The Washington times., 1917-03-08
Thousands Have Died HeroicaI-
Iy for Faith at Hands of Turks,
Says Lord Bryce.
LIKE CHRISTIANS OF OLD
Could Have Saved Their Lives
BY Renouncing Their
Religion.
BY yISCOUNT BRYCE.
CFormer British Ambassador to the
United StatesD

United States.l
LONDON, March S.-The slaughter
of between seven and eight hundred
thousand Armenians by the Turks
since the beginning of the war re-
martyrs to Christianity as any of the
early Christians who died in Nero's
arena.
There are today more than a mil
lion Armenians and Syrians starving
10 death in Asia Minor, Syria, the
Russian Caucasus, Persia, and Pales-
tine. The relief work for them in
America is in charge of the American
committee for Armenian and Syrian
relief in New York.
In the history of the early Chris
tian church there are no figures so
glorious, none which have continued
to be so much honored by the church
all through its later days as those
of the martyrs, men and women, who
from the time of Nero down to that
of Diocletian sealed with their blood
the testimony to their faith, with
standing every lure and every threat
in order to preserve their loyalty to
their Lord and Master, Christ.
Thousands Died as Martyrs.
In our own times we have seen this
example of fidelity repeated in the
Turkish empire, and 1t is strange that
the Christians of Europe and America
should not have been more moved by
the examples OF courage AID heroic
devotion which the Armenian Chris
tians have given. OF the seven or
eight hundred thousands OF Armenians
u-h naFfGhRn in VflR
sacres, many thousands have died as
martyrs, by which ] mean they have
died for their Christian faith when
they could have saved their lives by
renouncing IL.
This perhaps has not been realized
even by those who, in Europe or
America. have read OF and been horri-
fed by the wholesale slaughter and
hideous cruelties by which half of
an ancient nation has been eXtermi-
mated. They can hardly understand
how there should be religious persecu-
tion in our time; so let me try to eN-
plain the facts.
1t was not religious fanaticism that
led the present rulers OF Turkey to
seek to root out Christianity. So far
from being fanatics, most OF these
men, though nominally Moham-
medans. have no religion whatever.
Their aim was political. They wanted
to make the whole Turkish empire
Mohammedan in order to make It
uniform. with only one creed and no
difference between one class OF sub
jects and another.
To Eliminate Christianity.
They saw that the Christian part
of the population, suffering under
nj nd rrmaltiaa
tinued to turn its eyes westward and
hope for some redress from the Chris
tian nations: so they determined to
eliminate Christianity altogether.
During these recent massacres,
whenever any Christian would turn
Mohammedan his life was spared. 1t
was only as a Christian that he was
killed. Many a Christian child was
torn from it's parents to be brought
up as a Mussulman. Thousands Of
Armenian Christian girls were sold in
the market or distributed among
Turkish officers. to be imprisoned for
life in Turkish harems and there
forced into Mohammedism. But many
more thousands OF Armenians. women
as we'll as men. were offered their
choice between Christ and Mohammed,
and when they refused Mohammed
were shot or drowned forthwith. For
days together the bodies OF Christian
women who had thus perished were
seen floating down the Euphrates.
Surely the remains of this suffer
ing nation could make no stronger
appeal for pity and help to the Chris
tians of America than they make
through these martyr deaths. Only a
remnant is now left to whom charity
can be extended. 1t is still a sOrely
afflicted remnant.