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himself to his Patriarch a Dogmatist of the Chaldean Faith.

Mar Abraham being grown ancient and very much broke, by the long and unintermitting Perfecutions of the Portuguezes, was willing to have a Coadjutor from Babylon, who might, after his Death, alfo fucceed him in his Bishoprick, and accordingly had one Mar Simeon fent to him by the Patriarch of Babylon.

Mar Simeon was no fooner fixed in the Serra, but, finding the People, by reafon of his never having had anything to do with the Latins,to have a much greater Affection for him than they had for Mar Abraham, who, tho' to his Sorrow, had been fo much among them, he was encouraged to fet up for fole Bishop, and having fixed his See at Carturte, one of the principal Towns of the Christians of St. Thomas, was much favoured by the Queen of Pimenta, in whofe Territories Car

turte is.

These two Bishops fell presently to fulminate their Excommunications one against another, to the great disturbance of the whole Diocess, and Mar Abraham finding his Adversary to gain ground of him daily, complains of him to the Viceroy and Arch-Bishop of Goa, defiring them to drive Mar Simeon out of the Serra, who was not only an Intruder, but a bitter Enemy to the Latin Faith.

The Viceroy, tho' he had no great kindness for Mar Abraham, yet confidering that he was Bishop of the Serra, by the Pope's appointment,

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refolved, if it were poffible, to eafe him of his Adverfary, and understanding that it would be a difficult thing for him to get Mar Simeon into his hands by open force, he employed fome Francifcan Friars to inveigle him with fair promifes to go to Rome, and get the Pope's Brief for the Bifhoprick, without which he could never expect to enjoy it peaceably.

Mar Simeon having first conftituted one Jacob, a Parish Priest his Vicar General during his Abfence, was perfwaded by the Friars to go along with them to Cochim, from whence he was fent to Goa, and from Goa upon the first Ships to Portugal, and from thence to Rome, where, after having been examined by the Inquifition, he was declared by Pope Sixtus V, not to be in Holy Orders, and was with that Sentence upon him fent by the Cardinal St. Severiana to Philip the Second, who put him into the hands of Dom Aleixo de Menezes, whom he was then fending to Goa, to be Arch-Bishop of that place.,

Arch-Bishop Menezes, inftead of carrying him along with him to the Indies, which was what Mar Simeon expected, confined him to a Francifcan Convent in Lisbon, from whence he is faid to have wrote Letters by every Fleet, that went to the Indies to his Vicar-General Jacob, and in all his Letters to have ftill ftiled himself Metropolitan of the Indies, and to have profefs'd the Chaldean Doctrines; thefe Letters were found by ArchBishop Menezes in the Serra, when he visited it, by whom they were fent to the chief Tribunal of B 4

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the General Inquifition of Portugal, where if they found Mar Simeon alive, they doubtless made him change his Francifcan Prifon for that of the Inquifition, where they would take care he should write no more fuch Letters.

Dom Matthias, Arch-Bishop of Goa, having in the Year 1590. called another Provincial Council, did, in conformity to Gregory XIII's Brief, Summon Mar Abraham to repair to it, who being fenfible how ill he had complied with what he promised in the former Council, returned no other Anfwer to the Summons, but a Saying, which, he faid, was a Proverb in his Country, That the Cat that bites a Snake is afraid of her Cord, intimating thereby, that he durft not truft the Portuguezes and Latin Bishops any more: After which he diffembled no longer, but in all things declared himself to be of the Chaldean Faith.

Clement VIII. being informed of all this, difpatched a Brief, bearing date the 27th. of January 1595. wherein he Commanded Dom Aleixo de Menezes, Arch-Bishop of Goa to make Inquifition into the Crimes and Errors of Mar Abraham, and in cafe he found him guilty of fuch things as he had been accufed of, to have him apprehended and fecured in Goa, as alfo to appoint a Governour or Vicar-Apoftolical of the Roman Communion over his Bishoprick, and upon Mar Abraham's Death to take care that no Bishop coming from Babylon fhould be fuffered to enter into the Serra to fucceed.

This Brief was delivered to the Arch-Bishop before he went to the Indies, by virtue whereof, and in obedience to the Pope's Commands, he made Inquifition into the Crimes and Errors of Mar Abraham, and finding him guilty of all that he had been accused of, he sent him his Process without Summoning him to appear at Goa, by reason of his having been Bed-rid for fome time.

The Arch-Bishop furthermore understanding by the Informations he had taken, that Mar Abraham, in conjunction with all the Chriftians of his Diocefs, had sent to the Patriarch of Babylon for another Coadjutor, Commanded those of Ormus and of all other places that lay in the way, under grievous Cenfures, to ftop all Chaldean, Perfian, or Armenian Ecclefiafticks that fhould come towards the Indies without his Pafs. This Order was so punctually executed, that one who came to Ormus with the Title of the Arch-Bishop of the Serra, was discovered in a difguife, and fent home again. There were feveral others of thofe Priefts and Bifhops who attempted to get into the Serra in the Habit of Mariners, were stopt, to the great Grief of the Chriftians of St. Thomas, who, the more they faw their Clergy Perfecuted, respected them the more, and grew every day more zealous for their ancient Doctrines and Rites.

The Arch-Bishop being much encouraged by the Success of this diligence, laid the matter of the reduction of this Church to the obedience of the Roman, much more to Heart than any of his

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Predeceffors had ever done. The first he applied himself to was Jacob, whom Mar Simeon had left his Vicar General, to whom he writ a long Letter, paffionately entreating him to throw away the Commiffion he had from Mar Simeon, who was Convicted at Rome of not being in Holy Orders, and to fubmit himself to the Papal Authority; making him large Promises of what he would do for him, if he complied with his defires. But Jacob, who died prefently after, was deaf to all the Arch-Bishop could fay to him, making it his whole business to enflame his Flock against the Latins, and their Doctrines.

The Arch-Bishop did not neglect at the fame time to write earnestly to Mar Abraham, as alfo to the Arch-Deacon, who is the only Dignitary in that Church under the Bishop, and who is employed by him as his Vicar General, calling upon them to purge their Diocefs of the Errors wherewith it had been fo long infected, and to reduce it to the Roman Obedience.

St. Francis, about this time, destroyed a whole Fleet of fores to the Portugueze, who, tho' he was not seen by any of the Portuguezes in the Fight, which was very bloody on both fides, yet a Cook who belonged to a Capuchin Convent not far off, having hid himself in the Ruines of their Church, faw a Friar in his own Habit Board the Fleet of fores, one after another, whom he fo terrified with his very look, as to put them all to flight immediately, and purfued them out of fight: This formidable Friar was afterwards

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