Page:Orthodox Eastern Church (Fortescue).djvu/327

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CONSTITUTION OF ORTHODOX CHURCH
289

his name in the Holy Liturgy. On the other hand, the Phanar, the other Patriarchs, and nearly all the rest of the Orthodox world, acknowledged Prokopios. At last the Russians forced Prokopios to resign (1875); Cyril died, and Hierotheos was elected Patriarch. But he, to every one's surprise, sided with the Phanar against the Bulgars. The Russian Government then fell foul of him, too, and seized the opportunity to carry out a plan it had long contemplated. The Holy Sepulchre possessed some property in Bessarabia (in Russian territory). The Government now said it would relieve the Patriarch of all anxiety concerning this distant property, and administer it for him. How it did so may be imagined. It promptly proceeded to pay itself one-fifth for its trouble, confiscated two-fifths for what it described as "pious purposes" in Russia, and sent only two-fifths of the income to Jerusalem. All the Greek world is still helplessly furious at this robbery. Hierotheos died in 1882. There were then three candidates for the vacant see—Nikodemos, Gerasimos, and Photios, who is always a determined opponent of Russia, and who, as we have already seen, is now Patriarch of Alexandria. Photios was elected quite canonically, but the Russians made the Sultan refuse him the Berat, and give it to Nikodemos instead. Gerasimos became Patriarch of Antioch in 1885. Photios had to go to be a monk again at Sinai.[1] But he did not rest there in peace; the Phanar was for him at that time, and by 1890 they had persuaded the Sultan to change his mind and to depose Nikodemos. Photios arrives at Jerusalem with the Sultan's Irade, and Nikodemos is made, as usual, to sign a document declaring that he is too old to reign any longer, and that he wishes to go back to his monastery. He is still there at St. George's Laura at Halki, a very pious and kind old gentleman, though he has been heard to whisper to visitors that the Orthodox Church would get on all right were it not for Lord Photios.[2] But the Russians said that whatever happened, they would not have Photios at Jerusalem. So the third of the original candidates, Gerasimos, was per-

  1. We shall see that practically all bishops and candidates for bishoprics throughout the Orthodox Church are monks (p. 351).
  2. Ech. d'Or. iii. 185.

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