The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1912-10-12
BALKAN WAR
KEPT AFLAME
YR |, /
Opprtssloti or Christians by
Mesiems Real Inciting
Cause Of Trouble -
NATIONS. MH6LvED
-@fN-ANCIENT GRUDGE
GreeE- Oftf0dox Church Tie That
Binas Its Dream of Return
SEToss Of st. Sophia
By hKR.RELIGIoUs RAMBLER.

Hsf&4A-----
s By h,KR.RELIGIoUs RAMBLER.
Thef ets . deeply human side, hui
fman bltAtsg religious, to the present
! troublerfn thu alkans. The neSotia-
! lions of-tner dfpiomatists and the talk
OF NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. obscure the
lfundamental-iasH which has called
ITO arm hnnAreds-of thousands OF men
on both. sidss-of the Turkish frontier.
flour nations. arstwhile rivals, have
lcombined to- make common cause
4 against their ANCIENT foe. the Turk.
/ The exclamation lies In the strength
OF the RELIGIOUS tie. These four ma
lions. 6fsece. Bulgaria. Servia, Mon.
tenegrc,r Are Christian nations, and
| the m1IIv6 tii6t has called them 20
hconflict the inextingutshable fear
and hntfed or their ancient Moslem
oppresBofy rC-bs ignorant of the re-
I liEious factor -in-t the Balkan trouble
4. IL to nsiss.the main highway through
! the sitnatisn. - - .-.....,. D..
Dramatioaliy and curiously. II Is the
call thai. Lad thaSapostle Paul to cross
from Asia into Europe, which has
been needed. by. the four Balkan pow.
ers--' CoWe. over into Macedonia and
help u15l The co-religionists OF these
Chris{Ish have been persecuted to
an insilnerable degree by their Mos
lem r6iefs and neighbors All ap-
peaIs f6f-heip-t0 the promises Of the
Turkiiif~ R0vernment and to the Con-
science VI Schristendom seem to have
failedr Therefore, the neighboring
same +buaneh .of- Christianity as the
persecutsd Macednnians. are Offering
Ths .Grsat- idea
II issimply impossible for west.
erner To- realize he depth and ia.
tensify and pervasiveness OF the re-
ngions motive In near eastern Ire.
In this part OF the. world there 10 no
stats church. and mans religion e
sepaiI frUm- mis- politics.. In the
Levd huwever. religion is-all and
In an thouglr --by,.~peliRion- lis not
mear<4 necessas4ig< aPsssonaI piety-
EVEN ~ adhsres-- to some form %;
relie Idh4 faith,---ln The four naticns
whidR9are- -.nax- turning a Mar-llke
'front.' tnEard Turkey. the Greek ortho-
dox church ia the state religion. Has.
ing this IN common: Bulgarians ald
Greeks. who not many years ago talk |
the Ire That tinds stronger than all-l
considerations -rhn separate. I
: The MAGNITUDE of-the Greek Ortho- |
COX church IL surprising to Amerl- |
cans. who commonly divide Christian
N.Y.. Into Prot estantism and Roman
Gathelicism.-. In the region under dis
ensslon both OF these forms of Chris
uanity are comparatively negligible:
he mighty Greek Orthodox church, !.
which likewise sways the Russian
Empire. and which 70 as truly poll
Heal force as II Is a religion, DOM
mates the people There Is q roman
&c touch 20 tine situation. Tor the Bal II
Kan Christians all dream OF the day
when -cUnstanttnopie, -the capital
which bears the name OF the first
\ christian emperor and. which was
once the capital OF Christian world
empire. shall be wrested from the
Turk ma shall again be Christian
cit Thai ia -perhaps the greatest
81 20 the World is now Moslem
nN @r-the church OF st. Sophia in
tn IIfkahs Hnds pictures OF ST. /
Sd1I|I IN me homes OF the people. II |
{ visIEIfxts tfIefr political aspirations. !
which rules the hearts Of these men: |
idea In found TO be the return OF tho |
cross-ta St-Sophia. which Is now SUR
mountnd hx-A -crescent. -
The Dividing Line Of Religion.
4 Religion regulates life In tho Lee
rnnt; II separates the adherents OF
INHERENT religions In a single city into
L~t~ rltl 49, q hot
bere % q Greek quarter. an Armenian
Uhartef.rand'a Moslem quarter In Con-
Mnntinople. Servants OF different re-
llEfUus often will not work or eat to-
\ gethpr, The Moslem CircassiaBs have
moved from Russia into Turkey In
great Numbers simply because they
want TO be under. the caliph. On
the other hand. the Christians in
Crete are In CONSTANT ferment and
protest because they do not want 20
which favors Moslems and Expresses
Christians. How sharp the dividing
line IL may be seen by the figures
from the powers involved Bulgaria,
which, like the other contending
r,~fFs was once subiec, N Tnrksy
became wholly independent IN 1905 |
LIt VI tOuA three 1
and half million are Christian, and
only half million are Moslem, al !
though The. borders of Bulgaria and !
Turkey march for long distance, !
The Orthodox Greek church Is the !
state religion. Prince Ferdinand him.
eelf IL Roman Catholic. but his !
heirs and SUCCESSORS must be mem !
6ers OF the Greek church. which Il I
governed By synod OF bishops and |
"a exarch. Moslems are exempted |
nom the army In Bulgaria
= A somewhat analagous condition |
cxistg IN Greece, which has a two ana
. half million population. almos,
wholly Christian. King George Il
member OF the Lutheran church bu,
Ms ancceksor, must belong to the
Greek Orthodox faith.
Montenegro has been free from
Turkish rule longer than either
Greece or Bulgaria, and OF It's quarter
M|IIIon Inhabitants more than two |
||1nIfod thousand are orthodox
|fI|I8 while ten thousand are Roman
|&t1o'ice and fourteen thousand Mos
.<o'.. rkieh separated nom rnr