Read Ebook: A General History of the Sabbatarian Churches Embracing Accounts of the Armenian East Indian and Abyssinian Episcopacies in Asia and Africa the Waldenses Semi-Judaisers and Sabbatarian Anabaptists of Europe; with the Seventh-day Baptist Denominaton in the by Davis Tamar

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g the administration of this magnanimous prince these happy exiles partook the sweets of liberty and abundance, but his death was the signal for the triumph of their enemies. A storm of persecution succeeded, in which the constancy of multitudes was shaken; indeed, so general was the apostacy, that for a time it appeared probable that this branch of the Armenian Church would be lost. These apprehensions proved to be groundless. To the abatement of the rage of their enemies succeeded the restoration of their political rights. Their churches, in Ispahan and other Persian cities, that had been demolished, were rebuilt, and their schools, which had been shut, were re-opened. It is said that, at present, many of the most luxurious seats in Persia are occupied by opulent Armenians. In Bagdad and Damascus they vend the magnificent silks of Oriental manufacture, and preside over the creation of those exquisite fabrics that are the admiration of the world. In all these cities they have meeting-houses, with burial-grounds attached, in which flowers of rare beauty and exquisite odours are cultivated. In these burial-gardens, were it not for the presence of monumental marble, one would forget the contiguity of death and decay. The splendid palms, the glorious rose-trees, and the living song of birds, are anything but inspiring of melancholy thoughts.

The Bible was translated at a very early period into the Armenian language, but, in 1690, the call for the Scriptures became so great that the manuscript copies were not sufficient to supply the demand. To remedy this evil, it was decided by a council of Armenian bishops, assembled in 1692, to perpetuate and multiply that Holy Book, by the art of printing, of which they had heard in Europe. They first applied to France, but the Catholic church objected to printing and distributing the Bible. It was accomplished, however, through the agency of some Armenian merchants, who had settled, for purposes of commerce, at London, Venice, Amsterdam, and many other European cities. This Bible agrees in a wonderful manner with the English version of the Scriptures, to which it is not inferior in correctness of diction and beauty of typography. The religion of Armenia has derived few advantages from the power or learning of its votaries, but with the Bible in their native tongue, and being permitted to read and exercise their private judgment in its interpretation, it is not so very surprising that their church has remained uncontaminated by Grecian, Roman, and Mohammedan corruptions. It must not be supposed that the Roman pontiffs, ever zealous to enlarge the bounds of their jurisdiction, were mindless of engaging the Christians of the East to submit to their supremacy. On the contrary, this was for a considerable time the chief purpose that excited their ambitious views, and employed their labours and assiduities. But these attempts were unavailing, nor could any union between the churches ever be effected.

The residence of the Armenian patriarch is at Ekmiasin,--three leagues from Erivan. Forty-seven archbishops, of whom each may claim the obedience of four or five suffragans, are consecrated by his hand. Many of these, however, are only titular prelates, who dignify by their presence the simplicity of his court. Their performance of the liturgy is succeeded by their cultivation of the ground; and, unlike the prelates of Europe, the austerity of their life and the plainness of their appearance increases in just proportion to the elevation of their rank. Throughout the fourscore thousand villages of his spiritual empire, the patriarch receives the tribute of a small but voluntary tax from each individual above the age of sixteen years. But this income is not expended on luxurious living, being employed to supply the incessant demands of charity and tribute. The Indian caravan, laden with its precious commodities, usually halts in the vicinity of Erivan, which, through the influence of the wealth thus distributed, has become a splendid and beautiful city, adorned with fountains, groves, and splendid churches.

Besides the churches in Armenia proper, there are congregations of the same faith and forms of worship in Barbary, Egypt, Poland, Greece, and Turkey. They have churches also in nearly all the Oriental cities, between which a continual intercourse and communication is carried on by the travelling merchants or pedlars of that sect, who are distributed all over the East. Decidedly intelligent, and frequently adepts in Oriental literature, they are always found at the courts of the Eastern princes, where they act in the capacity of interpreters. Armenian ladies are generally chosen to fill the station of favourite, or companion, to the Sultanas.

The Armenian Christians are eminently qualified for the office of extending the knowledge of the gospel throughout the East; and the time is not far distant when they will prove the most efficient body of missionaries in the world. Indeed, without the name, in a multitude of instances, they have assumed their character and acted their part. It is true that they are unacquainted with the European habit of supporting expensive missions in foreign countries, but like the Waldenses, they travel as venders of merchandise, and embrace all opportunities to impart instruction.

They carried the knowledge of the gospel into China, when that country was inaccessible to Europeans; and long before the English obtained a footing in India, they had erected churches in all the principal cities of that empire, in which the worship of God was maintained upon every ensuing Sabbath. They are familiar with the Oriental languages, and acquainted with the habits of the people, who consequently feel no dread of their foreign character, but regard them from the first as brothers and friends. The first version of the Scriptures into the Chinese language was made by an Armenian, named Joannes Lassar, whose knowledge of Oriental literature was really surprising, and who was no less eminent for genuine and enlightened piety.

Their ecclesiastical establishment in Hindostan is very respectable. The bishop visits Calcutta, but he is not resident there. They have churches in Calcutta, in Madras, and in Bombay, which contain together about two thousand communicants. There are also churches in the interior. Of these they have one at Dacca, another at Syndbad, and a third at Chinsurah, that are large and flourishing. In these churches the greatest simplicity prevails, and everything accords with the apostolic character of the worshippers. No magnificent altar, blazing with gold and gems, no gorgeous candelabra, no exquisite creations of painting or statuary, no imposing ceremonies; neither genuflexions nor lustrations; neither instrumental harmonies, nor services performed with pompous parade and in an unknown tongue. The cross is the only ornament of their churches, accompanied with the Bible and the liturgy.

From these prayers and texts are read by the officiating priest, succeeded by an appropriate discourse, and the whole closes with singing a psalm much in the style and manner of an anthem.

Baptism, among the Armenians, is administered by immersion in rivers, or running streams, if such are convenient; when otherwise, in a room, called the baptistery, which is always contiguous to the church. They regard the sacrament as a memorial of the Saviour's passion,--nothing more,--and administer it in both kinds to the laity. They reject the observation of saints' days, or the festivals of Christ, but declare that God, in his word, ordained the seventh day as a day of rest, which they religiously observe.

The Armenians are not ignorant of the nature of experimental religion. Many individuals among them have exhibited examples of genuine and enlightened piety, and have expired in the triumphs of faith. Their moral character, as might be supposed, far exceeds that of any other Eastern people. The women are modest, dignified, and observant of their conjugal relations; the men are intelligent and affable. Their general character is that of a wealthy, industrious, and enterprising people. Their companionship is courted all over the East.

They occupy posts of honour and profit, they monopolize commerce, and hold the highest rank as artisans and manufacturists. Is not the hand of God in this thing? Are they not designed, at some future period, to work wonders in the moral renovation of mankind? For that purpose, probably, the everlasting arm has been beneath and around them for so many ages, and they have been preserved from the arts and allurements of the tempter. For that purpose, probably, they have been led into the cities and palaces of the Eastern countries.

Where are the seven churches of Asia, to whom was penned the mystic visions of the Apocalypse? Where are the splendid cities in which they rose and flourished? Gone, gone, with the glory of Babylon and the triumphs of Rome. Where is the church of Laodicea, in whose gorgeous cathedral the lordly prelates met to give laws to the Christian world and to anathematize Sabbath-keepers? Echo might answer, "Where?" since it is only remembered because consecrated by the historic muse. But the Sabbath they execrated still exists; is still honoured and hallowed by large and flourishing churches, whose members are scattered over all parts of Asia. Churches, who have never bowed to Baal, who have remained uncorrupted by Rome, uncontaminated by Mohammedism; who amidst the darkness of idolatry kept the lamp of Christianity replenished and burning; and in whose moral firmament the rays of the Star of Bethlehem have never been obscured. That the members of these churches possess natural facilities for the propagation of Christianity throughout the East, that a foreigner could scarcely acquire by long years spent in toil and study, must be evident to every discerning mind. But they are ignorant of the art of printing; and although three editions of their Bible have been issued at Amsterdam, and another at Venice, the supply has by no means equalled the demand among themselves for that holy book. What they require are facilities for printing. A mission, with printers and printing-presses, established in the heart of that country, would prove of incalculable advantage;--not to teach them Christianity: they are acquainted with its doctrines already;--but to print their Bible, and other religious books, for distribution; to enrich their travelling merchants, who are in continual motion from Canton to Constantinople, with the precious wares of truth and wisdom; to inspire their zeal, awaken their energies, and secure their engagement in the glorious enterprise. Would it not be interesting to open a communication with these ancient churches, whose foundation on the Rock cannot be doubted, since they have withstood the wreck and ruin of eighteen centuries, neither extinguished by wars and desolations, nor contaminated by the false prophet or the beast? Would it not be delightful to hold intercourse with that venerable patriarch,--the successor of a line of prelates extending back to the Apostle, that Israelite indeed, in whom was found no guile? Surely that place is hallowed. Within sight of Ekmiasin is Mount Ararat, where the world's gray fathers came forth to witness the bow of the covenant, and whence the Sun of Righteousness shall yet arise to the benighted nations with healing in his wings.

The Armenians, though ignorant of the art of printing, have an abundant store of literature. In the monastery of Ekmiasin, and in some other places, the accumulated lore of ages has been preserved in huge piles of manuscripts, that would abundantly reward the labours of the scholar and the antiquarian. They are not ignorant of the belles-lettres, and they have produced some pleasing poets and rhetoricians.

There are other ancient sects in the East who are represented as being observant of the ancient Sabbath. Of these we might instance several branches of the Nestorian fraternities, the Hemerobaptists, or Christians of St. John, and the Jusidians. How far this may be the case, I have no data for determining. Some authors have also ascribed the observation of the Sabbath to the Greek Church; but this, I believe, can only be understood in a partial and limited sense. Many have been guilty of the incongruity of including in the term "the Greek Church" all the Christians of the East. Strictly speaking, that term was, and is, only applicable to those countries in which the spiritual authority of the Constantinopolitan prelate predominated.

The introduction, rise, progress, declension, and extirpation of Christianity in India, is, with some partial exceptions, wrapped in profound obscurity, yet many historians of abundant information and unimpeachable veracity are unanimous in supposing that India received the gospel probably before Great Britain.

Rev. C. Buchanan says, "There have lately been discovered Sanscrit writings containing testimony of Christ. They relate to a prince who reigned about the period of the Christian era, and whose history, though mixed with fable, contains particulars which correspond, in a surprising degree, with the advent, birth, miracles, death, and resurrection of our Saviour." The same testimony is given by Sir William Jones, whose acquaintance with Oriental literature has never been surpassed. Another learned historian declares, "That it may be proved by the Syriac records, that in the fourth century Christianity was flourishing in the provinces of Chorasin and Mavaralhara; and from a variety of learned testimony, that the gospel was introduced by the Apostle Thomas himself into India and China, within thirty years subsequent to the ascension of our Saviour." La Croze in the clearest manner proves the antiquity of Christianity in those countries. In the epitome of the Syrian canons, St. Thomas is styled the Apostle of the Hindoos. He is uniformly styled, in the Syrian Chronicles, the first bishop of the East. Ebed Jesus says, "India and all the regions around received the priesthood from him." Amru, the Syriac historian, traces both Thomas and Bartholomew through Arabia and Persia into India and China. Many of the Syrian writers quoted by Asseman agree in stating that a few of the twelve, and many of the seventy disciples went far and wide preaching the gospel through Northern Asia.

The Bishop of Calcutta, Dr. Wilson, says, "That the Christians of the Malabar Coast are the remnants of the ancient church of India, preserved in the midst of idolatry from the days of the Apostles."

These Christian settlements are located on the Malabar coast, in the south of India, and contain a population of probably 200,000. They are agricultural in their mode of life, and occupy a fertile and healthy territory. They are spread along the Cunara. In Mangalore, Onore, Barcelore, and Carwar, they have flourishing churches. A large settlement of these people were discovered by Dr. Buchanan in the interior of Travancore. Their intelligence, the virtuous liberty of the female sex, and the whole aspect of society, seemed to indicate a Protestant country.

For the compilation of a history of this people we have scant materials. Unknown to the world they seem to have been most happily preserved from its troubles and dissensions. Their obscurity was the preservative of their peace and the badge of their purity. Yet we are informed by William of Malmsbury, that these Christians were visited, towards the conclusion of the ninth century, by ambassadors from Alfred of England, who paid their homage at the shrine of St. Thomas, in the vicinity of Madras, and whose return, loaded with a cargo of pearls and the richest gums and spices, amply rewarded the enterprising sovereign, who entertained the noblest projects of discovery and commerce. They asserted that the pepper coast of Malabar, and even the islands of Ceylon and Socotara, were peopled with Christians, who were in happy ignorance of the quarrels of princes and ecclesiastics. And that the bishops who presided over this multitude of churches were unambitious of worldly honours, and received ordination from the patriarch of the East. This account, however, was received as an imposition upon the credulity of mankind, and was treated as such until the progress of modern discovery established the fact. The Portuguese, who circumnavigated Africa, and dared the dangers of unknown seas, in order to gather the Indian spoils of gold and gems, found, not indeed the boundless wealth they sought, but these companies of Christians who still preserved their faith in its pristine purity. Superior in arts, and arms, and virtues, to the idolaters of Hindostan, they appeared to the astonished adventurers like another race. They occupied extremely neat and convenient dwellings, shaded by the palm-tree, and contiguous to fields of tropical productions. The husbandman lived in peace and plenty, the merchant grew rich by the pepper trade, the young men were admitted to the service and society of the nobility of Malabar; and their simple virtues demanded and insured the respect of the king of Cochin, and the Zamorin himself. They were in allegiance to a Gentoo sovereign, but the real administration of their laws, even in temporal concerns, was lodged in the hands of the bishop of Angumala, who could trace an uninterrupted succession of prelates to the apostle himself. He still asserted his ancient dignity as metropolitan of India, and his jurisdiction extended over fourteen hundred churches, and embraced the spiritual care of 250,000 souls. He was assisted by a sufficient number of priests and spiritual teachers, who administered consolation to the dying, and reproof or correction to the living. Their meeting-houses were not different from ordinary dwellings. They had neither pictures nor images. The doctrine of purgatory, the invocation of saints, the merit of relics, and the observation of the first day, was unknown among them. On the contrary, they rested and attended to divine worship upon the seventh day of the week, administered baptism to adults, and by immersion, were not ignorant of the great doctrines of regeneration and justification, and possessed authentic manuscript copies of the Holy Scriptures, which were publicly read in the churches every ensuing Sabbath. They were not degenerated into that softness, effeminacy, and licentiousness of manners, which generally distinguish the natives of Southern India. They were chaste, and observant of their conjugal relations; adultery was a crime unknown. Their priests were permitted to enter into wedlock once, with a pure virgin; they were scandalized and disgraced by a second marriage, and a third could only be consummated at the expense of excommunication.

The Portuguese were no less surprised at their profession than offended by their simplicity; but, what appeared most unaccountable, they were unacquainted with the spiritual and temporal majesty of Rome, and were ignorant that, to St. Peter's successor, all the kings and prelates of the earth owed subjection and allegiance. They adhered, like their ancestors, to the communion of the Nestorian Patriarch; their bishops had for ages been ordained by him at Mosul, and thence had traversed the dangers of sea and land to their dioceses on the coast of Malabar. Their liturgy and sacred books were in the Syriac idiom. They were acquainted with the names of Theodore and Nestorius, were strenuous advocates of the doctrine of the two persons of Christ, but they manifested a pious horror, when they heard the appellation "Mother of God" applied to the Virgin Mary. When her image was first presented to receive their adoration, they indignantly refused, exclaiming, "We are Christians, not idolaters; we worship God." It was the first care of the Romish emissaries to intercept all correspondence with the Nestorian Patriarch, to forbid their observance of the Sabbath, and to compel them to admit the baptism of infants. Their bishops and leaders were thrown into the dungeons of the Holy Office, which, under the auspices of Alexis de Menezes, had been established, and was in full operation. Their towns were filled with Portuguese soldiers, their churches with images, and their pulpits by shaven monks. All the mighty engines of ecclesiastical authority were brought to bear upon these defenceless people; all the passions of the human heart were alternately assailed, in order to consummate their conversion to the faith of Rome. Is it a wonder that the shepherdless flock succumbed, at least, for a time? that where, for ages, the Sabbath had been observed, strange sounds of secular employment should be heard upon that holy day? and that the communion, hitherto regarded as a symbolic memorial of the Saviour's passion, was accepted as a vicarious sacrifice? "We confess our sins in prayer to God," they exclaimed, when commanded to appear, for auricular confession, before the priesthood. "We keep the Sabbath," they replied, when told to observe the Dominical day. But ecclesiastical tyranny prevailed. Menezes, archbishop of Goa, announced to the synod of Diamper, over which he presided, that a union between the heretics of St. Thomas and the Holy Church had been piously consummated, the memories of Theodore and Nestorius anathematized, and the see of Angumala bestowed upon a Jesuit, his minion and the worthy associate of such a prelate. For sixty years servitude and hypocrisy prevailed. For sixty years the mass was chanted on the Lord's day, and in an unknown tongue, in the chapels of Malabar. But the day for their liberation arrived. The Portuguese empire in the East was overthrown by the courage and constancy of the Dutch. Of the latter, the Nestorians proved the most valuable of allies; and no one acquainted with human nature can wonder that they were implacable enemies of the former. The Jesuits, though loth to resign it, were incapable of defending the power they had abused. Forty thousand Christians in arms asserted, by the most powerful arguments, their rights, and their attachment to the creed of their ancestors. The Jesuits, with their minions, fled. The Indian archdeacon was brought from a dungeon to the episcopal chair, which he filled until a new primate could be solicited and obtained from the Nestorian patriarch of the East.

The churches were immediately purged of images and relics. The observation of the first day was forbidden, and that of the Sabbath restored. And to crown the whole, a great procession was formed, in which multitudes bearing palm-branches, and with all the ensigns of victory and triumph, repaired to their chapels, singing the Trisagion, where the service was performed in the ancient manner.

Since the expulsion of the Jesuits the Nestorian creed has been fully professed on the coast of Malabar, and these ancient Christians have engaged the speculations of Europe and the civilized world. Dr. Buchanan represents their episcopal establishment to be equally respectable with that of the English in India, and says, moreover, that they maintain the solemn worship of God in all their churches upon the seventh day.

Another eminent author says, that "their doctrines are those of the Bible, and that they have been sorely tried in times past for keeping the commandments of God."

Abyssinia, or ancient Ethiopia, comprehends a vast region in the interior parts of Africa, whose inhabitants, previous to the acquaintance of their Queen with the Jewish king Solomon, were involved in a dark and gloomy superstition, resembling in many respects the idolatrous worship of the Egyptians. The connexion and intimacy that subsequently existed between the Jewish and Ethiopian courts resulted in the conversion of this people to Judaism, in the profession of which they remained until the time of our Saviour. It is also evident that considerable intercourse was carried on between Axuma, the capital of Ethiopia, and the royal city of Judea, no less for commercial than religious purposes. It is highly probable that business connected with ecclesiastical affairs, or perhaps the desire of witnessing and participating in the solemnities of Pentecost, had induced a dignitary of the Ethiopian court to visit Jerusalem, where, coming in contact with Philip, he was converted to Christianity, and baptized by that apostle. The subsequent fate of this distinguished personage, the impression produced upon the mind of his royal mistress and her court by his conversion, or whether the propagation of Christianity throughout the realm was effected by his instrumentality, are all mysteries over which time has drawn an impenetrable veil.

Ecclesiastical historians are united in their testimony that, early in the fourth century, Christianity became the established religion of the empire. This happy result was brought about by a train of singular circumstances. It appears that Meropius, a merchant of Tyre, having undertaken a commercial voyage to India, was shipwrecked on the coast of Ethiopia, when he was barbarously murdered by the natives, and his two sons carried as slaves before the Emperor. The intelligence, gentleness, and peaceable demeanour of the two brothers, of whom the older was named Frumentius, gained them many friends, and they were soon promoted to high offices at court. The brothers, being Christians, soon began to teach the natives, and the work of conversion went on rapidly. In a few years, so great was their success, that the gospel had been preached throughout the length and breadth of the land, and a thriving branch thereby united to the great Eastern church. Frumentius subsequently visited the Patriarch of Alexandria, who received him and the message he bore with the greatest joy, loaded him with honours, and consecrated him the first bishop of the Ethiopians. The system of doctrine was the same as that received in the Alexandrian Church, of which Athanasius gives a very succinct account. This venerable prelate was a decided opposer of the Arian heresy, and he expresses their belief in the divinity of our Saviour; "And we assemble on Saturday," he continues; "not that we are infected with Judaism, but to worship Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath." The friendly relation thus early begun between these churches, has continued to the present time through fifteen centuries; and the office of Patriarch of the Ethiopic Church is still bestowed upon a Coptish priest, who receives his appointment and consecration from the Patriarch of Alexandria.

The Abyssinian Church appears to have remained in a state of general peace and prosperity while Numidia, Carthage, and other African provinces, were convulsed by the faction of the Donatists. Neither do they appear to have taken any part in the tumults and dissensions arising from the Arian and Sabellian controversies. On the contrary, they were counted by the most rigid as a church of orthodox Christians, until the commencement of the seventh century, when they embraced the Eutychian sentiments, in consequence, it is said, of the exhortations addressed to them by the doctors of that sect who resided in Egypt. About the same time, the Saracens subduing Egypt and all the adjacent countries, Abyssinia became isolated from the rest of the world. During the many centuries that ensued, Christianity, though not without adulteration, was preserved in this ancient empire, and the solemn observance of the seventh day unchangeably continued. Toward the close of the fifteenth century, the Portuguese, through their brilliant career of maritime discovery, succeeded in opening a communication into the country of the Abyssinians, who were found observing the rites and professing the doctrine of their ancient faith. Rome, inflamed with a bigoted zeal to extend the sphere of her spiritual triumphs, early took advantage of so favourable an opportunity to establish a mission in this remote quarter of the globe. Accordingly, John Bermudez, one of the most enterprising and crafty of the sons of Loyola, was despatched into Abyssinia, and in order to give his mission a certain appearance of dignity, he was consecrated patriarch of that people by the Pope. According to his own accounts of the matter, he found them sunk in the most deplorable state of heresy and ignorance, observant of Judaical rites and ceremonies, and unacquainted with the ritual and worship of the true church. As Bermudez was accompanied by an embassage from the Portuguese court, who expressed the most solicitous regard for the Abyssinian monarch, that prince, hoping to derive some signal advantage from such powerful succours, that would enable him to terminate successfully a war in which he was at that time engaged with a neighbouring prince, received them most graciously, and everything seemed for a time to presage the most happy termination of the mission. But their sanguine expectations were doomed to disappointment, and though they were several times reinforced, and neither pains nor expense were spared in the prosecution of their enterprise, it became ultimately apparent to all that the Abyssinians were not to be engaged to abandon their ancient faith, and the Jesuits becoming weary of such fruitless endeavours, relinquished the enterprise and returned to Europe. But the Pope, unwilling to renounce his pretensions in that quarter of the world, took occasion to renew the embassy about the commencement of the seventeenth century. As before, the mission received at first the most auspicious encouragement from Susneius, or Segued, the reigning monarch. This prince, whose right to the throne was fiercely contested by some powerful adversaries, gladly embraced their overtures. Alphonsa Mendez, through the exercise of that consummate cunning for which his order is proverbial, succeeded in securing to himself the appointment of prime minister of the realm, and of patriarch of the Abyssinians. The monarch, also, in an open and public manner, swore allegiance to the Pope, and issued a decree commanding all his subjects to embrace the Romish faith under penalty of confiscation, mutilation, and death. The execution of this barbarous decree was committed to Mendez, the new patriarch, who commenced his mission by the most inconsiderate acts of violence and oppression. Displaying in all his conduct the true spirit of the Spanish Inquisition, he employed all the arts of persuasion and reward on the one hand, and of terror and cruelty on the other, to compel the Abyssinians to abandon the tenets of their forefathers, and to adopt the doctrine and worship of Rome. In this fearful alternative, multitudes of that people, with their priests and leaders, steadfastly adhered to the truth, with a firmness and magnanimity that would have done honour to the primitive ages, and resolutely met death in its most frightful forms. Popular insurrections succeeded, and force was called in to produce submission. Multitudes were slaughtered, and many driven into exile. At last, however, the inhuman work of persecution disgusted the emperor; and after a great victory over twenty thousand of his peasantry, in which eight thousand were slain, he relinquished the bloody task, and by a proclamation, distinguished for its frankness and simplicity, restored religious freedom to Abyssinia.

The result is gratifying as a triumph of religious liberty, and as a check to the extension of Roman despotism and superstition. To attempt any details of the miseries and sufferings which the Abyssinians had endured during this persecution, would require volumes; for beside the horrors of the Inquisition and the evils of civil war, the worst passions and vices of mankind, as an unavoidable consequence, were released from all restraint. Intrepid avarice took occasion to extort and pillage from its miserable victims; revenge wreaked the hoarded hatred of years upon its unsuspecting objects; and the assassin and the ravisher proceeded, without fear of punishment, to the consummation of their crimes.

Mendez had, likewise, ordered those to be re-baptized, who, in compliance with the will of the emperor, embraced the religion of Rome, as if they had formerly been the votaries of Paganism, and their worship a system of idolatry. They were also compelled to renounce the observance of the seventh day. This the Abyssinian clergy regarded as a most shocking insult to the religious discipline of their forefathers, and quite as provoking as the violence and barbarity exercised upon those who refused to submit to the Romish yoke. Besides his arbitrary and despotic proceedings in the church, Mendez excited tumults and dissensions in the state, and with an unparalleled spirit of aggression and arrogance, encroached upon the prerogatives of the crown, and even attempted to give law to the emperor himself. Many circumstances, indeed, concur to favour the opinion that he entertained the design of subverting the liberties of the empire, and rendering it an appendage of the Portuguese crown. At any rate, the kingdom became torn to pieces by intestine commotions and conspiracies, and though obliged to carry on his machinations in secret, he filled the court with cabals which lasted until the death of the reigning monarch, in 1632. Basilides, the son and successor of the former, deemed it expedient to free the country from such troublesome guests, and accordingly, in 1684, he banished Mendez, with all the Europeans belonging to his train, from the Abyssinian territories, commanded all his subjects to return to the religion of their ancestors, and forbid the worship of images, or the observance of the first day. He likewise requested the Patriarch of Alexandria to send them a new abuna, with which request that dignitary complied.

The condition of the Abyssinian church at this time was most deplorable. The reign of the Jesuits, though short, had been attended with blighting and fatal consequences. It had been their aim to overthrow in the minds of the people all respect for the moral law and the revealed word of God, and to establish in its place a preposterous veneration for the authority of the fathers, and the canons of the church. Nor was this all; superstition had immeasurably increased, and its accompaniments, vice and ignorance, everywhere prevailed.

In 1634, the Lutherans made several attempts to establish missions in Abyssinia, in order, as they said, to bring that benighted people to the knowledge of a purer religion, and a more rational system of worship, although it might appear questionable to some which church of the two most required a reformation in its rites and doctrines. In accordance with this design, the learned Heyling of Lubec made a voyage into Abyssinia, where he resided many years, and acquired such a distinguished place in the confidence and esteem of the sovereign, that he was honoured with many important offices, and finally became prime minister of the realm. In this eminent station he acquitted himself in the most creditable manner, and gave many proofs of his zeal both for the interests of religion and the public good. He finally set out for Europe on business of importance, but never arrived there; and, as the journey was being performed by land, it is supposed that he perished in the deserts of Nubia. Subsequently, however, a communication was kept up between the two countries, and Ernest, duke of Saxe-Gotha, surnamed the Pious, on account of his sanctity and virtue, made new attempts to diffuse a knowledge of the gospel, as taught in his church, among the Abyssinians. This design was formed through the counsels of the famous Ludolph, and was to have been executed by the ministry of Gregory, an Abyssinian abbot who had resided some time in Europe. This missionary sailed from Antwerp, in the ship Katerina, in 1657, but, in passing Cape Horn, she was unfortunately wrecked, and all on board perished. The mission, thus frustrated, was not designed to be abandoned; for the prince, in 1663, entrusted the same important commission to John Michael Wansleb, a native of Erfurt, to whom he gave the wisest instructions, and whom he charged particularly to employ all rational and consistent means to excite in the Abyssinian nation a favourable opinion of the Germans, as this, more than anything else, would contribute to the success of the enterprise. But this wise and laudable undertaking failed through the inconstancy of the worthless man to whom it was confided, and whose virtue was by no means equal to his ability. Instead of continuing his journey into Abyssinia, he remained for some time in Egypt, and finally returned to Europe without ever seeing the country he was intended to visit. But he entertained many uneasy apprehensions of the account that would naturally be demanded of his conduct, and of the manner in which he had expended the large sums of money designed for the Abyssinian expedition. These apprehensions, together with the consciousness of guilt, made him desperate. Hence, instead of returning to Germany, he went to Rome, and, in 1667, embraced the doctrine of that church, at least in open profession, and entered into the Dominican order.

Other missions have been established, or rather attempted, in this country. In 1829, Messrs. Gobat and Kinglar were sent by the Church Missionary Society, as missionaries to Abyssinia. After many trials, they succeeded in reaching the place of their destination, by way of Massowa. The ruler of Tigre, who is greatly beloved by his subjects, received them in a friendly manner, and they were much encouraged by his assurances of safety and protection. Mr. Hinglar died when he had just conquered most of the difficulties of the language, but Mr. Gobat employed his time in conversational preaching and distributing Bibles, until, in consequence of the unsettled state of the country, he was induced to leave for a short time. It is a fact, however, that previous to this the Scriptures had been translated by the Abyssinians themselves from the Arabic and Ethiopic into the Amharic language, which is the dialect generally spoken throughout the Abyssinian empire. In 1833, Mr. Gobat, accompanied by Mr. Isenberg, returned to his field of labour. They took up their residence at Adowa, the capital of Tigre, six or eight days' journey from Massowa. During Mr. Gobat's absence, the former monarch, Sabagadis, had been dethroned, and Oobie, an avaricious and cruel despot, reigned in his stead. It was soon perceived that he regarded the missionaries with a jealous eye, and his suspicions were increased by the appearance in the country soon after of many foreigners. Mr. Isenberg was openly accused of bringing them into the country for treasonable purposes. These accusations, and others of a similar character, were circulated by the priests, who complained that through the influence of the missionaries the Ethiopic church was threatened with extinction. They also charged the missionaries with intrigue to overthrow the government of the country, and to introduce English troops. Oobie was no less suspicious of the political designs of the foreigners, and it was not long before an edict came to Mr. Isenberg, from the king, in which all foreigners were commanded to embrace the Abyssinian creed or to leave the country. Preferring the latter alternative, Mr. Isenberg and his associate, Mr. Blumhardt, retired into Egypt. Mr. Krapf, a former companion of Blumhardt, removed to Shoa, where he was favourably received and hospitably entertained for a time. Ultimately, however, it appeared that the king wished to be benefited by the superior knowledge of the missionaries in everything but what pertained to the duties of religion. He said that he wanted workmen, not priests. After Mr. Krapf had acquired the language, he established schools, which succeeded well for a time, or until the pupils, from their superior knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, began to question the traditions in which they had been brought up. Here the priesthood interfered, and through their machinations the monarch was induced to express his decided disapprobation of the proceedings, and the schools were, at his command, suppressed. Under these discouragements, the missionaries, after distributing ten thousand copies of the Bible, returned to Europe.

The Ethiopic church maintains the Eutychian doctrine respecting the nature of Christ; and it agrees with the other Eastern churches in holding the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Father only. In these respects it differs from the Western churches. From the Romish church it is distinguished by its doctrine regarding the supremacy of the Pope, in which it agrees with Protestants; to the rule of faith, which it limits to the Scriptures, including the Apocrypha; to the eucharist, which it administers in both kinds to the laity, and regards neither as a transubstantiation nor as a sacrifice; to the celibacy of the clergy, who may be married; to the adoration of images, which it regards as unlawful; to the state of the soul after death, rejecting purgatory; and as regards several other less important and minor points. But, like Rome, it invokes saints and angels as intercessors with God, paying great honours to the Virgin and St. Michael, and having a copious calendar of saints, with a corresponding number of fasts and festivals.

Their most extraordinary peculiarities are certain forms and ceremonies retained from their ancient Jewish worship. Their churches, which are generally small and mean, resemble precisely the Jewish temple. Like it, they are divided into three parts; the innermost being the holy of holies, and inaccessible to the laity, who, except on certain occasions, are forbidden to pass the outer porch. Unbelievers, and all subject to Levitical uncleanness, are carefully excluded. All who enter must be barefoot, and the doorposts and threshold must be kissed in passing. The service is performed in the ancient Ethiopic, or Geez, now a dead language. It commences with the Jewish Trisagion, and as David danced before the ark, so their priests caper and beat the ground with their feet, and, with other similar antics and performances, complete a remarkable form of devotion. They observe the Levitical prohibitions of unclean animals, and the Pharisaical ceremonies of genuflexions and ablutions. Like the Jews, they practise concubinage. Fasts of unexampled strictness and extraordinary frequency are constantly observed. With scriptural examples before them, and unenlightened by science and philosophy, it is perhaps not surprising that they should believe in witchcraft, magic, and sorcery.

The whole country is overspread to excess with churches, and the number of the professedly religious in Shoa amounts to one-fourth of the population. The aboon, or abuna, is the ecclesiastical head, and the church confines to his hands alone the grace or virtue that makes a clergyman, differing in this from other churches called apostolic, which allow it to all bishops.

The Grand Prior of the monks of Debra Libanos is second in dignity; then the bishops; next the priests and deacons. Monasteries abound, and they are generally placed on eminences near running water, and amid scenes of beauty and sublimity. An easy ceremony admits to the monkish order, and the life of the professed is one of ease and indulgence, consequently the land swarms with monks, who are in reality the greatest of pests and plagues. Every church establishment is supported by certain lands and villages particularly set apart for that purpose, and to these are added various fees for baptismal, funeral, and other clerical services, besides the voluntary contributions of the superstitious people. These ecclesiastics, taken as a body, are ignorant, superstitious, and immoral, fearful of innovation, hating heretics, and observant of religious forms, some with the sincerity of devotees, and others as the business-like followers of a gainful profession. Of the doctrines of justification by faith or regeneration by the Holy Spirit, the Abyssinians are said to be entirely ignorant; but it is possible, it is even probable, that there has been some misapprehension upon that point. It is very easy for foreigners, in a state of society so new and strange, to misapprehend the purport of what they behold, or to arrive at wrong conclusions, from given premises, in consequence of prejudice and partiality. We trust that the Divine Inhabitant has not entirely forsaken this polluted temple, and that the sacred fire is not utterly extinguished, although the surrounding atmosphere may be impure. At any rate, there is hope, since the Scriptures are the foundation of the faith of the Abyssinian Church, and there is no infallible pontiff, consecrating with his authority the manifold corruptions from which that authority sprung, and by which it is perpetuated.

It is scarcely necessary to repeat what all authors acquainted with the subject have been unanimous in affirming, namely, that the Abyssinian Church observes the seventh-day Sabbath. Sandius says, "There is a Christian empire of the Abyssinians, who adhere to Peter and Paul, and observe the seventh day." The Jesuits affirmed "that they kept as sacred the Jewish Sabbath." Mr. Brerewood, who wrote in 1614, declares that the midland Ethiopians, the modern Abyssinians, reverenced the Sabbath, keeping it solemn equal with the Lord's day. James Bruce, a Scotsman, who visited Abyssinia in 1768, testifies to their observance of the seventh day; and these accounts have been substantiated by the witness of modern travellers. The numerous dependencies of the Abyssinian empire, as well as some of the neighbouring independent kingdoms, contain Christian communities, of which some much nearer than others approximate in their rites and ceremonies to the simplicity of the apostolic age. Many of these have for a long period of years, successfully held their position among mountain fastnesses in the very midst of a Pagan and Mohammedan population. One of the most remarkable of these seats is upon an island of the Lake Zovai, where, in the Church of Emanuel, are deposited the silver dishes and other sacred utensils, with numerous manuscripts, which Nebla Dengel wished particularly to preserve from the grasp of an invading army. The islands of this lake contain upwards of three thousand Christian houses formed of lime and stone. They are shaded by lofty trees, and the whole has a luxuriant and beautiful appearance. In Guragee, a dependency of Abyssinia, the population are exclusively Christian. Twelve isolated churches previously unheard of were discovered a few years since in a province called Yoya. Between Garro and Metcha there is a small tract peopled by Christians, who reside entirely in mountain caves, as a measure of security against the heathens by whom they are surrounded. Eight days' journey hence is Cambat, an independent Christian state, completely studded with churches and monasteries. Wollamo, another Christian province under an independent sovereign, lies below Cambat, and also contains many religious houses. Skorchassie, another neighbouring state, is peopled by Christians, and so is Sidama, and both are entirely surrounded by Pagans. Susa is another important Christian country, whose king, in 1842, was said to be a very wise and just ruler. The government is liberal, and the people are, comparatively with the other African nations, in a high state of civilization. The priests are distinguished by antique robes and silver mitres, and the churches and religious observances resemble those of Shoa, except as regards the saints' days, most of which are unknown in Susa. In this country all labour is interdicted upon the Sabbath, but the observation of any Lord's day is unknown.

That the religion of Ethiopia should have become corrupt is not in the least surprising, although we can only refer it to the superintending providence of God that, amid the wreck of ages and the changes and revolutions of time, it has survived at all. The wonder is, that, surrounded as they are by Pagan and Moslem, together with the corrupt propensities of the human heart, the very name and profession of Christianity has not been long since obliterated from their minds, the Sabbath forgotten, and the name of the Great Mediator supplanted by that of the false prophet.

Abyssinia, notwithstanding her corruptions, is immeasurably above all other African nations in the scale of civilization. This is plainly enough proved by the following extract from the Narrative of the Travels of Charles Johnston, through the country of Adel to the kingdom of Shoa, in 1842-43:

"Arrived upon the summit, the stranger finds an extensive table-land spread out before him, and he cannot divest himself of the idea that he has reached some new continent. A Scotch climate and Scotch vegetation, wheat, barley, linseed,--and yet in intertropical Africa. The country seems highly cultivated, wheat and barley on all sides growing close to our path, while near the farmhouses were stacks of grain, which gave the whole country an English appearance.

"Amidst the luxuries and conveniences so abundantly supplied to the embassy by the indulgent care of a liberal government, I almost fancied that I had returned to the comforts of European life."

Mr. Johnston says that he was furnished with excellent wheaten bread, and butter quite as good as any he had ever eaten, with fish, flesh, fowl, wine, honey, and a kind of native beer, resembling English ale. He speaks of the king as being beloved by his people, remarkably just in all his transactions, moderate in his anger, and benevolent to his visiters. He himself declared that he had "the fear of God before his eyes."

But we trust that great and good things are in store for this ancient people, who, though severely tried and tempted, have persisted in keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus; who, though stumbling, have not wandered altogether out of the way; and who have within themselves all the elements for moral renovation,--the Holy Scriptures, the Sabbath, and the knowledge of the Redeemer of mankind.

Abyssinia, as an empire, has experienced alternately the contraction and expansion common to the ancient monarchies. The Negus, as friend and ally of Justinian, reigned supreme over seven kingdoms, prosecuted an extensive trade with Ceylon and the Indies, and encouraged in his country the arts and letters of Europe. Arabia, surnamed "the blest," and, by contrast with the neighbouring regions, considered as "happy," had been despoiled of her rich treasures, and led in captivity, to gratify the avarice or ambition of an Ethiopian conqueror, whose hereditary claim, founded on his descent from the beauteous Queen of Sheba, was warmed and animated by religious zeal. The inhabitants of Arabia were denominated Homerites. Their prince, Duncan, was not insensible to the inflictions, nor inflexible to the entreaties, of the Jews, who, powerful even in exile, persuaded him to retaliate upon the Christians in his dominions the persecution that their people suffered from the imperial laws. Accordingly some Roman merchants were ignominiously put to death, and the crown of martyrdom bestowed upon many Christians of Yemen, who refused to apostatize from their faith. The expiring churches of Arabia invoked the name of the Abyssinian monarch, who arose like a lion out of his place, passed the Red Sea with a fleet and army, dethroned the Jewish proselyte, and extinguished a royal race who, for many centuries, had exercised sovereignty over the sequestered region of precious gums and aromatic groves. The cities of Arabia immediately resounded with the Trisagion, chanted, with rapturous demonstrations of joy, by the conquering army. The Negus himself despatched a messenger to the Alexandrian prelate, announcing the victory of the gospel, and soliciting of that dignitary an orthodox ruler for the Arabian churches. To Justinian, this announcement occasioned much secret gratulation, though it may be questioned by posterity whether he exulted most in the triumph of orthodoxy, or the flattering prospects he thereby entertained of gratifying his ambition, securing a fortunate ally, and reaping the advantages of a lucrative commercial intercourse. He was desirous to divert the trade of the precious commodities of the East,--silk, balm, and frankincense,--no less than to engage the forces of Arabia and Africa against the Persian king. Accordingly, an embassage, under the direction of Nonnosus, was despatched into Abyssinia, to execute, in the name of the Emperor, this important commission. Declining the shorter but more dangerous route through the desert regions of Nubia, he ascended the Nile, embarked on the Red Sea, and safely landed at the port of Adulis. From this port to the royal city of Axuma is no more than fifty leagues, in a direct line; but the winding passes of the mountains detained the embassage fifteen days, during which journey they were astonished by the droves of wild elephants that roamed the forests. He found the capital large and populous, the people Christian in profession, and strictly observant of the Jewish Sabbath. He found also many traces of Grecian art. The Negus received the ambassador with the splendid hospitality suitable to a potent monarch, and due to the representative of an imperial friend. Amidst a numerous and august assemblage of the ladies of the court, the dignitaries of the church, and the princes of the empire, the Negus gave audience in a spacious plain. Dismounting from his lofty chariot, to which was harnessed four white elephants, superbly caparisoned, he appeared, clad in a linen garment, with a golden tiara on his head; while around his neck, arms, and ankles, blazed the regal circlets of diamonds, pearls, and precious stones, interwoven with chains of gold. He carried two javelins of rarest temper, and wore a light shield of exquisite workmanship. The ambassador of Justinian approached with awe, and knelt with becoming deference. He was raised and embraced by the Negus, who received the imperial missive of which he was the bearer, kissed the seal, perused the contents with apparent satisfaction, accepted the imperial alliance, and, brandishing his weapons, denounced a perpetual anathema against the enemies of his new friend and ally. But the proposal for trade was artfully eluded, and the hostile demonstration was not productive of a corresponding effect. The Abyssinians were unwilling to abandon the pleasures and luxuries of peace, with the sensual delights of their aromatic bowers, for the toils of ambition and the benefit of a foreign potentate. Discretion is certainly the better part of valour, and it was proved in the sequel that the Negus, instead of extending his triumphs, was incapable of preserving what he had already obtained. The sceptre of Arabia was wrenched from his hands by Abrahah, the slave of a Roman merchant of Adulis. The Ethiopian legions were seduced and enervated by the luxurious influences of the climate. Justinian solicited the friendship of the usurper, who returned his complaisancy with a slight tribute and the acknowledgment of his nominal supremacy. After a long course of prosperity, the dynasty of Abrahah was overthrown, his descendants despoiled of their rich possessions by the Persian conqueror, and every vestige of Christianity obliterated. This short episode of Abyssinian history must be interesting to us, from the fact that, could a Christian empire have been sustained in Arabia, it might have prevented the rise of the Mohammedan imposture, and have materially changed the history of the world.

According to Assemanni, Christianity was once professed by the horde of Koraites; and their chief, who received ordination, which probably gave rise to the legend of Presbyter, or Prester, John.

Some modern theorists have severely reprehended the Paulicians, or Armenians, for the part they bore in these sanguinary scenes. But so long as the principle of patriotism is cherished; so long as the names of home and country are accounted sacred; and so long as the memories of Tell, and Wallace, and Washington, are held up to general emulation, the laity, at least, may be excused for recognising the legitimacy of self-defence.

Those who desire a more detailed account of the Armenians may consult La Croza, Galanus, Olearius, Chardin, Fabricius, in Lux Evangelii, and, above all, Tavernier.

I am aware that the truth of this statement has been questioned, but after all there is nothing so very improbable in it. Alfred was a prince of an enterprising disposition, and might have sent an embassy to India for several reasons, and their performance of the journey was no impossibility.

The Trisagion is the hymn supposed to be chanted by the Cherubim before the throne of glory, and commences with Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty.

Authors are far from being unanimous in their accounts of this people and their origin. It has been maintained by not a few that they are of Syriac extraction, and that the St. Thomas, from whom their appellation is derived, was an Armenian merchant and missionary who flourished as their leader in the fifth century. Others, with equal plausibility, contend that they originated from a colony of Abyssinians. Dr. Buchanan maintains an opinion different from either. He supposes them to be natives of India, whose ancestors were converted by St. Thomas, the Apostle. He says, that "we have as good reason for believing that St. Thomas died in India, as that St. Peter died at Rome."

According to a tradition of the natives, the Apostle came first to Socotara, an island in the Arabian Sea, and thence departed to Cranganor, where he founded several churches. The next scene of his labours was Coromandare, and preaching in all the towns and villages he came to Melsapour, the chief city, where he converted the prince and a great part of the nobility to the Christian faith. This so enraged the Brahmins, that one of them secretly followed him into a solitary place, where he retired for prayer, and stabbed him in the back with a spear.

According to another account, their conversion to this creed was effected by the missionaries of the Empress Theodora, which, however, has been disputed by Assemanus.

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