Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 8.djvu/430

 JERUSALEM

368

JERUSALEM

their titular city. Mere servants of the oecumenical bishop, having no interest in their Arab flock, they were content to fritter away their hves in Constan- tinople, useless ornaments of the Phanar. Since the accession of Cyril II (1845-72), this abuse has been removed and the patriarchs live near the Monastery of the Holy Sepulchre.

Meanwhile the sees of the patriarchate have almost entirely disappeared. In Juvenal's time (420-58) fifty-nine liishops in the three Palestines obeyed the new patriarch. The Moslem conquest, the Crusades, and the other troubles of the Orthodox Church in Syria gradually reduced this number, till there are now only a handful of titular bishops who reside at Jerusalem instead of in their dioceses, and a few sees whose titles are registered but are always vacant. Only one bishop (the Metropolitan of 'Akka) now lives in his diocese (see the list below). The full list of patriarchs of Jerusalem during this period will be found in Le Quien, "Oriens Christianus", III; for the later ones see Williams, " Holy City", I, pp. 487-8. The patriarchs in the nineteenth century are: Anthi- mus, 1787-1808; Polycarp, 1808-27; Athanasius V, 1827-45; Cyril II, 1845-72. The last-mentioned refused to sign the excommunication of the Bulgars in 1872, and was deposed the same year. Procopius was intruded while Cyril still claimed to be patriarch. Russia and the native Arabs acknowledged Cyril; the Phanar and nearly all the rest of the Orthodox world Procopius. Russia deposed Procopius in 1875, and C'yril died. Russia then appointed Hierotheus, who, however, to every one's surprise took the side of the Phanar in the Bulgarian quarrel. So Russia fell foul of him, and took the opportunity of confiscating the property of the Holy Sepulchre in Bessarabia. Hierotheus died in 1882. There were then three candidates for the vacant see, Nicodemus, Gerasimus and Photius. Photius (always a determined enemy of Russia) was elected canonically. But the Russians made the sultan refuse him the herat, and give it to Nicodemus instead. Gerasimus became Patriarch of Antioch in 1885. Photius went back to his monastery at Sinai. Nicodemus reigned from 1883 to 1890. In 1890 the Phanar persuaded the sultan to depose Nicodemus, and give the heral to Photius. Nicodemus retired to Halki. But the Russians absolutely re- fused to allow Photius to become patriarch. So the third original candidate, Gerasimus, was persuaded to leave Antioch and come to Jerusalem. He reigned from 1891 to 1897. Photius became Metropolitan of Nazareth, and in 1899 Patriarch of Alexandria. Gerasimus died in 1897 and the Russians tried to have their candidate Euthymius, Archimandrite of the Holy Sepulchre, appointed. But the candidate of the Phanar, Damianus, Metropolitan of Phila- delphia, was appointed in 1897 and still reigns. For further information about the Orthodox patriarchate see below.

(4) The Catholic Church in Jerusalem.— The organi- zation of the Catholics in Palestine dates from the time of the Crusades. As soon as Godfrey of Bouillon became King of Jerusalem in 1099, a Latin patriar- chate was set up. Arnulf, chaplain of the Normans, was made administrator of this patriarchate by the synod held in Jerusalem at Christmas, 1099. But he was soon set aside because of his immoral life, and Dagobert, Archbishop of Pisa, elected patriarch. The line of Latin patriarchs is: Dagobert of Pisa, 1099-1107 (Ehremar, anti-patriarch set up by Bald- win I while Dagobert was travelling to Rome to answer the king's complaints) ; Ghibellin of Aries, 1107-11; Arnulf (the original administrator), 1111-8; Guarimund, lllS-28; Stephen, 1128-30; William, 1130-45; Fulcher, 1146-57; Amalric, 1157-80; Heraclius, 1180-91. — During the episcopate of Hera- clius the Saracens took Jerusalem (1187), and the Orthodox patriarch returned. From this time the

Latin patriarchs resided at the court of the Latin kings; when that court was at 'Akka (during the last period of the kingdom) the patriarchate was united to the bishopric of that town (Ptolemais in Latin). — Michael; Bl. Albert of Parma (d. 1214); Gerald or Girold, 1214-27; Robert, 1227-54; James Pantaleon (afterwards Pope Urban IV), 1254-61; William, 1261—; Thomas; John, 1270-8; Nicholas, 1278-94.

Since 'Akka fell in 1291, the Latin line was con- tinued by merely titular patriarchs, living at Rome and using the basilica of St. Laurence Without the Walls as their patriarchal church, till Pius IX restored the real patriarchate at Jerusalem in 1847. The patriarchs of the crusading time were in most cases not very edifying persons. Much of the history of the Latin Kingdom is taken up with their quarrels with the kings, intrigues, and generally scandalous adventures. An amusing, if hostile account of these intrigues will be found in Besant and Palmer's "Jeru- salem" (throughout the book). The patriarchate extended to the limits of the Crusaders' territory; as they conquered new cities, so were new Latin sees established. There were four provinces; PalcEsiina I (metropolis, Caesarea; two suffragan sees, Sebaste and Saba), Palcestina II (Nazareth with one suffragan, Tiberias), Patesima /// (metropolis Petra, suffragan Sinai), Phanicia (metropolis 'Tyre; sufi'ragans, St. .Jean d'Acre, Sidon, Beirut, Paneas). Bethlehem and Ascalon (joined), Hebron and Lydda (Diospolis) were immediately subject to the patriarch. But the num- ber of sees fluctuated with the fortunes of the Crusa- ders; there are various lists given by contemporary authors representing diff'erent circumstances. There were many abbeys besides the. priory of the Holy Sepulchre (following the Augustinian rule) ; for these see Le Quien, III, 1279 sqq., and the "Gesta Dei per Francos" (Hanover, 1611), 1077.

From the thirteenth century, when this hierarchy disappeared, down to our own time, the Catholic cause was upheld almost solely by the Franciscan Order. The friars were first sent to Palestine by St. Francis himself in 1219. The order has a special province, the "Custodia Terrse Sanctse", which in- cludes Lower Egypt, Cyprus, and Armenia. The head of this province, and till 1847 the supreme author- ity for Catholics in Palestine, is the Franciscan pro- vincial who bears the title " Custos Terra; Sanctse". He had episcopal jurisdiction (but not orders), and the Turkish government granted him many privi- leges as civil head of the " Latin nation" in Palestine. This province (commonly called by the Italian form "Terra Santa", which has passed into Arabic and Turkish) is recruited from all the other Franciscan provinces. Its official language is Italian. During the long centuries since the fall of the Latin kingdom the heroic friars have guarded the interests of the Catholic Church around the Holy Places. Always exposed to the jealousy of the Orthodox and other sects, continually persecuted by the Turks, they have kept their place till to-day, and with it our rights in the Holy Land, constantly at the price of their blood. It was in their hospices (the case nuove, which they have built all over Palestine) that the Catholic pil- grim found shelter. They have kept the Latin altars in repair, and have never ceased offering the Latin Mass on them for six centuries when no one else cared for them. The " Reverendissimus Gustos Terra; Sanctae" now fills a much less important place in the Catholic Church of Palestine; but no changes can ever make one forget what we owe to the friars for defending our cause during those dark years.

In the nineteenth century it was felt that a state of things of which the result was practically Franciscan monopoly in Palestine had become an anomaly. The Turkish government had become tolerant, the number of Catholic pilgrims increased enormously, many other religious orders had built houses at Jeru-