The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1891-12-25

His Extraordinsry Funeral-Not Iv,,.
In State, but sittiag Upright.

:. -
His Extraordinary Funeral-Not Lyin.
In State. but sittiag Upright.
One Of the most extraordinary spec-
tacles which it has ever been nv lot
to witness, says COnstantinople cor.
respondent of the New York Sun. was
the funeral here recently of his holt
ness Dionysius ". the pontifet maxi
mus Of the oriental Greek Orthodox
church. During forty-eight hours his
body lay, or rather sat. in state before
the high altar of the patriarchal
church of the Phanar The scene
there was weird and impressive in the
extreme. The sacred edifice was dim
ly lighted by a number of glimmerinp
oil lamps, which enabled me with
some difficulty, and only after my eyes
had become accustomed to the gloom
to discern the figure of the dead
patriarch.
He sat on throne covered with
black velvet and silver tissues. His
corpse was arrayed in the gorgeous
pontifical vestments, glittering from
throat to hem with priceless jewels.
On his head was placed the pontifical
crown. all ablaze with huge diamonds
emeralds and rubies. His glazed eyes
were wide open, and gazed with
the stony stare of death straight down
the marble-columned nave of the
church. His left hand clasped gold
bound volume of the Gospels, and his
right was appraised as if for benedic-
ton. Two black-robed priests NUT
tered prayers, kneeling on each side
of him, and now and again Greeks and
Armenians approached the dead pom
tiff, and. making low obeisance. kissed
his icy fingers or the edge of his vest
ments. Night had already set in when
I turned to go, and, as I cast last
lingering look on the imposing scene,
a broad moon ray, gliding through the
great stained glass window on the left
of the altar illumined the rigid face
of the corpse. lending to it an almost
supernatural splendor. The mournful
tolling of the bells followed my caique
clear across the Golden Horn with a
sobbing, muffled sound, which vibrated
on the still and peaceful evening air.
The following day the funeral took
place. 1t was signalized By extraor-
binary and altogether unprecedented
honors accorded by the sultan His
majesty had not only dispatched his
minister of public worship. Ria
Pasha. to convey messages of regret
and coincidence to the holy synod but
had, moreover, given orders for the
postponement of the imperial regatta
which had been organized to take
place on that day. The streets through
which the procession wound its way
were lined ON either side with soldiers,
who presented arms to the corpse as it
passed along. The dead pontiff was
not laid in a coffin, but was carried
seated on his velvet throne by thirty
priests and deacons, wearing dazzling
vestments. His head was slightly in
clined to one side. and he presented
the appearance of sad WEAKNESS rath-
er than that of death. Preceded
and followed by detachmenrs of
cavalry, the brilliant cortege
advanced through the crowded
street. High dignltaries of the Greek
church, bearing jeweled chalices filed
with consecrated wine and golden
salvers of sacramental bread walked
before the corpse while four deacons
bore the sceptre. the orb, the crozier,
and the decorations of the dead pa
triarch on either side. Several of the
cabinet ministers and of the leading
palace officials, such as Munir Pasha,
grand master of the ceremonies, and
Mavroyeni Pasha, chief physician OF
the sultan and brother of Mavroyeni
Bey, now Ottoman envoy at Washing
ton, were among those following the
corpse. The rabbis of the Jewish
rite, and the diplomatic corps headed
by M. de Nelidoff. the Russian am
bassador, in full uniform came i'm
mediately behind the Turkish officials
Neither the Roman Catholic nor the
Reformed churches were represented.
The funeral procession started at l
in the afternoon. and the sun was set
ting when it reached the burial vaults
of the ecumenical patriarchs at Ba-
loukli On arriving there the corpse
was transferred from the velvet and
silver throne to one carved most ex-
quisitely in marble, which stands in
the spacious vaults. There, together
with number of his predecessors.
seated like himself on marble thrones
and skillfully embalmed. he will await
the call Of the last trumpet.
New Style Fishes.
Two strange fish were recently cap