Page:Orthodox Eastern Church (Fortescue).djvu/294

256 and German societies printed and distributed Greek and Russian Bibles. At first the Orthodox Hierarchy saw no harm in that, and even approved and blessed the work. A Greek society for the distribution of Holy Scripture was formed in 1818 to work in union with the British and Foreign Bible Society. But it soon became evident that the tendency of these societies was inconsistent with the Orthodox faith. In 1840 a new modern Greek Bible appeared in London. And now their Protestantism was manifest. This version was done straight from the Massoretic text, ignoring the Septuagint, and it left out the Deuterocanonical books. At the same time schools were being set up in the chief towns under Protestant teachers, and their pupils began to seek a purer faith by attending Evangelical prayer meetings. Then there came conventicles with Bible classes, pleasant Sunday afternoons, hymn-books provided and Gospel teas. An American—King—at Athens was the chief of these missioners. So at last the Patriarch (Gregory VI, 1835–1840 and 1867–1871), in a synod of the year 1836, forbade the use of these Bibles, and very properly excommunicated all who attended the Protestant meeting-houses. Since then there has been no persecution of the missioners. They have set up centres all over the Near East, and no one prevents them from preaching; but every one now knows that to join them is to leave the Orthodox Church. In Russia, where other ideas of liberty prevail, the Bible Society was expelled, and its Bibles forbidden. These Protestants have made an infinitesimal number of converts, who call themselves, and the Orthodox feel nearly as bitter towards non-Anglican Protestants as towards Catholics.