cardinals, who pronounced minister plenipotentiary of the strongest negative on this the French republic arrived measure. The predominant at Rome, and having energe party at Rome were bent upon war, and renewed the military preparations by means which excited the murmurs of many of the inhabitants. The pope suspended the execution of the armistice which had already been commenced, and exhorted his subjects to take up arms to repel the aggressors. He, at the same time, by negociation, obtained promise of assistance from the emperor of Germany.* The French government declared that the armistice was broken, and sent an army to invade the ecclesiastical state. They gained the most rapid conquests; Rome trembled at their triumphant march, and the pope sent plenipotentiaries to conclude a peace with Buonaparte at Tolentino. The contributions which the French exacted by this treaty exhausted every public and private coffer; and during the year 1797, the reign of Pius the sixth was marked with humiliations, anxieties, losses, and calamities of every kind. The thirst of revolution possessed a large number of the people, and no measures were spared that could tend to provoke an insurrection. The tically explained the causes of complaint againt the Roman government, was in part successful in his endeavours to have them removed. The Austrian general was dismissed, and the pope acknowledged the Cisalpine Republic. The immediate cause of the subversion of the papal government, was an insurrection which took place at Rome on December 28. 1797. At that time the insurgents ran to take refuge in the French ambassador's palace, where they were pursued, and numbers sacrificed by the papal soldiery. General Duplot, who distinguished himself by his efforts to appease their rage, fell himself a victim to their insatiate fury. After the death of Duplot general Berthier entered Rome, 1798, with a body of republican troops, and assumed the reins of government. The sacred college was denied the resource of a capitulation, and obliged to surrender at discretion. The new government obliterated every vestige of the ancient. Even the presence of the cardinals at Rome is deemed incompatible with the new order of things; they are all involv * Memoirs of the Life of Pius the sixth, vol. ii, pp. 226–230. хее ed in the same indiscriminate proscription; and having, the greatest part of them, suffered insult, imprisonment, and spoliation, they hastened to seek an asylum at a distance from Rome. The pope was also obliged to leave Rome, and removed first to Sienna, and afterwards to a Carthusan monastery, two miles from Florence he died in this retirement, August 19. 1799.* Immediately after the arrival of the French in Rome, the greater part of these establishments which were linked with the Roman church vanished from sight, and almost all those which constituted a part of the pope's temporal government. The propaganda, the holy office, and all the monuments of intolerance, are utterly abolished; as likewise every thing not essentially connected with the catholic church. As to the purely ecclesiastical functions of the pope, they were committed to a prelate, who, under the title of vicegerent, governed the diocese of Rome, properly so called. He has continued to officiate pontifically, and with all the former pomp. He began his career by abolishing a great number of festivals; and although his jurisdiction is confined within the limits of his own bishopric, he has extended the abolition to every other diocese in the Roman republic.t A conclave was held for the election of a new pope at Venice, and after the election was terminated the whole city was illuminated. The new pope is cardinal Gregoris Barnaby Chiaramonte, who has taken the name of Pius the seventh. He is an Italian; is said to be one of the most obscure of the sacred college, and a man of a mild and humane disposition. It is conjectured, that as it is not the intention of either party that the future pope should assume the temporal power, combined kings may have permitted an obscure individual to be elected, as least likely to give them any opposition. The pope is now returned to Rome, and has officiated in the vatican, July 22. 1800. TURKEY IN EUROPE; Containing the Danubian Provinces and Greece. THE established religion nites. The sect of the Shaites in this empire is the Maho- is, however, tolerated. All metan, of the sect of the Sun- other religions are likewise Memoirs of the Life of Pius the sixth, vol. ii. pp. 335–854. included in this system of toleration on paying a certain capitation.* Among the christians residing in Turkey, those of the greek religion are the most numerous; and they enjoy certain privileges, and can be advanced to posts of trust and profit; as, to the princely dignity of Moldavia and Wallachia, to the place of body physicians, and interpreters of the imperial court. The greeks are, in religious matters, subject to the patriarch of Constantinople, who is considered as the chief of the greek church and nation, and whose authority and jurisdiction is extensive. Other branches of the greek church, are the Armenians, Coptes, Nestorians, Maronites, &c. The Turkish clergy are numerous. Any person may be a priest who chuses to take the habit, and perform the functions of his order, and may lay down the office when he pleases.† This body is composed of all the learned in that empire; and they are likewise the only teachers of the law, who must be consulted in all important cases. In their capacity of lawyers, or interpreters of the korân, which, in most cases, is the code of laws, the clergy are called ylana, or the instructed in the law. The grand sultan himself, as caliph, or successor to the prophet mahomet, is their head; but their actual chief is the mufti, an officer of great authority and political influence, who is styled the maker of laws, giver of judgments, and prelate of orthodoxy. The sultan has the power of deposing the mufti, but he cannot take his property from him, which is considered as sacred. The suc cessors, or descendants of mahomet, who are called emirs, or sherifs, enjoy the same privilege. Those persons, or priests, who are employed in the rites of the public worship, are called imans; and the mahometan temples are called mosques. There are among the turks eight religious orders. Their monks " Every raga (that is, every subject who is not of the Mahometan religion) is allowed only the cruel alternative of death or tribute, and even this is arbitrary in the breast of the conqueror. A marked contempt towards those of a different religion is a conspicuous trait of the Turkish nation; it is apparent in their public and private character; it appears in the solemnity of their legal acts, in the ceremonies of the court, and in the coarse rusticity of vulgar manners. See Eaton's Survey of the Turkish Empire, published in 1799. The mahometans suppose that any mussulman who is perfectly master of the koran, knows all his duty towards God and man, He may then occupy every civil, military, and ecclesiastical department. See Savary's Letters on Egypt, vol. ii, p. 98, are called dervises, and lead, in general, a very austere life. The mosques are very richly endowed, and the estates which they have acquired are become sacred, and cannot be taken by the most arbitrary despots. mons the duties of ministers, of magistrates, of national leaders, and even of the sultan. They declaim against vice, luxury, and corruption of manners; they inveigh with vehemence, and generally with impunity, against the unjust, venal, and oppressive conduct of tyrants, who violate the laws and religion of their country. The sultans sometimes attend at these sermons; they generally on these occasions present the preacher with twenty, thirty, or forty ducats, which are given in a ceremonious manner, in the name of the sovereign, when he descends from the pulpit.* The founders of all the mahometan temples never fail to endow them, and to establish necessary and perpetual revenues for the support not only of the mosques, but of the ministers who perform service in them. Among the ministers there is commonly a preacher, who bears the name of scheykh; he is obliged to preach every Friday, always after the solemn service Jews are very numerous in at noon, that every one may Turkey: they are subject to be unrestrained, and at liberty a chief of their own nation, to follow the dictates of his called Cochan Pascha, whose zeal. Few of the ministers de- power over them is greater liver their discourse from me- than that which the patriarch mory they generally preach exercises over the greek chrisupon the dogmas, the cere- tians. Gypsies are found in monies of worship, and mo- all provinces. Upon the whole, rality; they seldom touch the number of mahometans is upon points of controversy. greater than that of the subThe most zealous and bold jects of other religious denoscheykhs explain in their ser- minations.† Aயம் EUROPEAN ISLANDS. ICELAND. THE only religion which is tolerated in this island is the Lutheran. The churches on the east, south, and west quarters of this island, are under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Skalholt, (the capital of the * See D'Ohosson's History of the Othoman Empire, vol. i. p, 485, † Zimmermann, pp. 356–358. The Roman Catholic is the established religion. But government has greatly limited the power of the pope, and of the inquisition in this kingdom. A stop has likewise been put to the persecution of the protestants in the vallies of Lucern, Peyrouse, and St. Martin, formerly so famous by the name of Vaudois, on account of their sufferings and firm adherence to their religious tenets. Their number amounts to about two thou sand. The very numerous clergy in these states are not rich. The church is governed by five archbishops, and twen ty-six bishops. The clergy are entirely dependent on the king, and subject to the secular ju, risdiction. The church-pre ferments are all in the gift of the king. NAPLES AND SICILY.. The inhabitants of this kingdom are more zealous catholics than those of Rome. There is, however, no inquisition established at present in this country. The power of the pope in this kingdom is not great. In Naples some prebends are his gift; but in Sicily all church-preferment is in the gift of the king. The clergy are very numerous, and so rich, that not less than one half of the riches of the country are in the possession of the church. There are in Naples twenty archbishops, and one hundred and seven bishops. In Sicily three archbishops, and eight bishops. In the year 1782 there were in Naples alone forty-five thousand five hundred and twenty-five priests, twenty-four thousand six hundred and ninety-four monks, twenty thousand seven *Guthrie, p. 63, Naples is inserted in this place, though it is not an island, We are informed that the inquisition was abolished in Sicily in 1784, without disturbance, and with general approbation, Sce Erskine's Sketches. |