Why Italy is a Mission-Field—Beginning of the Work—Difficulties—Increase of Forces—Growth of Work—Sanguine Expectations
THIS subject will awaken doubts in many minds, and give rise to numerous questions. Why should Italy be a mission-field? Did not Paul preach the gospel there? Did not Christianity flourish vigorously in Italian soil during the early centuries? Has not Italy been prolific of good men, men unsullied in character, invincible in the midst of persecution, and unflinching in the presence of death? Is not Italy the home and headquarters of a great ecclesiastical organization, calling itself par excellence the Christian Church of the world? Are there not in Italy to-day thousands of magnificent churches, hosts of religious teachers? Then why speak of Italy as a mission-field? Because the great mass of the people are really without the Gospel. The pure form of the truth once preached in Rome and other parts of this sunny land has undergone such radical changes since the early centuries that it is no longer the Gospel, but a threefold mixture of Christianity, Judaism and Heathenism. Religion has degenerated into a mere form of Godliness without the power thereof. All attempts at reform, however promising in the beginning, have failed. The spark that began to glow so brightly in the days of Luther, that seemed about to kindle into a brilliant flame destined to bring light and peace to many a troubled soul, was soon crushed and smothered, for those in authority loved darkness rather than light, and desired neither reform nor reformers. The long-continued and fatal supremacy of Romanism has made Italy a needy and most difficult mission-field.
REV. JOHN H. EAGER, ROME, ITALY.
As early as 1850, the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention began to turn its attention to Europe. In 1869, the Board, in its annual report to the Convention, expressed the conviction that a solemn obligation was resting upon Baptists to give a pure gospel to Catholic Europe, and Italy was recommended as probably the best place for a new mission, and as a field in special need of Baptist principles. In the spring of 1870, Rev. W. M. Cote, of Paris, was appointed to take charge of the Italian mission. This was a momentous period in the history of Italy, and marvelous things were about to take place. The great Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church was then in session in Rome, and on July 18th the dogma of Papal Infallibility was proclaimed to the world. A few days later the Franco-Prussian war broke out, and the French troops were withdrawn from Rome, where for years they had been the strong defense of the Pope. Seizing the God-given opportunity, Garibaldi, ever ready for an emergency, again sounded the tocsin of war, and the Italian army marched forth and pitched its tents before the walls of the Eternal City. The siege was brief, for on September 20th the victorious army entered the city amid the cheers and congratulations of the entire population; the Pope, by a popular vote, lost his temporal power, and became the self-imposed prisoner of the Vatican; Rome was proclaimed the permanent capital of Italy, thus making the long-cherished dream of Italian patriots a blessed reality. This victory opened Rome and the whole Italian Peninsula to the preaching of the Gospel, and Christian workers from many quarters hastened to the rescue. Dr. Cote entered the city at once and began his novel work. Tracts were distributed, Bibles and Testaments were sold in large numbers, and hundreds flocked to hear the Gospel. It seemed that the people were about to renounce Romanism and its errors, to become true Bible Christians, and the missionaries fondly hoped that they were on the eve of a great revival. Would that their hopes had been well-founded!
In 1872, Rev. Geo. B. Taylor D. D., of Virginia, was chosen by the Foreign Mission Board as the man best suited to meet the crisis through which the Italian mission was then passing. He brought to his arduous task rare wisdom and patience, and, undaunted by almost insuperable difficulties, conducted the affairs of the mission with much prudence and great self-denial. After several years he succeeded in buying a valuable mission property in Rome, not far from the Pantheon, which gave American Baptists “a local habitation and a name.” The good work was vigorously prosecuted in other parts of Italy, new stations were opened, other Italian evangelists were appointed, new churches were organized, a religious journal was established, and substantial progress was made all along the line.