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 tlfie iiartprsi of Cilicia 
 
 1909 
 
 AMERICAN BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 
 FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS 
 BOSTON 
 
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 Cfje iHartprsi of Cilicia 
 
 APRIL, 1909 
 
 'HE Annual Meeting of the American Board at 
 Minneapolis^ October 13-15^ had one outstand¬ 
 ing feature. On the afternoon of the first 
 day, when the situation of the Turkish missions had 
 been set forth in various addresses by missionaries 
 from different fields, the survey of that needy empire 
 culminated in a brief service commemorative of the Chris¬ 
 tian leaders who fell in the massacres that desolated 
 the Central Turkey Mission last April. President 
 John E. Merrill of the Central Turkey College read 
 the names of the martyrs with a brief and apt charac¬ 
 terization of each, while the great audience stood in token 
 of respect. Rev. M. G. Papazian, himself a graduate of 
 Central Turkey College, until recently pastor of the Haik 
 Evangelical Church in Aintab and nov of the Arme¬ 
 nian Evangelical Church in New York City, followed with 
 a memorial address, noble both in its expression and 
 restraint. A heartfelt prayer by Rev. John P. McNaugh- 
 ton, missionary in Smyrna, closed the service. 
 
 It is impossible to reproduce the full impressiveness of 
 the scene; President Merrill’s roll of honor and Mr. Pap- 
 azian’s tribute are issued in this form that they may convey 
 to many somewhat of the solemn yet exultant appeal of 
 that tender hour. 
 
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®tc 3^oU of iWartprs 
 
 By President JOHN E. MERRILL, Ph.D., of Aintab 
 
 DANIEL MINER ROGERS. 
 Member of the South Church, 
 New Britain, Conn. Graduate 
 of Princeton University and of 
 Hartford Theological Seminary. 
 Pastor in East Dorset, Vt. 
 Commissioned by the American 
 Board in 1907, and designated 
 to the Central Turkey Mission. 
 Stationed in the province of 
 Adana. 
 
 “Simple, sincere of purpose, 
 holding naturally and steadily 
 to his great ideal of serving 
 Christ, hopeful, quietly reserv¬ 
 ed, yet loving with romantic 
 devotion, carrying everywhere 
 unassumingly a distinctly Chris¬ 
 tian atmosphere.” This is the 
 tribute of his pastor. 
 
 “Of wonderful self-effacement. 
 ‘For Thine honor and glory’ 
 was the characteristic phrase 
 of hia petitions and the funda¬ 
 mental motive of his life.” So 
 writes his wife. 
 
 And she sends to us today as 
 from him, as from beside his 
 grave in Adana, this message, 
 “The battle is to the self- 
 sacrificing and the brave, to 
 
 those who bear the cross and 
 
 who follow Christ, to those who 
 work not for the praise of men 
 but for the Kingdom of God.” 
 
 HENRY MAURER. 
 
 Fell with Mr. Rogers at Adana. 
 Member of the Mennonite mis¬ 
 sion at Hadjin. He was 
 
 sympathetic and gentle, hum¬ 
 ble-minded and retiring, sac¬ 
 
 rificing easily, because he 
 followed his Master implicitly, 
 and therefore able to become 
 daring and heroic; marked 
 by an unmistakeable sweet¬ 
 ness and kindliness and a 
 smile which his face bore even 
 In death. 
 
 PROP. SARKIS DEVONIAN. 
 Graduate of the mission school 
 in theology, and of the Shef¬ 
 field Scientific School. Studied 
 at the University of Basel. 
 Connected with Central Turkey 
 College at Aintab for thirty- 
 one years, 1878-1909. Clear 
 thinker, illuminating teacher, 
 faithful preacher, sincere friend, 
 true patriot, spiritual leader, 
 man of science, and man of 
 God. 
 
 GIRAGOS ZHAMGOCHIAN. 
 Pastor of the church in Sever- 
 ek. Simple, enthusiastic, sym¬ 
 pathetic, evangelistic, seeking 
 young men in his old age. The 
 last utterance heard from his 
 lips was prayer for his mur¬ 
 derers. 
 
 HAGOP KOUNDAKJIAN. 
 
 Pastor of the church in Hassan 
 Beyli. Fellow-student with 
 Professor Devonian in theology. 
 A village pastor, apt in illus¬ 
 tration ; strong and great-heart¬ 
 ed, adviser of all conditions of 
 men. 
 
 SDEPAN HOVHANNESSIAN. 
 Pastor of the church in Kharne. 
 Graduate of Central Turkey 
 College and Marash Theological 
 Seminary. Careful, persevering, 
 self-sacrificing. 
 
 NAZARET HEGHINIAN. 
 
 Pastor of the Third Church in 
 Marash. Graduate of Central 
 Turkey College and Marash 
 Theological Seminary. Studied 
 in Edinburgh. Thoughtful, 
 aspiring, cordial, confident; of 
 thorough preparation and grow¬ 
 ing infiuence. 
 
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STILIANOS ASLANIDIS. 
 
 Pastor of the First Church in 
 Hadjin. Studied at Central 
 Turkey College; graduate of 
 Marash Theological Seminary. 
 A Greek; open and true, ener¬ 
 getic, courageous. 
 
 ZACHARIA BBDROSSIAN. 
 
 Pastor of the church in Gar- 
 mouch. Graduate of Central 
 Turkey College and Harpoot 
 Theological Seminary. Earn¬ 
 est, zealous, seeking the souls 
 of men. 
 
 JURJIS SHEMMAS. 
 
 Pastor of the Syrian church in 
 Oorfa. Graduate of Central Tur¬ 
 key College and Marash Theo¬ 
 logical Seminary. A Syrian ; an 
 ardent student, substantial in 
 thought, able in administration, 
 evangelistic in spirit. 
 
 NERSES KOUYOUMJIAN. 
 
 Pastor of the church in Adia- 
 man. Graduate of Central Tur¬ 
 key College and Marash Theo¬ 
 logical Seminary. Of intel¬ 
 lectual ability and bright future. 
 He refused the prospect of 
 larger churches to bring the 
 congregation of his native town 
 to strength and self-support. 
 
 SBTRAG EKMEKJIAN. 
 
 Pastor of the First Church in 
 Oorfa. Studied at Central Tur¬ 
 key College; graduate of Har¬ 
 poot Theological Seminary. Pro¬ 
 gressive, spiritually - minded, 
 winning, humble. 
 
 MARKAR KALOUSDIAN. 
 
 Preacher of the church in 
 Hamidiyeh. Always at work, 
 unwearying in pastoral care. 
 
 LEVON SOGHOVMEYAN. 
 
 Preacher of the Second Church 
 in Hadjin. Graduate of Cen¬ 
 tral Turkey College and Marash 
 Theological Seminary. Worthy 
 of confidence, patient and fore¬ 
 bearing, constant in endeavor, 
 without guile. 
 
 ASADOUR TOPALIAN. 
 
 Preacher of the church in 
 Fekke, which he founded. 
 Studied at Central Turkey Col¬ 
 lege. Useful in service as 
 teacher and preacher. 
 
 HAGOP ALBARIAN. 
 
 Preacher of the church in Ge- 
 ben. Graduate of St. Paul’s In¬ 
 stitute and Marash Theological 
 Seminary. Prom the utter 
 change at his conversion, dili¬ 
 gent, faithful, evangelistic. 
 
 GARABED KUPELIAN. 
 
 Preacher of the church of Os- 
 maniyeh. Graduate of St. 
 Paul’s Institute at Tarsus and 
 Marash Theological Seminary. 
 Diligent in reading, the friend 
 of his people. 
 
 MELIDON MALIAN. 
 
 About to be ordained as pastor 
 of the church in Sis. Graduate 
 of St. Paul’s Institute and Ma¬ 
 rash Theological Seminary. Five 
 years in prison at Acre, where 
 he did not shrink from doing 
 the work of an evangelist. Per¬ 
 sistent in Christian service. 
 
 TAKVOR HAGOPIAN. 
 
 Preacher of the church m 
 Baghche. Studied at Central 
 Turkey College and at St. Paul’s 
 Institute. A man who loved his 
 nation and his Lord. 
 
 ARDASHES BOYAJIAN. 
 
 Preacher of the church in Shar. 
 Graduate of St. Paul’s Institute 
 and Marash Theological Semi¬ 
 nary. Comforter and leader of 
 his people in difliculty, gentle 
 and kind. 
 
 HOVAGIM KAYAYAN. 
 
 Preacher of the church in Al- 
 boustan. Graduate of St. Paul’s 
 Institute and Marash Theologi¬ 
 cal Seminary. Killed in Mr. 
 Chambers’s arms at Adana. 
 Conscientious, energetic, friend 
 of young men. 
 
 CONSTANTINE SIYAHIAN. 
 Preacher of the church in Kars. 
 Graduate of Central Turkey 
 College and Marash Theological 
 Seminary. Modest, consecrated, 
 genuine. 
 
 And to these might be added the 
 names of the lay preacher of the 
 church at Karakeoy, a brother of 
 the Garmouch pastor who was 
 killed, of the teacher of the school 
 at Hassan Beyli, and of the dele¬ 
 gates from various cities to the 
 annual meeting of the Cilicia 
 Union, who met death on their 
 way to Adana. 
 
 “ Wt)eie an Jiieli in Jfaitij 
 
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tKt)e iWemorial 
 
 By Rev. M. G. PAPAZIAN of New York 
 
 “These all died in faith, not having received the prom¬ 
 ises, but having seen and greeted them from afar.” 
 
 HEY were a select company of souls endowed 
 ^ j with the highest learning obtainable in the 
 land of their nativity; with the gifts and 
 graces of the Spirit which made them the salt of 
 the earth; with unreserved consecration to the Saviour 
 who called them through His grace and revealed Him¬ 
 self in their lives; with intense devotion to the Church 
 purchased and sanctified by the sacrifice of the Cross; 
 with undivided love to the suffering and stricken people 
 for whose redemption they lived and labored; with a keen 
 sense of Christian truth which transformed labor into love, 
 duty into joy. They were men chosen and owned of God. 
 
 In daily life they glorified God through the ministrations 
 of the Word by speech, by influence, by act, under con¬ 
 ditions requiring the “work of faith and labor of love and 
 patience of hope."^ In large city as well as in obscure 
 village, in the pulpit and in the quiet walks of life the mes¬ 
 sage was delivered and the ministration was offered unob¬ 
 trusively, unheralded and unrewarded by men. They lived 
 unto God. 
 
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No less in death did they glorify God^—just like their 
 Master whose passion and death even more than His char¬ 
 acter was the coronation of a Divine Life. They suffered 
 and perished under circumstances quite suggestive of 
 Gethsemane and Calvary of old. They were surprised in 
 the midst of active ministry. They were denied the conso¬ 
 lations of death-chamber. They “suffered without the 
 gate.” They were “burned without the camp.” They died 
 with undying joy in the heart and whispered prayer upon 
 the lips. Was suffering ever so sweety was death ever so 
 life-like as when the white-haired saintly pastor uttered 
 in his last breath a petition of forgiveness for his enemies.^ 
 That was not death;,—it was victory^ the victory of faith 
 “which hath overcome the world” and to which grim Death, 
 “the last enemy,” can only add imperishable lustre and 
 immortal glory. 
 
 As a friend who has known them intimately for years, as 
 a fellow-worker who has shared their toils and privileges in 
 the service of the Church, as an associate who, in public 
 and in private, has many times conferred and prayed with 
 them concerning the affairs of the Kingdom of God, also 
 as one who certainly would have shared their martyrdom 
 had I not been called away providentially, it is my sad 
 and sacred duty to address these few words of tribute to 
 the memory of the sainted missionaries and pastors and 
 preachers and teachers of Cilicia whom violent death has 
 placed in direct line with the noble army of patriarchs, 
 prophets, apostles and martyrs. Through faith they sub¬ 
 dued kingdoms, they wrought righteousness, they quenched 
 
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the power of fire, they were tortured, not accepting their 
 deliverance, they were slain with the sword. Blessed be the 
 name of Him who quickened them into life which is life 
 indeed, who mustered them into His service, who welcomed 
 them into glory. 
 
 And now, my friends, they are gone, but there are things 
 that remain. The land where they labored and sacrificed, 
 the Redeemer unto whose likeness they were conformed in 
 life and in death, the Gospel upon the altar of which they 
 laid down their lives,—these abide and call upon us who 
 survive for a fresh and complete dedication of body and 
 soul unto the great task which they have left unfinished. We 
 cannot mistake God’s voice sounding from the blood-stained 
 field afar off. The land whose soil was trodden by the 
 feet of Jesus and saturated with the tears of Gethsemane 
 ought to be, yea shall be, conquered into the Kingdom whose 
 throne is Calvary, whose sceptre is the Cross, whose King is 
 the Lamb, whose law is Love. At this moment, when we 
 stand with bowed heads in the presence of the honored 
 dead, let us not forget that they all, “having had witness 
 borne to them through their faith,” yet died without having 
 seen the promises,—they died upon the eve of the regenera¬ 
 tion of a sacred soil. As friends of the crowned martyrs 
 and servants of the Lord Jesus, it behooves us, in the still¬ 
 ness of this solemn moment, humbly and prayerfully to 
 resolve that, God willing, we will offer the Gospel of Love to 
 that same race and religion which burned the churches and 
 slew the prophets of Cilicia. 
 
 May God hear and accept our vow. 
 
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B^ejpatrtng t|)e IBreact 
 
 ORE than a score of pastors snatched in a 
 day from the thirty-five churches connected 
 with the Central Turkey Mission; the col¬ 
 leges and theological seminary that trained them, in¬ 
 adequately maintained before, now pressed to undertake 
 added work to meet the emergency; churches stripped 
 of their buildings and of means to replace them, yet 
 needing at once the safeguard of new sanctuaries; widows, 
 orphans, homeless wanderers> destitute and discour¬ 
 aged lives everywhere; and withal a chance, such as 
 never before, to minister in Christ’s name to all the troubled 
 races of that needy land! Who can contemplate this roll 
 of martyrs without wishing to do something for the peoples 
 for whose christianizing they laid down their lives. A gift 
 sent to Frank H. Wiggin, Treasurer, 14 Beacon Street, 
 Boston, will immediately be set to work repairing the 
 breach. 
 
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