History Of The Missions Of The American Board Of Commissioners For Foreign Missions Volume II Part 23

CHAPTER XLIII.

THE ARMENIANS.

1869-1872.

The year 1870 commenced at Marash with another revival. A thousand persons were present at the prayer-meeting on the 3d of January, which was admirably conducted by Pastor Murad. The missionaries, though present, did not deem it necessary to a.s.sist him. Fifty-three new members were received into the two churches, and a much larger number offered themselves for admission. Successful efforts were made to reach the women, who were visited in their own homes by the wives of students in the theological school, and by the older scholars in the girls' school. The number of houses thus visited during six weeks, was three hundred and eight, and there were fifty-five prayer-meetings.

A revival was also in progress at Bitlis. For many weeks there had been a sunrise prayer-meeting every day; and it was fully attended for eight months; its location being changed occasionally to accommodate different parts of the city. The meeting on the 18th of February was the most interesting and profitable. Nearly ninety persons were seated on the floor of a room thirteen feet by twenty.

Pastor Simon had charge of the meeting, and so ready were the people, that it continued two hours and three quarters before he could bring it to a close. As many as seventeen spoke, and about as many prayed. During the meeting, a prominent church-member called the attention of the weeping congregation to the importance of making a covenant with G.o.d _now_; and after reading a beautiful and appropriate hymn, he requested all who were ready to make such a covenant to rise. Nearly all rose, and while they were standing, he offered an earnest prayer for the aid of the Holy Spirit in keeping that covenant. It was an impressive scene. Forty were added to the church as the result of this revival. The people paid the debt on their chapel and parsonage, and enlarged the former. They also gave a site for the building to be erected by the two Misses Ely for the girls' boarding-school, in which were twenty pupils, for the most part wives of native helpers.

Some time in the month of April, the good people of Bitlis observed a day of fasting and prayer for the village of Havadoric, where the blind preacher, John Concordance, had labored, and where he died.

After a few weeks, Mr. Knapp visited the place, with Pastor Simon, and they found delightful evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit. It was in contemplation to organize a church in that place, and the church in Bitlis had sent three delegates, who walked forty-five miles over the muddy roads. Ten hours were spent, the day after their arrival, in examining more than a score of persons for the new church, and eleven were approved, including two women. After the church had been organized, Avedis, a graduate of the Harpoot Seminary, was ordained as pastor. Fifty were present at the Lord's supper from Bitlis, Moosh, and Khans.

The barbarous expulsion of Mr. and Mrs. Coffing from Hadjin, in 1862, will be remembered.[1] This was attributed, at the time, to the priests and the Turkish governor, and not to the people. Mr.

Adams from Adana, and Mr. Trowbridge from Marash, went there in 1870, in company with Hagop Effendi, the Civil Head of the Protestants in Turkey, who was then on an official tour through the empire. They found the door for Christian effort wide open, as Messrs. Montgomery and Perry had done the year before. Though situated on the northern side of the Taurus mountains, Hadjin is more conveniently cared for by the Central mission than by the Western, and that section of country had been transferred accordingly. Native laborers had gone there, and a great change had taken place. Thirty-two had been enrolled as Protestants, and no mention is made of opposition. At the evening services on the house-top, where the missionary's tent was pitched, not only the Protestants, but large numbers of the Armenians, listened with eager attention. From early morn until dark on the Sabbath, there was hardly an intermission in the preaching, exposition, or reading of the Word of G.o.d.

[1] See p. 221.

In the autumn of 1869, Dr. Schneider, by direction of the mission, attended the examination of the Theological School at Marsovan. He writes, "The examination continued through most of three days, and as a whole was quite satisfactory. The appearance of the students in theology was peculiarly gratifying. The readiness and propriety of their answers proved that they had bestowed thought on the various points brought up, and saw their relations to one another. Their public addresses, when they received their diplomas, were all excellent, while some were of quite a superior order, and exhibited no common degree of oratorical power." He was also much gratified by the appearance of the girls' boarding-school.

Seven days' travel, on his return to Broosa, brought him to Angora, a city of from forty to fifty thousand inhabitants. The probable estimate gave ten thousand to the Catholics, three hundred to the Greeks, a thousand to the Armenians, and five hundred to the Jews; the remainder were Mussulmans. Many books had been sold there, much light disseminated, and a small body of Protestants earnestly entreated for a missionary to reside among them, or at least for an educated native preacher. No uneducated man could sustain himself there against the powerful array which the Roman Catholics could bring to bear upon him by means of their educational establishments.

Among the obstacles to be encountered, were the extreme worldliness of the people, and their devotion to sensual pleasures. Angora is within the limits of the ancient Galatia, and very probably was the site of one of "the churches of Galatia." It appears not yet to be occupied as a station.

Another interesting place was Erzingan, within the Erzroom district, visited by Mr. and Mrs. Cole in the autumn of 1870. They travelled the whole distance of a hundred miles in a gig; with many risks, it is true, but with no disaster. The city was supposed to contain as many as ten thousand Armenians, forming a third part of the population. Mr. Dunmore, the brave pioneer, had spent three months there, and various helpers had been stationed there from time to time. The missionary and his wife were received with the utmost kindness, and had crowded meetings during the nine days they were there. Mrs. Cole had several interesting meetings, also, with the women. "Thus time pa.s.sed," writes Mr. Cole, "and you may be sure it was a continual feast to the soul, and we felt quite reluctant to turn homeward."

The mission sent by native churches to the Koords, like most new missions, had a tardy success; and, after four years, the zeal of the native churches began to flag, and some of the native pastors proposed to stop the work in Koordistan, and devote themselves more fully to the "home field." Knowing that the influence of such a course would be disastrous, Mr. Wheeler threw himself into the breach, and was off for a three weeks' tour in Koordistan. Redwan, the seat of the mission, was eighty miles east of Diarbekir. He was accompanied by Hagop Effendi, Civil Head of the Protestants, and two native preachers; and was rejoiced to find at Redwan a congregation of eighteen men, thirteen women, and twenty-two children. They had learned, or begun to learn, to read in the Armeno-Koordish, into which the four Gospels had been translated; and some were learning the Armenian language, so as to be able to read the whole Bible.

Their chapel, of sun-dried brick, ten feet by twenty, was crowded on the evening of their arrival. "They sang 'Sweet hour of prayer,'"

writes Mr. Wheeler, "and 'There is no other name so sweet,'

translated from Armenian by their preacher, who had also translated, with the help of Pastor Mardiros of Harpoot, 'Forever with the Lord,' 'How lost was my condition,' 'My faith looks up to Thee,'

'Safely through another week,' 'My days are pa.s.sing swiftly by,' and others. Perhaps it was all romance, but somehow that little, close, low, dark, foul-aired chapel seemed to me almost a heavenly place, as we joined,--they in Koordish and I in Armenian,--in singing those sweet hymns." At an expense of forty dollars in gold, the people bought a fine lot for a larger building, including chapel, school-room, and parsonage, which they hoped to put up in the following year. They desired also the formation of a church, and the ordination of a pastor. "Do you wonder," adds Mr. Wheeler, "that I returned with a light heart to tell the churches these good news from their mission field?" The Harpoot church immediately decided to send a school-teacher to Redwan, so that the preacher might give himself entirely to his work.

Mr. Pond, of Mardin, went to Sert four days distant in Koordistan, and experienced the usual trials by the way,--sleeping in "stifling stables, with a perfect menagerie of animals and fowls, and creeping creatures too numerous to catalogue."

The church at Sert he found full of brotherly love, simple faith, and a desire for knowledge. It had given freely to the brethren in Redwan, and paid the entire salary of its own pastor. "Indeed," says the missionary, "but for this church in Sert, we should almost despond for the Arabic-speaking portion of our field. In Mardin, it is true, we have a flourishing church and community, but not so refreshing in its simplicity and strength of faith and love. The pastor of the Sert church is one of the best men for the pastoral work I have ever seen in Turkey, and is the chief cause, under G.o.d, of the cheering state of his flock."

Mr. Pond next visited Mosul, and found it no longer an unpleasant part of their field. "Once, and that not long ago, it was the least hopeful spot in all our bishopric. For over thirty years has the Gospel been preached there, and by such men as Grant, and Lobdell, and Williams, Marsh, and Hinsdale. The church contained at one time twenty members, but had dwindled to ten."

A pastor was to be ordained at Mosul, and Mr. Andrus, missionary from Mardin, Pastor Jurgis of Mardin, Pastor Elias of Sert, and delegates from these two churches were there to aid in that service.

The pastor elect was ordained, the dead branches in the church were cut off, and eight new members were added, while as many more were ready to join at the next communion.

Dr. Williams died at Mardin on the l4th of February, 1871, at the age of fifty-three, broken down by an acc.u.mulation of labors and cares, which, until near the close of his life, he had been compelled to bear alone. It was a great loss to the mission, but especially to Mardin; and he was called from earth just when the clouds, which had made his field seem dark to him, began to break.

He saw it, and rejoiced. He said he was like Moses, who was permitted to look into the promised land from Pisgah, but was not allowed to enter it.

Mr. H. N. Barnum, who knew Dr. Williams intimately, while admitting that he was unduly disposed to distrust his own powers and judgment, says that, aside from this, he was a rare man. "He had great self-control, and was so undemonstrative, that those who did not know him intimately can scarcely be said to have known him at all.

He possessed genuine refinement; and with his marvelous fund of information in almost all departments of knowledge, his fine command of language, and his good nature and enthusiasm, he was, in his more cheerful moods, a fascinating member of our social circle. His clear mind had been carefully cultivated, and his acquisitions were very exact. However much he distrusted his own judgment, his a.s.sociates confided in it. He was forward to acknowledge any mistake, and correct it, and he was enthusiastic in his zeal for the policy of self-support in the missionary work. His students held him in the highest admiration, and very few missionaries have secured the affection of the people for whom they labor so fully as he did. Had he remained at home, I am sure he would have stood conspicuous among the clergy. He was very careful in the use of missionary funds, and in everything maintained a conscience void of offense. He was, withal, eminently spiritual. His many trials had wrought in him a deep and thorough work of grace."

"The _one_ attraction of heaven for Mr. Williams," writes his bereaved wife, "was _Jesus_. 'Like Jesus,' and 'without sin,' and 'to be with Jesus and see Him as He is,' were phrases ever on his lips. He used often to speak of the great host gone before, and of the loved ones constantly gathering there; but it was rare to hear him speak of joy at the prospect of meeting them. It was always '_Jesus_, the joy of loving hearts.' Neither did he long for heaven as a place of _rest_, until very near the end. He loved toil, and felt a great desire to live and labor for the Master." "At last,"

she says, "he did grow very weary, and often exclaimed; 'So tired, O, so tired.' In one of those weariest hours, he asked me if I remembered Bickersteth's description of Paradise. 'Well,' he said, 'I can't bear to think of it. To think of climbing over those mountains, it is so wearisome. I think, 'In my Father's house are many mansions,' and I want to be taken right into one of them, and laid down to rest--to rest--O, how sweet.' His intellect was clouded in the last hours."

I find some facts, received in 1871, concerning the women in the region of Cesarea, indicating a decided progress. "Three years ago, with the exception of Cesarea, Yozgat, and Moonjasoon, the truth seemed to have gained but very slight hold upon the women at our several out-stations. But few were ever found in the Sabbath congregation, scarcely any could read, and some bitterly persecuted their husbands. But now a marked change is visible, and the women form no inconsiderable part of all our congregations; large numbers are learning to read; female prayer-meetings are held at nearly or quite every out-station; and an earnest desire for improvement is everywhere apparent. As a consequence, a corresponding change is observed in the conduct of these women. They become better wives and mothers, and their influence is felt for good upon those around them."

Messrs. Wheeler and Reynolds made a visit to Van in the summer of 1871, preparatory to the occupation of that important post. Most of the ninety miles from Bitlis to Van, was within sight of the lake; its waters reposing in quiet beauty amid the mountains, on whose loftiest peaks there still lingered patches of snow. They reached the city in September, and were there a week. They found more readiness to receive the Word of G.o.d, and its teachers, and to have intercourse with them, than they had expected. They were also agreeably disappointed in the number, who were desirous that missionaries should reside among them. The region southeast of Van, which they had supposed was exclusively a Koordish-speaking section, they found to contain a number of Armenian villages, speaking their own language, with Bibles in the modern tongue, and men accustomed to read them. At the time of writing these pages, missionaries are understood to be on their way for the permanent occupation of Van, should such be the will of Providence.

The church at Cutterbul, and indeed the whole region around Diarbekir, experienced a severe bereavement early in 1872, in the death of its first pastor Abd en Noor. "He was a thoughtful man,"

writes Mr. Andrus of Mardin, "and a more independent thinker than many. He had made him a place in the village, so that even the young men of the Jacobite community looked to him as their father. He was very anxious to improve the condition of his race, was faithful both as a preacher and as a pastor, and in the latter capacity was more especially active during the past winter. He was one of the eight pupils received into the first cla.s.s formed by Dr. Williams in Mardin, in September, 1862 (was then about thirty years old), and remained three years in the cla.s.s, supplying the pulpit in Cutterbul during the winter months, where he had been preaching before he entered the school."

The impressions made on Dr. Clarke, Foreign Secretary of the Board, by occurrences in 1871, on his way from Adana to Aintab, are significant of the work of grace, now in progress in the region distinguished by the early labors of the Apostle Paul. His route was across the Cilician and Antioch plains, over the Amarus mountains and another range, and for the most part through a region of wonderful fertility, needing only proper cultivation.

"The journey," Dr. Clarke writes, "was not without some items of missionary interest, as showing how widely the truth is diffused.

The first night out we encamped a little distance from a village that bears the name of Missis, built on the ruins of the ancient Mopsuestia--a place of some note in the early history of the Church.

As we were setting up our tent, two Armenians from the village accosted us with the question,--'Are you the men that are bringing light into this dark land?' On being a.s.sured that we were just those very men, they gave us a hearty welcome, and did their best to a.s.sist us in every way, remaining till dark, and coming again in the early morning. This they did as a labor of love, and to receive some words of counsel and cheer. They were Protestants, but not church-members, who had come here for business--one from near Antioch, and the other from the neighborhood of Harpoot. Here, where no preacher of the truth had ever been stationed by us, these men were faithful to the light they had, spending the Sabbath together in studying the Scriptures and in prayer, and speaking to all who would listen of the Gospel of Christ. One of the men had formerly been a keeper of a drinking shop. One day, while plying his trade, he called out to a pa.s.ser-by to come in and drink. The reply, 'I cannot, I am a Protestant,' arrested his attention, and eventually led him to give up his wicked traffic for an honest calling.

"On another day we met a party of laborers coming down into Cilicia from Eastern Turkey, whom we at first mistook for Koords. But coming nearer, Mr. Trowbridge recognized them as Armenians, and at once asked if there were any Protestants among them. 'O yes,' cried several; and in proof they drew Testaments from their bosoms. One of them, a leading Protestant from Haboosi, on learning who I was, at once beset me to hurry on to the dedication of their new church, that was to come off in a few days. He, poor man, had been obliged to come away, but was very anxious to have me go. I was really sorry I could not do so, and thus be a witness to some of the ripe fruits of the great work in the villages about Harpoot. What may not be accomplished by such a party of Christian laborers, going into villages and neighborhoods unreached by other means? It is thus that the good seed is now scattered broadcast over the land.

"We had hoped to reach Ha.s.san-Beyli for the Sabbath, but the distance proved too great, and as it was three hours off from the main road, we had to give up a visit to this mountain eyrie,--now a centre of Christian influence, a few years ago a nest of robbers.

But they would not let us off so. Tuesday morning, by six o'clock, we were surprised to see a half dozen of those stalwart men, who had left their mountain crags, three hours before, to come down and exchange Christian salutations. As I looked at them, I could not but wonder at the work of grace manifest in them. After words of exhortation through an interpreter, on mounting my horse I took them each by the hand, while the grasp tightened and eyes flashed and filled at the words--'Christ, Hallelujah, Amen.'"

CHAPTER XLIV.

THE ARMENIANS.--EDUCATION.

1872.

The common school is as much a necessity in mission fields, as it is that the people should be able to read the Word of G.o.d; and it has everywhere been a primary object of attention; but always, and more especially of late years, with the aim and expectation, that it will speedily derive its support from the parents of the children.

Properly conducted, the tendency of the common school is to development. Teachers are learning all the while; new branches of study are introduced; there is greater thoroughness in the teaching and discipline; till at length the Academy is evolved, and perhaps the College.

This would be the natural order of development, were general education the leading object of missionary societies. But the unevangelized nations must be evangelized, and chiefly by their own people. Consequently one of the first efforts is to raise up teachers and preachers.

Enough has probably been said, in this history, respecting the common schools. So, also, of the Seminary at Bebek, inst.i.tuted in 1840,[1] and the Girls' Boarding-school in the metropolis, inst.i.tuted in 1845.[2] The Bebek Seminary was in some respects the forerunner of "Robert College." But however suitable its proximity to the capital may have been, regarding it as an incipient college, the location was not well adapted, on the whole, for a school to raise up young men for pastoral work in the towns and villages of the interior. Hence its discontinuance in 1862, and the opening of a training Seminary in Marsovan, in 1865. The delay of three years was owing to peculiar and unexpected causes. The Girls' Boarding-school at Constantinople was also discontinued for similar reasons, and was reopened at Marsovan in 1865.

[1] See Chapter x.x.xiii.

[2] See Chapter x.x.xiii.

A highly intelligent Armenian gentleman thus addressed Dr. Hamlin: "The Bebek Seminary has given birth to influences, which have waked up our young men all over the land; and you are regarded as a public benefactor, although you can never be regarded as our religious guide. Still, in sentiment, you have--not eight thousand, but eight hundred thousand followers. We shall never be called Protestants; it is not an Armenian term; but we hope to see the day when the Armenian Church will be as evangelical as yours."

The present Theological Seminaries are at Harpoot, Marsovan, Marash, and Mardin. There are, besides these, theological cla.s.ses at Cesarea, Broosa, Sivas, Harpoot, Bitlis, Erzroom, and Eski Zagra.

The first of the four seminaries above named originated in 1859, the second, in 1865, the third in 1868; and the fourth, in 1870. Like similar inst.i.tutions in the United States, they are intended to receive only such as not only give evidence of piety, but are promising candidates for the gospel ministry. The course of study at Harpoot ill.u.s.trates, substantially, the education given, or contemplated, in each of those inst.i.tutions.

For the _first_ year, Exegesis, the Synoptic Gospels and Pentateuch, the Turkish and Ancient Armenian languages, Algebra, Physiology, Reading, Writing, and Spelling Armenian.