Page:Lesser Eastern Churches.djvu/398

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376
THE LESSER EASTERN CHURCHES

the Syrian Church" which redound to its credit. They are eleven: "(1) Transubstantiation; (2) The sacrifice of the

FIG. 13. — CHURCH AT KARINGACHERY.

Mass; (3) Prayers for the dead; (4) Purgatory; (5) Worship of the Virgin Mary, supplicating her intercessions and observing a fast in her honour; (6) Worship of saints; (7) Prayers in an unknown tongue; (8) Extreme Unction; (9) Attributing to the clergy the power to curse and destroy men's bodies and souls; (10) The having in their churches pictures representing God the Father; (11) Prayers to the altar and chancel."[1] Allowing for the typical Protestant confusion contained in (9) and (11) (he means, of course, relative honour paid to the holy places), admitting (7) as no advantage, and (10) as undesirable, we should consider these errors a very creditable witness of sound Christianity. We notice that this ardent Protestant says nothing about Monophysism; so maybe

  1. Howard: op. cit. 175-176. Mr. Howard excuses many of these.