Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/343

Rh little chapel. From these facts you may gather that whenever Mar Shimoon is restored to his patriarchate, we shall have acquired so extensive an influence over this people as will bid fair, through the blessing of God, to open the way for our doing them essential service. Granting, therefore, that for the present we can do but little for the Chaldeans, will the Church of England draw back from the Nestorians just as she has stretched forth the hand to assist them, and that her proffer of assistance has been so eagerly received? What will become of this interesting people under such circumstances I have already stated again and again to your committees, and now repeat that without the special intervention of God, ten years will not elapse before the whole of the Nestorians in Central Coordistan, will acknowledge the jurisdiction and assent to the errors of the Church of Rome."

On hearing that our mission was about to be withdrawn, Mar Shimoon sent the following letter to His Grace the Primate.

"From Mar Shimoon, Patriarch of the Chaldeans, to his beloved brethren in the Mar William, Catholicos of all England, Mar James, Metropolitan of London, and all the worshipful Bishops,—may the  preserve them.

"After the kiss of salutation we inform you, beloved brethren, that previous to this present epistle we sent you another to which we are now waiting an answer; may grant the delay to be for the best. You are undoubtedly acquainted with the combination of misfortunes, calamities, and evils, which we have suffered from the enemies of the Christian faith. These have massacred large numbers of our people, and carried into captivity very many of our women and children. They have burnt and destroyed our villages, our habitations, and our churches, and plundered us of all we possessed, so that the prophecy of Jeremiah has been fulfilled in us: My people have fallen into the hand of the enemy, and there was none to help them; the enemy saw them and laughed at their calamity. They pursued us in the mountains, and in the wilderness did they lay wait for us. Mine eyes are dimmed with tears, my