[326] The word Copt is apparently derived from the middle part of the Greek word Aigyptos which means Egyptian. It is, however, always used to indicate a member of the Egyptian Monophysite Church.
[327] Melchite is a Græco-Syriac word which signifies imperial. It was given at the outbreak of the Monophysite schism to those Christians in Syria, Palestine, and Egypt who accepted the decrees of Chalcedon and remained loyal to the Emperor in Constantinople and to the Catholic Church. The name is now applied to the Uniates of these lands.
[328] Cf. Verfassung und gegenwärtiger Bestand Sämtilicler Kirchen des Orients, p. 384 (by I. Silbernagl, Regensburg, 1904).
[329] The Orthodox Eastern Church, p. 19 (by A. Fortescue, London, 1908).
[330] Fortescue, op. cit., p. 15.
[331] Not having a hierarchy, the Protestants in Turkey do not constitute a Millet. The Porte has consequently organized them, consisting chiefly of a small number of converted Armenians, and Syrians, into a special group under the Minister of Police.
[332] Among Orientals a common designation of Franks, which, since the time of the Crusades, has been applied to all the inhabitants of Western Europe.
[333] Paradiso, VI, I, 2.
[334] Addressing once a company of bishops Constantine declared: “You are bishops whose jurisdiction is within the Church; I also am a bishop ordained by God to overlook whatever is external to the Church.” Eusebius, The Life of Constantine, IV, 24.
[335] Fortescue, op. cit., p. 28.