Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 2.djvu/114

86 to prayers for the dead, and other doctrines deemed erroneous, slips of paper bearing different readings were pasted over the original titles, and thus the edition became neither the plain letter of Scripture nor the scriptural lectionary of the Jacobites. This fact was brought to my notice by many of the Jacobites at Mosul, who were very indignant at the liberty taken with their Church books, and a deacon in my presence tore off several of the slips from one of these patched bibles. To give an instance of the object aimed at by this singular proceeding on the part of the Bible Society, I refer to page 34, where the slip bore the following: "For the second service of the Nocturn of Passion Tuesday, and for [the festival of] Stephen." Underneath this the original print ran thus: "For the second service of the Nocturn of Passion Tuesday, and for [the festival of] Mar [i.e., Saint] Stephen." So that all this trouble, in this instance at least, was taken to deny to the disciple Stephen the title of "Saint!"

It is further to be hoped, that should the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge determine to confer so great a benefit upon the Nestorians as to print an entire edition of the sacred Scriptures for their use, they will also include the Apocrypha, or publish the latter in a separate volume. The doctrine of the Church of England regarding the uncanonical books therein contained may easily be made known by the publication of the sixth Article in the opening of the volume, or on the cover. It is a matter of surprise, and in many instances a stumbling-block to the Christians of the East, that whereas in the Book of Common Prayer many lessons from the Apocrypha are appointed to be read, in those copies of the Bible which reach them from England none of the Apocryphal books are to be found.

With respect to the Canon of holy Scripture, it will be seen from the extracts above adduced that although neither of the three lists therein contained comprises all the canonical books, when taken together none is found wanting but the Revelation of S. John. It is a matter of doubt whether any ancient manuscripts of this book in Syro-Chaldaic exist among the Nestorians, though the Chaldeans are said to have obtained possession of a few since their submission to Rome. Nevertheless it is held to