monks with scorn, even with hatred, and the unlimited reverence that simple folk once had for the 'good old man' is visibly disappearing. Nothing can put off the ruin of monasticism except a great moral revival which would make an imitation of the splendid Catholic example possible. … And it cannot be said that this is opposed to the spirit of Eastern religious life. The Mechitarists, who are united to Rome but true sons of Armenia, have for a long time kept flourishing schools both at Constantinople and in the provinces."[1] Of course, the Orthodox monk would answer all this by saying that neither the Protestant professor nor the Catholic Frati are capable of understanding the Angelic life. The Orthodox Church has also convents of nuns whose rule and manner of life correspond to that of the monks. The Abbess is called ἡ ἡγουμένισσα.
Summary.
At the head of the Orthodox hierarchy stands the Œcumenical Patriarch. Although still the official chief of the Roman nation, he has now no longer any civil jurisdiction. He is assisted by a synod of his bishops and by a mixed council, and these two bodies elect the Patriarch when the see is vacant. The old abuse of continually deposing patriarchs still flourishes exceedingly. All bishops are celibates, and most are now titular metropolitans. The secular clergy are married before ordination, and they keep their wives. There are, however, very many celibate monks and nuns, and the East is covered with Orthodox monasteries, of which the most important are the twenty lauras with their dependent houses that make up the commonwealth of monks on Mount Athos.
- ↑ Geistl. u. Weltl. pp. 93–95. See the whole chapter, "Catholic Orders a Model for Greek Monks."
