St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-08-03

by the Greeks. For 300 years, since
their conquest by the Turks, their ma
tional spirit had been kept alive by
their church organization, under head |
of their own, and there had never been
a day when the Bulgarian peasants had
not looked forward to a time when they |
should throw off the yoke of the tyrant. |
This hope seemed now to be taken
away. Their organization was broken
up. Their Bishops were deposed, and
Greek ecclesiastics were forced upon
them. These were men ignorant of the |
language, and Indifferent to the wants
of the peOple,-men who had paid large
sums for their offices, and were bound
to remunerate themselves by simony
and extortion.
This crime of simony was carried to
fearful extent. The Patriarchal See
of ConstantinOple openly sold the most
important church preferments to the
highest bidder,-and the immense sums
given for such Bishoprics as those of
PhilippopOlis, Turnova, Sliven, and
Rustchuk, but poorly fitted the incum
bents for spiritual guides of the people,
while the wealth which some of them
amassed bore but too plain testimony
to the fragrant means made use of to
obtain it.
The Bulgarian language was excluded
from the church service, and the Greek
liturgy was substituted. Bulgarian
schools were suppressed, Slavic books
were burnt, a strong effort was
made to compel the people to forget
their mother tongue and adopt the Ian
guage of the Greeks. The attempt was
successful only in part. The people
learned to read the Greek in the schools
without understanding it, while at their
homes and in the market they still used
their native Bulgarian. In some cases,
however, the attempt met with success.
The Greek language was learned and
Bulgarian forgotten, so that natives of
the country could not speak word of
their mother tongue.
1t was the old contest of the Norman
against the Saxon, with this important
difference,-th in the present instance
both the OppressOr and the oppressed
were alike subject to common power,
which despised them both, and looked
on their IL ternal wranglings with favor
: rather than otherwise, as weakening
their power and Strengthening its own
, hold upon them.
In 1856, the Bulgarians sent a peti-
tion to the Sultan, asking that they
might be freed from the power of the
Greeks, and that their old privileges be
restored to them. The request was de-
MED. In 1859 they determined to beal
/. the yoke no lOnger,-refused to pay
their dues to the Greek Patriarch, and
: drove the Greek Bishops out of the
country. The movement was begun il
7 Constantinople, where on Easter Sun
D day, Bulgarian Bishop was officiating
In the service for the day he left out
1 the name of the Greek Patriarch, wher.
n prayer was inserted for that dignitary
/, an omission which was considered al
: a sign of revolt both by the Patriarch
u ate and the Bulgarians themselves.
A stir was Immediately made, and al
e order issued for the Punishment of the
i two Bulgarian Bishops of Constantine
pie. But so strong was the feeling
e that the Bulgarians gathered about th'
e churches to the number of five or si2
: thousand, and protected their Bishop
n from the hands of the officials. A larg
r, guard was kept stationed night and da.
IS around the church, and for year tn
e order of banishment was not carried
i out. On the following Easter, however
e the Bishops were seized by regimen
l. of Turkish soldiers and sent off int
% Asia Minor.
5, For ten years the struggle continued
il the Bulgarians urging their claim
a upon the Porte, and the Turkish official
continually putting them off with ex
't cuses, fiimsy pretexts, and partia
+, promises. Meanwhile the agents of til
lie Church of Rome were busy, and quite
le large party was formed in Bulgari
rs which favored declaring their allegianc
t, to the Pope in order to shake off thei
of Greek Oppressor.
rs In 1870, however, they succeeded i
a getting tirman from the Porte remoy
ing them from under the jurisdiction {
lie the Greek Church, and in 1872 BuI
Ot garian Exarch was appointed as the re
b. ligious and political head of the nation
* The whole Bulgarian church ws
~ promptly excommunicated by the Pa
of triarch and placed out of commune
,k with the Orthodox, and to-day they al
er regarded as schismatics by the Greeks
)" This is an outline sketch of their hi
I'd tory. 1t does not by any means folio
ps that by being freed from the supremac
of the Greek church their own has b'
IN come purer or more free from superst
wv ton. That was not their object. Sal
EN- a young Bulgarian to me, "Money w;
h at the root of it all.n The Greek Patr
arch wished to keep them under b
he control for the power that it gave hi
:es with the Porte, and for the revenu
Ter that came into his Golfers. They wisht
ed to be free because of the oppressive ia