The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-10-29
A MASTER STROKE.
The Pope Planning the Reunion Of
Eastern Churches.
THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THEM
BEING THE GREEK CHURCH.

Leo XIII. Will Rank Among the Foremost
Plan Proves SuccessfuI-The Immense
Possibilities that this Includes.
Rome, October LEO XIII. is Just
now entirely occupied the meeting in
Rome OF the patriarchs of the Oriental
churches, the final intent of which is
the reunion of all the churches in the
East i'd the Holy .See. This, if accom-
plished, will be the greatest achievement
of the ponGificate of the present Pope,
and make the name of Leo XIII. one of
the most famous of this century.
Besides Mgr. Stephen Azarian, Armen-
ian Patriarch; Mgr. Gregory Jussef, Mel
chite, and Mgr. Cecil Benham, Benni,
Syrian: Cardinal Ledochoski, Prefect of
the Propaganda Eide; Cardinal Lange-
nieux, who directed the Eucharistic
Congress at Jerusalem, Cardinal Per-
sico, who, few perhaps know,is citizen
of the great Republic, and Cardinal Gal
i'm berti, the ex-Nuncio at Vienna, assist
at the meeting under the presidency of
the Pontiff himself.
1t is wonderful to see, they say, the ac-
tivity and luCidness of thought of the
Pope at his advanced age. over "a years.
The most important Oriental churches
now separate from Rome are the Chal-
dean, under the Patriarch of Babylon,
which has its adherents in Mesopotamia,
Persia and the Island of Malabar 1t
separated from the Catholic church in
the fifth century, because of the heresy
of NestOrio on the dogma OF the incarna-
tion: the Abyssinian church, with
branches in Egypt, depending OH a pa
triarch in Cairo. which separated in the
fifth century also, because OF the heresy
of Diosculo, Patriarch of Alexandria.
There are also other sects from Mesopo-
tamia and Armenia.
The most important of all, however,
is the Greek church, which extends
through Grece, European Turkey. Asia
Minor, Syria. Egypt and Palestine. She
has still her four patriarchs at Constan-
tinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jeru-
church was united to Rome until the
twelfth century, and reunited by the
councils of Lyons and Florence. When
Turkey took Constantinople there was
definite separation. To the Greek faith
belongs also the Russian, the Servian,
the Roumanian, the Georgian and the
Bulgarian churches. She has many adj
uGf6uSS dUQOIR buc oldtS II auSblld
The general belief that the Car is the
head Of the Russian church is not ex-
act, he simply being her protector.
Finally, there is a Greek-Albanese
sect, which has small number of be-
levers in Sicily an Calabria. in the
south of Italy.
This immensely important meeting
which now takes place is one OF the
greatest facts in the history of the re-
lations between Rome and the East.
There is no precedent TO compare it to
in the annals of Catholicism. 10 OBJ
tain this reunion of the Oriental
churches with the Roman, the Holy
Father intends to create special con-
gregation for them, quite separate from
he Propaganda, with cardinal for pre-
feet whom he would nominate. The
Pope would leave to the sOriental
churches all their privilege and rites
only de manding that the patriarchs
elected by the Synod of Bishops should
submit their election for the appruba-
ton of the Roman.P to whom the
examination Of all questions of dogmat-
ic and ecclesiastical rights would be re-
served. For asking so little it is believed
that Leo XIII. will succeed, as the prin-
cipal point of dissension has always
been in the Eastern churches the fear
of being sacrificed to Rome and the Lat
ins. The Holy Father wishes to show
that the Papacy is neither Latin nor
Western. Rabut universal. After the meet
ing he will issue an ency cl cal to the
Eastern church, which will be a devel-
opment of what he recently wrote in
the Praeclara encyclical about the un-
ion of the churches. This encyclical.
those say who ought to know, is a
touching page, because of it's wisdom
and eloquence, and is certainly destined
to master the ardent spirits of the Ori.
ent. The union would be follow ed by
the institution of three great Catholic
Oriental colleges at Corfu. Athens, and
Smyrna.