New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-02-27
VIII DUNGEN

betrayal hs- the Copts Of the Cross~fo tiie
Crescent.
Fcclcsia sttcalIv the Copts are subject
to rattfsrci'. vj;o. although styled oi
Alexandria, makes his Headquarters al
Carr. and whose spiritual authority e6-
tends ovt~ Ahvssinia. where he is repre-
sented hv A sort Of legate and metro
,>oli+an known as the Abuna. He is IN
variabIy chosen from among the MONKS
Of the monastery of ST. Anthony. stu
ated in a remote portion Of the eastern
desert. the existence of which. IKE tidt
of several of the other Coptic desert
inconsistencies dates back to the earnest
centuries of the Christian era In the
same way that the Pope at Rome Is re-
garf1ed as the successor of st. Peter. So
is the patriarch of the. Coptic Church
looked upon as the successor OF St
Marx His cathedral church is that OF
ST Mary. situated in old Cairo and dat
ing from the sixth century It is built
over a srotto in which the Virgin IS sara
TO have lived with the infant Jesus dur
ing her stay in Egypt. The part or the
church set aside for the women is smut
off from the view Of that occupied ny
N. men. There is no preaching the
service consisting merely OF the recita-
ton of passages from the Bible or the
liturgy. which, being in Coptic, no one
understands. and it Is so long that. as
there are no seats and one is expected
to stand. crutches are supplied on which
70 lean. OF course, neither the Roman
Catholic Church nor the various frot-
estant denominations have anything III
common. theologically speaking. with
the Copts and If the Car has put
forward a claim to act as protector OF
the Coptic Church in Egypt, 1t is soieiy
for political purposes since from tne
point of view of the Orthodox Church OF
Russia the Copts are as schisnat1c To-
day as they were at the time OF the
Council of Chalcedon-
The moral standing of the clergy is
very low. in spite of the fact that mar
rage is forbidden only to the higher
grades of the secular orders Drunken
ness is their besetting sin; even the
principal festivals of the Church are
often disgraced by frightful outourstS
of this vice on the part of the clergy
and as the latter are as a rule poor ana
vithoi1t fixed pay Of any kind, they re-
sort 10 all sorts Of schemes OF more
or less shady character TO obtain money
The majority of the. churches are ter
r,blv dilapidated and as remarkable for
their dirt as the priests, while of the
condition of affairs in the various con-
vents and monasteries the less said the
better.
AIthoU gil the Copts have remained dis
tinct as d race and as Church from
their Moslein fellow inhs bitants of the
land Of the Nile, yet they have adopted
quite a number OF customs and prac-
tees which we usually associate with
the cult of Islam. Thus, the women veil
their faces, both in public and at home.
whe1, male visitors are present. and their
funeral customs and many features of
their marriage ceremonies are identical
with those of the followers of the
Prophet They abstain from pork, prac-
tise circumcision, and at Cairo, AleXan-
dria and in the more important towns
wear the fez and the stambouline; while
in the very remote districts they don
| the turban. which is, however. usually
| of a srayish or light brown color, instead
! of white Indeed ii has a dlngy ap-
| pearance that is not altogether out of
| keeping with the extremely unenviabie
reputation which the Copts enjoy as
| foes of everything that has any bearing
! upon- sanitation and cleanliness.
| EX-ATTACHE.