GREEK
769
GREEK
Church of Athens, that of Cj-prus, and the sadly
weakened Church of Constantinople.
If we look at the domestic situation of the Greek Church diu-ing the iJeriod from 1453 to 1901, the year of the present titular's accession, we find that, of a total of one hundred and two patriarchs, only twenty- nine have died in possession of their see, and that the sevent\-three others either resigned or were deposed. It is a strange phenomenon, seldom met except among the Greeks, that, whereas a patriarch was nominated for life, as a rule he was deposed or forced to resign. It sometimes happened that the same man became patriarch more than once. In this way, while between 1453 and 1901 there were only one himdred and two patriarchs, there were some one hundred and sixty patriarchal elections; thirty-five patriarchs having been elected several times (twenty-one twice, nine three times, two four times, two five times, and one seven times). The last of these records Ls that of Cyril Lucaris, the famous seventeenth-century Calvinistic patriarch. These continual changes gave rise to some amusing incidents. Thus on 19 October, 1S4S, An- thimus IV succeeded Anthimus VI, who was deprived of office the day before; at present Joachim III is cecumenical patriarch for the second time, twenty- three years after the death of Joachim I^', who had succeeded him. This confusion is by no means pecu- liar to the Church of Constantinople. In the hellen- ized Church of Ochrida, we find between the 3'ears 1650 and 1700 no fewer than nineteen forced resigna- tions or depositions of archbishops. The two main causes of these sudden changes are the cupidity of the Turks and the ambition of the Greek clergy covetous of the patriarchal throne. The cupidity of the Turks might never have been a factor, had it not been for the intrigues and cabals of the Greek clerg)' themselves, who put up their patriarchate at auction. On 20 November, 1726, Paisios paid out 145,000 francs for the officeof patriarch, and in 1759 the Sultan Mustapha III fixed the tax on the office at 120,000 francs. And yet in many instances the patriarchs did not remain even a year in office. Later, when the Turks had taken off the tax, depositions and resignations went on, and go on to this day as in the past, so much so that the laity now come forward and ask that the duration of a patriarch's term in office be limited, e. g. to three or four years. However, in the Kingdom of Greece, where the Church depends mainh- on the State, these scandals do not occur. What has been said of the patriarchs might be even more truly said of the metropolitans and bishops. Though, according to Greek canon law, transfers from one diocese to an- other are forbidden or ought to be verj- rare, as a matter of fact every bishop has administered before his death four or five different dioceses. Either the bishops did not find their dioceses suited to their dig- nity or the people did not find the bishop suited to their taste. Of late the custom of la_v interference in the nomination of bishops is growing, and hardly a year goes by in which seven or eight bishops are not removed at the request of their flocks. Nor must it \x forgotten that the bishops busy themselves mainly with anti-Bulgarian or anti-Servian politics and other secular affairs. The Turkish government often has to request the withdrawal of some over-compromised prelate.
It may be noted that the Greek bishops — those of to-day at least — have received a fairly good education in the secondary schools, followed by a very ordinary' course of theolog)- in the seminary of Halki or that of Santa Croce, near Jerusalem. Some of them have spent a few years in the Protestant universities of Germany, or in the ecclesiastical academies of Russia. Their theology is usually limited to a knowledge of the points of controversy between Latins and Greeks from the beginning of their Church until recent times ; they use it to bias the minds of their people against the VI.— 49
missionary efforts of Catholics. They are more toler-
ant of Protestants. With the exception of the clergy
in the towns, who aim at the higher offices, the Greek
priesthood is very ignorant; the priests can hardly get
through the Mass and the other services in a fitting
manner. Although married, they retain great influ-
ence over the illiterate hut pious members of their
flocks, who are attached to Christianity by tradition or
patriotism, and whose ill-instructed religious sense
shows itself mainly in ritual observances and super-
stitious practices. With the exception of two or
three seminaries, having about fifty pupils in all.
there is no training school for the lower clergy.
The dioceses are divided, as with us, into parishes of various classes. Preaching is neglected and in many places is omitted altogether. For this reason, in 1893 some laymen at iSniyrna founded the Eusebia Society for the dift'usion and explanation of the Word of God. This example has been followed in other places, espe- cialh' at Serra?, Magnesia, and Constantinople, where laymen preach in the churches as is the custom in some Protestant sects. The higher clergj-, far from favouring this mo\ement, which is a reproach for them, do all they can to hinder it. Feast days are the same as in the Latin Church ; so are the sacraments. The latter are rarely received, and rather as a matter of custom than of genuine conviction. Communion is received four times a year after the four great fasts: at Easter, on St. Peter's day, on the Assumption, and at Christmas. Confession ought to precede this solemn act, but as a rule it is omitted or treated so slightingly by priests and people that it is better not to speak of it. The priests and bishops do not go to confession. Mass is heard on Sundays and Feast-days, or, rather, on those days the people go and say some prayers be- fore the icons, or holy images, the services being gen- erally so long that very few remain to the end. In any case there is no definite teaching on this point any more than on others, everything remaining vague and uncertain in the minds of the people.
(For Feasts and Fasts of the Greek Church, Service Books, Vestments, Church Furniture, etc., see, under Constantinople, The Rite of. Vol. IV, pp. 315 sqq.)
The music of the Greek Church began with the ecphonetic chant, a sort of recitative ba.sed on the laws of accent in prosod\-. Through the early melo- dists, or Syriac liturgical poets, this musical notation may reach back to the ancient liturgical chant of the Jews. The musical characters or signs are Greek. The notation, known as that of St. John Damascene, is merely a development of ecphonetic notation. It increased the number of signs from nineteen to twenty- four. In medieval times a monk of Athos, John Kou- kouzeles, raised it to sLxty or more; but in the early part of the nineteenth century Chrysanthos modified or simplified this excessively complicated notation; his "Theoretikon", a very instructive work, has be- come the basis or guide for all liturgical chants and scientific works thereon. Gregory Lampadarios and Chourmouzios aided Chrysanthos in his reform, which can hardly be called successful. It seems that all three misinterpreted certain old musical signs; moreover, they are responsible for the horrible nasal intonation so abhorrent to Europeans. How- ever, musical reform is in the air; during the past thirty years it has been talked of, and plans have often been submitted, but so far without results. The relig- ious music of the Russians is the only one that ex- presses any true piety. Its gravity, unction, and sweetness are beyond question. If a religious music truly Christian ever existed, the Russians have inher- ited it. Between Russian and Byzantine music there is no connexion whatever. (See also under Constan- tinople, The Rite of, Vol. IV, p. 316.)
Lebkdov, History of the Greek-Oriental Church under Turkish domination since 14.53 (Russian. Sergievsk Posad. 1896); Rausch, Geschichte der oriejitatischen Kirchen von 1453-1898 (Leipzig,
