natore, to assist at the Armenian mass; and on the
road we may talk of the venerable and amiable Fathers who perform that
solemn service, and of the nature of their liturgy.

SS. Bartholomew and Thaddaeus were the first apostles of Armenia:
but it was not till the beginning of the 4th century, that the whole
country became Christian in consequence of the divine blessing, which
attended the zealous exertions of S. Gregory surnamed the Illuminator.
In the 6th century great numbers of the Armenians were infected with
the heresy of Eutyches, who denied that there were two natures in
Christ: and to this error they afterwards added some others. In the
pontificate of John XXII, about the year 328, a zealous Dominican
bishop, called Bartholomew of Bologna, went as a missionary among
them; and many of the Eutychians or Monophysites returned to the bosom
of the Catholic church. In the 16th century the Catholics were so
furiously persecuted by Zachary, a schismatical patriarch, that they
fled and took refuge in other countries. They have at present two
establishments at Rome, one of the Antonian monks at the church of
S. Gregory Illuminator, behind the colonnade of S. Peter's; and a
national _ospizio_ at S. Biagio in strada Giulia.

[Sidenote: their liturgy.]

"The Armenians," says Palmer "have only one liturgy, which is written
in the ancient Armenian language, and has been used by them from time
immemorial. The whole groundwork and order of the Armenian liturgy
coincides with the Caesarean, as used in the time of Basil. This
liturgy has, like most others, received many additions in the course
of ages. There are several prayers extracted from the liturgy of
Chrysostom, and actually ascribed to him" Vol. 1, Liturgy of Armenia.
"The liturgy of Basil can be traced with tolerable certainty to the
4th century. Striking as are some of the features, in which it differs
from that of Antioch, it is nevertheless evidently a superstructure
raised on that basis: the composition of both is the same, i.e. the
parts, which they have in common, follow in the same order. The same
may be said of the Constantinopolitan liturgy, commonly attributed to
S. Chrysostom, of that of the Armenian church, and of the florid and
verbose composition in use among the Nestorians of Mesopotamia. So
that the liturgy of Antioch, commonly attributed to S. James, appears
to be the basis of all the oriental liturgies". Tracts for the Times,
N. 63. The author then p