In common with all other ministers of religion within the Turkish dominions, the priests of the Orthodox Eastern Church are highly favoured by the law. They pay no taxes whatever; they cannot suffer imprisonment or any other punishment at the option of the officials, who are hardly less ignorant than they are extortionate, and whose power over the other inhabitants is enormous. The only remedy against an offending priest is to report him to the patriarch of the province, who, either by himself or with the advice of the patriarch in Constantinople, ordains such a punishment as the case may deserve.
As a rule, the priests are extremely ignorant and very poor. The salaries of the patriarchs rarely exceed £500, and many of the ministers are not in the receipt of more than £40 or £50 a year. The greater number of these have received but little education; their sole qualification for their office being, in most cases, the good opinion of their neighbours and some knowledge of reading or writing.
As the eloquent author of “The Crescent and the Cross” truly says, they are frequently chosen by the laity of their district from among the lowest mechanics; and the election is invariably confirmed by the patriarch if there be nothing against the character of the elect.
Colleges or educational establishments for the priesthood can hardly be said to exist. It would be ridiculous to give that name to the convent in Jerusalem, in which the young student is initiated into the manner of practising those pretended miracles which I have already spoken of as being annually performed at Easter, and
in which he acquires a fair portion of that spirit of hatred and envy with which the various religious denominations within the walls of the Holy City regard each other.
Much has been already accomplished by the enlightened men who have taken up the cause of the apostles, and who are labouring hard to dispel the dark cloud of ignorance which hangs over the minds of my countrymen like a heavy cloud. With the knowledge and the elements of the true faith which they are zealously disseminating, I do not despair not merely of a thorough reform of the Orthodox Eastern Church, but of an entire change in the mutual relations of the several religious bodies. Where there was hatred, there shall be love; and the spirit of envy shall be transformed into that of emulation.
The service of the Orthodox Eastern Church is always performed in the native language, and consists of prayers, scripture-readings, a sermon, which is, however, generally only a simple explanation or commentary on chapters from the Holy Bible, and in chaunting hymns. The priests, as I have previously mentioned, wear robes differing but very little from those worn by the priesthood of the Church of Rome. It is customary to separate the sexes during the service; the galleries being devoted exclusively to the reception of the females, and the body of the Church to the males. Only the aged are allowed seats, of which there are very few, and the young men are forced to stand.
At the commencement of the service, the officiating priest traverses the church, scattering incense from a censer. During Lent, strict observers of the law abstain from all animal food, even from eggs, milk, butter, and cheese, and they further fast from night till noon. At
this period they also abstain from the use of all spirituous or vinous fluids. At all seasons of the year it is customary to practise abstinence on Wednesdays and Fridays. The sacrament is usually administered twice a month. It consists of leavened bread and wine mixed together, and is administered by the officiating clergyman with a spoon, the formula used on this solemn occasion being nearly the same as that employed in the English Church.
I have mentioned the existence of dissenters from the Orthodox Eastern Church in Syria. They are called Greek Roman Catholics, and have existed rather more than one hundred and fifty years. The founder of this sect was a priest named Karolus, who had been elected patriarch of Antioch, or, as the functionary is called, patriarch of Damascus.