UNDER THE CARE or THE Board of foreign missions of the Presbyterian Church Historical Sketch 01 ||K missions is Persia ,« ,* Sixth Edition REVIICO BY Rev. W. A. Shedd, D. D. The Uloman’s foreign missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church, Ulitherspoon Building. Philadelphia • 1911 Price, 10 Cents UNDER THE CARE or THE Board of foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church Historical Sketch sute missions s Persia ^ ■* Sixth Edition REVISED BY Rev. W. A. Shedd. D. D. The Woman's foreign missionary Society ot the Presbyterian Church, Ulitherspoon Building, Philadelphia - 1911 JTOrl- r PERSIA Persia is notably a Bible land. To it THE COUNTRY belonged Cyrus the Great, Darius, his son Xerxes (the Ahasuerus of Esther), Arta- xerxes, Esther, Mordecai, and the wise men who were the first of the Gentile world to greet and worship the Messiah. When Nebuchadnezzar had led the Jews captive to Babylon, it was Persia that humbled that power and restored Judah to her native land. With her people the lost tribes mingled and coalesced. Of the former magnificence and splendor of this kingdom one may even now gain some faint impression bv a visit to the wonderful ruins of Persepolis. Between the two rival empires of British India and Russia, on the highway between Europe and Asia, Persia sits intrenched. By its location the country is isolated, and must remain so until traversed by railways, an innovation which may be effected before long by foreign capital and enterprise. A branch from Tiflis on the Transcaucasian railroad, which connects the Black and Caspian Seas, is now open to Julfa, on the Russo-Persian border. Thence a Rus- sian macadamized road goes to Tabriz. From Resht on the Caspian Sea a Russian road leads to Teheran, while a branch goes from Kazvin to Hamadan. The area of modern Persia, though only a fraction of the ancient empire, is still large. It extends nine hundred miles from east to west, and seven hundred miles from north to south, embracing about 648.000 square miles of territory; sixteen times as much as the State of Ohio. A part of this is desert ; and much of the remainder — even of those parts which, like the country along the shores of the Caspian, and on the western border, are exceedingly fertile — is but sparsely inhabited. The basin of Lake Urumia is a splendid region of country, being well watered, having a fine climate and fertile soil, and yielding in perfection almost every product of the temperate zone. On the Persian Gulf, the country is low', sandy and very hot. Along the Caspian Sea we have a 4 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF region tropical in its fruits and verdure. Elsewhere the kingdom presents an immense plateau, with pure and bracing air, with mountains breaking up the surface in all directions, with occasional beautiful valleys, and with some extensive salt deserts. The mineral and agricultural resources of the country can be largely developed. Tire rose gardens and orchards and nightingales that figure in the Persian poets are found only in a few places, and especially about Shiraz. The government has always been an THE GOVERNMENT absolute monarchy, the king being called the Shah or Shah-in-Shah, i. e.. King of Kings. The present dynasty is not ancient nor is it Persian by race, the Kajars being a Turkish tribe, who secured the ascendancy about 1790 A. D. European trav- ellers, like Lord Curzon, have ranked the Persian govern- ment as one of the worst in the world for corruption and for inefficiency. Persia, however, has shared in the change in popular feelings and ideals that has come over almost the whole of Asia since 1900. The rising began in 1905, when the populace of Teheran demanded a constitution and the establishment of a Parliament. To the surprise of even the best informed foreign residents, there was an instant response in every province. Almost every town soon had its anjuman, or popular assembly, and the people asserted their right to a share in the government. The demands were granted, and the attempt of the Shah to take back what had been given resulted in his exile and the setting on the throne in 1909 of his son, then a boy of thirteen years, who is reigning under the title of Sultan Ahmed Shah. The regent is Nasir ul Mulk, a graduate of Oxford University. The constitution establishes Islam of the Shia sect as the State religion, pro- vides that no laws contrary to- Islam shall be enacted, grants equality to all before the law, gives liberty of speech and the press, except so far as the State religion is concerned, gives large powers to the Parliament, and makes the ministry re- sponsible to Parliament. How far this great change will be carried out and how far these contradictory articles can be reconciled, time alone can tell. Meantime, a new national consciousness has asserted itself. The dismemberment of THE MISSIONS IN PERSIA 5 Persia, which seemed imminent, has apparently been post- poned and perhaps prevented. The establishment of an efficient government is a slow process, and the disorders that accompanied the revolution are not all quieted. Our mis- sionaries in Tabriz in the course of this revolution went through months of disorder, and finally of rigorous siege. Order was finally restored by Russian troops sent into the country. Another result has been the employment by the government of American experts to reorganize the finances of the country, which is imperatively the first step to perma- nent progress. The modern inhabitants of Persia are the THE PEOPLE residuum of centuries of migrations and in- vasions. The predominant stock is the Aryan, represented by the Persians proper, whose home is in the south; the Kurds in the northwest, and various semi- nomadic tribes, especially in the south, such as the Bakh- tiaris and the Lurs. These number about 5,000,000. There are 2,500.000 of Turkish race, mainly in Azerbaijan, the most northern province, but also farther south and east. In the south are 350,000 Arabs, and in the extreme northwest is the remnant of the eastern Syrians (or Nestorians), also of Semitic origin, as, of course, are the Jews. To the Aryans should be added the Armenians. Migrations of tribes and at times forcible transportation by powerful monarchs has made this mixture of races more marked. Thus, for exam- ple, there are Kurds in Khorasan, a thousand miles from their kindred. Another point of importance is that about ti fourth of the nine million or so inhabitants are nomads or semi-nomads, over whom the government has always had a very imperfect eontrol. The majority live in villages of from fifty to a thou- sand inhabitants. The largest cities are Teheran and Tabriz, estimated at about 200,000 inhabitants each. This complex of races causes a similar complex of lan- guages. The national and the literary language is Persian, the predominant spoken language in northern Persia is Turkish, and the religious language of Islam is Arabic. Other languages used are Kurdish, various dialects of Per- 6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF sian, Armenian, and Syriac. On its missionary side the language question is a very important one. Physically the Persians vary much, as might be expected from the variety of race. Generally the peasantry and the tribes are vigorous, while the inhabitants of the towns are weaker and the wealthy are effeminate. The following description is rather highly colored: “Persians are among the very noblest specimens of the human race, manly and athletic, of full medium stature, fine forms, regular Caucasian features, complexion dark, hair abundant and black, well-formed head; eyes large, dark, lus- trous; features regular and serious; beard flowing; a broad- breasted, large-limbed, handsome person, with carriage erect, dignified and graceful.” Now, as in the days of Esther, they are fond of dress and show, being courtly also and polite, and even convivial; but, though “luxurious in their tastes, they are yet hardy and temperate, enduring privation with patience, living much in the open air, delighting in the horse and chase and abhorring the sea.” Intellectually, the Persians are quick of perception, fond of discussion, imaginative, with a fine memory, showing aptitude for the sciences and for the various mechanical arts, and especially for religious and philosophical speculation. They are a nation of poets and poetry-lovers. The minstrel in every village is often surrounded by impassioned crowds. Modern Persia is in that state of culture in which minstrel poetrv is the passion of all classes, and quotations from their classic authors are common upon the lips of even peasants and shepherds. The social condition of the mass of the people may be inferred from what has been said of the government. Their condition is one not much above serfdom, and when a village changes owners, the people are usually transferred with it to the new master. The extortions practiced are oftentimes pitiless. The serf-like tenant “is seldom permitted to furnish his own seed, but for the tillage and irrigation, teams, im- plements. harvesting and garnering, he receives one-third of the crop, often but a fourth, or in case he provides the seed, one-half, from which he is to pay his taxes and feed a set of THE MISSIONS IN PERSIA 7 hungry servants of the master, employed to oversee the in- gathering of the crops. Often, too, the master takes up his abode for the summer in his village, laying the poor serfs under contribution to maintain himself and family, servants and horses.” It is not strange that under such grinding tyranny famine should so often visit the land and sweep off the people by tens of thousands. The only wonder is that the people thus downtrodden and crushed have preserved anv traces of noble ambition. The average dwelling of the peasant consists of a single apartment, with floor and walls of earth, while the roof is a mass of the same materia! supported by beams and pillars. The tandour, or oven, is a deep hole at one side, lined with burnt day, where all cooking is done, with dried manure for fuel; the smoke fairly glistens on the walls. An opening in the roof answers for chimney and window. In this one room all work, eat and sleep, usually three or four genera- tions. The women of the higher classes are closely restricted, as in all Mohammedan countries, and take no part in the gen- eral social life. Their days are mostly spent in the andcroon (women’s apartment!. A Persian lady seldom walks; when she leaves her home, she must ride in a basket or horse-litter, always closely veiled. The peasant women are allowed much greater liberty, but they are often unkindly treated and worn down by drudgery and neglect. The freest Mohammedan women in Persia are among the Kurds and other mountain tribes. Polygamy is a terrible curse, and a still greater evil is the ease with which wives are divorced and the consequent instability of the family. The proportion of illiteracy is very great, and among the women the number who know how to read is very small indeed, certainly not one in a hundred among the Mohamme- dans. The sons of the nobility, the landlords, the merchants and shop-keepers, are usually taught to read, and a very' small number of the other classes. In general, the ideas of science, history, geography, medicine, etc., are exceedingly crude and often absurdly false. 8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF RELIGION. But if we would' be intelligent as to the real causes of the physical and moral condition of this interesting people, we must glance at the religions of Persia. These are four in number. The faith of Zoroaster was the dominant ZOROASTRIANISM religion of Persia from very early times until the conquests of Mohammed, in 641 A. D. Says Dr. J. H. Shedd: “There is much to show that the faith of that early day was the worship of the one living and true God. Such are the breathings of the earliest hymns of the Zendavesta, and such all the oldest reli- gious monuments of the Persians attest. The high priest and sage of this religion was called Zarathrusta a word taken by the Greeks and Romans to be a proper name, and changed to Zoroaster. This purest form of worship was gradually corrupted. A dualism grew up which gave to an evil principle a part of the powers of deity ; worship of fire and the heavenly bodies followed. The occult sciences of the magi and the corrupt mysteries of Babylon were grafted on, so that the religion of the Persians in the time of Cyrus and Esther was different from the original. It was an intermixture of idolatry with the worship of the God of heaven. Still, the Persian faith was the purest found outside of Divine revelation. As the Hebrew among the Semitic races, the Persian among the Japhetic alone was found faithful in keeping the Creator above the creature. It distinguished the evil from the good, and referred the origin of evil to a wicked spiritual enemy. The war waged against this evil was real, earnest, unceasing, and to result in victory. It predicted that a Saviour should come at last to abolish death and raise the dead. And it is instructive to observe how this fidelity, though so imperfect, was acknowledged of Jehovah. The prophets are commissioned to utter denunciation, captivity, desola- tion or complete destruction upon Egypt, Tyre, Syria, Nineveh, Baby- lon, and the smaller nations surrounding Palestine. Persia is a marked exception. Two hundred years before the event, the Lord predicted the birth of Cyrus by name, calling him His anointed, shepherd, servant (Isaiah 41: 25-28, and 44: 28). He was raised up to be the deliverer of the Jews, to subdue their Oppressors, to restore them to t heir native land, ‘saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.’ “Cyrus fully acknowledged his commission in the edict, 2 Chron. 56: 33 : ‘Thus saith Cyrus, King of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me: and hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.’ God counted the Persians as most worthy to rebuild His temple and befriend His THE MISSIONS IN PERSIA 9 people: and while all the other nationalities of Bible times have lost their existence, the finger of the Lord hath traced the hounds of Persia and preserved the nation and the race.” About 630 A. D., the Persian emperor was bidden by ‘‘the camel-driver of Mecca” to renounce his ancestral religion and embrace the faith of the one true God, whose prophet Mohammed declared himself to be. The monarch, justly indignant, scorned the message and drove the messen- gers from his presence: but ere ten years had passed, the Herv hordes of Arabia had driven the king from his throne, and within ten centuries the Mohammedan religion had dis- placed in Persia the honored faith of Zarathrusta. The only adherents of the system now left are some five thousand souls in Yezd. a city of Persia, and less than one hundred thousand Parsees in India. This is the faith which for more than a MOHAMMEDANISM thousand years has swayed and cursed the millions of Persia. It exists in two forms — the orthodox or Sunni system, and the heterodox or Shia system, the chief peculiarity of which is that it regards Ali. the son-in-law and cousin of Mohammed, as having been the only proper heir and successor of the prophet, instead of Abubeker. Omar and Osman, who are regarded by the Sunni as his rightful vicars. It is wonderful with what devotion and even fanaticism the Persian Mohammedans have cham- pioned the cause of the long-dead son-in-law. He is the centre of their system and the life of their creed. In their call to prayer, they say. “Mohammed is the prophet of God and Ali the vicar of God.” Along with this historical differ- ence. there are other differences in ritual and in theology between the two great sects of Islam. The feeling between them is bitter and serves to keep Persia and Turkey apart politically. Dr. Shedd considered Persia the weak point of Mohamme- danism. for the following reasons: (1) Because the Persians themselves are sectaries — not the defenders of the orthodox faith, as are the Turks, Arabs and Tartars, but the enemies of it. They turn for sympathy and aid to Christians rather than to their rival sect: and. being branded as heretics by IO HISTORICAL SKETCH OF the Sunnis , they are more accessible to the Christian mis- sionary than other Moslems. (2) As a people, the Persians are more liberal and tolerant than the other Mohammedan nations. Practically there is more religious liberty to-day in Persia than in Turkey, notwithstanding the pressure brought to bear upon the latter country by Christian nations. The Persian invites religious discussion and enjoys it, and will listen patiently to all you can allege with reason against his religion or in behalf of your own, where he is not in dread of the mullah or priest. (3) It must be remembered that in Persia the Moslem system is divided against itself more than in any other land. The people originally received it under compulsion, at the hands of their conquerors, and with a vigorous protest; and they have never been content under it. New heretical sects arise from time to time, which are as fierce in their opposition to each other as though they were adherents of entirely different systems. One of these sects, known as the Ali Illahis, appear to retain practices and beliefs that go back in origin to pre-Islamic times. They outwardly conform to Islam, but in fact are far from being Moslems They belong to the peasantry, and number probably some hundreds of thousands. Less numerous, probably not more than one hundred thousand, are the Babis or Bahais, a mod- ern sect, recruited from the more intelligent classes. It is very important as an aggressive and successful influence, proselyting from Mohammedanism and in changing the tra- ditional ideas. In this wav their importance is far greater than their numbers would indicate.* * Mirza Ali Mohammed, born at Shiraz in 1820, spent his boyhood and youth in religious study and meditation. He was a pupil of the celebrated theologian. Seyyid Kazim, of Resht. In 1844 he became convinced that he was a prophet sent by God, and proclaimed himself as such under the title of the Bab, 1. the Gate. Many followers were attracted by the lovely character and eloauent teaching of the young prophet, and his doctrines spread so rapidly that the Moslem authorities became alarmed and attempted to put down the movement by force. The Bab was imprisoned, and in 1850 put to death, and thousands of his followers suf- fered the same fate. The cruel persecutions oniy served to increase the enthusi- asm of the Babis, and their heroism and devotion won many adherents to their cause. The successor designated by the Bab was Mirza Yahya, surnamed Subh-i-Ezel (Morning of Eternity). He and his friends fled to Turkey, and were afterward sent by the authorities to Adrianople. Ezcl was later superseded by his half- brother, Mirza Husein Ali, entitled, Baha’u'llah (The Splendor of God), who claimed that he was the true Messiah, of whom the Bab was only the forerunner. In consequence of the disputes that followed, Fzcl was sent to Cyprus and Baha to Acre, where lie remained until his death in 1892. He was succeeded by his son, THE MISSIONS IN PERSIA I I In addition to the Shias and Sliia sects in Persia, nearly all the Kurds and some Turkish-speaking Mohammedans are Sunnis. In Persia, as elsewhere, Mohammedanism has proved a harrier to progress, and has resulted in a very low moral condition. Probably nowhere in the world has deceit been more nearly universal, the state of the family and of woman more degraded, and the ruins of past achievement more mani- fe t, than in Persia. THE CHRISTIAN SECTS. The Nestorians of Turkish Kurdistan THE NESTORIANS and the adjoining region in western Persia are the remnants of a once wide- spread Christian Church and they doubtless include descend- ants of Giristians of various races. They call themselves Svrians (Suryani), and their language is a Syriac dialect, closelv allied to the language of the famous Pshitta version of the Bible, and also to the Aramaic or Syriac spoken by the Jews of Palestine in the days of the Master. They are '■ometimes called Assyrians, a name which may be justified r>n the ground that thev are very largely without question descendants of the numerous Christians who for centuries lived in the Assyrian plain and were descended from the "”'cient Assyrians. Those of their number who have joined the Church of Rome are called Chaldeans, but this name is properly applicable to them as a people. The name XT estornn is rejected by them, and is unfortunate, as it com- memorates merely a peculiarity of their ancient Church, but the confusion with the inhabitants of Syria caused by the name Syrian makes the name Xestorian likely to stick. Ghusn’-i-Azam (The Most Mighty Branch). Since this schism, most of the Babis call themselves Bahais; ihe few that adhere to F.zel being known as Eselis. The Bahais are sworn to the closest secrecy in regard to their belief, and do not hesitate to disavow all connection with it. They strictly enjoin charity and kindliness toward all as the foundation of virtues. They profess to receive the Christian Scriptures, but they interpret then in a mystical sense. Baha is the great prophet of their faith, the supreme manifestation of God to men. The re- ligion has spread into the Occident and is becoming more vague and indefinite. 12 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF Nestorius from Antioch, being Bishop of Constantinople, was condemned by the Council of Ephesus, in the year A. D. 431, for his alleged heretical opinions regarding the Person of Christ. Various causes, and especially the political rela- tions of the Persian and Roman empires, led the “Church of the East,” with its headquarters at Seleucia-Ctesiphon, to espouse his cause. They were, consequently, cut off from communion with the Western Church. Located so far to the East, beyond the reach of the persecuting acts of the Byzantine powers, they enjoyed unusual liberty, and used it with enthusiasm to extend their faith at home and in remote lands. The growth of their Church is one of the brightest and most interesting chapters in the annals of Christianity. By its wonderful missionary enterprises, churches were planted from Egypt to China, and from north of the Caspian Sea to the southern bounds of India.* The flourishing Church in Persia was of their founding. It is admitted that they were more numerous than any Christian Church then existing. Nor were they conspicuous for their missionary zeal alone. Their schools, where Biblical theology and medi- cine were taught, were famed throughout Christendom. And when the Arabs‘became the patrons of science and learning, these Nestorian scholars opened to them the lore of the Greeks, and were allowed positions of honor and influence at the courts of Haroun A 1 Rashid and other Caliphs at Bagdad. Under the Persian and Mongol rulers, this Church, eminent as well for its liberality of opinion and catholicity of spirit, as for its aggressive efforts, continued to flourish, despite seasons of severe persecution. But towards the close of the fourteenth century a terrible storm burst upon it. It was then that Timour, or Tamerlane, emerged from the far East, and swept the lands occupied by these Syrian churches as with the besom of destruction. His Mohammedan zeal added fury to his inhuman efforts to exterminate every trace of the Christian faith. He was far too successful. # In China, in the province of Shensi, some years since a tablet was discovered which Rives a brief history of the coming of Nestorian missionaries to China, and their favorable reception by the Emperor. For several centuries their influence continued, but persecutions and dynastic chances weakened the Church, and it finally became extinct. THE MISSIONS IN PERSIA 13 The Patriarchal seat was removed from place to place in quest of a safe retreat. It is probable that about this time, in consequence of these desolating conditions, large numbers of these Christians found refuge from the tempest in the secluded fastnesses of the inhospitable mountains of Kurdis- tan, where they still dwell. Later, many of them ventured down upon the plains of Persia, where they have since lived, remaining when practicable in villages by themselves, but sometimes obliged to mingle with the Mohammedans and to accept a position of inferiority. In the sixteenth century there arose an unfortunate schism in the Church, resulting in the establishment of two Patri- archs. both holding to the same creed. One of these made Mosul his residence. In recent years a large body of this section of the Nestorian Church has conformed to the Roman Catholic Church, and is known as the “Uniat Chal- dean Church,” under a Patriarch, called the ‘‘Patriarch of Babylon.” But in the earlier division mentioned, the larger part of the Nestorians living in Kurdistan and Northwest Persia accepted the Patriarch Mar Shimun as their head, who established his residence in a village among the Kurdish mountains. His successors always take the same dynastic name of Mar Shimun. and for nearly four hundred years have made their home among these lofty crags and precipitous ravines. Where the valleys broaden out into wider areas, the various tribes have built their villages, and through the centuries have maintained their national existence and their ancient faith, at serious odds against their neighbors and foes. The most important of these village groups areTiari.Tkhoma. Telu, Bas and Dis. These Christian mountaineers are called "Ashiret.” or tribal Syrians, while those living outside the mountains proper are called “Rayah.” or "Rayats,” i. e.. subjects. The Ashiret are semi-independent, and pay only a nominal tribute to the Turkish Government. The Syrians on the plain of Mosul are all known as “Chaldeans,” and have conformed to the Church of Rome. The persecutions to which these people have been subject for centuries from Moslem power, constitute a most pathetic record. Their condition in Persia has been in some respects less harsh, but in Kurdistan and Turkey, they have endured grinding oppression, and even terrible massacres. Notwith- 14 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF standing - centuries of ill-usage at the hands of Mongols and Moslems, their literature obliterated, except a few manu- scripts, and these written in the ancient Syriac tongue — a dead language, which only their priests and deacons can read — this old Church has yet maintained the primitive faith in far greater purity than any other Oriental Church. Thev have clung to their Bibles with a desperate tenacity, and rev- erence them as the very Word of God. They tolerate no pictures or images, no crucifixes or confessionals, or wor- shipping of the Host; but the masses of the people are very ignorant, degraded and superstitious. The Nestorians number not over one hundred thousand in all. A few have gone to Russia; about thirty thousand of them dwell in the plain of Urumia and adjacent parts of Persia, while the rest inhabit the Kurdish mountains or ex- tend westward into the valley of the Tigris. For several years Russian priests have carried on a vigor- ous propaganda among the Nestorians of the plain. At first they were received with the greatest enthusiasm, more from political than religious motives, and nearly the whole of the Old Church, bishops, priests and people, disavowed their Nestorian doctrines and connected themselves with the Russian Church. A reaction followed later, when it was found that the protection and prestige expected from Russian influence were not obtained. The majority, however, remain members of the Russian Church, and a large Russian mission is doing all it can to strengthen the bond. Another branch of the Christian Church THE ARMENIANS found in Persia is the Armenian, repre- senting the nation whose terrible suffer- ings in Turkey attracted the attention of the world. About 70,000 of them are residents in Persia. “They are physically of good stature, strong features, manly bearing; industrious and frugal; loyal to their religion and to their nation; of marked abilitv, adapting themselves to any circumstances, whether of climate, social or political life; very kindly, sym- pathetic, affectionate; with an element of the jovial in their life; intensely proud of their history and their faith; clannish almost to the last degree, refusing such association with other TIT E MISSION'S IN PERSIA 15 races as might imply the loss of their own; of exceptionally pure morals among the Eastern races; intense lovers of home and family life, and hospitable in the extreme; with acute minds and suave manners, they manifest many of the essential elements of a strong nation. There are, however, other fea- tures which must be noted. They are grossly ignorant and for the most part densely superstitious, held in absolute thrall bv a hierarchy bigoted and overbearing to the last degree, and fullv as ignorant as the people whom they mislead.” The Armenians are commercially the most enterprising people in Persia, and with the help of their brethren in Transcaucasia have done much to establish schools for themselves. The Armenian Church accepts seven sacraments, performs baptism by trine affusion, believes in the mediation of saints, the adoration of images, and transubstantiation, and adminis- ters the holy communion in both kinds to laymen. They accept purgatorial penance, and think the prayers of the pious will help the souls of the departed. Many of the priests can scarcely mumble through the appointed prayers in the dead language, and often cannot translate a single word. They are very much in the state of the Nestorians, when first made known to the Christian world a generation ago — having a religion of mere formalism, a system of fasts and ceremonies, knowing little or nothing of the Bible itself, practically think- ing of Christ as the Jews of the East do of Moses, or the Moslems do of Mohammed, as their prophet. Surrounded by Mohammedanism, they have imbibed too much of its spirit and morals. About 20,000 Jews, remnants of both the THE JEWS Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, are found between the Tigris and the Caspian. MISSION WORK. As in nearly all Eastern lands, the Roman Church was first in the field, their efforts dating back to the fourteenth century, when they were rivals of the Nestorians in seeking the favor of the Grand Mogul. Later on they expended no little effort to proselyte the Armenians, but a small church i6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF in Ispahan is the only existing result of those centuries of labor. Later Roman missions have gathered converts from the Nestorians in Urumia, Salmas and Teheran. They are doing considerable educational work for Mohammedans also. Modern Protestant missions date from the beginning of the nineteenth century. In 1811, Henry Martyn, passing from India, took up his abode in Persia, and spent about eleven months in Shiraz. Here he gave bold and frequent testimony to Christ before the Mohammedans, and even the bigoted mullahs, and labored incessantly upon a translation of the New Testament and Psalms, which he completed in about ten months, and then dedicated his arduous labors to the Master and His cause, in the following prayer: “Now may the Spirit who gave the Word and called me, I trust, to be an interpreter of it, graciously and powerfully apply it to the hearts of sinners, even to the gathering of an elect people from among the long-estranged Persians.” One year after entering Persia, he left Shiraz and proceeded to the king’s camp near Ispahan, to lay before him the translation he had made. Let him tell us the story in his own words: “June 12th I attended the Vizier’s levee, when there was a most intemperate and clamorous controversy kept up for an hour or two, eight or ten on one side and I on the other. The Vizier, who set us going first, joined in it latterly, and said. ‘You had better say God is God, and Mohammed is the prophet of God.’ I said, ‘God is God.’ but added, instead of ‘Mohammed is the prophet of God,’ ‘And Jesus is the Son of God.’ They had no sooner heard this, which I had avoided bringing forward until then, than they all exclaimed in contempt and anger, ‘He is neither horn nor begets,’ and rose up as if they would have me torn in pieces. One of them said, ‘What will you say when your tongue is burned out for this blasphemy?’ One of them felt for me a little, and tried to soften the severity of this speech. My book, which I had brought, expecting to present it to the king, lay before Mirza Shufi. As they all arose up, after him, to go, some lo the king and some away, I was afraid they would trample upon the hook, so I went in among them to take it up, and wrapped it in a towel before them, while they looked at it and me with supreme con- tempt. Thus I walked away alone, to pass the rest of the day in heat and dirt. What have I done, thought T, to merit all this scorn? Nothing, thought I, but hearing testimony to Jesus. I thought over these things in prayer, and found that peace which Christ hath prom- ised to His disciples.” THE MISSION'S IX PERSIA I 7 About 1830, the Basle Missionary Society carried on work in Shusha in Transcaucasia, and their missionaries visited Persia. A permanent contribution of this work is the con- troversial book for Mohammedans, entitled. “The Balance of Truth,” written by the Rev. Dr. Pffander. Dr. Glen, a Scottish missionary, remained in Persia from 1838 till 1847. completing Henry Martyn’s work by translating the re- mainder of the Bible into Persian. In 1869. the Rev. Robert Bruce. D. D., began work in Ispahan. This work was adopted by the Church Missionary Society of England. This Society now has stations in Ispa- han, Shiraz, Kirman and Yezd. They occupy in South Persia the position of the Presbyterian Church in Northern Persia, finding the same opportunities and using much the same methods of work. They have had a considerable number of converts from Islam. In 1886. the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Mission to the Assyrian Christians began work in Urumia. and soon after in the Kurdish mountains. Their work has been largely edu- cational and has had for its aim the strengthening and purify- ing of the old Xestorian Church, without changing its organi- zation, an effort on which much labor has been expended, with some good results, but not as much as might be hoped. There have been difficulties arising from rivalry, especially in school work. The work of the Bible Societies (the American Bible Soci- ety and the British and Foreign Bible Society) has always been in co-operation with the American missionary work, and is an indispensable adjunct. The American missionaries have done much translation work. Dr. Perkins and Dr. Labaree in Syriac, and Dr. J. X. Wright in Azerbaijan Turkish. In 1829, Rev. Messrs. Smith and AMERICAN MISSIONS Dwight were sent by the American Board to explore the regions of northwest Persia. The result was that their hearts were especially drawn out toward the oppressed Xestorians on the plain about Lake Urumia, and on their representations the American Board determined to establish a mission in Persia i8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF with special reference to the Nestorians; and so for many years this mission was known, not as the “Persian Mission,” but as the “Nestorian Mission.’’ In 1833, Justin Perkins, a tutor in Amherst College, was appointed the first mission- ary, and sailed, with his wife, in September of that year. About a year later they reached Tabriz, and in 1835 were joined by Dr. and Mrs. Grant. This little company formally occupied Urumia as a station, November 20, 1835, and soon proved themselves to be possessed of strong faith and unquestionable zeal. The career of Dr. Grant was ended in a few years by death; but Dr. Perkins was spared to labor with great vigor and useful- ness for thirty-six years. The instructions given to these pioneer workers mentioned, among other objects to be kept in view, the two following: (T) “To convince the people that they came among them with no design to take away their religious privileges nor to subject them to any foreign ecclesiastical power;” (2) “To enable the Nestorian Church, through the grace of God, to exert a commanding influence in the spiritual regeneration of Asia.” The first necessity was to learn the spoken language and reduce it to writing. The first school was opened in January, 1836, in a cellar, with seven small boys in attendance. On the next day there were seventeen. That school was the germ of Urumia College. Other laborers were added after a few years. In 1843, Fidelia Fiske came to take charge of the girls’ school. Vigorous preparatory work was done by teaching, preaching and printing. For ten years the precious seed w r as sown with great labor and many discouragements. At last came the time of rejoicing, when the presence of the Holy Spirit was manifest, and in two months fifty of the pupils in the schools professed their faith in Christ. The gracious influ- ence spread into the surrounding villages, and for twelve years there was an almost continuous revival from on high, bringing hundreds of new-horn souls to be trained and taught. THE MISSIONS IN PERSIA 19 “For twenty years,” wrote Dr. Shedd, "the THE EVANGELI- effort was made to reform the old Church CAL CHURCH without interfering with its organization. and the missionaries were slow to abandon the hope of leavening and remodifying the ancient body.” The separation came about at length for the following rea- sons: (1) The patriarch, at first friendly, did all in his power to destroy the evangelical work, and to compel the spiritually- minded to quit his fold. (2) The converts could not long accept the unscriptural practices which prevailed, and for which there were no available methods of discipline or re- form. (3) The converts asked for better care and instruction and means of grace than they found in the dead language and rituals and ordinances of the Old Church. The separa- tion was not a violent disruption; the converts were first invited to unite with the missionaries in the Lord’s Supper. As the village converts increased in strength, pastors were placed over them. In time, these village pastors and other laborers in the reform — Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons — met in conference with the missionaries, and adopted a simple Confession of Faith, with a form of government and rules of discipline. The first Conference or Kmtsliya was held in 1862. The rules then adopted were enlarged in 1878, and again in 1887. This Evangelical Church is now organized into four local Knushyas, or Presbyteries — three in Persia, and one in Tur- key among the mountain Xestorians. L T nitedly they consti- tute a General Kttushya or Synod, which forms one of the Churches of the Presbyterian Alliance. The history of this reformation is one of the most in- tensely interesting anywhere on record in missionary annals. It has been the spread of Pentecostal power penetrating hundreds of villages. Out of it might be written many chapters of thrilling incidents, illustrating the work of the Holy Spirit convincing of sin, of righteousness and judg- ment, and chapters of remarkable providences in ordinary labors in revivals; and also during the prevalence of pestil- ence and famine and war, as also of manifold joys and sor- rows, in perils of the sea and land, of persecutions, of robbers. 20 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF of sickness and death. Here a chapter could be added of excellent and eminent missionaries, men and women who have given their lives to this work, and died in the triumph of faith. To this could be joined a long record of the lives and labors of native brethren and sisters who have gone home to glory, whose memory is truly blessed. Well might the venerable Dr. Perkins write, as he bade final farewell to missionary shores: "Heaven will not know any higher jov than the joy of redeemed Xestorians in the presence of their Saviour.” The Reformed Church has steadily gained in steadfastness, and has made material advance in the matter of self-support. Many of its executive responsibilities are entrusted to a committee of nine, called the “Evangelistic Board.” chosen by the Knushya or Synod, for a fixed period. The oversight of its educational interests it commits to a "Board of Educa- tion.” also carefully selected by the Synod. It also appoints a "Legal Board” of three, including its Moderator, for the oversight of such matters of canon law as are usually man- aged in the Oriental churches by their Bishops. The meet- ing of these Boards, as well as the regular Conferences of the Synod and Presbvteries. have done much to impart fiftnness to progressive ideas and practices in the Church. The national character has been elevated and made more robust by this training. Then, again, the Gospel light has spread from this Evan- gelical Church into regions beyond. Young men. filled with the Spirit, have lighted the flame of true piety in many a distant place. Two Urumia men visited Bohtan, two hundred miles away on the Tigris plain, and opened the way where whole villages have since been evangelized. The beginnings of the work in several of the mountain districts and outlying regions are traceable directly to similar agencies. The foundations in Tabriz. Salmas. Maragha and Hatnadan were laid by preachers from Crurnia. One of these, up to the time of his death, had made thirty-two long journeys to distant parts of Persia. Another is at the present time a fearless and honored colporteur of the British and Foreign Bible Society in Eastern and Southern Persia. All these and others like TIIK MISSIONS IN PERSIA 2 I them are humble persons, but they are “men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Wider and more notable has been the influence of another worker. Pastor Jacob Dilikoff, a man of apostolic zeal and self-denial, who for nearly forty years went to and fro in Russia, preaching evangelical doctrines with singular devo- tion and fruitfulness, in connection with the great evangelical revival known as the Stundist movement. He died in Eastern Siberia, where he had gone to preach the Gospel in spite of hardship and persecution. These incidents go to show a real revival among the Xestorian Church of the missionary zeal which has given their forefathers renown in the records of the Christian faith. In 1869 the name of the mission was changed from “The Nestorian Mission” to "The Mission to Persia,” with a view to emphasize more definitely both the duty and the purpose to give the Gospel to all nationalities and classes within the kingdom The year 1871 marked another epoch in this mission. At the reunion of the two branches of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, the work was transferred from the American P>oard to the care of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, which continues in charge of it to the present time. I11 accordance with the new policy of expansion, plans were early laid for the establishment of new stations. Teheran was occupied in 1872, Tabriz in 1873, and in 1880 Hamadan became a missionary residence. The great dis- tance between some of these stations, the difficulty of com- munication. the diversity of languages and other causes, led to a division of the mission in 1883 into Western and Eastern Missions. Urumia and Tabriz constitute the Western divi- sion. The Eastern mission embraces Teheran. Hamadan. Kazvin, Kermatishah and Resht. 22 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF The Western Persia Mission. The wide area of territory covered by this mission, from the shores of the Caspian to the valley of the Tigris, the diverse populations embraced in the field, and the confusion of tongues spoken, present here more than the ordinary number of difficult problems in the prosecution of missionary work. They differ in different portions of the field. In Tabriz, the effort is to build up a living church and to reach the masses of a great city, and to carry the Gospel over a wide territory to Armenians and Persians, with increasing responsibilities to the peoples of the Caucasus, the contiguous province of Russia. In Urumia the special work is among the more plastic Syrian or Nestorian people, to develop the power of the native Church, gathered there after nearly sixty- years of missionary effort, and make it a forceful evangelizing agency to its Moslem, Armenian and Jewish neighbors. In the mountain districts of Kurdistan the knotty problem is how to secure the entrance and growth of the Gospel among almost barbarous conditions, checked by Turks. Kurdish chiefs, and independent lawless tribes of nominal Christians. Farther westward, in the valley of the Tigris, the task is to reach up into Kurdistan to the Nestorians, as attempted by Dr. Grant fifty years ago, to check the disastrous influence of the Church of Rome among the Chaldeans and Nestorians of the plains, and to secure the Yezidees from the degradation of their senseless Satan worship. Everywhere the problems ar made more urgent and more hopeful by the awakening of new life and aspiration in these ancient lands. Urumia is an important town and has been URUMIA (URM1 1 from the outset the centre of a varied and extensive work, which now covers the large plain of Urumia, and the smaller ones of Sulduz and Terga- wer, and reaches into several large mountain districts across the Turkish frontier. The work is mostly among Nestorians. though there are many Armenians, whose numbers have recently been augmented by refugees from Turkey. There THE MISSION'S IN PERSIA 23 is also a large Jewish population peculiarly open to Christian teaching. While the Christian population here is larger than anywhere else in Persia, still the Mohammedans are in a vast majority. This majority has never been forgotten. Medical missionary work has always brought every class under its beneficent influence, there have been special evan- gelistic workers for Mohammedans, and recently the educa- tional work has brought many of their children into the schools. Besides these agencies, there is a constant stream of evangelistic influence from the lives and words of the native workers and church members, which cannot be tabulated. Urumia College was originally established at Mt. Seir. where it had a memorable record. It was there that the saintly Stoddard spent the few short years of his memorable missionary career. After him, the institution was chiefly under the care of Rev. J. C. Cochran, its eminently spiritual character continuing for a series of years. In 1879 the school was located a mile and a half outside the city of Urumia. The grounds are ample, and include a hospital and missionary resi- dences, besides the college buildings. Of these latter, there are two main edifices, containing library and apparatus worth twelve or fifteen thousand dollars. Much desire is shown for instruction in English, which is of great advantage to the young men in finding work in their Eldorado, America. The restrictions that hamper them in their own land are so tyran- nical that they canno* be contented to remain at home after they have awakened to the possibilities of life elsewhere. This rage for emigration, which is taking away the most capable men of all classes, is a serious menace to the native community. The demand for education on the part of Mohammedan boys led to the establishment in 1904 of a separate school in the city. This has grown until it has nearly a hundred pupils, mainly Mohammedans, but with them also Jew's and Chris- tians. Plans are now on foot for reorganizing the school work for boys, so as to consolidate it as far as possible. At present there are primary and high school courses, a medical class, and a theological training class, and in all about 180 pupils, of whom nearly 100 are boarders. 24 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF Fiske Seminary, now a large and flourishing institution, with about 170 pupils of all grades, has grown from a small school for girls, begun by Mrs. Grant in 1838. Its history, like that of the College, has been one of repeated and very powerful revivals, bv which large numbers of Nestorian young women have been brought to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, and have become mouth-pieces for the truth in multitudes of villages on the plain of Urumia. and in the dark recesses of the Kurdish mountains. The high spiritual character stamped upon it by Fidelia Fiske, and which continued under the administration of Miss Mary Susan Rice, has not been lost in the years which have suc- ceeded. It is now graded from the primary to the normal classes, and is doing a most useful work for the women of Persia. Its work also has expanded until it includes a flour- ishing department for Jewish girls, and a department for Persian girls, with about seventy in attendance. This last includes girls of every class, from the poorest to the wealthiest and proudest. Not the least of the lessons learned in this, as in the other schools, is the spirit of true equality. The plain of Urumia is thickly studded with villages of Moslems and Christians. In many of the latter are found the largest congregations which have been gathered under mission influence. FI ere, as well as in the smaller and more neglected villages and hamlets, scores of village schools have been established, which have proved centres of intellectual and spiritual awakening. Thousands have here learned to read the Word of Cod, and have themselves become agents used of the Holy Spirit for the extension of evangelical truth among both Christians and Moslems. Tn thirty villages Christian Endeavor Societies have been organized, with excellent results. The church membership in the Evangelical Church is about 2.500 in the Urumia district, and 200 more in the mountains. The Russian movement in 18(19 was a serious blow, and minor denominational divisions fostered by unnecessary inde- pendent missions have retarded the growth. While the mem- bership grows slowly, the growth in giving is very encourag- ing. Tt about doubled in the ten years from 1898 to iqo8. THE MISSIONS IN PERSIA 25 In connection with the church work is an extensive system of village schools. In 1910, there were 55 schools and 1,521 scholars. A branch of the work is a congregation in Tiflis, composed of Evangelical Nestorians, ministered to by the Rev. Abraham Moorhatch and supported largely by native contributions. Tiflis is the capital city of the Russian province of Trans- caucasia. and is a very important missionary centre. One of the first needs of the mission was a supply of religious literature, and in 1837 a printing press was sent to the Mission by the Board; but it proved too unwieldy to be taken over the mountains, and was sent from Trebizond back to Constantinople. Two years later, the invention of man had provided a press which could be taken to pieces, and one of these, in charge of Mr. Edward Breath, a printer, was sent to Urumia, to the great wonder and delight of the people. The Scriptures were now so far translated into the Syriac of the Nestorians that portions were at once struck off. “Some of the ablest of the Nestorian clergy aided in the translation, and the contents of their rare ancient manuscripts were now given back to them in a language which all could understand. They stood in mute astonishment and rapture to see their language in print; and as soon as they could speak, the ex- clamation was: ‘It is time to give glory to God, since printing is begun among our people.’ ” The type, for which the punches and matrices were made in Urumia. is acknowledged to be the most beautiful Syriac type in existence, and is adopted by some of the first Oriental publishing houses in Germany and England. Text-books and books for home reading are published, as well as a monthly newspaper and a quarterly with notes on the Sunday school lessons. Medical work was begun by Dr. Asahel Grant, with the very beginning of the mission, and has been maintained ever since. In 1880, Dr. Cochran opened Westminster Hospital, of which be had charge until his death in 1905. It is a centre of light and love that draws to it the needy of every race and class and faith for a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. The blind and crippled have stumbled over rugged roads for 26 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF a month, and women and children have braved the perils of mountain passes in order to reach this haven of hope and healing. The hospital buildings were completed in 1908 by a central building connecting the older men's and women’s buildings, which was given by Mr. S. M. Clement, of Buffalo, as a memorial to Dr. Cochran. A hundred in-patients can be received now. The summary of work for 1910 says: “During the year, 360 patients (320 surgical and 4a medical), have been received into the hospital, and 130 other minor operations have been performed, making 450 operations for the year. In the dis- pensary, in trips to the villages, and on journeys, 15,000 patient' have received medical aid. One hundred and five trips have been made to the villages and two longer journeys have been made. One thousand one hundred and twenty-three visits have been made to the homes in the city.” No one can realize what these figures mean without seeing the patients and knowing from what a wide territory they come, and how thoroughly representative they are of every class of society and of every grade of wealth and poverty. Few mission fields have a nobler roll of workers in the past than Urumia. Among the earlier missionaries may be men- tioned Perkins, Grant, Stoddard, Rhea, Coan, Cochran and Fidelia Fiske. Dr. J. H. Shedd, who died in 1895, was the organizer of the church work, and the indefatigable advocate of expansion. Associated intimately with Dr. Shedd and outliving him eleven years, was Dr. Benjamin Labaree, whose saintly character was a benediction. Of late years, the station has suffered sorely from death. In 1904. Rev. B. W. Labaree was brutally assassinated by a band that represented the worst in Persia, a criminal and fanatic Sayyid (descendant of the Prophet), and some Kurdish robbers. The next year. Dr. Cochran, a tower of quiet strength and a man of mar- vellous influence, passed away. The next year. Dr. Benjamin Labaree died at sea on his wav to America. One of the chief aims of the Urumia Mis- THE MOUNTAIN sion from the outset was to reach the DISTRICT Syriac-speaking tribes of Kurdistan and the Tigris plain. Tt was felt that this could best be done by opening a station at some point near them. THE MISSIONS IN PERSIA 27 I)r. Grant went to Mosul for this purpose, and died there in 1844. His successors gathered a church of Arabic- speaking Christians, and were able to do something for the Syriac villages. Our own Board sent Rev. E. W. McDowell and Dr. Wishard to reside at Tiarv in 1889. but after a heroic struggle with hardship and opposition, they found the region too isolated and lawless for the best results. In 1892, the American Board decided to give up its station in Mosul, which was transferred to our Board, in the hope that the mountain district could be reached thence. For five years this station was maintained by our Board. Most of the time since 1902. Mr. McDowell has lived in Van, and worked by means of untiring itineration — at one time (not by choice) travelling several miles at a very high speed by avalanche down a mountain. The present plan is for him, with his associate. Mr. Allen, and their families, to locate in the field and continue this evangelistic work, including as far as possi- ble Kurds as well as Xestorians. The method of work has reverted to that of working within the old Church, without seeking for separation from it. For preaching the Word there is an open door in places that have long been closed. About twenty native preachers are employed, and the village schools enrol over seven hundred scholars. Tabriz lies east of Lake Urumia, and TABRIZ, SALMAS about one hundred and forty miles by the road from the city of that name. It is a great centre of European trade, and the emporium of Persia, having many extensive bazaars and caravansaries. It has a population of about 200.000, principally Moslems. There is a small but important community of Armenians. Rev. P. Z. Easton and Mrs. Easton, with Miss Mary Jewett, first occupied Tabriz in 1873. Great opposition was encountered from the fanatical Moslems and the jealous Armenian and Roman Catholic officials. But by patient Hbor a foothold has been gained and a church organized. ^ beautiful cluirch building was given by Mr. Covington, of Brooklyn. X. Y.. in memorv of his daughter. Services are heM in Armenian and Turkish, and the Sunday schools are well attended. 28 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF The Memorial School for Boys, under the care of the Rev. S. G. Wilson, D. D., is organized into primary, intermediate, high school and theological departments. With the recent growth of the work, a college department is being developed. Largely through the gifts of Mrs. William Thaw, fine build- ings have been erected. The number of pupils in 1910 was 240, about half of them Moslems and half Armenian. The Tabriz Girls’ School has in the past educated many Armenian girls, and now the work is rapidly opening among the Mohammedans. In 1910, there were thirty-three Moham- medan pupils. The medical work of the station has always been regarded as giving the best medical skill to be found in this great city, and has been available to all alike, without regard to creed or condition. Pressure of medical work has prevented the development of surgical work, but this is now secured by the appointment of a second physician. The Rev. W. L. Whipple, the memory of whose missionary life is an abiding power, gave his residence for a woman’s hospital. The going out of Dr. Orcutt in 1911 makes the re- sumption of this work possible. The medical receipts in Tabriz have always been large, in 1910 amounting to $3,000. The work of settled native preachers in Khoi, Salmas and Maragha, long evangelistic tours by native evangelists, and the tours of the mission, spread the knowledge of Christ and the influence of His faith far beyond the great city of Tabriz, over the great field, larger by far than a great State like Pennsylvania. Of one of these native workers, who was a member of the Evangelical Church in Urumia, Mr. Jessup writes: “With his head quite hald on top and long locks hanging Moslem- fashion below his black Persian cap, and with flowing coat and tunic, he looked quite like a Mohammedan doctor. Tn Ardabil he went alone to visit the famous ancient mosque, with its many rare treasures. The custodian, taking him for a holy pilgrim from Meshed, insisted on removing Rabi Yakob’s shoes himself, bringing him tea, and showing him all the sights, without asking the customary fee. “Rabi Yakob was ready to learn from any one. Noticing what a wide hearing the wandering dervishes gain as they narrate in a sing- song tone long poems about the imams and Persian heroes, lie com- Till-: MISSIONS IN PERSIA 2 <) posed many similar poems telling the life of Christ and the apostles and explaining the way of salvation. He found these were listened to with great interest hv the common people, and has had dervishes ask to learn them from him. Alas, I fear they have not been pre- served. Asked once what he did when he found the crowd growing angry and threatening under the truth, he replied that he usually told some Old Testament story. David and Goliath or Daniel in the lions’ den, would interest and quiet the crowd and disarm anger. "Last year, because of the health of his wife, the Untmia Station offered to appoint him pastor of a village church, where he might settle down, but he refused, saving that his heart was in this work of Moslem touring, and that he hoped to keep on as long as he lived. His wish was realized. He died in harness. A few' hours before his death, when he could no longer speak much, kc pointed upwards, smiling, saying, ‘Heaven, heaven. I am ready. I am ready.’ God grant that many more such earnest and able workers may be raised up to go about from village to village in Azerbaijan, following in his steps as he followed Christ !” 30 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF Eastern Persia Mission. The mission to Persia, as already stated, was TEHERAN transferred to the Presbyterian Board by the American Board in 1871, and with the transfer there came an urgent plea from the missionaries for an en- largement. It was felt to be a duty to embrace within their work the Armenians and Moslems of central Persia. Ac- cordingly, Rev. Tames Bassett, who had reached Urumia in 1871, made an extended tour the following year, visiting Tabriz, Hamadan and Teheran, the result of which was that in November, 1872, he was sent to occupy Teheran, where he was warmly welcomed by both Mussulmans and Arme- nians. In 1874 he was joined by the Rev. J. L. Potter, whose fruitful ministry is still continued. Teheran has a population of 250,000, most of whom are Moslems; but there are 1,000 Armenians, 5,000 Jews, and several hundred Europeans. The languages chiefly spoken are the Turkish and the Persian, the latter only being heard on the streets. Of this field, Mr. Bassett says: “We occupy the only tenable ground for lahor designed to reach either eastern Persia or the Tartar tribes of Turkistan. The Turkish language spoken here enables a person to pass quite through Turkistan into Chinese Tartary and far to the northward, while the Persian makes accessible all central and southern Persia, through Khorassan to Afghanistan, and even large populations of India. Central Asia has, in nearly all the past, been neglected by the Church of Christ : the result has been that it is the great source whence have proceeded the scourges of mankind; and the Tartar and Iranian hordes have, age after age, as in great tidal waves, overflowed Christendom, overthrowing its civiliza- tion and nearly extinguishing its light.” Teheran is not only the central point from which to reach a vast outlying population, it is also a rapidly growing city, and the vacant land within the twelve gates will soon be occupied. The importation of European ways and inventions has been considerable, especially since the late Shah’s visit to England. A bank recently opened is of great advantage to foreigners in transacting business. The old caravan trail, formerly the only means of reaching the city, has been super- T I ! K MISSIONS IN PERSIA 3 ' seded by a fine wagon road from Resht, on the Caspian Sea, built by Russian capital in 1899. In 1883 a neat chapel was built, with a seating capacity of 300, in which preaching services in Persian and English are regularly held. The work for women, a school for girls and also one for boys, the medical and evangelistic work, arc all vigorously pressed. The girls’ school is called “Iran Bethel,” the Persian Bethel. About 800 girls have been in attendance from the beginning long enough to receive permanent im- pressions of character. In 1910, there were 235 pupils, of whom the Christians (Armenians mostly) were 1 1 5 : Jewesses, 10: and Moslems, 110. The bovs’ school was opened in 1887, and is now the largest missionary school in Persia. The number of pupils in 1910 was over 300. 180 being Moslems. This school is steadily advancing the standard of work, and its growth into a college is only a question of the funds necessary for its support. The hospital, established by Dr. Torrence, and owing its assured position and wide influence to the work of Dr. Wishard, with the help of Dr. Mary T. Smith, has commodious buildings. Besides a very large surgical and medical .work, several classes of physicians have been educated here, as at Urumia. Another form of missionary activity at Teheran is preparing literature. Dr. Potter has published a translation in Persian of John Runyan’s immortal allegory, and also a statement of Christian doctrine, called “Roots and Branches,” which has proved very useful with Moslems. Teheran has also carried on steady evangelistic work in the city by means of regular preaching and personal intercourse. Evangelistic itineration has been constant in every direction, eastward to the Russian and Afghan boundary. Out of this itineration has come the occupation of Resht and Kazvin. Only a part of the results of such work are shown by the fact that in ioto there were twenty-one baptized converts from Islam in the city of Teheran. Missionaries are located in the important RESHT, KAZVIN cities of Resht and Kazvin. The former is the chief town on the Caspian, and from it 3 2 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF the whole Caspian region is reached. In both of them medi- cal and evangelistic work is carried on. and in Resht school work has been undertaken. This ancient city, the second centre of the East HAMADAN Persia Mission, is supposed to occupy the site of Ecbatana (Ezra vi: 2), the place where Darius found the roll with the decree of Cyrus for rebuilding the house of God at Jerusalem. It lies in a plain 6,000 feet above the sea. at the foot of Mt. Elvend (the ancient Orontes), and is noted for the tombs of Oueen Esther and Mordecai. The place was early visited by colporteurs from Urumia. but the first regular work began in i860, when Mirza Oohannes, who had learned of Christ in Bagdad, went to Hamadati and began to preach. In 1872, Hamadan was made an out-station of Teheran, and in 1880 it became a regular station. There are now two churches, each with its regular ser- vices and sacraments. The Armenian congregation, known as St. Stephen’s Church, has a membership of more than one hundred, with a large Sunday school. The devoted pastor is a tower of strength to the mission. A church was organ- ized among the Jews in 1893, taking the name of Peniel. There is also regular evangelistic work in five points in the field outside Hamadan, besides itineration. The boys’ school numbers about 100 pupils, the majority being Moslems. Faith Hubbard School was begun by Miss Anna Montgomery in 1882, and has always been under her care. About 100 girls are here, under constant Christian influence, nearly a fourth of them being Moslems. A well equipped hospital was built in 1906, and the work, in which the name of Dr. G. W. Holmes is so highly honored, has great opportunities for usefulness. In 1911, this very important city, between KERMANSHAH Hamadan and the Turkish border, was made a station. In the region is a large popula- tion of Ali Ilahis, a sect to which reference was made above. The following, from Kasha Mooshi, the native preacher, written in 1910, gives an idea of the opportunities in the city: THE MISSION’S IN PERSIA A A “We have three persons baptized : a Moslem, a Jew and the girl of Yosif, the servant of Mr. Stead. Rut 1 am glad to say that there arc- six other persons seeking for their life in lesus Christ. I am glad to say that among all these trouMcs, God has opened my way to preach Christ to more than 3.000 persons during the year. 1 had good times to have religious conversation with Jews, Moslems and Babis, and many others. I have spoken with the noble men of Governor, with Princes. Turkish Consul, the members of Bank and Customs and Mi l las. Cavids, Jewish Director, with poor and rich people. I had a very good religious conversation with a great Mujtahid coming from Xajaf going to Teheran. We were in Garee on the way to Sahna. I spoke to him without fear, and eight persons were hearing us. I proved to him our Holy Bihle. He was not able to give answer. I cannot write to you about all the work, aliout every point on every conversa- tion, but what I have to say is, I do not refuse to complete my duty or to bring the sinners to our Lord Jesus Christ.” In the part of Persia for which, in God’s providence, our Presbyterian Church has become responsible, the missionary work has been able to win a strong hold in a Mohammedan land. In philanthropy, in education, and in spiritual influ- ence, the leadership has been won, and can be maintained if we are faithful. This is a wonderful fact. The changes that are coming rapidly give new opportunities and increased responsibility. In 1900, there were only a few Moslem pupils in the mission schools, while in 1910 there were about 700. of whom 250 were girls. The Persians are establishing schools themselves, and asking for teachers trained in our schools. Some of the statistics for 1910 are given below: East Persia Mission. West Persia Mission Xumber of Missionaries ■ Men — Ordained II 12 Medical O 4 Women — Married I 2 (1 medical) 13 Sinele 97 9(2med.) Ordained native preachers 23 4 Xative teachers and assistants.. TI9 45 Communicants 2,823 276 Xumber of schools 64 11 Pupils 2,274 716 Given for church work and received in school fees . . . .$10,071.92 $8,871*84 Note. — The names of missionaries and the particular work in which each is occupied, can best be learned from the Year Book for Prayer, published by the Women’s Boards. 34 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF EAST PERSIA MISSION. Teheran (1872) — Seventy miles south of the Caspian Sea. Rev. J. L. Potter, D. D., and Mrs. Potter, Rev. Lewis F. Esselstyn, D. D„ and Mrs. Esselstyn, Rev. S. M. Jordan and Mrs. Jordan, Rev. Charles A. Douglas and Mrs. Douglas, Miss Cora C. Bartlett, Miss Mary J. Smith, M. D., Miss Rosa Shoenhair, Miss Annie W. Stocking and Miss Bessie Allen. Hamadan (1880) — Two hundred miles southwest of Teheran. Rev. James W. Hawkes and Mrs. Hawkes, J. A. Funk, M. D., and Mrs. Funk, Rev. George F. Zoeckler, Miss Annie Montgomery, Miss Ada C. Holmes. Kazvjn (1904) — One hundred miles northwest of Teheran. E. T. Lawrence, M. D., and Mrs. Lawrence. Resht (1904) — One hundred and seventy miles northwest of Te- heran. Rev. H. C. Schuler and Mrs. Schuler, and J. Davidson Frame, M. D. Kermanshah — Rev. F. M. Stead and Mrs. Stead. Reinforcements, 1911 — Rev. and Mrs. Eli T. Allen, Rev. and Mrs. Charles R. Murray, Rev. and Mrs. Cady H. Allen, Mary D. Allen, M. D.. Charles W. Lamme, M. D., Rev. and Mrs. Eugene K. De Witt, Edna Orcutt, M. P WEST PERSIA MISSION. Urumia— Four hundred and eighty miles northwest from Teheran. Station begun under the American Board, 1835; transferred to this Board in 1871. Rev. F. G. Coan, D. D., and Mrs. Coan. Rev. W. A Shedd, D. D.. and Mrs. Shedd, Rev. Robert M. Laharec and Mrs. Labaree, Rev. C. C. Sterrett and Mrs. Sterrctt, Rev. E. W. McDowell and Mrs. McDowell, Miss M. K. Van Duzee, Miss Mary E. Lewis, Miss E D. Lamme, Harry P. Packard. M. D., and Mrs. Packard, Mrs. I. P. Cochran, Rev. Hugo A. Midler and Mrs. Midler, M. D., and Miss Lenore R. Schoebcl. Tarriz (1873) — Nearly three hundred and sixty miles northwest from Teheran. Rev. S. G Wilson and Mrs. Wilson, William S. Vanne- man, M. D., and Mrs. Vanneman, Rev. Charles R. Pittman and Mrs. Pittman. Rev. F. N. fessvp, Miss G. Y. Holliday, Miss Lillie B. Reabcr, Mrs. L. C. Van Hook, and Miss Helen Grove. Reinforcements, 1911 — Rev. William A. Motter, Rev. and Mrs. Rolland J. Blue. TIIF. MISSIONS IN' PERSIA 35 MISSIONARIES IN PERSIA, 1871-1910. * Died while connected with the Mission. •{•Transferred from the American Board. Figures, term of service in the field. tAinslie, Rev'. J. A. fAinslie, Mrs. Alexander, E. W., M.D Alexander, Mrs. Allen, Mr. E. T. Allen, Miss Bessie. Allen, Rev. Eli T. Allen, Mrs. Allen, Rev. C. H. Allen, Mrs. Allen, Dr. Mary D. Bartlett, Miss C. G. Bassett, Rev. J. Bassett, Mrs. Bassett, Miss S. J. Beaber, Miss L. B. Blackburn, Rev. C. S. Blackburn, Mrs. Blue, Rev. R. J. Blue. Mrs. Bradford, Mary E., M.D Bradford, Miss F. G. Brasbear, Rev. T. G. Brashear, Mrs. Carey. Miss A. Carpenter, Mrs. Cora, M. D. Clarke. Miss M. A.. 1S80-1884 : *Coan, Rev. G. W.f *Coan, Mrs. Coan, Rev. F. G. Coan, Mrs. *Cochran, Rev. J. G.f *Cochran, Mrs. *Coehran, T. P.. M.D. *Cochran, Mrs. Cochran, Miss K. Cochran, Miss E. G. Cochran, Mrs. (Miss McConaughy') 1900-1907 Dean, Miss N. J. 1860-189. Demuth, Miss M. A. DeWitt, Rev. E. K. DeWitt. Mrs. 1891 -18)8 Douglas, Rev. C. A. 1901 1891 -1898 Douglas, Mrs. (Mis; 1.1882 -1892 Ballis) 1901 1882 -1892 Easton, Rev. P. Z. 187.V ■1879 1891 -1897 Easton, Mrs. >873 1879 1910 Esselstyn, Rev. L. F. 1887. 1911 Esselstyn, Mrs. 1887 1911 Euwer, Rev. N. L. 1901- ■1909 191 1- Field, Miss C. H..M.D. 1905- ■1909 1911 Frame, J. D., M.D. 1905- 1911- Funk, Dr. J. A. 1932- 1882- Funk, Mrs. (Miss 1871- ■1884 Lienbach) 1891- 1 87 1 - -1884 Green, Miss M. W. 1889- 1892 1875 ■1888 Grove, Miss Helen. 1910- 1899- Hansen, C. C., M.D. 1895- -1897 1896- ■1904 Hansen, Mrs. (Lilian 1806 ■1904 Reinhart, M.D., ’94) 1895- ■1897 191 1- Hargrave, Mr. A. A. 1883- 1887 191 1- Hargrave. Mrs. (Mis; I8SS- ■1900 M. J. Moore, 1884) 1885- 1887 1907- 1908 Hawkes, Rev. J. W. 1880- 1893- 1900 Hawkes, Mrs. (Miss B 1890- ■1900 Sherwood. 1883) 1884- 1880- •1883 Holliday, Miss G. V. 1883- Holmes', G. W„ M.D. 1909- 1909 1874-1877; 1881- 1899 *Holmes, Mrs. 1892- 1898 1874-1877: 1S81- 1890 1849- 1879 Holmes, Mrs. 1893- 1899 1849- 1879 Holmes, Miss A. C. 1905- 1SS3- Hunter, Miss Adeline. 1889- 1893 1885- Jessup, Rev. F. N. 1903- 1847- 1871 Jewett, Miss M. 1871- 1907 1S47- 1893 Jordan, Rev. S. M. 1898- 1878- 1905 Jordan, Mrs. 1898- 1S7S- 1895 *Laharee, Rev. B.f 1860- 1906 1871- 1875 * Labaree, Mrs. 1860- 1898 1885- 1888 *Labaree, Rev. Benj. W. T893- 1904 Labaree. Mrs. 1893- 1903 Laharee. Rev. R. M. 1904- 1909- Labaree, Mrs. 1904- Lamme, Miss E. D. 1906- 1899- 1904 Lamme. C. W., M.D. 1911- 189s- 1900 Lawrence, Dr. E. T. 1902- 1911- Lawrence, Mrs. (Tessie 1911- Wilson, M.D., 1892) 1903- 36 THE MISSIONS IN PERSIA Lewis, Miss M. E. 1903- McCampbell, Miss L.H. 1891-1899 McDowell, Rev. E. W., 1887-1896; 1902- McDowell, Mrs. 1887-1896; 1902- McLean, Miss J. F. 1892- Mechlin, Rev. j. C. 1887- Mechlin, Mrs. 1887- Medberv, Miss H. L. 1892- Melton, Miss Anna. 1888- Miller, Emma T., M.D. 1891- Montgomery, Miss A. 1882- * Montgomery, Miss C. 1886- Morgan, Miss Maria. 1885- Miiller, Rev. H. A. 1910- Miiller, Mrs., M.D. 1910- Murray, Rev. C. K. 1911- Murray, Mrs. 1911- Oldfather, Rev. J. M. 1872- Oldfather,' Mrs. 1872- Orcutt, Edna, M.D. 1911- Packard, H. P., M.D. 1906- Packard, Mrs. 1906- Pittinan, Rev. C. R. 1900- Pittman, Mrs. (Miss L. Drake) 1902- Poage, Miss A. E. 1875- Porter, Rev. T. J. 1884- Porter, Mrs. 1884- Potter, Rev. J. L., D.D. 1874- Potter, Mrs. 1878- Roberts, Miss Emma. 1887- Rogers, Rev. J. E. 1882- Rogers, Mrs. 1882- Russell, Miss G. G. 1891- Schenck, Miss Anna 18 77- Schoebel, Miss L. R. 1910- Schuler, Rev. H. C. 1899- Schuler, Mrs. (Miss A. G. Dale, 1885) 1902- *Scott, Rev. D. 1877-1879 Scott, Mrs. 1877-1879 *Shedd, Rev.’ J. H.t 1859-1895 Sbedd, Mrs. 1859-1895 Shedd, Rev. W.A.,D.D. 1892- *Shedd, Mrs. 1894-1901 1898 1896 1896 1899 1897 1909 1905 1889 1890 1890 1880 1885 1885 1889 1885 1885 1899 1899 Shedd. Mrs. (Miss Wilbur, 1901) 1903- Shoenhair, Rosa. 1903- Smith, Mary J., M.D. 1889- Stead, Rev. F. M. 1902- Stead, Mrs. (Blanche Wilson, M.D.) 1900- Sterrett, Rev. C. E. 1900- Sterrett, Mrs. 1908- Stocking, Rev. W. R. 1871-1879 *Stocking, Mrs. 1871-1872 Stocking, Mrs. 1873-1879 Stocking, Miss A. W. 1906- St. Pierre, Rev. E. W. 1887-1895 St. Pierre, Mrs. 1887-1895 Torrence, W. W., M.D. 1881-1888 Torrence, Mrs. 1881-1888 Vanneinan, W. S.,M.D. 1890- Vanneman, Mrs. 1890- Van Duzee, Miss M. K. 1875- *Van Duzee, Miss C. O. 1886-1897 Van Hook, Mrs. L. C. 1876-1894: 1902- Van Xorden, Rev. T. L.t 1866-1873 Van Xorden, Mrs. 1866-1873 Wallace, Miss M. 1894-1897 Ward, Rev. S. L. 1876-1897 Ward. Mrs. 1876-1897 Watson, Rev. J. G. 1888-1902 Watson, Mrs. 1888-1902 *Whipple, Rev. W. L. 1872-1879; 1899-1901 Whipple, Mrs. 1872-1879 Wilbur, Miss L. 1901-1903 Wilson, Rev. S. G. 1880- Wilson, Mrs. 1886- Wishard. J. G., M.D. 1889-1900: 1903-1910 *Wishard, Mrs. 1892-1899 Wishard. Mrs. 1903-1910 Wright, Rev. J. N. 1878-1911 *Wright, Mrs. 1878-1884 *Wright, Mrs. 1887-1890 Wright, Mrs. 1892-1911 Zoeckler, Rev. G. F. I 909 _ JUN 2 datedue A Tennesseean in Pe A Year Among the Doctor A. Grant and 1 Henry Martyn, Saint Journeys in Persia and Life of Rev. Justin Pe Missionary Life in Per: Persia and the Persian Persia : The Eastern M Persian Life and Custc Presbyterian Missions. Story of a Consecrated The Story of Persia. (! Woman and Her Saviou The Foreign Doctor: Lift Five Years in a Persian ' Islam and the Oriental C Persia: The Western Mi: History of Protestant Mis Persia and Its People. El Twenty Years in Persia. Twenty-five Years of Mis. Persia : Ancient and Mod« Also standard books on Isl for Mission Study Tinted in u . 9 *■ GAYLORD