Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 11.djvu/171

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.&mdash;The ancient liturgies of the Eastern Church were very numerous, and have been frequently classified. Neale makes three divisions the liturgy of Jerusalem or of St James, that of Alexandria or of St Mark, and that of Edessa or of St Thaddpeus ; and Daniel substantially agrees with him. The same pas sion for uniformity which suppressed the Gallican and Mozarabic liturgies in the West led to the almost exclusive use of the liturgy of St James in the East. It is used in two forms, a shorter revised by Chrysostom, and a longer called the liturgy of St Basil. This liturgy and the service generally are either in Old Greek or in Old Slavonic and frequent disputes have arisen in particular districts about the language to be employed. Both sacred languages differ from the language of the people, but it cannot be said that in the Eastern Church worship is conducted in an unknown tongue, &quot;the actual difference,&quot; says Neale, &quot;may be about that between Chaucer s English and our own.&quot;

.&mdash;Monastic life was introduced into Christianity in the East, and has always remained a prominent feature in Greek Christianity. The monks usually follow the rule of St Basil, but some monasteries, notably that of Sinai, obey ths rule of St Anthony. The monks are of three classes : KowofiiaKoi, who live together in a monas tery ruled over by a ^ycty/eros or ap^i^ai Spir^s; dva^wp^Tat, who live either in a cloister apart from the other monks or among the laity ; and do-K^rai, who are hermits. The nuns, virgins or widows, all follow the rule of St Basil. There are three great convents at Jerusalem, Sinai, and Mount Athos ; each has a great number of daughter monasteries throughout the East. Many monasteries are presided over by bishops, and many monks are in priests and deacons orders. Monks alone are eligible for election to bishoprics and the higher offices in the Eastern Church.

(T. M. L.)

 GREEK EMPIRE. See, sqq.

 GREEK FIRE is properly the name applied to the inflammable and destructive compounds used in warfare in the Middle Ages, and particularly by the Byzantine Greeks at the sieges of Constantinople. It was the precursor of gunpowder, and of such modern compositions as dynamite and nitroglycerin, and was frequently accessory to gunpowder for many years after its invention. But combustible mineral substances were employed in war much earlier than the Middle Ages. Greek fire has borne the names wildfire, maritime fire, wet fire, fire-rain; called by the French feu grégeois, by the Germans grieschisches Feuer; it was &ldquo;the oil of cruel fire&rdquo; of the Chinese, the oleum incendiarum of the Romans, and the πῦρ ὑγρόν, liquid fire, of the Greeks. Procopius designates it &ldquo;Medea's oil.&rdquo; Cinnamus (12th century) describes it as πῦρ Μήδικον, Median fire, the black clays of Media and Persia supplying the principal constituent. Used chiefly at sieges and in naval engagements, it was poured from cauldrons and ladles on the besiegers and their engines, or vomited through long copper tubes from the mouths of hideous figures set in the prows of ships. Sometimes flax was twisted and saturated with the liquid, then fired, and projected on arrows, lances, and javelins. At sea it was often flung in pots and phials. The heavy ballista and other military engines were pressed into the service in early times for scattering this destructive compound in large quantities, often in barrels. Owing to the viscid nature of Greek fire it adhered to whatever it touched. It is described as producing a thick smoke, a loud explosion, and a fierce flame, and as being quickened by the element of water. Sea-water is specially mentioned as intensifying its inflammability; and whenever it fell among ignitible materials terrible havoc was occasioned. The sight and sound of the engine discharging the torrent of fire carried dismay into many a warrior's breast. The devastating consequences pictured by early writers are probably overdrawn, but there can be no doubt that they were formidable. Liquid fire has been used in warfare from very remote times, as may be seen in the Assyrian bas-reliefs in the British Museum. Greek fire, properly so called, is said to have been employed for the first time against the Saracens in the siege of Constantinople, –, the inventor being a Syrian named Callinicus. The art of compounding Greek fire was concealed at Constantinople with the most jealous care; indeed it was to Greek fire, while the secret of its manufacture was kept, that the city owed in great measure its safety. In 1755 two Frenchmen, Gaubert and Dupre, are reported to have rediscovered the art so carefully concealed by the Byzantine Greeks; but they were prohibited from making it known. Various projects for the use of this or