CATHOLICOS
454
CATHOLICOS
Charleston, St. Augustine, Mobile, Natchez, and Ok-
lahoma, numbering altogether 51 priests. There are
six other priests assisting at missions in these dioceses
in preparation for forming apostolates in their own
dioceses, namely in Springfield, Buffalo, and Winona.
Meanwhile priests are making their courses of study
in the Apostolic Mission House for Ogdensburg, Erie,
Baltimore, Philadelphia, Alton, Baker City, Peoria,
Pittsburg, Sioux City, St. Augustine, and St. Paul,
together with several members of religious commu-
nities, some domiciled, and others attending classes
Giving missions, or preparing to do so, there is now a
total of 82 priests. For the more necessitous dioceses
not only are the missionaries trained without any ex-
pense to the bishops, but financial support is furnished
them after they begin their work. During a decade
of years the missionaries in the movement that cen-
tres about the Apostolic Mission House have given
1008 missions to Catholics, 1468 missions to non-
Catholics, and received many converts into the
Church, besides placing many more under instruction
to be received later by the parochial clergy. It is not
possible to give precise statistics, but it is sure that
conversions have been stimulated by these missionary
activities. During the year 1906 it is computed that
about 25,000 converts were received into the Church
in the United States by various missionary agencies.
An important feature of the missions is the free distribution of Catholic literature. The books are given into the hands of non-Catholics by the mission- aries themselves standing before the altar after the public services, it being expressly stated that they are accepted to be read. In this way a great deal more than a million of Catholic books have passed into non-Catholic hands during the last ten or twelve years. These are Cardinal Gibbons' "Faith of Our Fathers", Searle's "Plain Facts", Conway's "Ques- tion Box", Faa Di Bruno's "Catholic Belief", Xavier Sutton's "Clearing the Way", and others; not count- ing a very great number of catechisms, Mass-books, pamphlets, and leaflets.
A public convention of missionaries to non-Catho- lics is assembled by the society every two or three years. The delegates discuss fully the religious con- ditions in America and the prospects of converting the people to the Catholic Church. Carefully pre- pared papers are read, and addresses delivered, and their topics debated, all looking to the choice of means and methods for increasing the number of converts. The proceedings of each convention are published in book form and circulated very extensively with re- markably good results. It is noteworthy that at the latest convention (June, 1905) the principal re- ligious orders were present by their representatives. The Missionary Union depends wholly on charity for funds to support its work. The principal medium of collection is its monthly magazine "The Missionary", which, by edifying Catholics with authentic accounts of the results of the propaganda, stimulates their charitable offerings. The whole movement has from the beginning enjoyed the fullest approval of the bishops and the co-operation of the religious orders, and has received the express commendation of the Holy See.
Walter Elliott.
Catholicos (Gr. K<z0oXikAs, universal), ecclesiastical title of the Nestorian and Armenian patriarchs.
I. Nestorians. — During the first five centuries Seleucia in Mesopotamia, subsequently the see of the Nestorian catholicos, was under the Patriarchate of Antioch. In the fifth century, as can be seen in the "Synodicon Orientale" (ed. Chabot), almost all the bishops of Seleucia-Ctesiphon bore the title of catho- licos, without, however, severing their relations with Antioch; hence, originally, the word catholicos was not synonymous with patriarch. Owing to the political
separation of the East from the West and to theologi-
cal disputes, several attempts were made during the
fifth century to secure religious independence. In
the synod held at Seleucia under Dadjesus in 424 (cf.
Synodicon, 51, text, and 296, tr.) it was forbidden to
appeal from the Catholicos of Seleucia to the Patri-
arch of Antioch. The breach, however, became com-
plete and permanent under the Nestorian Mar Babai.
The synod held under him (497 or 499) renewed the
decree of independence from Antioch, and henceforth
Seleucia became the centre of Nestorianism. The
list of the Nestorian catholieoi is given by Bar He-
brceus (Chronicon, ed. Abbeloos, and Lamy, III pas-
sim); the list is supplemented by the editors, III, 566
sqq. In the middle of the sixteenth century, in op-
position to the Catholicos Mar Mama, several bishops
met, elected Sullaka, and sent him to Rome for con-
secration. Since then there has been a Catholic
patriarch whose residence is now at Mosul. A list of
the catholieoi united with Rome is given by Abbeloos
and Lamy, op. cit., 570 sqq. (See Nestorians.)
II. Armenians. — Among the Armenians also catholicos was originally a simple title for the princi- pal bishop of the country; he was subordinate to the See of Ctesarea in Cappadocia. The bishops of Al- bania and Georgia, although dependent on the Catho- licos of Armenia, bore the same title. Under King Pap and the Catholicos Iousik Armenia asserted its independence of Csesarea. In the fifth century the Armenians adopted Monophysitism and anathema- tized the Council of Chalcedon, 491. Many of the catholieoi, however, especially after the Crusades, professed the orthodox Catholic Faith. The see of the Armenian catholicos, originally Achtichat, has varied considerably. Besides many schisms have taken place, and to-day there are no less than five Armenian catholieoi. One of them, the successor of the old catholicos, is at Sis in Cilicia, with jurisdiction over the Turkish provinces of Asia. His power in ecclesiastical matters, supreme in theory, is consider- ably curtailed in practice by the appointment of a catholicos with additional civil powers in Constanti- nople. Since 1113 there is also an Armenian catho- licos at Aghtamar with jurisdiction over the island of that name and the villages surrounding Lake Van. Another catholicos resides in Jerusalem, but with greatly reduced powers. In 1441 another schism oc- curred, and a catholicos was elected in Etchmiadzin in Greater Armenia. To-day he bears the title of "Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Arme- nians", and, at least theoretically, is considered the principal catholicos by all non-Catholic Armenians. Since 1740 there has also been a Uniat catholicos in Constantinople with the title of Patriarch of Cilicia. He is recognized by the Porte as having jurisdiction over all Catholic Armenians in the Turkish posses- sions. (See Armenia; Constantinople.)
In the beginning of the fourth century Albania and Georgia (Iberia) were converted to Christianity by Armenian missionaries, and the principal bishop of each of these countries bore the title of catholicos, although neither of them was autocephalous. They followed the Armenians in rejecting the Council of Chalcedon. At the end of the sixth, or beginning of the seventh, century the Georgian catholicos asserted his independence and came back to orthodoxy. Henceforward the Georgian Church underwent the same evolutions as the Greek. In 17S;i (leorgia abolished the office of its catholicos, and placed itself under the Holy Synod of Russia, to which country it was united politically in 1 SO 1 . The Albanian catho- licos remained loyal' to the Armenian Church, with the exception of a brief schism towards the end of the
sixth century. Shortly afterwards Albania was as- similated partly with Armenia and partly with Geor- gia. There is no mention of any catholicos in Al- bania after t he seventh century." It is asserted by
