The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-01-18

several Of fhe churches of Richmond on
Sunday night In order to allow the MEM
| bers of the different congregations to attend
the meeting held at the First Baptist
| church, where the Rev. Arthur Boedau, o
prcsbyter of the HISTORIAN Church, was an
nounced to speak on the Sufferings and
Prosecutions of the Eastern Christians.
The house was crowded on the occasion
with persons representing nearly every de-
| nomination of Christians in the city, and
| among the clergymen present we noticed
Rev. Bishop Doggett and Rev. DR.. Gran
| berry, of the Methodist Church, Rev. Drs.
! Read and Hogc, of theP ePresbyterianC Church,
| and Rev. Drs. Burrows and Curry, of the
Baptist Church. Several of these gentle
men took part in the preliminary exercises
Of the evening. 1a-
DR.. Bogdan, being introduced by Rev.
DR.. Hoge, delivered q most interesting and
eloquent discourse on the subject named
above, appropriately taking as the basis OF
his remarks the 9th and 9th verses of the
4th chapter of Paul's Second Epistlo to the
| Corinthians "We are troubled ON every
side, yet not distressed; We are perplexed,
but not in despair; persecuted, ,!but not for
saken; cast down, but not destroyed" He
| said these words could not be better applied
than to the niue millions of Eastern Chris
tians living under Mohammedan power-a
power every page of whose history is writ
| ten with the blood of martyred saints.
These people numbered, twelve centuries
ago, forty-three millions, and according to
| the laws Of nature they should by this time
have increased to not less than one hundred
millions; but 80 far from this being the
state of the case, they numbered now only
nine millions. Where we're the thirty
three millions Ask of the Turkish fire.
brand and the Turkish sword. Murdered
Martyred! Slain for conscience sake !
The speaker would not attempt to give
any idea of the prosecutions to which these
Eastern Christians had been subj bjccted.
Neither his power of language and the time
allotted for his remarks would prove ade-
quate to the task. They had been tortured
and killed by every cruel means that Turk
ish cruelty could devise their homes had
been burned, and war made upon the de-
fenccless women and helpless babes, but,
under all, they had remained true to the
Cross of Christ. 1t might be asked what
claim had these people upon the citizens of
America. He could only answer, in the
language of Rev. DR.. Adams, in New York,
that this was not an appeal for charity,
but for the payments of your just debts as
Christian people. He need hardly re-
mind an audience so intelligent that civili-
zation came from the East, and that the
country inhabited by these suffering people
was the birthplace of Christ, the home of
the prophets and of the inspired twelve,
and from it went forth the first missionaries
of the Gospel of Peace. 1t was disgrace
to Christianity and to Humanity to allow
the land which VIC still call holy to be
sighing beneath the chains of Moslem ty-
ranny.
He denied that Mohammedanism is re-
ligion. 1t is 4 political power, introduced
to forward the wicked designs of that aspir-
ing man Mahomct, the prophet of Allah.
He then skctched briefly the rise and pro-
gress of Mohammcdan power in Asia and
its advent into Europe. The doctrines of
the false prophet had been propagatcd by
fire and sword, and it was mistake to
suppose that the days Of persecution have
passed. There were to-day to be seen thou
sands of Christians whose loss of eye,
tongue, arms, or legs, bespoke their devo-
tion to Jesus, and made them living monu-
mcnts of Turkish tyranny. The speaker
had himself been an eye-witness OF
some of these cruclties, and instanced one
case in, which he had secn an infant well
tering in its own blood-murdered because
the mother would not tell it's Christian fa-
theirs hiding place to the enraged Turks.
About five years ago Rev. DR.. Graham, q
missionary of the Scotch Presbyterian
Church, had been literally torn to pieces by
Mohammcdans in the streets of Damascus
and his flesh thrown to the dogs. Other
equally horrible incidents were cited, OF
some of which the speaker had been per-
sonally cognizant.
Having spoken of the suffcrings Of the
eastern Christians in general, DR.. Bcgdan
spoke at length Of the barbarities prac-
ticed by the Turks upon the inhabitants Of
the island of Crete. He contendcd that the
nations Of Europe as well as of America
were, out of regard to the interests of hui
manity, bound to interfere in this unholy
war. The ranks of the Christian troops
were being thinned by the murder Of hum
dreds, while their homes were leEelled with
the ground, and the women and children,
clad in rags, or in most instances in state
of absolute nudity, roamed the island at the
mercy of brutal soldiery. Hundreds of
women had been violated, and as many or
more killed by cruciixion and other barba-
rian means Of execution. He related how,
when discovered in caves in the worship OF
God, they had been shut up to starVe, or
bayonctted MS they rushed out when fires
were built at the mouth; how school OF
fifty scholars was broken up by the Der
wishes and o dagger plunged into the
breasts of the infant pupils; and how thou
sands of starving and naked women and
children were decoyed to the shore with a
promise of food only to receive broad
side into their very midst from o Turkish
man-of-war. These outrages had, however,
attracted the attention of the foreign con-
suls ut Crete, and the English and Ameri-
can Governments have sent mep-of-war to
remove the destitute non-combatants to the
neighboring Christian isles, and it was to
supply these refugees with food that the
speaker was now engaged in raising funds.
He knew what the southern people had suf-
fered by the devastation of war, and was
reluctant to ask their aid, but felt that their
own experience would prompt them to re-
lieve as far as they could those who were
passing through worse ordeal.
When DR.. Bogdan concluded, after some
remarks by Rev. DR.. Curry, the baskets
were passed around, and it is understood
that considerable amount Of money was
paid in cash and subscribed for the aid Of
the Cretans. The audience seemed to be
deeply interested and their sympathies ex-
cited by the address Of DR.. Bogdan, and
his visit to Richmond may be pronounced a
success.
CONSTITUTION OF A CHURCH.--A Baptist
church was constituted in Fulton on Sun