THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
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manifest great endurance, many of their leading adherents having lived without food for fifty-four days. They observe the commands of the Vendidad and of Genesis, and consequently hold strictly to vegetarianism (Vendidad, v. 19-20); 4. Outward Gen. i. 29-30). In their public life they Life and are very plain, unceremonial, and un- Sacred pretentious. They accept the leading Texts. thought of society as the tone of their message of peace, relying on the voice of daéna [religion ”] within, and holding to the “light of illumination ” or “ the sun of the soul.” To be ever mindful of the existing relationship of intelligence to substance and vice versa, they recite scriptures daily (Vendidad, xix. 2, 22; Declaration, xix.; Confession, viii. 10-12). They observe holidays very religiously, the chief ones being the Christmas Gahanbar, which generally lasts ten days, and the Midsummer Peace Conference, for five days. They celebrate Easter, or the Birth of Ainyahita [Anahita], and Autumn, or the Birth of Zarathushtra. The greetings of the followers of Mazdaznan to each other are characteristically oriental, and each season and holiday has its particular greetings and blessings. Besides the scriptures they recognize, as pathfinders setting forth most clearly their scientific, philosophic, and religious views, The Dialogues of Ainyahita, Necklace of Humata, Huhata, Hwvarashta, Prayer-Beads, Mazdaznan Declaration, Confession, Statement, and Affirmation. Among their many religious views are the following two affirmations: ‘I am a Mazdaznan, and I recognize the eternal designs in humata (good thought), huhata [hakhta] (good word), huwvarashta [huvarshta] (good deed),” and ‘‘ The will of the Lord is the law of holiness; holiness is the best of all good,” or Yatha ahi vairyo and Ashem vohu. Among themselves the followers of Mazdaznan are divided into four different classes: celibates, companions, minimites, and maximites.
Their belief in karma, reincarnation, and transmigration differs materially from that of the other oriental religions, and they claim absolute scien-
tific and evolutionary substantiation.
5. Attitude Salvation and redemption are, to them,
toward natural consequences in the evolution-
Science. ary process of racial ties, while resur-
rection is a natural process, and immortality is universal to substance and intelligence. However complex the hypothesis of the speculative side of their philosophy may be, they claim to have ample proofs from the living word of God or nature to bear out their statements.
At their services they burn incense, candles, and sacrifices; and wear costly robes, largely of oriental design, while their religious solemnities are cclebrated with the greatest pomp. The order of services, as well as their decorations, change with the seasons and occasions. They hold firmly to inspira-
tion and revelation, and they consider
6. Liturgy the body to be the manifestation of and Organi- God and all the physical attributes to
zation. be the temple of the living God. They
do not believe in erecting special edifices for worship, and their temples serve merely for initiation and the imparting of inner teaching to
the advanced. The sect has two magnificent temples in America, one in Chicago and the other in Lowell, Mass., fitted with all the splendor of oriental and occidental brilliancy. With Otoman Zar- Adusht Hanish as Elector, a Grand Vizier, and a Khalif, constituting a triumvirate, assisted by the Celestial Twelve and the Terrestrial Twelve with their different orders, they conduct the Mazdaznan commonwealth, each official being unsalaried, since all obligations are considered to be those of honor and duty.
The sect carries on a mission in Germany under Ambassador David Ammann, and also conducts missions in Canada, England, Switzerland, Holland, Africa, and South America. Their active membership in the United States is estimated by them at about 100,000, while they maintain that their following is much more numerous. Because of their belief in the universality of their teachings, they forbid proselytizing. Orro YEouAN ScHMID.
ZENO, zi’nd, THE ISAURIAN: Byzantine emperor 474-475 and 476-491. An Isaurian force was long a part of the garrison of Constantinople, and there Zeno rose to power. Aspar, an Ossetian, had under Leo J. reached a high degree of power, and his son Patricius had been betrothed to a daughter of the emperor and been named Cesar. But Leo became estranged from Aspar and his Germans and in his opposition to them leaned upon the Isaurians and Zeno. Zeno married Ariadne, a daughter of Leo, and the betrothal and appointment of Patricius were recalled, while Zeno became consul. Zeno, however, seemed unsuited for the succession because of doubts concerning his orthodoxy, so his son and Ariadne’s, Leo’s grandson, was named successor and became emperor under Zeno’s regency on the death of Leo in 474; but he died in the same year, and under the influence of the dowager empress Verina and of his wife Zeno was named emperor; a disagreement with the dowager empress, however, in connection with an uprising of the Thracian Goths and of the capital, compelled Zeno to flee in Jan., 475, and Basiliscus, brother of Verina, assumed the crown. The new emperor favored the Monophysites (q.v.) and issued an encyclical to that effect, while Acacius, patriarch of Constantinople, upheld the orthodoxy of Chalcedon. The encyclical called forth two letters from Pope Simplicius to Acacius and Basiliscus. Zeno with his Isaurians was enabled to return to Constantinople, captured Basiliscus, and in 476 resumed the reins of empire. The pope hailed the return of Zeno as a triumph of orthodoxy. The power of the Monophysites compelled Zeno, however, to adopt a mediating course, and he issued his Henoticon (q.v.), which attempted a compromise, in which Acacius and Petrus Mongus (qq.v.) had part. The attempt was a failure, and instead of producing peace caused new struggles, and one result was a breach with Rome, begun with the excommunication of Acacius and continuing thirty-five years. Zeno started the East Goths on their way to Italy, while Theodoric as a German king and an imperial officer held Italy as a part of the empire. Justinian’s policy was to restore the direct imperial control in