Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/138

96 The convent of Mar Behnâm is highly venerated by the Mussulmans under the title of Khudhr Elias, or Elijah the Seer. What relation can ever have existed between the martyr and the prophet it is not easy to divine; the Jacobites solve the difficulty by saying, that the latter name was given to it in order to secure the respect of the Mohammedans; and they further add, that this stratagem has often saved the convent when other monasteries around them have been plundered and deserted.

The internal disposition of the Church is similar to that of Sheikh Matta, which shall be described anon, and not unlike the general arrangement of the Nestorian churches, of which more will be said hereafter. The ground floor clearly shows that the division of the nave was intended ato [sic] form a separate chapel, to which the Beit Kaddeeshé served as a sacrarium. The baptistery occupies nearly the same position here as the font in the convent of Deir Zaaferân. There must be some reason why baptism among the Syrian Christians of old was administered so near the abode of the dead. In the modern Jacobite churches, the font is generally placed within the bema, on the south side of the altar, as in the annexed sketch. In this case, however, it is clear, from the existence of the adjacent baptistery, as also from the comparative newness of the font now in the church, that its existence there was not coeval with the original plan.

In the month of October, 1843, during one of our excursions among the Christians near Mosul, we spent two days at the convent of Mar Mattai, generally known as Sheikh Matta, situated near the summit of Jebel Makloob, and about four hours' ride from the town. Rich visited this part in 1820, but since then the convent has undergone a great change. Old Mutran Moosa, who entertained him, died a few years after, and Rabban Matta was appointed abbot in his stead. In his time, the monastery was attacked by the Coordish Pasha of Rawandooz, whose soldiers defaced or destroyed most of the inscriptions, expelled the resident monks, and plundered all the church property.