DEPRIVATION-DERVISHES. British Divines at the Synod of Dort, about the Quinquarticular controversy." The united body termed "The Three Denominations," was organized in 1727, and so harmonious was the association, that for some time they were able to join together in acts of Christian worship. At length, Socinianism having been embraced and openly taught by some of the Presbyterian and of the General Baptist ministers, it was found necessary to limit the proceedings of the united body to general points, connected with the political rights and privileges of Dissenters. The Unitarian ministers, however, have seceded from the general body of the Three Denominations, so that their proceedings are now conducted with greater harmony of deliberation and unity of purpose. See DEPUTIES (DISSENTING). DEPRIVATION, a term used in England to denote an ecclesiastical censure, whereby a minister for some competent reason is deprived of his living. The sentence of deprivation, according to the canons of the Church of England, must be pronounced by the bishop only, with the assistance of his chancellor and dean, and some of the prebendaries, if the court be kept near the cathedral church, or of the archdeacon if he may be had conveniently, and two other at least grave ministers and preachers to be called by the bishop when the court is kept in other places. DEPUTATI. See CEROFERARII. DEPUTIES (DISSENTING), a committee of gentlemen chosen annually by the congregations belonging to the Three DENOMINATIONS (which see) of London and its vicinity, for the purpose of watching over and defending the rights and privileges of Protestant Dissenters in England. A few years after the union of the three bodies had been effected in 1727, the system of deputies was adopted. Each congregation belonging to the Three Denominations of Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists, in and within twelve miles of London, appoints two deputies annually to represent them at the General Committee. The election has taken place regularly since 1737, and the Committee thus formed watch over any bills which may be introduced into Parliament affecting the interests of Dissenters, as well as the cause of religious liberty generally. DERCETO. See ATERGATIS, DAGON. DERRHIATIS, a surname of ARTEMIS (which see), derived from Derrhion, a town on the road from Sparta to Arcadia. DERVISHES, Mohammedan monks who belong to the Schiite or Persian sect of Moslems, and who lay claim to special revelations from heaven, and to immediate supernatural intercourse with the Deity. The name is said to be derived from the Persian word der, "the threshold of the house," and metaphorically "humility." In Persia they obtained also the name of Sofis from Sof, which signifies a coarse woollen dress worn by devotees. The orders of these Dervishes are numerous. D'Olsson enumer 705 ates no fewer than thirty-two, while Von Hammer estimates them at thirty-six. It is remarkable what a powerful influence they exercise upon the social condition of the whole Turkish empire. They are said to have existed in Persia long before the promulgation of Islamism, and indeed their system of doctrine may be traced back to the remotest periods in the history of all the regions of Central Asia. Mohammed, endeavouring to accommodate his system of religious belief to the peculiarities of the Oriental character, rendered Islamism so sensual and materialistic in its representations of God, that it suited the Pantheistic Sofis or Dervishes, who believed every man to be an incarnation of Deity. This class of religious fanatics soon came to combine with their belief of the Koran much of the contemplative mysticism of the Hindu Fakirs. Some of them, as for example, the Nachshbendies, without quitting the world for a monastic seclusion, bind themselves to the strict observance of certain forms of devotion. Other orders of Dervishes are still more rigid. Most of them impose a noviciate, the length of which is made to correspond with the progress which the candidate has already made. He is taught to repeat the list of the Divine attributes, seven of them only being communicated at a time. He is bound to tell all his dreams to his superior, who pretends thereby to be able to discover the advancement which the candidate is making in Divine knowledge. Some of the orders approach nearer to, and others are farther removed from, the doctrines of the Koran. Twelve of the orders are alleged by Von Hammer to have existed before the foundation of the Ottoman Empire, while the rest were formed between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. In Persia, however, the Dervishes have always been most flourishing, and they have even ranked among their number some of the most celebrated Persian poets. Such was the popularity indeed of the Dervishes at one time in Persia, that one of them actually reached the throne, and founded the dynasty of the Sophis. In Turkey again, when the Janissaries were first organised in 1328, the Sultan prevailed upon a noted Dervish, named Bactasch, and the founder of the BACTASCHITES (which see), to bless them formally in order to inspire them with religious zeal. This the Dervish did by holding the sleeve of his robe over the head of each of the officers. In commemoration of this ceremony, the Janissaries ever after wore a piece of cloth hanging down from behind the turban. The Dervishes make no open opposition to the Koran, but they pretend to be delivered by special Divine inspiration from the necessity of submitting to any law human or divine. This doctrine they never openly avow even to candidates seeking admission into their society. They craftily teach the initiated that the Koran contains only an allegory of precepts and maxims purely political; and that as soon as habits of mental devotion have been acquired, the worship of God becomes a purely spiritual act, which entirely supersedes all outward forms and ceremonies, and all human interpretation of the written word. In this way outward authority and law are made to yield to inward impulses. They insist also upon implicit submission to the sheikh of their order. "Whatever you do, whatever you think, let your sheikh be ever present to your mind," is the mental ejaculation of every Dervish. This class of superstitious devotees has succeeded in acquiring a strong hold over the minds and hearts of the lower class of Moslems. This influence they strive by all means to maintain and increase. They persuade the people that the descent of the Dervishes is to be traced to Ali, and even to Abubekr, the first of the four immediate successors of Mohammed. They profess to work miracles, and have recourse to all kinds of juggleries and impositions, with the view of exalting themselves in popular estimation. Though some of them are far from being correct in their moral conduct, yet the ignorant and superstitious among the people actually believe that the souls of these pretended saints are already purified and united with God, and therefore are in no way contaminated by the deeds of the body. The Sultans and Ulemas have more than once had occasion to dread the dangerous power of the Dervishes over the common people, which has actually led on some occasions to open rebellion against the rulers of the country. The Ulemas, who belong to the Sonnite sect of the Mohammedans, have always been at enmity with the Dervishes, and striving in every way to lessen their power, but hitherto with little success. One order, the Bactaschites, was aroused to fury in consequence of the destruction of the Janissaries by order of Sultan Mahmoud, and were the chief instruments in raising revolts in various quarters; but the Sultan, with the advice of the Grand Mufti and chief Ulemas, had the three chiefs of the order publicly executed, banishing most of its members. Most of the orders of Dervishes have convents. Only one order, that of the Bactaschites, can properly be called mendicant; many of these profess to live on alms alone, after the example of their founder. They are not very importunate beggars, rarely addressing private individuals, but for the most part they are found in crowded streets, crying, "Relief for the love of God." Others of this order become hermits, and profess to support themselves by manual labour. Though Dervishes are quite at liberty to quit their order and return to the world, should they feel so disposed, very few cases of the kind have been ever known to occur. They generally live and die in connection with the order they have joined. "Were the Dervishes of Turkey," says Dr. Taylor, "to lay aside their distinctive dress, they would still be recognized by their modest gait and submissive countenance." Wherever a Dervish appears he is warmly welcomed. Many wealthy persons keep a Dervish in their house, like the confessor in rich Roman Catholic families; believing that his presence will bring down upon them the blessing of heaven. The Dervish is consulted on all occasions as one believed to be possessed of supernatural wisdom. The mode in which the Dervishes in Turkey conduct religious services will be best described by quoting the statement of an eye-witness of one of their festivals: "The ceremony commenced by a procession, consisting of the Sheikh, Imáms, Der vises, and people, along the street, many of them carrying long poles, having several lamps attached at the upper end, or else wooden lanterns. After they had entered the mosque, the Dervises, about fifteen in number, sat down cross-legged on matting, in an elliptic circle, and the people stood or sat closely round them. At one end of the mosque were the Sheikh, Imám, and moon-'shids (or singers of poetry), and near the circle sat a player on a kind of small flute. "The service commenced by the recital of a prayer called El-Fa'thhah,' in a slow, solemn chant, in which the whole assembly joined. After a few minutes' silence the Dervises began their special exercises, termed the Zikr, by chanting, in a slow measure and very low tone, the words, 'La' ila'ha, il'la-llah' (there is no deity but God), bowing the head and body twice in each repetition of the words; after continuing this for about a quarter of an hour, they repeated the same words to the same air for about an equal space of time, but in a quicker measure and with corresponding quickened motions; during this the moon-'shids and Imám sometimes sung to a variation of the same air portions of an ode in praise generally of the Prophet;-the effect of the soft melody of this ode, contrasted with the hoarser voices of the Dervises, was at times pleasing. "The Dervises then repeated the same words to a different air, beginning, as before, in a slow whisper, raised gradually to louder tones, with very rapid motions of the head and body. They next rose on their feet in a circle, repeating the same words in very hoarse tones, laying the emphasis chiefly upon the word 'La'' and the first syllable of Allah,' which were uttered with great vehemence; each turned his head alternately to the right and to the left, bending also the body at the repetition of these syllables. The rapidity of their motions and ejaculations was gradually increased until they became apparently frantic with excitement, several of them jumping and throwing about their bodies in all directions; others, overcome with their intense exertions, were panting and gasping for breath, uttering the most unearthly and horrible sounds, and sinking down from exhaustion, bathed in perspiration. The quickness of their motions and vehemence of their ejaculations seemed to be regulated in some measure by the chant of the moon-'shids and Imám, who lowered their voices when the Dervises began to DESIGNATOR-DEUTERO-CANONICAL. appear exhausted, and urged them on again by raising their notes after they were somewhat rested. "During these performances, one of the spectators who had joined the circle became highly excited, throwing about his arms and body, looking very wildly upwards, and ejaculating the words, 'Allah! Allah! la' la' la' lah!' with extreme vehemence. In a short time his voice became extinct, his strength exhausted, and he sank down on the floor violently convulsed and foaming at the mouth; it was a fit of epilepsy, and he was considered by the assembly to be possessed, or melboo's, like the demoniacs mentioned in the New Testament. Such occurrences are very frequent during these services. "When these performances had lasted about two hours, they were completely suspended for some time, the actors taking coffee, and smoking; and the suddenness with which they subsided from the highest pitch of excitement into their ordinary dignified | gravity of manner was very remarkable. After a short rest they resumed the Zikr, and continued the same frantic performances till day-break. They are enabled by habit to persevere in these exercises a surprising length of time without intermission. We were kept sitting up nearly all night, for it was impossible to sleep in the hearing of their wild groanings and howlings." There is an extraordinary order of Dervishes called MEVLEVI (which see), or dancing Dervishes, whose religious ceremonies are of a truly singular kind, consisting of a series of rotatory motions, which are said to symbolize the eternal existence of the Divine Being. The members of this order belong chiefly to the higher class of Turks. Another class of Dervishes, called Rufalies, practise ceremonies of the most surprising kind, in the course of which they lick red-hot swords, cut and wound themselves with knives, and lacerate their bodies until they sink exhausted. There is a degraded class of Dervishes, called Kalenders, or wandering Dervishes, who are recognized only by the lowest ranks of society, and disowned by the members of the regular confraternities. DESIGNATOR, the master of ceremonies at funerals among the ancient Romans, who regulated the order of procession, and made all proper arrangements. He was considered as the minister of the goddess Libitina, who presided over funerals. DESK, the name usually given to the pulpit which morning and evening prayers are read in the Church of England. Formerly this part of the service was performed in the upper part of the choir or chancel near the altar, and it does not appear to have been till the reign of James I. that the convocation ordered a desk to be provided in every church, in which the minister might read the service. 707 deserved it. Lactantius says, "Those who set a value upon their faith, and will not deny their God, they first torment, and butcher them with all their might, and then call them desperadoes, because they will not spare their own bodies; as if any thing could be more desperate than to torture and tear in pieces those whom you cannot but know to be innocent." DESPŒNA, a surname of Aphrodite, Demeter, and Persephone. DESTINIES (THE THREE), female divinities among the ancient Scandinavians, bearing the names respectively of Urd, the Past, Verdandi, the Present, and Skuld, the Future. They are represented as three virgins, who are continually drawing from a spring precious water, with which they water the Ash-Tree, so celebrated in Northern Mythology under the name of YGGDRASIL (which see). This water preserves the beauty of the ash-tree's foliage, and after having refreshed its leaves falls back again to the earth, where it forms the dew of which the bees make their honey. These three virgins always remain under the ash; and it is they who dispense the days and ages of men. Every man has a destiny appropriated to himself, who determines the duration and events of his life. In the prose Edda the Destinies are termed Norns. DESTRUCTIONISTS. See ANNIHILATIONISTS. DEUCALION, a son of Prometheus and Clymene. He was king in Phthia, and in his days a flood is said to have happened, which destroyed the whole human race except himself and his wife Pyrrha. Ovid gives a detailed account of this universal deluge, alleging it to have been a manifestation of the wrath of Jupiter on account of the wickedness of man. Deucalion and his wife, embarking in a small vessel, were saved, and when the flood abated, they landed on Mount Parnassus, and in obedience to the orders of the oracle of Themis they threw stones behind their backs; those which were thrown by Deucalion being changed into men, and those which were thrown by Pyrrha becoming women. In this way the earth is said to have been once more peopled. See DELUGE (TRADITIONS OF THE). DEUTEREUOS, one of the assistants to the PATRIARCH (which see) of the Greek church. DEUTERO-CANONICAL (Gr. deuteros, second, and canonicos, canonical), an epithet applied to cerintain books of Sacred Scripture, which were added to the canon after the rest, either because they were not written till after the compilation of the canon, or because of some doubt whether they were canonical or not. The deutero-canonical books in the modern canon are, the book of Esther, either the whole, or at least the seven last chapters; the epistle to the Hebrews; that of James, and that of Jude; the second epistle of Peter; the second and third epistles of John, and the Book of Revelation. The deutero-canonical parts of books are, the Hymn of the Three Children; the prayer of Azariah; the his DESPERATI (Lat. desperate men), a name given to the early Christians by their enemies, as a term of reproach. This name they rejected as a calumny, throwing it back upon their enemies, who more justly |