Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/224

170 Lyons, the petition was granted, and Mar Zeyya, being a Persian, now enjoyed all the privileges of a European in Turkey, with the additional support of a French consular agent to back him in the exercise of his ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

Early in 1843 Mar Zeyya proposed to change the time of celebrating Easter among the Chaldeans, and to assimilate it to the usage of the West, which created such a ferment among the people of Mosul, who were growing jealous of any further alterations in their ancient customs, that he was obliged to abandon the attempt. About this time we arrived at Mosul, and many Chaldeans manifested a strong desire to reform the errors which had lately been introduced into their rituals, a detailed account of which will be given in a succeeding chapter. They moreover wished, if possible, to restore the patriarchal succession in the person of Mutran Elîa, the nephew of the late Mutran Hanna; but finding him too pusillanimous to attempt anything on his own behalf, and wanting in energy to effect anything for the general good of the community, they next turned to Mar Shimoon the Nestorian Patriarch, who had been driven to Mosul about the middle of the year after the massacre of his mountain flock, and proposed that he should take the initiative and lay claim to the patriarchate, promising to support him by every means in their power. All kinds of intrigue were now set on foot, aided and abetted by French influence, which was the only stronghold of the papal party, to counteract the efforts of the reformers. Complaints were made against them to the local authorities as disturbers of the peace; the Turks refused to interfere to put down the movement, because Mar Zeyya could not prove that he was recognized by the Porte, and therefore had no right to exercise jurisdiction in the Sultan's dominions. Mar Zeyya himself wrote a lying epistle to the British Ambassador at Constantinople complaining of the proceedings of our mission; Mar Shimoon was offered large sums of money by the Romanists, together with the patriarchate over the Chaldeans, if he would submit to the Pope; in fact every possible artifice was employed to support the tottering power of Rome among the Chaldeans of Mosul. Fearing the defection of some of the Bishops the Society of Lyons now consented to allow them a yearly salary to the following amount: