submit to Silvester; the others go off to Cyril in the Lebanon. There is now a clear parting of the ways, and two Churches, that of the Orthodox under Silvester, that of the Melkites under Cyril; though for a time each still claims the whole body and tries to attract his rival's supporters. Aleppo for a long time remained one of the chief centres of the Melkite party. In 1732 the Metropolitan Germanos resigned; but his successor, Maximos Ḥakīm, also declared for Cyril. After he had opened his campaign Silvester went off and wandered about Wallachia; then he came back to Damascus and began ordaining bishops to replace those who were faithful to Cyril.
Both rivals then asked for and obtained a firman from the Government. Cyril did so, in spite of the laws against him, in 1743; Silvester then got one too. It seems that already the Turk was beginning to recognize the existence of two Churches. The Orthodox succeed in seizing the Church at Aleppo. Nevertheless Cyril has many Catholics, especially among the laity, who were less exposed to persecution. He had 9,000 followers at Damascus.[1]
But all this time Cyril was still unrecognized at Rome. Now that he had taken a definitely Catholic line, naturally he was much concerned to regulate his position on Catholic principles.[2] In 1729 Pope Benedict XIII (1724-1730), who had heard of the events in Syria, sent a Capuchin, Father Dorotheus a SS Trinitate, to receive Cyril's profession of faith according to the formula of Urban VIII. Then another question had to be considered. The famous Euthymios of Tyre had introduced certain changes in the liturgy. Cyril, his nephew, adopted and defended these. But many of his people were vehemently opposed to them; so there was already division among the Melkites. The Pope demanded that he should undertake to change nothing in the services of the Church without the consent of Propaganda. Cyril made the profession of faith and all the engagements required; then there was further delay because of the death of the Pope (1730). It was not till 1744 that Benedict XIV (1740-1758) at last sent the pallium.[3] It was on this occasion that he published his
- ↑ Ech. d'Or., v, 22.
- ↑ He was always a Catholic at heart. Only the difficult circumstances had prevented him from applying to the Pope for recognition sooner.
- ↑ In the Consistory of February 3, 1744, Benedict XIV made an allocution praising Cyril's predecessors and explaining that there was a great movement for reunion in Syria ("Bullarium Ben. XIV." ed. cit., i, 643). The Brief accompanying the pallium is Dum nobiscum,
