[1] See Missionary Herald, 1865, pp. 380-383.
Mr. Morgan died at Smyrna on the 25th of August, at the age of forty-one. He was from the State of New York, and obtained his education at Hamilton College, and at the Union and Auburn Theological Seminaries. He joined the mission to the Jews at Salonica in 1852. After that mission was relinquished, he removed, in 1856, to Antioch. Seven of the remaining nine years of his life were spent in that place, whence the great Apostle went forth on his first foreign mission; and the last two at Kessab, in a perfectly successful effort to restore unity to a divided church. The failing health of Mrs. Morgan rendered a visit to her native land imperative. Being detained ten days in the malarious atmosphere of Alexandretta by the non-arrival of their expected steamer, Mr. Morgan took the fever. Supposing it to be only an intermittent, they embarked for Marseilles, but on reaching Smyrna he was too ill to proceed farther. There, in a missionary family, he had the best of attendance, and after a week of delirious wanderings, he finished his earthly course, and was laid to rest in the cemetery of the Dutch hospital. His first wife was taken from him at Salonica, his first-born at Antioch, a second child at Bitias, and a third at Kessab; and the father sleeps in Smyrna, his old home.
"Far from thee
Thy kindred and their graves may be,—
And yet it is a blessed sleep,
From which none ever wakes to weep."
Repeated bereavements chastened the strong and decided character of Mr. Morgan. He grew in the grace of patience, and in spirituality and self-abnegation. He was an indefatigable worker, and was fitted to exert, as he did, a commanding influence on the policy of the mission. He soon made himself familiar with the Turkish language, and never wearied of studying its beautiful structure, and wrote some of the best Turkish hymns. The well known hymn,—"Not all the blood of beasts"—he clothed with not a little of the strength and power of the original.[1]
[1] See Missionary Herald, 1865, pp. 383-385.
The year was also signalized by the death of Rev. Hohannes Der Sahagyan, pastor of the church in Nicomedia, and widely known as one of the two young men who first attached themselves to the teaching of the missionaries in Constantinople, also for his consistent piety, earnest zeal, and the severe persecutions which he suffered at different periods, as a follower of the Lord Jesus.
A scene at the ordination of a native pastor at Perchenj, a village two hours from Harpoot, graphically described by Mr. Williams, has its chronological place here. It was in a large garden, with the pulpit under the wide-spreading branches of a mulberry-tree, and mats and carpets spread out in front. "Around the pulpit sat the council,—lay and clerical delegates, representing most of the evangelical ministry in this part of Turkey; then the regular Protestants of Perchenj, Harpoot, and the villages about, to whom it was a 'festa,' as was evident from their dress. Outside these were the partially committed ones, who, though they did not 'dress up' for the occasion, seemed to have taken the day for it; and again, outside that company, were men drawn in by the interest of the occasion from their work, with their field dresses on, tools in hand, leaning on their long handled spades, bending forward to catch question and answer, wholly unconscious of the picturesque finish they gave to the scene.
"In the afternoon exercises, the pastor of Ichme and the pastor of Harpoot took prominent parts. The same was expected also of the pastors from Arabkir and Shapik, but unfortunately they were not present. The sermon was by Mr. Allen, and was moving and effective. It was very difficult to count the audience, at least from where I was. If I could have exchanged places with some of the boys, and hung myself among the mulberries, perhaps I could have succeeded better. Nothing in all the exercises seemed so American as the natural way in which the boys took to the trees. We judged there were, in the forenoon, about seven or eight hundred, and in the afternoon, six or seven hundred. To the last, everything was quiet, and all went off pleasantly. As you know, the community furnish half the pastor's salary from the start."
In October, four months later, there was an ordination of much interest at Cesarea, where the churches in Constantinople, Marsovan, Sivas, and Yozgat were represented. It was in one of the most important centres of influence. Gregory the Illuminator was ordained in Cesarea, and he went forth from that place to his great work of Christianizing the Armenian nation nearly sixteen hundred years ago. There were born the great church teachers of Cappadocia, Basil of Cesarea and his brother Gregory of Nyssa. In the middle of the third century, the bishop of Cesarea protested against the usurpations of the bishop of Rome.
"Wednesday morning the council met and organized. The whole day was given to the examination of the candidate, which was held in the church, and was attended by from two to three hundred persons. The candidate occupied three fourths of an hour with a statement of personal experience and reasons for entering the ministry. This he made in a manner so clear, forcible, and satisfactory, that the council felt the need of asking scarcely a question. To the congregation it was especially impressive, showing how far removed from the religion of forms, to which they have so long been bound, is that faith which works by love. Three hours were then devoted to an examination of his theological views, and he gave unmistakable evidence of being a man accustomed to think for himself,—one who has well-defined opinions, and is prepared to defend them."[1]