St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-08-03
Notes from Turkey.
Among the Bulgsrians.-VII.
THE ORTHODOX CHURCH.

To the Editor of the Caledonian:
The term "Orthodox" is used in the
East as "Catholic" is in the West,-be-
ing applied to the whole oriental church,
Greek, Russian and Turko-Slavic. 1t
is of the Bulgarian branch of that
church that l wish to speak.
Until the middle of the 9th century
the Bulgarians were a wild, uncivilized,
pagan people. In the year 964, King
Borgoris and his people accepted Chris
tianity, but, as has always been the
case when a nation adopted religious
faith as mass rather than as individ-
uals, that faith became corrupted, and
never had the vital power on the heart
that lay at the root of all Christ's
teaching.
The Gospel first reached Bulgaria
from Salonica,-the Thessalonica of
Paurs Epistles, and the apostles that
carried it were two brothers, Cyril and
Methodius, sons of Leon. The former
was devoted to learning and the latter
to art, but both were imbued with the
spirit of Christ and his apostles.
In accordance with the request of
King BorgOris, Methodius engaged to
paint the walls of the royal hunting
lodge, but instead of representing there
the scenes of the chase, the missionary
artist portrayed the Great Judgment.
On the one side of the Judge were the
poor, the weak, the sick, the blind, ac-
cepted and taken into his favor,-On
the other were proud kings and mighty
warriors rejected and driven away to
torment.
1t was startling lesson to the wild
King BorgOris, and he demanded, when
the picture had been explained to him,
''Can'st thou tell me how l and my sub
jects may escape that pit of fire ??
Z. Methodius replied, ''Send to CONSTANT
nople, and pray the Emperor that he
give thee wise men to instruct thee and
thy people,"
) History records that about this time
two rude barbarians from the north were
seen in the streets of the Eastern CAPT
T. tai, seeking teachers to instruct them
in the true religion. The Emperor
Michael Ill, had heard of the two sons
of Leon, and Cyril and Msthodius were
sent again to the court of the Bulga,
rians. King BOrgoris and his people
were soon after baptized and the Bul
T. garians attribute their conversion tt
the picture sermon of st. Methodius
who is always represented in thei
schools and churches, holding up ;
: painting.
The language of the Slavs had no
then been written, but Cyril, the scholar
: invented an alphabet and translated tn,
Gospels and Acts for the use of tn,
= people. This Cyrillic alphabet wa
brought into general use by Clement
pupil of St. Cyril, and first Bishop O
Bulgaria and since his time the Slav
have had a written language and
Bible.
The great separation between tn
- Eastern and Western churches had no
yet occurred, and while Cyril and Meth
Odius were missionaries of the Gree
church, and followed its forms, the
still held allegience to the Pope G
Rome. When the great schism too
place. and the church, which the Maste
had declared should be Zone in Him,
81 was riven asunder by the ambition an
passions of men, the Bulgarian Bishop
deferred their choice of master until
Patriarch of their own was granted theI
'' by the Greek church, when they thre'
and became Orthodox instead of Catl
: olic.
When COnstantinople fell into til
hands of the Turks, and the provinc'
! of the Danube were also brought undo
he Moslem rule, the cOnquerOr permitte
ep IN each of the subjugated natiOnalities
mt enjoy its own religion undisturbed, an
that they might be governed the mo-
. easily, the religious was made also I'll
20 civil head in each nation. Hence I'll
Bulgarian Patriarch became man
ber considerable importance, as the repr
His sentative of his people at the court
av- the Sultan.
%ers % This independent and national cha
TO- acter was retained by the Bulgari;
church until the year 1867, when by
succession of intrigues with the Sublin
set Porte. the Greek See of Constantinop
nh