Abyss in i ans

[In Arab. Habashon = Aby in i ans, fr. habasha to collect or congregate.] 1. The people of Aby in i a. 2. A sect of Christians consisting chiefly of the dominant race in the country from which the name is derived. The Monophysites, or those who believe that Christ po e ed but one nature, are divided into two leading communions-the Copts and the Aby in i ans. The Aby in i ans look up to the Alexandrian patriarch as their spiritual father, and allow him to nominate over them an ecclesiastical ruler called Abuna. [ABUNA.] The doctrines of the Aby in i ans are the same as those of the Coptic church, but several peculiar rites are observed. The oldest churches are hewn out of the rock. Like the Greeks, the Aby in i ans do not tolerate statues, but paintings are numerous. *a-by -us. [ABYSS.]