The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-11-06
MONKS WHO CONTROL MILLIONS.

drawn here and there lnolcatlnS tHo
church to which each part belongs.
Tho various sects are divided among
themselves as to who shall control the
monasteries, converts and TONER tnsti-
tutions belonging to them. and tho
quarrelling goes on over the very spot
where Christ was born and upon that
where 1t is supposed the crucifxion
took place.
DynnnhtinE the Holy sepulchre.
These 4quarrels are serious. Knives,
are frequently drawn and many are
killed. A short time ago monk was
shot by an Austrian pilgrim in the
Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem.
and just before last Easter gigantic
candle was sent to Jerusalem addressed
to the care OF certain priests. This
candle was nine feet high and two
feet thick, and as far as Its outward
appearance was concerned seemed to
be entirely OF wax. 1t was shipped
in from abroad. and was intended to
be lit inside the Church OF the Holy
Sepulchre. and TO burn there while the
celebrations were at their highest. At
that time the church would have been
filled with Greeks, Arrnenians, Latins
and Abyssinians. When the candle
came to Jaffa the customs officers held
1t for duties. and sent word to the.
priests to come and get II, They
failed to appear. whereupon 1t was
cut open and 5000 little dynamite balls
were found inside it Had it exploded
at the time OF festivities 10000 or
more people would probably have lost
their lives.
The War of the Greeks.
That candle was probably sent by
Greek who is disgruntled at the church.
and in his desire for revenge cared
not how many he killed. There is a
great war going on among the Greeks,
and am told that some OF the fac
lions have refused to go to the Church
of the Holy Sepuichre until their
wrongs are righted. Turkey has now
a new constitution. by which 1t ls
provided that every sect shall own and
control it's own churches and church
property The Greek Church here Is
ruled by outsiders. and the Greeks who
are natives of Palestine claim that
they have the right to the church and
church property. There have already
been numerous Nriots between these
Greeks and the foreign monks. and
not long ago the people demanded that
the patriarch, or head of the Greek
Church. resign. The native monks
threatened to put him out, and tho
Mohammedan authorities here wired
Constantinople as to what they should
do. The Sultan has favored the out
siders. He telegraphed the patriarch
to hold on. but nevertheless there were
patriarch is here now only on suffer-
ance.
Monks Who Control Millions. "A
The fight among the Creeks Is to
some extent sentimental. but it is
eiso largely one for the loaves and
fishes. The Greeks are the most pow
erful religious body in Palestine, and
their property runs high into the mil
lions They have monasteries, con-
vents and hosp1ces scattered over the
Holy Land from Dan to Beersheba, and
at all of these the pilgrims who travel
over the country make contributions,
Some OF the places are SO valuable that
the priests In Cargo are said to pay
lump sum of $1,000 or more a year for
the privilege of presiding at each OF
them, expecting to recoup themselves
from the gifts of the pilgrims. Here
in Jerusalem there are thirty-f1ve Greek
monasterles and toher big buildings
managed by 500 monks.
The Church Of the Holy Sepulcher,
the greater part of which belongs to
the Greeks. brings In tens OF thous-
ands of pounds every year to the
church. There are thousands OF Rus
SLAMS who make pilgrimages to this
city, and each is expected to leave an
offering according to his wealth and
spiritual desires.
The Greek Church also owns the
shops of a new bazaar which has been
opened near the Holy Sepulchre, ant 1t
holds the titles to the most valuable
of the buildings about the Jaffa Gate
and David's Tower. including that in
which the Grand New Hotel is.
The native monks say that the Greek
priests who have beeA imported from
Constantinople, Athens, Smyrna, the
Isle of Samos and other places, now
hold all the fat Jobs and that they are
compelled to work for something like
81 each per month. They do the pas
toral work of the villages and act as
the priests of the towns. On the otner
hand. the outsiders have amassed for
tunes. They pretend to be hermlts and
devoted to fasting and prayer, but they
ares accused of Living luxuriously and
of Keeping establishments which are
by no means as good as they should
be.
Christians Flogged by MohammedRns.
Indeed, the fights among the warning
Christians are such that the Moham-
medan soldiers have to use whips to
keep them in order. The Turks are
always on guard in the Church Of
the Holy Sepulchre. have seen them
there at Easter time. when they were
whipping the quarreling Greeks. Ar
menians and Copts In order to sepa-
rate ITEM. During the fight knives
were drawn. and 1t is not an uncom-
mon thing for blood to pollute the
Holy sepulchre on festal days.
4 I went last week to Bethlehem to
visit the Church OF the Nativity. In
the stable where Christ was born u line
has been drawn across the centre of
the floor. On one side of that line the
Greek Catholics claim their rights and
the other side balongs to the Romans.
As the two sects were worshtping. .