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the offices of religion are performed either in the Greek, or in the ancient language of the country, neither of which is understood by the people. The Wallachians are believed not to be more favored in this respect; and the Russian service is in the Slavonian language, which is not well understood by the greater part of the modern Russians. In addition to this it may be remarked, in order to show how generally a vail has been drawn over the gospel, that the Armenians worship in their ancient language, and that the same is probably true of most of the great religious sects in the east. The nations professing the papal religion, as is well known, all employ the Latin tongue. How desirable that the priests, to whom the many millions of souls in these countries look for instruction, should all imbibe the sentiments of the great apostle to the Gentiles, who nobly says—I would rather speak_five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. I conclude this chapter with a brief notice of the celebrated colony of priests at mount Athos.

This mountain is on a peninsula projecting into the northern part of the Archipelago, not far from the island of Lemnos. It is connected with Macedonia, and was so formidable to ancient navigators, that Xerxes is said to have cut a canal through the isthmus. The circumference of the mountain is about one hundred and sixty miles. Its summit is craggy and wild; but its middle and lower regions, being watered with springs and rills, are susceptible of cultivation, and abound with shrubs and trees. Here, singularly retired from the trade and travel of mankind, has been, for many ages, the chief nursery of monastic life in the Greek church.

The number of monasteries on mount Athos is twenty-four, of which three have been long in ruins, and four were kept in considerable splendor before the Greek revolution. The number of monks connected with the monasteries was supposed to be about six

thousand, though it was always the case that many were absent, and tribute was paid to the Turks for only half that number. Women were not allowed to enter these convents.

Mount Athos became the resort of monks as early as the reign of Constantine the Great. The members of the fraternity are divided into caloyers, or priests, and lay-brothers, the latter of whom manage the secular concerns. The duties of the caloyer are severe. He spends life in a hurried reading of the Psalter, and in making genuflections and prostrations. Thus he occupies the first two hours of the night, and the first two after midnight. At four he begins again, and the day is spent in these vain repetitions.

The revenues of the monasteries are derived from the lands adjoining them on the mountain, from their metochia, or farms, in various parts of Turkey, and from collections made by travelling members of the fraternity. Mount Athos was one of the few places, where the privilege of using bells was allowed to the Greeks.

In the first year of the revolution, the Turks imposed upon the colony a contribution of one hundred thousand dollars, and took hostages for the good behavior of the monks; and then they murdered the hostages, and many of the priests, robbed the churches of their rich and showy ornaments, and cruelly oppressed the whole community.d

(c) "There are five modes, at mount Athos. The most rigid are the 'hermits'-pira-who live solitary. The second in severity are called doura, 'ascetics:' they are not quite so savage in their mortifications as the hermits. The third are called now, from their having all things in common. The fourth are named idiputus, from their living after their own rhyme and reason. A fifth, called λr, are still more sumptuous, as they may have xxxelov, 'a room,' to themselves."-Jowett's Chr. Res. in Mediterranean.

(d) Howe's Greek Revolution, p. 66.

CHAPTER VI.

THE CHURCH IN GREECE.

General remarks upon the ignorance and superstition of the people-Reasons for anticipating a reform-Missionary operations-Remarks upon the measures to be pursued by Protestants for the benefit of oriental churches.

THE few remaining observations will be limited to that small, yet peculiarly interesting, portion of the Greek church, which exists in liberated Greece. And it is impossible not to remark the spiritual darkness that has overshadowed it, corresponding almost with the strong language used by government in a late address to the bishops. The condition of the people, under Turkish despotism, is there compared to the confusion and gloom of chaos, and they are declared to have been so shrouded in darkness that, being unable to distinguish sacred things from profane, they confounded both in their practice. After a slavery of nearly four centuries, preceded by ages of decline and controversy-destitute of the Scriptures, with an illiterate priesthood, with the church service in an unknown language, with no preaching, with no general and enlightened system of education, and with the sword of Mohammed turning every way in the road to improvement-it would be injustice to the Greeks to expect anything short of general ignorance, and a general absence of spiritual life. Considering human nature, any other result would be miraculous. I know not that well informed Greeks pretend any other. So far as we observed, the confession of ignorance was universal; and an admission, that some things in the church needed reformation, was by no means uncommon. These admissions, however, had respect rather to the externals of religion, the rites and ceremonies,

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than to vital principles. Probably there are few, who suspect any great dereliction from these principles. With united voice the people would perhaps say, "The faith of the church is right." Having often heard this declaration made by Greeks and Latins, I have sometimes endeavored to obtain a minute explication of its meaning. Does it mean, that the living members of the church, its clergy and laity, are all correct in their opinions? Or that a majority of them are so? Or that the decisions of its councils are all correct, and all, of course, consistent with each other? And what is meant by the church? I never heard a satisfactory explanation of this and am convinced that the people cherish the notion without reflecting much upon it. It is a favorite point. If the CHURCH is right, they, as members of it, are in a fair way to secure its mysterious benefits.

We have seen that a part, at least, of the vital truths of the gospel are found in the symbols of the Greek church. These the church in Greece will not refuse to receive; and a still more interesting prospect will open, when we shall explain the nature of a treatise on divinity, that is probably destined to become one of the manuals of her theologians.

The Greek mind is remarkable for its perspicacity and quickness, and many of the clergy discover much discrimination and ingenuity in defending their peculiar opinions. In general, they argue without heat, and with apparent candor, and one, going among them from a popish community, cannot but be struck with their deference to the Scriptures. But they have yet to learn to discriminate readily and decisively between the decisions of the Bible, and those of councils and fathers.

The errors mentioned in the last chapter are held by the people of liberated Greece. They evince a strong attachment to the practice of invoking the good offices of saints and angels. Indeed every island has its tutelary saint. Almost every church is dedicated to some one. Every city, mountain, grove, fountain, and individual in classic Greece, may be said, as in ancient

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times, to exist under the supposed guardianship of some power exalted from the race of mortals. Among the saints, the virgin Mary is supposed to shine with peculiar glory. It is wonderful what hold she has upon the affections of the people. They call her the "mother-ofGod," the "all-holy," and the "great mediatrix between God and man;" a and her picture, with a lamp burning before it at night, is generally found in private dwellings, and in Greek vessels. They greatly venerate the cross. The reverence for pictures is as great in Greece, as is that for images in Italy; and both Greeks and Latins equally transgress the divine command, which forbids the making of graven-images, or the likeness of anything in heaven, or on earth.

I could not avoid the conclusion, that the religion of the people at large consists very much in external observances. And here I must say again-we should not wonder that it is so. They have not had the Scriptures; their priests have been ignorant; they have had no instruction; they have not enjoyed the means of understanding the gospel. A series of rites and ceremonies has been all they have seen of religion, and they (I mean the common mass of the people) have naturally supposed that this is all. In this manner the divinely appointed connection between religion and morality, has been severed. A man's religion is measured by the ritual of the church, rather than by the law of God. The mistake has been committed, which is condemned by our Lord, of tithing mint, anise, and cummin, and omitting the weightier matters. He is a religious man,who is exact in his observance of the forms of religion, although he may afford the strongest proofs that he is destitute of its spirit and power. On the other hand, when people of the lower ranks, have inquired, what religion Ameri

(a) Jowett's Chr. Researches in Mediterranean, p. 46.

(b) Down by the water's edge, in one of the Grecian islands,we saw a small church built under a mass of rock-we could not conceive why, until we saw that a fracture had exposed some veins in the rock, traversing each other in the form of a cross. The church was built in honor of this lusus naturæ.