Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/227

Rh dered supreme spiritual head over the entire community necessarily prevented any such amicable settlement. The political recognition of the Elîas by the Porte gave them ecclesiastical authority over the plains, and over such parts of the mountains as acknowledged the Ottoman sway; and from this circumstance their jurisdiction came to be considered as being bounded on the north by the Tyari, (which until the last few years was almost independent of the Turkish government) although there are many Nestorians dwelling in the mountain-districts between Mosul and that province, who, from not having gone over to the communion of Rome, still regard Mar Shimoon as their Patriarch. The fact is that the greatest confusion exists with respect to the extent of the two patriarchates, and the only rule now obtaining is this: such villages as still adhere to Nestorianism look up to Mar Shimoon as their head; and, on the other hand, those who join the seceders place themselves under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Chaldean Patriarch. We have already seen how five new Chaldean Bishops were created without any appropriate dioceses: these have since been scattered over this region wherever the number of the seceders called for episcopal superintendence; or, for lack of so good a reason, where such an appointment was likely to contribute to further proselytism from the ranks of the Nestorians. During his occupancy as Bishop of the See of Amedia, Mutran Yoosef succeeded in reducing many villages of the Supna to the obedience of Rome; but the long residence of Mar Shimoon at Mosul affording the Nestorians in the mountain-districts south of the Tyari frequent opportunities of consulting him on their ecclesiastical affairs, which they were debarred in a great measure from doing whilst he continued secluded in Central Coordistan, has put a check upon further proselytism, and not a few of the later seceders have returned to their ancient faith and discipline.

I shall now proceed to give a statistical account of the existing Chaldean dioceses.

Mar Yoosef, besides exercising the functions of Patriarch, has the episcopal superintendence of Mosul and the neighbouring villages, Baghdad, and the See of Amedia.