PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS ARCHBISHOPS MISSION TO THE ASSYRIAN CHRISTIANS ; Report of a Visit to the Mission in the Autumn of 1855, Tow Years afler its Foundation, MPHELSYAN RILEY, MA WHEW SIN HAT SERATIONS ANE Mat Lostans AIWTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLIDCaL PRESENT CHALDEAN EPISCOPATE. ‘The Patriarch Mar (Reuil) Shimun, Cutholioos of the Ensts diocese Tyari, Tkhoma, Tal, Walto and outlying districts Mar (Ishaq) Khnun Ishu, Metropolitan ; diocew Shamsdin, ‘ud in Persia, Margavar end Targavar Mar Auraham (Shimun), Patriarch-dosignato. Mar Sorgis; dioeese Jolu and Baz. Mar Ishuyu ; diocese Borwar. glist Yonsns dose village of Ok, betwoon Berwar and the ‘Mar Sliva; diceose Northern half of the Plain of Gavar. Mar Sorisha; discese Southern half of the Plain of Guvar, Tn Persia :— Mar Yokbanan has a small jurisdiction in Targavar os suffragan of the Metropolitan, OF the romtining fire Persian dioceses, one, Salmas, is extinct, and the other four are at present administerod by two Bishops as follows: Mar (Yaqu) Gauriel is Bishop of tho united dioceses of Andishai and Urmi. ‘Mar Yonan, discov Superghan, also administers the noigh- ouring diocese of Gavilan, the Bishop being insane, and (it is suposed) in Testa, and “his nathan” too young to be consocrated. ‘Tho following extract from Canon Maclean's pamphlet on the customs of the Assyrinns will oxplain the peculiar characteristies of the Chaldean Episoupate “Mar Shimun exercises temporal as well as spiritual juris- diction, especially over tho tribal or quasi-independent Syrian of Tyari, ‘Tkhoma, Jolu, and the other valleys of Central Kurdistan, He appoints the Malcks, or lay rulers, of euch district; but tho mountaineers by no means wnderstand the doctrine of passive obedience, and their independent spirit, sometimes lends them to resist the wishes of the Patriarch. | In his exercise of this temporal jurisdiction, as well as in eocl aatical matters, the Patriarch’ is assisted by his family eounell, which has @ vory largo voice in managing tho affairs of the42 nation. People come to Kochanes from all parts of the Syrian ‘country whenever a dificulty arises, and thus tho little mountain is a true coclesiastical metropolis. “Phere is now only one Metropolitane—that of Shameilin— who bears the dynastic name of Mar Khnanisha, It is. his duty to invest, the new Patriarch, and he is the second in rank of the whole Church. Formerly there were others. But there treo provinoes in the Western sense of the words, andthe present Mar Khnanishu does not soem to exercise any metro- Political authority, os we understand it, although from his Position and from tho deep piety of his character, ho exercises frilo Infuenoe over the other Bishope and over the Church at ME Next to tho Patriarch and Mattran (Metropolitan) come tho Bishops. OF theso there are at tho present timo two in Persin fand eight in ‘Turkoy. But of thoso latter only six havo any diocesan jurisdiction, the other two being the Patriarch-dusignate and a Bishop who lives as a simple priest near Mosul; while of the six ono has no jurisdiction beyond his own small village, and three have a mero handful of villages under their care. On the other hand, tho patriarchal diocese is enormous, far too large to be properly supervised by one man, considering the mountainous nature of the country. Even an’ English Bishop would probably find it beyond his yowors. This Is owing to what must, I think, be considered a great abuse. When there is no successor toe vacant bishopric, it falls in to tho Patriarch like a fief. Sometimes Mar Shimun gives it to a neighbouring Bishop, sometimes he adds it to his own diocese, which thus has ‘a tendeney constantly to grow. On tho other hand, Bishops are consecrated for districts where there is little or no need of them, fand thus there arises a raco of Bishops with hardly any dineoses to care for, In Turkey, most of the tribal Syrians are under the rule of the Patriarch himself as diocosan; the non-tribal dioceses are divided very unscientifcally, and appear to bo subject to frequent change. In Porsia tho ‘mountainous district near the frontier is atiached to the diocese of tho Mattran, who lives ia Turkey, while in the Plain of Urmi proper there are three dioceses miarked out by three rivers flowing inty the Sea of Urmi, Allogother in the Persian plains there are four Aioceses now recognised, and cach of the two Persian Bishops hholds two. ‘This arrangement leads to frequent disputes. "The succession to tho bishopries is managed in « similar way to the succession to the patriarchate. Each Bishop hes, or ‘ought to have, one or moro Nazarites, or “nati-kursi,” whom he himself has brought up to eat no meat and not to” marry.43 ‘As thoy grow up, he himself chooses his successor from these, if there be more than one, ‘These ‘natir-kursii’ aro generally the nephows or cousins of the Bishop. This approwch to an hereditary Episcopate seems to bo an arrangement of the last 300 or 400 years; und it will probably be considered an abuse. But it may perhaps be doubted whether « better arrangement could be found in the present condition of the people, Anything like a popular election in an oppressed nation who have never learat to exorciso any sort of franchise would lead to many soandals. And the present aystem has the advantage of raising up an aristocracy, in ita best sense, which would otherwise be catirely Jacking. In any case, such ‘is the present arrangement, and tho people ao mach etashod to i, ror wuld they realy brook a change.” THE PATRIARCHAL FAMILY, For over four eenturies the Shimun family has at once spiritual and temporal to the Assyrians; from this family =the royal family, so to speak, of Assyria—the Patriarch is chosen, and he rules with the assistance of his near relatives as councillors, ‘The soat of the family is at Kochanes, whera it is at prosent divided into two “houses,” ‘The following are its chief ‘members in their order of rank. ‘The Patriarch, Mar Shimun (Simou), Catholicos of the Bast; primal tae, eu far Auraharn (Abraham), the Patriarch-designate, first cousin to Mar Shimun, shai (Sesse), half-brother to Mar Shimun, Awishalum (Absolom), oldest brother to Mar Auraham. Nimrod, brother to Mar Aurahamn. Shimuel (Samucl), brother to Mar Auraham, Shlimun, (Solomon), brother to Mar Aurakam, generally known as Ohimuna, Kaisar, Anner, ote