Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 2.djvu/52

24 These poems contain an historical account of the wickedness and subsequent repentance of the Ninevites, with many exhortations and injunctions to humihation and penitence in order to secure forgiveness. This commemorative service begins on the twentieth day preceding the first of Lent, and lasts for three days, viz. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

The, or Baptismal office, is sometimes met with in a separate volume; but it is more frequently bound up with the Liturgies.


 * of these the Nestorians possess three, viz. that known as the Apostles', that of Theodore the Interpreter, and the Liturgy of Nestorius.

The Liturgy of Nestorius is directed to be used five times during the year, viz. on the festival of the Greek Doctors, on the last day of the Baootha d'Ninwâyé, on the feast of S. John the Baptist, on the Epiphany, and on the Thursday before Easter.

The Liturgy of Theodore is appointed to be used from the first Sunday in Advent to Palm Sunday.

The Liturgy of the Apostles is used throughout the remaining portion of the year.

The, or Book of Matrimony, is generally bound up separately.

The is the Burial Service appointed to be read over persons who die in holy orders.

The is the Burial Service for deceased laymen. These two offices, beside the service to be observed in the church and at the grave, contain all the instructions about the washing of the dead body, and the other solemn rites which are to be performed before the corpse is borne from the house, the processional anthems, and the prayers appointed for the commemoration of the dead during the three days following the burial.

The, or the Office of the Laying on of hands, contains the Ordination services for conferring all the clerical and ecclesiastical orders and degrees.

The, a collection of hymns chiefly in exposition of the Life, Parables, and Miracles, of the , and on the duty of repentance. The author of these poems lived in the