University of California.

IS LI K HER,

' in CulloRO, New York.

MICHAEL REESE,

-^

^

V.VA -

^ '

NARRATIVE

or A

j

VISIT TO THE SYRIAN [JACOBITE] CHURCH
OF MESOPOTAMIA;

WITH STATEMENTS AND REFLECTIONS

UPON THB PRESENT

STATE OF CHRISTIANITY IN TURKEY,

THE CHARACTER AND PBOSPECTS

EASTERN CHURCHES.

BY THE

REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE, M. A.

NEW-YORK :

DANA AND COMPANY
381 BROAD WAT.

1856.

ENTERED, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by

D. APPLETON & CO.,

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District
of New- York.

J

PREFACE.

THIS little book is introductory to a series which the author has long
had in contemplation, and which, if sufficient encouragement is given to
the undertaking, will in due time appear, according as the pressure of
other cares may allow him to finish them. Their sole object and design
is to set forth the Eastern Churches in their real character, to show their
wants, their condition and their prospects, with a view to engaging a
deeper interest and sympathy in their behalf. He addresses himself to
Churchmen, for they alone will fully appreciate the considerations which
he has to present. To them, and to them only does he believe the work
of restoring and strengthening those Churches to be committed, and they
alone are able to perform it.

As a specimen of the character of the works which he has thus under-
taken, and to supply information on a point upon which some will expect
to meet with it in this volume, the following is subjoined from a treatise on
the Doctrines, Ministry, Worship, Ritual, Usages and Religious Condition
of the Syrian Church, which is partly ready for the press.

After speaking of the Worship of the Syrian Church, the work pro-
ceeds :

We pass now from the outer shell of the externals of religion to speak
of its kernel ; from the forms of public worship we turn to doctrine.
And here the first object which attracts attention is the difference by
which the Syrians are separated from the great body of the Christian
Church, which has made them a distinct people for more than a thousand
years. I allude to their doctrine concerning the nature of Christ. What
they are in common reputation is evident from the names they bear.
They are most commonly called Jacobites 1 or Jacobite Syrians, from

1) This term is sometimes applied by Western writers to the whole body of the
Monophyeites, including the Armenians, Copts and Abyssinians ai well as the Syri-

IV PREFACE.

Jacobus Baradaeus, who, in the sixth century, revived their declining
Church, and with almost incredible zeal and success spread it throughout
the regions of Syria and Mesopotamia. Sometimes they are called Eu-
tycheans, from Eutyches, the principal founder and propagator of the M o-
nophysite doctrine, who was condemned by the Council of Chalcedon,
A. D. 451. Sometimes they are called Monophysi tes ; and sometimes,
distinctively, Syrian Monophysites. All these terms are intended to im-
ply that they hold the doctrine of one nature in Christ. Our present
business is to define their exact position. The subject is one of great im-
portance, inasmuch as it is the principal thing which separates them from
other branches of the Church of Christ.

First, then, they are not properly called Eutycheans, both because
they do not hold the doctrine of Eutyches, and because they condemn
and anathematize the heretic himself. Not only do they positively de-
clare this in all their conversations, but every Bishop, at his consecration,
pronounces a form of anathema upon Eutyches.

Secondly, the term Jacobite ( Yacoubi) is, indeed, common among
themselves, although it is disliked by their most learned men, who re-
gard their Church as the ancient Church of Antioch. Their Patriarch
styles himself the successor of St. Peter, in that see, and calls the Greek
Bishop who claims it, a Metropolitan. The Greek Papal Patriarch, the
head of those who have seceded from the Greek Church in Syria, also
lays claim to the same title, so that there are no less than three prelates
who style themselves Patriarch of Antioch. The question, however,
properly lies between the Greek and the Syrian, as they alone can claim
in the right of succession from St. Peter. The papal pretender has no
other title than that he has been recognized, and, indeed, created, by the
Patriarch of Rome, called the Pope. Not only is he unable to show a
succession extending beyond a few generations, but the act by which he
is created, is a palpable usurpation on the part of the Patriarch of Rome
and in direct violation of ancient Canons. 1 The Greek and Syrian Pa-
triarchs, however, claim in due and regular succession from the Apostles.
The Syrians, therefore, discard the name of Jacobites, as not properly
applicable to their Church, although in common conversation the laity
frequently use it. They acknowledge Jacobus Baradaeus (Yacoub Bar-
dani) as the reviver and strengthener of their Church, but not as its
founder. They do not esteem him a saint above other holy men of old,

1) See the fourth and sixth Canons of the First Council of Nice, A. D 325; the
econd of the Pint Council of Constantinople, A. D 381 ; the eighth of Ephcsus ; the
first of Chalcedon confirming the Canons of preceding Council*. Several other Can-
ons of the same Councils bear upon the subject.

PREFACE. V

nor have they any day set apart in honor of his memory. The Patriarch
once rebuked me for calling his people Jacobites, and said it was a term
given to them by their enemies. I have often heard it, however, among
the laity, especially as used to distinguish themselves from the seceding
party, and the firmans and other documents issued by Government gene-
rally, not always, contain it. 1 The Latins do their utmost to fix it upon
them, while they call the seceding party Syrian Catholics. Both terms
seem to me unjust, the first because they themselves discard it, and be-
cause there seems to be no more propriety in calling them from the name
of Jacobus Baradaeus, than there would be in calling ourselves Parker-
ites ; the second because the Catholicity of the seceders consists primari-
ly in their acknowledgment of Papal supremacy. In these pages I call
the first Syrians, which is the name (Syriani) by which they are common-
ly known in the East. The seceders I call Syrian Papists, or Papal
Syrians, not from the desire to convey any reproach thereby, but because
it indicates most precisely the leading difference between them and the
Church from which they have seceded. A Roman Catholic writer says,
that the Eastern Christians recognize in this the only difference between
themselves and the Church of Rome. " As for you [Roman] Catholics,
they [the Armenians, Nestorians and Jacobites,] used to say to us,
' only one question divides us obedience to the same chief. Prove to us
the necessity of this and a reunion will be effected.' " 2 Nothing could
more clearly show the nature of Roman Catholic operations among the
Eastern Churches, and well might the people understand that that was
the only difference which is the only difference insisted upon. There is
no other term than Papist, then, which gives an exact idea of an East-
ern Christian who has seceded from his own Church to that of Rome.
I adopt it, therefore, simply as the most appropriate.

Thirdly, as to the term Munophy sites, it seems to me clearly that the
justice of it must depend upon the real belief of the Syrians. Monophy-

1) This, however, has been brought about by the Latins in their controversies
with the Syrians, before the Porte.

2) Corrcspondance et Memoires d>un Voyageur en Orient. Par Eugene Borc,I. 343.
It does not appear from the author's pages that he ever questioned the truth of this
remark, or gave these Christians to understand that it was farther necessary, in order
to become " Catholics," that they should recognize the Councils which they reject,
and receive the faith of the Universal Chuich. And this is in exact accordance with
the teachings of Latin emissaries wherever, throughout the Turkish Empire, the pres-
ent writer has witnessed any thing of their operations. The question of Papal su-
premacy is every where thrust forward and made all in all, and the Eastern Christians
universally understand by the word Catoleck simply and solely one who acknowledges
the fope, Such, however, we must call Papists.

VI PREFACE.

sitism is the name universally appropriated to the doctrine of Eutyches,
which the Syrians do not hold ; in this sense, therefore, they are not Mo-
nophysites, and I think it must create both confusion and needless preju-
dice to call them so.

We proceed now to show what their real doctrine is. And,
1. They do not hold the doctrine of the absorption of the human
into the divine nature, in Christ. This was the heresy of Eutyches
which was condemned by the Fourth General Council. The Syrians re-
ject this doctrine altogether, not only in their words, but in their standards,
and every Bishop, at his consecration, is required to denounce and anathe-
matize it.

2. They do not hold to the mingling or confusion of the two natures
in Christ, but discard the doctrine and speak most strongly and unequivo-
cally against it, as do also their ancient writers, Bar Hebraeus for example.
Thus I have frequently heard them use such comparisons as these that
the two natures are not mingled, as we say that wine and water are
mingled ; nor does the one pervade the other, as we say that leaven dif-
fuses itself through the lump.

3. To speak affirmatively, they distinctly and clearly hold that there
are two natures in Christ, the divine and the human, and that these two
natures are in the incarnation brought together in one, not mingled, nor
confounded, but united. But,

4. They say that the result of this union is most properly described
as one nature. Up to this point they seem to agree with us, but
here, in words at least, they differ. They do not, however, deny the truth
of our 'own doctrine that the two are united in one person but admit
it. Yet they say, this is not enough, for it does not sufficiently express a
real and indivisible union. To the whole ^of our second Article those to
whom I have shown it, cordially agree, but they think it stops short of the
full expression, and that it would more exactly describe their own doctrine
i f the word nature were substituted for, or added to, the word person. ,Thus
they say that " the two whole and perfect natures were joined together in
one nature " as well as in one person . What now do they mean by this ?

5. And here I will say that I have never been able to discover the
slightest difference between their meaning of the word nature, when
used to express the result of the union of the two natures in Christ, and
our meaning of the word person, when BO used. I will not positively
affirm that there is no difference, (for this is a subject on which I feel
extremely diffident of my own judgment,) but I do say that I cannot
comprehend the difference, if it exists. After discussions almost innume-
rable with their Patriarch, Bishops and other clergy, (for it IB a matter to

PREFACE. VJi

which they frequently recur,) it does seem to me that what they wish to
assert by the oneness of nature in Christ, is precisely what we assert by
the oneness of person. Why, then, do they use a different term? Be-
cause they imagine that the word person implies only an outward pres-
ence, as used by us, while the words one nature, with them, imply an
inward and real union, by which the one Christ is spoken of as a single
individual, from whom, as from one, all his words and actions proceed.
Thus they say, (to illustrate this union,) it was the same Christ who per-
formed miracles, and who ate and drank, in both actions the same in-
dividual Christ. Yet they acknowledge that some actions belong to him
as divine, others belong to him as human. For example, they assert, it
was Christ in his humanity who suffered upon the Cross ; but to guard,
again, against the notion of a separation of natures, they add, the Christ
who suffered upon the Cross was divine, for he forgave the penitent thief
and promised him Paradise, and the Scriptures also say that God gave
his only begotten Son to die for us. They say, moreover, that generally
the actions of Christ are to be affirmed of him as one, one by the indi-
visible union of the two natures. Thus they use illustrations like these,
which I have recorded from their own lips : It was Christ who asked
where Lazarus lay ; it was also Christ who raised him from the dead. It
was Christ who was sleeping in the storm ; it was also Christ, who calm-
ed its rage. In each case appear by different acts his humanity and his
divinity. He inquired and he slept as man ; he raised the dead and allayed
the tempest as God ; for this he did, not as an instrument, like the Apos-
tles, but in his own power. Yet both the one and the other belong to the
single individual Christ. They condemn Eutyches for confounding these
two natures, and Nestorius for separating them, and they refer to the
writings of Cyril of Alexandria, especially his Twelve Letters against
Nestorius, as giving a true exposition of their doctrine.

They think that their mode of stating the union of the two natures is
necessary, in order to guard against the doctrine of their existing dis-
tinctly in the same person, or under the same outward presence, for so
they declare they understand the word person as here used. They sup-
posed our doctrine, or rather the Latin, for of us they had known nothing,
to be nearly the same with that of Nestorius, viz., that the two natures
act separately and independently of each other, as in two individuals.
They were, therefore, agreeably surprised with the definition of our sec-
ond Article, which declares that " the two natures were joined together in
one person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ ;" only they thought
that the word person (jVJiJof)> as use ^ by the Latins, denoted alone the

Vili PREFACE,

outward and visible appearance, and that to say merely that the two
natures are in one person, meant only that they coexist under one out-
ward presence. The statement, therefore, of our Article, that they are
joined together, and never to be divided, and that of this union is one
Christ, seemed to present to them a new view of the Western faith, as
recognizing, under the outward presence, the very union of natures which
they wish to affirm by calling the result nature instead of person. They
seemed never to have looked upon the one person of the Western Creed
as the result of the union of the two natures, but only as the external
form which inclosed or contained them. In other words, they were not
aware of our asserting an actual joining together of the two natures, but
only of their coexistence under one presence. Nor were they at first
willing to take this view of the Western Creed, when I pressed it upon
them, for it led at once to the conclusion that they had been separated
from the great body of the Christian Church for so many centuries cause-
lessly. On the contrary they at first endeavored to show that there must
be a difference, as this alone would justify their separation, but finally in
every instance they came to the conclusion, that if there was any, it was
too subtil to be apprehended. Thus, I was once called upon to act as
arbitrator between a Syrian Papal Bishop and two Syrian Bishops, who
met for a discussion of this subject the nature of Christ. The conference
continued for three successive days, and at the conclusion the two Syrian
Bishops unanimously declared that they saw no real difference between the
Syrian and Western belief that it was a mere logomachy and that they
were ready to assent to and affirm the Western tenet as their own, and to
enter into intercommunion, so far as this was concerned, with the Western
Church. No other difficulty, they thought, remained with regard to the
Church of England and our own ; but as for the Latin, they could not
acknowledge the Supremacy of the Pope. This is only one case out of
perhaps fifty which I have been acquainted with, all which seemed to
reach the same conclusion. I say, then, that there is great reason to
believe that the Syrians do not in reality differ from us on the nature of
Christ ; and I may add, that the voice of history, to any one who will
carefully consider the circumstances attending the separation in Syria sub-
sequent to the Fourth General Council, must, I think, speak the same lan-
guage. [Upon the historical argument, however, I cannot here enter.] 1 But,
6. The Syrian Church rejects and condemns the Fourth Ecumeni-
cal Council, and also Leo, the Bishop of Rome, whose Epistle was ap-
proved by the Council. Every Syrian Bishop, at his consecration, is

1) This nrgumont is given in the work from which th prMont pxtract is taken.

PREFACE. IX

required to anathematize both him and the Council. They also defend
Dioscorus, who was condemned by the Council, but not Eutyches, as I
have said, nor his heresy. These they reject as strongly and clearly as
the Council itself. Why, then, do they not receive the Council nor its
Decrees ? The reason, they say, is because it acted unjustly and violently
towards Dioscorus, who, they affirm, did not hold the heresy of Eutyches ;
and they condemn Leo because, as they say, he was the principal insti-
gator of the proceeding against Dioscorus. Yet they do not pretend to
defend Dioscorus in his violent and intemperate proceedings at the Pseudo-
Council of Ephesus, A. D. 449. They do not approve of that Council
nor the object of Dioscorus in obtaining it, which was to effect a reversal
of the sentence against Eutyches, passed by the Council convened in Con-
stantinople the preceding year. They do not agree with Dioscorus in
his defence of Eutyches, but they affirm that he did not hold the same
doctrine with Eutyches, and that the action of the Council of Chalcedon
against him was excessively severe and unjust, since not for clear heresy,
but for a mere act of imprudence, which they also acknowledge him
to have been guilty of, he was condemned and deposed by a General
Council.

The Syrian rejection of the Council, therefore, does not imply a dere-
liction from the faith, but rather (may we not hope ?) a mere dissatisfac-
tion with the Synod for certain alleged improprieties in its action, while
they agree with the Synod in the main object of its proceedings and in
the main action itself, which was the condemnation of Eutyches. The
Syrian Bishops before referred to, entirely approved the declaration of faith
put forth by the Council, and were willing, after reading it, (they had
never seen it or heard of it before,) to declare their assent to it, and also
to recognize the Council, with a single salvo concerning the treatment of
Dioscorus. The Syrians, I may add, receive, without any exception, the
first three General Councils of Nice, Constantinople, and Ephesus, and the
several minor Councils approved by the Council of Chalcedon. They
have also, and use daily, the Nicene Creed, and acknowledge the Apos-
tolical Constitutions and Canons. What more can we ask 1

But I must conclude. On such a subject as this my every feeling
prompts me to speak with diffidence and caution. I have no wish for
hurried or forced amalgamations. I have no desire to depart one step
from the position the truly Catholic position which our Church main-
tains. But is there nothing in all this to inspire hope 1 May we not
with brighter confidence look forward to the day when strifes shall be
healed, and when the mystical Body of our Blessed Saviour, now rent.

X PREFACE.

distracted, torn, shall be again united in all its parts, and growing up into
Him in all things, shall make its increase to the edifying of itself in love? 1
Come, oh come, that glorious day, when animosities shall cease and faith
shall revive, when the love of many that has waxed cold shall burn again,
and truth, pure as she came from the Apostles' hands, shall unite us once
more in the " Apostles' doctrine and fellowship."* Amen and Amen.

1) Eph. iv. 15, 16. V) Acts. ii. 42.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAGE

Passage to Trebizond. Credentials. Unity of the Church. Trans-
lations of the Prayer Book. Their Utility. Increase of Steam
Navigation. Its Moral Consequences. The Conservative Influ-
ence of Mohammedanism on Christianity. Increase of Infidelity.
Our Duty. Trebizond. Bouyouroultous. Ecclesiastics.
Turkish Reform. Mohammedan Bigotry. The Greeks. Rela-
tions of the Clergy to Improvement. Their proper Position.
Greek and Roman Churches Compared. Means of a peaceful
Reformation, 13

CHAPTER II.

Departure from Trebizond. Greek Bishop. Timidity of the Clergy.
Monastery of St. Mary. Monasteries in Turkey. Their State.
Decline of Monasticism. Character of the Monks. Religious
Retreats. Mountain Scenery. Parting from the Bishop. Local
Associations. The Ancient Population. Remnants of Christian-
ity. Mussulman Descendants from Christians. Languages.
Natural Bridge. Mountain Passage. Company at a Khan.
Gumush Khaneh. Its Christians. Posting. Routes. Change
of Route, . : : . . 26

CHAPTER III.

The Road. The Osmanlees and the Turks. Sunset Scene. The
Ayan's Palace. Reception. Lesson on Hospitality. Repose in
a Village. Kara Hissar. Its Ancient Citadel. Preparations for
a Journey. The Plain of Ashkar. Ancient Remains. The
Greek Population of the Interior. Face of the Country. The
Day's Stage. The Armenians. Their Dispersion. National
Character. Their Church. Its Changes. Its present State.
Its Necessities, . . . .37

XII CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

PAGE

The Ayan of Edrenes. The Church of Edrenes. Churches in Tur-
key. Contrast with Mosqu Armenian Churches described.
Altars. The Font. Women's Place. Paintings. The design
of Pictures in Eastern Churches. The Greek. The Armenian.
Origin of Picture Worship in them. Present State. Their
Testimony upon the Subject. The Greek. The Armenian.
The Syrian. The Nestoiian. Bearing of the Testimony upon
the subject of Picture Worship. Importance of studying the East-
ern Churches for the sake of their Testimony. The Steadfast-
ness of the Eastern Christians in maintaining their Confession of
Christianity. The Cause. Their low Estimate of it practically.
Our Duty to them, ........ 47

CHAPTER V.

Departure from Edrenes. Armenian Monastery. The Road.
Kurdish Tents. The Occupants. Kurdish Chief. His Recep-
tion, His Life. Presents in the East. Eastern Character.
Famine. Espionage. Emigrants. Turkish Policy. The Road.
Dangers. How to be met, 59

CHAPTER VI.

Conflict with the Post-Master at Sivas. Departure from Sivas.
Escape of the Guide. The Escort. Day's March over an infest-
ed District. Hassan Tchelebi. The Kizzelbashes. Travelling
by Night. Reflections. The Euphrates. Evils resulting from
Changes of Rulers. Kharpout. First Sight of the Syrians. Ar-
menian Monasteries. Syrian Bishop. The Syrian Population of
Kharpout, 71

CHAPTER VII.

The Village of Merizah. Population of Syrians Change of Cli-
mate. Day of Preparation. Kharpout. The Town. Churches.
Fortress. The Syrian Church of Kharpout. The Court.
The Interior. Pictures. Miracles. The Altar. The Bishop's
Chair. The Font. The Books. Origin of the Church. Its
History. The Priest. Journey resumed. Place of Pilgrimage.
Fish. Incident with a Christian. Argana Maden. Passage
of the Taurus. Famine. Dangers. Preparations. New Com-
panion. The Tatar. The Monastery. Report concerning it.
Death Abroad, 82

CONTENTS. Xiii

CHAPTER VIII.

PAGE

Departure from Argana. Our Company. The Desert by Night.
Meeting with Kurds. Hostile Preparations. The Event.
Repose on the Grass. Famine. First Impressions. Scenes from
the Famine. Causes of it. A Feast. Hard Drinking. Hard-
ness of Heart. Outrage upon the Christians. Mussulman Big-
otry. Justice in Turkey, 93

CHAPTER IX.

Respect for Franks. Interposition in behalf of Eastern Christians.
Greek Hospitality. Visits from Ecclesiastics. Relations of
the Native Papal Christians with Rome. Meeting with an old
Friend. False Reports and true Reports. Our Company. Kurd-
ish Village. Escort. Kurdish Bey. Polite Robbery. A use-
ful Lesson. Loose Friends. Delays. Present State of Mardin.
Decay. Reaction of Reform, 105

CHAPTER X.

Preparation for the Desert. A sad Tale. - Arab Village. Scene at
Evening. Our Company. The Desert at Night. Nisibin, site
of ancient Nisibis. Its present State. Guard. Route over the
Desert. The Orphan. Moral Effects of the Famine. Indiffer-
ence of the Governors. Journey by Night. Depredations on the
Villagers. Search for Water. Salt Lake. The Heat, . .116

CHAPTER XI.

Encampment at Night. Boar Chase. Repast. Night March.
Search for Water. The Sinjar Mountains. Conflagration.
Sudden Departure. The Gazelle. Robber's Watch Height.
Camel caught. Road lost. Peasants. Their Timidity. Its
Cause. Abou Maria. Retrospect. Last Day. Reception in
a Sheikh's Tent. Reach the Tigris. A Nap. The City, . 125

CHAPTER XII.

The English Church at Mossoul. State of the Christians. Divi-
sions. State of Learning. The Nestorian and Chaldean
Churches. History of their Separation. Subjection of the latter
to the Pope. The Nature of Romish Innovations, . . . 135

XIV CONTENTS.

CHAPTER X1I1.

PAGE

The Tomb of Daniel. The Population of Mossoul. Syrian Villages
near Mossoul. Localities of the Syrian Population. Reflections
on my Work. Opposition of Papists. Their Treatment of us.
Need of a distinctive Presentation of the Church. Departure from
Mossoul. Self-Denial in the Missionary Work. The Pasha of
Mossoul. His Expedition against the Arabs. Preparation for
the Journey. The Plain of Nineveh. The Tomb of the Prophet.
The Fast of Nineveh in the Nestorian and Chaldean Churches.
Telkef. Monasteries of Raban Hormisd and St. Matthew.
El Kosh, Birthplace of Nahum, the Prophet. Comparison of
Christians and Mohammedans. Yezidees. Arab Village. Ar-
rival at Zakho, 147

CHAPTER XIV.

Zakho. Its District. Taxes. Evils of the Farming System. Call
from the Agha. A young Syrian. Bankers. Presents. Guard.
Provincial Quarrels. Bridge over the Khabour. Fording a
River by Night. Chaldean Village. Reception at Night.
Sleeping on Roofs. Hadid. Bitouna. The Province of Jezireh.
Its Government compared with that of Mossoul. Harvest.
Chaldean and Nestorian Villages. Town of Jezireh. Reshid Pa-
sha and his Wars. Attack on Jezireh. Crossing the Tigris on a
Raft. A Chaldean Host and Hostess. Description of Jezireh.
Chaldean Bishop. Chaldean and Nestorian Population of the
Province. Nestorian Bishop. Syrian Bishop. Papal Proselyt-
ism, . 162

CHAPTER XV.

Troubles in the Tour Dagh. Change of Route. The Churches of
Jezireh. The Chaldean Church. Conversation with the Priest.
His Idea of the English Church. Romish Falsehoods. The
Church. Its Interior. Quarrel in the Church-yard. The Syri-
an Church Its School. On the Mode of Circulating the Holy

Scriptures. Evening Prayers. Talk in the Evening on Oppres-
sion and Proselytism. Departure from Jezireh. Death of a Mis-
sionary in the Desert. Kargo. Haznaour. The Syrians of the
Desert. The Bigamist. His Excommunication. Tediousness of
Travelling over a Desert. The Church of St. James at Nisibis.
Dara. Its Ancient State. Survey of its Ruin Its Inhabitants.

CONTENTS. XV

PAGE

Road to Kherin. Ancient Tombs. Reception at Kherin.
The Value of Selfish Friendship. Departure. Sight of Der Za-
fran. Its Position. Arrival at its Gate, . . . . .174

CHAPTER XVI.

Reception at Der Zafran. Interview with the Patriarch. Bishop
Matthew. Second Interview. Abyssinian Monk. Syrian Mon-
asteries. Schools. Hours of Prayers. Fasts. Clerical Celibacy.
Sunday Service. Picture Worship. Compline. Vespers, . 194

CHAPTER XVII.

Visit to Mardin. The Road. Church of Mar Behnam. Altars.
Baptistry. Churches of Mar Shimon and Mar Michael. Legend
of Mar Michael. Mar Behnam, his Conversion and Fate.
Population of Mardin. The Governor. Dialogue on Fasting.
Conversation on the Procession of the Holy Ghost. The Syrian
Patriarchs. Their Number. " Church Annals." Passages from
them. Topics of Conversation at the Monastery. Misrepre-
sentations of the Western Reformed Churches. Their Source.
Character and Object of Romish Efforts among the Eastern Church-
es. Our Position with relation to them. The Church of Eng-
land. How misunderstood. Confounded with Errors which she
rejects. Her Proper Mission. The Library of Der Zafran. The
Chapel of St. Peter. Altar Stone from an Ancient Church at
Antioch. The Bell. Conversations on the Nature of Christ.
Visitors. Character of Discussions at the Monastery. Our true
Position. Differences. Our Duty, 214

CHAPTER XVIII.

Leaving. Change of Route. Farewell to the Patriarch. Ride to
Mardin. Illness. Let^rs. Popish Intrigues. Continued Ill-
ness. Transfer of Jezireh to the Pashalic of Mossoul. Romish
Arguments. Syrian Generosity. Intrigue Defeated. New Ser-
vant. Fever and Ague. Mussulmans at Church. The Cross,
how regarded by Mohammedans. Use of the Sign of it among
the Christians, 232

XVI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIX.

PAGE

First day's Journey. Visit to the Patriarch Elect. Regulations con-
cerning the building of Churches in Turkey. English Churches.
The Patriarch Elect. Pigeon Houses. Diarbekir. The
Church of St. Mary. Visitors. Fever and Ague on Horseback.
Sleeping in the Field. A Kind Mussulman. Trouble at the
Ferry. A hospitable Kizzilbash. Visions of Home. Warren
Hastings. C. J. Rich- Sivas, 243

CHAPTER XX.

Leave Sivas. Armenian Monastery. Entrance to Tocat.
Trouble with a Post-master. Expense of Travelling in Tur-
key. Henry Martyn. His Grave. Mussulmans of Tocat. The
Mosques and Medressehs. Mecca. The Armenians of Tocat.
Their Church. Other Christians. The Jews. Serious-minded
Christians. Evil of the Church Services being unintelligible.
Objections to translations for Public Use. Turkish ' Honesty.
Effects of Disease. Leave Tocat. Guard-House, . . .255

CHAPTER XXL

Amasieh. Incident at a Mosque. Medresseh. Mosque of Bay-
azid. Mussulman School. The Christians. Population of the
Oriental Christians. Leave Amasieh. Ladik. Singular Sights.
How to act in Doubts. Interposition of Providence. Last
Stage. Arrival at Samsoun. Steamer. Kindness of new
Friends. Constantinople. Quarantine. Obligations to Dr. John
Davy. Narrow Escape. The End, 265

NARRATIVE.

CHAPTER I.

Passage to' Trebizond. Credentials. Unity of the Church. Transla-
tions of the Prayer Book. Their Utility. Increase of Steam Naviga-
tion. Its Moral Consequences. The Conservative Influence of
Mohammedanism on Christianity. Increase of Infidelity. Our Duty.
Trebizond. Bouyouroultous. Ecclesiastics. Turkish Reform.
Mohammedan Bigotry. The Greeks. Relations of the Clergy to
Improvement. Their proper Position. Greek and Roman Churches
Compared. Means of a peaceful Reformation.

I LEFT Constantinople on the 7th of May, 1841, in the
Austrian steamer Metternich, Capt. Clicien. On account
of delay in visiting a steamer which had run upon the rocks
near Amastra, a small town on the shore, we did not reach
Sinope till the 9th. On the evening of the same day we
touched at Samsoun, and arrived at Trebizond on the 10th.

I had supplied myself with proper translations of the cre-
dentials which I had received from my own Diocesan, the
Right Reverend Benjamin T. Onderdonk, D. D., Bishop of
New- York, and from the Presiding Bishop, the Right Rev-
erend Alexander V. Griswold, D. D. By the first I was com-
mended to the Bishops and clergy of the countries in which
I was to travel, and by the second was faithfully instructed

2

14 VISIT TO THE

as to the rules and principles which should govern me in my
intercourse with the Eastern Christians. " In the intercourse
or correspondence which may be allowed you with the
Bishops and other ecclesiastical authorities, be careful to
state explicitly what are our views," &c., " that we would
scrupulously avoid all offensive intrusion within the jurisdic-
tion of our Episcopal brethren, nor would we intermeddle
in their Church affairs. Our great desire is to commence
and to promote a friendly intercourse between the tvro
branches [Eastern and Western] of the one Catholic and
Apostolic Church ; to impart to our brethren in that country
any knowledge of the Scriptures and of the doctrines of
Christ, which, through the Lord's goodness, we may have
obtained, and gladly to receive any such light from them.
We would unite hand in hand with them, in the great and
noble work of extending the Redeemer's Kingdom, and
saving the souls of men."

Thus wrote the venerable Presiding Bishop, now gone
to his rest. May his words of wisdom sink deep into our
hearts, and be as a light and beacon to our path ! The reader
will see, as we advance, that my constant aim has been to
act in the spirit of this paternal counsel, which my own
humble experience has taught me to be the words of truth
and soberness.

Hardly less animating was the language of another, now
holding high office in the Church, 1 with which he cheered
the hour of my departure from my native land. "But who
realizes this truth [of the Church's unity] in its just magni-
tude? Isolated in little and often hostile clusters, the
Bishops of the one Church Catholic are known only as offi-
cers of their distinct communions, many almost as the winds
of heaven or the climes they blow upon Yet they are

1 The Right Reverend W. R. Whittinghnm, D. D., Bishop of Mary-
land.

SYRIAN CHURCH. 15

one as a tree is one with its thousands of leaves of divers
magnitudes and colors, and many branches, some crooked
and some dead, yet all parts of the same one tree, and all, as
parts of it, still one with each other. The original mission,
as in the tree the sap vessel from the root, is still propa-
gated in the various branches, and though in some little
or no vital juice may flow, connects them with the Fountain
and makes them one in Him.

ONE IN HIM ! There is the life and power of the truth
which I rejoice that we are beginning in some faint degree
to realize. One in Him, our invisible and ascended Head !
His word made us one. His word, whether we will or no,

still keeps us one Let us go, then, to seek Him and point

Him out to those among the walks concealed. Their loss is
ours ; for while they make no returns of love and zeal to
the common stock, we suffer by its want. Our faith dwin-
dles by their ignorance and deadness. The props of our
common home and shelter rot and fall away by their negli-
gence and corruption."

With these animating counsels I took my departure. I
had also with rne a few copies of the Arabic translation of the
Prayer Book, intending thereby, when occasion offered, to
make known the doctrines, ritual and worship of my Church.
And I may here say that I found it of the greatest service for
the purpose, presenting as it does in a single view the
order of our Ministry, the administration of the Sacraments,
the Fasts and Festivals, and the daily Service of the Church. 1

1 This translation was prepared and published at the expense of the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and is one of the many no-
ble monuments of their zeal for the cause of the Church and the truth.
Other translations, in most of the Eastern languages, are rapidly follow-
ing. The good which they are calculated to accomplish, in setting forth
the Church in its true character, in correcting the gross misrepresenta-
tions and slanders which have been circulated with regard to it, in pre-
senting a branch of the Universal Church Primitive in its Doctrines, its

16 VISIT TO THE

In my passage to Trebizond I was much struck with the
increase of steam navigation in these countries since 1836.
There was then only one steamer to Trebizond ; there are
now four, while new lines have connected the capital with
Greece, Malta, Italy, Austria, France, England, Egypt and
Syria, to and from all which countries the traveller can go
and come the whole way by steam, and the Atlantic packets
extend the line unbroken to the continent of America.

The moral consequences of this linking together of the
Eastern and Western World, no human conception can
fully calculate. The Ottomans behold in it an example of
European activity and industry of which they had no idea.
They must awake to an imitation of it, or the commerce and
resources of their country will pass into other hands. The
Christian population are already awake. They see in it a
new bond of union with the nations of Europe. The ties
of a common religion are beginning to be felt. An earnest
desire for European protection every where prevails. East-
ern Christians are now wishing for their nations what in-
dividuals have long sought for themselves, the aid and
oversight of foreign Christian powers. The events of the
late war with Egypt, the ease and celerity with which the
power of a Pasha, whose name has been as terrible in the
East as Napoleon's once was in Europe, was destroyed by
a few ships and a fragment of an army from abroad, have
produced a deep and even an extravagant impression of
European skill and power. They have created a new de-
Ministry, and its Rites, yet pure and uncorrupted, and in imparting
sound and valuable religious instruction, can hardly be estimated too
highly. They are the first step towards a better understanding, a deeper
interest, and a holier influence. The good which they have already done,
under my own observation, is an ample return for all the labor and ex-
pense of preparing them. The Society is preparing translations into the
following Oriental languages Greek, Arabic, Turkish, Am hark, or mod-
em Ethiopian, and Armenian.

SYRIAN CHURCH. 17

sire to have that skill and power enlisted in their behalf.
The course of things is onward. European nations will
become more and more deeply interested in the East by the
increase of their trade, the colonizing of their people in the
marts of Turkey, and the visits of their men of science and
religion to those countries. Gradually, by the gentle pro-
gress of civilization and the arts, or more quickly by the
shock of some sudden rupture springing out of the compli-
cated relations of the states of Europe with the great Mo-
hammedan power of the East, Christianity will be freed
from her bondage of centuries, and the light of the West
will break in upon the Oriental World. Then will the
Churches of the East, remaining still in their present un-
prepared state, convulsed by the sudden blaze of free in-
quiry and unregulated knowledge, fall into pieces, of which
Infidelity will seize a part, Popery a part, Protestantism a
part, and a part will remain, the only surviving relic of the
ancient Church of Christ in the East. The work of Mo-
hammedanism is but imperfectly understood. Its influence
is not altogether destructive ; it is in a measure preserva-
tive. While it degrades Christianity, it preserves it from
unbelief and schism. The Church of Rome has found in
it the greatest opponent of her designs upon the Eastern
Churches. The Turkish government has always looked
with disfavor upon the attempts to seduce its subjects to a
foreign ecclesiastical allegiance, and now secession is abso-
lutely prohibited. 1 In like manner, the spirit of Moham-
medanism is averse to the free introduction of foreign sci-

1 About eight years ago the Armenian Patriarch obtained from the
Porte a firman, requiring that every Christian should remain in the com-
munion to which he belonged. The design of the firman was to prevent
secessions from the Armenian Church to the Latin, but in a very recent
instance, within my own knowledge, another community of Christians
have availed themselves of its provisions, to force back certain of their
members who had seceded to Rome.

18 VISIT TO THE

ence, and thus, it has prevented those inroads of infidelity
which commonly follow upon a merely secular civilization.
The truth of this remark will be apparent if we look at those
portions of the Eastern Churches which are already deliv-
ered from the sway of Islamism, or which, from their posi-
tion, have felt something of the influence of the West upon
them. Among the Christians of Constantinople infidelity
has made and is still making rapid strides, while in the free
kingdom of Greece its progress is truly alarming. Both
there and here it is directly traceable to a European origin.
It is the result of that fondness for Frank manners, the
fashions and frivolities of Western life, and still more that
corrupt literature which flows in through the growing know-
ledge of the French. If we are under no other obligations
to the Eastern Christians, we are bound at least to cleanse
the streams which are pouring in upon them from our
Western world. If we-are not ready to furnish them with
a sound religious literature, we are at least obliged to pro-
vide an antidote against those corrupting works which go
from us to them. 1

1 Another cause of unbelief among the Eastern Christians is less di-
rect, but equally effectual, and I fear even more pernicious in its effects
than the other. It is, alas ! in the Churches themselves. It is the igno-
rance, and, in some instances, the wickedness of the clergy, together with
the low state of religion, both among clergy and people. " Why should
I go to Church ]" said a Greek to me the other day ; " the priests rob me
of my money. I can get nothing from them without a fee." He was a
poor and ignorant man, but he had learned to look upon the whole busi-
ness of public worship as a mercen^y system, supported by the clergy for
no better end than to sustain their 'own influence, and extort money from
the people. This kind of practical infidelity is perhaps more deeply seated
and more widely spread, than even the clergy themselves suppose. In a
more enlightened mind, that is, in one better instructed in human know-
ledge, it takes another form. The man, feeling himself above the super-
stitions so common among the multitude, and seeing them but too often
patronized by the clergy ; observing, too, the haste and thoughtlessness,
and sometimes the indecorum with which the public services of religion

SYRIAN CHURCH. 19

But the highest argument for a deep and hearty interest
in their behalf is that to which I have already alluded. They
are unprepared for the light which is dawning upon them.
Religious truth does not keep pace with the progress of civ-
ilization and the influx of secular knowledge. And if the
time shall ever come, which seems indeed to be rapidly ap-
proaching, when the opposing power of Mohammedanism
shall be removed, and the flood-gates of the mighty stream
which is now rolling on from the West shall be lifted up, it
will be too late to stem or guide the torrent which will burst
in upon them. Eastern Christianity has not (with sorrow
we say it) energy and life sufficient to purify the flood of
corrupting influences which such a revolution would bring
upon it. It will be broken by the force of its irruption, or
it will sink beneath it

It is not, then, by keeping aloof from the Eastern
Churches, as some would seem to argue, but by a wise and
active interference in their behalf, that we are to save them
from schism and ruin. No one would deprecate more ear-
nestly than I the adoption of a system either for openly sub-
verting or secretly undermining these venerable structures
of ancient days, but it is our duty as faithful servants of
Christ, as members of a true branch of His Holy Church,
to save them with God's blessing from the destruction which
is hanging over them, to re-kindle in them the light which
has become dim, and to strengthen the things which remain,
that are ready to die. 1

are performed ; at the same time firmly believing with all the national fer-
vor of a Greek, that ao Church is better than his own, beholding no spe-
cimen of one purer or more devout, and conceiving of Protestantism as
a system which degrades both the ministry and the sacraments of the
Church, comes at length to look upon all religion with contempt, as a mer-
cenary priestcraft or an empty form, unfit to hold the sway over free and
cultivated minds,

1 Rev. 3 : 2.

20 VISIT TO THE

I spent one day at Trebizond under the hospitable roof of
the Rev. Mr. Johnston, a Presbyterian missionary of the
American Board. I am also indebted to the English Con-
sul, Mr. Suter, for his kindness in procuring for me a bou-
youroultou, or provincial firman, from the Pasha of Trebizond,
the sameOsman whom I have described in a former journey. 1
These bouyouroultous are available only for the province in
which they are given, and the first duty of a traveller is to
obtain one when he comes to the seat of a Pasha. They
are worth more in the interior than a firman of the Sultan,
for the people and the inferior governors think more of their
Pasha than of the royal government at Constantinople,
whose sway and influence they feel only remotely and in-
directly. A Turk's patriotism or loyalty is generally con-
fined to the village or province to which he belongs. It is
rather a love of home than a love of country. Of patriotism
in the last sense he has hardly any idea, and his language
has no word to express it. The best, if not the chief use of
a royal firman in Turkey, is as a means of obtaining the
bouyouroultous or passports of the Pashas. They dare not
refuse protection when they see the royal cipher.

Trebizond is the seat of a Greek Archbishop and an Ar-
menian Vartabed. 2 At the time of my visit, there was a
conspiracy to remove the latter, and a Committee had gone
to Constantinople to intercede with the Patriarch for the pur-
pose. The charge against him was that he had been guilty
of mal-administration, especially in oppressing the poor, but
it was said that others were secretly opposed to him on

1 Narrative of a Tour, &c., Vol. I. p. 153, Am. Ed.

2 The Vartabeds among the Armenians are the unmarried priests,
from whom the Bishops are taken. They are almost precisely the same
with the Chor-episcopi (Xwpeirunroiroi) or Country Bishops of antiquity.
They are properly Presiding Presbyters, occupying the seats of Bishops,
but performing no offices distinctively Episcopal. They are sometimes over
single churches, and sometimes over districts.

SYRIAN CHURCH. 21

account of his opposition to the education of the peo-
pie.

The Mussulmans of Trebizond are of the old school, and
virulently opposed to all innovation. Though only three
days distant from Constantinople, no serious attempts at re-
form had been made among them. The rulers said it would
produce an insurrection ; others said that the rulers them-
selves were opposed to it. The famous Khatti Sherif,
which was hailed in Europe as the Magna Charta of Tur-
key, had hardly been heard of in Trebizond, and the new
system of taxation, which was intended to relieve the peo-
ple from illegal exactions, had never been introduced there.
This was in a place only three days' sail from Constantinople.
One may judge from it what has been the success of reform
in more distant provinces.

One or two recent instances of Mohammedan bigotry
were related to me by credible witnesses. The Greek pop-
ulation had undertaken to erect a Church on the site of an
old one in a conspicuous situation, and had obtained a fir-
man for the purpose. The Turks, offended, as it was said,
at its prominence and elevation, took advantage of its being
a foot or two larger than the dimensions prescribed in the
firman, and razed it to the ground. The same population,
animated by a laudable desire for improvement, had erected
another building which they intended to make a Seminary
for Instruction of a high order. The Turks pretended that
it overlooked their houses, and pulled down the upper story
of it. Perhaps there was some truth in the reason which
they gave, and the jealousy, universal among Orientals, of
strangers looking into their domestic quarters, may really
have been one motive for the outrage. But in both cases,
there was evident that radical hatred of the Christians, that
jealousy of any improvement among them, that remorseless
readiness to persecute them upon the slightest provocation,
which is still and ever will be a feature of Mohammedan

2*

VISIT TO THE

character. Just in proportion that we see it cease in partic-
ular instances, we see the character ceasing to be Moham-
medan. Where the religion has its full influence, as among
the religious orders, this spirit is in general as rife as it has
been since the early ages of Islamism, although its develop-
ments towards Franks are less bold and annoying than for-
merly, a change which has arisen not from the decline of
bigotry, but from the decline of Turkish power, and conse-
quently the superior protection that Franks enjoy from the
representatives of^their own governments.

It was pleasant to see the Greeks of Trebizond, though
but a small community, and laboring under the immense
disadvantages to which I have alluded, still alive to improve-
ment. This is in every situation one of the best traits in
their character, and one that affords high encouragement to
hope and effort in their behalf. As a people they have no
prejudices against education, but the most earnest and ar-
dent desire for it. The difficulty lies higher up among
the clergy, and there indeed it is serious and urgent. I
will not at present go into a subject which will draw me too
far from the course of my narrative, but I may say that it is
altogether a narrow and partial view of it, to suppose that
the apparent indifference of the Greek clergy to the improve-
ment of their people, arises solely from their opposition to
light and knowledge. This, is doubtless true of some, while
of others it is the very opposite of truth. 1 Many other
causes combine to produce the same result. The too gen-
eral ignorance of the clergy, especially of the priests to whom
the care of the people is most immediately committed; the
influence of Mohammedanism in depressing the energy of

1 The late Patriarch, for instance, was a man of just and elevated
views with regard to the education both of the clergy and laity. He had
in hand, at the time of his death in 1842, extensive plans of usefulness,
which might have resulted in great and lasting good, if his own career
had not been suddenly terminated.

SYRIAN CHURCH. 23

the clergy and intimidating them into inaction, the want of
unity and mutual confidence among the Bishops, are all
powerful causes of the supineness which prevails. At the
same time it must be acknowledged that there appears in
some an evident unwillingness that the people should be in-
structed, especially in religious things a fear that it may
tend to depreciate the influence of the clergy and a con-
sciousness that it might strike a blow at the corruptions of
the Church, which are patronized more for their lucrative-
ness than for any serious attachment to them. The policy
is a suicidal one; for while the clergy sleep or oppose,
knowledge is coming in, mere secular knowledge unregu-
lated by religious teaching; the people learn more and more
to look upon the clergy with contempt ; infidelity increases ;
the priests regard the new learning with aversion, thinking
it to be the cause of the evil, which nevertheless their own
exertions, the proper exercise of the duties of their office,
might have prevented, and the people look upon them for
their opposition, as the foes of learning, the abettors of igno-
rance and superstition. The greatest benefit that- could
now be bestowed on the Greek Church, would be to con-
vince the clergy of their error, to show them the fatal conse-
quences of the course which they are pursuing, and to lead
them to some active effort for the religious instruction of the
people. Many will doubt whether this can be accomplish-
ed, whether many of them are not too strongly wedded to
their system to abandon it for one which will lead them
into a path that can only end in the removal of the existing
corruptions, in a thorough change of the spirit and practice
of the Church. But it must come to this, that the clergy
must take the lead in reforming abuses, or at least put
themselves into a line which will ultimately bring them to
it; or they must expect to see the evil consequences of their
neglect, in a widely spreading unbelief on the one hand,
and a deadly schism on the other. There is no other alter-

24 VISIT TO THE

native. Knowledge will come, is coming. It will increase
more and more. No human power can prevent it ; and if
they will not regulate it, correct it by sound religious teach-
ing, it will overthrow them. It will be in the East as it
was in the West, contentions and divisions in the Church,
separations from it, the formation of names and sects.

But there is good reason to hope that an evil so great in
itself may be prevented. The Greek Church is not as was
the Church of Rome at the time of the Reformation. It
does not hold the same errors ; it is not pervaded by the
same abuses, or to the same extent. It has not the doctrine
of the Infallibility of the Church, or of the Papal supremacy,
or of Transubstantiation in a defined and settled sense, or
of Purgatory, or of the Mass in the Romish sense, or ofln-
dulgencies, or of supererogatory works. It has not the prac-
tices of Communion in one kind, or of Private Masses, or of
Clerical Celibacy, nor the ceremonies of Processions, Adora-
tion of the Host, elevating it and carrying it about, 1 which
in the Latin Church are the adjuncts if not the consequen-
ces of the doctrine of Transubstantiation. It does not re-
ceive the Apocryphal books as canonical, nor deny the pos-
sibility of Absolution without the intervention of the
Priest, nor determine the number of the Sacraments as sev-
en ordained by Christ, nor declare the good intention of the
clergy necessary to a valid and efficacious administration
of them, nor prohibit the reading of the Holy Scriptures to
the people, although unauthorized, and, as it was believed,

1 There is a procession in the Greek Church, during the service of
the Holy Eucharist, in which the paten and cup are carried round in
the church by the priest and deacon, but it is done before the consecration
of the bread and wine ; and there is an elevation of the sacred elements
after consecration, which is done by the deacon, simply as an act of invita-
tion to the people, and is accompanied with the words, " Draw near with
faith and godly fear." Both are easily distinguishable from the Romish
customs to which I allude.

SYRIAN CHURCH. 25

sectarian translations have been, and are prohibited, and
there certainly are individuals who would restrict the read-
ing of the Scriptures to the original version of the New
Testament, and the Septuagint.

We may hope, then, that the Greek Church will rise
from its depressed condition, without the necessity of a vio-
lent reformation. It certainly may so rise, if the clergy do
not set themselves in opposition to knowledge, and a purer
practice, if they do not commit themselves to floating abuses,
and gather them up and weave them into a system, and
fasten them by creeds and canons upon the Church, as
Rome has done with her corruptions. It is encouraging to
know that there are many, even among the higher clergy,
who long for better things, and their influence will be the
more felt, the work of restoration will be sooner and better
done, if we of the West do not by our hasty zeal hurry it
into a rank and premature growth. If there has been on the
one hand much of painful opposition, there has been on the
other as much of injudicious action. Let us not be high-
minded, but fear.

VISIT TO THE

CHAPTER II.

Departure from Trebizond, Greek Bishop. Timidity of the Clergy.
Monastery of St. Mary. Monasteries in Turkey. Their State. De-
cline of Monasticism. Character of the Monks. Religious Retreats.
Mountain Scenery. Parting from the Bishop. Local Associations.
The Ancient Population. Remnants of Christianity. Mussulman
Descendants from Christians. Languages. Natural Bridge. Moun-
tain Passage. Company at a Khan, Gumush Khaneh. Its Chris-
tians. Posting. Routes. Change of Route.

I LEFT Trebizond on the 12th of May, and reached Jev-
izlik, a small hamlet on the road, in six hours. On the
way we overtook a Greek Bishop, mounted on a slow-paced
horse, and preceded by a servant carrying his silver-headed
staff. His white beard and venerable appearance attracted
my attention, and I entered into conversation with him.
From my dress he seemed at a loss to determine who I was,
and answered my salutation with evident shyness. When I
told him that I was a Christian, he began to speak more
freely, and at length run on with all the garrulity of age.
He had supposed that I might be a Mussulman, and hence
the timidity of his first greeting. I have often witnessed
the same among the clergy of the interior, and have as often
been grieved by it as a sign and token of their state of
bondage. True, they are generally ignorant, and so far as
personal qualities are concerned, one can seldom find much
pleasure in their society. But who can forget that they are
the representatives of Christianity, and that they are what

SYRIAN CHURCH. 27

they are for their religion's sake? Who can avoid a feeling
of indignation and sorrow when he sees their servile and
cringing demeanor of indignation at the tyranny which
has reduced them to such a condition, and sorrow at the
low estate of Christ's holy Church in the land of its captiv-
ity ? Alas ! when shall the day of its rising and shining re-
turn?

I soon proposed to leave the aged Bishop, because he
rode too slow for us. But he demurred, and said that he
would exert himself a little for the sake of our company. I
soon found that he was the Superior of St. Mary, a monas-
tery a few miles south of Jevizlik. He had been absent
some time in Russia and was just returning. I afterwards
learned that he was returning from exile, having been ban-
ished by the late Patriarch, and now restored by his suc-
cessor.

St. Mary's is only one of three monasteries in this vicin-
ity, and I remember having heard of another near Trebi-
zorid. St. Mary's has fifteen monks ; a year or two before, it
had about forty ; another, called Hedrilez, has twelve ; and a
third, called Khavan, has, I believe, none. All these monas-
teries are immediately subject to the Patriarch at Constanti-
nople, and of course independent of the Archbishop of Trebi-
zond. The same rule, so far as I have observed, holds with
regard to all the monasteries, Greek, Syrian, or Armenian, in
the Empire. They are independent of the Bishop of the Dio-
cese, excepting when he himself is resident in one of them,
and in this case he is the Superior. The number of monas-
teries in the Empire is greatly diminished in late centuries,
and seems to be still diminishing. The causes have been
war, famine, civil oppression, the increasing poverty and
decreasing population of the Christians. There is also
much less zeal than formerly for the monastic life. There
are fewer disposed to enter it, and the people are less dis-
posed to sustain them in it. This arises chiefly from the

28 VISIT TO THE

decline of learning and piety. The monasteries are no
longer the chief seats of knowledge, and the fame of their
sanctity has departed. The people are alienated by the
idle and sometimes by the wicked lives of the monks. But
this picture is not universally, I am inclined to believe not
generally, true. Some of the monasteries are in better re-
pute both for piety and learning, though none of them are
distinguished in the latter particular. The monks are often
simple-minded and innocent men, but almost always narrow
in their views, their thoughts and their feelings, grasping
no wide range even of theological knowledge, and pro-
foundly ignorant of the world. They say their prayers, till
their grounds, eat, drink, and sleep. A few of the monas-
teries have a great reputation for sanctity, not from the
character of their inmates, but from the possession of some
relic which makes them places of vast resort. These and
a few others are rich. Some of them have valuable endow-
ments of lands, which are looked upon as the patrimony of
the Church, and a considerable portion of the revenues of
the Patriarchs come from them. Thus the Greek Patri-
arch of Constantinople receives from the monasteries of
Wallachia alone, the sum of 1,500,000 piastres, or about
,15,000, annually.

There seem to have been in former times favorite local-
ities, chosen either from the nature of the country, on ac-
count of the abundance of a neighboring population, or for
some religious association, where monasteries were erected
in great number and where the lonely ascetic built his retired
cell. Such is the country south of Trebizond. Abounding
in the gifts of nature, covered with the wildest and sub-
limest scenery, presenting here and there lofty heights inter-
spersed with fruitful vallies, it was once the abode of hundreds
of those who had retired from the world to seek in contem-
plation and prayer, and secret toil, a nearer access to God.
The traveller still descries here and there, besides the distant

SYRIAN CHU1CC1I. j-iO

monasteries whose place alone is visible, marked by some
towering height, solitary chapels perched on rugged points
of rock and looking.like the retreats of world-forsaking her-
mits. We noticed three of this description during our first
day's ride, and the Bishop pointed out to us a mountain-peak
covered with snow, behind which, he said, was the monas-
tery of St. Mary. The others lay, one to the north, and the
other to the southwest from Jevizlik.

Turning short to the right when we reached this hamlet,
we entered the valley of the Yer Keupru (Earth Bridge).
There are two roads, one leading to the left over the barren
heights of Kara Kaban, the other to the right through the
valley, one the summer, the other the winter road. As the
mountains were not yet open, we chose the latter, which soon
led us amidst scenes of great natural beauty. The forest
trees were putting on their new dress; and the rays of the
sun darting through their thick foliage revealed to the eye
their fresh and lively green. Sometimes the lofty over-
topping mountains could be descried through the openings
in the woods, and at others we plunged into cool and shaded
thickets, enlivened by the music of numberless rills gushing
from the mountain side.

Our venerable friend, the Bishop, parted from us at Je-
vizlik, where our roads separated. I felt for a moment an
emotion of sadness as I thought of the different ways before
us. Ere nightfall he would be reposing in the quiet of his
monastery ; while I was just starting upon a long and tedious
journey, little knowing the things that should befall me, or
whether I should ever return. Basil, my Greek servant and
the only companion of my journey, begged the good man to
remember us in his prayers. He promised to do so, and
commenced his kind offices by giving us his benediction as
we parted.

We spent the night at the little village of Campanos, or
perhaps it was only a cluster of Khans, for we arrived too

30 VISIT TO THE

late and left too early to survey the place. More than arises
from the beauty of Nature's scenery is the interest which
this region excites in the traveller's mind from its association
with the famous retreat of Xenophon, and the romantic dukes
of the Comneni driven from the imperial throne of Constan-
tinople, and founding a new monarchy on the farther shores
of the Euxine. Hardly less is the interest which one feels
in it as an ancient home of the Greeks. After enjoying all
the day the thought of winding through the same vallies by
which the leader of the Ten Thousand conducted his gal-
lant band, 1 I could not but inquire within myself, as we sat
down upon our carpets at night before a roaring fire in a
smoke-blackened khan, whether the two or three rough fel-
lows who were preparing our coffee or waiting to partake of
it, were veritable descendants of the Greeks of former days.
My interest in them was a little dampened by our guide's
coming in and announcing that one of the children who had
been employed to lead about the horses, according to the
eastern custom after a journey, had run away with the bri-
dle. I told his father, who was one of the men present, of
his misdemeanor, and saw with surprise the coolness with
which he received the information of his youthful son's de-
linquency. He thought it strange, very strange, that the
boy should carry away the bridle, but really he did not be-
lieve that we could find him if we should hunt for him.

It was some consolation for the loss of the bridle to
know that the thief and the thief's father were Mussulmans,
for though dishonesty does not look well in any one, it
always grieves me most to see it in a Christian. It is a
common saying among the Persians, that it is right, lauda-

1 The identity of the route with that of the Ten Thousand was first
suggested to me some years ago by James Brant, Esq., H. B. M. Consul
at Erzroum, who well paid, th;it ns the army of Xenophon passed in win-
ter, it could only be by this road, which is the only one by which Trapo-
zus (Trebizond) is accessible at that season.

SYRIAN CHURCH. 31

ble, and religious to cheat a Frank, because that in this
way an unbeliever is injured and advantage comes to a fol-
lower of the true faith. Whether it was by some such
logic as this, that the Mussulman at Campanos satisfied his
conscience for the possession of our bridle, I do not know,
but as he appeared sufficiently intelligent in other things,
I gave him a cup of coffee instead of driving him away, and
gradually drew from him all that he knew about the coun-
try. The people, he said, are not of the Laz race, although
they are often called by that name. This appellation prop-
erly belongs only to a distinct people farther to the East,
who have a language peculiar to themselves, and are heathen.
Their tongue is not understood by the people hereabouts,
whose language is Greek and their religion Christianity or
Mohammedanism. The majority in this immediate vicinity
are Christians, but we may judge from their having the
same language with the Mussulmans, that the latter also
are descendants of the ancient Greeks. The change in
their religion is owing doubtless to the persecutions which
the Christians formerly endured from the Mohammedans, to
escape which some abandoned their faith and embraced the
religion of their masters. The same is true of the Mussul-
mans in many other parts of the country; they are descend-
ed from a Christian ancestry, who forsook their religion in
times of persecution. Mussulmans of this sort often retain
not only a traditional recollection of their ancestors, but
even a respect for the religion of their fathers, which they
sometimes carry so far as to practise its rites. Thus the
Mussulmans of Mesopotamia, many of them, acknowledge
themselves to be descendants of the old Assyrian or Chal-
dean Christians, and retain to this day a reverence for the
ancient faith. 1

1 There is also a district east of Trebizond, where there are one thou-
sand families of Mussulmans, who are descendants of Armenians, and still
speak their language.

32 VISIT TO THE

The mass of the population between Trebizond and
Gumush Khaneh, appear to be of the same sort, descend-
ants of the Greek stock, though now divided into Mussul-
mans and Christians. The effect of persecution is singu-
larly visible in some parts of the region, where those who
profess to be Mussulmans, adhere in secret to the religion
of their fathers. There are several hundreds of this de-
scription in the city of Trebizond, where they are commonly
called Croomlees^ from the district whence most of them
come. Though classed as Mussulmans and practising cir-
cumcision, they baptize their children, receive the sacra-
ment of the Eucharist, and entertain priests in their houses.
All this, however, they do secretly, while in public they
wear the white turban of the Turks, and call themselves Mus-
sulmans. Their demeanor, by which they are most readily
known, is said to be even more timid than that of the Chris-
tians, living, as they do, in constant fear of detection and
punishment. Their prevarication in openly professing Is-
lamism, while they secretly deny it, is not to be so severely
condemned as such an act would be among us, for if, on
the one hand, it is, in any circumstances, a fearful sin to
hold the faith of Christianity and yet not to confess Christ
before men ; it is, on the other, matter for wonder, that
Christians so destitute of instruction should retain, at an
imminent hazard, even the least vestige of their religion.
Besides, the priests who administer to them the Sacrament,
allow them to remain in this state of delusion, and there-
fore their own sin, we may hope, is less, if, indeed, they
have any consciousness of it. Are there none among our-
selves who, denying, as they now do in their lives, the Lord
that bought them, would, in such an hour of temptation,
fall entirely away ? It is not for me to judge, but it were
well for such to reflect, whether at the last shall receive
the greater condemnation, the unenlightened Christian on
the shore of the Euxine, or the worldly-minded Christian
on the heaven-illumined soil of England or America.

SYRIAN CHURCH. 33

It was for a time doubtful who was our host, for there
were several of the villagers present, all eager to render
their services. But when the coffee was ready, and each had
had a thimble full of it, after the fashion of the Turks, they
suddenly lost all interest in us, and retired, one by one, un-
til we were left alone with the master of the khan, who
proved to be our informant, the father of the young thief.
He had no sooner told us that he himself was of the Greek
race and his language Greek, than Basil began to try him
in that tongue. But their communication was of little avail,
for while one spoke the language of Constantinople and the
other of Campanos, they only understood each other imper-
fectly. The latter pronounced strangely, and used words
occasionally which were neither Greek nor Turkish they
may have been Laz. They soon gave it up in despair, and
returned to Turkish.

Our road the next morning still wound amidst moun-
tain scenery of the most magnificent description. Rocks
piled upon rocks, and crowned with lofty pinnacles, met the
eye on every side. Again and again I gazed long and doubt-
fully, to discover whether^some solitary column, rising above
the highest point of a mountain, was the remnant of an old
castle, or a playful work of nature. We ascended for more
than two hours across tumbling streams and through hard-
wood forests, until we reached a height where other moun-
tains, still covered with their wintry mantle, appeared in the
distance, and the cold snow-wind came howling by. From
this we descended more rapidly than we had gone up, too
rapidly, indeed, for ease or comfort, the descent resembling
in some places a flight of stairs. As our poor horses
smelled their way and dropped their feet from step to step,
we had abundant time to look down the steep declivities
close at our side, and calculate the consequences of a sin-
gle stumble in performing the manoeuvre. One of them
gave out, and we committed him to the care of the first

34 VISIT TO THE

peasant that we met, with instructions to leave him at our
last night's lodging-place. To reward the man for his ser-
vice our guide told him that he might ride when he was
tired, an arrangement from which he was likely to derive
but little benefit, as the animal would hardly go with lead-
ing. The guide himself, however, had no better alterna-
tive, as he was compelled to go all the rest of the way to
Gumush Khaneh, twenty-five miles, on foot.

We got through the operation of going down stairs in
safety, arid pursued our way to Zohana, a cluster of khans,
where after much ado w e obtained a breakfast of coarse bread
and yo-oort. 1 The place was abandoned by all but a few
old stragglers, who lingered there until the route over the
mountains should be opened, when this valley road, being
somewhat longer, is deserted for the summer. We wished
to have stopped here, but as the winter stock of fuel was ex-
hausted, and we were drenched to the skin by a shower of
rain which we had encountered in the mountains, we were
compelled to move on to Adaseue, two hours farther on our
way. Here, instead of a group of khans, was only one,
and that was crowded by a throng of hungry men and horses
driven in by a fresh shower of rain, in the midst of which
we arrived. There was nothing to eat, but fortunately
there was a little fuel left, with which we made a fire, and
then seated ourselves to dry. The rest of the company,
who seemed never to have thought of so simple a way of ac-
complishing the object, took advantage of it when it was
made, with all the alacrity with which men avail themselves
of a new idea. To finish our breakfast begun at Zohana,
we prepared our coffee, and, as is usual on such occasions,
every one who thought himself respectable enough drew
near to partake of it. My custom at such times is to be lib-

1 I write the word as it is pronounced ; the thing is sour curd made
from milk a wholesome and refreshing food for travellers.

-N KIAN CHURCH. 35

oral, as the gift of a cup of coffee in a company of this sort
is a sure way to make friends, and entitles one to the privi-
lege of asking questions. But, unfortunately, the number of
those who thought themselves respectable was very great,
and our coffee-pot held only two Turkish cups full, one of
which Basil brought to me, and the other, which I supposed
was going to a Mollah opposite, he poured down his own
throat, in consideration of his having, as he afterwards said,
the first right after his master. Before the mighty coffee-
pot could be replenished the fire had gone out, and there
was no more wood. The expectant company waited till
they saw the apparatus going back into the saddle-bags,
when they arose and dispersed as silently and solemnly as
they came. We made no friends at the khan, and instead of
the showers of "God give you prosperity," and " May your
journey be propitious," which would have followed a cup of
the favorite beverage, we mounted our horses and rode away
in a dead silence.

The rest of the way to Gumush Khaneh was along the
side of a stream of the same name. We lodged at a khan
on the road and reached the town the next morning.
About three hours from the place we passed a monastery
situated in the hills above the route we were travelling, and
was told by the people that there is another fifteen hours to
the S. W. We saw also two more chapels like those before
described, and discovered some real ruins of old fortresses
perched on almost inaccessible heights.

Gumush Khaneh looked better than at my first visit in
1837. The gardens below the town were gay with all the
luxuriance of an early vegetation. Among the trees I no-
ticed the pear, the apple, the almond and the walnut, and
the lilac among its flowers.

I had nothing to detain me in the place but the tardiness
of the Governor in providing horses, which he said were
always ready, but which, in our case, did not make their

36 VISIT TO THE

appearance till the next morning, and then were taken by
force from some poor villages near the town. For being
always ready in this remarkable manner he proposed to
charge treble for the horses, which I consented to do if he
would find it in the post-order. l

There are four Greek churches and one Armenian in
Gumush Khaneh, but no Bishop resident. The place
belongs to the diocese of Trebizond. Most of the Christians
are miners, and as the mines have nearly failed, numerous
families are reduced to a state of utter destitution.

1 Post-orders (menzil emri) are given to travellers in Turkey, who
choose to travel with post-horses. Those issued at Constantinople bear
the Sultan's cipher, and specify the number of horses that the traveller re-
quires, and sometimes the post-rates, which were formerly fixed, but now
vary from one to two and a half piastres, in different parts of the empire.
The traveller pays in advance at each post-house from one to two and a
half piastres (two pence to five pence sterling) for each horse per hour, the
hour being a measure of distance, about three miles.

HVRIAN CHUKCH. 37

CHAPTER III.

The Road. The Osmanbesand the Turks. Sunset Scene. The Ayan's
Palace. Reception. Lesson on Hospitality. Repose in a Village.
Kara Hissar. Its Ancient Citadel. Preparations for a Journey.
The Plain of Ashkar. Ancient Remains. The Greek Population of
the Interior. Face of the Country. The Day's Stage. The Arme-
nians. Their Dispersion. National Character. Their Church. Its
Changes. Its present State. Its Necessities.

FROM Gumush Khaneh we crossed the mountains to the
south of the town. The road was hardly yet open. Heavy
drifts of snow were lying in the hollows, and in one or two
instances we were compelled to go half a mile out of our
way in order to get round them. The view from the heights
sometimes revealed to us prospects of richly wooded vallies,
and at others we passed under towering rocks where the
eagle sat upon his aerie, and watched us with his fierce
glancing eye as we went silently on our way. Thence we
descended to the village of Keklit through vallies and along
hill-sides covered with pine and spruce. Keklit itself is on
one of those beautiful plains which abound in Turkey, where
every thing that nature can give of rich and well-watered
soils is found, and nothing seems wanting to make it the
abode of perfect happiness but a moral beauty, whose ab-
sence is more deeply felt where nature has been so lavish
of her gifts.

From Keklit to Sheiran the road lies over an undulating
country, much of it covered with oak shrubbery. We were

3

38 VISIT TO THE

advised at Keklit to take a guard on account of a recent
robbery on the road, and did so ; but instead of meeting
with blood-thirsty men, we were regaled all the way with
the songs of myriads of nightingales. I thought I could see
as we advanced westward the gradual change, which is
more evident at long distances, from the rough and original
Turkish character which prevails in the Eastern provinces,
to the more humane traits of the Mussulmans of Asia Minor.
The contrast in this respect between Erzroum and Tocat
is very striking, but whether it arises from a radical differ-
ence of races, or from those farther West being more affected
by the somewhat civilizing influence of the capital, I cannot
say. Certain it is that the races are different, and that of
the Osmanlees appears to be superior to any other. The
contempt which they have for the Turkish races to the East
shows their own sense of this superiority.

At sunset on the second day we found ourselves about
eighty miles from Gumush Khaneh, in the midst of a fine low-
land country and near the habitation of the Ay an, or governor,
of the district. Our guide told us that he had from fifty to
sixty villages under his control, and spoke so largely of his
hospitality that I determined to partake of it. His house
was a prominent object in all the country around, standing
alone upon an eminence in the midst of the vale, and looking
like a palace in comparison with the log-cabins which we
had every where seen since leaving Gumush Khaneh. The
day was declining, the herds were coming in over the lea,
the boys and girls about the villages were letting loose the
lambs that had been kept in confinement at home, now to
meet their dams and to receive their evening repast. It
was pleasant to see how every little one went bleating about
till it found its mother, and how every mother seemed grate-
ful and happy when she recognized her young. And then
what capering and frolicking and shouts of laughter, when
the youngsters of the village attempted to separate them for

SYRIAN CHURCH. 39

the purpose of returning the lambs to the fold and driving
back the flock to the pasture. Nothing was to be heard
besides their merry laugh and the distant baying of dogs.
The air was calm and still, and the smoke went straight up
from the chimney of the Ayan's palace, giving promise of
good cheer within. It was that quiet repose of nature which
sinks so gently into the traveller's heart, and repays him at
sweet eventide for the toil and labor of the day. How
often have troubled feelings been soothed and loneliness
cheered by sights and sounds like these ! And what stores
of pleasant pictures have been treasured up to beguile
weary hours with grateful recollections of the past !

We approached the Ayan's house, rode up the little hill
on which it stood, and stopped before the door, The build-
ing was not so imposing at close view as it had been in the
distance. The walls were of earth, after the fashion of the
houses in Persia, and the only opening in them was the door
before which we stood. I sent in Basil with my sela?n, and
a respectful request for a night's lodging. He soon returned
with the information that the house was full. The guide whis-
pered that such an excuse was never made when the guests
were acceptable, but that doubtless the Ayan had no particu-
lar desire to accommodate strangers and Christians. Basil
added that the answer was conveyed to him in a very angry
and unbecoming manner. I did not like the tone of it, and
still less the act which almost immediately followed. While
we were considering what was to be done, a young man
came out, whom, from the style of his dress, I took to be
the Ayan's scribe. He stood at the door and began to
abuse the guide for bringing guests to the house. The
poor fellow did not answer a word, and I undertook to re-
ply for him by a lecture on hospitality. The young man
listened in silence, and I went on to tell him that the lan-
guage which he had used was dangerous for the Ayan, that

40 VISIT TO THE

I had in my pocket a bouyouroultou from his master the
Pasha of Trebizond, with which I could compel him to ad-
mit me if I pleased. At this the young man lowered his
tone, and humbly protested that the house was full, that if I
pleased I might enter and examine every room. I told him
that I had no wish to intrude, and that if he had given me a
civil answer in the first place, I should have gone on my way
without saying a word. He then went in and immediately
returned with a bit of paper with the Ayan's seal upon it.
This he gave to the guide, telling him that by showing it in
the next village, we should receive every thing that we needed
for man and beast. As night had now set in, and the guide
did not know the road, I asked for a servant from the Ayan
to show us the way. The young man demurred, but I in-
sisted upon it, and told him that if he gave me any more
trouble, I would report the matter to the Pasha. This
brought him again to terms, and he ordered a servant to ac-
company us.

It was now quite dark ; the evening was chilly ; we had
been in the saddle ten hours without dismounting, and had
been drenched by one of those afternoon showers which are
of almost daily occurrence at this season, and which pour
like a torrent upon the traveller. Our way was over a low
meadow ground, cold and damp, and the village, which the
young man had said was close by, proved to be nearly an
hour distant. I attempted to beguile the way by talking
with the servant about his master, and I was not a little
surprised and amused to find that the young man whom I
had taken for a scribe, was the Ayan himself. Perhaps I
should have been more sparing of my advice if I had known
it at the moment, but as he was a very young man, and evi-
dently had not yet learned good manners, doubtless it was
best that he should hear the whole, and his age at least gives
hope of improvement.

SYRIAN CHURCH. 41

Every body was abed when we reached the village. We
called up the kiahya 1 and showed him the seal. He began to
protest that there was no fodder for the horses, no accommo-
dation for us, and seemed inclined to push us on to the next
village. But this would not do, for I was now stiff with cold,
the night was dark, and the guide having left the post-road
to reach the Ayan's house, did not know how to regain it. I
told the kiahya, therefore, that if he would make no trouble,
I would not use the seal, but would pay him fairly for every
thing which he might bring us. This simple proposal
changed at once the aspect of things. The village, only a
moment before entirely destitute, was by the magical sound
of money converted suddenly into a granary of barley and
straw ; there was a nice room ready for us, wood for a fire,
and plenty to eat. The gruff, sleepy kiahya became all
activity and cheerfulness. Even his wife rose at the sound,
and recommenced the culinary operations but just now sus-
pended. A fire was soon blazing in the apartment, carpets
were spread, and master and servant and guide were
stretching themselves to dry. I would not suffer the Ayan's
boy to go back, but made him sit down and partake of our
cheer. His master would repent, he said, of having sent
him, for he had not another like him to present the pipe
and play the fiddle. According to his report the Ayan spent
a great part of his time in hunting. Two noble hounds
had accompanied us from the house, and were now com-
fortably crouched at his side looking over their paws at the
fire. The host's reception verified his promises, and my re-
quital the next morning verified mine. He;iwas a Mussul-
man, and his green turban marked his descent from Moham-
med. Yet we conversed kindly and parted fair friends,
with many wishes that we might meet again. It is some-

1 A village officer, part of whose business it is to provide lodgings for
travellers.

42 VISIT TO THE

thing to conquer the prejudices of a Mussulman, and to
make him think better of Christianity by making him think
well of a Christian.

The approach to Kara Hissar, fifty miles from Sheiran, is
one of extraordinary beauty. The town stands on an ele-
vated ridge or neck, extending from the mountains on the
right, and terminating in a tall, solitary rock on the left of
the town. For miles Eastward the slope is covered with the
richest gardens abounding in every kind of fruit suited to
the climate the apple, the pear, the peach, the walnut, the
mulberry, and plums of various sorts. The town contains
about 1000 houses, inhabited chiefly by Mussulmans, but the
Armenians and Greeks are sufficiently numerous to have
each a Church. On the summit of the rock, which on one
side towers above the town, and on the other lords it over
the valley below, stands the ancient fortress which gives the
place its name. It is evidently one of those old structures
supposed to belong to the middle ages, and which were erect-
ed by the Genoese when their trade penetrated the far East,
and lines of fortresses were built for the Security of traffic.
I found in one part of it the remains of a Church, and in
others wells and cisterns, intended evidently to supply it with
water. The old wells were nearly gone, but the gateway
remained, and over it was the device of the two-headed
eagle. In another part was a subterranean room, called by
the people the Dungeon.

When I left Gumush Khaneh I had intended to strike
down from Keklit to the Euphrates, but the country to the
South of Keklit was infested with predatory Kurds who had
risen in rebellion, and had ravaged the country to the very
gates of Erzingan. I was therefore compelled to turn off
Westward to Kara Hissar. Here I made another attempt
to go Southward, but was again defeated, the Governor of
Kara Hissar declaring that he would afford me no aid for
such a journey. He advised me rather to go direct to

SYRIAN CHURCH. 43

Sivas, though that route also was accounted dangerous.
But here he was very prompt and kind in providing every
security in his power for my journey. He ordered a Ka-
vass 1 to attend me to Edrenes, the first town on the road,
and gave me a letter to the Ayan of that place, requiring
him to furnish two armed men to conduct me to Zara, the
first town in the Pashalik of Sivas. To this he added
another letter addressed to a Kurdish chief under his juris-
diction, living in the mountains six hours beyond Edrens,
directing him to provide two men more, to accompany me
with the others as far as Zara.

We started on the 18th about noon, and arrived that day
at Gheuz Keui, (Eye village,) on the border of the great
plain of Ashkar, five hours from Kara Hissar. The next
morning we crossed the plain to Edrenes, which lies on the
opposite side. This plain is another of those broad levels
extending among the hills, which give support to a large
population, and are the sources of plenty and wealth to the
neighboring districts. That of Ashkar is twenty miles in
length, and is marked by no less than seventy-five villages,
under the government of the Ayan of Edrenes, who is sub-
ject to the Mutselim 2 of Kara Hissar, who is subject in his
turn to the Pasha of Trebizond, who is subject again to the
Sultan. Below this long line of officers are the Aghas, or
chiefs of villages, who have also under them, Kiahyas, or
chiefs of quarters, and even these have their deputies. The
plain of Ashkar seems to take its name from a place East of
Edrenes, where the people say once stood a great city. I
had not time to visit it, but from their description of the re-
mains, I judged it to be another of the Genoese fortresses,
an outpost probably of the great route above. The people

1 An officer attending upon Turkish Pashas and Governors, and
European Ambassadors at the Porte, and Consuls.

2 Governor of a city and its dependencies. He is generally below
the rank of Pasha.

44 VISIT TO THK

said that there were massive ruins still to be seen, and graves
sixty asheun long. 1 The place is still occupied by a few
poor families. In Gheuz Keui there were ten Greek fam-
ilies ; but not so many more in the whole district. The
Greek population almost entirely ceases South of the lati-
tude of Erzroum, and East of the longitude of Tocat. It is
confined for the most part to Asia Minor and the coast of
the Black Sea, wfiere were also its ancient homes. There
is only one Greek Bishop beyond the same limits, and he
resides at Ergin on the Euphrates, in Western Kurdistan,
and sometimes at Kabban Maden, on the road from Tocat to
Diarbekir. His jurisdiction extends over all the country
from Kara Hissar to Bagdad, and from Kaisariyeh (Caesarea
in Cappadocia) to the borders of Persia, and I presume
that in the whole of his diocese there are not 5000 Greeks.
The inhabitants of the plains of Ashkar are chiefly Ar-
menian, and those of Edrenes exclusively so. Here they
have a Church, and a population of about 500 souls; and,
probably, their whole population, upon the plain alone, is not
less than 4,000. This singularly industrious and frugal
people are to be found in all parts of the empire ; from the
Caucasus to the Nile, and from the Danube to the Persian
Gulf; and every where they are the same, with those varia-
tions only which differences of occupation, of climate, and
of local government, tend to produce. Simple and indus-
trious ; quietly bearing the yoke which the Greeks are so
restive under ; given to the honest and useful arts of life,
seeking gain wherever they are, and, for the most part, care-
fully preserving it ; docile and sober-minded; they are much
more akin to the Turks, both in character and manners,
than any other of the Christian races. Driven out from
their patrimony, or enticed from their ancient lands by the

1 An asheun is about 30 inches. The graves would then be 150
feet!

SYRIAN CHURCH. 45

desire of gain, they are to be seen in almost every district
and every city ; in Asia Minor, in Kurdistan, in Mesopota-
mia, in Syria, in Egypt, in Turkey in Europe, in the pro-
vinces North of the Danube, and beyond the boundaries of
the empire, in Austria, Russia, Persia, and Hindostan.
Every where in Turkey they are the great producers, whether
they till the soil or engage in traffic. They are the bone
and sinew of the land at once its most useful and most
peaceful citizens. Were they removed from Turkey, the
wealth and productive power of the country would be in-
calculably diminished. 1

No less interesting are they in their ecclesiastical cha-
racter, by which I mean their moral dispositions, and the
state and character of their Church. Separated from the
Greek Communion by their rejection of the Fourth Ecumen-
ical Council, they have retained in some respects practices
peculiarly primitive; while by their commingling with so
many different nations, they have, in other respects, singu-
larly departed from their own ancient standards. 2 No com-
munion of Eastern Christians has been so much affected by
changes from without ; and in none has so large a schism
been created, unless we are to except the Chaldean Church
of Mesopotamia, which has almost entirely acknowledged
allegiance to the Pope. But the whole number of members
in this Church does not much exceed one-third of the Ar-

1 Their character and habits are thoroughly Oriental, but in their in-
dustry and spirit of acquisition, they present rather a contrast than a re-
semblance to the Turks.

2 One instance of an ancient custom of the Eastern Churches, which
no other has retained, is the observance of the Nativity and the Epiphany
of our Saviour on the same day, the 6th of January. An instance of de-
parture from the ancient standards is seen in the practice of counting
seven sacraments, which is common among their clergy, whereas their
Church does not recognize seven, and for one at least, extreme unction,
has no rite or service whatever.

3*

46 VISIT TO THE

menians who acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope. 1
The schism is greater in the Chaldean Church in its ratio,
but less in its aggregate.

The peculiar docility of the Armenians, and their disposi-
tion to learn, lays them open to influences from without, and
makes it more easy to inculcate either good or evil among
them than among any other body of Eastern Christians.
They have also received from Rome most of their religious
literature for many years past, and this has gradually in-
fused the taint of Romish theology, so that many of their
clergy speak in the language of Rome, without understand-
ing that they contravene the standards and practices of their
own Church. 2 The antidote were as easily applied as the
poison. What they most need is a sound religious literature,
presenting doctrine in a primitive manner, and not after the
speculative and scholastic modes which prevail among us ;
recognizing thoroughly the primitive institutions of the
Church, and turning them to their proper use ; not condemn-
ing practices which are ancient, but relieving them of their
abuses ; cheerfully inculcating duties which are now per-
formed, but restoring to them their religious sense and life ;
making what is perfunctorily done, by the blessing of God a
living means of grace ; setting forth the duties of the Chris-
tian life, its interior graces, its self-denial and its perfect
obedience. Such a work were worthy of our labors and
our prayers but who is there to perform it ? It is needed
to save the Armenians from schism, to strengthen the things
that remain, to build them up in their most holy faith.

1 " The Catholic Almanac and Laity's Directory," a Roman Catholic
publication, under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Bishop in Bal-
timore (U. S. A.), states the number of Chaldeans conjecturally at 15,000
and the number of Papal Armenians at 40,000.

2 Most of the doctrinal and religious books which have an allowed cir-
culation among the Armenians are from the Armenian presses of Venice
and Vienna.

SYRIAN CHURCH

CHAPTER IV.

The Ayan ofEdrenes. The Church of Edrenes. Churches in Turkey.
Contrast with Mosques. Armenian Churches described. Altars.
The Font. Women's Place. Paintings. The design of Pictures in
Eastern Churches. The Greek. The Armenian. Origin of Picture
Worship in them. Present State. Their Testimony upon the Sub-
ject. The Greek. The Armenian. The Syrian. The Nestoiian
Bearing of the Testimony upon the subject of Picture Worship. Im-
portance of studying the Eastern Churches for the sake of their Testi-
mony. The Steadfastness of the Eastern Christians in maintaining
their Confession of Christianity. The Cause. Their low Estimate of
it practically. Our Duty to them.

THE Ayan of Edrenes was in bed when we arrived early
on the morning of the 19th of May. He repaid us, how-
ever, for the delay by a good breakfast after he arose. He
was himself so much like an Armenian that I could hardly
believe he was not one, until I reflected that it was a thing
unheard of under Mussulman rule, for a Christian to be
Governor of such a district. His servants told me that he
was a genuine Mohammedan, but I must still think he was
descended from a Christian stock. His looks, his manners,
his whole appearance was Armenian. He received us very
kindly and even deferentially. I thought that perhaps his
constant intercourse with Christians (for his was the only
Mussulman family in Edrenes, and very few of the people
of the district are of that religion) might have given him
something of their temper. He interested himself in my
affairs, and while he was making arrangements for my de-

48 VISIT TO THE

parture, I went out to see the Church. Unfortunately a
Mussulman servant accompanied me. When I reached the
door no one was there, and the people in sight disappeared
at our appearance. There was no one to unlock the door, and
the key was not to be found. We inquired at the neigh-
boring houses, but every body evaded our questions. At
length I bethought me of a secret spring, and told them that
I was a Christian and had only come to see the Church.
The key was instantly produced, and a priest made his ap-
pearance from one of the houses. The poor people had
been frightened at the sight of the servant, and thought we
had come with some evil intent towards their sanctuary.
The priest, who had the same timid and cringing demean-
or that is so common among the clergy of the interior,
conducted us to the Church, a plain building of humble
exterior, and, like all the Churches I have seen in the East, 1
without steeple or tower. Within, it had all the parts usual-
ly seen in an Eastern Church, the porch, the nave and the
sanctuary. On the roof of the porch was a thick plank
hung between two upright posts. This is the bell, which is
beaten with mallets to call the people to Church. I was
surprised to see it in so conspicuous a situation. It is gen-
erally in the Church yard, if there is one. Within the
Church there are three altars, as there always are in an
Armenian Church. In the present instance, as is often the
case, especially in the country, only one is used, namely, the
middle or great altar. The others were in a neglected and
disrobed state. The three stand in a line at the East end
of the Church. Near the Northern altar was the baptismal
font, a rude stone hollowed to the depth of a foot, and sup-
ported by as rude a pedestal of stone and mortar. The

1 Excepting one or two in monasteries, which had low towers. Sev-
eral of the mosques which were formerly Christian Churches have towers
still standing, which would seem to show that before the days of Moham-
medanism, such appendages were not uncommon.

SYRIAN CHURCH. 49

Armenian Churches in the cities have generally a chapel on
each side of the main building, entered by a door from the
chancel of the Church. In each of these chapels is an
altar, and in the Northern one the baptismal font, generally
on the Northern side of the chapel. There are often one
or two altars in the porch also, or in adjoining chapels at
that end. On feast days in the great Churches, and espe-
cially on the day of the Saint for whom the Church is named,
the Holy Eucharist is celebrated at all the altars, (some-
times six or seven in number,) and at all at the same time.
The pavement on which the great altar stands is elevated
from one to three feet above the chancel-floor, and this last
is generally a few inches higher than the nave, and separated
from it by a heavy rail. Not only the Bishop and clergy
but the lay-superintendent of the Church and other con-
siderable laymen sit within the rail, and oftentimes, at great
festivals, the chancel is crowded with people. 1

The Church at Edrenes had most of the parts which I
have described. A large curtain hanging to the floor con-
cealed the great altar, and without it, but within the chan-
cel, stood two forms, one for the reading of the Gospel and
the other for the Lessons and Responses. At the Western
end of the Church was the females' division, screened from
the rest of the nave by a paling of lattice-work. Almost
always, in the East, this division (which so far as I have ob-
served is every where found among the Eastern Christians)
is at this end of the Church ; but in a few Churches I have
seen it at the sides. The custom of separating males and
females in public worship is in accordance with the habits
of the East, and, under existing circumstances, I have no
doubt it is best. The females' place is sometimes on the
lower floor, and sometimes (especially in city Churches) in

1 But the presence of any part of the congregation here the Arme-
nians themselves acknowledge to be an irregularity.

50 VISIT TO THE

a gallery above. In only one instance have I seen a Church
exclusively for females. 1

The Church of Edrenes contained a dozen pictures in a
very rude style, hanging in different parts of the edifice.
The priest was unable to inform me whom or what most of
them were intended to represent, and from this I inferred that
no great use is made of them. It is not to be supposed that
whenever paintings ^are found in an Eastern Church, they are
necessarily intended for worship. They are often no more
than portraits of Saints and scenes from Scripture, repre-
sentations of martyrdoms, and such like, which are hung in
the Church to adorn the edifice, and are placed in an ele-
vated position, as if with the express design to avoid the
danger of their being worshipped. The distinction between
the Greek and Armenian Churches in this respect is very
remarkable. While in the former the walls are almost cov-
ered with paintings, and these paintings are almost exclusive-
ly representations of persons, (which alone are ever wor-
shipped, for no one would dream of worshipping a picture of
the crucifixion or the resurrection for instance, or any mere
representation of events,) and moreover these are hung low
and are expressly prepared for worship by having attached
to them fac similes in miniature intended to receive the kisses
of the people, and thus save the more costly originals from
injury ; in the Armenian Churches the pictures are few, and
most frequently they are representations of events. These
are hung high in the Church, often nearer the ceiling than
the floor, and are not worshipped. Such was probably the
ancient condition of the Armenian Church, that is, the same
use of pictures that is known among us, merely as decora-
tions of the Church, and instructive representations of events
which live in the history of Christianity. But when the

1 Connected with the Armenian Patriarchate in Constantinople are
three Churches, two for males, and one exclusively for females.

SYRIAN CHURCH. 51

practice of some portions of the Armenians became cor-
rupt, (which has been chiefly through the influence of Rome,)
and pictures began to be used for worship, 1 those already in
the Churches were not turned to this purpose, (being, as
representations of events, unfit therefor,) but others were
brought in, chiefly pictures of the Virgin, which were
placed, as the custom still is, not in the nave of the Church,
but in the porch or at the door, thus as it were indicating
their extraneous character and the modern origin of the use
of them. Accordingly it sometimes happens, in remote
Churches in the interior, that the traveller will find no pic-
tures of this latter description, and consequently none that
are worshipped, the evil never having entered there; while
in others he will see. besides the ancient paintings, a single
portrait of the Saviour or the Virgin, before which no lights
are burned nor any worship paid. 2

The Eastern Churches, indeed, when rightly viewed,
present one of the strongest arguments against picture-wor-
ship. Its establishment in the Greek Church is matter of
history, and we know it to have been as late as A. D. 787. 3

1 This would seem to have been later than the 12th century, when, as
Nicctas Choniates writes, the worship was forbidden among the Armeni-
ans. The passage is quoted in Palmer's Treatise on the Church, (P. IV.
Ch. X. Sect, iv.) to which I am indebted for it. It reads as follows :

A-pHEviotS -yap Kal'AXa^aroTj iiriaris f] TMV ayiwv CIKOVMV irpoaKVvriais d:r>jy(5jOi>

ra. ' For the adoration of images is forbidden alike by the Armenians
and the Germans.' Among the Armenians it has arisen chiefly within
the last century, and almost entirely, I believe, within the last 150 years.

2 In Constantinople the pictures in the porch have lamps burning be-
fore them, and such of the worshippers as please buy tapers at the door,
which they light at the lamp and attach to a frame in front of the picture.
But all do not practise it.

3 By the deutero-Nicene Council, under the Empress Irene. This
Council is recognized by the Greeks as the 7th General Council, but was
formally rejected by a large part of the Western Church, including that of
England, in the Council of Francfort on the Maine, A. D. 794.

52 VISIT TO THE

In the other Eastern Churches, which were separated from
the Greek Church abou-t the middle of the fifth century
and three hundred years before the deutero-Nicene Coun-
cil, in which of course they had no participation, things
remain theoretically very nearly the same as at the time of
their separation. Picture-worship has never been formally
recognized among them; it has never been established by
Councils or Canons, and so far as it is practised, it is a false
appendage, an unauthorized usage, a comparatively modern
corruption, gradually and partially introduced according to
the relative proximity (locally) of these Churches to the
Greek and Latin communions, and according to the active
efforts at inculcating it which have been made from with-
out. Thus, in the Armenian Church it has prevailed
more extensively than in either of the others, Syrian or
Nestorian ; and in the Armenian Church, it prevails most
where the members of that Church are nearest to the Greek
and Latin Churches, and most affected by intercourse with
them, as, for example, at Constantinople. Hence arises
the difference between the Armenian Churches on the sea-
board and in some parts of the interior, especially those
parts which are least connected with the capital. The fact
that there are constantly to be found in Constantinople
some 40,000 Armenians from the interior, who come for
purposes of gain, and after a time return to their homes, is
enough to show how wide an influence the Church in the
metropolis must exert upon almost every part of the coun-
try. Yet there are numerous districts from which few, if
any, of the people resort to the capital, and those will al-
ways be found the most free from picture-worship and other
modern corruptions.

The Syrian Church has still less of connection with
Constantinople. Its Patriarch does not reside there. The
source of ecclesiastical rule and influence in it is not in the
capital. It is separated both by space and language from

SViUAN CHURCH. 53

the western parts of Turkey. The evil influences that it
has received have come to it chiefly through Syria. Its
practice, therefore, is purer than that of the Armenians,
and very much purer than that of the Greeks. This is true
of morals as well as of worship, for the influence of the
capital is at present every way deleterious. But our atten-
tion is now confined to the use of pictures. I shall have
occasion hereafter to speak more particularly of it in rela-
tion to the Syrian Church. Suffice it at present to say,
that in some few places, and, so far as my observation has
extended, uniformly those which have been most affected
by intercourse with the capital, picture-worship is known,
but this in a more limited degree than among either Greeks
or Armenians, more limited both as to the number of those
who practise it and the extent to which it is carried. I can-
not, for example, recall an instance in a Syrian Church,
though I will not positively affirm there is none, in which
lights are kept burning before a picture during the intervals
of service. But this practice is, I believe, universal among
the Greeks, and not uncommon among the Armenians.
And as to the number of those who practise picture-wor-
ship, the distinction between the three Churches is equally
marked. Among the Greeks one seldom enters a church
without kissing one or more pictures, and bowing and
crossing himself before them. In the Armenian Churches
many enter and depart without taking any notice of the pic-
tures, where there are any. In the Syrian Church I have
never seen one perform this sort of devotion either on en-
tering or departing, although I would not deny that instances
of the kind may in some places be seen.

If we go one step farther into the interior we shall find
the climax of our argument a Christian community among
whom not a trace of picture-worship is to be found. The
Nestorians of Kurdistan have remained in a remarkable
manner secluded from all other Churches since the early

54 VISIT TO THE

ages of Christianity. No Christians practising picture-
worship have ever penetrated, until these latter days, into
the stern recesses of their mountain homes. They remain,
in point of religious usages, the same that they were
fifteen centuries ago; while in point of intellectual activ-
ity and learning, little or nothing has survived. We
might conceive of corruption creeping in, in an age of
ignorance, but not of its creeping out. If it had ever been
in, the ignorance which has so long enveloped the Nesto-
rian Church would have preserved and strengthened it, or
at least it would have remained, amidst the extinction of
learning, in a stagnant and unchanging state, like flies pre-
served in amber. Had there been life, and movement, and
theological inquiry, subtle reasoning might have marshalled
in the error. But ignorance is obstinate, and stands upon
custom and tradition and established usage. It preserves
error, or if it gives birth, it is only to creatures of darkness.
It djes not originate reform. Hence it is impossible that
the Nestorian Church should have lost the use of picture-
worship if it had ever existed, besides that history has
recorded no such change. The time has never been when
it was in vogue. The universal testimony of the Nestorians
is, that their Church was never defiled by it, and no one,
I believe, pretends that it has ever been known among
them. The testimony which their Church bears, is the
testimony of the earliest ages, since which they have been
shut up in their mountain fastnesses, unchanging within
and unchanged from without. Interesting as it is in itself,
it is of the greater value as showing the ancient practice of
the Church, and combined with the evidence from the other
Eastern communions, it presents a solid and immovable
argument against the antiquity and lawfulness of picture-
worship. I quote it, moreover, as one instance out of
many, which shows the importance of studying the Oriental
Churches ecclesiastically, for the evidence which they pre-

SYRIAN CHURCH. 55

sent concerning ancient forms and practices. It will
generally be found that where any corruption has been
introduced among them since the rise and prevalence of
Mohammedanism, it is either the progress of changes which
began before, or it has been introduced from without. One
may even venture to affirm, that if the Greek Church had
been subjected to the sway of Islamism at as early a date
as the Syrian, picture-worship would never have been es-
tablished by an Eastern Council, nor would the other great
delinquency of that Church, the idolatrous worship of
the Blessed Virgin, have ever come into existence. They
are both the results of a freedom protracted after the age of
purity had departed, when the life of primitive holiness had
declined, and the ears of many had been turned away from
the truth and turned unto fables. 1 The course of that
Church from the seventh century onward was one of dete-
rioration, until the fall of Constantinople in the fifteenth
century sealed the fate of the Eastern Empire and placed
the Church in a state of fixedness. This event occurred at
a time when the Greek Church seemed nearly prepared for
the adoption of errors w^hich would have determined its
character for centuries. Had its independence survived
another hundred years, it would have had its Reformation
and its Council of Trent. Mohammedanism had at least
this beneficent effect for which, under the guidance of
the Great Head of the Church, it may have been intended
of saving the Mother Church of the East from commit-
ting itself by the decisions of a Council to manifold and
grievous errors. This happy result was realized at a much
earlier date among the other portions of the Eastern Church
which were severed from Catholic communion about the
middle of the fifth century, and fell under the sway of Mo-
hammedanism within two centuries afterwards. It is to

1 2 Tim. 4: 4.

56 VISIT TO THB

them, therefore, that we are to look for the truest exhibi-
tions of primitive usage and discipline. Nor are we to
be turned aside from surveying them by any suspicion of
their heterodoxy in that matter of faith upon which they
separated from the Orthodox Communion. Even admitting
that they hold a heresy with regard to the nature of Christ,
(which I do not,) this surely does not invalidate their
testimony upon any other point, since in nothing else does
it appear that they have departed from the faith or practice
of the ancient Church. As we proceed we shall find that
this testimony is of great importance and value.

I was struck at Edrenes with the demeanor of the
people towards me after they once found that I was a Chris-
tian. Till that moment most of them avoided me, and ran
away when I called them. But as soon as they learned my real
character, they became very communicative and clung to
me, as if my presence conferred a favor. 1 have often
observed this feeling among the Christian peasantry of the
interior, The voice of sympathy and kindness is so strange
to them, that when they hear it from the lips of a foreigner,
whom, because he is a Frank, they imagine to be respectable
and powerful, they seem as if they could never have enough
of it. They feel a kind of security in his presence, a
pleasure mingled with surprise at meeting with one who is
a Christian and yet free from the bondage and oppression
which in their minds are inseparably associated with the
profession of their religion. Why is it that these poor, op-
pressed men, uninstructed as they are in the faith and duties
of Christianity, do not seek a relief from their burdens by
embracing the religion of their masters? I believe that the
true reason is to be found in the preservation among them
of one of the ancient traits of Christianity, viz., the value
which they put upon Baptism as the introduction to the
Christian covenant, to the privileges and hopes of the Gos-
pel, the belief which they have that they were made Chris-

SYRIAN CHURCH. 57

tians in this Holy Sacrament, that they were sealed and con-
firmed in the faith of Christianity almost from the hour of
their birth. Mingled with this is another feeling not un-
common among them, and derived like the other from the
ancient Church : I mean a fearful, though, in their unin-
structed state, a vague view of the horrid consequences of
apostacy and excommunication. They think that the state
of no man, Mohammedan or Pagan, is so dreadful as his
who forsakes the faith of Christianity ; that for him there
remains only a certain fearful looking for of judgment and
fiery indignation. 1

These feelings are sufficient to make them contented
with their religion; but the sanctifying influences of that
religion are so benumbed, that it does not make them con-
tented with their lot. Hence it is that they (I speak of the
peasantry of the interior) are generally unhappy, grumbling
and repining at their state, instead of bearing it with holy
fortitude, cringing and despondent, selfish and inhospitable.
They deserve, however, our pity more than our blame, our
sympathy rather than our scorn. The reason why they are
thus degraded in character is that they have persevered in
the faith of their fathers. It is because they are Christians

1 Heb. 10: 27. I may here add that in Constantinople, where infi-
delity and neglect of the ordinances of religion abound, this fear of aposta-
cy prevails less than in the interior, and consequently conversions to Mo-
hammedanism are not unknown, though by no means common. In
every instance which has come to my knowledge, the motive was notori-
ously a mercenary one. But, on the other hand, I may say that I have
also in mind cases of a very different character cases in which Christians
have been accused before Mohammedan magistrates of having promised
to become Mussulmans, and have shown either the falseness of the accu-
sation or their penitence by submitting to repeated torture and finally
to death rather than abjure their religion. There have been at least two
instances of this kind in Constantinople within six years, one of them the
last year (1843). Both the sufferers were young men and Armenians.
The first case was in 1838.

58 VISIT TO THE

that they are so ground to the dust, for no one can fail to
observe how different in general is the treatment of the
Mohammedan peasantry, though they also suffer severely.
It is because they are Christians, that they have endured the
weight of oppression for centuries, and it is this oppression
which has gradually destroyed in them manliness and
energy of character. Never was there a people to whom,
even for the life that now is, the joys and consolations, the
strength and peace of religion were more necessary ; never
was there one who seemed as a body more destitute of these
legitimate blessings of Christianity. And yet I would not
deny that there are some among them who suffer with a
higher sense of the dignity of their calling as confessors for
Christ, who rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer
shame for his name, and who are sustained by the cheering
hope that, if they are faithful unto death, their reward will
be great in heaven. I believe, I know, that there are men
of this character among them. Let us not then despise
these little ones, though they be as babes in Christ; but
let us rather pray for them that their faith fail not. Let us
strengthen them by our timely sympathy. Let us impart to
them of our fulness. Let us make known to them, by
legitimate modes and efforts, the true nature of the faith
in which they stand. Let us restore to them, if the Lord
will deign so far to bless our means, the joy and hope, the
fulness and strength of the Gospel.

SYRIAN CHURCH. 59

CHAPTER V.

Departure from Edrenes. Armenian Monastery. The Road. Kurdish
Tents. The Occupants. Kurdish Chief. His Reception. His Life.
Presents in the East. Eastern Character. Famine. Espionage.
Emigrants. Turkish Policy. The Road. Dangers. How to be met.

FROM the Church I returned to the Ayan's house, and
found every thing ready for my departure. He had provided
for me two stout mountaineers, who, with their guns slung
upon their backs, trudged smartly on before us as we started.
I had requested that they might be mounted, but no horses
were to be had, and the event proved that it was unnecessary,
for they kept in advance of us most of the day. Shortly
after leaving Edrenes, we passed near a place called Sis,
where we observed some more ancient fortifications. Close
by is an Armenian monastery, which time would not allow
me to visit. For a while we travelled among the hills along
the base of Reuse Dagh, or Bald Mountain, so called from
its barren summit, where the Kurds in summer pasture their
flocks. It is one of three mountains on the South side of
the plain, and gives rise to theKizzil Irmak, or Red River,
the largest and longest stream of Asia Minor. We then
plunged into interminable pine forests, and soon after came
upon a group of Kurdish tents pitched in a little green nook
at the foot of the mountain. The Kavass, instead of avoid-
ing them, led the way directly towards them, and dismounted
before the principal tent. We followed his example, just as
the old man, the Patriarch of the tribe, came out to meet us.

60 VISIT TO THE

He was evidently alarmed at the sight of the Kavass, but
recovered himself sufficiently to bid us welcome. We
entered his tent and seated ourselves on the carpet, while
the old woman, his wife, hastened to bring out her rustic
fare of cream and milk and bread and yo-6ort, and spread
them before us. His son, a man of thirty-five, of noble
stature, but of most malign and ferocious aspect, led about
the horses, and his daughters hid themselves behind the
family chattels with which the tent was crowded, and kept
up an incessant tittering whenever any of us caught sight of
their brown faces or bright black eyes. The old man
himself sat near us, and his eye involuntarily glanced at our
weapons and at our luggage with that quick and wild expres-
sion of cupidity which always marks a predatory Kurd.
But he put a restraint on himself and endeavored to appear
as if he were taking no notice of our property. He uttered
some extravagant eulogiums upon the Sultan and the Pasha,
and declared his own fidelity to them in the most obsequious
terms, forgetful apparently that it was only a year ago that
the Pasha marched an army against him and forced him into
submission. The presence of the Kavass gave him an oppor-
tunity of showing his new-born loyalty, which he did not
fail to express by the most earnest protestations. That
worthy officer, however, gave him little credit for his
asseverations, for we had no sooner mounted and rode away
from the tents than he began to relate how this was one of
the most notorious characters of a murderous band of Kurds,
and that he would throw off his allegiance to-morrow if he
dared.

In the afternoon we emerged from the woods, and soon
reached the solitary dwelling of Pasha Oglou, (son of a
Pasha,) the Kurdish chief to whom the Governor of Kara
Hissar had commended me. He was ruler of the country
under the Governor, and had been stationed in this wild
region to keep hie refractory brethren in order. Though

SYRIAN CHURCH. 61

an old and tried friend of the Government, he was a Kurd
throughout, free, generous, open, wild, with no idea of the
value of human life and no fear for his own. This, however,
is not the character of Kurds in general, but only of the
better sort, the Kurdish gentlemen. The lower classes, and
especially the nomadic Kurds, are mean, treacherous, and
often cowardly pilferers. Pasha Oglou received us in his
solitary habitation with all his hearty Kurdish hospitality,
and set before us his delicious Kurdish dishes, kaimak 1 and
honey, mulberries stewed in honey, and other luxuries of a
rural life. In the evening he regaled us with stories of the
mountaineers, and talked of his management of them, in the
same manner that a fearless hunter might talk of chasing
tigers and taming wild boars. He had an evident relish for
the amusement, and was about going into the mountains to
spend the summer months among his unruly subjects. He
seemed to know their habits' and their manners perfectly,
and depended upon his own superior possession of them, for
inspiring awe and obedience. When I hinted that his life
might be in danger among such lawless men, he intimated
in reply that it would give him sincere pleasure to have
them try him. The prospect of a little excitement appeared
to give him unmingled gratification, and he laughed heartily
at the thought of it. All this time the fire was burning
brightly on the hearth of an enormous chimney at one end
of the apartment where we were seated, the chief with some
of his followers, occupying one side, and myself with the
Kavass the other. We had no light but the merry blaze of
the fire, which threw its beams around on hardy and sun-
browned men, the blackened roof, the armor on the wall,
and penetrated deep into the recesses of the stable which
formed more than half the apartment. We slept where we

1 Coagulated cream, produced by simmering fresh milk over a slo\y
fire.

4

62 VISIT TO THE

sat, excepting the chief, who retired to his family apartments
in another building. As the evening stole on, one after
another stretched themselves upon the carpet, arid fell asleep,
and when all but myself had sunk into slumber I seized the
opportunity to make some hasty notes of the adventures of
the day, and after commending myself to the care of Him
who ' compasseth our path and our lying down, and is ac-
quainted with all our ways,' 1 I laid my head upon my
saddle, which served the double purpose of a seat by day and
a pillow by night, and joined the general slumber!

Early the next morning I bade adieu to the chief, after
putting into his hand enough to remunerate him for his hos-
pitality. He drew back with an expression of anger when
I proffered it, and asked what it meant. I saw that I had
mistaken my man, and instantly changing my purpose, re-
quested him to divide it among his servants who had waited
upon me. He accepted it at once, and his face, which wore
a terrible frown, cleared up as suddenly as it had clouded.
Whether he put any part of it in his own pocket after I had
gone, it would perhaps be wrong to conjecture, but such
practices are not uncommon among Eastern gentry, who
would feel it the height of insult to appear to accept pay for
their hospitality. I have often found it best to carry presents
for such casuists, and count as recompense what they re^
ceived as a memento. Sometimes they could go so far as
to ask for a present, and this when the object of their re-
quest was worth ten times all the services they had rendered.
In this way I have often parted with the necessaries of my
voyage for the sake of avoiding offence, and at other times
have kept them concealed lest they should be asked for.
This polite kind of robbery is especially common among the
Kurds, who cannot overcome their native desire for the goods
of others, even when they do not feel at liberty to take them
by force.

1 Ps. 139 : 3

SYRIAN CHURCH. 63

We reached Zara, a large village of about 500 houses,
early in the day. On the road, which lay first among the
hills and afterwards through a valley, we crossed the Kizzil
Irmak twice, or rather a branch of it, for the main ri\er
comes in opposite Zara. A brother of Pasha Oglou accom-
panied us on our journey. He was a noble young Kurd of
the better sort, and proved himself a very pleasant and cheer-
ful companion. It is refreshing to the spirit of a Western
man, especially perhaps to an American, to see among the
oppressed races of Turkey, one who talks freely and ani-
matedly as if he had nobody to fear. It is like a cup of cold
water in the dreary, monotonous wilderness of minds and
hearts trodden down, crushed, and seared by oppression. I
never met with such a one that my spirits were not exhil-
arated, and that I did not feel the contrast with the silent and
sombre mood that pervades the interior of Turkey. Humani-
ty there presents itself to the mind under such images as a
carcass going to decay in the desert, or a mighty ship rotting
in the still ocean ; and I always felt a sensible relief when
my journey led me away from it for a time, to mingle in the
wild and free life of the Kurds. " Happily in the present in-
stance we had nothing to fear from those other