RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE AND MISSIONARY WORK.
Turkish Tolerance—High Disdain for Christians—American
Mission Work—Roman Catholic Missionaries—Catholic
Establishments—The Uniates—United Armenians—Mechitar—The Two
Parties—Persecutions—European Interference—The Hassounists—The
Hope for Armenia.
From the time of the Ottoman conquest spiritual liberty has been allowed
to all creeds in Turkey, and the external observances and ceremonies of
religion have, in most places, been permitted by the Moslems, though in
some even funeral ceremonies were often molested, and the use of church
bells was forbidden. Certain rights and privileges were granted to each
church, to which the Christians clung with great tenacity—as to a sacred
banner, round which they would one day rally and march to freedom.
By the concessions granted to the vanquished by their conquerors, they
were allowed to retain those churches that had escaped destruction or
were not converted into mosques, and permitted to worship according to
the dictates of their own consciences so long as the sound of their bell
calling the infidels to prayer did not offend the ear of the faithful.
The internal administration was not interfered with; each congregation
was free to choose its own clergy, ornament the interior of its church
as it saw fit, perform its pilgrimages and bury its dead, without
interference from the authorities. These privileges, though looked upon
as sacred by the poor, could not compensate in the sight of the rich
and once powerful for social and material losses; thus many Christians
renounced their faith and adopted that of their masters.
Time and succeeding events have softened down some of the outstanding
wrongs; fanatical outbreaks and religious persecutions have become of
less frequent occurrence; and the various Hattis proclaiming freedom of
worship and religious equality to all Ottoman subjects before the law,
are guarantees that no arbitrary action on the part of the government can
interfere with the religious privileges of the Christians, or deprive
them of their rights. Though this guarantee is a proof of the sincerity
of the Porte in its efforts to give satisfaction to its Christian
subjects, it cannot remove the evil or lessen its consequences, which
remain in all their force of danger and uncertainty. Every movement of
discontent in Turkey receives a strong impulse from that religious zeal
which stimulates the Mohammedan to acts of fanatical barbarity, and
the Christian to a superstitious belief in miraculous powers that will
protect him in the hour of danger. Thus, in times of disturbance the
timorous bulk of the population of a town or village will rush to the
church for safety, there pouring out mingled prayers and tears to God
and all the saints that the threatened danger may be averted. Rarely,
it would seem, are such prayers heard, for the first place to which
the excited Mussulman rushes is the church, and thither the brigand
chief will lead his band, and perpetrate acts of the most revolting
barbarity. The armed peasant, the undisciplined soldier, or the cruel
and licentious Bashi-Bazouk will all attack the sacred edifice, break it
open, and destroy or pollute all that falls into their hands. These are
the ever-recurring evils that no Imperial law will be able to prevent,
no measures eradicate, so long as the two rival creeds continue to exist
face to face, and be used as the principal motives in the struggle, past
and present, for supremacy on one side, freedom and independence on
the other. The Mussulmans, under pressure, will grant every concession
demanded of them, and to a great extent carry them out; but it would be
utterly erroneous to suppose for a moment that under any pressure or in
any degree of civilization, the Turk would be able to disabuse himself of
the deeply-rooted disdain the most liberal-minded of his race feels for
strangers to his creed and nation.
The experiences of all thoroughly acquainted with the character of the
Ottoman tallies with mine on this point. I have seen the disdain felt by
the Mohammedan towards the Christian portrayed on the faces of the most
liberal, virtuous, and well-disposed, as well as on those of the most
bigoted. A Christian, be he European or Asiatic, is an infidel in the
Moslem’s sight. He will receive him graciously, converse with him in the
most amicable manner, and at the same time mumble prayers for pardon for
his sin in holding communication with an unbeliever.
The religious freedom enjoyed by the members of the Protestant and Roman
Catholic churches is far more extensive than that enjoyed by the Eastern.
Both, upheld by the powerful support of European powers, enjoy a liberty
of action and license of speech rarely found in other countries. Both
are aliens and owe their origin to the proselytizing efforts of the
missionaries. The Church of Rome, being the older and more enterprising,
naturally commands a much vaster field than the Protestant; she is
supported by France and other Roman Catholic countries, who jealously
watch over her rights and privileges. The Protestants are protected by
England and America; their missionaries entered Turkey at a later date
and gradually established themselves over the country. At first the
extremely reserved attitude of the missionaries, their conscientious
method of making converts, and the extreme severity of their regulations,
gave them but a poor chance of success. Gradually, however, the esteem
and regard of the people for them increased; stringent opposition,
promoted by sectarian dissensions, died out, and mission stations,
with numerous churches, some of considerable importance and promise,
were established, especially in Armenia. The principal cause of the
encouragement they met with was the wise policy, lately adopted, of
promoting missionary work by education.
The extensive body of Protestant missionaries now found in Turkey
is almost entirely American. The meetings of the Board are held in
Constantinople; it controls the administration of the different missions
and directs the large American College at Bebek—the best foreign
institute for education in the country.
When a community of Protestant converts numbers a few families it is
given a church and school, and one of the principal men is elected
as chief of the society. This person is presented officially to the
authorities by one of the consuls of the protecting powers—generally
the English; he is recognized as chief of his community, obtains a seat
in the local court, and is intrusted with all the interests of his
co-religionists. In difficult or complicated cases the missionaries
themselves share the responsibilities of this chief, and through consular
or ambassadorial agency generally settle all matters calling for redress
and justice in a satisfactory manner.
The few English missionaries who are established in Turkey are intrusted
with the fruitless task of endeavoring to convert the Jews.
The Roman Catholic missionaries, from the date of the separation of the
Eastern and Western Churches, have ever been actively and diligently
employed in making converts. Thus a great portion of the population of
Syria, yielding to their influence, has become Roman Catholic, as have
the Bosnians, a portion of the Albanians, some of the Greeks inhabiting
the islands, the Armenians of Constantinople, and of later years a
small portion of the Bulgarians. The action of the missionaries of
late years has not, however, been so much directed towards making new
converts as it has to consolidating and strengthening the tie binding
the few scattered communities to the mother-church. This religious body
recruits itself chiefly from France and Italy, and consists of priests,
monks, and Sisters of Charity, belonging chiefly to the orders of St.
Benois, the Jesuits, Lazarists, and St. Vincent de Paul. Their extensive
establishments are situated in the Frank quarters of the towns, and
consist of well-built and spacious churches, monasteries, schools, orphan
asylums, and foundling hospitals. Pera and Galata contain a goodly
number of these establishments, as do the principal towns of European
and Asiatic Turkey. These missions are evidently well furnished with
funds, for their establishments have everywhere a prosperous appearance,
and are provided with every requisite for the purposes for which they
are intended. The religious instruction given in them is, however,
extremely illiberal, bigoted, and imparted on Jesuitical principles.
Exclusiveness and intolerance towards other creeds are openly prescribed.
“Point de salut hors de l’Eglise” is their doctrine. Considerable laxity
is allowed in moral points so long as they do not interfere with the
external duties of the community to the church. Should an individual
belonging to another creed die among the community, the rite of burial
will be refused to him by the Roman Catholic priests, but those of the
Orthodox Church will often in that case consent to perform it. Even the
marriage ceremony, unless performed in their churches, is considered by
the more bigoted portion of the Roman Catholic clergy as not binding.
This strange statement was made in my presence before a large gathering
of persons belonging to different creeds, by the superior of a Lazarist
establishment at A⸺. It was on the occasion of the marriage of two
members of the Latin community of that town, when the service was
terminated by the following short address to the married couple: “Twice
happy are you to belong to the Holy Church of Rome and to be united in
the sacred ties of matrimony within her bosom: for in the same manner
as there is no hope after life for those who do not belong to her, so
marriage is not binding out of her, but every woman who so gives herself
is not a legal wife but a concubine!” In many cases the sacrament is
refused to ladies united in marriage to persons belonging to other creeds.
The secular teaching given in the schools of these missions is limited,
and, based on the same principles as the religion, is illiberal and
narrow-minded. Much time is consecrated by the pupils to religious
recitations, prayers, and penances of no possible profit to the children.
Thus from an early age, imbued with narrow ideas and made to lose sight
of the spirit of Christianity, the Roman Catholic communities, be they
of European, Greek, or Armenian nationality, are the most bigoted,
intolerant, and exclusive of all the Christian communities of the East.
The missionaries belonging to this Church are unsurpassed in the
admirable manner in which their charitable establishments are arranged.
The homes and asylums for the poor and orphan children are for the girls
under the control of the Sisters of Charity, and for the boys under
that of the priests and monks. These are well kept, and very orderly,
the food is good and abundant, and the dress of the children solid and
befitting their condition. Hospitals are attached to each establishment,
where the sick are well cared for and destitute Europeans admitted
irrespective of creed. The good Sisters of Charity take upon themselves
the duty of watching over the patients night and day. A dispensary is
included in each mission station, where medicines and medical advice
are given gratuitously. The children reared in these establishments are
placed in situations on leaving them; but I regret to be obliged to say
that comparatively few of either sex are known to turn out honest and
respectable.
The retired lives led by these active servants of Rome do not prevent
their being very intimately connected with their respective communities
or using their all-powerful influence for good or for evil in all family
concerns. They are hardy, active, and most persevering; their personal
wants are small and their mode of living modest and unassuming. But in
spite of this they are worldly-wise, crafty, and unscrupulous as to the
means they use in obtaining their ends. Their mode of action is based
upon the principle that the end justifies the means; few, therefore,
are the scruples that will arrest their action or the dangers and
difficulties that will damp their courage or check their ardor in their
work.
All the internal regulations and arrangements of the Catholic community
are made without the Porte troubling itself much about them—indeed, to
do the Turk justice, in his high contempt for things Christian, he keeps
as much as possible out of the religious dissensions of his subjects,
and when by chance he does appear on the scene of action, by turns
persecutor, protector, or peacemaker, he is generally prompted in the
matter by one of the interested parties. An amusing incident witnessed by
one of my friends at Jerusalem well illustrates this fact. This gentleman
accompanied one of the peacemaking governors-general to the Holy City
at the time the quarrel of the possession of the little door leading to
the Sepulchre was at its highest. All the interested parties loaded the
Pasha with acts of politeness and civility, which he received with great
urbanity; but when the great question was delicately broached in the
course of conversation, he at once turned round and exclaimed, Turkish
fashion, “Oh, my soul! I pray do not open that door to me!”
There is little to be said about the Uniates, or Bulgarian Catholic
converts in Turkey. The movement in its commencement, effects, and
results may be compared to Midhat Pasha’s Constitution—a farce and
imposition from beginning to end. Like the Constitution, the Uniate
movement broke out in the midst of a hot fever of excitement and
discontent; the first was created as a palliative for Turkish misrule,
the second emanated from the mismanagement of a church. The disputes
between the Greeks and Bulgarians on the church question was at its
height when a certain number of Bulgarians, carried away by the hope of
ameliorating the actual condition of things and ultimately obtaining
their end, viz., the emancipation of the Bulgarian Church from the Greek,
accepted the nominal supremacy of the Romish Church, and by a fictitious
conversion became attached to it under the denomination of Uniates. Their
number, at first small, would probably have remained so had it not been
that some effective arguments and causes gave it a momentary impetus,
bringing it under public notice. The sensational part of the incident was
due to the exaggerated accounts given by the agents of the Propaganda
and other societies of the future triumphs of Rome in this new field of
action, and to the political advantage which the government of Napoleon
III. tried to derive from it. Monsieur Bouré, the ambassador at that
time in Turkey, greatly favored the movement, while some of the consular
agents, overstepping their instructions, held out to the Bulgarian people
the open support and protection of the French Government in favor of the
anticipated converts: “C’est ici,” said one of those zealous agents,
“C’est ici au consulat de France que la nation Bulgare doit dorénavant
tourner son regard, porter ses plaintes et demander protection!”
The most telling argument with the Bulgarian peasant to abjure his faith
was not the future benefit his soul would derive from the change nor
the value of French influence and protection, but simply the prospect
of freeing himself from all future Church impositions, and having his
children educated at the schools of the Propaganda free of cost. These
conditions were very enticing, and some thousands, yielding to the
further influence of a few of their superiors who had declared themselves
Uniates, blindly followed these as sheep following their shepherd in
search of food. They knew nothing of the dogmatic side of the question,
and cared not to inquire. The name of the Pope was substituted for that
of the Patriarch of Constantinople; the ignorant Greek or Bulgarian
priests were superseded by Polish preachers well versed in the Bulgarian
tongue, whose sermons were composed with a view to impressing the people
with a sense of the material rather than the spiritual benefits to be
derived from their apostasy. The proselytizing centres were Adrianople,
Monastir, and Salonika, where large establishments belonging to the Roman
Catholic Societies undertook the work of conversion in a very zealous
manner, and established branches in places of smaller importance in
order to give more weight to the affair and increase the confidence of
the Bulgarians in its stability. A Bulgarian monk, the best that could be
got, was pounced upon by the Fathers and sent to Rome to be consecrated
primate of the Uniates. This individual, unprepossessing in appearance
and utterly ignorant and stupid, remained at Rome in order to receive the
homage due to him as the future primate of the Uniates, and then returned
to Bulgaria, where every effort was made by the agents of the Propaganda
to give importance to the event and establish the authority of the new
primate. The poor Bulgarian Uniates, closely watched and pressed on both
sides by the Greeks and the Bulgarians, found it very hard to stand their
ground. They began to show signs of laxity of zeal, and gradually dropped
out of the newly-formed flock. This reaction took a very decided turn
after the formation of the Bulgarian national church, when the converts
_en bloc_ returned to it, leaving a few of the faithful to occupy the
benches of the deserted churches, and some orphans and beggars to people
the schools attached to them.
Thus began and ended an affair which was nothing but a joke to those
who were on the spot and behind the scenes; while the Catholic world,
judging from all the wild tales of the press on the subject, seemed to
lose their reason over it to the extent of exciting the curiosity of some
governments and greatly alarming others, until the thing died out, to
make room for more important matters.
However successful the work of conversion may be in the East when it
is carried on (as with the Romish Church) with the object of entirely
denationalizing a community and absorbing it into the proselytizing
church, it will prove a failure in the long run. In the case of the
United or Catholic Armenians, one sees another instance of the tendency
of all the subject races of the Porte whenever a question of religion
or political liberty is raised; it is to the West that one and all look
for the settlement of these questions, for support, and for protection.
European interference has been systematically imposed upon the Porte, and
has obtained ascendancy over it in proportion as the Turk has become weak
and incapable of resistance.
The Armenian nation seems to have remained united and at peace with the
Church of its adoption until the year 1587, when Pope Sixtus sent the
Bishop of Sidon as ambassador to the Armenian Melkhites, Jacobites, and
Chaldean communities, to recover them from their heresy and establish
papal authority over them; but the utmost the legate obtained at the time
was the consent of the Armenian Patriarch of Cilicia to sign a confession
of the Catholic faith according to the statutes of the Council of
Florence. In the meanwhile numerous missionaries belonging to the order
of the Jesuits and others had settled in the country with the object
of carrying on the work of conversion. It was one of these, a Jesuit,
who, a century later, converted Mechitar, the illustrious founder of the
United Armenian community, which now numbers over 40,000 souls. Mechitar
united in his person the qualities of the theologian, the scholar, and
the patriot. Yielding to persuasion, he adopted the Catholic creed and
directed all his energies to propagating it among his countrymen. His
ideas were, however, those of an enlightened man who wished to combine
conversion with mental development and liberal ideas based upon the
sound foundation of separating the civil from the religious rights,
founding a Church, Catholic in faith, but Armenian in nationality, with
a constitution free from the direct control and interference of the See
of Rome. It is impossible to say how far the project of the intrepid
convert was feasible; his enterprise met with very decided opposition
from the head of the propaganda, whose efforts were directed with
fanatical tenacity and ardor towards denationalizing and Latinizing
the new converts. Thus the community in its very origin found itself
divided into two branches—the liberal, professing the views of Mechitar,
proud of the name of Armenian, and desirous of promoting the interests
of their fatherland; and the Ultramontanes, bigoted and holding Rome as
the sole pivot on which their social, moral, and religious existence
turned. These divisions soon caused dissensions, and Mechitar, finding
the opposition of the Fathers too strong for him in his native land,
left it and went to Constantinople, where he hoped to find more liberty
and a more extended field for action. Here, also, bitter disappointment
awaited him, for he found the pressure of the European Fathers put upon
the new Church; mild persuasion and exhortation were set aside and an
earnest policy of intolerance and exclusiveness was preached to the new
community, forbidding its members to enter the churches of their fathers,
which were represented as “sanctuaries of the devil,” holding its liturgy
up to execration, and refusing absolution to those unwilling to submit
to these severe doctrines. This system of intolerance succeeded so well
with the retrograde party as to widen the breach already separating it
from the liberal, and sowed at the same time the seeds of that mortal
hatred between the United and the Gregorian Armenians that has more than
once well-nigh caused their common destruction. At this stage, while
party dissensions rendered union among the Armenian Catholics impossible,
the work of proselytism marched on, until the Gregorians, alarmed at its
rapid progress, rose in a body, and by means of hypocrisy and intrigue,
headed by their uncompromising patriarch Ephraim, obtained a firman from
the Porte ordering the banishment of all the Armenian Catholics from
Constantinople. Thus the sparks of persecution kindled by this patriarch
soon spread into a general conflagration under his successor Avidic, who,
gaining the ear and support of the Grand Mufti Feizallah, obtained decree
after decree for the persecution, confiscation, and expatriation of all
their opponents in the empire, including the Fathers. The blow was too
strong, and the sensation it created too great, for it to be passed over
by the Western powers belonging to the same Church. A French ambassador
consequently raised his voice so loudly and effectively at the Porte
as to have the obnoxious patriarch expelled and exiled to Chios; the
ill-fated dignitary, however, was not allowed to expiate his evil-doing
in peace and solitude, but, waylaid, it is believed, by some equally
unchristian Jesuit Fathers, he was kidnapped and taken to the Isle of St.
Margaret, where he died the death of a martyr.
The Porte, in its desire to right the wronged, felt ill-requited by this
act. The abduction of the Patriarch, together with other grievances,
magnified by the Gregorians, increased its discontent, and, casting its
mask of reconciliation aside, it became the open and direct persecutor
of the suspected community. The Jesuits’ house at Galata was put under
surveillance, the Armenian printing establishment was closed, and
proselytism was forbidden on pain of exile. A Hatti ordered the arrest
of all the Armenian adherents of the Romish Church. What remained of
the community continued in hiding, awaiting a favorable time for its
reappearance. Mechitar himself, suspected, distrusted, and disliked by
all parties save his own, fled from Constantinople, and, after many
vicissitudes and an unsuccessful attempt to found a monastery at Medon,
finally succeeded in doing so in the Isle of St. Lazarus, granted to him
by the republic of Venice. The monastery he there founded was of the
order of St. Benedict, and was later on approved of by a bull of Clement
XI. In this quiet refuge the learned monk established his order, which
took the name of Mechitarists after him, and has become the college, not
of orthodox catholicism, as understood and practised by the Latinized
converts, but of learning, patriotism, and liberal views and ideas in
religious matters. Scarcely had the United Armenians recovered from the
shock of this persecution than they were again, in 1759, subjected to
a fresh one set on foot as before by the Gregorians, who forced upon
them religious forms repulsive to them, backed by the active support of
the Porte. But the most critical moment for the very existence of the
community, including a considerable proportion of Franks, was the time
of the battle of Navarino. All the ill-humor and exasperation of the
Turks fell upon the unfortunate Armenian Catholics, who, represented to
the credulous Turks as traitors and spies of the Franks, were treated
accordingly, and persecution and exile, ruin and death, were once more
their lot. The principal actors in this last were an obscure sheikh who
had a tekké at Stamboul, and who by some freak of fortune had risen
to the rank of Kadi Asker, becoming far famed as Khalet Effendi, and
an individual who was pipe-bearer in the Duz-Oglou family, one of the
wealthiest of the United Armenian families.
The Porte declared that it recognized only one Armenian nation and
one Armenian religion, and invited all schismatics to abjure their
apostasy and return to the bosom of their own church and nation, on
which conditions they could alone be pardoned. This was the climax of
the evils and sufferings of the United Armenians. The Governments of
Western Europe, indignant at this rigorous treatment and the miseries
it brought upon an unfortunate community, took up its cause, and after
a prolonged dispute between the French Government and the Porte, the
determined conduct of the representative of the former power triumphed
over the intrigues of the Gregorian Armenians and the ill-will and
cruelty of the Porte; the exiles were recalled, their property restored,
and they were recognized as a separate community under a patriarch of
their own. We need not follow all the difficulties and complications
that had to be overcome before these salutary results could be obtained.
Since that epoch this community was formed into a separate body, and
owing its welfare, security, and subsequent prosperity to the protection
of France has enjoyed in peace the same rights and privileges as the
Gregorians. These privileges were further granted by the Porte under
the same pressure to the other Catholic communities. The grant of
these concessions constituted France the moral supporter and religious
protector of all the Catholics of the East, and for some years French
influence in favor of the Catholic rayahs was supreme at the Porte.
In 1831 the community began once more to consolidate itself by the
scattered members returning to their homes and re-assuming the ordinary
business of life. Much had been done in their favor, but much remained to
be done by the community itself. The first step was to frame a general
assembly, composed of representatives of the various classes of the
community by whom the national interests were discussed and debated
upon with much freedom. The result was the election of a president
who was confirmed by the Porte, and invested with temporal authority
alone. The spiritual power was conferred on a primate appointed by the
Pope. This measure was adopted in the hope of preventing one authority
from encroaching upon the other; the patriarch’s seal was divided into
three parts, which were intrusted respectively to the patriarch, the
primate, and the president of the council. Other measures were also
adopted which established the interests and influence of the Church on
a solid basis, increased the privileges of the community at large, and
greatly heightened its prestige. But dissensions and jealousies crept in,
destroyed the passing dignity of the Church, and brought it to the low
level of its adherents, making it a centre of bigotry and intolerance on
one side and of struggling efforts for enlightenment and emancipation on
the other.
Mechitar’s views and principles are held in increasing veneration by the
liberal and progressive Armenians, who believe that the future prosperity
of their country is dependent on them. Imbued with these ideas, it is
not astonishing to find that this party and that of the Propaganda and
Latinized Armenians are in a state of continual contention, undermining
the peace and prospects of the community.
In 1846, Father Minassian, a Mechitarist monk, proposed the establishment
of a society for the reconciliation of the two divisions of the nation
with the view of the furthering education and ultimate political
emancipation of the Armenians. The Conservative party, with the patriarch
at its head, rejected his plan, which, warmly taken up by the Liberal
(or as it is now called Anti-Hassounist) party led to fresh disputes and
dissensions, keeping this community for years in a continual state of
religious agitation and setting families at variance. The Anti-Hassounist
party comprises some of the most wealthy and influential families, while
the Hassounists, on the other hand, boast of the influence of their
patriarch, the approval and protection of Rome, and the assistance and
co-operation of the Propaganda; accordingly, of late years, both parties
have sallied forth from their former reserved attitude and offered to the
world of Constantinople the spectacle of a pitched battle—one side armed
with all the power that spiritual help can afford, the other bracing
itself with the force of argument and the protection and favor of the
Porte.
Hassoun and his party accepted the doctrine of the Infallibility of the
Pope, and committed their spiritual welfare and worldly concerns into
the keeping of the mother Church, trusting to her maternal care for
unlimited patronage. The Anti-Hassounists, led by Kupelian, rebelled
against this despotic arrangement, denied the Infallibility and the
right of the Church of Rome to interfere in the social and religious
organization of the community; they actually went so far as to break out
into open rebellion, and, supported and protected by Hossein Aoni Pasha
and some of his colleagues, denied the authority of the patriarch, drove
his adherents out of the schools, closed the churches, and sent away the
priests under his control, finally effecting the schism which lies under
Papal excommunication, but prospers nevertheless, and must ultimately,
as the nation advances, triumph over opposition and attain equality,
independent of the powerful and absorbing influence of the Church of Rome.
The spiritual authority of this new sect is in the keeping of a patriarch
whose election by the community is confirmed by the Porte. He enjoys the
same rights and privileges as the patriarchs of the other communities.
The patriarch of the United Armenians receives a stipend of 5000 piastres
per month, exclusive of the salaries of the officers of his chancery. The
expenses of the _bairat_, amounting to 500 piastres, are defrayed by the
community and furnished by a proportionate tax levied by the National
Council. The Ecclesiastical Hierarchy consists of the Patriarchs of
Cilicia, the Primate of Constantinople, the bishops, and the monastic and
secular clergy. The principal see is solely supported by funds provided
by the Propaganda of Rome and the “œuvres des missions.”
The priests are divided into _Vartabieds_, or doctors, and _derders_, or
ordinary priests. Some of the former may be found at the head of small
churches, aided by derders or acolytes. They occupy a modest position
in rich families, where they are employed as religious instructors of
youth and general counsellors of the family. As a class, however, their
voice in the Church is overruled by that of the clergy of the Propaganda.
The Vartabieds carry a crosier; no regular stipend is allotted to them,
but they derive their support from church fees. The regular clergy
consists of Mechitarist and Antonine monks, who have colleges at Venice,
Constantinople, and Mount Lebanon.
The national council of the United Armenians is composed of twelve lay
members called Bairatlis; their election is confirmed by the Porte.
They are unpaid, and their period of office is limited to two years,
six retiring and six resuming office annually. This council works in
conjunction with the Patriarch; it regulates all matters concerning the
civil and financial affairs of the community; it is the arbitrator and
judge of all disputes among the United Armenians. This community at
Constantinople alone numbers about 20,000 souls, forming seven parishes
in different parts of the city.
In Pera, annexed to the church of St. John Chrysostom, they possess an
infirmary for the poor and a lunatic asylum; each parish has a primary
school, and some institutes for female education exists. One of these,
founded in 1850 by the family of Duz-Oglou, is conducted by a French
lady and placed under French control; the instruction afforded is in the
French and Armenian languages.
The unfortunate duality ever present in the Church makes itself felt in
the educational department as well, and greatly impedes its progress.
The Mechitarist Fathers of St. Lazarus include in the religious and
literary instruction given in their schools the records of past Armenian
glory, inculcate a love of country, teach its language, and render its
illustrious authors familiar to the rising generation; the current
language in their institution is the Armenian. The opposition abuse and
ridicule all that is Armenian, and replace the native language by Latin
and Italian, or French; their principle is, “Let nationality perish
rather than doctrine, the holy pulpit was never established to teach
patriotism, but gospel truth.” The tutelar saints of the Armenians,
treated with the same disrespect, are replaced by saints from the Roman
calendar.
In character and disposition the United Armenians are peaceable, regular
in their habits, industrious, and fond of amassing wealth; parsimonious
and even miserly in their ideas, the love of ostentation and good-feeding
has yet a powerful effect upon their purse-strings. They are, however,
considerably in advance of the Gregorian Armenians. The youth of the
better classes are for the most part conversant with European languages
and the external forms of good society, affect European manners, and
profess liberal views. Owing to the higher educational privileges they
enjoy, they have made more progress in the arts and professions than
the Gregorian Armenians. The school of Mechitar has produced scholars
of considerable merit, but the vocation they seem specially made for is
that of banking. In all careers their success has been signal. There was
a time when the increasing wealth and prosperity of the United Armenians
was the cause of much envy and jealousy, when no European banking houses
existed in Turkey, and the financial affairs of the Ottomans were left
entirely in the hands of the Armenian bankers, who directed the mint
and regulated the finances of the government and of the Pashas. On the
change of system, the ruin of the State as well as that of most of
these families, once so wealthy, became inevitable. Should Armenia,
however, eventually become a principality, should the Mechitarist school
triumph over sectarian susceptibilities, and an understanding be arrived
at leading to a national union between the United and the Gregorian
Armenians, a considerable number of wealthy, intelligent, and earnest
men, fit to be placed at the head of a nation, and able to control
it with wisdom, prudence, and moderation, will not be wanting in both
branches of this widely scattered nation. The critical moment in the
destinies of this country has, I believe, arrived. The Armenians,
detesting the Ottoman rule, are ready to cast themselves into the arms
of any power that will offer them protection and guarantee their future
emancipation. The turning-point reached, Russia or England will have to
face them and listen to their claims. If their cause is taken up in good
time they will be saved; and the name and prestige of England, already
pretty widely spread in Armenia, will become all-powerful.
THE END.
FOOTNOTES
[1] _Leromenos_ signifies _soiled_, which among the Greeks is the highest
title of a brigand bravo, evinced in the filth of his long-worn and
unwashed _fustanella_.
[2] “Brigand Albanian!” “Bath-boy!”
[3] “Very well, we shall see, it may be done.”
[4] Turkish ethnology divides the human race into seventy-seven and a
half nations, the Jews representing the half, and the gypsies being
entirely excluded. This is clearly an improvement upon Mohammed’s
estimate of the number of different sects in Islam, etc.
[5] In August, 1875, the law of inheritance on vakouf lands was modified
and improved.
[6] Boghcha, bundle.
[7] Leyen, basin.
[8] Ibrik, jug.
[9] Pastes for soup and pilaf.
[10] Molasses made from grapes.
[11] Preserves made with molasses from fresh or dried fruits.
[12] Starch made from wheat, much used for making sweets.
[13] “How do you do?”
[14] “Valley-lord,” or feudal chief.
[15] Generally a European, who often attains to high rank and fortune.
[16] In polite language, “child of unknown paternity.”
[17] A few years ago the mother of Sultan Abdul-Aziz, desirous of
further reducing this number, brought forward an old palace regulation,
that every seraglio woman found _enceinte_ should be subjected to the
operation of artificial abortion, with the exception of the first four
wives.
[18] Under-superintendent of the harem.
[19] Should the father be unacquainted with the form of prayer, an Imam
is called in, who reads the prayer over the infant, outside the door.
[20] Old women, whose mission it is to be the bearer of invitations to
all ceremonies.
[21] Wonderful! Let it be long-lived and happy!
[22] The Italian expression “_Multi Saluti_” is the nearest approach to a
correct interpretation of this word.
[23] “Baron” signifies Mr.
[24] Wonderful!
[25] Giving rise to the Greek saying of “καμαρώνει σά νύμφἤ.”
[26] The best man and head bridesmaid, whose duty it is subsequently to
be the godfather and godmother of the children: _see_ p. 40.
[27] The following is a translation of this distich:—
“O Maldever! O Stardever! why do you wait outside?
Dismount thy steed and enter thy husband’s house, O bride!”
[28] These crosses are of three classes, and range in value from 100 to
500 piastres—14_s._ to 3_l._ 10_s._
[29] Blind or lame, is he or she acceptable?
[30] Sourah lvii. v. 19.
[31] Sourah xxxv. v. 44.
[32] Sourah ii. v. 275.
[33] The evil being is supposed to be of immense size, his upper lip
touching heaven, and his lower earth; and he holds in his hand a huge
iron cudgel.
[34] In some inland towns the relations continue to chant the Myriologia
all the way to the church, and afterwards to the burial-ground.
[35] H⸺ Bey, on visiting London, finding to his surprise that “sinking
underground” entered into the routine of every-day life, on returning
home, said to his mother, “_Hanoum yerin dibineh batunméh? Ben batum da
chiktum._” (“Have you ever sunk underground? I have done so, and risen
again.”)
[36] This is referred to in the first verse of a popular song:
Φεγγαράκι μοῦ λαμπρό
Φέγγι μοῦ νὰ προπατῶ
Νὰ πεγαίνω’ς τὸ σχολεῖο
Νὰ μαθαίνω γράμματα
Τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ πράγματα
[37] Those who wish to have some idea of Bulgarian poetry will find
an interesting account of it in a work on Slav poetry by Madame Dora
d’Istria.
[38] Δεῦτέ λάβετε φῶς ἐκ τοῦ ἀνεσπέρου φωτὸς καὶ δοξάσατε Χριστὸν τὸν
ἀναστάντα ἐκ νεκρῶν.