dies, his list tiihn ss as a pa-tor comes to an end. and. as a rule, he retires to some monastery, where, as a priest- monk, he enjoys special honors. But, according to more modern rules, popes of good repute are allowed to re- main in office after the death of their wives; but a sec- ond marriage is entirely out of the question. If the widowed priest marries again, he renounces ipso, facto the ecclesiastical state, for one marriage only is allowed and prescribed to him.
The 1 ors paid to the secular priests do not follow
them into private life. Their religious duties per- formed, the borrowed nimbus falls, and the boyar who devoutly kissed their hand at the altar ignores them in i. I he cause thereof is mostly to be found in their licentious conduct, their coarsi ness, their ignorance of worldly and spiritual things— in short, in their vices, against which the metropolitans, bishops, and even the councils have accumulated in vain all kinds of prohib- iten'measures. Witnesses relate that the ig ance of
the Greek clergy is indescribable; that out of a thousand priests, scared} ten are able to sign their names, and that he n ho can do it can pass himself off for a scholar : it does not seem thai the Russian popes can lay claim to a much higher degree of consideration. Most oi those w ho are destined to the < !hurch belong to the low- est class of the population they are generally the sons of the lower clergy. The sad predicament of the dis- trict schools and colleges allows of an inference as to the studies preparatory to them. The first son of a pope belongs by law to the clerical career; and if the m i ssi- ties ofthe < Ihurch require it. two of his child n orders. The embryo pastor gets his first education in the church, w here be perforin- I lie lower church duties, and in the ecclesiastical -tho.. Is ofthe district Then he spends two years in a clerical seminary, where he ading, writing, elementary arithmetic, and the ritual: at this stage of his development the black cloak is thrown on his shoulders, and the priest is made. V>v, he has i airy, if be does not cherish the idea of re- tiring to a monastery, lie has not theleasl Bmatterin; of Latin or Greek, nor indeed any kind of knowledge. The sum of his acquirements is the ability to read and write the Liturgj of the Church. Even the little he has
learned in scl 1 is slowly obliterated by the frequent
mechanical performance of ceremonies and the toils of agriculture, to which he must devote his .-pare time to avoid starvation.
The income of the popes and inferior ecclesiastics is very scanty. As a rule they dwell in a house belonging to the parish, till with their own hands the land con- ceded to them for their maintenance, and have mostly to depend on their casual U-<-^. It follows that every- thing—baptism, blessings, exorcisms, vi-ii- to the .-ick. celebration of the Eucharist, even confessions — must be paid tor according to the rank and wealth of the pa- rishioner, else the pope could not maintain hima If and hi- family with a salary of $100 at the utmost The dress of the popes differs little from that of laymen. Their long heard (which they consider sinful to .-have off), their uncombed hair, hanging wildly about their neck and shoulders, give them an untidy appearance. In the church alone the popes appear bareheaded ; out- side they wear a kind of cap or a round hat. with a broad, Qat border. A long stick is their constant com- panion.
The ordination of pope- (hierey, presbyters, priests)
i- observed in the following way: The bishop makes the Bign of the cross <>\ er the head of i he candidate,
while the killer kisses the bishop'.- knee-. He then,
with the other ecclesiastics, walks three times proces- sionally around the altar, kneels down before tin same, ami lays bis ton head between his hands, which lie rests crosswise on the altar. The bishop lays his right hand on the head of the young priest, and says. "The divine grace promotes the most pious deacon to the order of priesthood." Then the onlinated youth re- ceives the benediction, and kisses the hand of the bishop. As to priestly garments, he receives, instead ofthe crarion, a similar stripe, four inches wide and lour ells km--, around the neck : this ornament is calli d epi- brachelion; further, a belt and a round cloak, the great phelonion (the casula ofthe Latins), which reaches to
his feel.
The secular clergy stand under tho control of the di- ocesan bishop, hut are in many respects also ami liable to the worldly authorities. See for literature the art. Ri s-i \.
Pope, Alexander, the celebrated English poet of the 18th century, deserves a place here as the writer of poems of a decidedly religious cast, for tin speculative character of some of his productions, and their peculiar philosophical tendency. Pope was born in May, 1688,
in I don. of rather humble parentage, of i he Romish
communion. A sickly child. Alexander's early educa- tional advantages were scanty, hut notwithstanding all deficiencies his poetic talent was manifest at a most tender age, though il is true that hiscelebrih is chiefly due to his satirical power, which was displayed in the writings of his maturer years. We would not, how- ever, he understood as underestimating Pope's poetical qualifications; for. although he confined himself to the didactic style leaving untouched the two higher or- ders of poetry, the epic and dramatic— he was yet in this department the master unsurpassed. No other English poet, not even Cowper, has combined such powers of reasoning with such splendid decorations of fancy: and Pope's works ha\e been more frequently edited than those of an)- other British poet except Shakespeare. When hut fifteen years old. Pope pre- pared poetical translations of several Latin poets, and thereby proved his attainments iii the classical lan- guages. From i In- age of twelve he had himself formed a pi,- f study, to which he rigidly adhered, and com- pleted with little tether incitement than the desire of