From the time of the Ottoman conquest spiritual liberty has been allowed to all creeds in Turkey, and the external observances and ceremonies of religion have, in most places, been permitted by the Moslems, though in some even funeral ceremonies were often molested, and the use of church bells was forbidden. Certain rights and privileges were granted to each church, to which the Christians clung with great tenacity—as to a sacred banner, round which they would one day rally and march to freedom.
By the concessions granted to the vanquished by their conquerors, they were allowed to retain those churches that had escaped destruction or were not converted into mosques, and permitted to worship according to the dictates of their own consciences so long as the sound of their bell calling the infidels to prayer did not offend the ear of the faithful. The internal administration was not interfered with; each congregation was free to choose its own clergy, ornament the interior of its church as it saw fit, perform its pilgrimages and bury its dead, without interference from the authorities. These privileges, though looked upon as sacred by the poor, could not compensate in the sight of the rich and once powerful for social and material losses; thus many Christians renounced their faith and adopted that of their masters.
Time and succeeding events have softened down some of the outstanding wrongs; fanatical outbreaks and religious persecutions have become of less frequent occurrence; and the various Hattis proclaiming freedom of worship and religious equality to all Ottoman subjects before the law, are guarantees that no arbitrary action on the part of the government can interfere with the religious privileges of the Christians, or deprive them of their rights. Though this guarantee is a proof of the sincerity of the Porte in its efforts to give satisfaction to its Christian subjects, it cannot remove the evil or lessen its consequences, which remain in all their force of danger and uncertainty. Every movement of discontent in Turkey receives a strong impulse from that religious zeal which stimulates the Mohammedan to acts of fanatical barbarity, and the Christian to a superstitious belief in miraculous powers that will protect him in the hour of danger. Thus, in times of disturbance the timorous bulk of the population of a town or village will rush to the church for safety, there pouring out mingled prayers and tears to God and all the saints that the threatened danger may be averted. Rarely, it would seem, are such prayers heard, for the first place to which the excited Mussulman rushes is the church, and thither the brigand chief will lead his band, and perpetrate acts of the most revolting barbarity. The armed peasant, the undisciplined soldier, or the cruel and licentious Bashi-Bazouk will all attack the sacred edifice, break it open, and destroy or pollute all that falls into their hands. These are the ever-recurring evils that no Imperial law will be able to prevent, no measures eradicate, so long as the two rival creeds continue to exist face to face, and be used as the principal motives in the struggle, past and present, for supremacy on one side, freedom and independence on the other. The Mussulmans, under pressure, will grant every concession demanded of them, and to a great extent carry them out; but it would be utterly erroneous to suppose for a moment that under any pressure or in any degree of civilization, the Turk would be able to disabuse himself of the deeply-rooted disdain the most liberal-minded of his race feels for strangers to his creed and nation.
The experiences of all thoroughly acquainted with the character of the Ottoman tallies with mine on this point. I have seen the disdain felt by the Mohammedan towards the Christian portrayed on the faces of the most liberal, virtuous, and well-disposed, as well as on those of the most bigoted. A Christian, be he European or Asiatic, is an infidel in the Moslem’s sight. He will receive him graciously, converse with him in the most amicable manner, and at the same time mumble prayers for pardon for his sin in holding communication with an unbeliever.
The religious freedom enjoyed by the members of the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches is far more extensive than that enjoyed by the Eastern. Both, upheld by the powerful support of European powers, enjoy a liberty of action and license of speech rarely found in other countries. Both are aliens and owe their origin to the proselytizing efforts of the missionaries. The Church of Rome, being the older and more enterprising, naturally commands a much vaster field than the Protestant; she is supported by France and other Roman Catholic countries, who jealously watch over her rights and privileges. The Protestants are protected by England and America; their missionaries entered Turkey at a later date and gradually established themselves over the country. At first the extremely reserved attitude of the missionaries, their conscientious method of making converts, and the extreme severity of their regulations, gave them but a poor chance of success. Gradually, however, the esteem and regard of the people for them increased; stringent opposition, promoted by sectarian dissensions, died out, and mission stations, with numerous churches, some of considerable importance and promise, were established, especially in Armenia. The principal cause of the encouragement they met with was the wise policy, lately adopted, of promoting missionary work by education.
The extensive body of Protestant missionaries now found in Turkey is almost entirely American. The meetings of the Board are held in Constantinople; it controls the administration of the different missions and directs the large American College at Bebek—the best foreign institute for education in the country.
When a community of Protestant converts numbers a few families it is given a church and school, and one of the principal men is elected as chief of the society. This person is presented officially to the authorities by one of the consuls of the protecting powers—generally the English; he is recognized as chief of his community, obtains a seat in the local court, and is intrusted with all the interests of his co-religionists. In difficult or complicated cases the missionaries themselves share the responsibilities of this chief, and through consular or ambassadorial agency generally settle all matters calling for redress and justice in a satisfactory manner.
The few English missionaries who are established in Turkey are intrusted with the fruitless task of endeavoring to convert the Jews.
The Roman Catholic missionaries, from the date of the separation of the Eastern and Western Churches, have ever been actively and diligently employed in making converts. Thus a great portion of the population of Syria, yielding to their influence, has become Roman Catholic, as have the Bosnians, a portion of the Albanians, some of the Greeks inhabiting the islands, the Armenians of Constantinople, and of later years a small portion of the Bulgarians. The action of the missionaries of late years has not, however, been so much directed towards making new converts as it has to consolidating and strengthening the tie binding the few scattered communities to the mother-church. This religious body recruits itself chiefly from France and Italy, and consists of priests, monks, and Sisters of Charity, belonging chiefly to the orders of St. Benois, the Jesuits, Lazarists, and St. Vincent de Paul. Their extensive establishments are situated in the Frank quarters of the towns, and consist of well-built and spacious churches, monasteries, schools, orphan asylums, and foundling hospitals. Pera and Galata contain a goodly number of these establishments, as do the principal towns of European and Asiatic Turkey. These missions are evidently well furnished with funds, for their establishments have everywhere a prosperous appearance, and are provided with every requisite for the purposes for which they are intended. The religious instruction given in them is, however, extremely illiberal, bigoted, and imparted on Jesuitical principles. Exclusiveness and intolerance towards other creeds are openly prescribed. “Point de salut hors de l’Eglise” is their doctrine. Considerable laxity is allowed in moral points so long as they do not interfere with the external duties of the community to the church. Should an individual belonging to another creed die among the community, the rite of burial will be refused to him by the Roman Catholic priests, but those of the Orthodox Church will often in that case consent to perform it. Even the marriage ceremony, unless performed in their churches, is considered by the more bigoted portion of the Roman Catholic clergy as not binding. This strange statement was made in my presence before a large gathering of persons belonging to different creeds, by the superior of a Lazarist establishment at A⸺. It was on the occasion of the marriage of two members of the Latin community of that town, when the service was terminated by the following short address to the married couple: “Twice happy are you to belong to the Holy Church of Rome and to be united in the sacred ties of matrimony within her bosom: for in the same manner as there is no hope after life for those who do not belong to her, so marriage is not binding out of her, but every woman who so gives herself is not a legal wife but a concubine!” In many cases the sacrament is refused to ladies united in marriage to persons belonging to other creeds.
The secular teaching given in the schools of these missions is limited, and, based on the same principles as the religion, is illiberal and narrow-minded. Much time is consecrated by the pupils to religious recitations, prayers, and penances of no possible profit to the children. Thus from an early age, imbued with narrow ideas and made to lose sight of the spirit of Christianity, the Roman Catholic communities, be they of European, Greek, or Armenian nationality, are the most bigoted, intolerant, and exclusive of all the Christian communities of the East.