A Canon addressed by Macarius, bishop of Jerusalem, to the pontiff Vertanes, circa 340, requires that the altar shall be furnished with a curtain; a curtain shall likewise fall in front of the sanctuary, within which only the minister celebrating the Mass may enter, other ministers present taking their seats outside according to precedence. This rule has become relaxed in modern times, for deacons as well as priests may now stand at the altar. As in the Greek Church, no female quæ sit menstrua, may enter a sacred edifice. It is always the godfather who carries an infant into church for baptism. If the child to be baptised is out of its infancy, it is conducted by a servant of the Church. Divorce is not to be obtained in the Armenian Church, except in cases of adultery, impotence, and a permanently foul breath. There is no ykonostass or altar screen as in the Russo-Greek church; but an image, that is to say a painting on canvas or panel, graven images not being tolerated, is always over the altar in the middle of the pem, a raised course in the centre aisle, that is kept covered with carpets, silk, cloth of silver or gold, on which are laid candlesticks, the censer, and a Bible resting on a piece of silk, for the priest does not touch the book with his hands. The clergy do not pretend to having the power of absolving the penitent; absolution is pronounced in the name of the Almighty. “Very gorgeous and majestic”, says Dr. Issaverdens, “are the garments which the Armenians make use of in their religious ceremonies.” Whatever the restriction in Schiltberger’s time, it is certain that all are now free to read the Gospel. That the contrary was ever the case is denied. The “varthabiet”—Vartabied—is a doctor of divinity possessing knowledge of all holy science, and of all that concerns the study of the Holy Scriptures, of the Fathers, the Councils, and of dogmatical, moral, and disputed theology. The Vartabieds are the first to be consulted in all controversies on religion, its rites, and all ecclesiastical discipline (Issaverdens, _Armenia and the Armenians_, ii, 413, 486; Bishop Meyerditch Kherimian, _communicated_; _The Crimea and Transc._, i, 207).—ED. CHAPTER LXVI.