on purpose by the Patriarch Elias who stood in need of the Assistance of Rome The same Judgment we are to make of the Letters which the Nestorians assembled at Mosul for the Election of a new Patriarch wrote to Pope Julius III. wherein they give him the Title of Head of all Bishops in the same manner as St. Peter was of all the other Disciples That is not the ordinary Language of the Orientals in regard of the Bishop of Rome whom they do indeed acknowledge to be the chief of Patriarchs but that according to them is onely a Primacy of Honour and not of Jurisdiction and Power over the rest The same patriarch Elias annexed to his Letter the Confession of Faith of his Church where amongst other Articles it is said that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father that the Son hath taken a Body of the Holy Virgin that he is perfect both in Soul and in Mind and in all that belongs to a Man that the Word having descended into a Virgin was united to the Man and became one thing with that Man in the same manner as the Fire and the Iron are united together that that Unity is without either Mixture or Confusion and therefore it is that the Properties of each Nature cannot be destroyed after the Union that they believe that Jesus Christ who is begotten of his Father from all Eternity as to his Divinity was born of a Virgin in the fulness of time and united with the Nature of his Humanity As to what is objected to them that they call not the Virgin the Mother of God but Mother of Jesus Christ he answers that they speak in that manner to condemn the Apollinarians who pretend that the Divinity is without the Humanity and to confound Themistius who affirmed that Christ was onely Humanity without Divinity He farthermore adds that that is the Belief of the Church of Rome and that he receives all which that Church teaches that he acknowledges the Pope to be Head of all Churches and that out of the same Church of Rome there is no Salvation Now seeing Elias Patriarch of Babylon otherwise of the Nestorians could not come to Rome himself He dispatched to the Pope some of the ablest and most prudent Men about him to make the Reconciliation of the two Churches They together framed an Explanation of the Articles of their Religion where they laid down at length the manner of reconciling their Belief with that of the Church of Rome Abbot Adam who was one of the Deputies was charged with that Commentary or Explanation and the Patriarch accompanied him with a Letter to the Pope (1) Epist El. Patr. ad Paul V. wherein he treats of that Reconciliation of Belief and makes it appear that the two Churches differ onely in Ceremonies but that as to the Doctrine of Faith all the Disputes with the Church of Rome are but nominal He reduces those Points of Belief wherein he pretends to differ onely in Name from Rome to five Heads to wit in that the Nestorians call not the Virgin the Mother of God but Mother of Christ in that they assign to J. C. but one Power and one Will in that they acknowledge in J. C. but one Person in that they say barely that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and in fine in that they believe that the Light which is made on Holy Saturday at the Sepulchre of our Lord is a Light truly miraculous The Patriarch Elias having taken the Advice of the most knowing Men about him pretends that in all these Points they understand not one another aright And in effect Abbot Adam endeavours to justify himself in a long Discourse of which we shall onely here relate a Summary without speaking of the two last Articles which are common to all the Orientals the three first onely relating particularly to the Nestorians and I find that that Abbot evidently proves that the Modern Nestorianism is but a Heresie in Name and that it hath onely been condemned because not understood In the first place the Abbot makes appear that it is easie to reconcile the Roman Church which calls the Virgin Mother of God with the Nestorian which calls her Mother of Jesus Christ because it is a Principle received by both Churches that the Divinity neither generates nor is generated so that the Virgin hath engendered Jesus Christ who is God and Man both together but that it is not therefore to be believed that there are two Sons but one onely true Son insomuch that there is in Jesus Christ but one Filiation and one onely visible Person which the Nestorians call Parsopa In fine he concludes that they deny not but that the Virgin may be called Mother of God because Jesus Christ is really God and that that Doctrine is agreeable to the words of St. John in his Gospel of St. Paul and St. Gregory Nazianzene wherefore says he according to these Principles the Church of Rome acknowledges really that the Virgin is the Mother of God and the Orientals with good reason say also that she is Mother of Christ and yet for all that differ not in Judgment In the second place he examines the difference that seems to be betwixt the Roman and Nestorian Churches touching the Natures and Persons in Jesus Christ It is certain the Latins acknowledge two Natures and one onely Person in Christ whereas the Nestorians say that there are two Persons in him and one Parsopa or visible Person and besides that there is but one Power and Virtue in him He reconciles those two Opinions that seem at first so different by the explication which he gives of that Mystery The Orientals or Nestorians says he according to the two Natures that are in Christ distinguish in their Mind two Persons but with their Eyes they see but one Christ who is onely the Parsopa or Appearance of one Filiation And it is in that Sense also that the Nestorians acknowledge but one Power or Virtue in Christ because they look upon him but as one Parsopa or visible Person and so by reason of that real and perfect Union which makes but one Compositum of two Natures the Divine and Humane they distinguish not a double Power or Virtue making the Terms to rest on the Unity of Filiation Whereas in the Church of Rome these Powers or Virtues are distinguished into Divine and Humane because they are considered with relation to the Natures and it may easily be concluded from thence that this Diversity of Judgment is onely apparent since in effect the Nestorians confess with the Latins that there are two Natures in Christ and that each Nature hath its Power and its Virtue and besides both Churches acknowledge that there is no Mixture nor Confusion of those two Natures each retaining the Attributes which are proper to them In fine for a greater Illustration of his Opinion he adds these words As the Fathers of the Church of Rome acknowledge one
amongst them It is true they neglect it very much and the Archbishop Joseph a Nestorian who some years since was reconciled to the Church of Rome had much adoe to re-establish it in Diarbequer because the Nestorians though most of them Latinized would not submit to it as I have learned from another Chaldean Archbishop a great Friend of Joseph's who hath suffered much for maintaining the Interests of Rome We must then explain all the other Points of the Religion of the Nestorians with relation to the Sentiments of the Greek Church which is the source of all the Christianity in the East It is not to be denied but that the Nestorians consecrate in Leavened bread They moreover put into their Bread Salt and Oil as may be seen in the Notes upon the Works of Gabriel of Philadelphia where the way of making and preparing that Bread to make it proper for Consecration is related They have for that end a great many Prayers which they say however they observe fewer Ceremonies than the Greeks who to the Ancient have added an infinite Number of new ones CHAP. VIII Of the Indians or Christians of St. Thomas THE Indians or Christians of St. Thomas and the Nestorians may be comprehended under one Head because it is certain they make but one Sect and have but one Patriarch whose Jurisdiction extends as far as India and the Chaldeans who live at Goa Cochim Angamala and other Places of those Quarters are really of the Nestorian Sect. The Popes have often sent Emissaries into those Countries especially since the Portuguese setled there But he that laboured most in reconciling these Christians of St. Thomas to the Roman Church was Alexis de Meneses of the Order of St. Austin who was made Archbishop of Goa and took the Title of Primate of the East Seeing there hath been a History made out of his Memoires the relation of those who accompanied him into that Countrey and of some Jesuits who have been in the same Places we shall relate the State and Religion of those People at the time of that Famous Mission which happened in the Year 1599. Many before Meneses had attempted the Reunion of the Christians of St. Thomas with the Church of Rome Don John Albuquerque (1) Hist Orient des progrés d' Alex. Men. en la reduct des Crestiens de St. Thomas Imprimée à Brusseles en 1609. of the Order of St Francis was the first Archbishop of Goa and under him in the Year 1546. there was a College erected at Cangranor for instructing Children in the Ceremonies of the Latins But the Jesuits who were more sagacious soon perceived that the Young Chaldeans bred after the manner of the Latins were useless and that it was in vain to think of converting the Christians of that Countrey without the Knowledge of the Chaldaick or Syrian Language They therefore erected another College about a League from Cangranor in the Year 1587. where they taught Children the Chaldaick Tongue to the end that being grown up they might be received into the Ministery as real Chaldeans But neither did this do any great Service because it was not enough to be instructed in the Language of the Religion there must be besides an agreement in Sentiments with the Prelates to have the Liberty of Preaching in their Churches whereas being taught by the Jesuits their Doctrine and way of speaking were very different from what was commonly received in the Countrey And therefore it was impossible for the Jesuits to make them forsake their ancient Customs and to withdraw them from the Submission which they rendered to the Patriarch of Babylon who was not in the Pope's Communion no more than the Bishops that were under his Jurisdiction The Remedy therefore that was found for that was to seize the Person of a certain Bishop called Mar Joseph who had been sent by the Patriarch of Babylon to the end that by that means the People having no Pastour the Design might the more easily be brought about But that Bishop Mar Joseph ordered that Mass should be celebrated according to the Custome of Rome with Ornaments after the Latin Fashion and that they should even make use of the Wine and Wafers of the Latins Nevertheless he still persisted in Nestorianism and taught the Portuguese who served him to say Holy Mary Mother of Christ and not Mother of God which obliged the Archbishop and Viceroy to arrest him in order to his being carried to Rome But arriving in Portugal he so well managed his Affairs that he obtained Letters again to be received into his Bishoprick of Serra In the mean time there was another Bishop already put in his Place called Mar Abraham who to maintain himself in his Bishoprick went afterwards to Rome to submit to the Pope where having made an abjuration of his Heresies he was re-ordained He had all the Orders given him anew from the Tonsure to Priesthood then he was consecrated Bishop and the Pope empowred him by Bulls for governing the Church of Serra adding thereunto Letters of Recommendation to the Viceroy which stood him but in little stead for he was no sooner arrived but that the Archbishop of Goa caused his Bulls to be examined and finding that the Pope had been misinformed by Mar Abraham and that his Holiness had been imposed upon he was shut up in a Monastery in expectation of an Answer from Rome But he escaped and retired into the Churches of his Bishoprick where he was very well received by the Nestorians who hoped no more for any Bishop from their Patriarch In the mean time Mar Abraham who still distrusted the Portuguese retreated far up into the Countrey and to shew that he was sincerely in the Pope's Communion he ordained anew all those whom he had already ordained that he might conform to the Roman Rite and did all he could both with the Viceroy and the Archbishop that he might appear to be really in the Judgment of the Latin Church But he still preached Nestorianism in his Church of Serra and would not suffer the Pope to be called Head of the Church as owning no other Patriarch but the Patriarch of Babylon On the other hand the Ancient Bishop of Serra Mar Joseph was accused of teaching the Heresies of Nestorius and being thereupon questioned he answered freely that he had had a Revelation from God assuring him that the Religion which he had received from his Ancestours was the true Religion So he was immediately made Prisoner and sent to Rome where he died From this History it may be gathered that the Portuguese have used great Violence towards the Nestorians about Matters of Religion that the Emissaries being Men unacquainted with the Theology of the East have disturbed and molested them for Ceremonies of little or no Importance and that they have thereby occasioned the temporising of the Nestorian Bishops by introducing Novelties into their Churches to which they were constrained by Violence And therefore it was
that the same Mar Abraham having been obliged by the Pope's Brief and more by the fear that he had of the Vice-roy who gave him a Pass-port to repair to a Council he there again abjured all these Errours and made Profession of the Roman Catholick Faith But no sooner was he come back to his Church but that he taught Nestorianism as before and even wrote to his Patriarch of Babylon that the Portuguese had forced him to be present at the Synod of Goa The sequel of that History discovers more plainly the Violences used by the Portuguese towards the Nestorians to bring them to an Union with the Church of Rome and to oblige them to subscribe to the Confession of Faith of Pius IV. which happened in the time of Alexis de Meneses Arch-Bishop of Goa who went into the Indies with a Brief of Clement VIII to inform against Mar Abraham In that whole Relation there appears great Zeal in the Nestorian Christians of that Countrey for the Defence of their Faith which they pretended to retain as being once delivered unto them by St. Thomas In so much that they put their hands before their Eyes at the Mass of the Latins when the Priest elevated the Host to be adored by those that were present Above all they shew'd themselves zealous for their Patriarch of Babylon and when they were asked whether the Pope was not Head of the Church they made answer that he was Head of the Church of Rome which is a particular Church otherwise called the Church of St. Peter and not of the Church of St. Thomas as being independent one of another which they obstinately maintained They moreover resolutely withstood the Sacrament of Confirmation which Archbishop Meneses would have administred unto them and they accused him of Envy and Ambition alledging that he endeavoured to overturn the Religion of St. Thomas to make them embrace that of Rome to the end that by that Artifice he might remain absolute Master of all the Churches of the Indies And therefore say they that Archbishop calumniated the Patriarchs of Babylon protesting however that they would persevere in Submission and Obedience to their patriarch and that they would never forsake their Religion to embrace that of Rome Notwithstanding all these oppositions on the Part of the Nestorians Archbishop Meneses still persisted to inculcate to them that their Patriarch was an Heretick and Excommunicated and that therefore they could not pray for him This he did so vigorously sparing neither Pains nor Money that at length he softened them Sometimes he used Violence and was therefore often in danger of his Life For under Pretext that he had full Power from the Pope he exercised his Jurisdiction in all Places without minding the Ordinaries of the Places even before they had acknowledged his Character And in this manner that Envoy of the Pope planted the Roman Religion in that Countrey and spared no means to accomplish his Design He gave Orders in spight of the Diocesan Bishops and made those whom he Ordained first abjure the Errours of the Nestorians Besides the Confession of Faith they who entered into Orders were obliged to swear Obedience to the Pope and to acknowledge no other Bishops but such as were sent from him But let us now come to the Errours of which Meneses accuses the Christians of St. Thomas I. (1) Hist Orient des progr d' Alexis Meneses Chap. 20. They obstinately maintained the Errours of Nestorius and besides that they received no Images admitting onely the Cross which they much honoured Nevertheless there were Images of some Saints in Churches adjacent to the Portuguese II. They affirmed that the Souls of the Saints did not see God before the Day of Judgment III. They acknowledged but three Sacraments to wit Baptism Orders and the Eucharist and in the Form of Baptism there was so great an abuse amongst them that in one and the same Church different Forms of Baptism were in use and by reason of that it happened often that the Baptism was null So that Archbishop Meneses secretly rebaptized most Part of that People There were also a great many especially the Poor who lived in the woods who had never been Baptised because Baptism cost Money And nevertheless though they had never been baptised yet they went to Church and received the Sacrament Besides they often enough delayed Baptism for several Months nay and for several Years IV. They made no use of Holy Oil in the Administration of Baptism unless that finding in their Rituals that there was mention made of anointing after Baptism they anointed Children with an Unguent made of Indian Nuts without any Benediction and they esteemed that Unction Holy V. They had no Knowledge of Confirmation nor Extreme Unction nay not so much as the Names of them VI. They abominated Auricular Confession except a few that were Neighbours to the Portuguese And as to the Eucharist they communicated on Holy Thursday and many other Festival-days without other Preparation than coming to the Sacrament fasting VII Their Books were full of considerable Errours and in their Mass there were a great many Additions inserted by the Nestorians VIII They consecrated with little Cakes made with Oil and Salt which the Deacons and other Churchmen who were but in inferiour Orders baked in a Copper Vessel having for that purpose a separated Place in the Form of a little Tower and whilst the Cake was a baking they sung several Psalms and Hymns and when they were ready to consecrate through a Hole that was in the Floor of that little Tower they let the Cake in a little Basket made of Leaves slide down upon the Altar Moreover they made use of Wine made of Water in which some dry Grapes had onely been infused IX They said Mass but very seldom and he that served at it wore a kind of a Stole over his ordinary Cloaths though he was not a Deacon He had always the Censer in his Hand and said almost as many Prayers as he that celebrated adding thereto many unknown and impious Ceremonies X. They had so great a Veneration for Orders that there was not a Family where some Body was not in Orders and the reason of that was because as Orders made them not incapable of other Employments so they had every where the Precedence Besides they observed not the Age requisite for Priesthood and the other Orders for they made Priests at the Age of 17 18. and 20. Years and when they were Priests they married even with Widows and past to second or third Marriages The Priests Wives had some Place before others aswell in the Churches as elsewhere and they were to be known by a Cross which they carried about their Neck or some other thing that distinguished them XI They went daily to Church to reade the Liturgy aloud in the Chaldaick Tongue but they did not think themselves obliged to repeat it elsewhere neither had they any Breviaries for saying it in Private
XII They committed Symony in the Administration of Baptism and the Eucharist setting rates of the Price they were to receive for them For their Marriages they made use of the first Priest that they found especially those who lived in the Countrey XIII They had an extraordinary respect for their Patriarch of Babylon a Schismatick and Head of the Nestorian Sect on the contrary they could not endure that the Pope should be named in their Churches where most commonly they had neither Curate nor Vicar but the ancientest presided in them XIV Though on Sundays they went to Mass yet they did not think themselves obliged to it in Conscience so that they were at Liberty not to goe nay there were some Places where Mass was said but once a Year and others where none was said in 6 7. and 10. Years XV. The Priests discharged Secular Employments The Bishops were Babylonians sent by their Patriarch and lived onely by sordid Gain and Symony selling Publickly Holy things as the Collation of Orders and the Administration of other Sacraments XVI They are flesh on Saturdays and were in this Errour in regard of the Fasts of Lent and the Advent that if they had failed to Fast one day they fasted no more thinking themselves not obliged to it because they had already broken their Fast These are the greatest Part of the Errours which Archbishop Meneses pretends to have found amongst the Christians of St. Thomas and which the Compiler of that History exaggerates to shew that extraordinary Labour was needfull for gaining these People But if that Archbishop and other Emissaries into the East had been well acquainted with the Ancient Theology they would not have so multiplied Errours In effect seeing they measured all things by the Rule of the Theology which is taught in the Schools of Europe it is not to be thought strange that they would needs reform the Oriental nations according to that Standard I confess there were abuses there that needed amendment but they ought not to have been rectified according to our Customs The Course that was to have been taken on these Occasions was to have turned back unto their Ancient Books and to have reformed them according to the Contents thereof and that might have been easily done as will appear in the Sequel of this Discourse But we must first relate the rest of that History that we may be able to make the better Judgment on the Conduct of Meneses and of the pretended Errours of the Nestorians Archbishop Meneses called a Synod the 20th of June 1599. where the Deputies of the Nestorians were present to deliberate jointly with the Archbishop about Matters of Religion And that it might appear that the Nestorians had all the Liberty that is necessary upon such Occasions and that on the other Hand they might give their Consent to all that should be decreed there the Archbishop gained Eight of the most Famous Churchmen and fully informed them of his Design and of the ways that were to be taken for succeeding in it giving them the particulars of all the Decrees that were to be made there and asking their Opinion upon every distinct Point as if nothing had as yet been resolved upon to the end that being present in the Synod they might doe the same and thereby oblige the rest to follow their Example He took many other measures for succeeding in his Designs which it would be to no purpose to relate and all that hath been hitherto alledged is onely to shew the manner how the Roman Religion hath been established in the East and that it is not to be thought strange that all the Reconciliations that have been made with those People whom we call Schismaticks have been of no long Duration It was then decreed in that Synod that the Priests Deacons Subdeacons and besides all the Deputies of Towns that were present should sign the Confession of Faith that the Archbishop had privately made by himself which was done and all solemnly swore obedience to be Pope whom they acknowledged to be Head of the Church swearing also that they would entertain no more Commerce with the Patriarch of Babylon Moreover they Anathematized the Person of Nestorius and all his Errours owning Cyrill Patriarch of Alexandria for a Saint Besides a great many particular Statutes were made in that Synod for reforming the Errours that Archbishop Meneses pretended to be in the Administration of their Sacraments and in their Books And therefore he caused their Liturgies and other Offices to be rectified He regulated the matter of Marriage according to the Decrees of the Council of Trent The Sacraments of Penance Confirmation and Extreme Unction were likewise reformed according to the Practice of the Church of Rome Priests were for the future prohibited to marry and regulations were made for those who were already married In a word the Archbishop introduced the Religion of the Latins amongst the Chaldeans as well in that synod as in the Visitations which he made of several Churches But let us now consider if he had reason to introduce so many Novelties amongst the Christians of St. Thomas which will serve to discover the Religion of those People I. As to what concerns the Errours which Archbishop Meneses imputes to them we have in the foregoing Chapter reconciled the Sentiments of the Nestorians with those of the Church of Rome and that was the way that the Archbishop should have proceeded with them if he intended to have established a lasting Reformation for he ought to have heard them before he condemned them for being called Nestorians When it had been made clear to them that all the Disputes which they had with the Church of Rome consisted onely in the Ambiguity of Terms they would have become a great deal more tractable and docile II. As to Images the Chaldeans reverence them not so much as the Greeks do because that great Veneration of Images was not so firmly established in the Greek Church but since the second Council of Nice which was posteriour to all the Sects of the Chaldeans who commonly are satisfied with a Cross in their Hand and that Cross wherewith the Priest blesseth the People is of plain Metal without any figure The Archbishop might very well have let the Christians of St. Thomas alone in that Ancient simplicity because all that hath been since that time decreed concerning Images is but barely matter of Discipline III. It is very true they administer not Baptism after the manner of the Latins but it is not therefore to be thought that the form of their Baptism is invalid and it was far less necessary to rebaptize those who had been baptized according to the Chaldean rite That which deceives the Emissaries when they treat about Affairs of Religion with the Orientals is the prejudices which they have learned in the Schools concerning the Matter and Form of Sacraments When for instance they see that the Child is not baptized at the same time
not the real Belief of the Iberians who exactly conform to the Faith of the Greek Church but that which hath given occasion of imputing it to them is because they own but one Place after Death where they put the Souls of the Damned and those who are thought to be in Purgatory Now seeing they pray indifferently for all the Souls which are shut up in that Place which they call Hell that God would deliver them from the Pains of Hell and that he would remove them from that obscure Prison to the Place of Light and Joy which is Paradise it hath easily been inferred from thence that they believed not Hell to be Everlasting which is to be understood with Limitation and in regard of some Souls onely who endure their Purgatory in that Place The Iberians agree also with the Greeks as to their Opinion of Confession and speak of it after the same manner They work on the most solemn Holy-days even on Christmas-day but that is not contrary to the Practice of the first Ages This is their way of baptising In the first Place the Priest reads a great many Prayers over the Child and when he comes to the words wherein we make the Form of Baptism to consist he does not stop but reads on without Baptising the Child at that time then so soon as he hath done reading the Child is stript and is at length baptised by the Godfather and not by the Priest which is done without pronouncing other words than those that were pronounced some time before They are not very pressing to receive Baptism and they rebaptise those who return again to the Faith after Apostasie The Priest alone amongst them is the true Minister of Baptism (1) In periculo obitûs si desit sacerdos infans non baptizatur So that for want of a Priest the Child must dye without Baptism and some of their Doctours are of opinion that in that case the Baptism of the Mother is sufficient to save the Child With Baptism they administer to Children Confirmation and the Eucharist They confess for the first time when they marry which they doe also when they are at the Point of Death but their Confession is made in three or four words If a Priest fall into any uncleanness which he confesses the Confessour deprives him of the Power of celebrating Mass And therefore the Priests have a care not to confess those Kinds of Sins (1) Pueris morientibus praebent Eucharistiam They give the Communion to Children when they are a dying and those that are come to Age receive it but seldom The Prince forces the Churchmen and even the Bishops to goe to the Wars and when they return home again they celebrate Mass without any Dispensation for their irregularity They are of the Opinion that no more than one Mass should be said in one Day upon one Altar and in one Church They consecrate in Chalices of Wood (2) Eucharistiam deferunt ad infirmos maxima cum irreverentia sine comitatu luminibus And they carry the Sacrament to the Sick with great irreverence without light or attendance On some Holy-days the priests together assist at the Mass of the Bishop who gives them the Sacrament in their hands and they themselves carry it to their Mouths The Churchmen do not daily say their Breviary but one or two onely say it and the rest listen He that recites the Office is commonly a Priest and they who are present for most part do not hear Most of the Iberians hardly know the Principles of Religion If they have no Children by their Wives they divorce from them with the Permission of the Priests and marry others which they doe also in case of Adultery and Quarrelling They alledge that there are no more Miracles wrought in the Church of Rome and (3) Sentiunt Pontificem in jure duntaxat positivo dispensare posse sed in re levi non gravi that the Pope can give no Dispensations but in matters of positive Right nor in these neither if they be of great consequence (4) Avitab Rel. Theatin Father Avitabolis in the same Letter to Pope Urban VIII describes the Politick State of the Iberians and amongst other things observes the great Authority of the Princes and Nobles for the Princes without any regard to that which is called Ecclesiastical Liberty or Immunity use Priests as Servants They slight the Bishops and punish them They obey not the Patriarch who takes the Title of Catholick or Universal and yet it is not he who is the chief in Spiritual Affairs but the Prince who is Supreme both in Spirituals and Temporals The Nobles doe the same within their own Lands in regard of the Bishops and Priests The Prince has his Voice with the Bishops in the Election of the Patriarch and all chuse him whom he desires The Will of the Prince and of the several Lords within their Territories stands for Law and they have no Judges for examining the Justice of Causes neither have they any particular Statutes to walk by not so much as admitting Witnesses The Princes dispose at their Pleasure of the Estates of their Subjects as well as of their Persons In fine the Patriarch of Constantinople sends Caloyers often into that Countrey to entertain them in their Enmity against the Pope That Letter was written in the Year 1631. by Father Avitabolis to Pope Urban VIII from Goris in Georgia or Iberia and in the same Book of Galanus are inserted the Letters of the Prince of the Georgians to Pope Urban VIII which are kept amongst the Records of the Congregation de propaganda fide That Prince amongst other things affirms that the Faith hath been preserved pure in his Dominions since Constantine the Great to his time and he allows a Chapel to the Missionaries of Rome that they may pray to God for him This Letter is dated in the Year 1629. Pope Urban wrote back to that Prince and sent a Letter also to the Metropolitan named Zachary What the Prince of the Georgians wrote to Pope Urban concerning the Faith which he pretends to have been in his Dominions since the time of the Emperour Constantine is consonant (1) Socrat. lib. 1. cap. 6. to the History of Socrates (2) Balsam Annot in Can. 2. Conc. 2. General And Balsamon reckons the Churches of Iberia amongst those Churches which were absolute and owned no Head on which they depended he observes that that was done in the time of Peter Patriarch of Antioch by a Synodal Statute and that at that time that Church depended on the Church of Antioch And for that reason the Metropolitan of Georgia took the Title of Patriarch Galanus joyns to the Iberians those of Colchis or Mengrelia saying that as they are Neighbours so they have the same Belief onely with this difference that the Mengrelians living on the Mountains and in the Woods are a wickeder sort of People than the
the Sacrament of the Eucharist which they keep not as the Latins do in precious Vessels but in a little bag of Leather or Cloath which they always tye to their Girdle carrying it about with them wheresoever they goe to be made use of upon occasions when they are to give the Viaticum to the sick Nor doe they make any Difficulty to give it to be carried by others whether it be Man or Woman and seeing the Consecrated Bread is hard they break it into little Pieces to be moistened without much regard to the small Crums of that Consecrated Bread that fall upon the ground or that sick to their Hands * * I confess these People pay not Veneration enough to that August Sacrament but on the other hand it is not reasonable to exact from them all the External Worship that is rendered to it in the Western Church seeing they have not the same reasons to doe it having no Berengarians amongst them that might oblige them to give those Exteriour Marks of their Belief We can expect no more from them than what was practised in the first Ages of the Church And it is not peculiar to the Mengrelians alone to keep in a leathern Bag the Sacrament which is to serve for a Viaticum the same is also observed in some Greek Churches who in that manner keep it fastened to the Wall in their Churches CHAP. VII Of the Belief and Customs of the Nestorians THere are many Sects of Christians in the East who bear the Name of Chaldeans or Syrians but the most considerable of these Chaldeans are those whom we call Nestorians who in effect reverence Nestorius as their Patriarch and invocate him in their Prayers That Nation aswell as the other Orientals have several times desired to be reunited to the Church of Rome which happened under the Pontificate of Julius III. to whom the (1) Ep. Nestor ad Jul. III. ex Syro in Latin conversa per Andr. Mas Nestorians wrote demanding of him the Confirmation of the Election which they had then made of a Patriarch and praying him at the same time to protect him against a Family which for a long time had kept Possession of the Patriarchate This is to be observed because the Orientals commonly have no recourse to the Pope unless for some particular Interest which is also the reason that these kinds of Unions are not very lasting The Reunion of the same Chaldean Nestorians with the Church of Rome under the Pontificate of Paul V. is more considerable than the former and seeing the Acts of these Reunions have been Printed at Rome we shall here extract out of them what may conduce to the Discovery of the Belief of those People and add some Reflexions thereupon (2) Pet. Stroza de Dogm Chald. Edit Roma 1617. Stroza who hath caused these Acts to be Printed affirms that the Sect of the Nestorians is so great that their Patriarch has Jurisdiction over more than three hundred thousand Families most of which have submitted themselves to the Pope by means of the Jesuits Pope Clement VIII gave them a Jesuit to govern them in Quality of Metropolitan Untill the time of Julius III. the Nestorians acknowledged but one Patriarch who took the Title of Patriarch of Babylon but Division happening amongst them because they could not endure that the Patriarch should always continue in one Family as it had for the space of above an hundred years which appears by the Letters (1) Epist Nestor ad Jul. III. they wrote to Julius III. for having Confirmation of their new Election the Patriarchate was also divided for the Pope gave them for Patriarch Simon Jubacha a Monk of the Order of St. Pachome who held his Residence at Caremit in Mesopotamia where in that Quality he ordained several Bishops and Archbishops After the Death of Simon Jubacha Abdjesu or Hebedjesu to pronounce it after the manner of the Chaldeans was made Patriarch in his Place Abraham Ecchellensis Abrah Ecchel who hath published a little Syriack Treatise of Abdjesu gives him the Title of Metropolitan of Soba in the Preface which he presixes to that Book He takes notice of several Books composed by the same Hebedjesu in favour of the Religion of the Nestorians but that being come to Rome under Julius III. he made an Abjuration of Nestorianism It is of him that mention is made in the Life of Pius IV. In whose Pontificate he made a second Voyage to Rome for obtaining the Confirmation of his Patriarchship and was present at the Council of Trent Being a Man of Parts he had so much Address as to draw over many Nestorians to the Church of Rome But they who succeeded him could not retain them having neither his Parts nor Address Abathalla who was also a Monk of St. Pachome succeeded to Hebedjesu and having lived but a very short time Denha Simon was his Successour who before was Archbishop of Gelu but he was forced to leave Caremit and to retire to the Province of Zeinalbech in the utmost Bounds of Persia having been obliged to yield to the Power of the Patriarch of Babylon His Successour whose Name also was Simon resided in the same place which lessenned much the Authority of that second Patriarch And this was the State of the Affairs of the Nestorians from the time of Julius III. untill Paul V. in whose Pontificate Elias Patriarch of Babylon made a solemn Reconciliation with the Church of Rome (1) Stroza in proleg This Elias having received Presents from Paul V. and a Formulary of Faith sent some in his Name to thank his Holiness and to submit himself wholly to him acknowledging the Church of Rome as the Chief of all other Churches He made a Profession of Faith in the (2) Ep. Patriarch Babyl ad Paul V. Letter which he wrote to the Pope wherein he Anathematises even those who believe not that the Church of Rome is the Mother of all Churches Then he adds that his Church of Babylon differs from other Churches of Hereticks which have multiplied Patriarchs without any Title and without the Participation of the Church of Rome whereas the Patriarchate of Babylon hath been established by the Authority of the See of Rome as is to be found in their Annals where it is mentioned that the Patriarchs of the Eastern Church were ordained at Rome whither they sent afterwards for obtaining the Confirmation of their Election But seeing it happened often that those who were sent were killed by the way it was at length after a long time concluded by the Pope in Council that he would ordain them a Patriarch and give them Liberty of Election for the future And this says the Patriarch Elias is the Original of the Patriarchal See of Babylon which we have not usurped having received that Dignity from the Church of Rome It is easie to perceive that all this History concerning the Original of the Patriarchate of the Nestorians hath been made
Symony because that is to them instead of a Benefice and what hath been said before when we spoke of the Greeks may be applyed to them XII I think the Submission that the Nestorians have for their Patriarch ought not to be reckoned an Errour neither because the Orientals look upon all Patriarchates even that of Rome as Powers established by positive Law And if it be objected to them as a reproach that they have an Aversion to the Pope they answer that the Pope takes to himself Rights over the Churches of the East which these Churches do not acknowledge As to their not having Curates nor Vicars but that the Eldest Priest presides in their Assemblies that cannot rationally be called an Errour on the contrary it is an Excellent Discipline and it were to be wished that it were established in all Churches for a Remedy to many abuses which are at present in Benefices XIII In fine most part of that which Meneses calls Corruptions amongst the Nestorians is not so in effect unless it be in the Imagination of some Emissaries who measure Religion according to what they have been taught in their Schools Can it be said for instance that it is an Errour in these People and other Christians of the East to eat flesh on Saturday which amongst them is a Festival-day agreeable to the ancient Practice of the Church Can it be said also that the Nestorians err in relation to Marriage because they take the first Priest that they meet with to marry them We must know that in the Eastern Church the Priest is not barely a Witness of the Marriage but that he is the onely and true Minister of it as of the other Sacraments and Ceremonies CHAP. IX Of the Customs and Ceremonies of the Jacobites IF under the Name of Jacobites we comprehend all the Monophysites of the East that is to say all those to whom that Heresie is imputed of acknowledging but one Nature in Jesus Christ it is certain that that Sect is of a very large extent for it comprehends the Armenians the Cophties and the Abyssines but they who are properly called Jacobites are but very few in number and they live chiefly in Syria and Mesopotamia They are not in all at most above forty or five and forty thousand Families And these too are divided about Doctrine for some are Latinized and others sitll continue in separation from the Church of Rome Nay at present there is some Division among this last sort for they have two Patriarchs opposite the one to the other one residing at Caremit and the other at Derzapharan Besides them there is another Latinized Patriarch called Andrew who resides at Aleppo and depends on the Court of Rome to which he is wholly subject I have moreover been informed by a Jacobite Priest who lived at Aleppo that the Patriarch suffers much because of the Emissaries that were there and especially because of the Capuchins As to their Belief all the Monophysites whether Jacobites Armenians Cophties or Abyssines are of the Opinion of Dioscorus touching the Unity of Nature and Person in Christ and therefore they are accounted Hereticks though in effect they differ not from the Latin Divines but onely in the manner of expressing themselves The Learnedest of them acknowledge this at present as appears (1) P. Sacchini hist Societ Part. 2. lib. 6. by the Conference that Father Christopher Roderigo sent by the Pope into Egypt had with the Cophties about the Reunion of the two Churches for they confessed that they onely expressed themselves in that manner to distinguish them from the Nestorians but that in effect they differed not from the Church of Rome which asserts two Natures in Christ They even pretend that they explain the Mystery of the Incarnation saying that there is but one Nature because there is but one Christ God and Man better than the Latins do who speak say they of these two Natures as if they were separate and did not constitute a real Compositum In that Sense is it also that Dioscorus who softened some Terms of Eutyches which appeared too harsh said that he acknowledged that Christ was composed (1) Ex duabus naturis of two Natures but that he was not (2) Duas naturas two Natures which seems to be Orthodox for they will not acknowledge that there are two Natures in Christ for fear of asserting two Christs Nor do I doubt but that if some bold Expressions and the Consequences that are commonly drawn from them were laid aside in the Opinion of Eutyches it might be easily reconciled with the Doctrine of the Church of Rome All the difference proceeds onely from the different use of the words Nature and Person and the desire of maintaining what once hath been asserted as in effect Eutyches defended his Opinion with headstrong Wilfulness and Obstinacy so that all the Terms that he makes use of are not to be taken according to the Rigour of the Letter but they ought to be explained and limited according to the Idea which he had conceived of admitting but one Christ and therefore but one Nature after that the Union of the two Natures to wit the Divine and Humane is made in a manner which we cannot comprehend For that which is attributed to Eutyches that he believed that the Body of Christ was a Divine Body and of a Nature different from ours is rather the Oratory of the Preacher who might say that the Body of Jesus Christ after the Union was in a manner made Divine than a real and physical Truth However there was reason for condemning that Sentiment because such ways of speaking are to be avoided which may be wrong interpreted and occasion Errours in Religion As to the other Points both of the Belief and Ceremonies of the Jacobites what (1) Brerewood of Languag and Relig. Chap. 21. Brerewood relates of them is not always true For instance they deny not Purgatory nor the Prayers for the Dead as he affirms after Thomas à Jesu but they have the same Opinion as to that as the Greeks and other Orientals have Nor is it true that they consecrate in Unleavened bread unless it be understood of the Armenians and according to Alvares of the Ethiopians for the true Jacobites of whom we speak in this Place consecrate with Leavened bread and I make no doubt but that Gregory XIII who had a Design of erecting a College at Rome for the Jacobites as he had done for the Maronites would have permitted them to consecrate in Leavened bread in the same manner as it was allowed to the Greeks In regard of Confession neither is it true that it is not practised amongst them but seeing they believe it not to be of Divine Right no more than most of the Orientals do that is the reason why it is neglected As to Circumcision that cannot be true but of some Cophties and Abyssines nay and these look upon it rather as an
ancient Custome than a Ceremony of Religion There is a great difference to be made then betwixt the Jacobites when under that Name are comprehended the Cophties Abyssines and Armenians and those who are properly called Jacobites for though they all follow the Opinion of that same James from whom they have taken the Name yet for all that they differ in some Ceremonies Abraham Ecchellensis alledges that the Jacobites believe aswell as the Latins that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son but in that he is mistaken aswell as in many other things relating to the Belief and Customs of the Christians of the Levant CHAP. X. Of the Belief and Customs of the Cophties IT is probable that the Cophties or Copties have had their Name from a Town called Coptus which was heretofore the Metropolis of Thebais mentioned by Strabo and Plutarch The Christians of Egypt carry that Name at present and they have also a particular Language which is called the Coptick Tongue though they use it not but in their Offices Arabick being the Language of the Countrey And that Language which the Jesuit Kircher pretends to be a Mother-tongue independent of any other hath been much altered by the Greeks for besides that it still retains the Characters a very great Number of its words are pure Greek The Belief of these People is the same as that of the Jacobites for they are Monophysites as we observed when we spoke of the Jacobites and therefore it is to no purpose to repeat what we said in that Place They have at several times made several Reconciliations with the Church of Rome but onely in outward appearance (1) Sacchini in hist Societ The Jesuit Roderigo who was sent to that Nation by the Pope in the Year 1562 upon submissive and respectfull Letters which they had written to his Holiness as if they owned the Church of Rome for Chief and Mistress of all others will furnish us with a pretty instance of these counterfeit Reconciliations which most frequently have no better Foundation than mere humane Interest This Jesuit having had some Conference with two Cophties whom the Patriarch Gabriel had deputed for that purpose easily perswaded them of the Pope's Authority but when the Jesuit afterwards pressed the same Patriarch to send Letters of Submission and Obedience to the Pope telling him that he ought not to scruple at that seeing in his former Letters he had called the Pope Father of Fathers Pastour of Pastours and Head of all Churches he made answer that since the Council of Chalcedon and the establishment of divers Patriarchs independent one of another every one of them was chief and absolute Master in his own Church and that if even the Patriarch of Rome fell into any Errour he ought to be judged by the other Patriarchs He farther answered that as to the Letters which he had written to the Pope it ought not to be taken strictly what was onely meant for Civility and Modesty and that though he spoke of Obedience and Submission yet that was no more than Friends commonly doe one to another In fine he added that if there was any thing in those Letters which he wrote to the Pope that was not agreeable to the Doctrine of his Church it ought not to be imputed to him but to the Carrier of the Letters who without doubt had corrupted them In this manner did the Patriarch of the Cophties entertain the Pope's Envoys after that he had received from the Conful the Money that was sent him from Rome This History is more largely related by (1) Sacch in hist Societ Par. l. 6. the Jesuit Sacchini And I wave a great many other Reconciliations of that Church to the Church of Rome which have had no better Foundation than this The same Jesuit Roderigo observes amongst the Errours of the Cophties that they put away their Wives and Marry others that they circumcise their Children before Baptism that they acknowledge indeed seven Sacraments but that besides Baptism Confession the Eucharist and Orders they reckon in the same rank Faith Fasting and Prayer not to speak of others He says farther that the Cophties do not believe that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son that they admit but of three Councils to wit of Ephesus Constantinople and Nice But some of these pretended Errours are either common to all the Eastern Church or they particularly concern the Jacobites who have rejected the Council of Chalcedon As to their reckoning amongst the Sacraments Fasting Prayer and Faith they take not the word Sacrament in that strict Sense we do and that inclines me to believe that they call none properly Sacraments but the four first and that some Mystical Doctors have afterwards added the other three to make up the Mystical Number of Seven In fine we may observe that it is not true that the Cophties believe as the Latins do that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son as (1) Brerew of Languag and Relig. chap. 22. Brerewood after Thomas à Jesu does assure us for that belief is peculiar to the Church of the West Kircher the Jesuit adds to this that they pretend that none but their own the Armenian and Abyssine Churches are true Churches that they believe that the Souls of the departed goe neither to Heaven nor Hell before the Day of Judgment I shall not spend time in refuting many Errours of Brerewood concerning the Religions of the East It is enough I relate matters of fact as really they are without giving my self the trouble to refute Authours who have written on that Subject (2) P. Vasle Rel. della stato Pres dell Egitto Father Vanslebio who hath written the Present State of the Christians of Egypt Printed at Paris in Italian relates many other things which chiefly concern their Ceremonies He observes that when the Priest elevates the Host in time of Mass they who are present knock their Breasts casting themselves upon the ground and making the sign of the Cross and that they move their Cap a little which seems to me to be a Latin Ceremony nor do I think the Cophties elevate the Host unless it be after the manner of the Orientals to wit a little before the Communion which is of no long standing neither in their Church Possibly Father Vanslebio might have seen that Ceremony in some of the Churches of the Abyssines who might have taken it from the Portuguese that have had Churches in Ethiopia where Mass was celebrated after the manner of the Latins The same Authour remarks that when the Priest communicates he breaks the bread in form of a Cross and that he puts it into the Wine of which he eats three little Morcels with as many Spoonfulls of the Species of Wine ad that he communicates thereof to him who serves at Mass He adds that they keep not the Holy Sacrament after Mass and that they never consecrate in private Places but always
ruined that Church which nevertheless still retains the Names of some Archbishopricks Bishopricks and Monasteries but which are for most Part in great Disorder I have informed my self exactly enough of the Present State of the Church of Armenia having had many Conferences upon that Subject with an Armenian Bishop who took the Title of Bishop of Uscovanch and who was at Amsterdam in the Year 1662. for Printing an Armenian Bible according to the Commission he had from his Patriarch For seeing the Manuscript Armenian Bibles were excessively dear and that that hindered private Persons from reading the Scripture the Patriarch took a resolution of causing it to be Printed From that Bishop who was called Uscam I had the Memoirs of the Armenian Churches which I have subjoyned (1 See the Collections at the End of the Book F. at the End of this Book and since that time I have conversed with him freely at Paris but having consulted him about several Points relating to the Theology of the Armenians I found him not to be very skilfull in those matters He died at Marseilles whither he went by permission from the King to cause several Armenian Books to be Printed for the use of his Countreymen The Cardinals of the Congregation de propagandâ fide at Rome were surprised that a Liberty of Printing all sorts of Armenian Books had been so easily granted in France because perhaps he might have caused bad Books to be Printed which might have favoured the Armenian Sect. But his Conduct during the time that he was in France was very respectfull towards the Church of Rome Now concerning the Belief and Ecclesiastical Discipline of the Armenian Church no Man hath treated of it more amply than Galanus in the Book which he published at Rome concerning the Reconciliation of the Armenian Church with the Roman (1) Galan Cler. Reg. in Concil Eccl. Arm. cum Rom. That Book is divided into two Parts of which the first is but an Abstract of the Histories of the Armenians but seeing the Armenians have been divided amongst themselves for several Ages and that they have had recourse to Rome in their Necessities aswell as the other Orientals I have found these Histories not to be always sincere and exact And therefore what I here take from Galanus touching the Armenians I shall accompany with some Reflexions The same Authour hath added Notes upon his History but because he was an Emissary and wrote at Rome we must not before we have examined him give credit to all he saith Nevertheless that Book contains a great many Curious things concerning the State and Religion of the Armenians It is to be observed then I. That the Armenian Histories translated by Galanus mention a certain Instrument of Reunion betwixt the Roman and the Armenian Churches under the Emperour Constantine and Tyridates King of the Armenians Sylvester then possessing the See of Rome and Gregory who is the great Patriarch of the Armenians possessing that of Armenia But besides that there are many things in that Instrument which appear to be fabulous it is probable that that Piece as to the greatest part of it hath been forged in the following Ages especially in the time of Innocent III. when the Armenian Church sought to be reconciled to the Church of Rome For there are in it ways of speaking concerning the Supremacy of Popes which were not in use at that time The Armenians however as Galanus observes make use of that Instrument to prove the Antiquity of their Patriarchate which was according to them erecten by Pope Sylvester And they have even alledged it in their Disputes with the Greeks But that will appear to be a weak Foundation to those who know Ecclesiastical History and shall consider the great extent of Jurisdiction that Pope Sylvester takes to himself in that Instrument II. All Men know that the Armenians are of the Sect of the Monophysites who acknowledge but one Nature in Jesus Christ But as we have already observed when we treated of the Jacobites that is but an imaginary Heresie consisting onely in the Ambiguities of words And yet it occasions great Disputes at this day amongst the Armenians for though they be for the most part ignorant in Divinity yet they talk rationally of the Mystery of the Incarnation and of the Council of Chalcedon which they reject We are to observe however that a good many Armenians are at present reconciled to the Church of Rome whose Sentiments they follow and that Galanus hath had a great hand in that Reconciliation in the time of Pope Urban VIII III. It is not true that the Armenians deny the real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist as (1) Brerew of Lang. and Rel. Chap. 24. Brerewood from no good Authour does affirm for the Armenians and Orientals have not disputed so much about that Sacrament as the Latins have especially since the time of Berengarius and in respect the Armenians have never examined that difficulty they have continued in the general Terms of the Change of the Symbols into the Body and Bloud of Our Lord. Galanus who mentions some of their Synods and the Disputes they have had with the Greeks takes no notice at all of that but onely that they mingle no Water with the Wine in celebrating the Liturgy and that they consecrate in Unleavened bread after the Manner of the Latins What the same Brerewood affirms concerning Purgatory is to be understood according to what we have mentioned before of the Greeks and other Orientals and it is very probable that what is said in the same place that they deny that the Sacraments have the Virtue of conferring Grace is the Chimera of some Scholastick Doctour who imagined that the Orientals were acquainted with all the Niceties of the Latins Nor do I think it true that the Armenians refuse to eat of all Animals that are esteemed unclean in the Jewish Law which Brerewood imputes also to the Abyssines But that which hath given occasion to this Belief is that the Armenians and Abyssines with the rest of the Eastern Christians abstain from bloud and things strangled wherein there is no Superstition It is to no purpose to enlarge upon the Belief of the Armenians who are not Latinized since there hath been enough said of that when we spoke of the Jacobites from whom they differ in nothing but in some Ceremonies and in what concerns Ecclesiastical Discipline However I think it will not be taken amiss if I give here a Catalogue of the chief Errours which (1) Joan. Hernac apud Galan a certain Latinized Armenian attributes to them and that will serve for a Confirmation of what we have already alledged and at the same time give occasion of clearing some other Points That Authour reproaches his Countreymen who are not reconciled to the Pope that they follow the Errours of Eutyches and Dioscorus concerning the Unity of Nature in Christ that they believe that the
Holy Ghost proceeds only from the Father that the Souls of the Saints deceased goe not to Heaven nor those of the damned to Hell before the last Day of Judgment that there is no place called Purgatory and Hell and that the Church of Rome hath no Supremacy over other Churches He farther adds that the Armenians detest the Memory of Pope Leo and of the Council of Chalcedon that they observe not the Festivals of Our Lord after the Manner of the Church of Rome nor Fasts according to the Canons of the Church that they acknowledge not seven Sacraments inasmuch as they use not Confirmation nor Extreme Unction and more that they are ignorant of the real essece of the other Sacraments that at Mass they put no water into the Chalice that they pretend that the Eucharist is not to be given to the People but in both kinds He objects to them also their Custome of consecrating in Wooden and Earthen Chalices that all Priests indifferently give absolution for all Sins there being no reserved Cases amongst them that they are subject to two Patriarchs who severally take the Title of Patriarch of all Armenia that the Curates and Bishops succeed to one another as if their Dignities were Inheritances that the Sacraments are bought and sold amongst them that Divorces are given for Money without any reason that they make no Holy Oil for Baptism and Extreme Unction and that in fine they give the Communion to Children before they attain to the use of reason From this whole Catalogue it appears that the Armenian who is the Authour of all these pretended errours was Latinized for as we have observed before most part of these Opinions are common to all the Christians of the East in the Manner as we have explained them when we treated of the Greeks The Armenians are indeed to be blamed that they are too scrupulously addicted to certain Fasts which they have in great Number and that they are not exactly enough instructed in the Mysteries of Religion There are none in the Eastern Church that set a greater Value upon Fasts than the Armenians and to hear them speak one would say that their whole Religion consisted in fasting As to their obstinate Perseverance in celebrating the Festival of Our Lord's Nativity and the Epiphany always on one and the same day they seem not to be blameable therein because it was a Custome long practised in the Church and in effect the Epiphany or Apparition of Our Lord is properly nothing but his Birth The Title of Master or Doctour is so great amongst the Armenians that they give it with the same Ceremonies that they confer Orders (1) Galan in Concil Eccles Armen cum Rom. and they say that that Dignity imitates the Title of Our Lord who was called Rabbi or Master These are the Doctours who are consulted in Points of Religion and who decide in them The Bishops being lookt upon rather as Persons proper for administring Orders than as Doctours These are also the Doctours who Preach in the Churches and who are the Judges of Differences that happen betwixt private Persons In a word they hold the same rank amongst them as the Rabbins did amongst the Jews The Monastick Order hath been also in great reputation amongst the Armenians since the time that Nierses one of their Patriarchs introduced that of St. Basil but since their Reunion with the Church of Rome they have wholly altered their Rule accommodating themselves to that of the Latins and the Armenian whom we mentioned before to have made a Catalogue of Errours which he imputes to his Nation being come to Rome made a Vow that so soon as he returned home into the East he and his Companions would live according to the Rule of St. Austin and the Constitutions of St. Dominick One Bartholomew a Monk of St. Dominick was the first that gave occasion to this Reformation not onely in Religion but Monachism He made great Progresses in Armenia in the time of Pope John XXII having by his Preaching drawn many Monks over to his Party who were usefull to him in reuniting the two Churches About that time was the Order of St. Dominick setled in Armenia and these Monks were called United Friars because of the new Reunion This Order which was onely established to destroy the Ancient got in a short time great Reputation insomuch that the United Friars built Monasteries not onely in Armenia and Georgia but also on the other side of the Euxine Sea especially at Caffa which at that time was subject to the Genoese But since the Turks and Persians are become Masters of that Countrey the Number of the United Friars is much decreased and there remains but a few of them at present who have retired into the Province of Nascivan in the greater Armenia where being at length reduced to utmost Extremity they have united themselves with the Dominican Monks of Europe and are at present subject to the General of that Order who sends thither a Superiour Provincial They perform their Office in the Armenian Language which is a rough Tongue and but little known Yet the Modern Armenian is different from the Ancient and the People have much adoe to understand the Liturgy and other Offices that are written in Armenian They have the whole Bible also Translated into their Language and that from the Septuagint Greek This Translation of the Bible was made about the time of St. John Chrysostome by some of their Doctours who had Learned the Greek Language and amongst others by one named Moses the Grammarian and another called David the Philosopher We may observe that the Armenians make one Mesrop and Holy Hermite to be the Authour of their Characters who invented them in the Town of Balu near Euphrates and lived in the time of St. John Chrysostome CHAP. XIII Of the Belief and Customs of the Maronites THE Jesuit (1) Girolamo Dandini nella sua missione Apostolica Dandini who was sent by Clement VII in Quality of Nuncio to the Maronites of Mount Libanus hath written a Relation of his Travels in Italian which hath been lately Translated into French with Notes declaring at large the Religion of those People Seeing the Authour of these Notes hath played the Critick upon the Mistakes of that Jesuit and of many others who have spoken of the Maronites I thought I could not doe better than here to give an Abridgement aswell of the Relation of the Jesuit Dandini as of the Critical Remarks from whence we may learn the Belief and Present State of those People It is hard to know exactly the Original of the Maronites They who bear that Name pretend they derive it from one Maron an Abbot whose life Theodoret hath written and who lived about the beginning of the fifth Century This Opinion which is followed by Brerewood is strongly confirmed by the Jesuit (1) Sacchini in hist Societ Sacchini who pretends aswell as the Modern Marcnites do that
Person because of one Filiation so they of the East acknowledge one Virtue or Power because of one Filiation In the third place he reconciles the Opinion of the Nestorians who assign but one Will and one Operation in Christ with that of the Latins who acknowledge two VVills and two Operations in him For compassing that he insists upon the same Principle of one Filiation which making but one Jesus Christ the Nestorians say with relation thereunto that there is but one VVill and one Operation in him because he is really one and not two This nevertheless hinders them not from acknowledging two VVills and two Operations with relation to the two Natures as the Latins doe but they do not express themselves after their manner because these two Natures making but one Compositum which is Jesus Christ they also say that he hath but one VVill and one Operation which excludes not the two VVills and Operations that the Latins attribute to Christ because the Nestorians own him to be perfect Man But seeing these two Natures are united together and that the one VVill is never separated from the other they make both together but one and the same thing and in that Sense they assert this Unity of VVill in which manner Christ also speaks when he saith I am not come to doe my own Will but the Will of him that sent me Then he concludes with these words Are there two contrary Wills in Jesus Christ Not at all but without any repugnance made by the Will of his Humanity he wills that which the Will of his Divinity wills to which it is submitted not by constraint and therefore he saith to his Father not my Will be done but thine In this manner the Nestorians justified to Paul V. the Belief of their Churches and that Justification or Reconciliation was not the VVork of one Man but of the ablest Men of the Nation whom the Patriarch Elias consulted The truth is there is flattery in the Articles which relate to the Sovereign Power of the Pope and the Christians of the Levant are not so submitted to the Court of Rome as the Nestorians in these Acts do testifie but that is pardonable in poor VVretches that solicite the Protection of that Court because there was no other means of approaching it without giving the Pope that Supreme Power and Jurisdiction over all the Churches in the VVorld As to the other Propositions which are peculiar to the Nestorians it will be found that Modern Nestorianism is but an imaginary Heresie and that the Diversity of Sentiments consists only in Ambiguities inasmuch as the Nestorians take the word Person in another acceptation than the Latins do However seeing Councils had condemned the Heresie of Nestorius it was it seems necessary that Nestorianism should appear at Rome to be a real Heresie since it had been condemned in the Church by a General Council That Course Stroza hath taken in the Collection he hath made of these Acts for he heaps together all that hath been said by the Fathers and Councils against the Opinion of Nestorius Nevertheless that he may not altogether thwart the Patriarch of the Nestorians who affirmed that all the difference that was betwixt the Church of Rome and his own in relation to their Belief consisted onely in Ambiguities he frankly confesses that it is probable enough that the Errour of the Modern Nestorians is more in the Understanding than Will that is to say that they are not Hereticks as not being obstinate but onely ignorant of true Theology which makes them erroneous as if it were an Errour not to know the Terms which have not been in use but in some latter Ages amongst the Divines of the West I do not think it needfull to produce in this Place all that Stroza alledges for condemning the Propositions of the Nestorians because he says nothing but what may be found in the Acts of Councils I shall onely observe that from the same Acts some might infer that Nestorianism is onely a Heresie in Name and that if Nestorius and St. Cyrill had understood one another they might have reconciled their Opinions and thereby hindered a great Scandal in the Church But the Greeks have been always great Disputants and therefore we find that most of the first Heresies had their Original amongst them and that most commonly their Disputes were onely metaphysical and about Ambiguities from which afterwards according to their Custome they drew Consequences and at length came to reproaches whereby matters became irreconcileable whereas if the parties had modestly explained their thoughts there had not been for most part the least appearance of Heresie in them It seems to them that Nestorius hath always acknowledged two Natures in Christ which united together made but one Compositum and that he called a Person in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whence the Chaldeans have taken their Parsopa Now it is certain the Term 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Ancient Greek Fathers signifies that which we call Person and Hypostasis For as to the two Persons which Nestorius assigned to be in Christ it was onely to explain that there were really two Natures in him and that both remained entire without Mixture or Confusion In effect besides those two Metaphysical Persons which were not distinguished in Nature he admitted another real visible Person in the manner as it is defined by the Ancient Fathers Nay it will appear that the Sentiment of Nestorius if we bar the Consequences that St. Cyrill draws from it is less perplexed with Difficulties because it is more simple and always regards Jesus Christ in himself and as Son whereas the other Opinion most frequently considers him onely by parts that is to say sometime as God and sometime as Man Nor was the Opinion of Theodore of Mopsuestia the Master of Nestorius condemned in the Beginning and it was never thought on untill the Nestorians made use of his Authority It is nevertheless certain That this Theodore from whom Nestorius had learnt the Opinion acknowledged two Natures and one Person in Jesus Christ as appears by his words mentioned in the fifth General Council And if he denied that the Virgin was the Mother of God it was onely to refute the Heresie of Apollinarius and in that Sense onely that the Virgin could not conceive the Divinity though otherways he whom she brought forth was very God Let us now proceed to the other Articles of the Belief of the Nestorians Seeing the Sect of the Nestorians hath been rent from the Greek Church it hath the same Opinions as she hath except that which is peculiar to it and which was the Cause of the Separation It may be however the Nestorians are greater Libertines as to some Points of Morality and Discipline than the Greeks are and without doubt it is in that Sense that we ought to understand (1) Brerew of Lang and Religions Chap. 19. what Brerewood relates concerning Confession which he denies to be