opportunity, and sent them an Archimandrite named Bersi. However, he only stayed three days; so he could not have done much harm. The Greeks of Hellas have several times made attempts to bring their countrymen of Corsica back to Orthodoxy, generally under the pretext of preserving their nationality and teaching them Greek. In 1885 they sent a teacher, Mr. N. B. Phardys (Orthodox, of course) to open a Greek school at Cargese;[1] but the school was a failure and was closed after a year. Greek (without theological bias) is taught regularly at the Cargese school by a native of the colony, Mr. Ragazzacci-Stephanopuli.
Between 1874 and 1876 a number of the Greeks of Cargese emigrated to Africa, thus again, though only partially, fulfilling the prophecy. They settled in Algeria, at a place called Sidi-Meruan, in the province of Constantine. There are now about 300 of them here; they keep their rite, have a church and a priest. But the use of the Greek language is dying out here too.
At Cargese there are about 1,000 inhabitants, of whom rather more than half are Byzantine. Each group (Roman and Byzantine) has its church and its parish priest. The Byzantine priest is the Archimandrite Cæsar Cotti. In his church is a fine Ikonostasion, given by Cardinal Simeoni, four holy eikons brought from Boitylos in the old days, and the flag under which they sailed when they came to Corsica, argent, a cross throughout gules, made in silk. Fr. Cotti preaches occasionally in Greek; but he admits that the use of that language is dying out.[2] French is taking its place, as it is taking the place of the Corsican dialect. In general the Greeks of Cargese conform to the uses of the Italo-Greeks. They use the Byzantine service-books published by Propaganda, the bishop confirms (the Bishop of Ajaccio, according to the Roman rite, I regret to say); they have Benediction of the blessed Sacrament (as do many Uniates now; see p. 181), and they sing popular hymns in modern Greek. The patronal feast of their church is St Spiridon, December 12; but they still keep another patronal feast, August 15, the falling asleep of the All-holy Theotokos, which was that of the
