Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/248

194 "But this cannot be done without assistance from the Church at home; for, in the first place, it would be necessary that a grant of money be made annually for some time at least, for the partial support of the bishop and one or two priests who should minister to the spiritual wants of the people, just as some of them now receive assistance from Rome. (Let it not be supposed that the Chaldean clergy to whom I allude would enter upon this work for the sake of gain; for in this respect I propose no amelioration of their actual temporal circumstances. They would the rather undertake it because they knew that they enjoyed the sympathy of a sister church on which they might rely.) These possess already the confidence of many of the people, and would soon thin the ranks of the papal adherents. Schools might then be opened with a good prospect of becoming permanently established, and any other measures might be taken for the improvement of the reformed community, with every hope of success. In the second place they would need a temporary chapel wherein to worship according to the rites of their church, until the time came when their numbers should so increase as to warrant their demanding one or more of the churches in the town. I am not sure that they might not claim this at the outset; but the attempt might create a ferment which it would be prudent to avoid. Should such a plan receive the approbation of our Church, I feel persuaded that with the Divine benediction this community would soon spring up into new life, and become a fruitful branch in the heavenly vine, and moreover that we ourselves should be blessed whilst we conferred a blessing upon our brethren, by being once more united in communion and fellowship with one eastern branch of the Catholic Church of.

"In such a place as the above the superiority of the schools which we could establish, and the ease with which we could supply the people with books, being much greater than the Romanists either can or are in general willing to command, we should by these means materially assist the members of the reformed community to add to their faith such knowledge as would enable them to convince their brethren, and confound the gainsayers.

"Another requisite to this scheme would be the protection of