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 CHALDEAN

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CHALDEAN

certain that he did not go to Rome for the pallium, as did his predecessors. His energetic auxiliary, how- ever, Hormizd-Elias Amas Abid, who had been con- secrated by Sulaqa as Archbishop of Amid and Jeru- salem, was always in friendly communication with the Latins. In the meantime a large body of Nestorians headed by Denha Simeon, the Archbishop of Gelu, Salamas, and Seert, rejected the authority of the successor of bar Mama and submitted to Aitalaha, on whose death Simeon was chosen to succeed him. The Turco-Persian wars obliged Simeon to reside in the mountains, near Salamas in Persia, whereas his predecessors had resided at Amid (Amida). This change of residence had important consequences: the successors of Simeon in the end retained juris- diction only over the provinces subject to the Per- sians, and had no longer any intercourse with Rome except at long intervals. In this way many Chal- deans returned to the Nestorian heresy (if, in- deed, they had ever abandoned it). Simeon died in 1.593. In 1619 his successor, Simeon II, wrote that he would visit Rome, which promise, how- ever, he was unable to execute. In 1650 Simeon III corresponded with Innocent X, and in 1658 Sim- eon IV entered on relations with the Congregation of Propaganda, for which attitude his subjects tried to depose him. Alexander VII, however, defended him earnestly in a letter to the King of Persia and urged that he might be permitted to retain his patriarchal office. There is still extant a letter of Simeon V (1670) to Clement X.also one of Simeon VI (1770) to Clement XIV. Since the election of Simeon VII (1S39) no further attempts have been made by the Chaldeans of Persia to renew relations with Rome. The establishment (1837) of a Protestant mission near Urmia probably accounts for this regrettable attitude. Nevertheless, the present Nestorian pa- triarch, resident at Kotchannes in the mountains of Kurdistan, is a direct successor of John Sulaqa, one of those who initiated the aforesaid union with Rome.

Simeon bar Mama was succeeded in 1576 by Elias Simeon Denha who in 1586 sent a profession of faith to Sixtus V. It was, however, judged heretical. Elias II (1591-1617) took up again the question of reunion and in a letter to Rome (1610) complained that he and his people were regarded as heretics by the Francis- cans of the Holy Land. In 1616 he assembled at Amid (Diarbekir) a general synod, attended by eight metropolitans and in which Padre Tommaso da No- vara, superior of the Franciscan convent of Aleppo, took part. In preparation for tins synod an embassy had been sent to Rome (1612) headed by the archi- mandrite, Addai. The union was consummated, but in appearance only. Two persons appeared to have been sincere in their conversion: Addai, consecrated at the aforesaid synod as Bishop of Amid and Jerusalem, and (perhaps) the patriarch. The latter, however, died the following year. His successor, Elias (III) Simeon (1617-1660) also solicited from Rome the pallium, but his profession of faith was not found orthodox. The negotiations soon ceased and were not resumed, either by Elias (IV) John (1660-1700), or by Elias (V) (1700-1723). It is said that Elias (VI) Denha (1723-1778) corresponded with Rome. If so, his successor, Elias (VII) Ishoyahb, observed an attitude of independence. Finally, John Hormizd, the last descendant of the patriarchal family of bar .Mama. went over definitely to the Catholic Church i I s ;n and took with him the Sec of Bagdad-Mosul and many Nestorians.

In 1672, Joseph, the Nestorian Archbishop of 1 >iar- bekir, following the advice of the Capuchin missiona- ries, withdrew from communion with the Patriarch Elias IV. The latter tried to have him assassinated, and roused against him the vigorous enmity of the Turkish authorities, Joseph fled, to Rome (1675), but after an understanding with the Propaganda, and with

the sanction of Clement X, returned to his own country where he was very active in organizing the union of his people with Rome. Innocent XI granted him the pallium (1681) and the title of patriarch. He re- signed in 1693 and died at Rome. The learned Joseph (II) Ma'aruf (1693-1713), received from Clement XI (1701) the title of Patriarch of Babylon. His suc- cessor, Joseph (III) Moses Timothy (1714-1756), had a very troubled career. In 1731 he went to Con- stantinople to protest against the incessant annoy- ances of the Nestorians. Thence he proceeded to Rome, where he promptly received an intimation to return to his diocese. He was unable, however, to reach it and appeared again in Rome (1735), where for six years he was kept in seclusion. At the end of this period he was restored, at the prayers of his flock, and returned to Amid (1741), where he died in 1756. Joseph (IV) Timothy (1759-1779) followed him in the patriarchal office. Joseph (V) Augustine Hindi succeeded (1779-1826) with the title of Arch- bishop and Administrator of the Chaldean Pat riarchate of the Province of Diarbekir; for the Diocese of Mosul he had as auxiliary the priest George of Alkosch. Owing to the scarcity of documents the history of this period is little known. From letters edited by Giamil (Genuince relationes, 391-399) it would appear that properly speaking Joseph IV had no successor, perhaps because of the aforementioned conversion to Catholicism of John Hormizd, the last descendant of bar Mama. John Hormizd had been excommunicated in 181S, but was reconciled with Rome in 1S30 and proclaimed Patriarch of Babylon by Pius VIII; he owed this happy settlement to the kind efforts of Pierre Coupperie, the Latin Bishop of Babylon. In 1838 Nicholas Isaias Jacob, Bishop of Aderbaidjan, and a former pupil of the College of Propaganda at Rome, was appointed his coadjutor with right of succession. The same year John Hormizd died, and in 1847 Isaias Jacob resigned. His successor, Joseph (VI) Audo (1S4S-1S7S), entered on a serious conflict withPiusIX. Though the Bull "Reversurus" had provoked (1867) a schism in Armenia, it was im- posed upon the Chaldeans in 1869. Joseph Audo maintained his prerogative in the matter of epis- copal ordinations and was threatened with excom- munication by the papal Encyclical of September. 1876. Audo died in 1S7S, but had previously been reconciled with Pius IX. Leo XIII appointed as his successor Elias (XII) Abolionan (1S78-1894), who was followed by the learned George Abdishd' (V) Khayvath (1894-1899) and Joseph Emmanuel (II) Thomas.

III. Present Status. — The latest and most com- plete statistics of the Catholic Chaldeans were fur- nished in 1896 by Mgr. ( leorge 'Abdisho' Khayyath to the Abb6 Chabot (Revue de 1 'Orient Chretien, I, no. 4). The patriarch considers Bagdad as the principal city of his see. His title of Patriarch of Babylon re- sults from the erroneous identification (in the seven- teenth century) of modern Bagdad with ancient Babylon. As a matter of fact the Chaldean patriarch resides habitually at Mosul and reserves for himself the direct administration of this diocese and that of Bagdad. There are five archbishops (resident re- spectively at Bassora, Diarbekir, Kerkuk, Salamas, and Fnnia) and seven bishops. Eight patriarchal vicars govern the small Chaldean communities dis- persed throughout Turkey and Persia. The Chal- dean clergy, especially the monks of Rabban-Hor-

mizd, have established some missionary stations in

the mountain districts inhabited by Nestorians.

Three dioceses are in Persia, the others in Turkey.

There an' in all '.'33 parishes and 177 churches or chapels. The Catholic Chaldean clergy number 248

priests; they arc assisted by the religious of the Con- gregation of St. Hormizd (Rabban-Hormizd) who number about one hundred. There are about fifty-