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1840–1844.

The young Sultan, soon after coming to the throne, pledged himself; in the presence of all the foreign ambassadors, to guard the liberty, property, and honor of his subjects equally, whatever their religious creed. No one was to be condemned without trial, and none were to suffer the penalty of death without the sanction of the Sultan himself. No person at all conversant with Turkey, would expect such a change in the administration of the government to be effected at once, nor indeed for a long course of years. Yet this was the beginning of changes, which were momentous in their influence on the Christian and Jewish population of Turkey.

There was now such a number of Armenian boys and young men around the mission thirsting for knowledge, both religious and secular, that a boarding-school for such could no longer be properly delayed. Mr. Hamlin accordingly opened such a school at Bebek, on the European side of the Bosphorus, six miles above Constantinople.

Mr. Jackson commenced a station at Erzroom in 1840. At first he was almost disheartened when he saw how confidently the people rested their hopes of heaven on saint-worship, and the rigor of their fasts; but he soon saw reason to expect a better state of things.

Messrs. Dwight and Hamlin made a visit, about this time, to Nicomedia. Their intercourse with the native brethren there was generally private because of persecutors, but it was in the highest degree satisfactory. The first meeting was on the Sabbath, in a retired garden, where they sat four successive hours, in the middle of a circle of hungry souls, expounding to them the Gospel. After partaking of some refreshment, they sat three hours more in an adjacent house. Later in the day, they spent three hours in the same manner, in another garden; making in all ten hours of preaching and conversation in the course of one Sabbath; besides an hour more in their own room, with transient visitors from abroad. Many of the questions asked were of a highly practical nature. During this visit, a stranger called upon them, whose curiosity had been excited by the Patriarch's letter of warning against the American missionaries. He, in common with many of his brethren, was anxious to know more about this new way. Considerable time was spent with him in needful explanations, and with these, and a copy of the New Testament in modern Armenian and several tracts, he departed highly delighted. It was thus that a knowledge of the Gospel was first carried to Adabazar where this man resided, twenty-seven miles east of Nicomedia.

The papists took advantage of the religious interest awakened in the Armenian Church; and there was reason to apprehend, that dark, dissatisfied minds, if not made acquainted with the Gospel, were in danger of falling into the iron embrace of the Romish Church. The papal missions had been roused to activity in all the Levant, and their numerous adherents enabled them to come extensively into contact with the native mind. Nor were they scrupulous as to their manner of exciting the jealousies of the people against Protestant missionaries. There is evidence also, that, after the Greek revolution, they took advantage of the fact that nearly all the dragomen of foreign ministers at the Turkish court were Roman Catholics.

The obstacles in the way of preaching the Gospel at Broosa, became so great as to make it a question whether the preachers ought not to go elsewhere. Just then there began to be indications of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Individuals came to Mr. Schneider, almost every Sabbath, deeply affected by the truth, and there were several hopeful conversions. Not only there, but elsewhere and especially at Constantinople, during the year commencing May, 1840, there was a manifest reaction, caused by the persecutions of 1839, which became more and more decided during the year. Minds were awakened, which, but for the banishments, anathemas, burning of books, and shutting up of schools, might have been aroused only by the angel of death. Some of these became hopeful converts, and one a preacher of the faith he had endeavored to destroy. The spirit of freedom and Christian boldness was increased. Priest Kevork and Priest Vertanes were more active than ever. Attempts to break up the mission seminary failed, because neither scholars nor parents would obey the mandate of the vakeel to withdraw from connection with the missionaries.

The Rev. Henry J. Van Lennep and wife joined the mission in April, 1840, and were stationed at Smyrna. Mrs. Van Lennep lived only till the following September. The Rev. Josiah Peabody and wife became the associates of Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, at Erzroom, in the following year; and in that year Mr. Ladd was transferred from Cyprus to Broosa. Mr. Hallock, the missionary printer at Smyrna, returned to the United States, but continued to manufacture Arabic and Syriac types for the printing establishments in the Syrian and Nestorian missions. The printing at Smyrna, during this year, was equivalent to 10,843,704 pages duodecimo; and the pages printed at that establishment from the beginning, had been 51,910,260. Two printing-presses and seven fonts of native type were in use. An "Armenian Magazine" was edited by Mr. Adger; and a Greek "Monthly Magazine" by Mr. Temple, with the efficient aid of Mr. Petrokokino. In November, Mr. Goodell completed the translation of the Old Testament into Armeno-Turkish, and immediately commenced revising the New Testament, which he finished in a few months. The Old Testament had now been translated into Armeno-Turkish from the Hebrew, and the New Testament from the Greek. The Armenians had, also, Zohrab's popular translation of the New Testament in their modern tongue, revised by Mr. Adger, and published under his superintendence, at the expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The ancient Armenian translation, which is said to be a good one, and to be much valued by the people, was made about fourteen hundred years ago.

Mr. Dwight began a course of lectures on systematic theology, commencing with a class of three Armenians, one of them a priest. The Armenian college at Scutari was closed by the bankers in October, after having been in operation three years, at great expense to the community. But the seminary at Bebek was so full of promise, that grants were made to place it on a broader and firmer basis.

The change in the Armenian community, in the course of five or six years, had been very encouraging. At the beginning of that time, some were truly interested in the things of religion, and the missionaries had religious conversation with many. But by far the greater part then came for the purpose of general inquiry, or to see the philosophical apparatus, or hear a lecture on the sciences; and it was matter of joy, if mere human knowledge could be made the entering wedge to their minds for the knowledge which is divine. How marked the change! They now came in large numbers, drawn by the power of the truth of God alone, not to inquire about electricity, or galvanism, as before, but about the eternal destiny of the soul, and the way by which it might be saved. There had been, also, a favorable change in the general style of preaching at the capital; and among the people there was a growing disposition to compare every doctrine and practice with the Scriptures. This the vartabeds, or preachers, could not disregard. It was not an uncommon thing to hear of sermons on Repentance, the Sabbath, the Judgment-day, etc.; and sometimes the preachers were largely indebted for their materials to the publications of the mission. Indeed, one of the most respectable vartabeds in Constantinople made repeated applications to the missionaries to furnish mutter for his sermons. Instances of pungent convictions of sin became more common. Some who had been drunkards, gamblers, adulterers, and downright infidels, were thoroughly converted, and exhibited that humility, purity, spirituality, and Christian zeal, which are the fruits of the Spirit alone. The older converts, also, appeared to grow in the knowledge of Christ, and one striking characteristic was an active zeal for the salvation of others.

Vertanes was full of hope and activity. It is mentioned by Mr. Dwight, in his excellent "History of Christianity in Turkey," that a report reached Constantinople, in the spring of 1841, that a considerable number of Armenians in Nicomedia, members of the old Church, had become disaffected, and were about going over to the Jesuits; and that the Patriarch commissioned this same Vertanes to go thither with all speed, and endeavor to bring them back to their Mother Church. He was successful in the object of his visit; and while he heartily and faithfully obeyed the Patriarch, and endeavored to persuade men not to suffer themselves to fall into the snares of Rome, he also labored zealously to bring them to a sense of their sins against God, and to a hearty reception of Christ alone as the Saviour of their souls. His visit was very comforting and useful to the brethren in Nicomedia.

The intelligence received from Adabazar early in this year, was most cheering. An attempt had been made to raise a storm of persecution, and one of the brethren was thrown into prison, but he was soon liberated by a powerful friend, and afterwards the truth spread more rapidly. Meetings for prayer and reading the Scriptures were held every Sabbath, at which from twenty-five to fifty were present, and one of the priests seemed to have become obedient to the faith. No missionary had yet been among these brethren, and the issues from the press were almost the only instrumentality employed among them by the Holy Spirit. One year previously, it is believed, not a single soul could have been found among the four thousand inhabitants of Adabazar, who was not groping in the deepest spiritual darkness. Now, some forty or more were convinced of the errors of their Church, and ready to take the Bible as their only religious guide, of whom several appeared to be truly converted men, and even willing to lay down their lives for Christ. It was not until the autumn of 1841, that a missionary was able to visit them. Mr. Schneider, of Broosa, was then hailed with joy by all the evangelical brethren, and returned with the most delightful and cheering impressions. A spirit of inquiry had extended into many of the neighboring villages.

The Rev. George W. Wood¹ was transferred to this mission from Singapore in 1842, and was associated with Mr. Hamlin in the Seminary. The Rev. Simeon H. Calhoun, for some time resident at Smyrna as agent of the American Bible Society, received now an appointment as a missionary of the Board; the Rev. Edwin E. Bliss, designated to the mountain Nestorians, having been refused a firman to go thither by the Turkish government, was associated with Mr. Johnston at Trebizond; and Mr. Schauffler devoted himself to the Jews. Mr. Homes had the special charge of the book distribution at Constantinople.

There being so little to impart peace to a really awakened conscience in either the Roman or the Oriental Churches, individuals were often found wandering to and fro, as in pagan India, vainly seeking for rest. One of the most noted cases of this kind was that of an Armenian. To pacify the clamors of conscience, he became an inmate of a monastery far in the interior, where he undertook to perform the most menial services for the monks. Failing to find peace in this, he penetrated into the depths of a wilderness, clothed himself in sackcloth, and lived on the coarsest fare, away from the abodes of man. Here also he was disappointed. Returning to Constantinople, he united himself to the papal Armenians, hoping in their communion to find the relief he sought. He became chief singer in one of the churches near the capital, and endeavored to derive comfort, but found nothing to impart peace in the strictest forms of papal worship. A friend now advised him to visit the American missionaries. He had heard of them only as heretics and enemies of the Christian faith, but was at length persuaded to accompany some friends to Mr. Hamlin's house. Taking a seat as near the door as possible, he listened in silence; then proposed some objections; but gradually became interested, and drew his chair nearer and nearer to his newly found teacher; until at length he seated himself on the floor, literally at the very feet of Mr. Hamlin, and there drank in, with mute astonishment, those divine truths which he had never heard before, but which revealed to him the only sure foundation for peace of mind. There was an instantaneous change in his whole character; and we hear of him twelve years afterwards, as a living witness of the truth, and a faithful laborer in the kingdom of Jesus Christ.²

In October of this year, it was deemed advisable to suspend the preaching service at Constantinople for a few Sabbaths, in consequence of violent opposition on the part of some Armenians, formerly reckoned as brethren. This unexpected and painful change was owing to their forming an acquaintance with individuals who had imbibed the errors, which threaten the unity of the Episcopal Churches of England and America. Just before the outbreaking of this opposition, Mr. Dwight thus gives utterance to his feelings: "How wonderful are the ways of Providence in regard to the Armenians! In one way or another, men are continually brought from distant places to the capital, and here they become acquainted for the first time with the Gospel; and returning to their homes, they spread abroad that which they have seen and heard. There is something quite wonderful in the state of the Armenian mind at the present time." The persecuting spirit above noted was directed more especially towards Hohannes, and this induced him to go to the United States to prepare himself for preaching the Gospel.

In the early part of this year, the Armenian brethren met in a retired part of the hills adjacent to the capital, and there, after united prayer, agreed to send one of their own number, at their own expense, on a missionary tour among their countrymen in the interior of Asia Minor. Of their own accord they also agreed to set apart the first Tuesday in each month, for special prayer to God in behalf of their nation, and for his blessing on the means used for their spiritual illumination. Not unfrequently they remained after Mr. Dwight's preaching, to have a prayer meeting by themselves for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit; and if there was any one present at the meeting who was particularly anxious about his soul, they kept him with them, and talked and prayed with him. It is recorded also, that at one time as many as thirty Armenian men were present at the monthly concert for prayer, which was necessarily held in the middle of the day, and that some of them prayed as if they felt true longings of heart for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

About forty different works, and more than forty-four thousand volumes and tracts, were issued from the Smyrna depôt during the year 1842. Eight or ten booksellers at the capital were kept constantly supplied, and the products of the press were sent into almost every part of the interior.

It is worthy of note that Mr. Dwight's first formal sermon to Armenian women, was in May, 1843. It was in Pera, and four of them had walked not less than three miles to attend the service. One was forty-five or fifty years old, and her sentiments were decidedly evangelical. The religion of the Gospel shone beautifully in some of the Armenian families. Mr. Hamlin had an interesting experience at Bebek. On the 13th of August, on returning from Constantinople, he found nine women and one man waiting his return to preach to them the Gospel. On the 21st, sixteen listened with breathless attention to a sermon on the unsearchable riches of Christ, and nine of these were women. On the 25th, another company of men and women called. Mr. Hamlin was at work upon some philosophical apparatus, when one of the men put his head through the door, and said, "Good-morning, reverend sir, come here, and preach to us the Gospel." September 22d, a company of Armenian men and women, four of them from Nicomedia, came and asked him "to teach them out of the Gospel." On the 24th eight, besides the students, were present at the services, forenoon and afternoon; two from Galata, one from Constantinople, three from Nicomedia, and two from Adabazar. On the day following, thirteen were present, most of whom had heard the maledictions of the Armenian Patriarch pronounced, the day before, on all who should visit the missionaries. On a day in December devoted to family visitations, Mr. Dwight preached the Gospel to more than thirty women.

It was not the missionaries alone, who labored in word and doctrine. Several priests were "obedient to the faith," and preached it more or less formally; and intelligent lay brethren—scattered abroad, some by persecution, some in the prosecution of their worldly business—like the primitive disciples, preached the Word; that is, they took such opportunities as they could get, to make known the truth to those of their countrymen who were disposed to hear it. Vertanes, who had suffered imprisonment and banishment for the sake of Christ, made an extensive missionary tour through Armenia.

In the summer of 1843, a body of Turkish police was seen conducting a young man, under twenty years of age, in the European dress, through the streets of Constantinople. His face was pale, and his arms were pinioned behind him. Arriving at a place of public concourse, they suddenly halted, the prisoner kneeled, and a blow of the yatagan severed his head from the body. His crime was apostasy from the Mohammedan faith. He was an obscure Armenian, and while under the influence of alcohol had abjured the faith of his fathers, and declared himself a Mohammedan. He had not submitted, however, to the rite of circumcision before he repented of his rashness. The penalty of apostasy being death, he fled to Greece. In about a year, impatient to see his widowed mother, he returned in a Frank dress, but was soon recognized, imprisoned, tortured to induce him to reabandon his original belief, and even paraded through the streets with his hands tied behind his back, as if for execution; but upon his proclaiming aloud his firm belief in Christianity, he was sentenced to decapitation. The British ambassador, Sir Stratford Canning, impelled by motives of humanity, made an earnest effort to procure his release, and the Grand Vizier promised that the young man should not be beheaded. On learning that he had been, the ambassador declared it to be an insult to the Established Religion of England, as well as to all Europe, and insisted that no similar act of fanaticism should ever again occur. In this he was said to be warmly seconded both by the French and Prussian ministers. The Grand Vizier, as before, was ready to give a verbal pledge; but soon a second act of treachery was discovered. A Greek, in the interior of Asia Minor, had declared himself it Mohammedan, and afterwards refused to perform the rites of that religion, and the Turkish minister was preparing the death-warrant for him, at the very time when he was making these promises to the ambassador. Sir Stratford now very peremptorily demanded, that a written pledge be given by the Sultan himself (as his ministers could no longer be trusted), that no person embracing the Moslem religion and afterwards returning to Christianity, should on that account be put to death; and the Earl of Aberdeen, on the part of the home government, instructed him in a noble letter not to recede from the demand. The Prussian and French governments were equally decided; and after some hesitancy, even Russia threw the weight of her influence into the scale. After a struggle of some weeks the required pledge was given, signed by the Sultan himself, that henceforth NO PERSON SHOULD BE PERSECUTED FOR HIS RELIGIOUS OPINIONS IN TURKEY. The British ambassador distinctly acknowledged the finger of God in this transaction, which he said seemed little less than a miracle.

It will hereafter appear, that the pledge had a wider range, than was thought of at the time by the governments of Europe, by their representatives, or even by the Turks. God was setting up a spiritual kingdom, and his people must have freedom to worship Him in his appointed way. The battle for religious freedom in Turkey was fought over the mutilated remains of the Armenian renegade, and the Sultan's pledge secured to the Protestant native Christians the full enjoyment of their civil rites, while openly practicing their own religion.³

But before this comprehensive meaning of the pledge could be understood, and the benefit of it actually enjoyed by the people of God, they were subjected to more grievous sufferings for their faith than any yet endured. From 1843 to 1846, there was no long respite from persecution; yet in all this time the spirit of inquiry wonderfully spread, and believers were the more added to the Lord.

In 1843, Priest Vertanes was rudely deposed from office, and thrown into prison. Finding he could not be induced to sign a paper of recantation, drawn up for him by the Patriarch, he was hurried by the Patriarch's beadles, with great violence, into an open sail-boat, without opportunity to obtain even an outer garment from his house, although it was midwinter, and sent across the sea of Marmora to the monastery of Ahmah, near Nicomedia.

The Foreign Secretary of the Board spent eleven weeks in this mission, in the winter of 1843–44, accompanied by Dr. Joel Hawes, of Hartford. At that time it was arranged by the mission, in full accordance with the views of their visiting brethren, to discontinue the Greek department, to give distinct names as missions to the Jewish department and to the work among the Armenians, to open a female high school at Constantinople, and to associate Mr. Wood with Mr. Hamlin in the seminary at Bebek. It was also decided, that Messrs. Riggs and Ladd, turning from the Greeks to the Armenians, should acquire the use of the languages spoken by the latter people; that Mr. Calhoun should be authorized to visit Syria, with a view to an opening for him in connection with the projected seminary on Mount Lebanon; that Mr. Temple, then too old to learn either the Armenian or Turkish languages, ought to be authorized, in view of the discontinuance of the Greek department, to return to the churches whose faithful messenger he had been so long; and that the native Armenian agency should be put upon a footing on which it would be more likely to be sustained ultimately by the people.

There was reason afterwards to believe, that it would have been better for Mr. Temple to remain in Turkey, in the exercise of his eminently apostolic influence upon his brother missionaries and the native Protestant community, Greek and Armenian. Yet his own opinion was in favor of the course he pursued. "I am too old," he said, "to think for a moment of learning a new language, and no opening invites me here in any language I can command." After a farewell visit to his brethren in Constantinople, he set his face homeward, and arrived in Boston in the summer of 1844. He was usefully employed as an agent of the Board, or in the pastoral relation, until his health broke down. In January, 1851, through the kindness of a friend, he made a voyage to Chagres, and another to Liverpool. But he returned from the last of these voyages enfeebled by the roughness of the passage; and his strength gradually declined, until the 9th of August, 1851, seven years after his return to America, when he died at Reading, Massachusetts, his native place, in the sixty-second year of his age. It may be truly said, that few men have borne more distinctively than he, the impress of the Saviour's image.⁴

A daughter of Dr. Hawes accompanied him on his voyage to Smyrna as the wife of Mr. Van Lennep, but was permitted only to enter upon the work to which she had devoted herself in Asia. She died at Constantinople of fever, within less than a year from the time of her embarkation. The health of Mrs. Benjamin was such as to oblige her and her husband to return home. A similar cause occasioned also the return of Mr. and Mrs. Jackson.

¹ Afterwards one of the Corresponding Secretaries of the Board.

² Dwight's Christianity Revived in the East, p.118.

³ This brief statement is compiled from the Correspondence relating to Executions in Turkey for Apostasy from Islamism, published by the British Parliament in 1844, occupying forty folio pages. The correspondence is highly honorable to the great men who were then controlling the political affairs of Europe, and to a large extent also of Western Asia.

⁴ See Life and Letters of Rev. Daniel Temple, for twenty-three years a Missionary in Western Asia. By his son, Rev. Daniel H. Temple, Boston, 1855.