The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-10-09
Christians in Turkey.
THE Scots.

THE Scots.
III is painful to have the cherished fancies of
lifetime dlspelled by contact with stern
iacts. We had indulged the hope that the East
ern Churches were in reality better than repre-
sented that, to say the least the Christian COM
munltles were greatly superior to their inhdel
nelghbors. In some respects they unquestiona-
bly, are. The Christians are much shrewder as
class-are more intelligent better educated,
and, as consequence, more thrifty. They are
much better tradesmen than the Turks and are
increasing rapidly in wealth; while the Turk
with all the superiority of his political position,
is growing poorer and poorer. But in respect
to real morality, to say nothing of genuine and
spiritual religion, the native Christians can
hardly be judged too severely. Said candid
Bulgarian merchant to one of our Missionaries -
1--WE cannot become Protestants, you are so
strict; in this country we must lie and cheat, to
do business" The pompous ceremonies and the
gaudy decorations of the churches with their
images and pictures, together with the corrupt
practices of many even of the higher clergy,
produce anything but favorable impression
of Christianity upon the minds of the Moham-
medans, while the mutual distrust and enmity of
the different sects area perpetual scandal. Much
the larger portion of the Christian subjects of
the Sultan are attached TO the Greek Church,
the Patriarch of Constantinople. The clergy of
this Church combine ignorance and bigotry to a
degree which hardly admits of rivalry. The
Armenians are considerable element, and are
possessed of some intelligence and wealth.
Many of them are engaged in commerce in the
large towns of Asia Minor and European Tur-
key. The Maronites are the Christian peasantry
of Lebanon, and are connected with the Latin
Church-a connection priced more for its assur-
ance of French protection than from any special
religious affinity. 1t is not at all improbable
that at some future time they may sever their
union with the Church of Rome and attach
themselves to the Protestant community, under
ne charge of the American Board. The Copts
ESTIMATED to number about 250, 900, and are
! oNed to Egypt. Many of them are very favor
rrisposed towards Professionalism, but the
re excessively bigoted and hostile
lpqA .ELATIoN TO THE GOVERNMENT.
- One of the many anomalies which impress q
stranger here, is the relation of the different
ligious communities to the Turkish Government.
Every subject of the empire is assumed to have
some form of religious faith. If non-Mussul-
Y man. he must be connected with some religious
organization. The Greeks, the Armenians, the
Jews, ETC.. as great religious bodies, have their
duly authorized and recognized representatives,
! with whom alone the Government deals. If q
| private individual has a grievance, he must
apply for redress through his priest or bishop
| The prelates are therefore not only religious
! but, to some extent, civil functionaries. This
| of course, greatly increases their influence in
their own communities as the people are so de-
pendent upon them. The position of Pro-
testant was formerly very embarrassing. Not
claiming connection with either of the recog-
nized sects, his relation to the Government was
anomalous, and often annoying. AS remedy
for this several years ago, at the instance OF
Lord Stratford de Radcliffe, British ambassador,
the twelve or fifteen thousand Protestants were
constituted distinct community, and thus enti-
tied to legal representation. This arrange
ment is not wholly satisfactory, and some Pro.
testants prefer the inconvenience of non-repre-
sentation to an enrolment in this form.-
Christian Work.