what respects they differ from other Christian sects, and what their belief and observances really are.

They refuse to the Virgin those titles, and that exaggerated veneration, which were the origin of most of the superstitions and corruptions of the Romish and Eastern Churches.

They deny the doctrine of Purgatory, and are most averse, not only to the worship of images, but even to their exhibition.

The figure of the cross is found in their churches, and they are accustomed to make the sign in common with other Christians of the East; this ceremony, however, is not considered essential, but is looked upon rather in the light of a badge of Christianity, and as a sign of brotherhood among themselves, scattered as they are amidst men of a hostile faith.

In the rejection of the doctrine of Transubstantiation, they agree with the Reformed Church; although some of their earlier writers have so treated of the subject as to lead to the supposition that they admit the actual presence. Any such admission is, however, undoubtedly at variance with their present professions, and with the assertions that I have, on more than one occasion, heard from their Patriarch and priests.

Both the bread and wine are distributed amongst the communicants, and persons of all ages are allowed to partake of the sacred elements. Christians of all denominations are admitted to receive the holy sacrament, whilst Chaldæans are allowed to communicate any Christian church.

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With regard to the number and nature of their sacraments their books are full of discrepancies. Nor were the statements I received from the Patriarch, and various priests, more consistent. The number seven is always mentioned by the earliest Chaldæan writers, and is traditionally retained to this day; but what these seven sacraments really are, no one seems to know. Baptism is accompanied by confirmation, as in the Armenian church, when the meiron, or consecrated oil, is used; a drop being placed on the forehead of the child. This confirmation, or consecration, ap pears to have originated in the custom of giving extreme unction to an infant, in the fear that it might die soon after immersion. Through the ignorance of its origin, this distinct sacrament came to be considered an integral part of baptism: but neither extreme unction nor confirmation appears to have been recognised as a sacrament by the Chaldæans. Auricular confession, which once was practised as a sacrament, has now fallen into disuse. †

A doubt also exists as to whether marriage is to be considered a sacrament. In the early ages of the Chaldæan church, the degrees of consanguinity and affinity, within which intermarriages were prohibited, were numerous and complicated. Ebedjesus enumerates sixty-two; but the laws on this subject, if ever very strictly observed, have been greatly relaxed. The Patriarch has the power of pronouncing a divorce, and is the sole judge of the sufficiency of the grounds.

La Croze, Christianisme des Indes, I. iii. p. 176. Assemani, vol. iv. p. 27. Smith and Dwight, Researches in Armenia, pp. 227, 228.

Assemani, vol. iv. p. 285.

The five lower grades of the clergy, including the Archdeacon, are allowed to marry. In the early ages of the church, the same privilege was extended to the bishop and archbishop, and even to the Patriarch.

Ordination is a sacrament. Oil is only used in the ordination of the Patriarch. In other instances prayers are said over the candidates, with an imposition of hands, and with the tonsure of so much of the hair from the crown of the head, as when grasped in the hand rises above it. The early age at which the clergy, including bishops, priests, and deacons, are ordained, has long formed a ground of reproach against the Chaldæan church; which, in this respect, differs not only from all other Eastern churches, but acts in direct opposition to its own statutes.

The fasts of the Chaldæans are numerous, and they are very strictly observed, even fish not being eaten. There are 152 days in the year in which abstinence from animal food is enjoined ; and although, during the time I was carrying on my excavations, I frequently obtained from the Patriarch a dispensation for the workmen, they never seemed inclined to avail themselves of it. The feasts are observed with equal strictness. On the sabbath no Chaldæan performs a journey, or does any work. Their feasts, and fast days, commence at sunset, and terminate at sunset on the following day.

The Chaldæan Church reckons eight orders of clergy. 1. The Katoleeka, or Patriarka, the head. 2. The Mutran or Metrapoleeta, the archbishop. 3. The Khalfa, or Episkopa, the bishop. 4. The Arkidyakono, the Archdeacon. 5. The Kasha, or Kesheesha, the priest. 6. The Shammasha, the deacon. 7. The Hoopodyakono, or subdeacon. And 8. The Karooya, the Reader.

The Patriarch is always chosen, if not of necessity, at least by general consent, from one family. It is necessary that the mother should abstain from meat and all animal food, some months before the birth of a child, who is destined for the high office of chief of the Chaldæan Church. The Patriarch himself never tastes meat. Vegetables and milk constitute his only nourishment. He should be consecrated by three Metropolitans, and he always receives the name of Shamoun, or Simon; whilst his rival, the Patriarch of the converted Chaldæans, in like manner, always assumes that of Usuf, or Joseph.

The language of the Chaldæans is a Shemitic dialect allied to the Hebrew, the Arabic, and the Syriac, and still bears the name of Chaldee. Most of their church books are written in Syriac, which, like the Latin in the West, became the sacred language in the greater part of the East. The dialect spoken by the mountain tribes varies slightly from that used in the villages of the plains; but the differences arise chiefly from local circumstances: and it is a singular and interesting fact, that the Chaldæan spoken near Mosul, is almost identical with the language of that very remarkable tribe the Sabæans, or Christians of St. John, as they are vulgarly called, who are found in the districts near the mouths of the Euphrates, and in the province of Khuzistan, or Susiana; and are probably the descendants of the ancient inhabitants of Babylonia and Chaldæa.

It will be seen from the foregoing remarks, that there are some most striking points of resemblance

between the Chaldæan Christians, and the members of the Protestant church. These coincidences are the more important, and the more deserving of attention, inasmuch as they confirm many of the doctrines of the Reformed religion, and connect them with those of the primitive church. The peculiar doctrine which has brought upon the Chaldæans the accusation of heresy- -even admitting it to the fullest extentcan only be charged against them as an innovation. Their ignorance of the superstitions of the church of Rome, and their more simple observances and ceremonies, may be clearly traced to a primitive form of Christianity received by them before its corruption. Isolated amongst the remote valleys of Kurdistan, and cut off from all intercourse with other Christian communities, they have preserved, almost in its original purity, their ancient faith. Corruptions may have crept in, and ignorance may have led to the neglect of doctrines and ceremonies; but, on the whole, it is a matter of wonder that, after the lapse of nearly seventeen centuries, the Chaldæans should still be what they are. There are no sects in the East, and few in the West, who can boast of such purity in their faith, or of such simplicity in their forms of worship.

The Protestants of America have, for some time. past, taken a deep interest in the Chaldæans. Their missionaries have opened schools in and around Oroomiah. A printing-press has been established, and several works, including the Scriptures, have already been issued in the vernacular language of the people,