New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-11-25

much oppressed by the Kurds. among whom hey they
live and seem TO have lost their culture ana 'i,,t
aggressive spirit. Their bishops are celoate' pvt
their Patriarch and priests marry at will. They do
not believe in transubstaniiaton ihey my IN, ~
me- onT b s pTay for the dead but reject
notion of purgatory. Their only religious !inoo'
they claim the birthplace OF Abraham and they be-
lieve themselves descended from me zen ''S- '''e9
Of Israel
THE ARMEN1ANS
The Armenian Church is commonly regarded as
having been formed by schsm from the Greek
Church closely following and indeed associate
with the schism of the HISTORIANS The natVe
legends give 1t. however another origin, connected
with Dlocetian ana Rome. Tiridates. son of Chos-
roes assembled the Armenian throne in go ChoS-
roes had been murdered by Anak, k!nsmah ana
the of Anak Gregory, afterward called thc
Inuminator. Gregory was taken Tor saleE 10 tie
uring 10 return to Armenia. he was seized by the
vengefu Tridates and thrown into we'll where
he lived for years among scorpions ana loaus,
m:racuously fed by an angel About ms ilnle
Docletan fell In love with young nun, hhipima
from Rome 10 Armenia. Diocletan demanded rom
search for and arrested them Then ne fell in love
himself with Rhipsima and wanted 10 NARY hri,
by Gaana whereupon Tiridates put them both TO
death For mis- sin he was ai, transt2rmed hat 1 he
could be restored to human form only by ne r.,
lease of Gregory. SO she had Gregory bromght OUT
reganed his former estate. Gregory then buried
the bodies of the two martyrs and built churches
above them, He also built third church at q
spot where he Heaven opened and the son OF
GS S Born e came HG
the we'll in which Gregory Vas GGni1nef are TO ms
dates and his people were. of course, converted to
Christianity. and Gregory became the first Cathoi-
cos. or Patriarch, of Armenia.
In the ffih and sixth centuries the Armenians
gradually separated themselves from me creek inHa
hon perhaps. than any Other Christian body, rom
from PerSians.
Huns. from the Mongols and from the Mahometahs
s psGe of of Are %
the Roman Catholic Church, retaining, however,
church was divided into two parties fanatcally
hostile to each other With regard to the non
the race. it may be said that they adhere TO the
HISTORIAN doctrine of the Trinity. They maintain
| the seven sacraments but with some peculiartes
of administration. Thus baptism is performed BY
triple spnkkng and TRIPLE RIP by
and leavened bread are used, and The brad Is
istered after death, and only to eccesastics The
! worship of saints is practised but the notion OF
ancient Armenian language. but sermons are
preached in the modern tongue, ArmenianS al
! kill an animal for food they turn Is head toward
| the east and make the sign OF the cross They
have many fasts, out not as many festivals as the
! Greeks.
THE MARONITEs
/ Whether there ever ST. Marc not Is a
! matter OF doubt Many say there was that he
was a Syrian anchorite, who lived in the hfth
century. and that the name OF the Marones is dc
! rived from his Others say he never exsite,. or
that II he aid the Marones were named not for
I him but for their first Patriarch. John Marc. in
| FOL However that may be- this sect had iis origin
in the sixth ecumenical council which WAS he'd At
Constantinople in ESQ. At that council there was a
eli hnaiiy condemned the doctrine OF the singeness
Of His viii, whersuPon r those who hr.s 10 H. r.
Monothehtes seceded Ihey were chlchE rom ~,
Lebanon and adjacent districts. ana their doctrEc
! was generally accepted by Christians there. The
Msrontes held their ground valianily against tn
! Mahometans. and remained unique and inde-
/ pendent sect until the time Of the Crusades. When
the Latin Kingdom Of Jerusalem was established,
they vowed fe1lty 10 H. ana at the same time re-
/ edged the authority of the Roman See. They were
formally absorbed into the Roman Church in l45.
f sbs Counc Of Trent Nevertheless they sin re-
tain. by especial permission Of the Pope, many
ancient Syriac language instead OF Latin In their
liturgy, and their priests II mniriei before ordna,
have many saints and festivals not recognized in
The Maronites number about 2;O0oo They are a
handsome sturdy and warlike pe9pc LYING chiefly
Druses an implacabe enmiiy has long existed. il
! The hdeous butchcries that eliminated in 1850, the
themselves fully "a fierce and cruel as Their zoe ;
Their Patriarch Is eected by her 9's s VIII
the approval Of the Pope and Ives IN me convent
OF Ksnobn. the Lebanon They have numerous
other converts. for both sexes organized according
, 10 the rule Of 81. Anthony.
THE DRUsEs.
Most peculiar Of al the tribes and peoples within
/ the borders OF the Ottoman Empire are the Druses
who live in Northern SYRIA mostly on the slopes OF
I Lebanon and Anti-I.ebanon, In the Jobel Drusc
near Damascus. and in northern Galilee. There are
probably 1900 Of them. and they are distinct from
all the rest OF the Sultans subjects in both and
religion Indeed IL may scarcely be proper 20 call
them subjects OF the Sultan. seeing that they main
tain almost entire independence OF his rue They
DAY no taxes, and are not liable 10 cOnscrlptiOn
nor is easy to determine where they should be
clsssed in creed. Their rc sion IS a curious
mixture OF Judaism. Christianity. Buddhism
4 Zoroas irianism. Mahometanism. ana their blood 4,
! varousy declared TO be Chinese. Arabian. kurdish
and Persian Probably IL is u mixture .. tao last