Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 13.djvu/793

 SEPULCHRE

725

SEPAPHIM

(Rome, 1857); Tischendorf, Vetus Testamenlum grace juxta Septuaginta Interpretes. . . 7th ed. revised and completed by Nestle (Leipzig, 1887) ; Swete, The Old Testament in Greek, according to the Septuagint (4th ed. Cambridge, 1909).

A. Vander Heeren. Sepulchre, The Holy. See Holy Sepulchre. Sequence. See Prose.

Serajevo (Seraium), Archdiocese of, in Bosnia. The healthy growth of the Church in Bosnia was blighted and stunted by Arianism and the disturb- ances caused by the wandering of the nations. Irre- parable, however, was the damage inflicted by the Oriental Schism. To this day forty-three per cent of the population are Greek Orthodox, calling them- selves Servians, and their religion and language Servian. From the earliest times the Church of Christ opposed the Bogomiles, a branch of the Manicha;ans, who, varying as to time and place, dress and nomenclature, are well nigh a historical puzzle. They have been called Paulicians, Phundaites, Encra- tites, Marcionites, Christopolites, and, after a certain Bulgarian priest, Bogomiles. They were very numer- ous in Bosnia, as is i)roven by the great number of Bogomile graves. From 1292 onwards the Franciscan monks co-operated with the secular clergy in attend- ing to the needs of the faithful.

When in 1463 Stephan Tomasevid, the last native sovereign of Bosnia, was taken prisoner by the Turks and decapitated, there were many Catholics who, in order to save their possessions, renounced their faith and became Mohammedans (now known as "Begs")- Nearly all the Bogomiles became Mohammedans at the same time, and the few who remained true to their faith were degraded to the position of "rayahs", i. e. serfs possessing no civil rights. The Catholic Church of Bosnia suffered the most severe of hardships during the succeeding four centuries. The faithful lost their possessions, and might not, without the Sultan's per- mission, build themselves even a hut, nuich less a church. From 1683 onwards, repeatecl inhuman op- pressions drove them frequently to have recourse to arms, but each time only to make their position worse than before. The Franciscan PViars alone saved the Church in Bosnia. They disguised themselves as Turks and were addressed by the Catholics as ujaci (uncle). Often they were compelled to hold services and to bury their dead at night in the woods and caves. They lived in the direst poverty and very many of them became martyrs. The old people in- structed the younger generation during the winter months in the catechism, and during Lent the Fran- ciscans examined the pupils. Nearly all Catholics in Bosnia bore a cross tattooed on breast or hand.

The subjection of the Bosnian people to the House of Habsburg marks the beginning of its growth in reli- gion and in culture. In 1878 the European powers charged Austria-Hungary with the military govern- ment of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in 1908 these two countries were declared part of the empire. In 1881 His Apostolic Majesty formed the ecclesiastical province of Serajevo, and appointed as archbishop J. Stadler, professor of theology at Agram. Native Franciscans were elevated to the sees of Mostar and Banjalika. The Society of Jesus took over and has retained charge of the seminary for priests in Serajevo, which supplies the entire province, and in Travnik conducts a seminary for boj-s, the gymnasium of which is frequented by pupils of all religions. The Franciscans maintain two schools of six classes each for the preparation of the young postulants of the order, while the Sisters of Charity conduct 32 Catholic primary schools.

The Archdiocese of Serajevo has 180,000 Catholics, with 50 priests and 110 friars.

KLAtJ, Oesch. Bosniens von den dlte.iten Leiten bis zum Verfalle des KOnigreichee, Germ. tr. Bojnicic (Leipzig, 1885); Straus, Bosnien, Land und Leute (Vienna, 1864); Nikaschinoviusch,

Bosnienunddie Herzegovina unterder Verwaltung der Osterr. ungar. Monarchic, 1, (Berhn, 1901); Puntigan, Unsere Zukunft in Bosnien (CJraz and Vienna, 1909).

Colestin Wolfsgruber.

Seraphia, Saint. See Sabina, Saint.

Seraphic Doctor. See Bonaventure, Saint.

Seraphic Order. See Friars Minor, Order op.

Seraphim. — The name, a Hebrew masculine plural form, designates a special class of heavenly attendants of Yahweh's court. In Holy Writ these angelic beings are distinctly mentioned only in Isaias's description of his call to the prophetical office (Isa., vi, 2sqq.). In a vision of deep spiritual import, granted him in the Temple, Isaias beheld the invisible realities sym- bolized by the outward forms of Yahweh's dwelling place, of its altar, its ministers, etc. While he stood gazing before the priest's court, there arose before him an august vision of Yahweh sitting on the throne of His glory. On each side of the throne stood myster- ious fiuanliaiis, each su[)plied with six wings: two to bear thcin u]), tw<j veiling their faces, and two cover- ing tlieir feet, now naked, as became priestly service in the presence of the Almighty. His highest servants, they were there to minister to Him and proclaim His glory, each calling to the other: "Holy, holy, holy, Yahweh of hosts; all the earth is full of His glory." These were seraphim, one of whom flew towards Isaias having in his hand a live coal which he had taken from the altar, and with which he touched and purified the Prophet's lips, that henceforth these might be consecrated to the utterances of inspiration. Such, in substance, is Isaias's symbolical vision from which may be inferred all that Sacred Scripture discloses concerning the seraphim. Although described under a human form, with faces, hands, and feet (Is., vi, 2, 6), they are undoubtedly existing spiritual beings corresponding to their name, and not mere symbolic representations as is often asserted by advanced Protestant scholars. Their number is considerable, as they ai)i)ear around the heavenly throne in a double choir aiul the volume of their chorus is such that the sound shakes the foundations of the palace. They are distinct from the cherubim who carry or veil God, and show the presence of His glory in the earthly sanc- tuary, whilst the seraphim stand before God as minis- tering servants in the heavenly court. Their name too, seraphim, distinguishes them from the cherubim, although it is confessedly difficult to obtain from the single Scriptural passage wherein these beings are mentioned a clear conception of its precise meaning. The name is oftentimes derived from the Hebrew verb sardph ("to consume with fire"), and this etymology is very probable because of its accordance with Isa., vi, 6, where one of the seraphim is represented as carrying celestial fire from the altar to purify the Prophet's lips. Many scholars prefer to derive it from the Hebrew noun saraph, "a fiery and flying serpent", spoken of in Num., xxi, 6; Isa., xiv, 29, and the brazen image of which stood in the Temple in Isaias's time (IV Kings, xviii, 4); but it is plain that no trace of such serpentine form appears in Isaias's description of the seraphim. Still less probable are the views propounded of late by certain critics and connecting the Biblical seraphim with the Babylonian Sharrapu, a name for Nergal, the fire-god, or with the Egyptian griffins (seref) which are placed at Beni-Hassan as guardians of graves. The seraphim are mentioned at least twice in the Book of Enoch (Ixi, 10; Ixxi, 7), together with and distinctly from the cherubim. In Christian theology, the seraphim occupy with the cherubim the highest rank in the celestial hierarchy (see Cherubim), while in the liturgy (Te Deum; Preface of the Mass) they are represented as repeat- ing the Trisagion exactly as in Isa., vi.

Commentaries on Isaias: Knabenbauer (Paris, 1887) ; De- LITZ8CH (tr. Edinburgh, 1890) ; Ddhu (Gottingen, 1892) ; Skin-