CHRISTIAN INHABITANTS.
Among the Christian inhabitants of Syria, the Maronites, in point of
numbers, if not in the simplicity of their faith, certainly take rank
next to the devout followers of the Orthodox Eastern Church, and the
brief review I propose to take of their history and position will, I
think, sufficiently establish for them a claim to be placed among the
most interesting Christian races or nations which can be found in any
part of the globe.
To the present hour they continue to inhabit the mountains of Lebanon and
Anti-Lebanon, in which twelve centuries since they sought and found
refuge from the decided measures to which the general Council of
Constantinople had recourse, in order to punish them for their adherence
to the Monothelite heresy. Driven from their homes in the plains and
cities of the land, they established themselves in perfect security in
the mountain fastnesses, which have enabled them on more than one
occasion to set the power of the Egyptian and Turkish Governments at
defiance, and to afford to others, no matter what their faith or origin,
an impenetrable asylum against the persecutions of their enemies.
Europeans or Easterns, Christians or infidels, flying before the
persecutions of political or religious bigots, are still received with
open arms and untiring hospitality by the Maronites, whose forefathers
always practised the virtues learned in adversity—virtues which they have
most successfully inculcated on the minds of their descendants. No
greater proof than this can be brought forward of the excellence of their
principles, their courage and integrity of heart, since even from that
early period they made Lebanon what Hebron and other ancient cities were
among the children of Israel. The extraordinary liberality and
hospitality displayed by the original inhabitants can alone account for
the striking amalgamation of Christian and unbelieving races, and for
their having inhabited the mountains, for so long a period, in perfect
amity and good-will towards each other, except when bad feelings have
been excited by the intrigues or intermeddling of the foreign powers,
whose interference has at all times been ruinous to the country.
So complete has been the political union of the inhabitants of the
Lebanon, notwithstanding all the differences between them, that for
centuries they submitted to be governed by one head. So great is the
reliance to be placed upon those brave mountaineers, and so high is the
general estimation of their character, that when, in the year 1821, the
genius of British diplomacy and a royal administration of the navy, had
cleverly contrived the famous battle of Navarino, and the European
consuls and residents in Syria were obliged to fly from the wrath of the
Mahommedans, who set no bounds to their hatred to the Franks, they
unanimously selected the home of the Maronites as their best and safest
asylum. There they remained for nearly a year and a half, protected and
respected by their hospitable hosts, and safe from the vindictive
longings of the Turks, who dared not venture beyond the lowlands in
pursuit of their prey.
This was perhaps the first occasion in which educated Europeans obtained
a closer inspection into the customs, manners and religion of the
Maronites; and it is to be regretted that none of them have given their
experience to the world in a popular shape. Many still dwell with
pleasure upon this remarkable era in their lives; and interesting are the
tales which they tell at their own firesides, of the dangers they
encountered on their road, and the life they led in the mountains.
Indeed, I have heard several of the gentlemen who were among those who
sought an asylum in Lebanon, declare, that with the exception of the
unpleasantness of being in a measure cut off from all communication with
Europe, they seldom remember to have passed a pleasanter eighteen months,
invigorated by a delightful and pleasantly cool climate, in a country
abounding with shooting of all kinds; while, for those who loved the
study of botany, there was an inexhaustible fund of amusement and
occupation. Even here, and at a time too when they were apparently
menaced by surrounding dangers, the _youngsters_ amongst the Europeans
could not forget their predominant attachment to fun and mischief; and an
anecdote has been frequently told of a poor old Maronite priest who
prided himself extremely on the excellency of the fruits produced by the
garden attached to the monastery which he inhabited, and which I believe
were really of a very superior quality, and who had for many months
reckoned on the autumn of 1821, as likely to prove the most prolific
season he had yet known; when lo! he was surrounded by a hoard of gnats
and bees in the shape of wild young Europeans, who, despite the height of
his walls, and the depth of his ditches, and the distance they had to
come every night, succeeded night after night in rifling the orchard and
carrying off just those fruits that were upon the very turn, and which
promised to be the _first fruit_ of the season. It is needless to say
that the old priest was sadly perplexed and annoyed; the last persons in
the world to be suspected were these very identical young men; first,
because they lived so far off—secondly, because, in the presence of the
old priest, they deported themselves with so much decorum, and attended
so regularly to the Sunday service, that the old priest would as fain
believe himself guilty of a felony as harbour any suspicions against the
real offenders. He began to fear sadly that he must needs have some
black sheep amongst his own flock; and as the depredations continued
nightly, despite watching and all other precautions, he lost all
patience, and after service one Sunday pronounced an anathema against
those parties who had persisted in stealing his fruit if they did not
immediately desist from their wicked practices. All was vain! Weeks
rolled on, still the fruits were missing, and still anathemas were
thundered on a Sunday from the pulpit, till the old priest in a fit of
despair caused all the unripe fruit to be plucked at once, determined, as
he expressed himself, at least to benefit by a few preserves and jellies,
since he was not permitted to taste any of his ripe fruit, and so the
affair ended for the time being. Some years after, however, when many
successive rich harvests of delicious fruits had completely obliterated
the misfortunes of that particular year from the old priest’s memory, he
chanced to be riding through the very identical village to which his
fruit had been regularly conveyed of a night, and was astonished to find
growing in the wildest profusion specimens of the apricot, peach, and
nectarine, of which he had heretofore prided himself that he himself was
the sole possessor. Enquiry was set on foot, and the Druse at whose
house the young men had been lodging stated, that some years since, when
some young Franks were occupying his house, they used to receive large
baskets of fruit, which they had told him were sent to them as presents
from a convent, and that the kernels and seeds of these fruits had been
preserved and planted, and, with very little attention or care, had
succeeded to admiration. Thus, out of evil resulted good; for if it had
not been for these young thieves, the mountaineers might have been
debarred from obtaining many excellent fruits, which are now growing wild
upon the mountains.
The Maronites derive their name from Maroun, a holy recluse, whose good
actions and moral teachings were like so many dew-drops upon the
wilderness of sin and wickedness in which some of the inhabitants of the
East were wandering, about the beginning of the fifth century. They were
subsequently associated with the Romish Church by one John, the Maronite,
who joined the Latin insurgents against the authority of the Greek
Emperor. They remained subordinate to the Church of Rome during the next
six hundred years, though they continued to maintain their own
patriarchs. This attachment and subjection to Rome was, however,
considerably diminished by the events which followed the crusades; and
they for a short time maintained an independent position. Rome, however,
never lost sight of its former subjects, and perpetually strove to win
them back to the fold of which the Pope is the shepherd; and after forty
years of negotiation and intrigue, Pope Eugenius succeeded in procuring
from the Maronites a solemn renewal of their recognition of the Papal
authority. From that date they have adhered to the Romish Church,
enjoying privileges which the temporising unscrupulous conclave in Rome
conferred and maintained, though contrary to the laws of their Church, in
order not to lose so large a body of supporters. What these privileges
are, will be seen in the following account of the people and their
religious practices.
The connection which exists between the Maronites and the Church of Rome
is, in point of fact, maintained almost entirely by the priests, who, of
course, have very good motives for their conduct. Were it not for the
almost slavish subjection of the people to the priestly authority, this
connection with the Church of Rome would long since have been violently
shaken, if not entirely severed, for the second time.
I have said that they inhabit the mountains of Lebanon; but I ought to be
more precise, and to state, that they are chiefly to be found in those
parts of the mountains which are in a north-easterly direction from
Beyrout. They are a most industrious, contented, happy people, whose
chief occupations are confined to weaving silk, and to tilling their
ground—which, in some parts, the rocks and the soil render exceedingly
difficult—for cultivating their mulberry trees for silk worms, which they
do with great zeal and good effect.
So thoroughly has nature fortified the district they inhabit, and so
manly and courageous are they, that until the year 1843 they had never
been conquered by the Mahommedans; and though they had politically agreed
to the payment of an annual tribute to the Porte, they were at that
period without a garrison. They have experienced great vicissitudes at
different periods, but throughout their whole history, I find that each
crisis only served to add to the power and influence of the priesthood,
who, in all things, social as well as political, have an incredible hold
over the people. They are the legislators and the administrators. As
they cunningly work together with the Sheikhs, nothing but a thorough
change in the system of education will enable the people to shake off
their fetters.
Their creed and ritual partake both of the Greek and Latin churches; but,
though they reverently adore the Virgin, they allow no images of any kind
in their churches. What is still more remarkable, is the fact, their
priests before ordination are allowed to marry, but the patriarchs and
bishops must live in the strictest celibacy. So great is the deference
paid by the laity to the priesthood, that whenever one of them meets a
priest, he is sure at least to kiss his hand and ask his blessing; while
some of the more pious, or perhaps more servile, of the women kneel
before the priestly robe as if it were as holy and as sacred as the altar
at which its wearer officiates. As a rule, however, the people dislike
being called Roman Catholics; indeed many of them openly profess to hate
the See of Rome, and, were it not for the very Romish tendencies of the
protection and education they obtain at their schools, which in other
respects are really excellent, the Maronites would certainly, in a very
short period, disconnect themselves from all association with the See of
Rome.
An attempt was made not very long ago by an American missionary, to
introduce a purer Christianity among them; but the unfavourable results
of his brief residence at Deyr-al-Kamar may be solely attributed to a
want of caution, in too abruptly opposing the doctrines of the
established faith before educating the people.
A legate from the Pope is perpetually resident on the Lebanon, where the
chief monastery of the Maronite priesthood is situated. At various
periods, too, there have been missions sent out from Rome in order to
prevent any slackening or lessening of the papal influence. At this
moment there is a Lazarite mission in Syria, the members of which have
succeeded in persuading several fathers of families to part with their
children for the purpose of having them educated in Rome. They have also
constructed a hospital, and established schools for male and female
children at Beyrout. The convents are among the few religious
institutions within the dominions of his Imperial Majesty the Sultan,
which are allowed to use the pleasant-sounding church-bells; and the
Lebanon {306} is among the few localities in the East where the European
traveller can experience the pleasant feelings and genial associations of
his country, which are excited by the solemn sound of the Sabbath-bell,
feelings that were unintelligible to me until I had spent more than one
Sabbath in Europe. This privilege is a terrible ear-sore to the
Mahommedans, who detest the Maronites more than any other Christian sect;
partly because they know the Maronites entertain the belief that they are
destined to put a period to Islamism, by enticing French interests into
the East.
I may observe, here, that in point of fact the Maronite faith has no firm
foundation; for heretofore they seem to have been a people such as is
described by St. James, chap. i. ver. 6—“He that wavereth is like a wave
of the sea driven of the wind and tossed.” And they continue to be
lukewarm; neither one thing nor the other; Roman Catholic in their
adherence to the Pope and in the observance of certain outward forms of
religion—Greeks as regards the privileges accorded to their priests—and
Protestants in not admitting images in their churches. If we take a
review of their _waverings_, we may be led to some conclusion on this
head. First, we are told that their sect originated with a hermit of the
fifth century: nearly 600 years they appear to have adhered to their
original faith, but in 1182 they submitted to the Pope’s authority.
Barely a century elapses when they are found wavering again, owing to
circumstances then taking place in the East. Nearly 300 years afterwards
they again return to the Church of Rome; this was in 1445. And now, 400
years after that, we find their creed to consist of an amalgamation of
all the Christian sects. This cannot last long; they must eventually
become one thing or the other; either _de facto_ Roman Catholics, or else
_de facto_ Greeks or Protestants.
Notwithstanding the Maronites live under a theocracy, from the peculiar
situation of the Lebanon with regard to the lords of the surrounding
land, the admission to many privileges was rendered not only
advantageous, but absolutely requisite; and from these facts the notions
of liberty entertained by the Maronite are far more exalted than those
meagre ideas that possess the brain of the inhabitant of the plains.
Their patriarch, subject to the Pope’s approval, is elected by the
bishops of the nation: to him they pay extraordinary deference. The
bishops are also possessed of immense influence, and their word is
tantamount to law. The local authorities are careful to avoid anything
that might cause offence to these prelates, well knowing the influence
they exercise over the minds of the people. Owing to this, crime is in a
great measure unknown amongst the Maronites; for offences, however
trivial, are immediately judged by the clergy, and satisfaction and
retribution at once exacted. Marriages without the bishop’s consent
cannot be solemnized; and any _faux pas_ on the part of young people
usually terminates in their marriage.
The word of excommunication or anathema, amongst the Maronites, is
“_fra-massoon_”; and he or she on whom it is pronounced, is as much
avoided and abhorred as the plague-stricken. All houses are closed
against a “_fra-massoon_,” and he may starve of cold and hunger amongst
his own family and friends, with none to compassionate him. I remember
being told by a person not overburdened with common sense, that upon one
occasion, some years ago, a friend of his had given shelter and food to a
“_fra-massoon_”; and that, happening unfortunately, soon after, to quit
this world, his body was put aside in a cave, in accordance with the
usual custom. Ten years afterwards, the coffin was accidentally opened,
and the spectators saw with horror that the corpse was quite fresh, and
presented no signs of decomposition. So unusual an occurrence excited
great curiosity, and enquiries being made, it soon became known that the
departed had transgressed the laws of the Church, by giving hospitality
to one whom its ministers had cursed. The relatives of the deceased
instantly went to the priest, and, after feeing him pretty freely,
obtained his services to read a certain number of prayers over the
corpse, and to pronounce upon it the forgiveness of the Church. Hereupon
nature resumed her usual course, and nothing further was heard of the
subject.
The Maronites, under the influence of their priesthood, are noted as
being most inhospitable to all excepting those professing their own
creed; and even European travellers have been refused a shelter for the
night, supposing that they were missionaries. They are a very
superstitious and credulous people, and delight in absurd legends. They
perform pilgrimages to Jerusalem and also to the tomb of Noah, supposed
to be situated in the village of Kerak, between Beyrout and Baalbec; and
about this they have endless ridiculous stories. They also pretend to
have discovered the tomb of Moses, at a place a short distance from where
the late Lady Hester Stanhope used to live.
One great advantage which the Maronites possess, and which must
eventually prove very beneficial to them, is the fact, that education is
spreading universally amongst them. There is a native printing-press at
work in one of the monasteries; but though the generality of the men are
well-bred, the women are grossly ignorant and rude. Lady Francis Egerton
found cause to complain of this sadly: “If I fastened my door,” says her
ladyship, “they called and knocked and battered at it, until I feared it
would yield to their efforts; and this at five o’clock in the morning,
whilst I was in bed.”—A pardonable curiosity, however, amongst a
semi-barbarous people; for so the women must be termed, until they are
admitted to the privileges conferred by education, and social intercourse
with civilised English women.
The Maronites, in common with the Greeks and the Armenians, pay an annual
visit to the Cedars of Lebanon, for the celebration of the feast of the
Transfiguration. Here they celebrate mass on a rough stone altar, at the
foot of the Cedars: in the open air—in “a temple not made with
hands”—some of them offer up prayers and thanksgivings, quoting those
very Psalms of David which were composed and written expressly to
commemorate God’s mercy and loving-kindness, as in connection with the
immediate spots which surround these cedars.
A wedding amongst the Maronites differs in some material points from the
ordinary marriages in Syria; in the first place, the priest is considered
the principal negotiator, and on his report as to the suitableness of the
match, much of the future happiness of the young people may be said to
depend. After preliminaries have been arranged, gifts of dresses, and
the like, are exchanged, but the bashful _fiancée_ is supposed to be in
utter ignorance of all that transpires, to spurn these gifts, and to
dislike even the mention of her future husband’s name. The priest
blesses the bridal clothes of the bridegroom before he adopts them. When
the friends go to fetch the bride, a mock combat ensues, in which,
however, without bloodshed or bruises, the bridegroom’s party is
invariably victorious, and the women carry off the veiled bride in
triumph, attended by her female relation. The bride’s house mourns her
departure, and she herself makes no secret of her sorrow to leave; but
the _arus_ (bride) no sooner makes her appearance than the shouts and
acclamations, and firing of muskets by the assembled multitude, seem
effectually to drown any discordant sounds of lamentation; the
procession, however, moves at a funeral pace, for it is thought highly
indecorous that the bride should appear as though anxious to arrive at
her new abode. On crossing the threshold, she is saluted by the women
with the cry of welcome, and clapping the hands; and after her veil has
been removed, she is covered with one of red gauze, and then made to sit
in state on the divan at the upper end of the room. Here she neither
smiles nor speaks, but rises on the entry of each venerable female
friend, to embrace her, and kiss her hand. Both men and women, though in
separate apartments, pass the night in noisy hilarity. Before sunset,
the bishop, or in his absence the senior priest, attends at the
bridegroom’s house to perform the ceremony; all symptoms of mirth are
immediately abandoned, silence is proclaimed, and then the service
proceeds very much after the fashion of the Greek Church, only that both
the groomsman and bridesmaid are crowned by the priest as well as the
couple being married, and the _bridegroom_ places the ring given him by
the priest on the bride’s finger. Towards the end of the marriage
ceremony, the priest puts a piece of blue ribband, with the picture of a
saint attached to it, round the bridegroom’s neck. The newly married
bride is confined to her house for the space of a month after her
marriage.
I have already mentioned the extreme facility with which the Maronites
believe many fables and superstitions that have any connection with
religious matters; and perhaps I shall be pardoned for introducing in
evidence of this, a fact which occurred about eighty years ago, which
attracted the attention of the traveller Volney, and which is still
spoken of very frequently among the inhabitants. There are several
nunneries belonging to the Maronites in the Lebanon, and it was in one of
them, about the period mentioned, that Hindyeh, a young nun, forced
herself into great notoriety by the severity of her penances, and the
extraordinary piety she displayed. Having found many friends, her
reputation increased to such an extent, that she was at last declared
capable of working miracles; and the simple-minded Maronites, having
provided the funds, she was duly installed in a religious establishment
of her own. Her nunnery, and the other establishments in connection with
it, had flourished for more than twenty years, when a suspicion was
suddenly excited, that several of the nuns, of whom many had died, had
met their death by unfair means, and that most improper practices
prevailed within the cells. An unhappy merchant of Sidon, who had placed
two of his daughters in the establishment, disturbed by these reports,
determined to visit the place and make inquiries. On his arrival, he was
told he could not see his daughters because they were ill, and finding
that all entreaties were in vain, he proceeded to Deyr al Kamar, and
obtained an armed force from Emir Yusuf, the chief of the mountain, and
the attendance of the bishop to enquire into the matter. The result
shewed the existence of a system of wickedness and profligacy, exceeding
in iniquity anything ever known, to which one of the daughters of the
merchant in question had already fallen a victim, the other being at the
time almost dead. The holy, or rather unholy, Hindyeh, was seized and
imprisoned, with her accomplices, and the examinations which were made
fully criminated them all. The arch-priestess of all this wickedness
managed to escape from the convent in which she was imprisoned, and to
reach a locality in which she possessed a large body of adherents and
believers. Notwithstanding the disclosures which were made, the
hypocritical career pursued by this nefarious woman, so completely
imposed upon the weak and credulous Maronites, that she died respected
and revered, and to this day is acknowledged as a saint. Need I say
anything more to prove the extent to which this weakness is carried among
the _fellahen_.
The number of Roman Catholics in Syria, including both the Armenians, and
the Greek Roman Catholics, as one portion of them is called, may be
stated at about 200,000, and, as they differ in no important points from
the Roman Catholics of the West, they may be passed over without further
mention. I may observe, however, that the Armenians are not so generally
respected as their Christian brethren of other denominations; and, in
illustration, I would remark, that at the grand ceremony on Easter-day of
bringing down fire from heaven, the Armenians are driven to obtain a
portion of it as best they may; their priests and pilgrims being
generally forced into the most remote corner of the sacred edifice.
The Copts, or, as we are accustomed to call them in the East, “the
Oobbeet,” are the followers of one “Mar Yackoob.” Their chief doctrine
is that Christ possessed but one nature; and they agree with the Church
of Rome in saying that the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father to the
Son. They are governed by a patriarch who resides at Cairo, and is
called patriarch of Alexandria, whose authority is very great over the
whole sect; indeed, their most prominent characteristic may be said to be
an almost slavish obedience to their priests. Like the Maronites, they
invariably kiss the hand of any priest they may encounter in the open
street, or country; and many of them prostrate themselves before the holy
man. Though they conform to the Hebrew practice of circumcision, they
also baptize their infants. It is customary with them to pray seven
times during the twenty-four hours, according to the rules prescribed by
the patriarchs; and it is, moreover, a common practice with many of them
to learn by heart the whole of the Psalms, some of which they invariably
repeat before proceeding to transact any business, in the belief that
this devout recurrence to the Psalmist will insure prosperity to the
affair they have in hand.
Generally they are very clever, especially at figures. A few of them
have recently joined the Orthodox Eastern Church, with which they have
many practices and doctrines in common; and a small section has been very
powerfully worked upon by a Lazarite mission, the members of which
succeeded in persuading several parents to part with their children for
the purpose of having them educated in Paris.
It is presumed, from the remarkably Jewish cast of their features, and
from their adherence to the Hebrew law, that they are of Jewish origin;
but other evidence on this point is wanting. Though I have said that
they were called after one Mar Yackoob, their existence as a Christian
sect at an earlier period is clearly established; and indeed it has been
said by many of the learned visitors to Syria, that they are as old as
the Nestorians. At all events they were only organised by Mar Yackoob,
who founded a perfect theocratic form of association or government.
Indeed, wherever we turn, whether it be to the several Christian sects or
denominations in the East, or to any one of the pagan forms of religion,
we find the same fact in all. They have all been founded and organised
by a priest, and, whether for good or evil, priestly influence has, in
most instances, prevailed until the present day. It is also believed
that the Armenians were in some way connected with, or absolutely
descended from, the Copts; and there is very good evidence of great
intimacy between the latter and the Nestorians, the last of the Christian
bodies in Syria, and now to be described. In point of numbers the Copts
are very unimportant. They do not exceed 300 in Syria; but there are a
great many of them to be found in Egypt.
The Nestorians now claim my attention; but as very little is known
concerning them in my own neighbourhood, and as I have never had an
opportunity of visiting them in their own mountain-homes, I can only
relate what has been told me by travellers.
It is believed that they are of Jewish origin; but there is no positive
evidence on the point, beyond their features, their observance of certain
Jewish customs, and their respect for portions of the Hebrew code of
laws. It cannot be doubted, however, that they have maintained
Christianity in the East for more than sixteen hundred years; and that,
as primitive Christians, who have not degenerated from the simple form of
worship enjoined by the Apostles of our Lord, they are entitled to our
deepest respect and veneration.
They are divided into two sects, the Simple and the Papal Nestorians; but
the former do not acknowledge the latter as a part of their body, and
declare that they are in no way connected with the Nestorian Church.
They have two patriarchs, who reside in the mountains near Julamerk, and
whose influence, together with that of all the priesthood, is very great
indeed. Here again we find existing a purely theocratic form of
government. The priesthood legislate politically and socially, and they
administer the laws judicially, as well as attend to the religious wants
of the community over which they preside.
The habits and manners of life of the Nestorians are so primitive, that
their simplicity has become proverbial in the East. Their belief differs
from the Orthodox Eastern Church, by declaring the existence of two
persons in the Saviour, as was propounded by their founder, Nestorius, in
the beginning of the fifth century. The sacrament of bread and wine is
administered to all by the officiating priest, in almost the same way as
this ceremony is performed in the Greek Eastern churches. They are most
hostile to the Roman Catholics, whom they hate.
Including the Nestorians inhabiting Persia, I believe there may be
altogether about 100,000. On the confines of Persia, they are engaged in
perpetual warfare with the Koords.