2 When the last chapter is finished the guardian
1 See p. 194, foot-note.
2 The khatmeh, or recital of the whole Koran, is a common form of
entertaining guests. A Jerusalem Moslem tells me that it may be also
arranged after a man's death or on some anniversary of the same, by
a relative of the deceased, whose soul is supposed to profit in the other
world. A sheikh is paid for the reading, the bulk of which he may per
form by himself, anywhere he pleases — at home or in the mosque.
The reading is completed at the home of the man who employs him,
before an invited company, and is varied by chanting. The last
twenty-three surahs, or chapters, are read by the guests, each taking
his turn till the final one is finished. After each surah they all for-

FASTING AND LEGAL ALMS 215
brings out a small bottle which is said to contain the hairs
of the prophet, grasps it firmly, and then, guarded by soldiers,
holds it out to the people, who rush up by hundreds to kiss it.
So great is the scramble that children are not allowed at the
ceremony. This concludes the especial services for the month
in the Dome of the Rock, or so-called Mosque of 'Omar.
As the afternoon of the last day of the fast draws to a close
you may see the faithful peering anxiously up to the western
sky for a glimpse of the new moon, whose appearance must
be reported before the feast can be inaugurated. ^This
is the 'Id-el-Futr, the Feast of Breaking the Fast, or 'Id-ez-
Zaghir, the Small Feast, so called in contrast to the Great
Feast, or 'Id-el-Az'ha, which coincides with the great sacri
fice at Mecca at the time of pilgrimage. Joy at having
completed the fast is shown in many ways. In the mosques
there are especial prayers and preaching. Men, women,
and children put on new clothes. In the public places the
young folk whirl in merry-go-rounds or are drawn about
in boats placed on wheels. At this season the dead are
remembered in extended visits to the cemeteries, which in
the cities are crowded with shrouded and veiled women.
Almsgiving is also especially recommended and practised.
This, however, is not that legal alms (zakaf) which con
stitutes the fourth pillar of religion, but rather the voluntary
charity (sa'daqah) which, in the East, brings the benevolent
person so much credit and popularity. In Syria and Pales
tine to be " karim," or generous, indeed covers a multitude
of sins. However, the system of legal alms doubtless has its
roots in the voluntary charitable impulse, which finds a
beautiful expression in the hospitality for which follow
ers of every cult in the near East are so famous. The
root-meaning of the word zakat — purification — indicates the
subjective blessings of giving, for the reference is to the
sanctification of the remainder to the proprietor after he
mally give him the right to transfer the reading to the benefit of the
dead. Then he pronounces out loud the transfer of the reading to
Mohammed and the other prophets, and afterward, in a whisper, the
transfer to the dead man. The analogy in general with masses for the
dead is naturally suggested.

216 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
has parted with a portion of his goods in alms. It is a sort
of religious income tax levied on the kinds of property
which were owned in the half-pastoral land of Arabia in the
seventh century: camels, cattle, sheep and goats, horses,
silver, gold, merchandise, mines, and fruits of the earth. It
may be bestowed upon seven classes: the utterly destitute,
those too poor to be taxed, the tax-gatherers, slaves, debtors,
those engaged in religious warfare, and wayfarers. The tax
rate, which in some cases is to be paid in kind, varies not
only with the character but with the amount of property.
Fruits of the earth, with some exceptions covering conditions
of production as well as definitely named kinds, are taxed
one-tenth. It is estimated that the rate averages at one-
fortieth of the total income. The zakat may be paid into
the hands of official collectors (still found in some Moham
medan countries), but it is lawful for the possessor to dis
tribute his alms for himself. The regulations governing
zakat, based upon the practice of Mohammed, show a com
plexity of detail that is rivalled only by a modern tariff bill.
No Moslem adult, provided he is free and sane, is exempt,
provided he is in possession of a fixed minimum of taxable
property, and provided that his debts are not equal to the
amount of his estate. Zakat is not due upon the necessaries
of life, such as dwelling-houses, clothing, furniture, slaves
employed as actual servants, etc. The following details,
taken at random, may be cited by way of examples of the
ramification of the law. No zakat is due upon less than
five camels, or thirty cattle, or forty sheep; upon any num
ber of camels from ninety-one to one hundred and twenty are
levied two camels' female three-year-old colts; rates between
are particularized with the same exactitude. Above one
hundred and twenty camels the zakat is calculated by the
same rule.1 Unlike a modern tariff bill these regulations
have not been subject to revision. The conscientious Mo
hammedan of the new regime in Turkey, who may own
shares in an electric-light company, when puzzling over his
religious duties in regard to the same, will naturally find no
positive directions in the traditions of the prophet!
1 See Hughes's "Dictionary of Islam,'' article "Zakat."

PILGRIMAGE 217

IV. Pilgrimage

Hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, the religious centre of
Islam, is for its votaries the fifth pillar of religion. "This
annual gathering," says President Washburn, "really con
stitutes something like a pan-Islamic congress, where all
the interests of the faith are discussed at length by repre
sentatives of different countries, and where plans are made
for its defence and propagation." * Pilgrimage is incumbent
on all who are able to perform it, but the Moslem doctors
differ as to what constitutes ability. Among the conditions
named are soundness of mind, maturity, health, solvency,
and safety of the roads. Women should be properly es
corted or chaperoned. A very large proportion of Mos
lems arrive at old age before all these conditions appear to
be fulfilled. A Jerusalem sheikh estimates that only ten
per cent of his townsmen who have passed middle-age have
made the pilgrimage. The same man informed me that the
hajj may be made by proxy in case of a man prevented him
self by sickness or age. He may send his proxy during his
lifetime or arrange for the matter in his will.
This ordinance of the hajj long antedates the rise of
Islam. So firmly fixed in the hearts of the Arabs were many
of the customs in connection with the worship of the Black
Stone of the Ka'aba, that Mohammed decided to retain
them in as pure a form as was possible. Idols of the temple
were swept away; the veneration of the stone was retained.
Whether this decision is to be regarded as a compromise with
idolatry, or as a wise concession in matters of secondary
importance, in the interests of the consolidation of the
followers of the purer faith, depends on the point of view.
A certain parallel exists in the codification of the religion of
Israel, when many practices common to all Semitic religions
were permitted, provided that they were purified from every
taint of polytheism.
1 See his article, entitled " The Probable Influence of the Turkish
Revolution on the Faith of Islam," in "Journal of Race Development,"
January, 1911, p. 303.

218 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
The formal declaration of performing the pilgrimage, or
hajj — essential to make the rite effective, as in the cases of
prayer and fasting — may be made as early as Shawwal', or
the tenth month, though the Meccan rites do not take place
till the twelfth month, known as the Dhu-el-fiij'jah. Till
recently there have been three ways of getting to Mecca
from Syria. The most arduous and expensive method used
to follow the caravan of the mah'mal, or royal litter, which
used to leave Damascus with an often-described pomp, soon
after the Small Feast. Once when travelling across the
treeless highlands to the east of the Jordan and the Dead
Sea, I came across this route of the hajj — over one hundred
and fifty camel-paths, now closely parallel, now running
into each other. Here was an appeal to the imagination!
It was easy to people these desolate tracks with a vast multi
tude, moving toward the south with the gladness of antici
pation, tinged with apprehension of the dangers of attack
from the Bedawln, who have ever regarded the pilgrims
as their proper prey; and later, with broken ranks, moving
toward the north with the sadness of those who have left
their dead in some strange land or perchance in some way
side grave.
This caravan route was abandoned in 1908, when the
railway reached Medinah. This enterprise, conceived by
the infamous 'Izzet Pacha, is the only claim to public spirit
which that evil genius of the old regime can make. Of the
four million Turkish pounds which he was responsible for
collecting, he is said to have appropriated nothing for him
self. This large sum was realized in the form of direct gifts
from the faithful over all the world of Islam, especial stamps
to be affixed by Moslems to certain legal documents, and
levies on the salaries of Turkish officials, who at first were
expected to subscribe one month's salary. The distance
from Damascus to Medinah is 1301.5 kilometres, or about
813 miles. The charge is twenty paras a kilometre first class
and ten paras second class (about two cents and one cent re
spectively), with an additional ten francs (or two dollars)
for each through passenger, to be paid to the Arabs by the
railway company in lieu of the bakshish, or blackmail, they

PILGRIMAGE 219
used to get from the caravan. These sons of the desert still
occasionally express their resentment at the invasion of
their territory by tearing up the rails. While the work was
proceeding it was unsafe for the engineers to wander half
a mile from the line. " I was able to explore farther afield
than the rest," said to me a Moslem engineer bearing a
name famous in early Arab history, who was employed dur
ing the whole period of construction, " because of the respect
for my family name, but I took my life in my hand all the
time." To push the railway over the 250 miles between
Medinah and Mecca will furnish a still more difficult prob
lem, as the Arab cameleers who for centuries have conducted
pilgrims between the two holy cities, will not submit qui
etly to the cutting off of their means of livelihood. The
first year of railway traffic, however, must have been a jubi
lee season to them, for it brought to Medinah some fifteen
thousand pilgrims (transported in ten trains a day for a
week or more), as over against seven thousand or eight thou
sand who formerly joined the caravan. Non-Moslem travel
lers may journey as far as Ma'an, on their way to Petra, but
Medinah remains as inaccessible to them as it was before
the extension of the railway. In fact all railway employees,
at least beyond Ma'an, must be Moslems. Many pilgrims
who went last year by train returned by sea from the port
of Jeddah. This Red Sea route is still the most popular
for the double journey.
On every route there is arranged a halt at the last station
before Mecca where the pilgrim's garb should be assumed:
for the man, two sheets of white cotton cloth, sometimes
fringed and striped with red; one to be thrown over the
back, leaving one arm and shoulder bare, the other to be
wrapped about the loins, falling over the legs. Sandals may
be worn, but not shoes. The head must be shaved and
then kept uncovered during the pilgrimage. The woman
is shrouded in a great sheet, much like her ordinary outer
covering, but in place of the veil is a hideous mask, made
of dried palm-leaves with two holes for the eyes. To the
higher-class Moslem, trained in the dignified traditions
of Islam, accustomed to the simple and stately ritual of

220 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
the mosque, seeing under the elaborate ceremonial of ablu
tion and purification a sane law of hygiene, holding the
ecstasies and professed miracles of the dervishes to be a blot
on religion, the week or ten days which he must spend in or
near Mecca, in the performance of the requirements of
pilgrimage — rites so trivial, so undignified, so revolting to
good taste that Palgrave may well speak of them as "a
strange, unmeaning shroud around the living theism of
Islam" — these must bring in their train little but disillusion
and disgust. On entering Mecca, after drinking of the
nauseous water of the well Zem-Zem, which was discovered
to Hagar by the angel, he must perform the tawaf, or seven
fold circumambulation of the Ka'aba. This cubical struct
ure, called the Beit Al'lah, or House of God, to be described
later, rises in the centre of the court-yard of the Great
Mosque, or Mas'jid-el-fiaram'. Four times he must walk
around slowly, and four times at a trot, unless the order is
reversed, as was done by Burton, who followed the instruc
tions of his cicerone.1 It is also expected of the pilgrim that
he repeat certain ordained prayers at different stations of
the route, and that he fervently press his body against the
Ka'aba, and kiss the Sacred Black Stone at the south-east
corner. On the same day he should perform the sai, or
sevenfold traversal of the distance between the little hills
dignified by the name of the mountains of Sa'fa and Mer'-
wah. For part of each course he must run and for part he
must walk, to show, so some say, the bewilderment felt by
Hagar when in search of water.
These rites are but preliminary to the real liajj, which
1 Our account mainly follows Burton's personal experiences, in 1853,
during his famous visit to the sacred cities, in the disguise of a Moslem.
See the memorial edition of his work: "Personal Narrative of a Pil
grimage to Al-Medinah and Meecah," by Captain Sir Richard F. Bur
ton, two volumes. (London, 1893.) Very few Christians have visited
Mecca, and then only in disguise, at the risk of discovery and death.
The Spanish Christian, Badia y Leblich, preserved his disguise even in
his book, entitled: "The Travels of AU Bey el Abbassi in Morocco,
Tripoli, Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey between the Years 1803 and
1807." (London and Philadelphia, 1816.) Burckhardt's careful obser
vations were made in 1814.

PILGRIMAGE 221
covers only three days — the eighth, ninth, and tenth of Dhu-
el-Hijjah. Accordingly, early on the eighth of the month
the pilgrim starts on his twelve-mile journey to the Mount
of Blessing, or Mount 'Arafat, famed for the reunion of
Adam and Eve, who had been separated on their expulsion
from paradise. As practically the whole local population
joins the procession, the real hajj might well be called a
pilgrimage from Mecca; indeed, the main features occur at
'Arafat and at Mu'na, or Mi'na, which is three miles from
the sacred city. The hill itself is about two hundred feet
high, and about one mile in circumference at its base.
Burton relates that when the pilgrims entered the precincts
of the plain of 'Arafat, in sight of the holy hill, they broke
out, all together, into the pilgrim's cry, constantly raised
during these days, "Labbayk', Allahum'ma, Labbayk'!"
" Here am I! Here am I —
No partner hast Thou, here am I;
Verily the praise and the grace are Thine, and the empire —
No partner hast Thou, here am I! "
The night of this first day — the Yaum-et-Tarwi'hah — may
be spent either near 'Arafat or at Muna.
The second day of the hajj is called Yaum 'Arafat. The
noon and afternoon prayers, condensed and joined together,
are said at the Masjid (place of worship) of Abraham on
the mountain, and then follows the waquf, or "standing
on 'Arafat," where the army of pilgrims from all parts of
the Moslem world take their places to listen to the three-
hour sermon, preached by the khatib, who is seated on a
dromedary, near the summit of the hill. What an audience!
Burton, in 1853, estimated fifty thousand, including some
ten thousand Meccans. The estimate for 1880 is ninety-
three thousand two hundred and fifty. The favorite posi
tion for listening is on the lower slopes, but, of course, such
numbers must be spread over the plain. The sermon is
punctuated by sobs and cries, and shrieks of "Labbayk,"
from the vast audience, for it is supposed to be a time for
weeping. At sunset begins the terrible "hurry from 'Ara
fat." It is part of the ceremony to cover the three miles

222 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
between the mountain and Muzda'lifah, where the night is
to be spent, in the shortest possible time. Riders and pedes
trians start off at full speed. The mad rush degenerates
into a chaotic confusion, in which pilgrims may be trampled
under foot, and even camels are overthrown.
^ The third day of the hajj, called Yaum-el-Nahr, also
'Id-el-Qurban,1 is celebrated over all Islam as the Great
Feast, or 'Id-el-Az'ha. In Turkey and Egypt it is popularly
known as Bairam. The sacrifices made that day at Muna
commemorate the vicarious sacrifice of Abraham — popularly
connected with the name of Ishmael, notwithstanding that
the Koran plainly refers to Isaac as the intended victim.
The festival prayers, called by Burton " the great solemnity
of the Moslem year," are supposed to be performed by the
whole community at break of day at Muzdalifah. Here
each pilgrim should collect seven pebbles, to be hurled later
at the Muna monument called the Great Devil. Burton
reports that the mob of stone-throwers was so densely packed
that a man might have walked over their heads. Attempt
ing to get through the crowd of fighting men and rearing
horses, he escaped from being trampled only by a " judicious
use of the knife." Then may follow the sacrifice of animals —
a camel, an ox, a sheep, according to the man's station.
The beast's head being turned toward the Ka'aba, the pil
grim usually cuts the throat himself. The sacrifice, how
ever, is not obligatory, being "sunnah," or based on the
practice of the prophet, and as a substitute one may fast ten
days. In Burton's time hardly more than ten per cent seem
to have sacrificed, as he estimated the slaughtered animals
at between five and six thousand. The flesh falls to the lot
of the poor. On this third day, either before or after the
sacrifice, many pilgrims hasten to Mecca — this trip is called
the "flight" — for another circumambulation of the Ka'aba,
and perhaps a visit to the interior.
According to tradition, many have been the vicissitudes
of this Beit Allah, or House of God. The first structure,
erected by Adam, from a model existing in heaven, having
been destroyed by the deluge, was rebuilt by Abraham with
1 Qurban means offering.

PILGRIMAGE 223
the help of Ishmael. To the latter the angel Gabriel gave
a stone (originally white, but later made black by the sins
of the people) to mark the corner. This is described as
an aerolite, some seven inches across, in shape an irregular
oval, inserted in the south-east corner of the Ka'aba, four or
five feet from the ground. The building itself is a large
cube, measuring eighteen paces by fourteen and about
thirty-five feet high. The present construction dates from
1627, the previous building having been overthrown by a
flood. But this was only one of many reconstructions since
the time of Abraham, not the least important taking place
when the grandfather of Mohammed was its custodian. The
first man to surround it with a mosque was the caliph 'Omar.
It is protected by the kis'weh, a huge black covering, a mixt
ure of cotton and silk, interwoven with seven chapters of
the Koran, which are legible from a distance. A verse
from the book is also found on the golden band which runs
around the kisweh. This covering, brought from Cairo by
especial caravan, is renewed every year at the time of the
hajj. There is little to see inside this celebrated building
beyond a pretty pavement and some good tapestries, but
the guardians are very importunate. Burton, who left
seven dollars behind him, was congratulated, when he
emerged, on having escaped with his skin. Shut up in the
close, windowless room, encircled by the fierce, extortionate
Meccans, he had felt like a rat in a trap.
The night of this third day the pilgrim usually spends at
Muna. After the sacrifice, or after the ceremony of stoning,
in case he does not sacrifice, he resumes his ordinary dress,
and may once more have his hair cut, his head shaved, and
his nails pared. The next three days, called Ayyam'-et-
Tashrik', or the days of drying flesh (a horrible commentary
on the sanitary conditions after the holocaust), should be
spent at Muna. Each day the pilgrim should throw seven
stones at each of the three pillars called devils. Then Muna,
suddenly deserted of its teeming population, resumes its or
dinary deserted appearance for another year. Before leav
ing Mecca the pilgrim drinks once more from the well Zem-
Zem, again makes the circumambulation of the Ka'aba, and

224 THE FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
bids a formal adieu to the sacred haram. He is forbid
den to take away cakes of earth from the dust of the mosque,
as the practice is supposed to savor of idolatry. How
ever, it is common among the ignorant, who also take home
to their friends water from the Zem-Zem. When word
comes to his native town that a pilgrim is returning from
Mecca, a large crowd goes out to escort him in with banners
and music. When the new hajj, or pilgrim, as he is thence
forth called, reaches his home, the following ceremony often
takes place: A sheep is stretched outside his door, or even
over the threshold, with its head toward Mecca; as the pil
grim steps over it, the animal is killed so that the blood runs
between his feet. This sheep may be presented by a friend
who has vowed it in case of the pilgrim's safe return. A
similar practice is not unknown among Christian peasants
on the return of a pilgrim from Jerusalem.1 Moslems also
may practise it in case of a safe return from any journey.
1 This fact was gathered by Rev. Samuel Ives Curtiss during his last
journey. See Preface.

CHAPTER V
THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
Introductory Note
Our last chapter furnished abundant illustration of the
formalism and rigidity of the religious system of Islam, as
expressed in its doctrine and ritual, and as incarnated in its
'ulama, or doctors of the law. These elements were felt in
the earliest years, hence in the earliest years was developed
sufiism (tasaw'waf), which in its relations to Islam may
be briefly characterized as an attempt to express the spirit
ual and mystical side of the new religious movement.1 The
principles of sufiism, however, so far antedate the rise of
Islam that their influence may be traced back through the
later Alexandrian School to Persia, and finally to their ori
gin in Indian mysticism. As, logically, these principles tend
toward pantheism, they would seem to be irreconcilable
with the strict monotheism of Islam, but, as has often been
pointed out, logical inconsistency does not disturb the East
ern mind as it does the Western. He who would follow
sufiism aims by certain religious practices to attain such a
condition of moral purity that he may see God face to face
and become united to Him. This, then, is the end of sufiism,
but to this end lead many ways. Indeed, it is by the name
of the ways that the religious orders, at least eighty-eight in
number, which have sprung from the sufi idea, are known
to their votaries. Agreeing in the same body of principles,
they differ in particulars of organization and practice. All
acknowledge the ba'raka, or blessing, divine spark trans-
1 Many derivations have been suggested for the word sufi, or mystic,
but it probably refers to the "suf," or wool, with which the early fol
lowers of the doctrine clothed themselves. 225

226 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
mitted from the founder through unbroken chains of saints,
by means of the ward (pronounced ouard), or initiation,
and made effective by the discipline of the zikr, or calling
upon the name of God, according to various formulas. The
followers of the ways, or dervishes,1 as they are called in
Turkey, have the same aim as have the 'ulama, or doctors
of the law, to know the will of God, but while the latter ex
pound this will as revealed exclusively in a book, the former
strive to find it also in their own hearts when these shall have
been purged and purified. It is customary for Western
writers to emphasize an antagonism between the two classes.
In the nature of things this is bound to exist, but I have not
found in Syria and Palestine traces of that bitter enmity
which appears, for example, in North Africa and India.
The Syrian 'ulama may themselves be dervishes. A recent
candidate for the office of mufti in Beyrout, or legal and
religious adviser, is the chief local sheikh of the dervish
order of the Shazillyeh, whose doctrines are supposed to
verge on pantheism. As far as the ordinary Moslems are
concerned, these orders or ways exert a far more vital in
fluence than does the body of 'ulama. "Notwithstanding
this hierarchical organization," say Depont and Coppolani,
our great authorities on the orders, "the real force of the
Mohammedan world lies in a power apart, a mysterious
sphere, deriving its almost incredible prestige from an
authority whose might differs from that of the 'ulama,
since, in the eyes of the believers, it emanates from Divinity
itself." 2
The dervish orders thus trace their origin to the earliest
days of Islam. Soon after the Hegira, or flight to Medinah,
there were founded by Abu Bekr and 'Ali, respectively,
two fraternities, whose members were bound together by
vows to hold all things in common and to perform certain
religious exercises. A Syrian dervish sheikh explained to
me that a community of goods was a practical necessity
1 The word dervish is derived from a Persian word signifying a men
dicant seeking doors.
2 " Les Confreries Religieuses Musulmanes, par Octave Depont et
Xavier Coppolani," Introduction, ix (Alger, 1897).

THE MOHAMMEDAN HAGIOLOGY 227
arising from the utter destitution of the members who in
their flight had left all behind them. Abu Bekr and 'Ali
each appointed a successor called a khall'fy, who in turn
passed on the succession. Later on disintegration set in,
with a consequent weakening of the organisms, but "the
way," or essence of doctrine and practice, was handed on
from individual to individual, so that in every period of its
history Islam has been permeated with brethren recognizing
each other by secret signs and grips. From time to time
there arose, among these, great teachers, who by sheer force
of personality attracted a band of followers, but with their
death these followers usually fell away, becoming merged
in the unorganized body of sufis, or mystics. Reorganiza
tion into distinct orders, which continue to be a power to-day,
began in the twelfth century with the great 'Abd-el-Qa'dir-
ej-Jila'ni.1 The bodies chiefly represented in Syria and
Palestine date from the twelfth to the fifteenth century.
Diplomas accrediting the sheikhs of these orders contain
an unbroken chain of names, beginning with the holder,
first running back to the founder of the order in the Middle
Ages, and then through the earlier centuries to Abu Bekr or
to 'Ali. Thus the essential unity of all these orders is
acknowledged. They have accordingly been likened to
the various sects of Protestantism. Powerful organizations,
now prominent in North Africa, have originated in modern
times.
I. The Mohammedan Hagiology
On one of its sides the study of the religious orders of
Islam is but a small part of the larger study of the saints
of Islam. Each founder of a way or order is now regarded
as a saint, or we'ly, that is, a friend of God, because, like other
great welies each was supposed to have a secret from God.2
1 The principles of organization appear to have originated with
Sheikh Alwan who founded the Alwaniyeh in the year 766 A. D., but
the order is not counted to-day among the powerful and widely ex
tended fraternities.
2 Wely is the name applied to a saint after his death.

228 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
As welies they have an influence far beyond the limits of
their particular followings. These founders of orders do
not number one hundred, but the welies in general are count
less. Their shrines are scattered over the Mohammedan
world. In their cult may be found a very practical modifica
tion of the pure monotheism of Islam. Hence a prelimi
nary word about the doctrine of the saints is in place. The
hagiology of Islam forms an immense subject. The late
Dr. Samuel Ives Curtiss found a book in the library of the
great mosque in Aleppo giving the names of two hundred
and ninety-one saints of that place alone.1 Shrines are
dedicated to the prophets (most of whom also appear in
the Jewish and Christian scriptures) ; to the companions of
Mohammed; to the founders of orders; to other characters
famous, in Moslem history; and finally, to a multitude of
holy men, local and obscure, some of whom may have been
forgotten Christian saints! For the uneducated Moslem,
whether peasant or dweller in the town, the cult of the
shrines is as vital as are the five pillars or ordinances of
religion: confession of the creed, prayer, fasting, alms,
and pilgrimage. For some it would seem to be more vital.
"Saints" were often sufis, or seekers after union with God,
but in the cult of their shrines the pure sufi idea is obscured
and distorted. The 'ulama, quoting the example of the
caliph 'Omar, who ordered the felling of a tree under which
Mohammed used to meet his followers, lest it become an
object of idolatrous veneration, denounce the cult, which
is built on the practice of making and paying vows to welies.
Vows, they teach, should be paid to God alone. The more
intelligent of the common people justify the cult on the
ground that while the vows are made to God, these may be
paid at some particular shrine whose wely is especially
beloved of God. The cult, indeed, exalts holiness. The
object, however, is not to secure personal holiness by direct
communion with God, but to turn to personal account the
holiness of the wely. The cult of saints has much the
1 Other valuable information contained in this section comes from
the journals of Dr. Curtiss, some of which are now used for the first
time. See Preface.

THE MOHAMMEDAN HAGIOLOGY 229
same history in every religion. The ignorant Moslems
vow to the wely directly, in the belief that he may turn from
them some evil directed against them by God himself.
In any case the welies are sought in time of trouble. If
there were no trouble, so naively argues the peasant, there
would be no need of the welies. To the shrines flock bar
ren women, yearning for children, and there are brought
the sick, the paralytic, and the possessed or insane to receive
direct benefit from the holy influence of the welies whose
spirits are supposed to inhabit the shrines. So deeply im
bedded is the cult that, notwithstanding the teaching of the
'ulama, shrines are even found connected with mosques,
sometimes occupying the chief place. Even at the great
mosque at Damascus, where the three shrines are subsid
iary, people fulfil their vows of sheep by slaughtering these
at the north side of the court around the pool. Official
Islam recognizes sacrifices on but two occasions: first on
the third day of the Mecca pilgrimage, when bloody sacri
fices commemorative of Abraham's consent to offer up his
son are permitted, not only at Muna, but all through the
Mohammedan world;1 and, in the second place, on the
birth of a child, when it is incumbent on the parent to offer
a dedicatory and eucharistic animal sacrifice. Sacrifices,
however, play an important though unauthorized r61e in
the payment of vows at shrines. The placing of the blood
upon the forehead of the one on behalf of whom the vow is
made, indicating to Dr. Curtiss a substitutionary character
lacking in the above instances, appears to be confined, as a
rule, to the rural districts; the "sacrifices" in the towns tak
ing more the form of alms given to the poor.2
1 See p. 222.
2 The latest note-books of Dr. Curtiss contain additional material
touching on these questions, which he did not live to systematize.
The whole subject of "sacrifice" in Arabic-speaking lands is compli
cated by the fact that the same verb ^i is used both for ceremonial
killing and for the ordinary killing of animals by the butcher; and that
the same noun jiLsXJii is used for ani animal killed for food and for a
slain offering. In lands where meat does not form part of the daily

230 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
But bloody sacrifices are only a small part of the system
of vows which includes not only products of the earth, costly
handkerchiefs and carpets, but the promising of girls to the
descendant of some noted saint. One powerful wely, Sidna
'Ali, near Jaffa, is reputed to be able to attract to himself
votive offerings of grapes, wheat, or bread, thus saving the
trouble of a journey to the one vowing!1
Materially considered, the shrines are of many kinds,
ranging from a rude circle of stones around an ordinary flat
grave, under an oak tree, to a costly mausoleum with one or
more domes. It should not be necessary to emphasize the
fact that while the cult is contrary to a strict interpretation
of the Koran, it does not tolerate any semblance of an image.
Within a built shrine are to be found only a mihrab, or
prayer-niche, directed toward the south, a lamp or lamps,
and often a pitcher of water for the pilgrim. Visitors often tie
rags on the window of the building, or even on a tree, merely
in memory of their visit. Sometimes the shrines are un
guarded, though the power of the wely prevents the theft of
votive offerings. But each important shrine has its ser
vant; the more important may have several. Among the

diet any event of importance — such as a circumcision, a wedding, the
arrival of a guest, the building of a house, a meeting for reconciliation,
the return of pilgrims, the payment of vows, even in modern times
the opening of a railway— is especially signalized by a "killing." In
some instances the ceremonial or religious element in the act clearly
predominates; in others a purely utilitarian or social element ob
tains; in still others the two elements appear to be held in balance;
while in a large number of cases it requires delicate discrimination on
the part of the investigator to decide whether the ceremonial element
enters at all into the consciousnness of the one "killing." The whole
subject still awaits further study. Dr. Curtiss, in his "Primitive Se
mitic Religion To-day," does not appear to have fully realized the utili
tarian use of the word.
1 See article entitled "Orders of Holy Men in Palestine," pp. 22-38,
by P. J. Baldensperger, found in the " Quarterly Statement of the Pal
estine Exploration Fund for 1894"; this citation is from p. 33. The
whole article is a storehouse of practical information regarding our
subject, based on intimate personal experience, as the author was born
in Palestine and lived among the fellahin. The material, though not
well systematized, is of the highest value.

THE MOHAMMEDAN HAGIOLOGY 231
duties are the lighting of the lamp on Thursdays and the re
ception of pilgrims. Sometimes the office is hereditary, and
may be in the line of the wely's own family. In any case it
is profitable, for the servant has a share in the vowed sacri
fices and other votive offerings. Well known to Syrian
folk-lore is the story satirizing the holders of this office, as
well as the easy manufacture of new saints. The servant
of a popular shrine sent his attendant off to seek his fort
une with a few provisions and a donkey. The young man
lost his way, his food gave out, his donkey died and was
buried in the sand. While he was lamenting, the leader of
a passing caravan demanded the cause of his grief. " It is
that I have no means wherewithal to build a tomb over the
grave of a great saint that I have just discovered." Much
moved, the caravan leader left a generous gift. Thus en
couraged, the youth repeated his tale with such substantial
results that he was enabled to erect a handsome shrine.
Many years after, to this wely, now become rich and fa
mous, travelled the former master, who, unexpectedly rec
ognizing his old servant, begged for the truth as to the
origin of this mysterious saint. Under seal of confidence
this was revealed. "But," added the servant of the new
shrine, "confidence for confidence, tell me now, O master,
what was the origin of the saint at thy shrine?" The old
sheikh stroked his beard for a moment, and then answered :
"Wullah! It was the father of thy donkey!"
The term wely is used not only for the dead saint, but
for his place of burial or commemoration. Like the Chris
tian monasteries, the Moslem shrines often dominate the
landscape. Some of them with a reputation as wide as the
Moslem world attract pilgrims from distant lands. Some
radiate their influence over a limited area, where, indeed, they
are supreme. When encamped near the shrine of the Falujy,
in southern Palestine, I found that my local workmen, who
thought little of forswearing themselves by the Almighty,
would tell the truth if conjured by the Falujy. In case of
theft, suspects were cross-examined at his shrine as it was
believed he would cause to spit blood those who denied their
guilt. For the welies are considered as persons still living,

232 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
and, on occasion, mingling with men. The personality of
the Khudr, the Ever-Living One, of whose synthesis with
Elijah and Saint George we have spoken before,1 may be said
to permeate the Holy Land. Sometimes the welies hold
direct communication with the living. Baldensperger tells
of a certain Sheikh 'Othman, who at the command of the
Sultan Bedr, his long-dead ancestor, natural as well as spir
itual, remained dumb for a number of years, in order that
he might keep from sin, refusing to utter a word till the
saint withdrew the injunction.2 Sometimes the welies take
strange incarnations. The same writer relates another curi
ous story of Sultan Bedr. "When Ibrahim Pasha was
ruler of Palestine, he took away many lands belonging to
welies and such holy men, but when he sent soldiers to take
Deir-esh-Sheikh, a swarm of bees kept them back. Then
they knew that these bees were no other than Sultan Bedr
defending his abode." 3
We have already pointed out how intimately the subjects
of the religious orders and of the shrines interpenetrate.
Both belong to the same world of miracle and magic, as real
to the peasant as the veritable, material earth. The Khudr
to whom there are raised in Syria and Palestine more shrines
than to any other wely, is said to impart the baraka, or
miraculous power, to founders of the orders. The folk-lore
of the land abounds in tales of these, especially of 'Abd-el-
Qadir ej-Jilani, Ahmed er-Refa'i, Ahmed el-Bedawy, and
Ibrahim ed-Dusuki, whose names are attached to the orders
respectively founded by each, and who are linked together
as the four poles, living on the four sides of the earth, which
they uphold. They are also likened to four trees, the rest
of the welies being mere branches. Of them pre-existence is
predicated. Though born in the Middle Ages, they are said
to have lived in the spirit before Mohammed. The tombs
of all founders are most important shrines, not only for the
members of the orders, but for all who are in trouble. The
most notable is the tomb of 'Abd-el-Qadir ej-Jilani, in Bagh
dad, but Syria, too, possesses the shrine of a popular founder.
1 See p. 10.
2 See Baldensperger's article (op. cit.), p. 35. ' Ibid.

THE MOHAMMEDAN HAGIOLOGY 233
At Jeba, a few miles north of Damascus, is the tomb of
Sa'ad-ed-Din, the founder of the Sa'adiyeh order of der
vishes, a derivative of the Qadiriyeh, and known also as the
Jabawiyeh. The village and its environs, being the property
of this wely, are free from taxation, and its men, who are
mainly descendants of the saint, are free from military ser
vice by imperial order. Indeed, 'Abd-el-Hamid is said to
have contributed five hundred pounds for the repair of the
maqam, or shrine. The saint's influence still controls the
vicinity. The houses need no doors. Cattle may wander
at will, so the servant told Dr. Curtiss, and should a thief
dare to touch one of the herd, he would be turned into a
swine, or some other animal, while the cow would return
to the shrine.1 Any one calling on Sa'ad-ed-Din, no matter
where he may be, on land or sea, no matter to what race or
religion he may belong, will get help and succor.
A similar belief is attached to the four poles who to this
very day are said to appear among men, for help or for tak
ing vengeance, as surely in their waking as in their sleeping
hours. Sometimes the two r6les may be combined in one.
Two Copts in Egypt, so a Jerusalem dervish told me, tired
of toiling for a living, assumed the red turban of the Beda-
wiyeh dervishes, and started forth on a tour of the Moslem
villages where their Christian origin was not known, con
fident that the simple fellahin would without question
serve them with the best of the land, in recognition of their
holiness. At nightfall they came to a prosperous-looking
village. As soon as their presence was known, the peasants
vied with each other in bringing forth food, but the two Copts
were told that before claiming the rights of dervishes to
this common hospitality they must prove these by jumping
into a great fire of logs and coals glowing in the open place
of assembly. Were they, in truth, dervishes, they must
surely come forth unharmed; so, if they would eat, into
the fire first! The pseudo-dervishes exchanged a glance,
turned to the people, and asked if they might go apart
for a moment. Obtaining their wish, they withdrew out
of sight, tucked up their garments, and ran for their lives.
1 Compare I Samuel 7 : 12.

234 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
Then, great and terrible, loomed in their path Sheikh
Ahmed er-Refa'i, dead for centuries, but still lord of those
who may tread on fire and eat live coal without harm,
prompt to avenge the insult done to his fellow-sheikh,
Ahmed el-Bedawy, whose disciples these lying Christians
claimed to be. "Go back," he said, "and do what the
people tell you!" Blinded by the double terror, the two
Copts stumbled back to the open place, and leaped among
the coals, never doubting that they would horribly perish.
But lo! they came out unscathed, and the people, abun
dantly convinced of their dervishhood, not only pressed
upon them the gathered food, but brought forth sheep and
donkeys as presents to the holy men. These went on
their way, reflecting. In what better way could they show
their gratitude to the Refa'i, whose mercy had averted a
just punishment, than by professing in truth the faith which
they had mocked? And so they became Moslems.
It is important to note that all such tales implicitly rec
ognize the subordination of the miraculous powers of the
welies to the one God, who may see fit to render them in
fallible. A dervish told me that his great founder, 'Abd-
el-Qadir himself, whose name means Servant of the All-
Powerful, once was asked by a woman with child whether
she had conceived a boy or a girl. At once he declared
that he had miraculous, tangible proof that it was a boy.
When, later, it was told the sheikh that the woman had
brought forth a girl, he said: "The Power of the All-
Powerful has conquered the Servant of the All-Powerful!"
II. The Dervish Organization
Of the eighty-eight religious orders of Islam, at least
nine have representation in Syria and Palestine.1 The fol
lowers of the Qadiri'yeh, Refa'i'yeh, Bedawi'yeh, Dusuqi'-
yeh and Sa'adi'yeh, all closely allied, are by far the most nu-
1 See "Marabouts et Khouan," pp. 26-51, by Louis Rinn (Alger,
1884). He gives the names and founders of eighty-eight orders.
Some of these are offshoots or derived orders. A Syrian dervish sheikh
estimated the number of orders at forty-four.

THE DERVISH ORGANIZATION 235
merous, being found, in Palestine proper, almost to the ex
clusion of all other orders.1 Sheikhs may belong to four of
these orders at once, a privilege not usually accorded to the
lay-followers. Members of any one order are admitted to
the meetings of any other. They may have a za'wiyeh, or
dervish house, in common. The Qadiri'yeh, founded by
Sheikh 'Abd-el-Qa'dir ej-Jila'ni or Keila'ni, a sherif or de
scendant of the prophet (died at Baghdad, 1165 A. D.), is
the parent order (Tari'qa-el-usul'). His natural descend
ants (who may or may not become members of the order
by initiation) have special privileges to-day, such as exemp
tion from military service. Members of the wealthy Keilani
family of Damascus and Hamath show high breeding and
polished manners. As with other sherifian orders, whose
founders were of the family of Mohammed, a certain pres
tige attaches to the initiated members also.
The Refa'i'yeh and the Sa'adi'yeh are derivatives of the
Qadiri'yeh (Turuq' el furu"a), the former founded by Ah'-
med er-Refa"i (died at Bosrah, 1182 A. D.), nephew of
'Abd-el-Qadir, and the latter, also called Jebawi'yeh, by
Sa'ad-ed-Din ed-Je'bawi (died at Je'ba, 1335 A. D.). Lane
regards the Sa'adiyeh as a sub-sect of the Refa'iyeh; Bal
densperger does not use the distinctive name but appears to
refer to members of the Sa'adiyeh when speaking in general
of the Refa'iyeh. Descendants of Sheikh Ahmed er-Refa'i,
bearing also the name of Refa'iyeh, which thus signifies a
natural as well as a spiritual descent, are scattered all over
the land. The family is said to include some tribes of the
Arabs. Some fifty years ago, Abu-el-Hu'da, chief of the
order at Constantinople, obtained an imperial permit free
ing them from military service. Such exemption is also
accorded to the family of the Sa'adiyeh, who form the
population of the village of Jeba where their ancestor and
founder of the order was buried. The Bedawiyeh, founded
by Ah'med el-Be'dawi, who is said to have been a celibate2
1 Baldensperger (see his article, op. cit.) recognizes no other orders in
Palestine proper. As to the close connection between these orders the
reader is referred to the remarks on the four poles, p. 232.
2 Notwithstanding this fact, Baldensperger asserts that he is supposed
to be indulgent toward adulterers. (See his article, op. cit, p. 32.)

236 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
(died at Tantah, Egypt, 1276, A. D.), and the Dusuqi'yeh,
founded by Ib'rahim ed-Dusu'qi (died at Dusuq, Egypt,
1278, A. D.), follow ecstatic principles similar to those of
the mother order of the Qadiriyeh. Each order is signal
ized by a cap and banner of a distinctive color.
Such are the most popular orders in Syria and Palestine,
having the greatest following among the multitude. Next
in importance comes the order of the Mowlawi'yeh, or
so-called whirling dervishes, founded by Jelal' ed-Din,
Mowla'wa (died Kq'niah, 1273 A. D.), with houses at
Aleppo, Damascus, Hums, and Tripoli. This order, most
popular in Asia Minor, appears to have no influence in
Palestine proper. The same may be said of the order of
the Shazili'yeh, which occupies, as we shall see, a unique
place among dervish fraternities. The spiritual appeal of
mystic doctrine which they make is very different from the
thaumaturgic appeal of signs and wonders, which accredit
the ordinary dervish with the peasantry. Their founder
was Abu Ha'san esh-Sha'zili (died at Mecca, 1258 A. D.).
The Kalandari'yeh (offshoot of the Bakhtashi'yeh or Bagh-
dashi'yeh, founded by the Haji Bakhtash', died 1357) have
an establishment in Aleppo, where celibacy is practised.
Finally, at Damascus, under a sheikh of their own, recog
nized or at least tolerated by the Turkish authorities, may
be found a few secret followers of the famous North Afri
can order, the Senusi'yeh, founded in 1835 by Mohammed
ibn-Senu'si (died, Jerabub, in the Libyan Desert, 1859).
Each of these orders is connected by the " chain of succes
sion" (sil'sileh), as proved by the diploma (sa'nad) of the
sheikhs, with the original society founded by 'Ali, son-in-
law of the prophet; except the Kalandari'yeh which derives
from that of Abu Bekr, his father-in-law.
All general statements regarding the organization of the
orders should be prefaced by the caution that these do not
necessarily hold true for any given branch of any given
order, in any given place, at the present time. Organiza
tion, perfected when the order was founded, has always
shown the tendency to disintegrate. The closer in time an
order is to its founder the more perfect will be its organiza
tion. Thus the order the most rigidly organized to-day is

THE DERVISH ORGANIZATION 237
that of the Senusiyeh, established only seventy-five years
ago in North Africa. It, however, was the result of a split
in the order of Khudiri'yeh, founded a century and a
quarter before. Most of the orders represented in Syria
and Palestine to-day date from the Middle Ages. The not
able lack of cohesion now apparent among the branches
existing in these lands, including those of the mother order
of the Qadiriyeh, by no means represents the theory of or
ganization actually put in practice when the orders were
established, and still prevailing, though in limited way, in
the branches of the Qadiriyeh found in North Africa.
With this caution in mind, we may now set forth the
principles and facts at the basis of all the dervish orders.1
At the head of the order is the sheikh, usually resident at
the mother za'wiyeh, or monastery, built near the tomb of
the founder, of whom, according to the rules of many or
ders, he is a direct descendant according to the flesh. The
sheikh is the grand master of the order, a veritable pontiff;
its spiritual and temporal director; inheritor of the baraka,
or blessing, imparted to the founder by the Almighty; dis
tributor of this, through initiation, to others; having a
perfect knowledge of the law of God; exercising the gift of
miracles; and claiming absolute obedience from all his fol
lowers. Theoretically, he alone is entitled to the name of
sheikh, but in most of the orders this is accorded by courtesy
and usage to all his subordinates, however humble, who, as
his representatives, admit to initiation. Among the Qadi
riyeh and allied orders these representatives are divided into
two ranks: a member of the higher rank is called khali'fy
(successor, deputy, vicar), who controls the muqud'dims
(prepositi) placed under him, and thus constituting a lower
rank.2 In other orders the title of muquddim alone ob-
1 See the invaluable work of Depont and Coppolani, " Les Confre'ries
Religieuses Musuhnanes, pp. 193 ff. (Alger, 1897); "The Dervishes or
Oriental Spiritualism," pp. 191 ff., by J. P. Brown (London, 1868).
Compare "The Religious Orders of Islam," by E. Sell, of Madras. This
appeared originally as an article in his "Essays on Islam" (1901), but
was republished separately with additions in 1908.
2 Khali'fah (&ju\h*) is derived from the word khalf (i- iLLs»), which
means "behind," and thus signifies a successor or the one left behind.

238 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
tains. From the mother zawiyeh go forth khalifies, or
muquddims, or both, to organize and preside over branch
establishments, either in the same country, or in distant
lands. Once or twice a year the sheikh issues pastoral
letters summoning his subordinates to a council or assembly
(had'rat), where reports are made of the temporal and spir
itual condition of each zawiyeh. In orders where the office
of sheikh is not hereditary, the business of the assembly
may include the election of one of the members, noted for
his ability and piety, as successor to the head of the order,
deceased, though in some cases the sheikh may already have
named his own successor in agreement with his followers.
And, finally, we have the mass of adepts, who may be called
the laymen of the order, as they have not the power of or
dination or of initiation, though through initiation they may
derive a share of the miraculous powers transmitted to their
initiators from the central source. These adepts, who are
variously called dervishes, brethren, companions, or ser
vants, fall into two classes: first, those who follow the as
cetic life, either domiciled in the zawiyehs (monasteries) or
wandering as begging "faqirs";1 and, second, those who
live in the world, like the tertiaries organized by the Fran
ciscans, carrying on their ordinary occupation, be it farm
ing or trade, but attending the meetings and observing cer
tain rites of the order. These form by far the larger class
in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine.1 Even initiating sheikhs of
the humbler class may, in these lands, earn their living by
The term khalifah is relative. The sultan is regarded as the khalifah
(caliph), or successor to the prophet. The head of a dervish house is a
khalifah with reference to his (sometimes hypothetical) superior. His
under-sheikhs are khaltfahs with reference to him. The word khalf
also gives us the verb khallaf (v-iLLb>), signifying to leave behind, and
thus to bear, to beget. This verb is applied to the sheikh, or khalifah,
to describe his act of investing deputies or successors, begetting them
in the spiritual sense. It is to be noted that in this chapter we trans
literate from the popular pronunciation of the word which in Syria and
Palestine is sounded khali'fy.
¦The primitive meanings of the words "faqlr"' ( -xfti) and "fu'-
qur" ( Jii) are "poor" and "poverty." Baldensperger uses the latter
also in a secondary sense, as "scenes of fuqur," referring to dervish
demonstrations of Thursdays. (See his article, op. cit, p. 34.)

THE DERVISH ORGANIZATION 239
following a trade. Baldensperger, who writes of the orders
in Palestine from intimate personal observation, refers to
members of this class as " unrecognized dervishes, " in con
trast with the faqirs, whom he describes as "active" or
"wandering" dervishes, who take the vow of poverty, let
their hair grow, and assume the cap and spear of their
lord, that is, of the founder of the order. Some dervishes,
he says, become "active" immediately on initiation, but
the majority take up the life of mendicancy after having
lived as unrecognized dervishes for years. It is possible to
revert to a secular life but this is not common.1 We have
spoken thus far of all members of the orders in the mascu
line gender, but it should be emphasized that the benefits of
the orders are accorded to women, who may even aspire to
the rank of muqud'dim. Examples of female dervishes in
Palestine have come to my notice, though I understand they
are rare.
Such is the dervish organization — comparable in its con
catenation to the monastic system of Western Christianity
— that was put in practice by the founders of the orders
still represented in Syria and Palestine.2 How it has come
about that few traces of this elaborate, closely knit system
of control are to be found among the dervishes living in
these lands to-day may be explained by a brief review of
the history of the Qadiriyeh, the mother order of the most
influential group. The founder of the order, 'Abd-el-Qadir
ej-Jilani, was buried, as we have noted, at Baghdad in
1165. Here continues to be the residence of the direct suc
cessor and representative of the founder, whose succession
must now be confirmed by the Sultan of Turkey, where the
order is most popular, with some twenty dervish houses in
Constantinople. In course of centuries, secondary estab
lishments spread over the world of Islam, presided over by
khalifies and muquddims, who, in the early years of a given
establishment, rendered allegiance to the sheikh at Bagh
dad. As time went on, however, each large establishment
'Ibid.
2 The orders of Islam are comparable not only to the monastic but
to the masonic system.

240 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
became itself the centre of a group of smaller houses, and
finally, ceased to recognize in any practical manner the au
thority of the sheikh at Baghdad, though, theoretically, his
supremacy has remained unquestioned. Thus, in general,
all financial obligation has ceased to be felt, though the
shrine of 'Abd-el-Qadir has ever continued to attract crowds
of pilgrims whose voluntary gifts add greatly to its revenues.1
Secondary groups, thus formed, still flourish in parts of
North Africa. In Algeria and Tunisia, for example, there
are three important monasteries, independent not only of
the mother zawiyeh, but of each other. One monastery
exercises influence over the north-eastern region of Tunisia
with three smaller zawiyehs in subjection to it. The mu-
quddim of the central establishment, himself acknowledg
ing no authority, claims from his sub-sheikhs the allegiance
he theoretically owes to the sheikh at Baghdad. The com
plete alienation from the mother zawiyeh is illustrated at
the monastery of Nef ta by the use of a zikr (form of wor
ship) unlike that of Baghdad. In Morocco the order has
a number of monasteries which are quite unco-ordinated.2
And for a final example of disintegration we are brought
back to the lands which form the subject of our study — to
Syria and to Palestine. Scattered through these lands are
many focal points of dervish life, bound, indeed, by a union
of doctrine and practice but bound by no permanent or
ganic union. The last general assembly or council of the
Qadiriyeh was held, so I have been told, some two hundred
years ago. A similar lack of cohesion is to be found in gen
eral in the allied orders, the Refa'iyeh, Sa'adiyeh, Bedawi-
yeh, and Dusukiyeh, as well as in the Shaziliyeh. Balden
sperger, however, gives an instance showing that among
the Dusukiyeh there is still a trace of a former allegiance to
a central authority. In Kuryet-el-'Anab, near Jerusalem,
there is a family in which the office of sheikh in the order of
the Dusukiyeh is hereditary. When the sheikh died in 1891,
1 The immense sums sent annually from India, though voluntary,
appear to be regarded as a moral obligation. (See Depont and Cop
polani, op. cit., pp. 209-300.)
- See Depont and Coppolani (op. cit), pp. 305-316.

THE DERVISH ORGANIZATION 241
his son of fourteen years refused investiture at the hands of
the mukhtar, or mayor, on the ground that he was an in
ferior, but with his own hands bound the sheikh's turban
half-way around his head, leaving the other half hanging
down, declaring that when he was old enough he would go
to Dusuk, in Egypt (where the founder is buried), and there
receive proper investiture from his own superior khalify!1
We have just used the term "no permanent organic
union." Temporary organic union, as applied to districts,
there may be under the authority of the mur'shid, that is,
the guide or director. This sort of union long antedated
the organization of the orders in the twelfth century. The
murshid of to-day is a reversion to a Semitic type, which
created the schools of the prophets and reappeared in the
early days of Islam. Then great teachers arose, possessing
qualities of leadership, who attracted bands of followers.
"Such teaching saints," says Macdonald, speaking of the
ante-crusading period, " came and went, and with their death
their circle of disciples broke up. The unit of organization
was still the teacher and for his life only." 2 Here is a descrip
tion, applying equally to the modern murshid, whose influ
ence is circumscribed locally, and is purely personal, being
after the order of Melchizedek, without father and without
descent. From time to time there arises a sheikh of extraor
dinary piety or ability, or both, attracting by sheer force of
personality the dervishes of the surrounding country, who in
stinctively acknowledge his God-given authority, yielding
him perfect obedience. Thus, within a given order several
murshids may coexist, controlling different groups. More
over, such authority may extend over several orders. The
celebrated Abu Rabah', one of the notables of Jaffa, who has
only recently died, was sheikh of the four principal orders,
controlling their votaries, sheikhs and laymen as far south as
Gaza, "like a general in the army," so a poor sheikh of
the Qadiriyeh told me. He might assemble these at Jaffa,
when the occasion arose, for general business, or he might
' See Baldensperger's article (op. cit), p. 33.
2 "The Religious Life and Attitude in Islam," p. 161, by D. B. Mac
donald (1909).

242 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
at any time command the presence of two dervishes to set
tle a dispute between them. At his death, Jaffa ceased to
be a centre of dervish power. His little son will probably
succeed him as sheikh, but no power of natural heredity
can make him a murshid.
If genuine piety be a requisite for a murshid, the late
Abu-'l-Huda, prominent among the members of 'Abd-el-
Hamid's famous or rather infamous camarilla could hardly
lay claim to the title. His rise, however, from the state of a
poor, wandering dervish to a position of such authority over
the Refa'iyeh of Turkey that he has been called their su
preme sheikh was due to the possession of certain dynamic
qualities that alone make a murshid possible. His father,
a humble sheikh of the Refa'iyeh, and also a descendant of
the founder, lived not far from Aleppo. Initiated as a poor
young man into the order, Abu-'l-Huda became at first a
faqir, going about chanting and jingling his tambourine.
Later he was summoned to Constantinople, where his beauti
ful voice brought him into general notice. Having established
his reputation as a holy man with the Prince 'Abd-el-Hamid
by eating a live serpent in his presence, he was appointed
his imam, or private chaplain, preaching every Friday and
interpreting his master's dreams. It was by his suggestion,
so it is affirmed on excellent authority,1 that Midhat Pasha
raised 'Abd-el-Hamid to the throne. The influence gained
over the sultan secured to him a control of religious affairs
second only to that of the Sheikh-el-Islam himself. He
became known as the sultan's astrologer. In temporary
affairs also the sultan sought his advice. Through him as
pirants for the office of minister, qadhi (judge), even grand-
vizier, would find their best means of approach. All of this
suggests the source of his wealth, reputed to be enormous;
but it should be added that great also was his generosity.
The relations of these two masterful spirits were not al
ways smooth, for sometimes the dervish and the sultan
'This account is based mainly on an interview, found in the last
"Journal" of Dr. Curtiss (No. XIX), which he had with a notable of
Jerusalem, who had been deputy to the first parliament of 'Abd-el-
Hamid.

1 THE DERVISH ORGANIZATION 243
would be estranged for six months at a time, but the der
vish influence was maintained on the whole till the sultan's
downfall. Abu-'l-Huda will long continue to be a name
to conjure by with the dervishes of Turkey, though the
lack of consistency between his vows as a dervish and his
life as a courtier provokes free comment. It is stated that
under his powerful direction the members of the order, the
organization of which has become much disintegrated, were
recovering a spiritual homogeneity which might destine
them to form the best agents for the Panislamic movement
inaugurated in 1882.1 Up to this time, however, this move
ment does not appear to have gained ground in Syria a*id
Palestine. The tale of Abu-'l-Huda is one that might be
told of many an abbot in the Middle Ages. We have re
peated it in this connection to emphasize its distortion of
the murshid idea, not to illustrate this normally. Alas!
the murshids of the church were not all like Peter the
Hermit. In a former paragraph we have referred to the unco
ordinated focal points of dervish life among the Qadiriyeh
and allied orders in Syria and Palestine. Such centres
fall under two classes. Where there is a well-endowed and
well-organized dervish house, zawiyeh or tekkeh (written
also tekkiyeh), it is customary to find domiciled a sheikh
who has under him, not necessarily resident in the build
ing, a number of sub-sheikhs, who as his representatives or
deputies are known as khalifies. The spiritual ancestors of
such presiding sheikhs were themselves, as we have seen,
khalifies with reference to the head of the order. At the
present day they are quite independent of control though
they may still bear the title of khalify in a historical sense.2
In such a sense the term khalify is applied to ordaining
sheikhs, usually of the poorer class, not subordinated to
the presiding officer of any tekkeh. These constitute the
centres of the second class. As the heads of tekkehs con
trol a body of lay-dervishes, so these unattached khalifies
have their disciples. The former might be loosely com-
1 See Depont and Coppolani (op. cit), p. 327.
2 See also p. 248.

244 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
pared to a rector having curates as well as a congregation;
the latter to a rector with a small congregation alone.
It was my privilege, on a recent visit to a town of north
ern Syria, to receive from a sheikh, who presides over a
tekkeh belonging to the order of the Sa'adiyeh or Jebawlyeh,
a frank account of himself and of his followers. Though
to a common friend I had expressed a desire to meet Sheikh
Sa'ad-ed-Din, if the interview could be arranged, I confess
that I was surprised at his ready proposal to come to my
hotel. The moment he entered my room, and even before
he came up to me, I was aware of a vivid personality. Soon
justified was my first impression. Tall and straight; digni
fied yet winning; with magnificent bold black eyes that had
a power of sudden illumination; gracious in manner yet ra
diating self-assurance; rapid, almost torrential in speech;
well dressed in long cloak with the turban of his order;
well groomed with dark beard streaked with gray — here, in
deed, was a man, of authority. Proofs of this he immediately
and somewhat proudly produced. From his bosom he drew
out a roll, tattered and torn at the top, which proved, when
unwound, to be several feet long. This was his sa'nad, or
diploma, accrediting him with his followers; authorizing
him to ordain or "give the way," and to heal from sickness
or bites of serpents. Through the reading of this diploma
I was personally conducted, as it were, for he kept glancing
up to insure that I was not only listening but taking in the
full meaning. He proceeded to unwind an apparently end
less chain of names: the first link was his own name; the
next, the name of his ordaining sheikh, from whom he had
"received the way"; and so, on and on, through names
well known in Moslem history, till he paused for breath at the
name of the founder of the order, Sa'ad-ed-Din ej-Jebawi,
who died in 1335. Then the line receded back through the
Middle and Dark Ages with a list of names unknown to
me, from whose obscurity flashed that of the great imam,
Ja'afar-es-Sa'diq, till at last I was thrilled to hear the words
"who received it from flosein, who received it from 'Ali,
who received it from Mohammed." The spiritual succes
sion had now reached its source, but the pedigree went on,

THE DERVISH ORGANIZATION 245
changing its character, however, from spiritual to natural.
Instead of the formula "who received the way from" ap
peared the connecting words "who was the son of," carry
ing the line from Mohammed to 'Adnan, ruler of Arabia in
122 B. C. For each link up to this point Sheikh Sa'ad-ed-
Din was willing to vouch, but beyond 'Adnan, through a line
including Ishmael, Abraham, Idris (Enoch) to Adam he ac
knowledged that the chain was incomplete and uncertain.
On the margin of this sanad, or diploma, were seals of
sheikhs of other orders witnessing to the identity of the
bearer. If we assume that each diploma in the chain of
documents between the sheikh and his great namesake, the
founder of the order, had been similarly accredited, here then
was apostolic succession indeed! Credentials though less
elaborate than his own our sheikh is authorized to confer on
his khalifies, or deputies, at the time of their initiation. These
in turn become authorized to " pass on the way," or ordain
to the dervishhood in the villages, acting as his substitute.
Later I passed by the tekkeh, or dervish house, over
which Sheikh Sa'ad-ed-Din presides. This substantial stone
building, with an inscribed tablet over the door-way, was
erected at the expense of the sultan (probably from the
waqf, or religious endowments). 'Abd-el-Hamid also con
firmed his title as sheikh over the establishment, granting
him an allowance of four Turkish pounds a month (a trifle
over seventeen dollars). He expressed doubts, however, at
the continuance of this comfortable condition, for he had
heard that the reforms consequent on the revolution might
include the cutting off of such allowances. Within the
dervish house — such was his declaration- — he was abso
lutely independent, owing allegiance to no central authority,
whether to the sheikh at Jeba, a descendant of the founder
there buried, or to any sheikh at Constantinople. In fact,
when he visited the capital he did not even trouble himself
to pay his respects to Abu-'l-Huda, head sheikh of the
Refa'iyeh, of which order his own is a sub-sect. With the
other dervish houses of his order in Syria he has no official
or organic connection, recognizing only ties of friendship.
Out of courtesy he would refuse to ordain a man from Da-

246 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
mascus, telling him to apply to the sheikh at that place, and
would expect similar courtesy from his Damascus brother.
He admitted the principle of a general council of sheikhs
for matters of extraordinary importance, but said that his
order had not had one for three hundred and sixteen years.1
He likened his own authority over his followers to that of
the sultan embodied in an imperial decree. Though scat
tered over the city attending to their own business, he could
assemble them "in ten minutes" by giving an order to a
dervish messenger. Sheikh Sa'ad-ed-Din's account of his
relations to his tekkeh may be held to apply in general to
the sheikhs presiding over dervish houses belonging to the
rest of the allied orders of which the Qadiriyeh is the parent.
We may now notice three orders not in this group.
Among the Syrian adherents of the order of the Mowlawi-
yeh, or whirling dervishes, who number some five hundred
souls, we may find traces of that cohesion which theoretically
holds together the component parts of each order, but which,
as we have seen, is notably lacking, in Syria and Palestine,
among the Qadiriyeh and allied orders. The Mowlawiyeh
establishments at Damascus, Aleppo, Tripoli, and Hums all
acknowledge the authority of the head sheikh of the order,
whose title is Chelebi Effendi, or Mullah Khunkar, resident
at Koniah, Asia Minor, where the founder was buried. Each
branch is under the direction of a sheikh, who inherits the
office from his father or brother, but who must be confirmed
in it by the chief at Koniah. The sheikh at Hums is subordi
nate to the sheikh at Damascus, but otherwise the four heads
of establishments appear to have no official relations, never
meeting in a general council either at Koniah or elsewhere.
At the picturesquely situated dervish house at Tripoli the
only permanent occupants are the sheikh and his family.
Like the heads of all such houses of whatever order, he is
bound to give hospitality, even to " half his loaf," to visiting
dervishes. The lay-members pursue their ordinary busi
ness in the city, assembling at head-quarters for the religious
functions. Of the whirling function we speak in the next
section. At Damascus these lay-brothers are also prepon-
1 My information was received in 1909.

THE DERVISH ORGANIZATION 247
deraut, but at the tekkeh are usually resident some ten celi
bates, including visitors. The sheikh is a notable figure in
Damascus. In Aleppo the Mowlawiyeh occupy a hand
some house on the principal street, besides owning valu
able endowed lands. The cap of the order, always a con
spicuous object in a crowd, is of yellowish white felt in the
form of a truncated cone.
Until very recently the Shaziliyeh of Syria recognized a
supreme sheikh with authority like that wielded by the
head of the Mowlawiyeh over his Syrian followers. The
office was not hereditary, each chief appointing his succes
sor. When the head sheikh died at Acre, in 1901, the office
lapsed, as no one was found worthy of succeeding to the post.
Since then each sheikh has been independent, save in so far
as he may acknowledge the personal authority of a murshid.
As has been intimated, the Shaziliyeh occupy a unique place
among the dervishes of Syria and Palestine. In general it
may be said of them that with the Baghdashiyeh (who are
represented in Syria only by a derivative order called the
Kalandariyeh, with a house at Aleppo) they have kept the
sufi ideal before them more clearly, and have carried it out
more practically than have the rest of the orders.1 They
seek to attain a purified spiritualism by prayer at all hours,
in all places, and under all circumstances. To the tricks
of magic practised by other orders they give no countenance.
At the same time they have a distinct intellectual life. The
Shaziliyeh have been called the Protestants of Islam, the
name being stretched not only to include the affiliated mem
bers but the general followers of the teaching. During the
last century their activity was great, but the pantheistic
tendency inherent in sufiism has brought upon them the
suspicion of the Orthodox, and it seems to be partly owing
to their prudence that less is heard of them in the present
century. There is a mosque in Damascus frequented al
most exclusively by themselves and by their friends. The
1 My information in regard to the Baghdashiyeh was obtained from
a Syrian sheikh. They have a good reputation in Constantinople. How
ever, Dr. D. B. Macdonald, speaking evidently for Egypt, says they
are accused of immoral orgies. (See his "Aspects of Islam," p. 154:
New York, 1911.)

248 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
New Testament has been for them a favorite book of study,
as they feel free to interpret the statements regarding the
divinity of Christ in a pantheistic sense.
As we have seen, the Senusiyeh are represented in Syria
only by a few secret followers in Damascus, under a sheikh
recognized or tolerated by the Turkish Government. But
as this powerful North African order, organized as recently
as 1835, is engaged in spreading the Panislamic idea, for
whose origin it is said to be responsible, and which if car
ried out logically would menace all European possessions
in North Africa, a brief paragraph may be devoted to it.
The founder, Mohammed Ibn Senusi, was buried in 1859
at Jerabub, an oasis in the Libyan Desert, midway between
Egypt and Tripoli, and to his magnificent mausoleum throng
multitudes of his followers, who are said to substitute this
visit for the pilgrimage to Mecca.1 The head-quarters of
the order were transferred in 1893 or 1894 to Kafra, some
three hundred and fifty miles south of Jerabub, by the
Sheikh-el-Mahdi, son of the founder. In ways that (up
to the present) are more peaceful, this order, still in the
vigor of youth, is carrying on the work of the unsuccess
ful Puritan revival of the Wahabis, crushed early in the last
century by the arms of Ibrahim Pasha. Austere in their
living, iconoclastic toward the cult of shrines,2 zealous in
their efforts to restore the primeval ideas of Islam, intolerant
not only of Christians but of such Moslem powers as tolerate
these, the followers of this order, said to number millions,
constitute a force that the world may have to reckon with.
From other orders are gathered recruits who by conforming
to certain restrictions are permitted to retain the old allegi
ance when accepting the new. Good Moslems are urged
to leave such countries as Turkey and Egypt, where a com
promise is officially made between Islam and Western civ
ilization. It may be added that mighty as is the influence
in Syria and Palestine of the orders chiefly represented in
these lands, this is not on the same high plane, intellectual,
1 See "Essays in Islam," by Rev. E. Sell, article in, "The Religious
Orders of Islam," pp. 127 ff. Compare Depont and Coppolani (op.
cit), pp. 539-541.
2 Exception is evidently made for the founder's shrine.

THE DERVISH ORGANIZATION 249
spiritual, and political, with that claimed for the Senusiyeh
in North Africa. While the influence of the dervishes in
Turkey is grounded on the people's belief in their holiness,
yet the appeal is largely through superstition. That the
Shaziliyeh furnish an exception to this statement has just
been indicated.
The principles underlying the rite of initiation in the va
rious orders are the same, though details may differ. The
seeker (ta'lib) must show a character beyond reproach for
honesty, chastity, and piety. In Jerusalem, I am assured,
insistence is placed on this requirement. With the Mow
lawiyeh and Baghdashiyeh the novitiate is said to last one
thousand and one days. In some orders the length of the
period of probation appears to depend on the aptness of
the seeker to profit by the instruction (seluk') he receives
from the sheikh to whom he applies and whose disciple
(mu'rid) he becomes. As a result of the instruction the
seeker becomes practised in the exercise of repeating the
name of God (Ya Allah!) and the divine titles a certain
number of times. This practice is analogous to the private
zikr, to be described later. Each title, as The Living, The
Powerful, The Able, repeated separately, is supposed to
produce a unique and peculiar effect on the one uttering it.
The forms vary with the different orders. When the in
structing sheikh sees signs in the pupil that his "rarefied
spirit is prevailing over his dense flesh,"1 he is ready to
admit him to the order as a simple dervish. The instruction
must be given secretly, but at the ceremony of initiation lay
men or non-dervishes may be present.2 The services (which
are usually held on a Thursday evening, that is, on the eve
of the sacred day) include the reading in concert of pas
sages from the Koran and the chanting of the creed with
other verses.3 When the sheikh administers the oath, he
1 A phrase obtained from an initiating sheikh.
2 A Jerusalem layman described to me an initiation of the Qadiriyeh
at which he was present.
3 The description here given applies to the Qadiriyeh and allied
orders. Compare with the accounts of Baldensperger (op. cit), pp. 24
and 31.

250 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
may spit on the candidate's hands and forehead. Accord
ing to Baldensperger, writing of the peasants, with the
Refa'iyeh the sheikh spits in the candidate's mouth several
times, in order that he may be poison-proof. The candidate
also swallows a piece of sugar which he has taken from the
mouth of the sheikh.1 In the sheikh's blessing occur the
words: "In the name of the founder you have permission
to heal and to cure from bites of serpents." Power to enter
the fire without burning and to drink poison without harm
may also be assured.2 Sometimes incense is burned. The
sheikh invests the candidate with the cap of the order and,
most important of all, gives him the right hand of fellowship.
In some cases the initiate is then beaten with swords and
struck on the head, to the accompaniments of rude cries
and shouts of "Allah!" "Allah!" To accredit him with
the masses the new dervish receives a sanad, a certificate
from the sheikh for which he pays a fee ranging from twelve
cents to five dollars.3 To seal the reception a lamb or goat
may be killed and partaken of by the dervishes of the neigh
borhood. The mass of dervishes do not arise beyond the
first degree. The second degree is that of naqib', or na'yib
(literally, representative of the sheikh), whose function in
some orders is to have charge of the standard and musical
instruments: the drums, large and small, and the cymbals.
The highest degree is that of sheikh, or khalify, who has
the power of "passing on the way," or admitting to the
order by initiation. He is invested with his turban, the
sign of the highest degree, by the khalify in charge of the pro
ceedings. Some of the rules governing initiation and investiture are
curious. A man may become khalify of four orders, but
it is required that he receive each "way" from a different
' Examples are given in the next section of the supposed healing
qualities of the saliva of holy men.
2 Compare Mark 16 : 17 and 18. The ordinary Mowlawiyeh dervishes
do not receive especial authority at initiation for performing miracles,
but a dervish who possesses spiritual qualifications and has acquired
personal merit may exercise the function by permission of his khalify.
3 But see note 2 on p. 251.

THE DERVISH ORGANIZATION 251
sheikh. A sheikh may carry his father's diploma provided
that a notary certify to the matter of transfer or inheritance.
A man, however, cannot be initiated by his own father, even
if later he is to succeed him. The purpose of this prohibition
is plainly to guard against paternal partiality. A further
illustration of the importance attached to selection of can
didates for dervishhood is furnished by the following story
heard from a Jaffa sheikh : A khalify, who was accused of
giving the "way" indiscriminately, replied that he could
easily put the worth of his followers to the test (imtahan1).
Assembling these outside a mosque, he commanded them to
ascend a lofty minaret and one by one to jump down into
his arms. Those who immediately obeyed substantiated
their eligibility to the order; those who refused showed by
their lack of faith that they were unworthy. Exactly how
the test affected the reputation of the sheikh for carefulness
I was not informed. This story also illustrates the obedi
ence expected by an initiating sheikh from his adepts, to
whom he is spiritual father, as it were.
The sanad, or diploma, is supposed to contain a resume
of the doctrines of the order. Diplomas differ much in ex
tent and content. In orders where all the ranks are for
mally recognized the sheikh at the mother zawiyeh will have
the most elaborate sanad, those of the khalifies will be less
elaborate, those of the muquddims even less, and so on
down to the adepts, who have the simplest form of all,
sometimes hardly more than a letter of recommendation.2
The diplomas of the khalifies in Syria vary among them
selves in character. A diploma with a genealogy (sil'sileh)
going back to Mohammed is supposed to be the most hon
orable. As it inevitably must include many names whose
chronological succession is universally known, a genuine doc
ument will successfully challenge investigation, as any sub
stitution or alteration would be instantly detected. If the
1 An example of imtahan, or test of a true dervish, has been given on
pp. 233-234.
2 Among the Mowlawiyeh the simple dervishes do not receive a di
ploma but are taught certain secret words and signs by which they may
be known to others of the same order.

252 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
initiating sheikh, however, be widely known personally, the
diplomas he issues will be honored even if they contain
only his own name, properly certified, with no genealogy
appended. In case of an obscure sheikh a diploma without
concatenation would not be recognized, at least in places
where the bearer was a stranger. Khalifies who can trace
their pedigrees back to some common spiritual ancestor
take pleasure in a bond of special affinity. Naturally,
the nobility of a given pedigree is enhanced by the in
clusion therein of names high in the aristocracy of saint
hood.1 We have noticed that in some orders the hereditary prin
ciple governs the succession to the office of sheikh. This may
hold true not only of the head of the order, but of sheikhs
presiding over tekkehs and even of unattached khalifies.
The office is inherited from a father or brother. But even
here the essence of the "ways," which none is supposed to en
ter without full consecration to the spiritual life, is regarded
as the real determinative force. In the last analysis it would
appear that a hereditary claim must be endorsed by a spirit
ual fitness or become invalidated. It would be interesting
to inquire how far this principle is practically observed. I
am glad to testify that one of my fellah workmen in Pal
estine, though in the direct natural line of succession as
khalify, was refused initiation on the ground that he was
too worldly. The synthesis of natural and spiritual descent
is also illustrated by hereditary dervish sheikhs, descendants,
presumably, of some great saint though not attached to any
order. Such holy men are found among the Rubin Beda-
win and at Deir-esh-Sheikh near Wady Ismail.2 We may
add that there are also many humble dervishes, belonging
to no order, who, as Baldensperger quaintly says, "have
their secret direct from God" and so "belong to God's
order." 3 Here, of course, there is no natural heredity.
1 A diploma granted to Sir Richard Burton when he was initiated
into the order of the Qadiriyeh is given, in facsimile translation, as an
appendix to his work, "A Pilgrimage to Meccah and Medinah."
2 See Baldensperger's article {op. cit), pp. 35, 36.
3 Ibid., p. 38.

THE DERVISH ORGANIZATION 253
The phrase "A dervish at God's gate," describing these poor
men, has passed into a proverb of wider significance.
Ever since the establishment of the orders two contrary
principles have been at work within them: heredity and
celibacy. The principle of heredity, involving the institu
tion of marriage, contravenes neither the letter nor the spirit
of Islam; indeed, is plainly in harmony with both. The
principle of celibacy is in accordance with neither. "Let
there be no monks in Islam" was an early dictum. On the
other hand, celibacy is the logical end of the ascetic life,
which demands the suppression of every comfort and bod
ily indulgence. Moreover, the state is almost necessitated
by the wandering life. Celibates, then, there always have
been among the dervishes. An early precedent was fur
nished by Selman-el-Pha'risi, the khalify, or successor, of
Abu Bekr to the presidency of one of the two original orders
from which all others derive. He was unmarried. The
founders of the orders of the* Dusukiyeh and of the Kalan-
dariyeh were also celibates. But with no statistics to prove •
my point, I am inclined to believe that celibates must al
ways have been in the minority. In the minority they most
decidedly are in Syria to-day. Baldensperger appears not
even to recognize the principle for Palestine. "As a rule,"
he says, "the dervishes are married men — at least mar
riage has nothing to do with being a dervish." 1 At Aleppo
there is an establishment of the Kalandariyeh (a branch of
the Baghdashiyeh) with a group of celibates, whose sheikh
must be chosen by election. The building of a similar
establishment at Hamath for the Refa'iyeh, with cells for
celibates, was arrested at the death of Abu-'l-Huda, who
was furnishing the funds. There are about ten celibates
resident at the tekkeh of the Mowlawiyeh at Damascus,
whose sheikh, however, is hereditary. Some years since a
monastery was established for Shaziliyeh celibates in Hums,
but later was broken up. These are all the traces of celi
bate bodies that I have found in Syria, though there may
be others. As it is, the vow of chastity is not always per
manently binding. Those, however, who practise celibacy
1 See Baldensperger's article (op. cit), p. 35.

254 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
also observe their vows of poverty and obedience with ex
ceptional strictness. The hair is not cut; the person is neg
lected.1 Celibacy extends also to women. The only old
maids in Islam are female dervishes. One lives at 'Ain
Ka'rim, near Jerusalem, known as Bint-esh-Sheikh, or the
sheikh's daughter. She is a quiet, peaceable sort of person,
famed for her cures, which attract visitors, who bring her
presents from all parts of the land. Sometimes she visits the
threshing-floors, taking her toll of wheat. Baldensperger
asserts that a dervish may be temporarily turned into a walieh
(feminine of wely: a female saint). In this case he sits
in the harim, as he has for the moment changed his sex.
Woman, so Baldensperger implies in a paragraph that is
not quite clear, is held by the fellahin to incarnate many
of the attributes of holiness which should distinguish a der
vish : she does not bear arms, she suffers beating, she serves
others. As mother of mankind the peasants acknowledge
her theoretic value, but in their actual treatment of her,
so Baldensperger hastens to add, they deny this, even apolo
gizing for the mere mention of her.2
A comparison of the dervish organization as it is in
theory, with the conditions actually obtaining to-day among
the dervishes in Syria and Palestine, suggests that organiza
tion is regarded as mere machinery. It has always been a
means, never an end. It has never crystallized. Its play
has been easy and fluid. It has never dominated the spirit.
If the "way" is properly handed down; if the zikr is faith
fully performed; if means are taken to keep the heart and
life pure, it matters little to the continuance of the movement
whether parts of the machinery get in motion or no. Purity
is the end. If a man can attain this better through celibacy,
let him be a celibate; if he can preserve it better in marriage,
let him marry. A central authority is good. But if in the
course of development this loosens its hold on the branches,
the branches still flourish. To have a local guide or murshid
is good. But if the murshid dies and there arises none to
1 See foot-note 1 to p. 260.
2 See Baldensperger's article (op. cit), p. 38.

THE DERVISH LIFE 255
succeed him, the dervish life goes on just the same. To
such an elastic conception of organization may be ascribed
the wonderful tenacity, the persistent vitality, of the religious
orders of Islam. III. The Dervish Life
The centre of corporate life for the orders is the dervish
house, called in Syria and Palestine tek'keh (sometimes
pronounced tekki'yeh) or za'wiyeh. The former word
seems to be more commonly used in Syria, the latter in
Palestine, but they sometimes are interchangeable. Tekkeh
appears to be used exclusively in Turkey; zawiyeh is found
in all countries. The word zawiyeh is literally a corner;
hence it came to signify a cell, and thus developed into the
wider meaning of a building containing a group of cells for
individual ascetics and pilgrims, in connection with a large
hall for public exercises. The terms zawiyeh and tekkeh
are also applied to the residence of the chief sheikh of an
order in a given place, provided it is also the centre of organic
life, and to a hospice, whether for dervishes or for poor pil
grims in general. Above the green gardens of Damascus
rise the slender minarets of the mosque attached to the fa
mous tekkeh built for the accommodation of pilgrims by
Sultan Selim in 1517. Besides the mosque there is a large
court with twenty-four dome-covered chambers. The whole
edifice is now falling into decay, and in some of the rooms
horses are stabled; but in others pilgrims still tarry on their
way home from Mecca, while dervishes live in the mean
houses near by. In Jersualem there are several endowed
zawiyehs for foreign dervishes. One under the Ecce Homo
Arch is controlled by Hindus resident in the Holy City under
a sheikh. More important is the zawiyeh of the Moghra-
bin, or Morocco dervishes, many of whom serve as night
watchmen in the city and its environs. These are entitled
to receive, gratis, bed, bread, and soup. A few of these
Morocco dervishes live in the two rooms above the Gate
Beautiful in the east wall of the Haram-esh Sherif, or
temple enclosure. Some poor Qadiriyeh dervishes also

256 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
occupy other rooms in this haram enclosure, one of which
is used for holding the zikr, or religious service, and for keep
ing their banner and musical instruments, as the order has
no especial zawiyeh in Jerusalem.
The characteristic discipline of the dervishes is the zikr,
literally, a "remembrance," that is, a remembrance of God,
which produces a union of the heart and of the tongue in the
act of repeating the divine name according to set formulas.
It has been called the real pivot of sufiism, a form of revealed
prayer which draws the name of God constantly to the lips,
and which alone has the power of lifting to the divine
presence him who thus perseveres in the invocation of his
name.1 Strange are the contradictions of the spiritual life.
Though itself a reaction from formalism and a yearning for
spirituality, sufiism prescribes rigid and precise rules to him
who would attain the higher reaches of the spirit. A simliar
inconsistency may be traced in Christianity, even in Protes
tantism itself. The plain aim of the "revival" is to rekindle
the free life of the spirit, but all too often it is "conducted"
according to set rules, while its success or its failure is
gauged by the presence or by the absence of certain stereo
typed phenomena. The zikr formulae are many, varying
not only with the different orders sometimes but in different
branches of the same order. In general the discipline falls
into three categories.2 The zikr-el-waqt, literally the zikr
of the hour, is merely a sort of litany to be said after each of
the five required prayers. The zikr-ej-jalla'la, or private
zikr, is for individual use. An analogous practice, as we
have seen, is included in the instruction leading up to initia
tion. The private zikr is either "secret" (zikr-el-kha'fi),
that is, to be recited mentally or in a low voice, or "vocal"
(zikr-ej-ja'Ii), that is, to be said aloud. The Quadiriyeh
are supposed to practice the secret zikr, but how far this
obtains in Syria and Palestine I am not aware. According
to Sell, during this discipline the dervish closes his eyes and
with "the tongue of the heart" repeats the words "Alla'hu
Sami'un" (God the Hearer), "Alla'hu Basirun'" (God the
Seer), and "Alla'hu 'Alimun'" (God the Knower). Then,
1 See Depont and Coppolani (op. cit), p. 78. 2 Ibid., pp. 88 ff.

THE DERVISH LIFE 257
phrase by phrase, with alternate inhaling and exhaling of
breath, he utters the creed of the unity, thus concluding
the zarb, or division (strophe). This may be repeated hun
dreds of times.1
According to the form given by the same writer for the
vocal zibr, the worshipper, sitting, but varying his exact post
ure from time to time, shouts with increasing voice and
with changes of voice-production the several phrases of
the creed. This zarb is repeated one thousand and one
times. The zikr-el-had'ra, or zikr of the congregation, is to
be said by a number of dervishes in concert after a leader or
preceptor. It is usually conducted on Thursday evening
(the eve of the sacred day) at the dervish house.2 Accord
ing to the order to which they belong, the participants squat
on their heels, stand on their feet, or begin sitting and later
change to standing. The chanting is accompanied by the
bending of the body in different directions. Sometimes the
zikr takes the form of a rude dance, to execute which the
worshippers form a circle or a row, holding each other's
hands, advancing and retreating in unison, and stamp
ing with the feet. Beginning slowly to repeat the divine
name with clear enunciation and solemn dignity, they
gradually work themselves up into such a state of excite
ment that the rapidly uttered words become mere sounds
without meaning. The swaying body keeps pace with the
tongue. Physical exhaustion naturally follows this furious
exercise of lungs and limbs. But sometimes with the Refa'-
'iyeh (called the howling dervishes on account of the shrieks
they emit during the performance), before the collapse
comes, the frenzy induced by the zikr leads them into hor
rible demonstrations of their boasted immunity from the
burning of fire, such as licking red-hot irons, biting them
and cooling them in the mouth. There is no doubt that
the will of the dervish is often weakened and his intellect
deadened, not only by the mechanical repetitions but by
'See E. Sell (op. cit), pp. 112-115.
2 At Damascus the Mowlawiyeh, who devote Thursdays to the whirl
ing function, have semi-weekly zikrs on Mondays and Fridays. In
gome orders at Constantinople they are even more frequent.

258 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
the subsequent scenes of excitement. The zikrs are respon
sible for some but by no means for all the feeble-minded
dervishes. Sainthood in Islam is not held to be incom
patible with congenital idiocy. Ibn Khaldun distinguishes
between the insane person whose logical reasoning has be
come corrupt and the idiot who, notwithstanding the lim
itations which prevent his conforming to legal conditions,
may still exhibit a distinct turn for religious meditation
and devotion.1
This concerted zikr of the dervishes must not be con
founded with the popular function called zikr-bettaqlid', or
imitation zikr, practised by the uninitiated, though the dif
ference appears to be largely subjective and theoretic, as
dervishes often unite with laymen in the same function.
According to strict doctrine, through the imitation zikr
laymen may obtain protection against their enemies but
not that mystical union with God produced by the zikr of
initiation. The popular zikr is commonly held in mosques.
A function of this sort is conducted weekly on Fridays
in the Khankey mosque in Jerusalem, under the auspices
of the family of the 'Alamy who control the mosque and
its endowments. Similar assemblies are found in private
houses. On a summer's night you may be disturbed in a
Moslem town by what sounds like a railway engine violently
puffing and panting, but going to the window you will
perceive that the noise proceeds from a neighborhood
prayer-meeting, where the brethren have the increase of
power on them, as the words come faster and faster, louder
and louder: "Allah Hai! Allah Hai! — God is Living!
God is Living!"
In the tekkehs of the Mowlawiyeh there also takes place
the sacred dance which gives to them the name of whirling
dervishes. In Koniah and Constantinople this is practised
all through the year; in Damascus and Hums on Thursday
evenings for eight months, exclusive of parts of winter and
summer; and in Tripoli usually during the spring season
only. The dancing is said to represent the revolving of the
spheres as well as the circling movement of the soul caused
1 Quoted by D. B. Macdonald (op. cit), pp. 103 and 104.

THE DERVISH LIFE 259
by the vibration of its love to God.1 The participants wear
voluminous bell-shaped skirts. After prayers led by the
sheikh they file in stately procession before their master,
reverentially saluting him with a low bow, each in turn.
This function is repeated several times. Then follows the
circling. When the dancer glides on to the floor his head
is inclined and his arms are stretched out; the fingers of one
hand are raised, those of the other are held drooping, sym
bolical of his being the medium of grace, received from
heaven to be dispensed on earth. During the whirling the
eyes are shut. As the pace increases the skirts spread out
around the dancer like a wheel or disk. When exhausted
he takes a rest, but, again resuming, glides into the circle
for another round. On the floor there may be several dan
cing together or not more than one at a time. The dance
may last, with brief pauses for prayer, for two hours, at
the close of which the sheikh himself takes part.
Such are some of the practices that enter into the life of
the dervish, formal methods by which the life is expressed,
parts of the machinery of the dervish organization. To
the Western traveller witnessing the public performances
at Constantinople or Cairo they can give no possible clew
to the principles of the orders. What these principles are in
essence is expressed by a definition given in my hearing by
a learned sheikh of the Shaziliyeh, the most spiritual order.
"The Ways," he said, are "simply means of turning the
mind to spiritual things." To this semi-official definition I
would add the unprejudiced generalization of Baldensperger,
arrived at empirically by long observation of the dervishes
themselves and by knowledge of the estimate in which
they are held by the Moslem peasants of Palestine, among
whom he was brought up and with whom he had business
relations for years. "The general idea of these dervishes
and the reason why they exist is that they may not sin. By
wearing bad clothing, being absorbed in prayer, having no
earthly comfort, and going about asking alms they are sup
posed to keep themselves pure, and the more welies, nebies,
and holy places they visit the more they have merit before
1 See E. Sell (op. cit), p. 120.

260 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
God." 4 Baldensperger adds an illustration of the search-
ings of heart that may accompany the resolution of an " un
recognized dervish" to become a faqir:2 "A dervish in my
service was trying to qualify himself for becoming a wander
ing dervish. But he was irascible, and that would not do for
a good dervish. He was fond of arms and shooting, but
extinguishing life, even that of a caterpillar, was sinful in a
dervish. He was also fond of good dress and was sorry for
it. He went twice on foot from Jaffa to Baghdad to visit
as many welies (shrines) as possible, and he hoped by the
grace of 'Abd-el-Qadir, in Baghdad, to become converted.
On one trip he was absent eight months, suffered hunger
and thirst and fatigue through the Syrian desert, even wore
bad clothing in the time of his pilgrimage, never omitted the
five regular prayers and his own voluntary prayers, but
after all returned to his passions — good clothing, bearing
arms and ill temper. The good fellow was much perplexed
about it, and told me that he could be no real good dervish
as long as he did not put aside all these sins, that he knew
dervishes who even let themselves be beaten without reply.
He even went further and said the thirty-eighth to forty-
second verses of the fifth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel
[relating^ to non-resistance of evil] seem to be wholly written
for, and ought to be kept by, a real dervish. A dervish is
never completely sanctified until he has done all, and then
he may see angels." s Whether this tortured soul arrived at
peace or not we cannot know, for this burst of confidence
to his master was followed by scruples against further talk
about his dervishhood, and later he left Mr. Baldensperger's
service. The last-named authority asserts that the fellahin, as a
1 See Baldensperger's article (op. cit), p. 37. An extreme illustration
of fanatical self-mortification that would seem to be almost in defiance
of the ceremonial law is given by the same writer on pp. 31-32,
where he asserts that the Bedawiyeh dervishes " drink the water which
remains from the hand-washings of an assembly." The practice of let
ting the hair grow long, he declares, is to encourage vermin and thus
increase discomfort (p. 34).
3 Compare with p. 239.
3 See Baldensperger's article (op. cit), p. 37.

THE DERVISH LIFE 261
mass, believe the dervishes to be really holy, and respect
them, " even kissing their hands when they are known." 1
A Jerusalem friend of mine, a Moslem of humble origin,
but educated by English and American missionaries, claims
that there is true piety to be found among the followers of
the orders. Few stories are told of the abuse by dervishes
of the freedom with women which their position permits
them. Baldensperger remarks that the jealousy of the
fellahin would not permit this. He instances an unmarried
dervish who lost caste and the respect of the people when
he was found guilty of flagrant unchastity. Dervishes
who persist in unworthy conduct may be beaten by their
fellows, and finally expelled from the order.2 There are poor
sheikhs of notably blameless life before whom high govern
ment officials of Jerusalem rise from their seats. Faqlrs
may be transported by ship from one port to another, at
government expense, on the recommendation of a sheikh
of the order. A story related in our first section illustrates
the ready hospitality heaped upon travelling faqirs.3 The
dervish is in a way sacrosanct. The khatib — teacher or
scribe— of a village near Beit Dejan, who composed a set
of scurrilous verses, lampooning a half-blind dervish so
cleverly that they were sung by the shepherd lads, was
condemned, by the assembled members of the order to
which the libelled one belonged, to pay a fine of one thou
sand pounds of rice and one hundred " sacrifices." Finding
that he could not obtain pardon without paying the fine in
full, he disappeared from the village, and kept away for
some time, presumably till the matter blew over.4
Two dervishes I remember on whose peaceful faces shone
the unmistakable reflection of a pure purpose of living —
such a look as one may see on the face of some humble fol
lower of the Salvation Army. One of these, Sheikh Mo
hammed, a lowly artisan of Jerusalem, I saw for but an
hour, but in that hour he opened his heart. Like Sheikh
Sa'ad-ed-Din he had his spiritual pedigree, but unlike him
he made little of it. "The main matter," he said very
1 Ibid, p. 34. 2 Ibid, p. 35. « P. 233.
» See Baldensperger's article (op. cit), pp. 25-29.

262 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
simply, when I referred to the diploma, " is that the thoughts
and the heart should be pure." He admitted that he was
called to heal folk by his touch, but declared that the miracu
lous manifestations of his father were no longer possible in
these days, when the people are no longer good. One is
inevitably reminded that not many mighty works could be
done in Nazareth "because of their unbelief." What a
flame lighted up Sheikh Mohammed's sweet eyes, and what
a ring sounded in his gentle voice, when he rehearsed these
wonderful doings of the sheikh, his father, in a story which
I shall presently repeat. There was clearly a spiritual kin
ship between him and old Sheikh Salim, who was one of
my diggers when I was excavating Lachish of the Amorites
many years before. Patiently, conscientiously, this gentle
workman would toil all day, with little to distinguish him
from his fellows, save that most of these had to be watched,
while he could be trusted to do the same amount of work
whether the foreman were looking or not. But sometimes
at night the power would fall upon him. Then would he
sway to and fro, braying like a donkey, or growling like an
angry camel,1 and once he started across the field at full
speed, and had not the young men, giving chase, caught up
with him and brought him back, he would have gone flying
through the air to Mecca — so at least the young men told
me! Baldensperger speaks of a dervish who "in his fits of
fanaticism," ran naked over the rocks to meet his Lord the
Bedawy.2 Other stories of -the flying powers of holy men
have come to me and one of a sheikh who walked on the
waves of the sea at Constantinople, refusing to take a gov
ernment reward in recognition of this proof of his holiness.
Baldensperger states that during the Turco-Russian war

1 Baldensperger tells of a female dervish at Sidna 'Ah', north of Jaffa,
consecrated as the prophet's foal, who went about expressing her de
mand for alms by neighing, without speaking. In an appended note
Dr. Chaplin states that she "was suffering from a peculiar nervous af
fection, not very uncommon among girls in Palestine, which seems to
compel those laboring under it to go about imitating the sounds of
animals." See Baldensperger's article (op. cit), p. 36.
2 Ibid, p. 34.

THE DERVISH LIFE 263
" many dervishes, also as gray falcons, used to hover over
the Turkish army and to catch the shells and musket balls
as they flew." i
Let me at this point repeat the story that Sheikh Mo
hammed of Jerusalem told me of his father, for it is impor
tant in illustrating just the miraculous powers that are as
sociated with lives believed to be genuinely holy. These
are quite different from the tricks of magic practised by
many dervish sheikhs, but by no means exclusively by them.
Here, then, is the story of the old sheikh and the Turkish
pasha. Once on a time, not many years ago, the dervishes
of Jerusalem assembled in the great court-yard of the haram,
or mosque of Omar, and began to make a loud noise with
their drums and cymbals. Their head sheikh happened to
be absent. Presently there came to them a messenger from
the pasha in the government house, or seraya, near by, with
orders to stop the noise. Troubled in mind, they consulted
another dervish living in the enclosure, who answered,
somewhat oracularly: "Authority is from God." So they
stopped and dispersed. Meanwhile the old sheikh, chief
of them all, had been digging far away in the fields. Sud
denly the power came upon him, the pick fell from his hands,
his eyes were opened and he saw all that was taking place
in the haram court-yard, though this was out of range of his
natural vision. At once he went home and said to his wife:
"A disciple is coming to consult me; give him food and
drink, and bring him to me." Presently the disciple came,
ate, drank, and began to tell his tale. But the old sheikh
interrupted him. " I know all," he said. " The governor has
stopped the music of the dervishes. Let us go to the haram
together." When the old sheikh arrived at the court-yard,
he ordered that all the dervishes should be assembled there
again, and that those who did not wish to come should be
compelled. Then he commanded that a great fire of coals be
made in the court-yard and that oil lamps be hung in the big
tree. Then, when the lamps were kindled and the fire was
1 Ibid, p. 37; compare p. 31, where the author indicates a belief among
the fellahin that the Refa'iyeh dervishes may be changed into gray
falcons, a favorite form of incarnation with their founder.

264 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
blazing, and all the dervishes had come into a circle, he gave
the signal for the drums and cymbals to make a noise, in
comparison with which the former had been silence. The
pasha heard. This time he sent no messenger: he came
himself with a body of soldiers. But when he reached the
haram entrance, he suddenly became rigid, unable to stir
hand or foot. Terrified, the soldiers rushed in to seek the
old sheikh, but at first they could get no hearing, for many
of the dervishes were now pulling down the lamps from the
tree and passing the flames over their heads, and scooping
up live coals by the handful and devouring these. When
at last they caught the old sheikh's attention, and begged
him to come out to the pasha, he said : " What have I to do
with him? Let him take his punishment." And the
music went on unabated. The pasha stood stark. At last,
when the frenzy had reached its climax, and the first chapter
of the Koran had been recited, the sheikh rose leisurely
and went out. With the words: " Destur' : By your leave,"
addressed not to the pasha but to 'Abd-el-Qadir, his in
visible lord, he gently tapped the governor's back with his
stick. At once the pasha came to himself: his body re
laxed, his speech returned, and he plead with the sheikh
for immunity from other seizures. Now the old sheikh
was khalify of four great orders and acknowledged four
lords. So, answering the pasha, he said: "You have one
sultan, I have four; you rule over the people in seraya; you
cannot control the dervishes of God." And he turned away.
The governor went home, but a terrible chill fell on him.
Again they sent for the old sheikh; again he said: "What
have I to do with him? Let him take his punishment."
Finally, he took a cup of water, prayed over it — the exact
words of Sheikh Mohammed were "read over it" — and
said, "Let the pasha drink this: he will rest and sleep."
When the governor saw the cup he said, " Whence is this ? "
They told him: "It is from the sheikh." Eagerly he
drained it, the chill immediately departed, and he slept.
The next day he sent men to the sheikh begging him to take
a present. " Tell the pasha I will take nothing for myself,"
was the answer, " but, if he will, let him make a dinner for all

THE DERVISH LIFE 265
the dervishes." So, on the morrow, all the dervishes were
assembled in the haram court-yard, and before them was set
a great feast: sheep roasted whole, huge platters of rice,
curded milk, and many sweets. The old sheikh spread out
his arms over the food and blessed it. And lo! though the
dervishes ate each as much as he could, scarcely an impres
sion was made on the food, which kept reappearing, being
miraculously renewed. What remained was gathered up
on trays and given to the dervishes for distribution among
the poor. When all was over, the old sheikh turned to the
pasha, who was standing by, and said: "Hast thou re
pented ? " " Wullah," said he. " By almighty God, I have
repented." Here, then, we have an excellent illustration of what are
regarded as legitimate means which pious dervishes may
employ in dealing with the world of marvel and of mystery :
second-sight, the gift of healing, contact with fire without
burning, and other powers over nature. Miraculous powers
are supposed to be derived, mediately through the chain
of sainthood, from the founders of the orders. The exer
cise of healing powers is the most common. The uncle of
a Moslem friend of mine, resident on the Mount of Olives,
being afflicted with a disease of the feet, called in a dervish
sheikh, who repeated some prayer or incantation, struck
the feet with his mantle, anointed them with his saliva,
accepted the proffered fee, or rather gratuity, and departed.
I fancy that I myself was the subject of dervish treatment
when, many years ago in Palmyra, a splendid old sheikh
volunteered to cure a violent headache of which I com
plained. With his fingers, made soft and supple by daily
use of the famous sulphur stream, he crumpled up my fore
head, muttering indistinctly the while, and finally declaimed
in a loud voice: "In the name of God, the Merciful, the
Compassionate!" If I remember aright, my faith failed
me, and the cure was not immediate.
Immunity from the power of fire is especially, but not
exclusively, claimed by the Refa'iyeh, or so-called howling
dervishes, who relate that their founder, Sa'id Ahmed er-
Refa'i, once put his legs in a basin of burning coals, but

266 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
was cured by the holy breath and saliva of ' Abd-el-Qadir.1
You may hear to-day, on apparently reputable testimony,
that his adherents swallow burning coals, walk on them,
and hold red-hot irons between their teeth, cure being
effected by the breath and saliva of a sheikh. A Jaffa
dervish told me of a fellow-disciple who, to submit his powers
to a test, went into a heated oven where he remained for an
hour. On emerging, unharmed but thirsty, he drained dry
a. whole pool of water. A Christian, sitting by when this
tale was unfolded, declared that he himself had seen a der
vish go into an oven and stay for five minutes among the
loaves and coals.
Power over serpents is the especial prerogative of the
Sa'adiyeh or Jebawiyeh, a branch or derivative of the
Refa'iyeh with whom they are sometimes identified.2 Once
their founder, Sa'ad ed-Din ej-Jebawi, so runs the tale, was
cutting wood in the forest, when he was attacked by three
snakes of enormous size. Seizing these, he used them as
living ropes to bind his fagots. Hence his followers to-day
claim to handle, bite, and eat serpents without harm. Ac
cording to Lane, the sheikh of the Egyptian Sa'adiyeh at
tempted to put a stop to the practice of eating live serpents,
which consisted of swallowing the head and two or three
mouthfuls, while the rest was thrown away. Baldensperger
makes no reference to the eating of snakes in Palestine, but
refers to the common practice of carrying them about in
leather bags for show and performance. Among the varie
ties of serpents which he enumerates, the commonest ex
hibited are the Zamenis carbonarius and the Coluber cescu-
lapii, the latter being often " as thick as a man's arm, and
nearly two metres long," while the only really poisonous
specimen is the very deadly Daboia xanthina. The der
vishes, who alone of the people know the difference between
1 The Greeks claim a similar immunity in the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre on Saturday of Holy Week, when they pass the holy fire
over their beards and faces.
2 Baldensperger (see his article, as quoted above, pp. 29-31) calls
Sheikh Ahmed-er Refa'i the serpent-charmer, attributing all the ser
pent wonders to his followers.

THE DERVISH LIFE 267
venomous and harmless snakes, thus being able to play on
the peasants' credulity, get rid of these creatures as soon as
possible, making the excuse that they are deaf and do not
hear the invocation of the holiest dervish. One is tempted
to wonder whether this excuse is an echo of the idea that
inspired the words written many centuries ago: "They are
like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear! that will not
hearken to the voice of the charmer, charming never so
wisely." x It would seem that most dervishes take the pre
caution to remove the fangs of the daboia, repeating the
operation whenever they grow again.2 Baldensperger, how
ever, relates that two simple-minded dervishes, sharing the
common idea that all serpents are poisonous, and encour
aged to believe in their own general immunity by their ex
perience with what were merely harmless snakes, at length
chanced upon real vipers, handling these with a temerity
that had fatal results. One of them, being bitten in the
thumb in the environs of Lydda, "came to the mosque
and fell down in the court, and died without letting
the daboia go; he had choked her, for they both were
found dead." In case of a bite from a harmless snake,
the wound is licked by the dervish, to the wonder of the
by-standers, who imagine they are witnessing a miracle of
healing. There are certain seasons in Syria and Palestine especially
signalized by dervish demonstrations. During the second
and third weeks of September, the month when thousands
of people camp out at the Wady Rubin (Reuben), south of
Jaffa, the swarming dervishes manifest their presence with
signs and wonders. Curiously enough, one of these seasons
always coincides with the Holy Week of the Eastern church.
Mohammedans frankly explain this coincidence on the
ground of a counter-demonstration. According to my
friend Sheikh Sa'ad-ed-Din, it was the great Saladin himself,
1 See Psalm 58 : 4r-5.
2 This statement is corroborated by Lane for Egypt. On the
other hand, while in Morocco, Dr. Talcott Williams examined vipers
carried by dervishes, finding full-grown fangs in active poisonous con
dition.

268 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
who, counting on the authority exercised by the sheikhs of
the different orders in Jerusalem and the villages around
about, requested them to co-operate with him in organizing
a monster procession which should outrival the crowds of
Christians thronging about the Holy Sepulchre at Easter
tide. This statement I have heard abundantly corroborated
from other sources, as far, at least, as concerns the rise of a
rival demonstration in mediaeval times, though I have not
traced to an authentic source the alleged connection of Sal-
adin with the matter. But whoever may have been the gen
ius who conceived the idea of the still popular and famous
pilgrimage on the Greek Good Friday from the Holy City
to the shrine of Moses, situated on the hills to the south of
the road leading to Jericho, it appears to be certain that
the Neby Musa mosque at that site was erected in or about
the year A. H. 668 or A. D. 1269 or 1270 by el Melik ed
Da'hir and others. The common people hold this to be the
tomb of Moses, though the 'ulama, or learned, know that
it is merely a memorial shrine. In the course of time the
habit of especial Moslem demonstrations at this season
spread to the north, where they continue to be controlled
by the dervishes. At Jerusalem, however, the Neby Musa
feast is at present an official affair, in which the dervishes
have no organic part, as it were, though they appear promi
nently in the procession. We must confine ourselves to the
main features of this often-described scene. Just before
the noon prayer on Good Friday, the holy flag, which is
kept at the house of the mufti, is carried to the Aqsa mosque,
within the haram area, by an especially appointed sheikh
walking beside the mufti. At the prayer are present the
governor and staff, together with huge crowds, not only
citizens of Jerusalem, but folk from all over the land, who
on the previous night have packed the great court-yard.
The procession, headed by the holy flag, and the military
band, leaves the haram area by a western gate and winds
up the Via Dolorosa — a counter-demonstration indeed! —
emerging from the city at Saint Stephen's gate. The entire
length of the route is lined with spectators of all creeds. As
the banners of the various dervish bands pass by, women

THE DERVISH LIFE 269
break from the lines to tie costly silk handkerchiefs to
flagsticks, in fulfilment of vows. Some of the dervishes
wound themselves with swords and dirks,1 being immedi
ately cured by the saliva of a holy sheikh. The procession
pauses at a gay marquee tent on the densely crowded slopes
of the Mount of Olives, where the pasha has preceded it,
while the imam, or preacher, reads or recites a prayer com
posed for the occasion. After a salute for the sultan, the
holy flag is furled and packed in a pair of saddle-bags for
the rest of the journey. The band, most of the soldiers,
and many of the spectators now return to the city. The
diminished procession, however, may be reinforced by
other bands of dervishes, who have preceded it to the Jewish
cemetery. Over the barren eastern hills it winds till it
reaches the shrine of Moses where, for days before, tens of
thousands have been assembling: Bedawin from beyond
Jordan, merchants from Damascus, pilgrims from Baghdad,
holy men from all parts. There is plenty of food for all
during the five or six days of the pligrimage, as the endow
ment of the shrine furnishes generously piled platters for
those who have brought no supplies. So liberal is the gen
eral provision for this occasion that the mufti has funds at
his disposal for the hire of donkeys to transport poor people
from Jerusalem. All through the week the services of the
dervishes are in demand to furnish music in connection
with the festivities at the circumcision of boys which may
take place of an afternoon at the mosque. On the follow
ing Thursday the flag is borne back to the house of the
mufti with similar rites.
As already stated, similar Moslem demonstrations occur
during Greek Holy Week at many points in Syria. At
Hums and elsewhere the festival is known as Khamis el
Mushey'yakh, or the Sheikhs' Thursday, for, in contrast
with the Neby Musa function, the affair is managed by the
dervishes, while the 'ulama, or doctors of the law, merely
1 According to Baldensperger these are the especial practices of the
Bedawiyeh dervishes. "In processions they are very wild, beating
themselves, and sticking great pins into their cheeks and near their
eyes; they stand on swords, eat cactus leaves," etc. (p. 31).

270 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
tolerate without approving it.1 The details are, of course
subject to government regulation. For example, the cere
mony of the da"si, or dow'si (literally the trampling), is
sometimes forbidden. This practice is common on the plain
of the Buka'a, north and south of the Damascus road, at Burr
Elias, and at Qubb Elias, where I once saw it. A score of
men lie on the ground, side by side, while over this human
roadway, closely lined by eager spectators, walks a horse
mounted by a dervish sheikh, whose holiness is supposed
to insure those trodden against any damage. According
to Lane this ceremony is practised in Egypt by the Sa'adi
yeh.2 It was not attempted at hums, as far as I heard, in
1909, when, in company with many thousand out-of-town
visitors, I witnessed the great annual procession, which
leaves the mosque of Baba 'Omar, to the west of the town,
after the noon prayer on the Greek Maundy Thursday,
arriving at the mosque erected over the tomb of Khaled,
the Sword of God, for the afternoon prayer and returning
over the same route the next day. Presumably on account
of the very unpropitious weather, the affair did not go off
with the swing and spirit which I had been led to anticipate
by the accounts I had received from American and other
friends who had been eye-witnesses on former occasions.
Accordingly, with the description of what was seen by my
self and the rest of the party are here included a few other
observations, equally authenticated. The procession is di
vided into four or five bands representing as many der
vish orders. The chief figure of each band is the mounted
sheikh, who is followed by several mounted khalifies or
deputies, and preceded by the bearers of the huge standard
of the order and by groups of musicians performing on
drums, cymbals, and tambourines. The whole procession
is supposed to be under supernatural influences. Some
times the standard-bearers clutch the pole to prevent the
sacred flag from ascending to heaven. Sometimes it is the
1 This is probably a traditional attitude, representing a different point
of view in regard to religious matters. With the 'ulama the law is pre
dominant, with the orders it is the spirit.
2 This same ceremony is not unknown in Jerusalem.

THE DERVISH LIFE 271
sheikh himself whose limbs are grasped lest he vanish into
the skies. Sometimes a horse is seized with some possession
and refuses to budge till the sheikh riding him bends over
and whispers in his ear.1 Sometimes a sheikh is filled with
"the power," shaking and muttering as he rides on. Chil
dren are held up to receive the blessing of the holy men.
Often the procession halts to give an opportunity for the ex
hibition of miraculous feats. One we ourselves saw several
times repeated. The actors were four, all shouting " Allah !
Allah!" as the performance went on. Into a small ring,
immediately formed, strode a dervish, stripped to the waist,
grasped a sword firmly by both ends, bent himself double
so as to press the blade into his abdomen, and remained in
that position while a khalify, or deputy sheikh, mounted on
his naked back and jumped up and down in order to drive
the blade home into the body of the man below, steadying
himself meanwhile by bearing his hands upon the shoulders
of two dervishes, the one to the right, the other to the left.
When this acrobatic group became disentangled, the khalify
drew his finger across his own mouth, and then anointed
with his healing saliva the man's abdomen, which the lat
ter had carefully kept covered with one arm since it was
" wounded." Sometimes the sword is supposed to have been
previously rendered innocuous by the tongue of the sheikh,
which has been passed along the entire edge. On one oc
casion the sharp eyes of a Yankee lad saw the performing
dervish quickly turn the sword so that only the flat side was
pressed against his flesh. It has been proved that in pierc
ing their cheeks with stilletos the dervishes often use old
holes concealed under their beards. Different sleight-of-
hand tricks are practised. Some of the ordinary by-standers
are quite aware of these, but others are worked up to be
lief in a vision of things manifestly impossible. There was
no mistaking the implicit faith of the Moslem boy who, as
he blacked my boots after the function, swore with flashing
1 At the funeral of a dervish sheikh, recently deceased in Palestine,
the coffin became "possessed" in a similar manner, so that the bearers
were said to have been impeded for several hours in their efforts to
enter the cemetery.

272 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
eyes that he had seen a dervish actually cut himself into two
parts which fell asunder, and which were then put together
again by the sheikh who cemented them by his holy saliva!
Sometimes scepticism and credulity exist in the same mind.
Our host of the day, a young Moslem of pronounced liberal
views, prominent in the new regime, somewhat contemptu
ously denounced as tricks all the demonstrations that we
had been seeing together, but, his voice subtly changing,
declared that he himself had seen a Refa'i dervish without
harm run a dirk through his abdomen so that it projected
for several inches from his back, and had further seen him
press down upon his brows a red-hot molten metal plate!
This is an admirable illustration of a generalization recently
made by Dr. Macdonald: "From one end of the Muslim
world to the other an unquestioning faith in the magician
still reigns. Scattered among the educated classes you will
meet a good deal of Voltairean unbelief, but even these in
dividuals are liable to set back at any time. The shell that
separates the Oriental from the unseen is very thin." x
These occasions thus illustrate not only the simple healing
powers of the dervishes, to which, I have been assured, the
really pious members always confine themselves, but also
the magical phenomena, often harmless enough, but some
times clearly justifying the distinction made by the great
Moslem philosopher, Ibn Khaldun, between miracle and
magic. " A miracle," he says, speaking here especially of
the miracles of the prophets — " a miracle is what is worked
by good men for good objects, and for purified souls, and
by way of proof of the prophetic office. Magic is worked
only by an evil man, for evil purposes and for evil results." 2
Magic he declares to be a form of unbelief. Practitioners
of magic, malicious as well as benevolent, are as common
to-day as they were in the days of Moses, who had to contend
with the professionals of Pharaoh's court. The practising
diviners of Syria are by no means exclusively dervish or
even Mohammedan. An old man of my acquaintance in
1 "The Religious Attitude and Life in Islam," p. 126, by D. B. Mac
donald. 2 Quoted by Macdonald (op. cit), p. 117.

THE DERVISH LIFE 273
northern Syria, a Greek Christian by origin, but now a
Protestant, inherited this trade from his father, and, before
his conversion, was consulted by people of all religions, who
had lost property, who desired charms or potions to produce
marital fecundity, or who came on similar errands such as
have in all ages and lands driven folk to the magician. In
such matters the creed of the practitioner counts for nothing.
Recently the Greek Bishop of Hums was obliged to forbid
in church the women of his diocese from consulting a der
vish sheikh of great vogue. A seance was described to me
by a sceptical man whose mother had taken him to a dealer
in magic. The sheikh first tried to "gather the jinns," or
spirits, from whom he professes to derive his information
and who give him visions.1 Falling on his knees, he bent
his head so that it almost touched the ground, shook it
ominously from side to side, making a sucking sound with
his lips, as one might chirrup to a horse, thus talking with
the jinns. Presently they showed him the desired vision,
which he interpreted. Some days the spirits are not to be
gathered. At other times they may be ensnared by skeins
of yarn, black, blue, or yellow, brought by the petitioner,
who may also present a black cat or a black hen for the same
purpose. Before writing a charm, the sheikh requires to
know the name of the mother of the recipient. In case of
malignant magic the sheikh may make a profit out of both
parties. My sceptical Syrian friend instanced the follow
ing example: A pays the sheikh for a charm to insure that
his enemy B should become possessed of an evil spirit or,
as we should say, go crazy. The charm is concealed under
some threshold over which B is wont to pass — in the house,
the church, or the mosque. When the charm works, the
friends of the now crazed B come to the sheikh, begging
him to discover the place where a charm may be hidden.
At the likely places he goes through his prayers and incanta
tions till he "discovers" the charm at the place where he
had known it to be put. The paper is then dipped in water,
and with the obliteration of the writing the madness van-
1 Intercourse with the jinns was authorized, as it were, by the great
founder, 'Abd-el-Qadir, who is said to have followed the practice.

274 THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF ISLAM
ishes from B.1 The sheikh then pockets his second fee.
How B happens to fall in with the plot by going crazy,
my friend did not explain. Proof of the antiquity of this
black art in Syria and Palestine was discovered in our
excavation of the Hebrew-Greek town of Marissa (Tell
Sandahannah), dating from the second and third centuries
B. C. Here were unearthed many soft limestone tablets,
some in fragments, scrawled with malignant sentiments in
Greek and Hebrew; together with a series of rude figures
or dolls, all under three inches in length, made of lead, whose
arms, legs and in some cases bodies were bound by ropes
or chains of iron or bronze.2 According to the principles
of magic, this torture was supposed to be duplicated by the
agony of the persons whom these dolls were made to repre
sent. Parallel practices take place in Italy to-day.
In closing this chapter, emphasis should be laid on the
fact that it necessarily gives but a superficial account of
its subject. The point of view is from without. What
the inner dervish life may be we can only form a vague guess
based on such rare confessions as were made to Mr. Balden
sperger by his dervish servant. Even that confession, it
may be remembered, was cut short by dervish scruples. To
appreciate the true content enshrined in religious forms
alien to our own requires not only exact, first-handed knowl
edge of the forms themselves, but delicate spiritual discern
ment and keen personal sympathy with the votaries. If this
is true as between High-Churchman and Low-Churchman,
Quaker and Episcopalian, Protestant and Romanist, how
much more difficult is the problem when it affects Christian
and Moslem ! And the difficulty is further enhanced when,
in the place of the ordinary Moslem, we are confronted with
the dervish, who adds to the common profession of Islam
the mystical doctrines and rites of his order. How strangely
the doctrines manifest themselves through the rites has been
1 In some cases the water in which the charm has been soaked is
drunk by the one concerned.
2 See "Excavations in Palestine," plates 86-88, by Bliss and Macal-
ister (London, 1902).

THE DERVISH LIFE 275
here described. It is hardly a matter for wonder that a
recent European writer has declared of the modern dervish
life that "the soul has departed and nothing remains but
this external mechanism so far as it relates to the methods
of throwing oneself into ecstasy and rendering the body in
susceptible to external impressions." 1 Such, indeed, is the
common Western view. But that this view should be sub
stantially modified to suit the real inner facts of the case has,
I hope, been the indication of this brief study.2
'Baedeker's "Handbook to Syria and Palestine," Introductory In
formation, xciv, written by Socin and re-edited by Benzinger, edition
of 1894.
2 The dervish life has been approached in a spirit of sympathy by
Dr. D. B. Macdonald, in his two lectures on "The Mystical Life and
the Dervish Fraternities," in his "Aspects of Islam" (op. cit).

CHAPTER VI
OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
Introductory Note
There are other features of Islam that call for notice
even in this brief treatment. The bulk of the chapter deals
with the status of woman, including the subjects of polyg
amy and divorce; with death and burial; and with the dif
ferences between Sunni and Shi'ah; with a brief glance at
the heretical offshoots of Islam. A preliminary word, how
ever, may be said about two matters: temperance and
slavery, which respectively show Islam at its best and at its
worst. Total abstinence is the glory of Mohammedanism.
It is as much a part of religion as prayer or fasting. Failure
in regard to this precept is not viewed with the popular
indulgence accorded to some moral lapses. Islam hates
strong drink. According to Mohammedan law, if a man
is brought before a judge, still intoxicated, or even redolent
of wine, and if two witnesses swear that he has been drink
ing, he is to receive eighty lashes if a free man, or forty
lashes if a slave. A Moslem is usually not only afraid but
ashamed to drink before a coreligionist. The use of in
toxicants in Mohammedan lands can always be traced to
Western influences. Through education obtained abroad,
and through the temptations of bars and saloons kept by
Christians, native and foreign, drinking is on the increase
among all classes of Moslems in the seaport towns of Syria
and Palestine, as well as in some interior cities. However,
to see a drunken man, of any religious sect, Christian or
Moslem, is a rarity in these lands. The whole population
is, as a rule, still temperate. Among Christians the use
of wine and spirits is largely confined to ceremonial and
festive occasions. 276

INTRODUCTORY NOTE 277
Slavery is so closely intertwined with the legislative code
which grips Islam with an iron hand that its official abolish
ment in any Mohammedan land is not to be expected. The
existence of slavery in Turkey is scarcely veiled.1 Arabia,
technically a part of the empire, but never under its control,
is said to be still the centre of the African slave-trade. Ac
cording to Doughty, slaves are bought in Jeddah for distri
bution in Turkey itself. Up to thirty years ago a regular
slave traffic was carried on between the Soudan and Aleppo
by caravan. At the present time the slaves in that city are
mostly females. But the empire contains also many white
slaves. The harems of Constantinople are supplied from
Circassia. During a recent winter of famine, a Mohamme
dan of 'Aintab sold some of his children in order to buy bread
for the rest. It is stated on credible authority that in Da
mascus alone there are two thousand white slaves, male and
female, amongst the Circassians, and in the families of the
higher class native Moslems. The females are mostly con
cubines. The youths and men are allowed to hire themselves
out as servants on condition that they give a certain por
tion of their earnings to the owner. Individuals of this class
have obtained freedom from this state of slavery, or rather
of serfdom, by the intervention of European consuls, but
others are restrained from the attempt by fear of secret re
vengeful action on the part of their owners. Speaking for
Palestine, Baldensperger admits that black slaves are on the
whole well treated, and prefer remaining in bondage to be
ing turned loose on the world.2 Their household work is
easy; marriages among themselves are arranged and financed
by the master; the acknowledged children of owners and
1 The statement has often been made that slavery has been abolished
in the Turkish Empire, but this is not so. Thus Baldensperger, in his
article, "Woman in the East" ("Quarterly Statement of the Palestine
Exploration Fund," 1899, p. 34), says: "Slavery is now abolished in
Turkey — at least legally; but virtually it still exists." This idea prob
ably arises from the fact that Moslems in lands where there is a strong
Western sentiment are apt to keep the matter of slavery in the back
ground. In his " Modern Egypt " (vol. II, p. 136), Lord Cromer says:
"Islam does not, indeed, encourage but it tolerates slavery."
'Ibid.

278 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
slave-concubines (as everywhere in Islam) are free and en
joy the same privileges as those of a legal wife. By bearing
a child to her master the woman herself becomes emanci
pated. Nor does color disbar such children from assum
ing the full social position of the father. When I was living
in Jerusalem, the mayor, a member of one of the great noble
houses, showed all the salient characteristics of negro blood.
The Koran teaches that when slaves can redeem themselves
it is the duty of Moslems to grant the emancipation. The
prophet is reported to have said : " Whosoever frees a slave
who is a Moslem, God will redeem every member of his
body, limb for limb, from hell-fire."
I. Woman and Marriage
The position of woman under Islam to-day is a striking
illustration of the evils inherent in a religious and social
system that has been practically immovable since the death
of its prophet. Mohammed left woman in a far better posi
tion than he found her, but the great work of improvement
was arrested when he died. As there is no such thing as
actual immovability, on this arrest has followed deteriora
tion. Up to a certain point Mohammed is responsible for
the position of woman among his followers to-day. But it
is equally true that if the principles which he illustrated in
her treatment could have been further developed in the his
tory of Islam, her condition would have been far higher
than it is.1 Here are some of the reforms he effected: he
abolished the horrible custom of burying female children
alive; he limited the number of contemporaneous marriages
to four, forbidding more than one unless a man could treat
1 In the introduction to Palmer's translation of the Koran are found
these apt words: "The real fault lies in the unelastic nature of the re
ligion: in his desire to shield it from change and to prevent his fol
lowers from dividing into sects, the founder has made it impossible for
Islam to throw off certain customs and restrictions [regarding women]
which, however convenient and even necessary to the Arabs of the time,
become grievous and unsuitable for other nations at distant periods
and in distant lands" (p. Ixxvi).

WOMAN AND MARRIAGE 279
all his wives equally; x he established laws to regulate female
inheritance, and otherwise ameliorated their legal status;
he recognized women's duties and privileges in the matters of
religion; he took for granted a certain amount of seclusion
for women,2 but the very indefiniteness of his references
not only leaves the commentators with a nice subject of dis
pute on their hands as to how far this seculsion should be
carried, but results in a difference of practice. Certainly
the prison life of the harem was never contemplated by the
prophet of Arabia. Indeed, the covering of the face is no
where enjoined, in so many words, by the Koran.3
It is impossible to exaggerate the evils inherent in the sys
tem under which woman exists in Islam. With all the im-
¦A liberal Indian Moslem argued in my hearing that by this the
prophet practically forbade polygamy, as to treat two or more women
with equal justice is an impossibility.
2 For example, note the following verse regulating the communica
tion between believers and the prophet's wives: "And when ye ask
them for any article, ask them from behind a curtain, that is purer for
your hearts and for them." (Surah XXXIII, 54.) On this Palmer
commentates: "The [Arab] women to the present day always remain
behind a curtain which screens off their part of the tent from the rest,
but freely converse with the husband and guests, and hand over the
dishes and any other articles that may be required by the company."
(Compare surah XXIV, 27-29.)
3 The following verse contains the nearest approach to it: "And say
to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their
private parts, and display not their ornaments except those which are
outside; and let them pull their kerchiefs over their bosoms, and not
display their ornaments save to their husbands and fathers," etc.
(here follows a list of other near male relatives, eunuchs, etc., who are
also excepted. It is interesting to note that in Palestine foster-brothers
have the same privileges as blood-brothers). The ambiguous word is
"ornament." The commentator, El-Beidhawi, says that it has been
held that the term includes, by contraction, the places of ornaments
also, taking in all parts of the body, except the face and the palms of
the hands, for these are not private parts. However, he adds that the
only time when these can be shown is during prayer, as the whole body
of the woman is private, and not lawful to any but her husband, ex
cept for medical treatment and when she is bearing witness.
The four great schools of interpretation unite in regarding a woman's
hair as '"owra" (forbidden or sacred). The Hanafiyeh hold that the
face may be seen but not the hands. The Shafi'iyeh forbid the ex
posure of both face and hands.

280 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
provement Mohammed effected in her condition, he con
tinued to regard woman as man's inferior and, within the
law, as subject to him in all things. This idea of inferior
ity has become stereotyped in Islam. Fear lest the ancient
tradition may lose force with the prevailing of modern
ideas has been a strong element in the opposition to the Con
stitution shown by some members of the 'ulama, or so-called
priestly class. The main evils arising from the traditional
point of view centre around seclusion, marriage, and divorce.
Seculsion in the harem practically prevents a man from
seeing his destined bride, and thus prevents her from any
previous acquaintance with him; it greatly fosters the favor
itism, jealousies, and quarrels logically attendant on polyg
amy; and it so cuts women off from the outside world that
a weekly excursion to sit in a cemetery closely veiled may
be eagerly anticipated as a diversion and a relief.1 Under
the marriage system of Islam mere children may be legally
united. Not only is polygamy sanctioned, but concubinage
with slaves is a recognized right of the husband. Among
the lower classes wife-beating is regarded as a proper dis
cipline. A man may divorce his wife out of mere caprice,
for no fault committed, nor cause alleged, and without any
process of law. This arbitrary power introduces an element
of constant uncertainty into the life of Moslem women in
the circles where divorce is common. It is a saying among
Mohammedans : " When a woman prepares a meal for her
husband, she is not sure that she will be his wife long enough
to share it!" Yet common as divorce is, it carries with it a
certain stigma. A divorced woman sent back to her father's
house may be relegated to the position of a servant. From
all this it has long been recognized by the West that women
born in Islam are liable to terrible unhappiness from causes
that do not operate under the Christian system. That such
suffering does abundantly exist at points throughout the
entire Mohammedan world has been again illustrated in a
recent book called "Our Moslem Sisters," which contains
1 Harem, or, more properly, harim', is the plural of hur'mah, woman,
and from the simple meaning "women" comes to signify "the place
of women."

WOMAN AND MARRIAGE 281
contributions from writers conversant with Islam in different
lands. Syria and Palestine are covered in two papers, which
agree in presenting a very dark side of the subject. The
author of the well-balanced paper on Syria, however, rec
ognizes also a bright side which finds no place in the dismal
purview of the writer on Palestine.1 Says the former:
" There are happy homes (or so they seem at first) where
there is immaculate cleanliness, where the mother looks well
after the ways of the household and of her children, is ready
to receive her husband and kiss his hand when he returns
from his work, where there is but one wife and a contented
and indulgent husband and father." 2 Dr. Wortabet, him
self an Oriental, surrounded during a long lifetime by Mos
lem neighbors, also states both sides. He points out that
"strong love may often be accompanied by fierce and dis
ordered passions, so that the object of intense devotion may
also be the victim of intense jealousy and consequent
cruelty," but he also states: "We know with certainty that
there is much of domestic love, felicity, and peace frequently
found in Mohammedan families. The fact is that where the
conjugal relation subsists there is generally found conjugal
love also, ranging through all the degrees of which the hu
man heart is susceptible." 3
The writer on " Women in Syria," quoted above, ascribes
in almost every case observed by her the happier condi
tion of Moslem women to Christian teaching and example.
The effect of this is beautifully illustrated in the school es
tablished in Beyrout by the late Miss Taylor and still car
ried on for Moslem and Druse girls. But there are certain
elements within Islam itself, not often considered, which
operate toward a similar end. Thus, speaking generally,
1 "Out Moslem Sisters'' is edited by S. M. Zwemer and Annie Van
Sommer, the individual papers being anonymous. The writer of the
paper, "Woman in Palestine," claims that during twenty years' sojourn
in Palestine she has had intercourse among all classes of Mohammedan
women, but the unqualified pessimistic generalizations in which she
indulges regarding not only the position of women but the whole system
of Islam are quite unwarrantable.
2 "Our Moslem Sisters" (op. cit), p. 175.
8 "Religion in the East" (op. cit), pp. 230-231.

282 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
while it is impossible to exaggerate certain evils inherent in
the nature of the system, it is quite possible to exaggerate
their extent and, to a less degree, their results. Take, for
example, seclusion within the harem. This naturally ap
pears horrible to a woman brought up under Western civili
zation. But women bred in the harem do not miss a liberty
which they have never known. Among the higher Moslem
classes charming family life may be found. The spirit of
high breeding is in every race the same though conditions
of life may differ radically. The rather overcolored ac
counts of that interesting book, "Haremlik," did not come
as a surprise to Western women with friends among the
Moslem aristocracy.1 But even granted that, as a rule, the
evils of life in the harem bear hard on the occupants, it
should be emphasized that these are confined to the cities,
and hence affect only the minority of Mohammedan women.
In passing from the towns to the country in Syria and Pales
tine the traveller cannot fail to note a great contrast. The
town women when they go out are swathed in sheets, white
or colored, with their faces hidden by dark veils. The peas
ant women, on the other hand, appear publicly in their
ordinary dress, leaving the face and sometimes also part
of the hair exposed to view. The husbands and fathers of
these girls are good Moslems, observing the ordinances of
prayer and fasting quite as punctiliously as the majority of
the men of the city, and more punctiliously than many of the
highest classes who keep their women in strictest seclusion.
In letting their women's faces be seen in public, these peas
ants are apparently unconscious of transgression, and, as
we have already shown, they are transgressing no law explic
itly set forth in the Koran.2 This state of things naturally

1 See " Haremlik " (New York, 1906), by Demetra Vaka (Mrs. Kenneth
Brown), describing the life of the high-class Moslem women in Con
stantinople. 2 A well-known Moslem sheikh of Beyrout, whom I consulted in re
gard to this matter, declared that the peasant women in exposing their
hair and hands (which according to the Hanafiyeh are forbidden, even
though the face may be seen) are acting in ignorance of the law, and
hence are not blameworthy.

WOMAN AND MARRIAGE 283
gives an opportunity to a peasant woman of strong personal
ity to make her controlling influence felt in the household
and in the community. Such a woman I once met in a vil
lage lying in a deep valley of Mount Hermon, where, during
the summer, the inhabitants live in booths. We were en
camped not far from each other, and so exchanged calls.
This handsome, dignified matron, who serenely kept her
face uncovered, had an authoritative air well befitting the
sole head of the house. From her little booth she was reg
ulating the varied work of her estates, which brought her
in the princely income of twelve hundred to fifteen hundred
dollars a year: the herding of cows and goats; the thresh
ing of wheat; the culture of vines and tobacco; the cutting
of wood. Her sons, all married or betrothed, obediently
worked under her orders. Her husband I recall as a mild
man, apparently in total eclipse. Such instances are not un
common in Turkey. Dr. Washburn, in his " Fifty Years in
Constantinople," speaks of a Moslem woman as " the leader
of the village" of Hissar, on the Bosphorus. Baldensperger,
a prime authority for peasant life in Palestine, writes: "She
[woman] is considered as inferior. . . . But from this it
does not follow that a man absolutely commands the house.
On the contrary, the fellah-woman is just as often — virtually
— the head of the family, and differs in nothing from women
in the rest of creation. She at least influences her husband,
in most cases for all things, not only in the house, but in all
matters affecting their commonweal. ... I have known
many fellah-women to manage everything better than the
husband, and even scolding him to some degree for any mis
management, or teaching him what to say in the men's as
sembly. But, notwithstanding this, she does not escape a
good flogging occasionally. Yet it does not follow that the
fellah-woman is to be pitied in being considered an inferior
being. She enjoys her life and liberty to a certain extent,
at least in many instances." J
1 See his article, " Birth, Marriage and Death among the Fellahin of
Palestine" ("Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund,"
1894, p. 133). From the context it is possible that this generalization
is meant to include Christian women as well as Moslem.

284 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
This peasant freedom, however, is not without definitely
recognized restrictions. The easy relations between men
and women follow an economic rather than a social law.
During the course of my excavations in Palestine, when I
employed, in all, hundreds of laborers of both sexes, I noted
that before the day's work began the women and girls sat
apart with faces averted and with veils pulled forward, but
that when the whistle sounded for work they threw back their
veils and mingled fearlessly with the men and lads, chatting
and joking with them in full comradeship. In the same way
at home they would move freely about when engaged in
household duties, but would not think of joining the men
at meals, or when they assembled in the evening to chat and
smoke. One is tempted to speculate whether these peasant
women do not preserve the ideal of feminine conduct enter
tained by Mohammed.1 At any rate, among the Moslem
peasantry actual practice is better than the theory of the
doctors of the law. Conditions which tend to restrain Mos
lem men from taking advantage of the license accorded them
in matters of polygamy and divorce will appear in the fol
lowing brief notice of these subjects.
Marriage in Islam is purely a civil contract, not invali
dated by the absence of a religious ceremony, though this in
some form, shorter or longer, is a usual accompaniment.
The marriage is valid and binding if the contracting par
ties possess the legal capacity to enter into it and if they

1 A certain amount of seclusion of women is found among the Chris
tian sects in those parts of Syria and Palestine where Western influ
ences are still unfelt. In the Greek churches the women are often kept
behind a screen. To this day a curtain separates the sexes in the
Protestant church in Hums (Emesa) In towns where Moslems pre
dominate, Christian women go sheeted and veiled in the streets. In
the country districts of Syria most women would never think of eating
with male guests, and often not with the men of their own household.
Baldensperger states that Christian women in Palestine are practically
excluded from all men's society outside of their own households.
Jacques de Vitry, who became Latin Bishop of Tyre in 1217, describes
a similar state of things as existing among the Greek Christian women
of his time. ("Historia Hierosolymitana XXIV," found in "Bongars'
Gesta Dei per Francos.")

WOMAN AND MARRIAGE 285
give their mutual consent in the presence of witnesses. It is
not necessary that the contract should be reduced to writ
ing, and, according to the Shi'ah law, witnesses may be dis
pensed with. Legal capacity denotes the absence of the rec
ognized disabilities.1 Mutual consent respects, theoretically,
at least, the independence of the female. A girl who has
, reached the age of puberty cannot be married without her
consent, though this need not be given in so many words,
but may be expressed by silence, a smile, or a laugh. If
married by consent of her guardian during her legal in
fancy, she is free to ratify or to repudiate the contract, be
fore two witnesses, immediately on reaching puberty. The
qadhi (judge) of a Palestine town, however, told a Syrian
friend of mine that the youthful brides of his district were
generally ignorant of their privileges in this matter, and that
for his part they might remain so, lest their girlish caprices
should augment unduly the list of matrimonial failures!
As to the witnesses, these should be Moslems, two males,
or one male and two females. According to the Koran a
man may contract four contemporary marriages, but as the
law requires an especial establishment for each wife, eco
nomic considerations place polygamy among the luxuries.
Some poor polygamists flagrantly disregard the required
segregation, in spite of the protests of the women's relations.
It is my impression that among the hundreds of fellah work
men I have employed in Palestine polygamy was decidedly
exceptional.2 Baldensperger, from a wider range of ob
servation, comes to the same conclusion. Even when po
lygamy obtains among the poor its unhappiness may be
mitigated by mutual accommodation, as in the household
of one of my Siloam workmen, where two wives, one a
mother and the other childless, shared in the tender care of
1 For the nine prohibitions to marriage, see Hughes's "Dictionary of
Islam," p. 316. These involve questions of consanguinity, affinity, fos
terage ("milk" relationship), slavery, etc. Also a man may not marry
a polytheist, though he may marry a Christian or a Jewess.
2 Speaking of the Moslem population, Dr. Wortabet says: "Perhaps
two-thirds of the whole are satisfied with one wife." (See " Religion in
the East," op. cit, p. 227.)

286 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
the children. In this case both common-sense and tact were
exhibited, for a childless wife is at a discount in a polygamous
household, where the favor shown to each wife depends upon
the number of her children. It may be added that celibates
of either sex are almost unknown in Islam, the regular ex
ceptions existing in some of the more rigid of the dervish
orders. Early marriage has been the rule with all classes.
With the advance of the tide of Western civilization, how
ever, the marriage of men in the cities is postponed to a com
paratively late age. On the other hand, the marriage of a
boy may be hastened so as to evade the military conscription.
Among the peasants, girls are sometimes married when mere
children because the future mother-in-law needs some one
to help in the house, in which she takes her place with the
other children, including, perhaps, her little husband, till she
is able to perform the duties of a wife.1
The settling of the amount of the dowry is usually held to
be an indispensable preliminary to marriage, but even if this
is not mentioned in the contract the woman is entitled to a
certain amount by law. Part of the dowry, in some cases
two-thirds, is payable at the time of marriage, the remain
ing third to be paid in case the woman is divorced without
her consent or in case of her husband's death. Among the
peasants this "reserved dower" is used for her funeral ex
penses should she pre-decease her husband. On the other
hand, if a man divorces his wife because she has deserted him,
he is entitled to receive back half what he has paid. With
the rich the dowry all goes to the girl, to be spent for her
jewelry, but among the poor the father retains a part. It
may be paid in money or in kind. Among the fellahin it
is often estimated at so many camels. The amount is often
lessened by a system of exchanges by which a man may
' Baldensperger speaks of a Turkish captain in Jerusalem who mar
ried two of his sons at one time, aged respectively ten and twelve. He
remembers later watching the boy of ten and his little wife as they
went together to a day school, beating each other and fighting along the
road. The author speaks of still earlier marriages. (See his article,
"Woman in the East," "Quarterly Statement of the Palestine Explora
tion Fund," 1899, p. 137.)

WOMAN AND MARRIAGE 287
trade his sister or daughter for another man's sister or
daughter. The popularity of such double marriages , is
also increased by a saving in the wedding expenses, as one
set of festivities will do for two couples.1
The marriage ceremony may be performed by the qadhi
(judge), by the imam (religious sheikh), or even by the
khatib (scribe). In any case a fee is paid by the bride
groom. The ceremony does not take place in a mosque,
though it may be performed in the court-house or govern
ment building. Among the fellahin bridal parties are wont
to assemble at the bridegroom's house. Those present
are the "officiating clergyman," the bridegroom, the wit
nesses, and the bride's attorney, or male representatives,
whom she has the privilege of choosing herself if she has
come to a woman's age. The law, in its four forms of inter
pretation, gives the bridegroom the right to see the girl be
fore the binding contract. As we have seen, among the
peasants young men have constant chances to see the girls
unveiled, but in the cities, where strict seclusion of the sex
is practised, such a privilege is rarely if ever exercised.
The city bridegroom must content himself with descriptions
of the bride given him by some female relation or by a
regular female "broker," who may grossly exaggerate the
charms of the fair unknown. The form of the religious
ceremony is left to the officiating party. Sometimes it is
confined to a repetition of the fat-hah, or opening prayer of
the Koran, and to the blessing. More commonly the ser
vice opens with the prayer for forgiveness, followed by four
short chapters of the Koran, selected for their brevity rather
than for their appropriateness, and by the profession of
faith. The officiating party then requests the bride's at
torney to take the hand of the groom and to say: "Such
an one's daughter, by the agency of her attorney and by the
testimony of two witnesses, has in your marriage with her
had such a dower settled upon her; do you consent to it?"
To which the bridegroom replies: "With my whole heart
and soul, to my marriage with this woman, as well as to the
1 Ibid, p. 140. Compare " Birth, Marriage and Death among the
Fellahin of Palestine " (op. cit), pp. 132-134.

288 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
dowry already settled upon her, I consent, I consent, I con
sent." The qadhi or sheikh then raises his hands and
prays for mutual love between the pair, as existed between
Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Moses and Zipporah,
Mohammed and Ayeshah, etc.1 Mutual congratulations
follow. This marriage contract is absolutely binding even
if it is not made effective for an indefinite period. Usually,
however, the wedding festivities and the actual consumma
tion occur within a few days after the making of the contract.
To describe the wedding customs, which in many of their
details are common to all natives in Syria and Palestine,
does not come within the scope of the present work, as they
belong to folk-lore rather than to religion. The persistence
of these ancient customs, irrespective of creed, seems to
date their origin far beyond that of any religious faith with
which they now coexist. It must suffice here to name some
curious features still obtaining in rural districts: the blow
given by the groom to the bride, as symbol of his mastery;
the public dressing of the groom out-of-doors in his wedding
garments; the nuqut, or formal presentation of money to the
bride and groom by the individual guests; the mimic war,
waged sometimes between the bride's party and the groom's
party, or between two sections of the groom's party; the
announcement of the consummation of the marriage by a
gun fired by the groom. The wedding festivities of a widow
or of a divorced woman are at best " maimed rites." Many
general features of the merrymaking are repeated at the
circumcisions. This rite, though universally practised in
Islam, is nowhere enjoined in the Koran. It may be per
formed at any time between the age of ten days and, say,
seven years. Sometimes it is even further postponed, but
it is obligatory before marriage.
Mohammedan practice recognizes three kinds of divorce.2
All of these take effect, though only the first, called the
most laudable, is universally recognized to be regular.
This is the only form which does not compel a woman to
marry another man before she can be remarried to her
1 See Hughes's "Dictionary of Islam," article, "Marriage."
2 Ibid., article, "Divorce."

WOMAN AND MARRIAGE 289
former husband. It appears to be rarely used among the
Sunnis. Dr. Wortabet, in his " Religion in the East," takes
no account of it in his treatment of this sect. However,
from his notice of the Metawileh it would appear that in
divorce they follow this first form.1 With the Sunnis, in
ordinary cases the man need only say to his wife three times :
"Thou art divorced," or "Thou art free," to make the di
vorce final. Indeed, should he hold up three fingers or
drop three stones the result would be the same. However,
it is usual to employ a formula of oath.2 No charge against
the woman need be named nor cause for the divorce as
signed. There may be found among the peasantry, how
ever, especially in small communities, limitation of the evils
of divorce, as the tyranny of the husband is effectively
tempered by the fear of the male relatives of the wife, whose
revengeful rage might make matters very hot in case of an
unjust divorce. In Syria divorce is said to be rare among
the poor. Similar causes operate to the same end in higher
life, mutatis mutandis.
In Syria, if the divorced woman is friendless, she may state
her case before the court, and, should she wish to marry
again, a husband must be provided for her; if she remains
unmarried, her former husband must support her; children
must be supported by the father; if over seven years of age,
they may choose which parent they will live with; under
seven, they go with the mother.3 In addition to the caprice
of the husband there are eleven conditions which, according
to Mohammedan law, require divorce. Some of these are
favorable to women. Either party is divorced from the
other in case of apostasy from Islam; in case of proof that
the marriage has disregarded a recognized disability; or
in case of one becoming the slave of the other. A woman
may obtain a divorce from her husband if she can prove
his physical disability; if the stipulated dowry is not paid;
1 "Religion in the East " (op. cit), p. 278.
2 For the oath "by the triple divorce," used by the fellahin, see
Baldensperger's article on "Marriage" (op. cit), p. 132.
3 See article, "Mohammedan Women in Syria," in "Our Moslem
Sisters " (op. cit), p. 184.

290 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
and in case she has been entrapped into marriage with a man
of inferior tribe.
Mohammed recognized the religious duties of women, but
the laws of Islam have gradually woven such a fabric of
ceremonial ablutions and purifications, necessary before the
individual is fit for formal devotions, that wives and mothers
in the prime of life find it almost impossible to observe the
five daily hours of prayer. Young girls, trained to pray,
usually drop the custom at the critical age, and this is seldom
resumed in later years.1 Fasting, however, is more strictly
followed by women of all ages. The provision made for
the women of Jerusalem in the so-called mosque of 'Omar,
where especial functions are held during the month of
Ramadhan, has already been noticed. At this time women
visit each other with greater freedom. As has also been
here chronicled, women may enter upon the direct " religious
life" by becoming dervishes. Such cases, however, seem
to be exceptional.
In the cult of the shrines, however, the women quite
keep pace with the men. Moreover, they have their own
peculiar superstitions. Each woman is supposed to have
an invisible double, called a kariny, her exact duplicate in
disposition and character, and even in the number of children
she may bear. If the woman be quarrelsome, so also is the
kariny, who may vent her spite on the human children, even
causing their death. Against the power of such, charms
are bought from the diviners, who claim that, through
these, the spirit-double may be chained to the bottom of
the sea.
However they may lack in religious observance, it must
not be assumed that Moslem women are without a fund of
natural religion, or to some degree without a certain vital
knowledge of their own faith. The very eagerness with
which they receive the instruction of Christian missionary
women indicates how deep is this natural religious sense.
Something which nourishes this they possess in their own
faith. Those who are fortunate enough to know the spiritual
passages of the Koran find in these real comfort. A Turk-
1 See "Woman in the East" (op. cit), p. 145, by J. P. Baldensperger.

DEATH AND BURIAL 291
ish lady teacher, in one of the American missionary schools,
quoted these texts with the reverence and faith with which
her Christian colleagues might quote the Bible. Nor are
such instances confined to the educated classes. The super
intendent of a hospital in Syria described to me the peace
ful death-bed of a poor Moslem woman, whose friends con
soled her by repeating the beautiful passages about God
with which their sacred book abounds. According to the
same witness, similar instances of real spirituality, of trust
and faith in God, are not uncommon among the women of
Islam.
II. Death and Burial
When a Moslem realizes that the hour of his death is near
he asks forgiveness of his family and friends. Among the
peasants it is customary to give the wife permission to marry
again. The bed is placed so that the dying man lies facing
the south, or toward Mecca. The words of the creed are
repeated to him in order that, so some hold, he may be
prepared with answers to the questions at the dread exam
ination of the tomb. According to ^he belief of some, at
the moment of death the angel 'Azrail is visible, appearing
beautiful to the good man, terrible to the evil-doer, for he
not only announces to each his fate but points out his place
in paradise or in hell. When the man breathes his last the
men go out, leaving the women to their weeping, lamenting,
and rending of garments. For the men such expressions of
sorrow — indeed, any expression of sorrow — are forbidden as
rebellion against the decree of Allah. In fact, they should
rebuke the women. Before the corpse is washed the eyes
are closed and the two feet are tied together at the big toes.
Opportunity is then given to kiss the face of the departed,
for after the washing a kiss would render him ceremonially
unclean, and, indeed, no woman save his mother or sister is
permitted to look upon him, not even his wife. The wash
ing may be done by a member of the family, but is usually
performed by a sheikh or khatib (scribe). It may be done
in the house or in the court-yard, or on the roof of the

292 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
mosque. After the washing the regular ceremonial ablu
tions, as before prayer, are performed on the dead. The
water then should be poured into a hole in the ground to
prevent pollution. While the washing is proceeding the
sheikh often chants the creed continuously, and the blind
men, who always assemble at a funeral, may repeat verses
from the Koran, while money is distributed to the assem
bled beggers. After the corpse is anointed it is clothed in
the regular grave clothes, consisting of several parts, which
may include a white cap and turban, all kept in place by
extra bands of cloth wound around the body, sometimes
covering it entirely, so that not even the face is exposed.
Camphor is often sprinkled inside the shroud, and, among
the fellahin, when a bad man dies they may slip in a reed
containing a paper inscribed with the words of the creed to
help him in the examination of the tomb.
A Moslem funeral should take place, if possible, before
sunset on the day of the death, a practice common to all
sects in Syria and Palestine. For a woman the rites are the
same as for a man. The coffin is carried on a bier to the
place where the service is conducted, which may be the
mosque, its court-yard or roof, or any open place on the
road to the cemetery, but not the cemetery itself. In case
of a rich man or a dervish the procession is an affair of some
state, with banners and chanting, though all must go on foot.
Contrary to Western ideas, the procession moves rapidly.
As merit accrues to such as may carry the bier, this is
constantly changing hands. As they walk, the pall-bearers
repeat the fat-hah, or first chapter of the Koran, while men
in the shops or coffee-houses rise in respect to the dead.
For the regular service for the dead the reader is referred to
Hughes's "Dictionary of Islam." If in a mosque, the pray
ers are led by the qadhi or imam, but the nearest relative
is held to be the proper person to conduct them. The wor
shippers stand erect, without the usual prostrations, though
the position of the hands is changed from time to time. After
the conclusion of the service, it is customary among the
peasantry of Palestine for the sheikh to turn to the people
and ask: "What do you testify concerning the departed?"

DEATH AND BURIAL 293
To this the conventional answer is : " He was of the good
folk"; but in case of a notorious evil-liver they may say:
" Woe to him!" This curious colloquy, which I do not find
mentioned in the " Dictionary of Islam," is sometimes re
served for the cemetery.
At the cemetery the corpse is taken out of the coffin and
placed in the grave, which is lined with stones and sub
sequently arched over, so that no earth may press on the
body, as all Mohammedan sheikhs teach that the corpse
feels pain. Accordingly, the floor of the grave is made soft
with henna (red dye-stuff) and camphor. The head of the
grave is toward the west, and the body is placed on its right
side so that the face may look south, or toward Mecca.
Before the grave is closed in the friends may sprinkle dust
on the corpse, and, among the fellahin, sometimes the face
is uncovered to prevent the dead from swallowing the band
of cloth! An extraordinary practice, not obligatory but
based on tradition, often either precedes or follows the clos
ing in of the grave. In a loud voice the sheikh addresses
the spirit of the dead man, to prepare him further for the
dread visit immediately after the people have departed, the
visit of the two examining spirits, the angels Mun'kar and
Nakir', with black faces and blue eyes. After a preliminary
exhortation emphasizing the reality of death and the res
urrection, he declaims: "The two angels are now coming
to thee, and they will ask thee: Who is thy Lord, and who is
thy prophet, and what is thy religion ? By what hast thou
lived and by what hast thou died? Answer them quickly
and without fear: Allah is my God, Mohammed is my
prophet, Islam is my religion, and I have lived and I have
died by the words of the creed, ' There is no God but God,
and Mohammed is the prophet of God! ' " This exhortation,
called the talqin', may be elaborated, ad libitum, to cover
other matters of faith and loyalty.1 While this practice is
voluntary, belief in the visit of the angels, called the punish
ment of the grave, is incumbent on all Moslems. Among
the fellahin it is sometimes called the reckoning. For the
1 It is said that in Busrah the sheikh, in giving this exhortation, may
strike the corpse's head with his stick.

294 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
wicked it is full of terrors. After the talqin the sheikh may
lift his voice in the call to prayer. Sometimes the grave-
diggers wash their implements and their hands over the
grave. At a town funeral the citizens shake hands with the
relatives of the dead, while the fellahin salute them by
touching foreheads, and sometimes offer presents. Much
rivalry is shown by villagers, not related to the dead, in the
matter of dinner invitations to out-of-town guests, who often
find themselves in a state of agreeable embarrassment of
choice. The relatives, however, may furnish food to the
women, who partake of it sitting under a tree. During the
days of mourning, which may range from three to eight, both
sexes go to the grave to listen to readings by the sheikh,
which the dead is supposed to hear. On the third day
there may be a "zikr" or ejaculatory calling on the name
of God. Sometimes food is brought to be eaten at the
grave. The cemetery may be visited every Thursday after
the death occurs and then annually on the Thursday of the
dead. Notwithstanding the prohibition of the Koran di
rected against the erection of tombs and monuments, these
are common throughout Islam. Against this practice the
Wahabis protested in vain. Some of the mausoleums are
elaborate. The ordinary cemetery usually shows a forest
of head-stones in which there are often niches for small
oil-lamps, to be lighted on Thursday evenings. A turban
surmounting the head-stone indicates the grave of a male.
A practice analogous to the saying of masses for the dead
has already been described.1
III. The Shi'ah Sect
Thus far this presentation of Islam has followed the
practices of the Sunnis, or self-called Traditionalists, who
form a very large majority of the Moslems of Syria and
Palestine. Scattered over these lands, however, are num
bers of Shi'ahs, literally followers — that is, followers of 'Ali,
first cousin to the prophet and husband of his favorite
daughter Fatima. They prefer to be called simply Moslems,
1 See foot-note on p. 214.

THE SHI'AH SECT 295
though the term Shi'ah is not denied. In Damascus they
are known as Arfadh' (alternative forms are Rafidhin and
Rawafidh'), a term invented by the Sunnis in the early days
of the schism, and meaning deserters, traitors, or forsakers
of the truth.1 The term Metawa'li (plural Meta'wileh) is
a synonym for Shi'ah, signifying one who befriends 'Ali.2 It
appears to be only of local Syrian usage. Under the desig
nation of Meta'wileh the Shi'ahs are known throughout their
two chief districts: in the highlands east of Sidon, Tyre, and
Acre, and in the plain of Coele-Syria (the Buqa'a), as well
as in the district of 'Akkar, north-east of Tripoli, in the
northern and southern ends of the Lebanon, and in the
cities of Sidon and Tyre. South of the Sea of Galilee the
Shi'ahs are practically unknown. As they are everywhere
registered under the category of Moslems exact statistics are
wanting, but they must number at least fifty thousand.3
Probably, on account of their distinct physiognomy, it is
often assumed that they are of foreign origin. They cer
tainly turn toward Persia as the stronghold of their faith,
but this is because in that land the Shi'ah Moslems are in the
overwhelming majority. Churchill quotes a tradition trac
ing them to Bokhara.* According to this tradition they fled
into the mountainous districts named above after an un-
1 For an elaborate history of the word rawafidh, see Appendix A
to the article entitled "The Heterodoxies of the Shiites," etc., by Pro
fessor Friedlaender, in the "Journal of the American Oriental Society,"
vol. XXIX, pp. 137-159.
2 From 3« (waliy'yi), friend, comes the verbal form <Lj> (tewal'li),
to make a friend of, from which is derived the progressive noun
liyOo (metawal'li), plural xJ.Lvo (meta'wileh), one who makes friends
with. The Shi'ahs understand the word 'Ali. This is the accepted
derivation, though one from the root, (J|., to separate, has been sug
gested. 3 Dr. Wortabet, writing in 1860, regards eighty thousand as an over
estimate. ("Religion in the East," p. 261.) The recent estimate of
Cuinet is only about thirty-seven thousand. The number given above
is a mere guess.
'"Mount Lebanon," vol. Ill, pp. 110-111, by Colonel Churchill
(London, 1864).

296 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
successful rebellion. The Count de Jehay says they are sup
posed to have arrived in Syria in the twelfth century with
the Kurdish hordes led by Saladin and other chieftains.1
Professor Boulos Khauli, of the Syrian Protestant College,
points out that it is not necessary to assume for this sect an
origin in Syria different from that of the Sunni Moslems.
From the beginning 'Ali had his partisans wherever Islam
spread. According to a tradition of the Metawileh, the
caliph 'Othman banished to Damascus a certain Abu 'Ozar
who took the part of his rival 'Ali. Because of his active
influence in Damascus he was later transferred to Sarafend
(Sarepta), south of Sidon, where he continued to preach
the claims of 'Ali. The adherents thus gained to the cause
are said by the Metawileh of the region to have formed the
nucleus of the sect in Syria. The distinct physiognomy
of its votaries is easily accounted for by an extraordinary
exclusiveness enforcing through many centuries marriage
within their own community. It is quite possible that the
above-named traditions of a foreign origin may apply to the
immigration of certain families who swelled the ranks of a
sect already formed in Syria. Whatever their origin, they
had become strongly established around Ba'albek in the
beginning of the sixteenth century. An early leader in that
district, one Harfush is said to have given his name to the
terrible house of Harfush, whose members have held despotic
sway in the same region until quite recent times.
In order to make clear the roots of the strong antagonism
still mutually felt by the Sunnis and Shi'ahs, we may be al
lowed to return to the history of the schism already touched
upon in the first chapter. After the death of the prophet,
one party claimed that the divine right of succession was
vested alone in 'Ali and his descendants. But the contrary
opinion prevailed; Abu Bekr, 'Omar, and 'Othman were
successively elected to the caliphate; and twenty-three years
had elapsed from Mohammed's death before the succes
sion of 'Ali became a fact. Revolt against the new caliph
drenched Islam with blood, and after five years 'Ali fell sole
1 See "De la Situation Legale des sujets Ottomans non-Musulmans,"
pp. 424-442, par le Conte F. van den Steen de Jehay (Bruxelles, 1906).

THE SHI'AH SECT 297
victim to a threefold puritan plot that aimed to destroy
also his rival, Mo'awiyah, Governor of Syria, and the latter's
lieutenant, 'Amr, who was leading the revolt in Egypt. The
followers of 'Ali elected his eldest son Hasan, but he shortly
abdicated in favor of Mo'awiyah, with the understanding
that he should resume the caliphate on the latter's death.
On Mo'awiyah's son Yezid, who ignored this compact, has
rested the suspicion of causing the death of Hasan by poi
son, but it appears to be the fact that he died naturally in
his bed at Medinah. The adherents of the house of 'Ali now
rallied about his second son, flosein. Plain, unvarnished
history represents his death, and that of his brother 'Abbas,
as the inevitable culmination of the unequal contest for
supremacy with the forces of the successful Yezid. On the
plains of Kerbela, near Kufa, flosein, with his handful of fol
lowers, was surrounded by forty thousand horsemen. In a
series of single combats, marvels of valor and courage, the
little band, one by one, gave up their lives. This plain, un
varnished tale is thrilling enough, but in the yielding of
Hosein to an inevitable fate the Shi'ahs see a voluntary self-
sacrifice, a vicarious offering for the sins of his people, fore
told, they affirm, by the prophet himself.1 They believe that
before his death flosein spoke words like these: "O Lord,
for the merit of me, the dear child of thy prophet; O Lord,
for the sake of young 'Abbas rolling in his blood, even that
young brother that was equal to my soul, I pray thee, in the
day of judgment, forgive, O merciful Lord, the sins of my
grandfather's people, and grant me, bountifully, the key
of the treasure of intercession." 2 No wonder that for the
descendants of those men, through whose malignant agency
they believe that this atonement was accomplished, the
Shi'ahs have nothing but fierce hatred! Even thus, but far
less poignantly, do the Christians of the land regard the Jews
1 The common people in Persia are said to include all Hosein's
fellow-martyrs on that day as actors in this vicarious atonement.
2 See p. 245 of the chapter called a " Persian Miracle Play," in " Stud
ies in a Mosque," by Stanley Lane Poole (London and Sydney, 1893).
Our notice of this play, which follows, is based upon Poole's description.
The passion play may be given also at other seasons.

298 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
whose ancestors they hold to have been agents in the tragedy
of the crucifixion. This hatred is fanned anew into flames
at the beginning of each Moslem year. Among the Shi'ahs
the woes of the house of 'Ali are commemorated during
the first ten days of Moharram, known as the 'Ashura.
Only the tenth day is observed by the Sunnis, and for quite
another reason : the creation of Adam and Eve, of heaven
and hell, etc., etc. In some places this is kept as a fast, but I
am told that in parts of Syria the Sunnis make of it a New-
Year's feast, wearing gay garments and going forth to pic
nics, thus widening the breach between them and their
Metawileh neighbors, whose grief and mourning culminate
on this tenth day, the Good Friday of their passion season.
The manner of the commemoration varies in different
lands. In Persia and India it takes the form of a passion
play, following for ten days, with two performances a day,
the events of the tragic history that terminated at Kerbela
with the martyrdom of flosein. For ten days in every Per
sian town the streets are filled with mourners, groaning,
weeping, casting dust on their heads, wounding themselves
with knives, calling out: "O flasan! O flosein!" as they
hasten to the theatres. Some of these are enclosures in the
court-yards of palaces or mosques, with a brick platform in the
centre for a stage. Many are attached to private houses by
their rich owners, who expend enormous sums on the lamps
and decorations. The stage properties are of the simplest
— a tank sufficing to represent the Euphrates — but the
" tabut," a model of the tombs of the martyrs, is sometimes
very costly. These tabuts are erected not only on the stage
of the theatres but all over the city. Around the stage sit
or squat the populace, sometimes to the number of twenty
thousand, while the nobles occupy boxes at the sides. As
the play advances the demonstrations of grief become acute,
the audience no longer sees the mere representation of a
tragedy — this is the tragedy itself! The soldiers of the
usurper Yezid are driven from the stage by stones thrown
by the infuriated people! Even the actors share in the illu
sion: it is said that the head of the man impersonating
Hosein was once actually cut off in the frenzy of the actor-

THE SHI'AH SECT 299
murderer ! In Bombay, after the last performance of the tenth
day, the tabuts, or tomb-models, are carried in hundreds of
processions, from the theatres and other places to the sea,
where sometimes they are left to be the sport of the waves.1
The 'Ashura commemoration of the Syrian Metawileh
is but a shadow of the Persian play. I am told that the
local religious sheikhs forbid as sacrilege, or dishonor to the
family of the prophet, even the publication of the history of
the house of 'Ali in the form of a drama merely for private
reading, any dramatic representation being considered out
of the question. The reading of this history in undramatic
form is, however, a sacred duty and privilege, pursued in all
Metawali communities three times a day for the ten days.2
As the village mosques are small, the readings, usually con
ducted by a sayyid, or alleged descendant of 'Ali, may be
given at the house of some comparatively well-to-do man,
who acts as host, furnishing tea or coffee or cakes " for the
sake of flosein." Loaves are also given away to commem
orate by name 'Ali's fellow-martyr and brother 'Abbas.
The tenth day is kept with culminating solemnities. All
shops are closed; all labor suspended. Shaving the head
or face, wearing fine clothes, taking walks — these, with any
thing else that may give comfort or pleasure, are forbidden.
The morning reading is lengthened out from sunrise to noon.
Sighs and groans, beatings of the breast, cries of " Ya flasan !
Ya flosein!" increase in intensity. For while the Syrian
form of recalling the woes of the house of 'Ali may be but a
shadow of the Persian passion play, yet it stimulates the
same emotions. A place is appointed to which is brought
food cooked in every house " for the sake of flosein," that the
poor may not be forgotten in the commemoration.
Though the points of likeness between the Sunnis and
Shi'ahs greatly outnumber their points of difference, the
latter are extremely acute, centring chiefly in the question of
the caliphate or imamate, as the Shi'ahs prefer to designate
1 In India the Sunnis have similar processions on the same day, some
times joining with the Shi'ahs. Occasionally the Hindus accompany
the Moslems in a procession of their own.
2 Such readings, common in Persia at any time of the year, may there
be substituted during the 'Ashura for a dramatic representation.

300 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
the succession after Mohammed. The two lines or lists
agree in two names only, those of 'Ali and his son Hasan.
Especially do the Shi'ahs repudiate the first three caliphs:
Abu Bekr, 'Omar, and 'Othman. They believe in a line of
twelve imams, infallible in character and teaching, begin
ning with 'Ali and carried down from father to son as far
as the young child of flasan-el-'Askari, Mohammed, who
mysteriously disappeared about the year 878 A. D. Accord
ing to one tradition the boy entered a cave in search of his
father and was never seen to come out. The Shi'ahs have
especial honor for the sixth imam, Ja'afar-es-Sa'diq, as the
source of the peculiar school of jurisprudence according to
which their conduct is regulated. They trace the imamate
through his second son, Mu'sa-el-Qa'sim, whereas the Isma
'iliyeh, followed by the Druses, hold to a succession through
the son of Ja'afar's eldest son Isma'il. The Nuseiriyeh
follow the main body of Shi'ahs in this matter. All Moslems
look forward to the coming of the Mah'di, the directed one,
who will set all things right. The Shi'ahs, however, hold
that he has already appeared once in the person of Moham
med Ibn Hasan, their twelfth imam, who was lost in the
cave. In regard to their belief in the remanifestation of
the Mahdi, Dr. Wortabet obtained this account from books
coming to him from a great Metawali leader, the Sayyid
Mohammed Amin-el-Hoseiny, of the line of the prophet:
"At the appointed time he (the twelfth imam) will manifest
himself to men, and will then be known by the name of
Guide (El-Muhdy), and with Jesus, the son of Mary, will
fill the whole world with the knowledge of God. . . . This
set time is fast approaching. All this is a part of the settled
faith of the Metawileh. Some of their learned men believe
also that after the appearance of the Muhdy he will in due
time die, and be succeeded by his own father, or predecessor
in the office, who will be raised from death for this purpose;
and a retrograde resurrection and succession will go on,
until the twelve imams shall have risen and completed the
regeneration of the world. After this will come the end, the
judgment, and eternity." 1 In the meantime, so hold the
1,1 Religion in the East," p. 274. Dr. Wortabet's chapter on the
"Metawileh" is full of first-hand information.

THE SHI'AH SECT 301
Metawileh, this twelfth imam is existing in the world dis
guised and unknown. He is supposed to be present often
at Mecca during the Hajj ceremonies. Many stories are
told to-day of his succoring of people in danger or distress.
Once a man on a journey was attacked by robbers, and
called on the imam for aid. To him then appeared a sim
ple muleteer, or so, indeed, he seemed, till after delivering
the traveller from the robbers, and conducting him to a safe
place, he vanished from his sight. A pilgrim on the road
to Mecca fell behind the caravan, his camel being sick. In
vain he urged the beast along, but the train disappeared in
the distance, leaving the man in danger, not knowing the
route and fearful for the dangers of solitary travel. Sud
denly there appeared a man on a white horse, lifted the pil
grim to a place behind him, bore him swiftly toward Mecca,
dropped him gently to the earth, and when the man looked up
there was no horse nor rider. His guide had been the imam.
The Sunnis and Shi'ahs differ from each other not only
in their belief as to the personnel of the true successors of
Mohammed but in their theory as to the nature of the office.
With the Sunnis the caliphate is chiefly a temporal office,
with the Shi'ahs the imamate is valued mainly on its religious
side. The imams are practically regarded as supernatural
beings whose commands come with divine authority. To
them are known the secrets of God; by them is the way of
access to him. Thus in each imam the Metawileh see the
high-priest, the preacher, the expounder of faith, and the
guide in all spiritual matters.1 For all the alleged descend
ants of 'Ali, the first imam, the Metawileh have a great
respect, enhanced by the fact that they are also descend
ants of the prophet. In Balad' Besha'ra — the mountainous
region east of southern Phoenicia — are found to-day, in a
state of poverty, two branches of this "royal family," called
respectively Hasani'yeh and floseini'yeh, who wear the
green turban, the badge of the prophet's family. To sup
port these sayyids, or lords, as they are called, by charity —
known as sadaqah — is a duty incumbent on all Metawileh,
though they are in general poor themselves. Most of the
1 Compare Wortabet's "Religion in the East," p. 273.

302 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
sadaqah goes to those sayyids who, after completing their
theological studies in Irak (Mesopotamia), return as 'ulama,
to be consulted on matters of law and religion, to draw up
marriage contracts, and to perform other "clerical" duties,
if we may so call them. Collections in money and kind are
made every year for the acknowledged sayyid of the dis
trict. Other descendants of the "royal house," numbering
several hundreds, are obliged to supplement their small share
of the dole by work which is done for other people usually,
as they seldom are landowners. They collect their own
dole by a house-to-house visitation, proving their claims to
descent from the house of 'Ali by a certificate countersigned
by the seals of well-known sayyids. Both classes, learned
and unlearned, are said to be distinguished by a meticulous
observance of all the ordinances of their religion. Sayyids
are extremely common in Persia.
From the fact that the Shi'ahs reject the corpus of Sunni
traditions, including those preserved by the first three
caliphs, whom they repudiate, it is often hastily assumed
that they deny all tradition. On the contrary, they have a
corpus of their own, including many sayings of 'Ali and
the other imams. In Syria this is interpreted for them by
an especial mufti appointed by the Turkish Government.
The differences between Sunni and Shi'ah practices are
mainly confined to details of ritual. There is some variation
in the ceremony of ablution before prayer. For example,
the Sunni lets the water run from the hand down the arm to
the elbow; the Metawali reverses the process so that the
water runs from the elbow to the hand. Before praying
he should remove from his person anything of gold, such as
rings or a watch. He should always carry with him a
" sejdi," or praying pebble, a cake of baked clay, made of
earth from Mecca or Medinah or Kerbela, or some other
notable place of visitation. This is to be placed on the
ground before him so that his forehead may touch it in the
due course of prostration. In case it is lost or unavailable,
he may substitute as a reminder a round stone or a bit of
green paper or leaves from any plant that does not bear fruit.
A sejdi that I have handled is octagonal in shape, measur-

THE SHI'AH SECT 303
ing one inch and three-quarters across. Within an orna
mental border are stamped in Arabic the names God, Mo
hammed, 'Ali, flasan, flosein. It is said that a Metawali
fears to break an oath made on this sedji. In the ritual of
the prayer itself there are minor differences between the two
sects as well as in the number of prostrations required at
various times. Again, the Metawileh do not follow the dis
tinctions made by the Sunnis between an obligatory (fardh)
prostration, or one expressly commanded, and a voluntary
(sunnah) prostration, or one made in accordance with the
practice of the prophet, but they appear to recognize the
former only, as their form of declaration testifies. For the
sake of convenience they may combine the noon prayer with
the afternoon worship and the sunset prayer with the even
ing, practices not usually allowed by the Sunnis. No especial
prominence seems to be given to the Friday noon service,
which need not even have a sermon. At times the women
pray in the open air. Dr. Thomson, who never noticed this
custom among the Sunnis, saw a group of Metawali women
go through the regular ablutions and prayers near the foun
tain of Jeba'a-el-Halawy in the southern Lebanon. An
other visitor at this place states that this custom holds on
certain days only, when the women have the exclusive right
to pray near a holy place. Unlike the Sunnis, who, when
praying in a group, follow an imam or leader, the Metawileh
always pray singly, unless they can be led by a mujta'hid,
or sort of a doctor of divinity, who has studied in the theo
logical institution at Irak. Though the Shi'ahs have mosques
of their own, they have the right at any time to worship with
the Sunnis. In fact, they claimed the right to contribute to
the rebuilding of the great mosque of Damascus, after the
fire of 1892, taking up a considerable collection. This offer
ing the Sunni guardians absolutely refused. But the Shi'ahs
bided their time. When the restoration was complete and
the scaffolding with other debris of reconstruction removed,
they suddenly swarmed into the immense court-yard, an irre
sistible army of hundreds, with pails and brooms and hose,
and made the holy house sweet and clean, a meet place for
prayer; contributing in militant labor what they were kept

304 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
from giving in money. With the Metawileh, pilgrimage by
proxy, for the living as well as for the dead, appears to be
more common than it is with the Sunnis. A man may as
sign a certain sum by will, to be paid to the proxy making
the pilgrimage after his death. If made for a living per
son, the latter should pay the expense of the journey. Visita
tions to the tombs of 'Ali and flosein, at Kufa and Kerbela
respectively, are meritorious, but are called, technically, zia-
ras, though they are sometimes popularly referred to under
the name of hajj.
In addition to the normal union the Shi'ahs recognize two
forms of marriage held to be illegal by the Orthodox:
mut"ah, or temporary marriage, and tahrim', or nominal
marriage.1 The former is called the curse of modern Persia.
Among the Metawileh arrangements for such a union are
made verbally between the man and woman, usually a
widow, with stipulations covering the length or period — a
day, a week, a year, as the case may be, and also the
amount of "dowry" to be paid by the man, strictly in ad
vance. Within the stipulated period divorce is forbidden,
but at its termination each party is perfectly free. Such
unions are common, even among religious sheikhs bringing
no technical disgrace to either party, but men of social
standing following the practice would prefer to keep the
matter quiet, while a lady of good family would never con
tract such an alliance. The tahrim, or nominal marriage,
is a legal fiction, merely an ingenious pretext for avoiding
the practical inconvenience arising from the seclusion of
women. It is a marriage without consummation, for the
contract gives the man the right simply to see the woman.
Such an arrangement permits a woman to facilitate the
transaction of business by "marrying" her agent. But the
1 Wortabet paraphrases "mut'ah" as "marriage of privilege."
Hughes's "Dictionary of Islam" points out that temporary marriages
had been permitted by the prophet, but that the Sunnis declare he
afterward prohibited a mut'ah marriage at Khaibar. The Shi'ahs justify
their practice also by an interpretation of surah IV, 28. If the woman
becomes pregnant (which may be lawfully guarded against), the child
is the temporary husband's; but if he should deny the child, the denial
is sustained by the law.

THE SHI'AH SECT 305
man also gains access to his "wife's" immediate female
relations, which may be the chief object desired. To cite
a concrete example: A widow wishing to have a proper
escort to Mecca may arrange a temporary marriage between
her daughter and some trusted friend of her late husband's,
who is thus enabled to care for both ladies with the freedom
of a brother till the end of the pilgrimage, when the bond
is dissolved. It may be added that in regular marriage
divorce does not depend, as with the Sunnis, on the caprice
of the husband, but upon a regular legal process.
The exclusiveness of the Metawileh is enhanced by their
own idea that ceremonial uncleanness is produced by con
tact, even at second hand, not only with members of other
religions, but even with the Sunni Moslems, though fear of
the power of the latter leads to a relaxation of the principle
in Syria. They will not eat the meat of animals killed by
aliens, drink of water from their vessels, nor permit them to
bake bread in ovens used by themselves. If compelled to
eat with others, they will not use the same side of the plate,
and, after the meal, must wash away the defilement by
pouring water over the mouth. If a Metawali sell leben
(sour milk) to a Christian, he must pour it himself into a
vessel brought by the latter, for, should the buyer touch the
shop vessel or dip his finger into the leben, the defiled liquid
must all be poured away. The Metawileh will not touch a
stranger whose clothes are wet, nor permit him to enter their
houses, if they can help it. One travelling among them will
find it hard to get a drink of water unless he provide his own
cup. An especially polite or kind-hearted host may con
cede the use of his own cup to a thirsty Christian, but on
the departure of the guest the cup must be broken. It may
be emphasized that this insistence on cleanness is strictly
ceremonial. In the Metawileh villages of the interior actual
cleanliness is sadly wanting. Never shall I forget the night
spent by my father and myself on the filthy floor of a khan, or
stable of a squalid village in Naphtali, where shadowy cats,
lean and grim, prowled around the saddle-bags that served
us for pillows, nor the surprise I felt at two in the morning,
when my father returned from a raid on the reluctant

306 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
hospitality of the town, bearing some milk which an ancient
dame had been persuaded to draw from a ghastly cow into
our own vessel.
Notwithstanding their exclusiveness, the Metawileh follow
the doctrine of taqi'yah, or " guarding oneself," held by all
Shi'ahs. This is defined in the "Dictionary of Islam" as " a
pious fraud by which the Shi'ah Moslem believes he is
justified in either smoothing down or in denying the pe
culiarities of his religious belief, in order to save himself
from religious persecution." A Shi'ah can, therefore, pass
himself off as a Sunni to escape persecution. Such conform
ity, or "bowing in the house of Rimmon," is illustrated at
public funerals, where the talqin, or address to the de
ceased, is given in conformity to Sunni usage, though in
private funerals the Metawileh omit it at the grave, having
breathed it into the ears of the dying man. The secret re
ligions of Syria, all of which are offshoots from the Shi'ahs,
exhibit some startling corollaries to this doctrine.
Though the cults of the Druses, the Nuseiriyeh, and the
Isma'iliyeh represent the lasting effects of schismatic move
ments in Islam, already sketched,1 their present votaries do
not hesitate to call themselves Moslems when it is for their
safety or convenience so to do. Sheltered in their Lebanon
villages, or segregated in the highlands of the flauran, the
Druses openly avow their independence as a sect. But in
dividual Druses, settled in Moslem cities, conform to many
of the practices of Islam. This they may do with a quiet
conscience, following the development of the doctrine of
taqiyah taught by their religion. They are explicitly told
that in private they may curse Mohammed as " bastard, ape,
and devil," while in public they may call him the prophet
of Gpd! A similar tendency is found among the Nuseiri
yeh and the Isma'iliyeh. A young emigrant with whom I
chatted on a West-bound steamer solemnly maintained that
he was a Moslem until my friendly cross-questioning con
vinced him that I had guessed him to belong to the Nusei
riyeh. He then quite frankly acknowledged his faith.
1 See p. 17.

THE SHI'AH SECT 307
Those Isma'iliyeh in Syria who openly admit their belief are
estimated at some twenty thousand by a native official in
timate with them, but he holds that these form only a tenth
of the whole number, as the majority are hidden in the cities
of Syria under the general name of Moslems, openly denying
the faith which they secretly practice. The Isma'iliyeh send
a yearly tribute to one Sultan Mohammed Shah, known as
the Agha Khan in Bombay, where his father was exiled,
for political reasons, from Persia. This remarkable per
sonage, who is well read in many modern languages and
has the appearance of a polished man of the world, claims
lineal descent from the Old Man of the Mountain, Lord
of the Assassins. The Isma'iliyeh cherish his picture in
their houses, believing him to be an incarnation of the Deity.
His enormous wealth is mainly derived from this tribute,
much of which is sent by the Isma'iliyeh of East Africa.
And yet he is counted as a prominent figure in Islam, with
great influence over the Shi'ah Mohammedans of India!
Theologically, these three secret cults of Syria are derived
from the same root, namely, the teachings of an extreme sect
of the early Isma'iliyeh called the Batinis or Esoterics. In
itiation, thus, plays an important factor in all three cults.
With the Druses, the initiates, or 'oqqal' (that is, the wise),
include both men and women, but the non-initiates, or
jahhal' (that is, the foolish or simple), form the majority of
the Druse population. The initiated are divided into two
classes. Members of the higher class are characterized by
extreme dignity and exaggerated decorum of speech. As has
been stated, the Druses speak of themselves as Unitarians
unless they are forced to use the common designation for the
sake of convenience. The services of the initiated are held
on Thursday evenings in the khul'wehs, which are usually
situated on some lonely hill-top, or in the meeting-house in
the village. The meetings are supposed to have a strongly
political flavor. Formal prayer is said to form no part of
the service, which includes exposition of the secret books,
composed mainly by flamzeh, the Batini missionary, who
was the real founder of the sect in the tenth century. The
uninitiated participate in no religious service nor practices,

308 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
save at the annual feast which coincides with the great feast
of the Moslems. With the Nuseiriyeh, on the other hand,
the vast majority of males are initiated at the age of eigh
teen,1 while women, who are supposed to be without souls,
are not admitted to any share in the religious mysteries.
In their prayers the men go through prostrations similar to
those of the Moslems, but unlike these they pray only in
secret, at any rate not before members of other sects. At
the ceremony of initiation wine is used, as it is also at the
annual feast of the quddas', which is the ordinary word for
the Christian mass. Whether the Nuseiriyeh borrowed this
use of wine from Christian sources or whether it is the
survival of older heathen practices is not clear. Some in
fluence of Christianity is indicated by the observance of
Christmas. At the feast of the quddas a bowl of wine, the
symbol of light, is placed before the imam, who, after a ser
vice of reading, presents a cupful to each initiate present.
At the initiation of the Nuseiriyeh, the novice is threat
ened with the meanest form of reincarnation if he betray
the secrets. The doctrine of the transmigration of souls
is held both by the Druses and by the Nuseiriyeh, but with
a difference. According to strict Druse doctrine, metem
psychosis operates only from one human body to another,
though some of the ignorant believe in reincarnation in lower
forms. The learned teach that all human souls were created
at once, and, as the number never changes, the death of one
person involves the birth of another. Character determines
whether the soul shall pass to a higher or to a lower human
form. But with the Nuseiriyeh the present life determines
whether the next incarnation shall be in a higher human form
or in some animal form. Both Druses and Nuseiriyeh seem
to be less secret about this matter than they are regarding
their other beliefs. The Druses relate amusing stories, in
volving memories of former incarnations, as that of a small
boy who went to call on his former wife, finding his children
grown up and inclined to be patronizing to their little papa.
A religious sheikh of the Nuseiriyeh gave a full account of
'According to Rev. S. Lyde, in "The Asian Mystery" (1860), all
males are initiated at eighteen.

THE SHI'AH SECT 309
their belief in this matter to a native Protestant of northern
Syria for whom he had great respect and affection. All
souls were created from God's spirit, at the same moment,
and placed in a variety of bodies, human and animal. All
were happy till sin entered the world, though the spirits in
carnated in human bodies were nobler. A man is judged
by his works. A persistently good soul is reincarnated in
human forms seventy-two times, passing at last into the
body of a religious sheikh, after which it becomes a star in
heaven. The soul of a bad man passes into a lower form,
determined by the degree of his wickedness — cat, donkey,
wolf, ant, louse, etc. No soul is eventually lost, for the
work of purification involves the final triumph of good, so
that at the end all created souls will become stars in heaven,
having previously passed through the body of a Nuseiry
sheikh. This salvation is to include members of all relig
ions. Christians at first become swine; Jews become apes;
Moslems, donkeys and jackals. But later these souls, being
purified, pass into the bodies of good Nuseiriyeh, and so on
to heaven.
One of the chief beliefs of the Shi'ahs is that the imams
are supernatural beings whose commands come with divine
authority. This doctrine prepared the _ way for the accept
ance of the divinity of the caliph El-flakim by the body
later called Druses. In El-flakim they believe occurred
the last of ten incarnations of the Deity, the second of which
was in the time of Adam. They also hold that in the be
ginning of things there emanated from the essence of God
a spirit of pure light called the universal mind, who become
the medium of creation.1 Contemplating his own perfec
tion, this spirit thereby committed sin, hence, apart from
his own volition, there emanated from himself a spirit of
1 The Druse secret books, which first came to light over two hundred
years ago, have been independently studied by two authorities, De Sacy
and Dr. John Wortabet. The learned work of De Sacy, "Expose" de
la Religion des Druses " (1838), is well known. In this brief account
we follow the exposition of Wortabet, who was not only a conscien
tious scholar but whose knowledge of Arabic was practically that of a
native. (See the chapter on the "Druses" in his " Religion in the East.")

310 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
pure darkness called the antagonist. From these two spir
its God then derived a third, partaking of the nature of
each and called the universal soul. By similar processes
were evolved four other spirits, or ministers, making a total
of seven : five being ministers of truth and two, ministers of
error. All these spirits have been often incarnated. When
the universal mind, or chief spirit of good, was incarnated in
Lazarus (known as the True Christ), the antagonist, or
chief minister of error, was incarnated in Jesus, who re
ceived instruction from the True Christ. When the antago
nist became Mohammed, the universal mind was Selman'-
el-Pha'risy. At the time of the incarnation of the Deity in
El-Hakim, the universal mind was Hamzeh, the real founder
of the Druses.
With the Nuseiriyeh belief in seven incarnations of the
Deity is held to be fundamental. That of 'Ali, however,
transcends all the rest in importance. For all subdivisions
of this body the son-in-law of Mohammed is practically
God. Each incarnation of the Deity, who is primarily re
garded as the essence of light, is accompanied by the in
carnation of two other elements, the three forming a sort of
triad, the members of which are called the meaning (ma'ana),
the name (ism), and the door (bab). Thus when God was
incarnated as the meaning in Abel, Adam was the name
and Gabriel was the door. Jesus was only the name
at the time that Sima'an-es-Sufa (Simon-Peter) was the
meaning. When 'Ali was the meaning, Mohammed was
the name and Selman-el-Pharisy was the door. 'Ali is held
to have created Mohammed, his father-in-law! It seems
inconceivable that from the pure monotheism of Islam such
wild doctrine could have developed. The followers of 'Ali,
however, have always been characterized by minds hospita
ble to new ideas, or rather to the old ideas of other cults, in
cluding Persian Dualism and Christian Gnosticism.1
1 The most recent work on the Nuseiriyeh is by M. Rene- Dussaud,
entitled "Histoire et Religion des Nosairis," being vol. CXXIX in the
" Bibliotheque de l'e"cole des Hautes Etudes" (Paris, 1900). "The
Asian Mystery," by Rev. Samuel Lyde (London, I860), contains ma
terial of great value.

THE SHI'AH SECT 311
The doctrine of incarnation as held by the Druses and by
the Nuseiriyeh is now largely a matter of theory. With the
Isma'iliyeh of Syria, however, the doctrine takes a present
practical form. Not only is God supposed to dwell in the
sultan Mohammed Shah in Bombay, but he is also held to
be tabernacled in a virgin, living on the edge of the Syrian
desert, at Selem'yeh, which with Masyad' and Qadmus', in
the mountains to the west, constitutes the head-quarters of
the sect. This girl is called the ro'dhah, which may be
translated a greensward or pleasaunce. As long as she re
mains a virgin she is regarded as sacred, and the Isma'il-
ians wear bits of her clothing or hair from her person in
their turbans. But should she marry — and she may do so
honorably — search is made for a successor, who must be a
girl born on a certain day in the year,1 and who should con
form to certain characteristics regarding her height and the
color of her hair and eyes. At least two persons have sur
prised the Isma'iliyeh at a service of adoration of the ro'
dhah. One, a government official, who broke in forcibly,
found the girl seated on a high chair dressed in a white robe,
with a wreath of fresh flowers on her head. The worship
pers were kneeling before her chanting sacred songs. Ac
cording to the testimony of the other witness, a simple
Syrian Christian, whom I questioned some ten years after
his adventure, his observations were confined to the brief
period between his accidental stumbling into a secret as
sembly and his rough ejection by one of the worshippers,
who told him that any one else would have been promptly
butchered! He happened to be on friendly terms with the
prominent sheikhs. He remembers seeing a circle of some
twenty or thirty initiates, seated on the floor, in an attitude
of adoration of a girl of about sixteen years of age dressed
in a black robe that entirely covered her person, with her
hair hanging down on either side of her face which ,was
left exposed. Some one held a book, but he was not sure
whether it was the girl or her father, a prominent religious
1 Miss Gertrude Lowthian Bell was informed that every female child
(of the Isma'iliyeh) born on Rajab 27th is an incarnation of the Deity.
(See "The Desert and the Sown," p. 233, London, 1907.)

312 OTHER FEATURES OF ISLAM
sheikh. In fact, the witness was evidently conscientious in
discriminating between what he remembered clearly and
what he was hazy about. This girl has since been married
and her place taken by another.
The cult of the rodhah appears to be an ancient form of
nature-worship retained when the local inhabitants ac
cepted the strange ideas of the Isma'iliyeh. In the result
ant synthesis both sets of ideas may have undergone altera
tion. In its present form this nature-worship appears to
be symbolic rather than sensual. There is evidence that
woman is venerated as the symbol of the earth-mother.
From their earliest days followers of all the secret cults have
been accused of indiscriminate immorality and wild orgies.
No such accusation has been proved against any one of these
religions as a whole. Dr. Post, indeed, has testified that
chastity is the crowning virtue of the Druses. It is well to
insist strongly on this point in closing these brief paragraphs,
which are all that we have been able at the present time to
devote to the secret cults.

CHAPTER VII
THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST
This chapter deals mainly with mission work. In other
words, it takes account of certain concrete forms of Western
influence deliberately exerted with the aim of affecting one
or more of the religious cults of Syria and Palestine. But
these particular forms of influence are but parts of a great,
indefinable, indescribable stream of tendency whose potency
inheres in its very unconsciousness. It comes, indeed, from
the West, but its name is the spirit of the times. In the
Holy Land it had begun to make itself felt eighty years ago
when American missionaries first landed at Jaffa. Fostered
by Christian missions, in turn it helped their progress.
It breathed in every school. It grew with the establishment
of foreign mercantile houses, British, French, or Italian.
Later it flashed along the new telegraph wires and whirred
in the new printing-presses. It was fanned into a brighter
flame by the massacres of 1860, which resulted in the short
French occupation by the soldiers of Napoleon III. It was
freshly manifested a quarter of a century later, when Leba
non peasants and other Syrians who, like their Phoenician
ancestors of old, had ventured across the seas, first began
to bring home the ideas of other lands. How powerfully it
has worked during the last third of a century can be accu
rately gauged by comparing the attitude of the common
people when a constitution was promulgated in 1877 with
their attitude when precisely the same constitution was pro
claimed in 1908. At the earlier period the people, ignorant
and apathetic, were as little affected by the granting of
rights as they were the next year by their withdrawal.
When, thirty years later, 'Abd-el-Hamid was forced by the
Young Turks to declare once more for constitutional rule,
313

314 THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST
the whole empire went mad with joy. When a few months
later there appeared a chance that this would again become
null, a deep gloom fell on the land. To a certain extent
this change can be accounted for by definite influences. It
is easy to point out that the leaders of the Young Turks
learned their political lessons in Paris, Vienna, and Geneva.
It is now well known that the liberal ideas spread through a
mysterious secret propaganda, the extent of whose ramifica
tion was unsuspected before the revolution itself. It is
quite legitimate to find an important factor of this prepar
edness of the common people in the spread of schools of
all kinds through the empire. The paramount influence
of the American mission schools, where principles of true
liberty were not only taught but incarnated, cannot be
overestimated. But greater than any one of these influences
and greater than the combination of them all that could be
named is the spirit of the times. All the Orient is feeling
its touch. China has just awakened to it. It has recreated
Japan; in time it is bound to recreate Turkey.
Our present thesis, however, is concerned with the con
crete. First, then, what impression have Christian missions
made on Islam in Syria and Palestine? The answer must
be: No direct influence, except on a very few individuals
converted at different times and places and having no co
herence among themselves. Direct work on a large scale,
conducted openly among Moslems in Turkey, has ever been
impossible. Turkey is a Mohammedan state. Its sultan
claims to be the successor of the prophet of Islam. Accord
ing to strict Moslem law apostasy from Islam involves death.
The extreme penalty is said to be still imposed by the emirs
of certain semi-independent districts of Arabia. Lord
Cromer once asked a qadhi, or judge, in Egypt why the death
penalty was no longer carried out. The qadhi declared that
the law was immutable. As a religious authority he would
sentence an apostate to execution. If the secular authori
ties would not carry his sentence into effect, he was not
responsible. The imperial proclamation, called the hatti
sherif of Gulhane", issued at Constantinople in 1839, prom
ised to make no distinctions of race and religion in the treat-

THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST 315
ment of subjects of the Turkish Empire. In 1844, under
pressure from the powers, the sultan 'Abd-el-Medjid gave
this written pledge: "The Sublime Porte engages to take
effectual measures to prevent henceforward the persecution
and putting to death of a Christian who is an apostate." 1
Though the implication was that apostasy from Islam was
indicated, the characteristic ambiguity of this pronounce
ment, doubtless intentional, gave no clear guarantees of
immunity to Moslems who proposed to change their faith.
The hatti Houmayun of 1853, however, appears to have
satisfied the Western world that no one was to be molested
or punished, no matter what form of faith he might deny.
Moslems in Turkey evidently took that view. Many began
to study the Scriptures, sold by a converted Turkish col
porteur. A Turkish gentleman who with his wife had be
come a Christian received official assurance that the sultan
intended that all his subjects should enjoy perfect religious
freedom. Moslems openly acknowledged their interest in
Christian doctrine. A few of them attended a daily prayer
meeting of the missionaries. Up to the year 1860 forty had
been baptized. This state of things was not confined to
the capital. Turks who had been baptized in different
centres of the interior lived on in their own towns undis
turbed. In his preface to his "Religion in the East,"
dated 1860, Dr. Wortabet, an Armenian Protestant res
ident in Syria, and a member of the American mission,
wrote as if a new era had indeed set in. But in 1864 the
reaction began. It is the habit of Turkish rulers to let ten
dencies work uncontrolled up to a certain point and then to
act suddenly. 'Abd-el-Mejid set spies to watch the mission
aries as well as Mohammedans who leaned toward their
teaching. A score of Turks were arrested on coming out of
church and thrown into prison on some trumped-up charge.
It is always easy to get two Moslem witnesses to testify
that a Christian has cursed the religion of the prophet. But
•This declaration is quoted by Dr. J. L. Barton, secretary of the
American Board (A. B. C. F. M.), in his authoritative volume, "Day
break in Turkey" (Boston, 1908). On this general subject we have
followed him closely. (See pp. 248 ff. of his work.)

316 THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST
the charge might have nothing to do with religion. The
aim was to get the converts quietly out of the way. Some
were exiled; others never came out of prison. The assur
ances given to Europe prevented direct and open persecu
tion, but none the less a Moslem who became a Christian
was obliged to flee the country. Officially the death penalty
was never pronounced, actually a converted Moslem stood
in fear of his life. There are many forms of "sudden
death" in Turkey. Moreover, the convert had to reckon
with unofficial fanaticism, perhaps exhibited by his own kith
and kin, who in their own view had been irretrievably dis
graced. Dr. Barton concludes that in spite of its reiterated
declarations of religious liberty the Turkish government
never intended to permit the right of Moslems to become
Christians. He reports a conversation with a prominent
Turkish official, who, after stating that there was full and
complete religious liberty for all subjects of the empire,
declared that no power on earth could change a man who
once had become a Moslem. "Whatever he can say or
claim cannot alter the fact that he is a Moslem still, and
must always be such. It is therefore an absurdity to say
that a Moslem may change his religion, for to do so is beyond
his power." This man voiced a general Moslem opinion
which has persisted unaltered since the recent Turkish
revolution, if indeed it has not been accentuated thereby.
The young Turk leaders, many of whom hold liberal or even
agnostic religious views, believe to a man in a Mohammedan
Turkey as a fundamental article of political creed. Justice
to all races and faiths they are glad to grant; participation
in the government is conceded; but the final control is to
rest with the Turks, and the Turks are Mohammedans.
Such being the state of things in the Turkish Empire,
it is no wonder that direct religious work among the Mo
hammedans of Syria and Palestine has not been attempted
on any large scale. No society that made ostentatious dis
play of such a work would be allowed to continue opera
tions in these lands. Since 1875 work among Moslems has
been conducted more extensively and systematically by the
Church Missionary Society of the Church of England than

THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST 317
by any other society working in the near East. The medical
work at Gaza, Nablus, and other provincial centres has been
very encouraging, as indeed such work always is by what
ever agency it is conducted, but the attempt to follow up
impressions made on patients by sending catechists to the
villages, where they have returned after recovery, has been
acknowledged by a prominent worker of the Church Mis
sionary Society to be unsuccessful.1
The history of American missions tells a similar tale.
Turning over the fascinating pages of Dr. H. H. Jessup's
"Fifty-three Years in Syria," one reads from time to time
of a Moslem convert; but in almost every case, a little later
on, one reads how the new convert was obliged to leave the
country. Such impression as Protestant Christianity has
made on the Moslems has been through the dissemination of
the Bible, the extent of which it is difficult to gauge; through
the schools where Moslem children attend; through the
colleges; and through admiration for the character of the
missionaries themselves. Powerful, indeed, is this last-
named form of influence, for these missionaries come into
contact with all sorts and conditions of men, including
religious leaders among the Moslems. • Friendly relations
once established — and with courtesy, tact, and patience the
task is easy — intercourse becomes wonderfully frank. For
the first time Puritan Islam comes in contact with Puritan
Christianity. The 'ulama, or doctors of the Moslem law,
begin to realize that elaborate forms and ceremonies,
adoration before pictures and images, which to them means
nothing but idolatry, the burning of incense and the mystery
that enshrouds the Greek service of the mass, the assump
tions of all the clergy and the pomp of the prelates, are no
essential part of the practice of the Christian faith. Pious
and upright men they have known among followers of the
Eastern churches and among Roman Catholic missionaries,
but among the Protestants they find a lofty morality un-
1 See extract from a report made in 1905 by the Rev. T. F. Wolters,
for thirty years a missionary in Palestine, quoted by Dr. Julius Richter
in his "History of Protestant Missions in the Near East," p. 254;
English translation.

318 THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST
hampered by elements that appear to them to be not only
useless but pernicious. Such men as Bishop Gobat, of
Jerusalem; Dr. Crawford, of Damascus; Drs. Thomson,
Van Dyck, and Jessup, of Beyrout; Mr. Calhoun and Mr.
Bird, of 'Abeih; Mr. Gerald F. Dale, of Zahleh; Mr. Falls-
cheer, of Nablus — to name only a few of those who are gone
— received the willing tribute of love, honor, and reverence
from Moslems, Druses, and Christians. The death of such
men comes as a public calamity. When Mr. Fallscheer
passed away in one of the fanatical centres of Palestine —
Nablus, the ancient Shechem — Mohammedans joined with
Christians in pleading for the right to carry his coffin from
the church to the grave. " Our father is dead," they said,
" and we are orphans." *
The progress of missionary effort among the Druses has
been hampered by their very readiness to accept Chris
tianity, following the operation of a fundamental doctrine
inherited from the Isma'iliyeh, which permits them to de
clare themselves to be of any faith that suits their conven
ience. "Other religions are cloaks," so says the old doc
trine. "The esoteric religion is the real man. God knows
your heart, so put on the cloak of any religion that suits
your purpose." It is next to impossible to get a native
Christian to acknowledge the possibility of the actual con
version of any Druse. While the sincerity of individual con
versions has been tested in the judgment of English and
American missionaries, there is no doubt that the general
conduct of the Druses gives support to the cynical attitude
of the Syrians. Before their conquest by Ibrahim Pasha in
1835, the Druses had made some pretence of being Moslems,
lest they be confounded with the Christians who suffered
oppression. When the conqueror, however, proposed to
draft these splendid sons of the Lebanon mountains into his
army, they determined to seek immunity by declaring them
selves to be Protestants. Almost every day for several
years the American missionaries were pestered with deputa
tions from this or that village, begging for preachers, for
schools, for catechists. Naturally the Americans proceeded
1 Quoted in Richter's work (op. cit), pp. 233, 234.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST 319
with caution, but a few schools were opened and a certain
number of persons who went through a period of probation
were baptized. To this movement the Turkish govern
ment put a stop, in 1842, by sending an army into the Druse
district and by forcibly exacting a promise from the sheikhs
that neither they nor their villages would ever apostatize
from Islam. That the chief aim of the government was to
check a definite movement that might further strengthen the
influence of the English in the Lebanon, rather than to
announce a religious principle, may be gathered from a
" fetwa," or decision of the mufti of Beyrout, only five years
later, who pronounced the Druses to be infidels and there
fore not liable to death for apostasy from Islam! x
In this connection it may be noted that the wholesale
adoption of another faith by the people of a given church is
a favorite form of threat to be held over their own clergy
when they want their own way. We have seen how the
Beyrout Orthodox threatened to become Anglicans when
their plans for securing the bishop of their own choice were
temporarily thwarted by the holy synod; and how the
Maronites declared they would invite the Mohammedans
to build a mosque in the heart of the patriarch's own territory
if he continued to antagonize their wishes. I remember
the tone of perfect impartiality with which a lad from a town
north-east of Damascus told me, as we jogged along toward
Palmyra, how his fellow-villagers had announced to their
priest that they would become "either Protestants or Mos
lems" if he would not give in to them in some matter or
other that had provoked a big quarrel. For similar reasons
any announcement of individual " conversion" to Protestant
ism in Syria has to be carefully investigated, as some ulterior
motive has often been responsible for an alleged change of
heart. Mission work among the Nuseiriyeh was started in 1854
by an independent English missionary, Rev. Samuel Lyde,
who died in 1860. The work was carried on by the Ameri-
1 See a pamphlet entitled "A Brief Chronicle of the Syrian Mission,"
edited by Drs. Lowrie and Jessup; and issued by the American Press
at Beyrout, 1901.

320 THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST
can Reformed Presbyterians, resulting in the establishment
of forty schools and in the baptism of a few individuals.
But the government, acting even more forcibly than it had
with the Druses, closed the schools, drafted the converts
into the army, and pronounced the entire people to be
Mohammedans.1 Thus the work among the Nuseiriyeh
was entirely checked.
In Palestine proper, there are at least eighty thousand
Jews at the present day. In Syria there are some sixty
thousand. Taken as a whole the Palestinian Jews hardly
concern our present work, for they form no organic part of
the native inhabitants of Turkey. They use Arabic only
when they are forced to communicate with the natives;
they preserve to a large extent the manners and customs of
the various European ghettos from which they come; and
probably the great majority of them are not Turkish sub
jects. Since 1490 Safed, indeed, has been without inter
ruption the home of Jews; but with the exception of one
family or clan the Hebrew inhabitants speak no Arabic.
On the other hand, they have practically forced their Moslem
neighbors to speak the language of the Bible. How far
this use of biblical Hebrew in Safed has been due to the
stimulus of Zionism I am not aware, but it is certain that
owing to this movement biblical Hebrew has greatly spread
in Palestine, being used even in business correspondence
between Zionist banks. The present large Jewish popula
tion in Jerusalem is largely due to the enforced exodus from
Russia and Roumania after the fierce persecutions of 1882.
The Arabic-speaking Jews, to the number of some five thou
sand, are mainly from Yemen. There are some ten thousand
Jews scattered in about thirty-three agricultural colonies,
found almost literally from Dan to Beersheba, but they live
practically isolated from their Arab neighbors even when
they employ these as workmen.
Mission work has been conducted among the Hebrews
of Palestine since 1825 by the London Society for Promotion
of Christianity among the Jews. The centre of operations
is Christ Church in Jerusalem, built in 1849, when there was
1 See Richter (op. cit), p. 209.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST 321
no other Protestant church in the Holy Land proper. Since
1839 some four hundred adults have been baptized and
about three hundred infants, children of the former. The
beautiful hospital of the society has stimulated the efforts
of Hebrews in the line of medical work for their own race.
The society maintains schools for boys and girls, a book
dep6t, and a house of industry. There are stations at Jaffa,
Damascus, and Safed. Tiberias was occupied by the mis
sion of the United Free Church of Scotland in 1884. Over
looking the Sea of Galilee a well-equipped hospital has been
built. At Hebron also this society carries on medical work,
and it has schools in Safed. Richter states that there are
only slightly more than one hundred and fifty baptized Jews
now in the Holy Land, but adds : " These form, however, but
a small proportion of the Jews that have become Protestants,
for very many have emigrated to escape persecution." 1
The Jews found in Aleppo, Damascus, and elsewhere in
Syria are to all intents and purposes natives of the land,
knowing no language but Arabic. They all follow the
Sephardic rite. Among them mission work has not made
much progress. A missionary of the Presbyterian Church
in England stationed at Aleppo declares that the fifteen
thousand or twenty thousand Jews there resident are hardly
more than Hebrews in name, ignorant not only of their own
religious history, but of the Old Testament. They of course
attend the synagogue, and they scrupulously observe the
Day of Atonement by the rabbinical custom of killing a
white cock for a man and a hen for a woman ; but otherwise
they share many of the superstitions of the native Moslems
and Christians. In view of these facts I was astonished to
learn from the same authority that every Jew in Aleppo,
unless he is too poor, pays his yearly shekel toward the
maintenance of Zionism. This is all the more extraordinary
in view of the attitude of the average Jerusalem Jew toward
this movement. While there are a score of prominent Zion
ists in the Holy Land, it may be confidently stated that Zion
ism means more in Vienna and Paris, in London and New
York, than it does in Palestine. To the pious Orthodox
1 Richter (op. cit), p. 256.

322 THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST
Jews of Jerusalem, political Zionism is folly, if it is not
blasphemy. God, they hold, is to bring back the Jews in
His own time and way without human plan or assistance.
To the thousands of Jews who earn their daily living in the
holy city, Zionism has no significance one way or the other.
The Rev. J. E. Hanauer, missionary of the London Jews'
Society in Damascus, states that it may be assumed the Jews
have lived there continuously from the time of the Caliph
'Omar. Before that period they were excluded. Even
later they suffered persecution. My missionary friend has
heard a number of versions of a tradition explaining how
this was changed to tolerance. In the days of storm and
stress ten rabbis met together and agreed that for the good
of their race they would devote themselves to perdition by
becoming Moslems. They felt that by working within the
pale of Islam they might be able to ameliorate the condition
of their brethren. An angel appeared to them — or, accord
ing to one tradition, they heard the Bath K6l, daughter of
the voice of God- — sanctioning their plan. Accordingly
they abjured the faith, accepted Islam, and induced the
authorities to treat the main body of Jews with more justice
and kindness. The ruined mosque of Sheikh Arslan, out
side the north-east corner of the city walls, is said to have
been named from one of these ten rabbis. Not far away the
traveller is shown the place where Saint Paul was let down
in a basket to escape from persecution, that he might live
to preach the Christ who had appeared to him as he first
approached the city. It was this same Paul who later de
clared that he was willing to be " accursed " for the brethren's
sake! In Damascus there are now about twenty-five thousand
Jews. Work among these by the London Society has been
much impeded through lack of funds. There are, how
ever, day-schools and Sunday-schools, largely attended Bible
classes for young men of the better class, visitations by Bible
women, and mothers' meetings. Service is conducted at
present in a hired chapel. Work among the Hebrews of
Beyrout is conducted by the Church of Scotland Mission
to the Jews, which maintains excellent schools.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST 323
The highly successful work among the churches of the
East which was stimulated by the establishment of the
propaganda at Rome in 1622, and which culminated in the
formation of the Uniate bodies or such portions of the old
churches as accepted the allegiance of the pope, while in the
main retaining their own ritual and local hierarchy, has been
already treated in these pages with considerable detail.
Undoubtedly the movement was begun as a true missionary
enterprise, consciously aiming at the spiritual revival of the
apathetic Eastern bodies and working for the instruction of
their clergy, who were mainly in a state of great ignorance.
But in seeking to achieve such a result, the Roman Catholic
Church conducted a definite work of proselytizing. Before
all, these Eastern Christians were to become Catholics.
Every attempt to reform their conduct was, in the mind of
the missionaries, logically linked with the purpose of restor
ing these schismatics or heretics, as the case might be, to
papal allegiance. Among these missionaries there have
been and there are to-day many men of piety and wisdom.
In his sketch of the papal propaganda in Mesopotamia,
Parry dwells on the zeal of the present Roman missiona
ries, on their liberality in dealing with the lower clergy of
the United bodies, on their noble, self-sacrificing character,
and on the great amount of good which they have accom
plished.1 Consider we now the attitude toward the Eastern churches
entertained by the first missionaries of the American Board
of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, who entered Pales
tine early in the last century. There was no intention of
proselytizing. The thought of forming a native Protestant
community was not contemplated. A concrete instance
will illustrate this attitude better than any general state
ment. The Rev. Levi Parsons landed in Jaffa on the
morning of February 17, 1821, and proceeded at once to
Jerusalem, where he arrived at five in the afternoon. He
went at once to the house of Procopius, the agent of the Brit
ish and Foreign Bible Society, who was at the same time
assistant of the patriarch having charge of all the Greek
1 "Six Months in a Syrian Monastery " (op. cit.), pp. 301 ff.

324 THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST
monasteries. Procopius had gone to attend the evening
prayerat the chapel of the great convent. " Without a mo
ment's delay," writes Mr. Parsons, " I hastened thither to
unite with the professed followers of Christ on Mount
Calvary, and to render thanks to God for the happy termi
nation of my voyage to the holy city. . . . Everything was
conducted with a pleasing stillness and regularity becom
ing so holy a place." Later he attended mass, as well as
the Easter ceremonies at the Holy Sepulchre. His spirit
was sympathetic rather than censorious. To be sure, he
mildly wondered, after witnessing the antics of the Greek
populace at the ceremony of the holy fire, why the hierarchy,
in maintaining the superiority of their own form of Christian
ity, had failed to mention this feature, but we find no right
eous fulminations against "gross superstition," "impious
idolatry," "stupendous ignorance," and such like. His,
rather, were gentler methods. During his few months' stay
in Jerusalem, encouraged by the priests, he received constant
visits from pilgrims and other members of the Greek Church,
reading and expounding the Bible to willing ears. He was
much cheered by the results. "If then," he says, "a mis
sionary can reside here with no other employment than to
read the Scriptures with pilgrims, not uttering a word re
specting Catholics, Greeks, or Turks, a great work may be
accomplished." J
Such was the spirit of the first American missionaries all
over Turkey. Speaking of the work farther north, Dr.
Barton declares that it was not the policy of the American
board to weaken the Armenian Gregorian Church or to
proselytize from it; rather those who, after hearing the
preaching of the missionaries, felt that they must separate
themselves from it were persuaded to remain within its
fold and there to work for the gradual reform of its super
stitions and abuses. Even as late as 1839, after the reac
tionary party within the ancient church had elected as
patriarch a bigot who forbade the circulation of Protestant
books among his followers, the Americans urged members of
the Armenian Church who entertained evangelical views to
1 See the "Missionary Herald" for 1822, p. 33.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST 325
wait patiently till such tyranny were overpast. Not until the
patriarch, in 1846, issued a sweeping bill of excommunica
tion against all Gregorians who favored the Protestants, was
there any definite idea of organizing an Armenian Protestant
Church at Constantinople. In 1850 all the Protestants
of the empire, irrespective of their former ecclesiastical
allegiance — Armenian, Greek, Maronite — were recognized
as a definite community in a firman issued by the sultan.1
Beyrout, which for eighty years has been the centre of the
American mission in Syria, was first occupied by the Rev.
Pliny Fisk in 1823. At first his experiences were similar to
those of Mr. Parsons in Jerusalem. Members of all creeds
showed interest in the exposition of evangelical doctrine.
But the Roman Catholics, alarmed at the success of the
new movement, took prompt measures to crush it. It has
been, and still is, a lamentable tendency of the warring
Christian sects in Turkey to seek the aid of the Moslem
authorities, who thus favor now one party, now another.
In 1824 the papal missionaries induced the sultan to issue
a firman forbidding the distribution of the Bible in Turkey.
This order, indeed, became a dead letter, in consequence of
the vigorous action of the British consul, when Messrs.
Bird and Fisk were arrested for selling Bibles in the streets
of Jerusalem. The co-operation of the powerful Maronite
patriarch, then a very sovereign in his Lebanon mountains,
was far more effective. Opposition to the Americans spread
among the Maronite clergy and people. Absurd tales were
afloat about the missionaries. It was believed by the credu
lous that they paid ten piasters (forty cents) a head for con
verts, which sum was like the widow's cruse of oil, never
decreasing through spending; that they drew pictures of
their converts so that if any one recanted they might cause
his death by destroying his likeness; that they shot their
sins to heaven with a gun.2 But the situation had its tragic
element. As'ad esh-Shidiaq, a brilliant young Maronite
scholar, who had been secretary to the patriarch, gave in-
1 See Dr. Barton's work, "Daybreak in Turkey " (op. cit), pp. 157 ff.
2 See Wortabet's "Religion in the East" (op. cit), p. 361; also Jes-
sup's "Fifty-three Years in Syria " (op. cit), vol. I, p. 35.

326 THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST
struction in Syriac and Arabic to Mr. King, author of the
locally famous " Farewell Letters," which gave his reasons
for antagonizing the errors of Rome. Shidiaq not only
polished the Arabic of these letters, but ended by accepting
the views therein advocated. By the command of the pa
triarch, in the year 1826 he was imprisoned in the desolate
monastery of Qannubin, which hides in the deep gorge of
the Qadisha. There he was chained, tortured and beaten.
The peasants were encouraged to visit his cell, to spit in his
face, to call him vile names. Once he was assisted to
escape, but he was recaptured and finally died amid the
filth of his prison.1
The persecution which this incident illustrates resulted
in the formation of a native Protestant body. In 1829 the
Maronite patriarch pronounced his second ban against
those of his flock who approached the American missionaries.
"Let them be hereby excluded from all Christian society;
let the curse cover them as a garment and sink into their
members as an oil and make them wither as the fig-tree
which the mouth of the Lord has cursed; the evil spirit
shall also take possession of them, torturing them day and
night; no one shall visit or greet them." 2 Turned out of
their own communion, those who had been attracted by the
preaching of the Americans demanded shelter in the Protes
tant fold. The missionaries were forced thus to give up
direct attempts at reforming the Oriental churches from
within. But while individuals were admitted to the Protes
tant communion, it was not till 1848 that the first Syrian
Evangelical Church was organized in Beyrout with eighteen
members, including four women.3 Splendid types of men
were some of the first Protestants — grave, earnest, dignified.
By 1857 there were four such churches in Syria with seventy-
five members. At the present day the communicants num
ber over two thousand eight hundred. In 1870 the care of
1 The details of the imprisonment are quoted by Dr. Wortabet
(pp. 362 and 363) from the "History of the A. B. C. F. M.," by Joseph
Tracy. 2 Quoted by Richter (op. cit), in a foot-note on p. 188.
* For the constitution of the church, see Wortabet (op. cit), pp. 402 ff.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST 327
the Syrian mission was transferred from the Congregational
Board (A. B. C. F. M.) to the Presbyterian Board of Foreign
Missions (North), but regular presbyterial organization was
not attempted till 1882. The Syrian synod now includes
three presbyteries. The entire Protestant community in
Syria and Palestine, resulting from the work of many
societies, amounts to about ten thousand souls. Consider
ing that, all told, some thirty-eight different Protestant
agencies have been at work, the number seems small enough.
Richter ascribes this to the especially malignant character
of the persecution to which those who have declared them
selves Protestants have been liable. Such persecution has
not come only from the papal bodies. But while the atti
tude of the Greeks has usually been milder, the terrible ex
periences of the Protestants of Safita, before the middle of
the last century, were due to the co-operation of the Greek
bishop with the Turkish authorities. For a number of
reasons, among which the spirit of the times is prominent,
direct persecution tends to grow less and less.
Undertaken as an indirect way of preaching the gospel,
in the providence of God education has turned out to be the
most powerful of all means for the spread of genuinely
evangelical ideas. Stress was early laid on this feature of
the work by the American mission. It was a prophetic
instinct. A boys' school was soon started. The first girls'
school ever established in the Turkish Empire was opened
at Beyrout in 1830. These primary schools were the seeds
of an educational system, involving all nations and greeds,
that now flowers luxuriantly all over Syria and Palestine.
When excavating an ancient site a dozen years since, near
the town of Zakariya, I missed one day the white turban of
one of my boy basket-carriers. It turned out that 'Abd
el-Latif had been haled back to the little village school
by the local " scribe," acting as truant-officer for the De
partment of Public Instruction at Jerusalem. About the
same time this department had placed the care of a flourish
ing Moslem girls' school in the holy city in the hands of an
American lady.
The first boarding-school for boys, established in Beyrout

328 THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST
in 1840, was transferred to the mountains in 1846, and be
came the famous 'Abeih Academy, where so many Protes
tant scholars were trained. In the same year a boarding-
school for girls was opened in Beyrout. In the course of
time schools of different grades spread over Syria. To-day
the pupils of the common schools, high-schools, industrial
schools, and the theological seminary number nearly five
thousand. But the schools of the American Presbyterian
mission form but a part of the Protestant educational work
of Syria and Palestine. Almost all of the thirty-eight Prot
estant agencies now active in these lands — English, Scotch,
Irish, German, Swedish, Danish — have their school systems
all conducted on much the same lines, with the Arabic
Scriptures as a main feature of instruction. This Arabic
translation, begun by Dr. Eli Smith in 1849 and completed
by Dr. Van Dyck in 1865, is pronounced to be one of the
most beautiful versions ever made. Printed at the Beyrout
Press, it has wide circulation over the whole Arabic-speaking
world.1 By order of their director-in-chief it has been in
troduced in all the Russian schools which to-day honey
comb the patriarchate of Antioch. Of the many Protestant
schools we may signalize without invidiousness those of the
Church Missionary Society of England, with over three
thousand scholars in Palestine; the schools of the Prussian
deaconesses, with the orphanage at Beyrout; and the most
practical and efficient work of the British Syrian schools for
girls, spread all over Syria, with some over four thousand
pupils. No institution, however, has interested me more
than the high-school at Hums, maintained by the local
Protestant church, and housed in a new building erected
mainly by native money. I am tempted to name its leading
spirit, but I remember the modesty of this gentle soul and
refrain. The Protestant schools early acted as a stimulus on the
other cults, whose educational establishment had chiefly
been confined to the training of priests. Once Dr. Van
Dyck was asked what errand he had in visiting a small
1 From this press have been issued a large number of religious and
educational works, mostly in Arabic.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST 329
village. " lam going to open two schools," he said, adding,
with a twinkle of the eye, as he saw the anticipated look
of surprise on the face of his questioner, " I shall open one
to-day; the Jesuits will open the other to-morrow!" x By
the year 1877 in Beyrout there were schools managed by
Protestants, Latins, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholics,
Maronites, Jews, and Moslems. Twenty years later this
much-instructed town, then possessing one hundred thou
sand inhabitants, possessed sixty-seven schools for boys
and thirty-six schools for girls, with an aggregate attend
ance of over fifteen thousand. Since then schools and
scholars have increased. It is no wonder that on installing
a number of lines of electric trams in 1909 the company was
able to demand that every conductor should speak either
French or English. I fear that the attempt to enforce such
an ordinance in London or New York, requiring, say, the
knowledge of French or German, would cause more incon
venience to the public than a strike even!
The crown of the Protestant educational work in Syria
is universally acknowledged to be the Syrian Protestant
College at Beyrout. It has also served to stimulate activity
for higher education in the other cults. For example, at
Beyrout we find colleges founded, at different periods after
the American school, by the Jesuits, the Greek Catholics,
and the Maronites. The Greek Orthodox College, con
ceived on a large scale by the Greek bishop, exists still largely
in plan. The Syrian Protestant College is by birth a child
of the American mission. In 1862 this body wisely decided
that the country was ripe for an institution of higher learn
ing, but that this should be independent of the mission, while
in full co-operation therewith. The American board then
released Daniel Bliss, who had served as missionary in
1 It is only fair to note that the Jesuits tell similar tales of Protes
tant rivalry. The College of 'Ain Tura, in the Kesrouan district of the
Lebanon, was established by the Jesuits in 1734. Later this was turned
over to the Lazarists. Jesuit work became active again in Syria at
the time of Ibrahim Pasha. The University of Saint Joseph at Bey
rout (established after the Syrian Protestant College), with its academic
and medical schools, is famous for its excellent teaching of French.
From the Jesuit printing-press many learned works have been issued.

330 THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST
Syria since 1855, that he might organize the new enterprise.
A board of trustees was formed in the United States, and
the institution was incorporated under the laws of the State
of New York. Those were strenuous war times in America,
but sufficient money was collected there and in England to
begin the college in 1866. It was started in a hired house
with sixteen students and two teachers besides Dr. Bliss.
All instruction was given through the medium of the Arabic
language, though French and English formed part of the
curriculum. Arabic also was the language of the Medical
Department, inaugurated the next year. In 1882, however,
owing principally to the difficulty of keeping up with the
times in the translation of text-books, the language of the
college was changed to English. This change immensely
widened its scope and thus was prophetic of its present de
velopment. In its early days the students were confined
to Syrians, Egyptians, and dwellers in other Arabic-speaking
lands. To-day more than a dozen nationalities are rep
resented, including seventy Armenians and one hundred
Greeks. The geographical area from which come the eight
hundred and seventy-four students enrolled in 1911 ex
tends from the Ural Mountains to the Soudan, and from
Greece and Egypt to Persia and India. There are six reg
ular departments for boys and men: Preparatory, Aca
demic, Commercial, Medical, Pharmaceutical, and Dental.
The Academic Department, or School of Arts and Sciences,
includes a teachers' course. The Training School for
Nurses is in connection with a system of hospitals where
the medical students may study various diseases and where
the sick flock from all over the land. The members of the
corps of instruction and administration number seventy-
seven. Of these forty-one are Americans, twenty-five
Syrians, four Swiss and French, three Greeks, two
British, and two Armenian. The Department of Biblical
Archaeology offers inducements to students from Europe
and America to study the antiquities of Syria on the spot.
Turkish diplomas are issued to such medical graduates as
pass the examinations conducted by a special commission
sent by the Imperial Medical School of Constantinople.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST 331
These seven departments are housed in a score of build
ings, spread over forty acres, on a bluff overlooking the
Mediterranean, with the magnificent range of the Lebanon
in full view. In the Medical School are graduates from the
other missionary colleges of Turkey: Euphrates College at
Harpoot; Anatolia College at Marsovan; the Central Turkey
College at 'Aintab; the International College at Smyrna;
and Saint Paul's Collegiate Institute at Tarsus. Friendly
relations are maintained with Robert College at Constan
tinople and the English College of the Church Missionary
Society at Jerusalem, while from the Protestant secondary
schools of Syria and Palestine, too numerous to name, it
draws the students best fitted to appreciate its own mis
sionary spirit. In 1902 Dr. Daniel Bliss became president
emeritus, being succeeded in the office of president by his
son, Dr. Howard Bliss. From its very inception the college
has had no more active worker either in Syria or in the
United States than Dr. D. Stuart Dodge, the present
president of the board of trustees.
Within the walls of the Syrian Protestant College are
gathered representatives of all the religious cults touched
upon in this book, except the Nuseiriyeh and the Isma
'iliyeh. During the collegiate year of 1908-9 rather less
than three-quarters of the student body belonged to the
various Christian sects, the rest being non-Christian. Over
one-half of the Christian students were Greek Orthodox
(forming 39 per cent of the whole body of students) ; about
one-quarter (or 17 per cent of the whole number) were
Protestants, while the rest were divided among the follow
ing bodies, named in order of numerical strength: Greek
Catholic, Armenian Gregorian, Maronite, Coptic, Roman
Catholic, Syrian Jacobite, Armenian Catholic, and Syrian
Catholic. Of the non-Christian students over half were
Moslems (forming 14.5 per cent of the whole body of stu
dents) ; more than a third were Jews, the rest being Druses
and Behais. All students are required to attend the preach
ing service on Sunday. There are other religious exercises
obligatory on certain classes of students. Membership
in the Christian Association is, of course, voluntary. Early

332 THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST
in the collegiate year of 1910-11, two hundred and seventy
members had been enrolled. These may belong to any one
of the many Christian bodies, while there is a pledge for
such non-Christians — Moslems, Jews, etc. — as may wish to
become associate members. The attendance at the open
meetings is by no means confined to members, and special
services often attract large crowds. Sectarianism is so far
removed from the meetings that it would be hard to detect
a difference of substance or of spirit in the prayers or re
marks of Protestants and Maronites, Greeks and Syrians.
At the meeting of the World's Students' Christian Federation
Conference at Constantinople, conducted in 1911 by Dr.
John R. Mott, one of the most impressive speeches was
made by a Maronite delegate from the Syrian Protestant
College. The spirit of brotherhood breathed in the quiet
of the Y. M. C. A. services finds ample opportunity for
practical testing on the athletic field, where the son of a
Druse sheikh may have to own that he is beaten by the
grandson of the peasant who owed feudal allegiance to his
family, and where the foot-ball team may include members
of half a dozen Christian sects under the Moslem captain.
The religious life of the Syrian Protestant College is a
striking vindication of the programme of the first American
missionaries, if we regard this as theory or as prophecy;
and yet at the same time it is an equally Striking vindication
of their wisdom in departing from the programme in view
of a practical necessity forced upon them. This programme
did not include the formation of a native Protestant body,
but looked toward the reformation of the old churches
from within. How the creation of a Protestant church was
necessitated by the hostile action of the prelates toward their
followers who listened to the missionaries, we have seen.
How this body, once formed, has never assumed large pro
portions, we have also seen. But that its influence has
reached far beyond its own limits can be strongly asserted.
Members of the old churches assert it strongly themselves.
"You have not built up a large sect," said one of these
recently to a veteran missionary, "but you have changed
all the rest!"

THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST 333
The non-sectarianism of the Y. M. C. A. of the Beyrout
College owes its very existence to the formation of a Prot
estant sect in Syria. This secured in advance a cohesion
for the elaborate system of schools, later developed, in which
the evangelical leaven has already worked to so large re
sults among the children of all churches. What the future
history of the Protestant church in Syria may be it is im
possible to prophesy. As an organization it may increase
or it may decrease, but in one form or another its work will
go on. Decrease in numbers, indeed, may be in inverse
ratio to the extension of its real influence. The pebble
dropped in the pond sinks out of sight, but the circles go
on ever widening for all who care to look. The more the
older churches become infused with vital Christianity the
less need there will be for men to become Protestants.
This revival, however, has only just begun in Syria. I will
frankly admit that at the present time the continuance in
the old churches of men who have taken the evangelical
point of view involves both loss and gain. The loss is to
the individual who, keeping a nominal connection with his
own church whose superstitions he has ceased to share, loses
some of the "means of grace." But while he may suffer
a personal loss, his church will enjoy an inestimable gain,.
provided that he join, with others of his manner of thinking,
in the work pf purification and reform.
Those who hope for reformation within the old churches
of Syria and Palestine may find encouragement in results
already achieved farther north in the Turkish Empire.
Writing from Constantinople in 191 1,1 Dr. Patton, secretary
of the American board, made the following significant state
ment: "I consider it practically assured that the original
purpose of the board toward this [the Armenian Gregorian]
church is to be realized. From the first our aim has been to
revitalize a church which had lapsed into dead formalism
and orthodoxy." The Armenian Patriarch of Constan
tinople impressed him as a man of fine sincerity and earnest
spiritual life. There are many signs that the Armenian
1 See his article in the "Congregationalist" for January 19, 1911, en
titled "Facing Europe and Mecca."

334 THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST
churches and people are awake to new opportunities. In
1911 one of the American missionaries at Constantinople
was invited within a period of two weeks to preach in four
Gregorian churches. A number of students preparing to
enter the Gregorian priesthood have taken their theological
training at the seminaries of the board. Many laymen hold
ing evangelical beliefs who once would have been forced
to become Protestants now remain in the old church. A
committee of the Gregorian churches of Constantinople has
overtured the head of the church, the Patriarch of Etch-
mizian, to institute a council for church reform. Dr. Bar
ton states that "there are probably to-day more intelligent
evangelical believers within the old Gregorian, Greek, and
Syrian churches than comprise the entire Protestant body." 1
But the religious teaching of the missionary institutions
of Turkey finds response in the hearts of many who belong
to no Christian body, and who probably will never formally
abandon their own cult. It should be remembered that
over a quarter of the students of the Syrian Protestant Col
lege at Beyrout come under this category. It would be as
unfair to ignore the existence of this influence as it would be
to exaggerate its present power. What its future power may
become is beyond all estimate. If ever a movement of re
form, both practical and spiritual, is to develop and succeed
in Islam — and I, for one, recalling the dark days of Chris
tianity before the Protestant Reformation, do not despair
of it — this will be led by men who have been taught by
Christian missionaries to study the long-neglected life and
teachings of Jesus, whom, under the name of 'Isa, they hold
in theory to be one of the great prophets of God.2
So much in all fairness can be said for the influence of
the West on the cults of Syria and Palestine. But as has
been earlier hinted, the West may learn something from
many, if not from all, the cults of the East. For the West
but brings back to the East its own. Transplanted across
1 See "Daybreak in Turkey " (op. cit), p. 237.
2 The Moslems hold to the inspiration of the Gospels, but believe that
these have been altered and corrupted by Christians.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE WEST 335
the seas, religion may have flourished more vigorously, may
have borne fairer and sounder flower and fruit, but the seed
was first dropped in the soil of the Orient. And this seed
still germinates, often in the most unexpected places. In a
richly illuminated Druse manuscript treating of the func
tions of the human body in a manner both quaint and prac
tical, a young Maronite friend of mine found the words
with which I close this volume. Now the Druses are never
seen to pray, except at a public funeral, when, perhaps for
the sake of policy, they follow the Mohammedan rite. It is
popularly believed that even the initiated never pray even
in their secret meetings. And yet these words of the old
Druse manuscript, which the writer recommends his read
ers to repeat when they go to bed, constitute a prayer which
might bring a benediction on any true believer, Eastern or
Western :
"To Thee, O God, I come, determining to do what is
meet in Thy sight. Let my eye, O God, sleep in Thy obedi
ence. Let my strength be always on the side of Thy Grace.
Take unto Thyself my waking and my sleeping hours;
and place under Thy control my day and my night. Guard
me, O God, by Thy eye which sleepeth not."

APPENDIX
1. OFFICIAL STATEMENT ISSUED FROM THE BUREAU
OF THE GREEK ORTHODOX PATRIARCHATE OF
ALEXANDRIA IN ANSWER TO QUESTIONS
1. Question: Est-ce-que le titre "Oecumenique" ne donne aucun
privilege au patriarche de Constantinople ?
Answer: Le titre "Oecumdnique" ne donne aucun privilege au
patriarche de Constantinople. Ce titre a e"te" donne" a 1'EvSque de
Constantinople par des Synodes (Conciles) du VI6 siecle, a raison de
circonstances locales a Constantinople et surtout a l'occasion de rejec
tion pour le Thr6ne de Byzance du Directeur de 1'Universite' de la Capi-
tale, nomine" Jean.
Le Patriarche Oecumenique, relativement aux autres Patriarches,
equivalents a celui-la, ainsi que de rapport a tout evSque qui n'est pas
subordonne" au Thr6ne de Constantinople, est simplement "primus inter
pares." 2. Question: Existe-t-il des circonstances oil le gouvernement du
Sultan peut regarder le patriarche Oecumenique comme chef de tous les
orthodoxes (Millet-El-Roumi) enTurquie?
Answer: Ab antiquo, (des la prise de Constantinople par les Tures)
le Patriarche de Constantinople a <;te" reconnu comme le chef des ortho
doxes en Turquie, d'ou le titre attribue" au dit patriarche "Millet-bassi"
(Chef de Nation). Mais son autorite" (domination spirituelle) n'est
pas de mgme gtendue sur les chre"tiens, soumis spirituellement aux
autres Patriarcats, vu que ceux-ci sont equivalents a, et tout-a-fait inde
pendents de celui de Constantinople.
3. Question: En quoi consiste l'inde'pendance des quatre patriarcats ?
Answer: Elle consiste en ce que chacun de ces Patriarcats est ad-
ministrativement independants des autres, tous ensemble, cela nonob-
stant e"tant admimstres et regies conformement a une mSme doctrine
(celle de l'orthodoxie) et eux metnes reglements (ceux des conciles
Oecumeniques). 4. Question: Comment les Patriarcats d'Alexandrie, de Jerusalem
et d'Antioche font ils leurs communications avec le Gouvernement a
Constantinople? 337

338 APPENDIX
Answer: Cette communication se fait ou par une correspondance di-
recte avec le dit gouvernement, ou metne moyennant les repre"sentants des
patriarcats en question, s'il y en a, en Constantinople, (representants)
dont le maintien depend de la multitude d'affaires des dits Patriarcats a
Constantinople. 5. Question: Est-ce-que le Patriarche Oecumenique peut aider ses
confreres comme interme"diaire ou representant dans leurs affaires avec
le gouvernement?
Answer: Oui, cela peut se faire dans le cas que le Patriarche Oecu
menique eut e"te" prie" pour cela, par ses confreres a titre des liens spiritu-
els qui l'unissent avec ceux-ci.
6. Question: Malgre la theorie de l'independance des Patriarcats, est-
ce-qu'il est jamais arrive, surtout depuis les temps des croise"s, que le
patriarche Oecumenique a essaye de se meler dans leurs affaires ou de
leur contrdler (par exemple dans la question des patriarches d'Antioche
pour quelques siecles) ?
Answer: II y a eu des circonstances, ou le patriarcat Oecumenique est
intervenu dans les affaires des autres patriarcats, malgre l'independance
de ceux-ci; mais cela n'a ete arrive qu'apres l'invocation de cette inter
vention par les partis interesses, lesquels — au contraire — refutaient toute
pareille intervention du dit Patriarcat en cas que celle-ci menacait de
porter prejudice aux privileges reconnus des autres patriarcats. C'est
cependant bien entendu que chacune des Sceurs-Eglises a de soi-mtaie
le droit d'intervenir aux affaires des autres, toutes les fois que la doctrine
orthodoxe ou les lois et regies conformement auxquelles les eglises sont
gouvernees courent un risque evident.
7. Question: Pourquoi la consecration du Saint-ChrSme se fait-elle
seulement a Constantinople?
Answer: Seules raisons pour lesquelles le Saint-Chrome ne se fait
qu'aupres du Patriarcat de Constantinople se sont que 1) sa preparation
exige de grandes depenses, et, 2) sa ceremonie exige un grand nombre
de (du moins douze) preiats, nombre duquel les autres Eglises peuvent
6tre privees pour des causes circonstancielles.
8. Question: Combien d'evfiques approximativement sont soumis
au Patriarche Oecumenique?
Answer: A quatre-vingt six monte auhourd'hui le nombre des Metro-
politains et eveques subordonnes au patriarche Oecumenique.
9. Question: Est-ce-que le Patriarche Oecumenique partage avec ses
confreres le droit de contr&ler les affaires du Saint Sepulcre?
Answer: Oui.
10. Question: Pour quelle raison?
Answer: Parce que les saints Lieux et les endroits de peierinage en
general sont des biens appartenant a toute la Nation des Roums Ortho-

APPENDIX 339
doxes, (Nation) de laquelle n'a ete qu'une procuratrice la Confrerie (le
Fraternat) du Saint Sepulcre, qui a pour chef le patriarche de Jeru
salem et qui a pour mission principale de garder les Saints Lieux et les
conserver en bon et sur etat au moyen des offrandes des peierins ortho-
doxes et des autres dedicateurs.
Du Bureau du Patriarcat — Grec.

2. THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESES OF THE GREEK ORTHO
DOX, SYRIAN JACOBITE, GREEK CATHOLIC, SYRIAN
CATHOLIC, AND MARONITE CHURCHES IN SYRIA
AND PALESTINE (WITH A FEW DIOCESES IN MES
OPOTAMIA) I. The Greek Orthodox Church
(o) Patriarchate of Antioch. — Antioch (diocese of the patriarch).
Berytus (Beyrout). Laodicea (Latakia). Tripolis (Tripoli). Arca-
dias ('Akkar). Cilicia (Tarsus and Adana). Theodosiopolis (Erze-
rfim). Amidis (Diarbekir). Berosas (Aleppo). Tyros et Sidonos
(Hasbeya and Rasheya). Auranitis (Hauran). Emesa (Hums).
Epiphanias (Hama). Seleukias (Zahleh). Byblos et Botrys (Mount
Lebanon). Edessa (in partibus). Eironopoulis (in partibus).
(6) Patriarchate of Jerusalem. — Jerusalem (diocese of the patriarch).
Cseserea. Scythopolis (Beisan). Petra. Ptolemais (Acre). Naza
reth. Lydda. Gaza. Neapolis (Nablus). Sebaste (Samaria). Tabor.
Jordan. Bethlehem. Tiberias. Philadelphia. Pella. Cyriacopolis
(Kerak). Diocseserea (Sepphoris). Madaba. (The majority of the
bishops are non-resident in their sees; see text.)
II. The Jacobite or Old Syrian Church
Patriarchate of Antioch. — Antioch (diocese of the patriarch). Jeru
salem. Damascus. Edessa (Ourfa). Amida (Diarbekir). Mardin.
Nisibis. Maiferacta (Farkin). Mosul. Ma'adan. Aleppo. Jezireh.
Turabdin. (There are six other bishops, but resident in monasteries
without sees.) III. The Greek Catholic Melchite Church
Patriarchate of Antioch. Aleppo. Bosrah (Hauran). Berytus (Bey
rout) and Botrys (Jebail). Cseserea Philippi (Banias). Damascus.
Heliopolis (Ba'albek). Emesa (Hums). Sidon. Tyre. Ptolemais
(Acre). Tripoli. Zahleh.

340 APPENDIX
IV. The Syrian Catholic Church
Patriarchate of Antioch. Baghdad. Damascus. Hums and Hama.
Aleppo. Berytus (Beyrout). Jezireh. Mardin and Diarbekir (Amida).
Mosul.
V. The Maronite Church
Patriarchate of Antioch. Jebail and Batrun (diocese of the patri
arch, including the Besherreh district of the Lebanon). Aleppo. Bey
rout (including part of the Metn district of the Lebanon). Cyprus
(including the rest of the Metn). Ba'albek (including part of the Kes
rouan). Damascus (including the rest of the Kesrouan). Tyre and
Sidon (including the southern Lebanon). Tripoli (including the ad
jacent Lebanon district).
3. DISTRIBUTION OF MEMBERS OF THE BROTHERHOOD
OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE IN 1909
A. Resident in the Convent of Constantine, Jerusalem
Bishops in convent  8
Archimandrites, members of the Holy Synod .... 9
Other archimandrites  21
Priests  26
Deacons  19
Lay brothers  55
~138
B. Resident Elsewhere in Jerusalem and Vicinity
Convent of Abraham  401
Prison of Christ, near Saint Anne's  3
Deir Nicolaus  4
Deir Barsimus  8
Virgin's Tomb  6
Mount of Olives  4
Convent of Cross  6
Katamon, summer residence of patriarch  2
Talabiyeh  3
~76
1 Twenty-five of these monks sleep in the adjoining church of the
Anastasis, or Holy Sepulchre. In the chapel of the Convent of Abra
ham the Anglicans have been granted the privilege of celebrating the
holy communion.

APPENDIX 341

C. Resident Elsewhere in the Holy Land
Bethany  4
'Ain Farah  1
Wady-el-Kelt (Mar Yuhanna), including Hermits . . 15
Qarantel (Quarantania)  9
Deir Hajla  8
Mar Saba  60
Madaba  1
Kerak  1
Es-Salt  2
'Ajlun  1
Mar Elyas  4
Bethlehem  10
Hebron  2
Gaza  4
Bureij  4
'Ain Ariq  1
Lydda  3
Ramleh  5
Jaffa1  0
'Ain Karim 
Beit Sahur 
Ramallah 
Jifna 
Bir Zeit 
Beit Jala 
Tayyibeh 
Nablus 
Bir Yaqub (Jacob's Well)  2
Nazareth  6
Acre  12
Haifa  3
Tiberias   5
171
D. Resident in Other Countries
Constantinople  7
Athens  3
Cyprus  3
1 During the recent troubles between the monks and the Syrian
people, the latter obtained possession of the Jaffa property.

342 APPENDIX
Crete  3
Moscow  4
Tsiphan  6
~~26
Summary
Resident in the Convent of Constantine, Jerusalem . . 138
Resident elsewhere in Jerusalem and vicinity .... 76
Resident elsewhere in the Holy Land  171
Resident in other countries  26
Hi
4. LIST OF FEASTS WHEN THE GREEKS AND
MARONITES FORBID WORK
Greek and Maronite
Jan. 1. Circumcision of Christ.
Jan. 6. Baptism of Christ.
Feb. 2. The Purification of Christ.
Mar. 9. The Forty Martyrs.
Mar. 25. The Annunciation.
June 29. Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
July 20. The Prophet Elijah.
Aug. 6. The Transfiguration.
Aug. 15. Repose or Assumption of the Virgin.
Sept. 8. Birth of the Virgin.
Sept. 14. Finding of the Cross.
Nov. 21. Purification of the Virgin.
Dec. 25. Christmas.
Dec. 26. Commemoration of the Virgin.
Greek
April 23. Saint George.
Aug. 29. Decapitation of John the Baptist.
Oct. 26. Demetrius the Martyr.
Nov. 8. The Archangel Michael.
Dec. 6. Saint Nicholas.
Dec. 9. The Conception of Hannah.
Maronite
Feb. 9. Mar Marun.
Mar. 2. Yuhanna Marun.
Mar. 19. Saint Joseph.

APPENDIX

June 24.
July 31.
Aug. 1.
Nov. 1.
Dec. 8.

The Birth of John the Baptist.
The three hundred and fifty monks of Mar Marun.
The Maccabees.
All Saints.
The Conception of Hannah.

343

Work is also suspended on the great movable feasts.

INDEX

'Abbas Effendi, 19, 20
'Abd-el-Hamid, Sultan, 32, 192,
242 245
'Abd-el-Mejid, Sultan, 315
Abu Bekr, the Caliph, 17, 226,
227, 296, 300
Abu 'Obeidah, 14, 16
Adeney, W. F. (his "The Greek
and Eastern Churches"), 43 note
'AU, the Caliph, 17, 226, 227, 297,
298, 299, 301, 302, 303, 304, 310
Assassins, Order of the, 18, 307.,
Bab, the, 19
Baldensperger, P. J., 28, 230 note
et passim
Baptism, 140 ff.
Anointing with oil, 143
Baptismal garments, 144, 145
Blessing of the salt (Maron
ite), 141
Blessing of the water, 142
Catachumens, making of
(Greek), 142
Catechism, the Greek, 142
Communicating the infant,
142
Confirmation, Greek sacra
ment of, 144
Syrian sacrament of, 144
Consecration of the holy oil,
143
Exorcism of the devil, 140,
141
General features of Eastern
baptism, 140
Godparents, 142
Holy chrism or Meirun, 144
Maronites, among the, 145
Triple immersion (Greek),
143
Beha Allah, 20
Behais or Babis, 19
Bell, Miss Gertrude Lowthian,
311 note

Beyrout, 30, 56, 58, 59, 93, 103,
137, 163, 325 ff.
Broussa, 207
Burial (Christian)
Ceremony at the grave
(Greek), 154
Child, service for, 153
Funeral of a Maronite patri
arch, 154
Greek burial services for lay
men, the, 152
Interment of bishops, 155
Kiss, the last (Greek), 152,
153
Maronite burial service, 154
Unction, the sacrament of,
151
Burial in Islam, 291
Angels Munkar and Nakir,
196, 293
Ceremonial ablutions, 292
Funeral service, 292
Grave clothes, 292
Hospitality at funerals, 294
Hour of death, 291
Punishment of the grave, 293
Visits to cemeteries, 294
Washing of the corpse, 291
Christianity, early Jewish, 7
Official triumph of Gentile, 9
Types of Syrian and Greek,
111
Church of the Anastasis or Resur
rection at Jerusalem (see next)
Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
30, 54, 61, 324
Church of the Nativity, Bethle
hem, 30
Church buildings, 124 ff.
Altar, the high, or table, 126
Baptismal font, 127
Ikonostasis, 125
Ikons, 125
Interiors, 125

345

346

INDEX

Oblation, the Greek table of,
127
Pulpit, 127
Service books, Greek, 124
Maronite, 124
Syrian, 124
Churches, the Eastern, 35
Eastern and Western, com
pared, 38
Origin of Greek and Syrian, 11
Relative numerical strength,
35
Churches, the Jacobite or old Syr
ian Church, 74
Ancestors of Syrian Chris
tians, 9
Chorepiscopus, or Country
Bishop, 77
Deacons, grades of Syrian, 77
Geographical distribution, 74
'Mafrian, 76
Nestorian Church, 80
(Persian), 80
Palayacoor, or the Old Com
munity (Malabar), 79
Parish priests, 77
Patriarchs and bishops, 75
Puthencoor, or the New Com
munity (Malabar), 79
Syrians of Malabar, the, 79
Vestments, 78
Churches, Church of the Maron
ites Council of the Lebanon, 97,
108
Dibs, Joseph (Bishop of Bey
rout), 99
Dibs College at Beyrout, 111
Emir Beshir Shehaab, 105
Episcopate, the, 109
Feudalism and the Lebanon,
104
Gregorian calendar, adoption
of the, 97
Hierarchy, the, 108
Decline of the power of,
112
In Patriarchate of Jerusalem,
103
Josephus Assemanus, 99
Kesrouan, 107
Khazins, the, 107
Mar Marun, alleged founder,
13, 98

Mar Yuhanna Marun, 13, 98
Monothelitism, 35 note, 98
Numbers of, 37, 103
Origin and present distribu
tion of, 12, 102
Parish clergy and missioners,
111
Patriarch, election of a, 109
Funeral of a, 154
Periodeuta and Chorepisco
pus, 110
Recent popular movement,
112
Revenues, the patriarchal,
108
Union with Rome, the, 101
Unique position of, 96
Wars with Druses, 104
William of Tyre, testimony
of, 100
Church, the Orthodox, 39 ff.
Archbishopric of Mount Sinai,
the, 42
Archimandrites, 54
Autocephalous churches, the
fifteen, 40
Bishops, election of, 54, 56
Boycott of churches, 66, 70,
71, 72
Brotherhood of the Holy Sep
ulchre, 61 ff.
Church and state, 40
The Bulgarian, 42
Crisis in Jerusalem, 70
Of Greece, 41, 42
Of Russia, 41
Circuit system, the Greek, 58
Cleophas Kikilides, librarian
of the Convent at Jerusa
lem, 60
Diaconate, the, 60
Dositheus, Patriarch of Jeru
salem, 61
Ecclesiastical publications, 53,
56
Ecclesiastical revolution, an,
67
Ecumenical Church, the, 41
Erotheos, Patriarch of Anti
och, 65
Germanus, Patriarch of Je
rusalem, 62, 63
Gregorios, present Patriarch
of Antioch, 69

INDEX

347

Hierarchy of, 49 ff.
High-schools, Orthodox, 57
Holy synods, the, 50, 53 et
passim
Imperial Russian Society of
Palestine, 57, 73
Ionian claims, the, 72
Ionian control at Damascus,
64
Jerusalem Convent, income
of, 63
Malatios, Patriarch of Anti
och, 69
"Master of the Week," 59
Metropolitan Church of Cy
prus, 41
National party in Damascus,
victory of the, 68
Orthodox and Catholics, 39
Parish priests, 58
Patriarch of Constantinople,
simply Primus inter pares,
44, 46
Patriarchs, election of, 51,
53, 54, 56
Patriarchate of Alexandria,
41, 52
Patriarchate of Antioch,
41, 50, 56, 64 ff.
Contrasted with Jerusa
lem, 60
National movement in
the, 64
Patriarchate of Constan
tinople, 41, 44
Patriarchate of Jeru
salem, 41, 53
Patriarchates, mutual rela
tions of the four, 47
Phanar at Constantinople,
53
Photios, Patriarch of Alexan
dria, 51
Points of difference with
Rome, 40
Relations to sultan, 43
Russian influence alleged, 65
Denied, 66
Sylvestre, Patriarch of Anti
och, 64, 89
Theological colleges, Ortho
dox, 57
Turkey, Orthodox Church in
43

Churches, the United or Uniates,
81 ff.
Apostolic vicar or delegate,
84
Armenian Catholic Convent
at Venice, 86
Basis of union with Rome, 83
Breach between East and
West, 82
Councils of Ferrara and
Florence, 82
Coptic Catholic Church, 86
Divisions in the Church Uni
versal, 81
Four general councils of the
Greek Catholics, 95
Greek Catholic colony in
Calabria, 95
Greek Catholic community,
92
Greek Catholic schism of
1724, 89
Greek Catholics, unique po
sition of, 92
Gregorian calendar, adoption
of, 93
Influence of Rome, 94
Latin patriarchs, 85
Mark, Bishop of Ephesus, 82
Married clergy, 84
Propaganda in the Greek see
of Antioch, 87
Propaganda, sketch of
the general papal, 96
Seraphim Tanas, first Greek j
Catholic patriarch, 89
Synod of Diamper, 83
Syrian Catholics, 87
United Abyssinians, 86
United Greeks in Russia,
Austria, and Bulgaria, 95
Church Year, the, 155 ff.
Adoration of the cross or bur
ial, 163 ff.
Advent, 157
All Saints, 170
Ash Monday, 159
Baptism of Christ, 158
Beginning of Greek ecclesias
tical year, 156
Beginning of Syrian ecclesias
tical year, 156
Calendar, the, 155
Christmas, 157

348

INDEX

Christmas bonfires in church,
157
Church auctions, 158
Easter Monday, 166
Procession (Greek), at
Mahardy, 167
Salutations, 166
Sunday, 165
Week processions, 167
Fast of the Apostles, the,
156 Of the Nativity, the, 156
Of Nineveh, 157
Of Repose of the Virgin,
156
Feast of Corpus Christi, 169
Of the Finding of the
Cross, 169
Of Mar Marun, 159
Of the jRepose or As
sumption of the Virgin,
156, 169
Of Saint Peter and Saint
Paul, 156
Feasts requiring abstention
from labor, 159
Foot-washing ceremony, 161
Good Friday, 162
Holy fire, ceremony of the,
165
Holy ' oils, consecration of,
162
Lent, 156
Draping of churches, 159
Maundy Thursday, 160
Miracle play, 160
Palm Sunday, 160
Sunday, blessing of olive
twigs on, 160
Pentecost, 168
Society of the Scapular of
Our Lady of Mount Car-
mel, 157
Churchill, Colonel (his "Mount
Lebanon"), 30 note, 37 note, 105
note, 107 note, 295 note
Coppolani, Xavier, 226 note et
passim
Covenant of 'Omar, 62
Cromer, Lord, 176
Crusaders, the episode of the,
20, 21
Curtiss, Dr. Samuel Ives, 28, 205,
228, 229, 233

Damascus, 16, 45, 56, 64 ff.,
89 ff., 321, 322
Day of Atonement (Jewish), 321
Depont, Octave, 226 note et pas
sim
Dervish life, the, 255 ff.
Attitude toward the doctors
of the law, 226
Toward government, 264
Ceremony of the trampling, or
dowsi, 270
Charms, 273
Dervish demonstrations, 267
Seance, 273
Diviners and their tricks, 272
Eating five serpents, 266
Establishments at Damascus,
255
Establishments at Jerusalem,
255
Flying powers, 262
Holiness, the object, 259
Howling dervishes, 257
Immunity from fire, 265
Miracles of dervishes, 261
Moslem belief in magic, 272
Popular estimate of the, 261
Power over serpents, 266
Powers of healing, 265
Procession of Neby Musa on
Good Friday, 268
Punishment of the unworthy.
261 "'
Saintly dervishes, 261 .
Sheikhs' Thursday at Hums,
269
Shrine of Moses, 268
Turkish pasha and the old
dervish, the, 263
Whirling function of the
Mowlawiyeh, 258
Zikr, 256
Concerted, 258
Effect of, 257
Imitation, 213, 258
Dervish organization, the, 234
'Abd-el-Qadir-ej-Jilani, 227,
232, 235, 239
Abu Hasan esh-Shazili, 236
Abu-'l-Huda, 235, 242, 243,
253
Abu Rabah, 241
Adepts, 238
Ahmed el-Bedawy, 232, 235

INDEX

349

Ahmed er-Refa'i, 232, 234,
235, 265
Bakhtashiyeh or Baghdashi
yeh, 236
Bedawiyeh, 232, 234, 235, 240
Caps and banners, 236
Celibacy, 235, 253
Chief sheikh of the order, 237
Dervishes of no order, 252
Diploma, or sanad, 227, 244,
245 251 252
Dusuqf yeh, 234, 236, 240, 253
Election of sheikh, 238
Faqirs, 238, 260
Female dervishes, 254
General council or assembly,
238, 246
Haji Bakhtash, 236
Head of a dervish house, 243
Hereditary principle, 252
Ibrahim ed-Dusuqi, 232, 236
Independence of Syrian
sheikhs, 245
Initiating sheikhs, 238
Initiation, 249
Initiation, degrees of, 250
Initiation, period of proba
tion, 249
Initiation, powers conferred,
250
Jelal ed-Din, 236
Kalandariyeh, 236, 253
Khalify, 237, 239, 243, 245,
250, 251, 252, 253, 264
Lay-members, 246
Mowlawiyeh, 236, 246
Mowlawiyeh, cap of the or
der, 247
Muquddim, 237, 239
Murshid, or guide, 241
Number of orders or ways,
234
Orders in Syria and Pales
tine, 236
Organization and spirit, 254
Principles of organization,
236
Qadiriyeh, 234, 235 et passim
Qadiriyeh order, development
of the, 239
Qadiriyeh in North Africa,
240
Refa'iyeh, 234, 235, 240, 257,
265

Sa'ad-ed-dtn-ej-Jebawi, 233,
235 244 266
Sa'adiyeh, 233, 234, 235, 240
Selman-el-Pharisi, 253
Senusiyeh, 236
Senusiyeh, Mohammed Ibn
Senusi (founder), 236, 248
Iconoclasm of, 248
Numbers of, 248
Shaziliyeh, 226, 236, 247
Sheikh-el-Mahdi, 248
Tendency toward panthe
ism, 247
Unique position of, 247
Tekkeh (dervish house), 245,
255, 258
Test of a good dervish, 251
Unrecognized dervishes, 239,
260
Visit to a presiding sheikh,
244
Wandering dervishes, 239
Zawiyeh, or monastery, 237,
243, 245, 255
Dictionary of Islam (Hughes),
185 et passim
DowUng, Archdeacon, 31, 50 note,
55, 116 note
Druses. See Shi'ah sect
Elijah, the prophet, 10, 232
Fasting in Islam, 210 ff.
Beginning of Ramadhan, 211
Conscientiousness, 211
Declaration of fasting, 213
Especial service in Rama
dhan, 213
Exempt persons, 211
Fanaticism in Ramadhan, 211
Great Feast, the, 215
Lunar year, 211
Night feasting, 212
Watching for new moon, 215
Fatima, 17
God, Moslem doctrine of, 182
Beautiful conceptions found
in Koran, 183
Confession of the creed, 182
Element of love subordinated,
185
FataUstic elements, 184
Fatherhood repudiated, 187

350

INDEX

Monotheistic theory, 182
Moslem and Jewish ideas
compared, 184
Practical modification of
monotheism, 228
Trinity repudiated, 186
Hagiology, the Mohammedan,
227 ff.
Cult of the shrines, 227, 228,
248
Folk-lore, 231, 233
Founders of orders, 232
Four poles, the, 232
Memorial rags, 230
Sacrifices, Moslem, 222, 229
.Servant of the shrine, 230
Shrines, 27, 228, 230, 232
In Aleppo Mosque, 228
Sufi, SUfiism, 225, 227, 228,
247, 256
Supernatural visitations of
saints, 233
Wely, weUes (saints), 227, 288
et passim
Welies, incarnations, 232
Powers of the, 231
Tombs of, 232
Vows to, 228, 229
Hasan, 17, 297, 299, 303
Hasan-el-' Askari, 17, 300
Hatti Houmayun, 23, 24, 315
. Sherif of Gulhane, 23, 314
Hosein, 17, 297, 299, 303, 304
Influence of the West, the, 313 ff.
Islam Circumcision, 269
Comparison with Christian
ity, 171
Conquest of Syria and Pales
tine, 14
Divorce, 280, 288
Grand Sherif, 206
Hierarchy, 204
Jihad, or holy war, 190
Legal alms, 215
Moral atmosphere of, 172
Mufti, or legal adviser, 206,
226
Qadhi, or judge, 206, 285, 287
Religious sheikhs, 204
Sects of, 176

Sheikh-ul-Islam, 192, 193
note, 206
Slavery in, 277
Total abstinence in, 276
'Ulama, or learned, 204, 205
et passim
Inter-relations of the cults, 22 ff.
Christians and Moslems, be
tween, 28
Christian bodies, between, 29
Common basis of supersti
tion, 27
Effects of the Turkish revo
lution, 32
Government relations, 22
Moslem baptisms, 28
Segregation, 26
Isma'iliyeh. See Shi'ah sect

Ja'afar-es-Sadiq, 17, 244, 300
de Jehay, Count van den Steen,
22, 40 note et passim
Jerusalem, 16 et passim
Jesuit printing-press at Beyrout,
329 note
University of Saint Joseph at
Beyrout, 329 note
Jews in the Holy Land, 8
In Syria, 8, 321

Khaled, the Sword of God, 14,
187, 270
KhauU, Prof. Boulos, 296
Khudr, the (the Ever Living One),
10, 232
Koran, the
Analysis, 178 note
Contrasted with the Bible,
174
Doctrine of its inspiration,
178
Early chapters of, 177
Especial legislation, 180
Fat-nah, or first chapter of
Koran, 199 note, 202, 210,
264, 287
Khatmeh, or recital of the
whole Koran, 214 note
Language of, 174, 202
Late chapters of, 180
Poetic passages of, 179, 183
Spiritual passages of, 175, 188

INDEX

351

Lebanon, Mount, 35 note, 37, 96
et passim
Liturgies, Eastern, 128 ff.
Antimins (Greek), 127
Blessed bread or anti-doron,
135
Communion in both kinds,
138
Confession, Greek, 130
Jacobite, 130
Greek commemoration of the
living and the dead, 134
Liturgies, 128
Oblation, 131
Preparation, 133
Sacrifice, 134
Kiss of peace (Syrian), 137
Liturgy of Saint Basil
(Greek), 129
Of Saint Chrysostom
(Greek), 129
Of the presanctified
(Greek), 129
Penance, 130
People's oblation (Greek),
135
Pre-empting the feast
(Greek), 136
Syrian and Maronite litur
gies or anaphorse, 129
Commemoration, 136
Oblation, 132
Macdonald, D. B., 241 note, 272,
275 note
Marriage (Christian), 145 ff.
Cup of communion (Greek),
149
Greek betrothal, 146
Marriage or corona
tion, 147
Fine for breaking engage
ments (Greek), 146
Lebanon wedding (Maronite),
150
Maronite ceremony, 149
Exhortation to bride and
groom, 150
Marriage fiUets (Syrian), 151
Russian service, 147
Second marriages, 146
Sunday weddings, 146
Syrian practices, 150
Wedding crowns (Greek), 148
Rings, 147

Marriage in Islam, 284
Ceremony, the, 287
Consent of girl, 285
Dowry, 286
Early marriages, 286
Female broker, 287
Four marriages allowed, 285
Legal capacity, 285
Limitations of polygamy, 285
Wedding customs, 288
Massacres of Adana, 33, 192
Massacres of 1860 (Lebanon), 104,
313
Melchites, 12, 13, 87, 98 °
Missions (Protestant), 313 ff.
'Abeih Academy, 328
American Board of Commis
sioners for Foreign Mis
sions, 323
AnatoUa College at Marso-
van, 331
Apostasy from Islam, 314
Armenian Protestant Church
at Constantinople, 325
As'ad esh-Shidiaq, 325
Baptisms among Jews, 321
Barton, Dr. J. L., 315 note
BUss, Dr. Daniel, 329, 331
BUss, Dr. Howard, 331
British and Foreign Bible
Society, 323
British Syrian schools, 328
Central Turkey College at
'Aintab, 331
Christian Missions and Islam,
314
Church Missionary Society,
316
Dale, Rev. Gerald F., 318
Educational influences in
Syria and Palestine, 327
Euphrates College at Har-
poot, 331
Fallscheer, Mr., 318
Gobat, Bishop, 318
Hanauer, Rev. J. E., 322
Houmayim, Hatti, 315
International College at
Smyrna, 331
Jessup, Dr. H. H., 29 note,
317
London Society for Promo
tion of Christianity among
the Jews, 320

352

INDEX

Mission of the United Free
Church of Scotland, 321
Work among the Druses,
318
Work among the Nuseiri
yeh, 319
Missions to the Eastern
churches, 323
To Jews, 320
Parsons, Rev. Levi, 323
Persecution of Protestants,
325
Policy of early American mis
sionaries, 323
Presbyterian Board of For
eign Missions, 327
Primary schools, 327
Protestant agencies, 328
Protestant church in Syria,
333
Protestant community in
Syria and Palestine, 327
Prussian deaconesses, schools
of the, 328
Richter, Dr. Julius, 317 note
Robert College at Constanti
nople, 331
Saint Paul's Collegiate Insti
tute at Tarsus, 331
Smith, Dr. Eli, 328
Syrian EvangeUcal Church,
326
Syrian Protestant College,
329 Christian association of
the, 331
Thomson, Dr. WilUam, 318,
Van Dyck, Dr. W. C. A., 318,
328
Wolters, Rev. T. F., 317 note
Mo'awiyah, 17, 296, 297
Mohammed, 14, 176 et passim
Companions of, 228
Conception of his own mis
sion, 181
Early and later career con
trasted, 181
Popular apotheosis of, 193
Relation to the Bible, 174
Traditions pf, 175, 194
Mohammed-el-Habib, 17
Monasteries of the East, 113 ff.
Brotherhood of the Holy Sep
ulchre, 61 ff., 113, 114

Community of Mount Athos,
113
Convent of B'dtman, 108
Convent of Constantine at
Jerusalem, 114
Of. Mar Antanius Qoz
hayya, 121
Of Mar Elisha', 120
Of Qannubin, 108, 120
Of Sedanayya, 116
Exorcising of evil spirits, 121
Greek monasteries (indepen
dent), 113
Hermits, 115, 120
Maronite estabUshments, 119
Miracle-working saints, 121
Monastic orders among the
united bodies, 117
Monasticism in the Greek pa
triarchate of Antioch, 116
Order of Beladiyeh (Maron
ite), 1.18
Of Halabiyeh (Maronite),
118
Of Mar Isha'ya (Maron
ite), 118
Organization of the orders
(Maronite), 118
Moslem doctrine
Alms, 215
Angels and prophets, 196
Fasting, 210 ff.
God, 182 ff.
HeU, 198
Jesus, 186
Paradise, 198
Pilgrimage, 217 ff.
Prayer, 199 ff.
Predestination, 195
Sin, 188
Virgin Mary, 186 note
Moslems, approximate number in
Syria and Palestine, 177
Mott, Dr. John R., 332
Nablus, 207
Nuseiriyeh. See Shi'ah sect
Old Man of the Mountains, the,
18, 307
'Omar, the Caliph, 14, 16, 17, 228,
296, 300
'Othman, the CaUph, 17, 296, 300

INDEX

353

Pagan survivals, 10
Parry, O. H. (his "Six Months in
a Syrian Monastery"), 74 ff.
Pilgrimage to Mecca or hajj,
217 ff.
'Arafat, standing on, 221
Caravan route, 218
Circumambulation of the
Ka'aba, 220, 223
Conditions of, 217
Description of Sir Richard F.
Burton, 220 note
Feast of Bairam, 222
Festival prayers, 222
First day, 220
Formal declaration, 218
Hajj by proxy, 217
HiU of 'Arafat, 221
Ka'aba, 223
Kisweh, or sacred carpet, 223
Mecca Railway, 218
Mountains of Safa and Mer-
wah, 220
Muna or Mina, 221
Numbers of pilgrims, 221
Pilgrims' chant, 221
Pilgrims' return, 223
Preliminary rites, 219
Sacrifices at Muna, 222
Sacrifices on return of a pil
grim, 224
Second day, 221
Stoning the Great Devil, 222
Third day, 222
WeU Zem-Zem, 220
Poole, Stanley Lane, 179, 180
note, 194 note
Porter, Professor Harvey, 15 note
Post, Dr. George E., 312
Prayer, Druse, 335
Prayer in Islam, 199 ff.
Ablutions, 200, 207
CaU to prayer, 199
CoUection, 210
Formal declaration, 202
Friday service at Jerusalem,
. 208
Haram-esh-Sherff, 208
Imam, or leader, 204
Kubbet-es-Sakhra or Dome
of the Rock, 208, 213
Masjid-el-Aqsa, 208
Mihrab, or small apse, 207
Mimbar, or pulpit, 207, 209

Mosque at Hebron, 207
Mosques, the, 206
Orientation, 201
Prostrations or rak'ahs, 201,
210 Numbers of, 201
ObUgatory, 201
Voluntary, 201
Ritual, the, 202
Rosary, the, 204, 210
Sermon, the, 209
ReUgion in the East, 3, 4
In the West, 7
ReUgious orders of Islam, origin
of, 225, 226
Rinn, Louis, 234 note
Ritual, languages of the Eastern,
123
Saint George, 10, 232
Sell, Rev. E., 237 note, 257 note
Shi'ah sect of Islam, 16, 17, 176,
294 el passim
'Ashura, the, 298, 299
Conformity, 306
Contrasted with Sunnis, 302
Corpus of traditions, 302
Descendants of Mohammed,
301
Divorce, 304
Druses, 18, 19, 307
Darazi, 18, 19
Doctrine of incarnation,
309 Of metempsychosis,
. 309
El-Hakim, the Caliph,
18, 19, 309
Hamzeh, 19, 307
Initiates, 307
Unitarians, the, 307
Exclusiveness, 305
House of Harfush, 296
Imams, the, 300
Isma'iUyeh, 18, 19, 300
"Asian Mystery," by
Rev. S. Lyde, 308 note
Doctrine of incarnation,
311
Mohammed Shah or
Agha Khan in Bom
bay, 307, 311
Nature worship, 312

354

INDEX

Number of, 307
Old Man of the Moun
tain, Lord of the Assas
sins, 307
Rashid-ed-Din Sinan, 18
Rodhah, the, 311, 312
Mahdi, the, 300
Martyrs, the, 296
Metawali (plural Metawileh),
17, 295
Mufti, 302
Mujtahid, 303
Nominal marriage, 304
Nuseiriyeh, 19, 300
Doctrine of incarnation,
310 Of metempsychosis,
308, 309
Feast of the quddas, or
"mass," 308
Initiation of, 308
Origin and distribution in
Syria, 294
Persian passion play, 298
Physiognomy in Syria, 296
Pilgrimage by proxy, 304
Practises in prayer, 303
Praying pebble, or sejdi, 302
Temporary marriage, 304
Visitations to tombs, 304

Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusa
lem, 16
Spirit of the times, 313
Sufiism. See Hagiology
Syriac language, 16, 123
Tozer, H. F. (his "The Church
and the Eastern Empire"), 44,
52, 74 note
Turks, Young, 32, 33, 314 ff.
Washburn, President, 217
Woman in Islam, 278 ff.
Domestic relations, 281
Harem life, 282
Influence of, 283
Mohammed's legislation for,
278
Peasant freedom, 282
Present conditions, 280
Religious duties, 290
Seclusion, 280
Wortabet, Dr. John, 88 note, 140,
200 note, 281, 300 et passim
Yezid, 297, 298
Zionism, 320, 321
Zwemer, Dr. S. M., 188, 189