56 V ie Coming of The Slav Charles Eugene Edwards THE COMING OF THE SLAV BY J CHARLES EUGEN^ EDWARDS Author of "Protestantism in Poland" and "Prayers from Calvin" PHILADELPHIA THE WESTMINSTER PRESS 1921 Copyright, 1921 CHARLES EUGENE EDWARDS Printed in the United States of America. TO MY WIFE f 468914 CONTENTS PAGE Preface 7 Foreword 10 Introduction 13 Chapter I. Historical Aspects 17 Dr. Washburn. Survey. Slav languages. Czechoslo vakia s situation. Need of the gospel. Lord Radstock and Pashkof. The Reformation. Chapter II. Colportage 38 Colportage throughout Slavdom, results, anecdotes. Whittier. History of colportage. Bible societies. The Apocrypha. Chapter III. Early Missions Among Slavs 73 Statements by Drs. Montgomery, McEwan, Losa, Boyce, S. J. Fisher. Chapter IV. Encouragements 91 Mr. Prudky s journeys. Great accessions in Czecho slovakia. President Masaryk. Monthly concert of prayer for missions. American Hussite Society. Supplement 117 Bibliography. Area of Slavdom. Lord s Prayer in three languages. Justification for evangelical missions. Slav periodicals, versions of Scripture. Letters of Drs. Elterich and Hays. Mr. Prudky s journeys continued. Statistics. Comenius, THOMAS GARRIGUE MASARYK President of the Republic of Czechoslovakia PREFACE THE following preface was written during the busy sessions of the Pan-Presbyterian Council at Pittsburgh in September, 1921, by Dr. F. Zilka. He is a professor in the Evangelical Theological Faculty of John Huss in the University of Prague, and was decorated by the Sorbonne of Paris. Rev. J. V. Kovar translated it from the Bohemian; and it is worthy of mention that Mr. Kovar traveled thousands of miles in Siberia with Czechoslovak troops. The writer wishes here to express cordial gratitude for the kindness of Prof. Zilka, and of Mr. Kovar. It is not customary for a foreigner to call the atten tion of the reading public to a book by a native author, and it was only with great hesitation that ^yielded to Dr. Edwards request to write these few sentences. In explanation of this unusual step, and at the same time in justification of it, is the fact that the subject of the book is far more alien to American readers than to myself. To me, as a Slav and a Czech, the matter with which Dr. Edwards is dealing is indeed near, very near to my heart. For this reason, though with some doubts, I consented to violate custom, and as a foreigner address a few words to American readers. Let me say, right at the beginning, that the book of Dr. Edwards bears traces of its American origin; it is specifically American. I think that any Slav would deal with the subject in a different way. But for American readers, and for that matter the English- reading public in general, the American way of grasping the whole problem, the American selection and arrange ment of the material is an advantage, because it takes 7 ;THK CODING OF THE SLAV into account the interest of an American reader, and responds to his requirements. And if Slavic readers will not find in the book everything that they would like to see, no doubt they will appreciate the undeniable fact that Dr. Edwards is the first to draw attention to an important world problem, and to turn toward it the eyes of the other hemisphere in this way and from this standpoint. The interest of Dr. Edwards in the Slav was not awakened by the World War. When eleven years ago I had the pleasure of meeting him, I found that he had already a crystallized understanding of European Slavdom. Dr. Edwards attempt to contribute to the solution of the Slav problem is not therefore, as with some, of a very recent date, and has not been called into existence only by the latest events, through which the Slavs were forced upon the attention both of America and of the rest of the world. It was not the collapse of the Russian front which caused a turn in the war and placed upon the Allies new and heavier tasks, after Russia had greatly helped by stemming the first and strongest and most dangerous impact of the German steam roller in the east, just as France and England did in the west; nor was it the present Bolshevik regime in Russia, and the horrors of famine and pestilence that drew the mind of Dr. Edwards to the distant east. If I am right, it was on one hand a purely scientific interest in unknown nations, and on the other, the practical problem of a polyglot immi gration to the United States, the Slav immigrants numbering millions, that led Dr. Edwards more than ten years ago to write his first publications about Slavs. Since that time his interest in Slavdom has not diminished, but rather increased. This shows that English-speaking readers in general, and Americans in particular, have at hand an outcome of a theoretic as THE COMING OF THE SLAV 9 well as a practical study of this subject. Some portions of this book are the first attempt to throw light upon the Slav problem, and upon its significance for the world at large. It has its own viewpoint, which is evident in the conception and arrangement of the material. In a book of such limited proportions, no one will try to find a solution of all phases of the Slav problem, but I think that none has been overlooked. The book itself is a proof that it does not contain all that Dr. Edwards knows about Slavs. Much will depend upon the reception that this book may receive from its readers, to encourage him to tell more, perhaps from another angle. Let the book speak for itself, for its author, for Slavdom. I desire to call attention to one thing only: the problem of the Slav is not merely a European and Asiatic problem; it is a world problem. Great Britain and America are directly interested, the former by its proximity to Slavdom in Asia, the other because it is a neighbor across the Pacific, which does not divide but unites, is not a barrier as it used to be, but a bridge. At the same time the Slav problem reaches the heart of Europe and dominates the whole of its southeastern portion, a region where three continents meet and many interests intermingle. It is and will be a world problem indeed. I hope that the love and enthusiasm of this dear friend of Slavs, which prompted him to undertake the writing of the book, will be rewarded by a kind reception on the part of the reading public. I further hope that readers will be stimulated to a more thorough study of a question which is inevitably going to be a deeply burning question in the near future. F. ZILKA. Prague, Czechoslovakia. FOREWORD THE World War began with the Slavs, Serbia in the foreground, Russia soon involved. The entire course of it, especially many of its crises, was largely affected by Slav successes or failures. The achievements of th? Czechoslovak army shone more brilliantly by contrast with their dark background, the collapse of Russia. The leading spirit in the organization of that army, and subsequently in the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic of which he is the head, President T. G. Masaryk, emerged as the most popular and successful statesman of Europe. The War was a new revelatior of the Slavs, especially to America. Christian America should appreciate the lesson, and should know the importance of evangelizing Slavdom. The Slav family of nations has generally been omitted from consideration in the great missionary conventions of the past genera tion. If this habit continues, it will seriously impair the grand strategy, as soldiers express it, of the world s evangelization. The logic for evangelizing the vast Slav lands of Europe and Asia, which are neighbors to the bulk of the world s population, is the logic which justifies the Reformation itself, or the same as the arguments for evangelizing Latin America, which were thoroughly demonstrated by the Panama Congress. No Slav land has so many evangelicals as Czecho slovakia. No other is rated so high for intelligence and culture. No other has so intense an admiration for its great Reformer, John Huss. Thus there is "a spark of Protestantism in every Bohemian." A far greater movement than "Los von Rom" ("away from Rome") of some years ago, is progressing in Bohemia 10 GEORGE W. MONTGOMERY, D.D. THE COMING OF THE SLAV 11 and Moravia toward the ideals of Huss and the Hussites. America helped Czechoslovakia to win her present liberty, after a thralldom of centuries. Christian America should now help these seekers after a Saviour to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. No Christians in America have done more for Slavs than the Presbyterians, especially in the work of colportage, which is illustrated in portions of this book. No presbytery has done more for the Slavs in its bounds, also for Czechoslovakia, than Pittsburgh Presbytery, under the guidance of its superintendents, Dr. Vaclav Losa, and the late Dr. George W. Montgomery. Dr. Montgomery s death was a sore bereavement for this cause. Dr. W. L. McEwan, who was instrumental in sending the call to Dr. Losa to begin work for Slavs in this presbytery, has proposed the best method for aiding Czechoslovakia, through the "American Hussite Society" which he organized, and of which he is the first president. Dr. Losa is its corresponding secretary, with his office in the Fulton Building, Pittsburgh. If a multitude of members could be enrolled in this society, this new Hussite movement might not only pervade Czechoslovakia, but Slavdom also. Then, with Slav dom as a base, the evangelization of the world would be hastened. It is the purpose of this book to turn attention to this part of the Christian conquest, and awaken prayer for so glorious a consummation ! Note WE have abundance of books on the evangelization of Latin America and of Latin Europe. There are the three volumes of the Panama Congress, works on Mex ico and South America, some prepared as mission-study class books. There is George Sorrow s "The Bible in Spain," recognized as a classic of English literature. 12 THE COMING OF THE SLAV There are books about the McAll Mission in France, about French Protestants, about Waldensians in Italy, and so on. The population of the Latin world may exceed a hundred and seventy millions; and the world probably has as many millions of Slavs. But precious little has been written about the evangelization of Slavdom; and this work is probably the only book written from a Presbyterian standpoint on the subject. In English we have five words meaning the same thing: Slav, Slavian, Slavic, Slavonic, Slavonian, though the latter may refer to Slavonia, a crownland of Hungary. It is superfluous to add a sixth word, "Slavish," which is a misspelled German word, and also objectionable, as it might be mistaken for "slavish." Slavdom, "the domain or sphere of influence of the Slavs," has equivalent expressions, as "the Slavic nations" or "the Slavonic world." INTRODUCTION MANY Slavs have dreamed of a day when Slav nationalities shall have a greater prominence in the world s affairs than has ever been recorded in history for the Latin or Teutonic races. This hope seemed warranted by the progress of Russia. But Czechoslovakia, from a religious point of view, may hold this key of promise. Survey the vast extent of Slavdom. Note the strategic position of Slav nations, in closer contact with each other, and with the masses of the world s population, than are the widespread Latin nations. Note the advantages in religious work from the similarity of Slav tongues. Then, too, it is easy to perceive that with Bohemia s central situation in Europe, with the intelligence of its people, with its language, having some possibilities of a "world lan guage" in dealing with other Slavs, it could become a power for righteousness and peace, if it is a propagator of the gospel. Russia has been considered a menace to India, the more so if Germany controls its destinies. But if a new Reformation spreads through Czechoslovakia, and onward into Russia, the menace can be changed into a blessing. Every evangelical Slav can testify that Slavdom needs the gospel; and the arguments which prove that the gospel should be given to Latin America are entirely applicable to the Slavs. These are demon strated by conditions prevailing among Russian priests, and by the situation revealed in Russia through the labors of Lord Radstock and his convert, Pashkof. Finally, the history of the Reformation among two Slav peoples, the Bohemians or Czechs, and the Poles, 13 14 THE COMING OF THE SLAV which was stopped only by brute force, massacres, and exile, shows that the modern missionary movement, an expansion of the Reformation, is the hope and promise for all Slavdom. One form of evangelical effort has been applied to all of Slavdom, and among Slavs in America, namely, colportage. Bibles or Testaments were prepared in some Slav languages before the Authorized Version appeared in English. Experiences in such work at Pittsburgh, and by colporteurs of the Presbyterian Board of Publication, illustrate it for America; and the annual reports of the British and Foreign Bible Society furnish anecdotes of it in Slavdom. There is greater hindrance for colportage among Slavs dominated by Rome than among the Greek Orthodox. Not a Slav nation is without its converts and its Bible readers. And everywhere, for instance, among Italian Walden- sians, colporteurs are often pioneers for established missions. A difficulty encountered by colporteurs in Europe is that Catholics, Greek Orthodox, and German Lutherans insist upon having the Apocrypha. Are the great Bible societies right in excluding the Apocrypha from their publications? They certainly are, for the Apocrypha contain ridiculous or hurtful errors; and these facts should be more widely known. American evangelical missions among Slavs are examples for similar enterprises in all Slavdom. For years the Presbyterian roll of Slav workers has been longer than that of any other denomination. This statement should occasion no absurd pride, but pro voke to love and good works. In the Czechoslovak Review, July, 1921, an account is given of Dr. Vincent Pisek s work in New York City where he was ordained and installed pastor of the Jan Hus Presbyterian Church in 1883. In 1887 he induced three theological students to come to America, Drs. Pokorny, Bren, THE COMING OF THE SLAV 15 and Losa, who eventually labored in Bohemian settle ments in western states. This work of theirs has since grown into two presbyteries.* Not in rural communities only, but in cities also, have Bohemian churches been organized; and Presby terians in Chicago, New York City, and Cedar Rapids have erected probably the finest evangelical Bohemian church buildings in America. It has been published that Chicago is the third Bohemian city, next to Vienna and Prague, and the third Polish city, next to Lodz and Warsaw. Suppose it be debated whether it stands second only to Prague as a Bohemian city, and second only to Warsaw as a Polish city. Still for years it has been undeniable that outside of Slavdom there is no greater Slav center than Chicago, and scores of Ameri can towns have Slav colonies. In St. Louis, for years, Rev. George Wales King has interested Presbyterians of that city and also those of adjacent Illinois districts in Slavs, especially Balkan Slavs. He has devoted time and energy to the details of colportage, and in many a bulletin has he advocated all such missionary work. In Dubuque, Iowa, and Bloomfield, New Jersey, the Presbyterian Church has schools, originally German, where for many years Slav instructors and students have been enrolled among other nationalities. Presbyterian Slovak work has been centered in Pennsylvania, its Polish work in Baltimore, its Ruth- enian work in Pittsburgh and some eastern cities. To describe all this fully would be to traverse the ground of the late Dr. McLanahan s book, "Our People of Foreign Speech," or on a smaller scale, the appendix to Dr. Grose s "Aliens or Americans?" This plan * Statistics, 1921: Central West (Bohemian) Presbytery: Min isters, 20. Churches, 21. Communicants, 1939. Infants baptized, 129. Sunday-school members, 1343; Southwest Bohemian Presby tery: Ministers, 9. Churches, 12. Communicants, 479. Infants baptized, 52. S. S. members, 526. 16 THE COMING OF THE SLAV requires a periodical revision, or even a series, like "Sion," the Bohemian Yearbook edited by Dr. Losa. A large space is here given to Pittsburgh Presbytery s work, partly because of its remarkable features and its methods, the same as those of foreign missions, and partly because this book owes much to the cooperation of numerous friends in that region. It is almost unknown to Americans that Bohemian colonies, some having Reformed churches, are found in parts of Russia, also in regions dominated by Poles, and a few in Jugoslavia. Here are possible centers for aggressive missionary work in regions of Slavdom at various distances from Czechoslovakia. The journeys of Mr. Prudky among these settlements are accordingly significant. In Poland are two Reformed synods of Polish churches, with which these Bohemian churches are in correspondence. The overwhelming accessions to evangelical churches in Bohemia and Moravia have had no parallel in Europe for centuries. At such a juncture it greatly aids their cause that the President of their Republic, Thomas G. Masaryk, is one of their number. His apt quotation from the great Bohemian reformer, Comenius, when he addressed the Czecho slovak National Assembly, reveals his spirit. In conclusion, two things are always urged in plans for missionary progress: prayer, and money or its equivalent. Summing up the practical things that American Christians could do for Czechoslovakia, one is to give to it and to Slavdom some place in the topics for the Monthly Concert of Prayer for Missions ; another is to form branches of the "American Hussite Society" which has been created for the purpose of aiding this truly Hussite movement. Chapter I HISTORICAL ASPECTS THE LIVING AGE, in February, 1898, published an article under the caption, "The Coming of the Slav" by Dr. George Washburn, who was at that time president of Robert College, Constantinople. He first gives the substance of an address delivered not long before by a young Slav: "The Latin and Teutonic races have had their day, and they have failed to establish a truly Christian civili zation. They have done great things in the organization of society, in the development of material wealth, in literature, arts, and science, and especially in recog nizing and securing in some degree the rights of the individual man; but they have exalted the material above the spiritual, and made Mammon their god. They have lost the nobler aspirations of youth and are governed now by the sordid calculations of old age. We wait the coming of the Slav to regenerate Europe, establish the principle of universal brotherhood and the Kingdom of Christ on earth." Discussing this he remarks: "If it were the fancy of a single brain it would not be worth noticing; but as it is, in fact, the dream of a hundred million brains in Europe, it has some interest for those who are to be regenerated by the coming of the Slav. Englishmen and Americans used to have such dreams, and some how, without much wisdom or much conscious direction on the part of their rulers, these dreams have got them selves fulfilled in a measure. If we have failed to establish a truly Christian civilization in the world, and have left something for the Slavs to do, it is, per- 17 18 THE COMING OF THE SLAV haps, our fault; but we have certainly done something toward the evolution of society. . . . The Latin races had certainly failed to realize their dreams when the Teutonic races took up the work and put new life into it. If now the Slavs can complete it, so much the better for us and the world, however painful the process may be. The Latin races have lost nothing worth having by our leadership, and if the Slavs arc to bring in a truly Christian civilization and universal brother hood, then Latin, Teuton, and Slav will share alike in all the happy results which must follow. Dr. Wash- burn s conclusion was that "for the present the coming of the Slav means the extension and increase of the political power of Russia." Since that date much water has flowed under Slav bridges. The rise and liberation of Czechoslovakia was a remarkable phenomenon of the War. Without ven turing to prophesy that this event foreshadows a universal Slav advancement, it is certain that for centuries Czechoslovakia has had no such opportunity as that afforded by its new freedom; and that this is of profound significance with reference to its evangeliza tion, together with that of other Slav countries. More over, this evangelization will hasten the same Christian work throughout the world. A glance at maps of continents would show the folly or wrong of any program for world evangelization which omits Slavdom. Europe and Asia contain most of the world s population. Supposing a conqueror to gain the mastery of these two continents, the domination of the world might seem an easy problem. Such visions have fascinated military minds, will probably do so again, and are suggestive for the statesmen of Imman- uel s kingdom. Russian arid Polish dominions, Czecho slovakia, Jugoslavia, and if we note its language, not its racial antecedents, Bulgaria that is Slavdom. In THE COMING OF THE SLAV 19 its sphere of influence, at least, as noted by anxious diplomats, are Japan, Korea or Chosen, Manchuria, China, Tibet, India, Persia, Asia Minor, some other Asiatic countries also being sensitive to Slav power; and in Europe, the Turks, Greeks, Italians, Hungarians, Germans, Scandinavians, and others meet the Slavs in war and peace. England and France were allies of Slavs. This survey of nations aggregates possibly a billion of souls. A hint of danger to the world s peace, also to the cause of evangelical missions, may arouse us to the importance of including Slavdom in any statesmanlike scheme for world evangelization. In the Nineteenth Century, October 1919, page 786, Herr Werner Daya s book, with its subtitle, "Russian Asia as Germany s Economic Peace- Aim" is quoted: "For the first time in history the closing-in naval policy of England, which for centuries has held the mastery of the world by a uniform concentration of all her forces in one direction, will be countered by an equally comprehensive and equally powerful concen tration of an Overland policy." Then, if Germany controls Russian Asia, "we should be able in any future war to sweep down upon India and drive the English out of Asia into the sea." What then would become of the great work of British and American missions in that Indian Empire, built up for genera tions, and ere long to gain, as has been fondly hoped, several millions of converts? America can sympathize with the danger perceived by British statesmen, when they stopped the propaganda of German missionaries in India, and removed them from their fields. Will Germany, approaching India through Slavdom, turn the tables upon Anglo-Saxons, and expel all our mission aries? On the other hand, let America follow Christ, believing that he is Lord of peace and war, and that his 20 THE COMING OF THE SLAV command to seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, will add political advantages to the nations that obey it. Then another and expanded Reformation may, through the grace of God, occur in Slavdom as well as in India. The Reformation defeated the plans and power of those who thought that the dominion of the world was in their hands. Modern evangelical missions have the same doctrines, purpose, methods, and results as those of the Reformation. America is the child of the Reformation, and owes its common schools to John Calvin. Let America be a worker together with God, and while she redoubles her aid for India, let her aid evangelical brethren in Slav dom, whose spiritual ancestors were the first Reformers. Thus a danger will become a victory which will speed the salvation of the world. At^first sight, the great array of publications that con cern Slavdom would indicate that it has no solidarity. History records that Poles have fought Russians. Their churches are different, though their ideas of religion may be much the same, the reverse of evangelical. Serbians fought Bulgarians, though both have Greek Orthodox churches, which are the most numerous in a summary of Slavdom. Greeks themselves have fought Greek Orthodox Slavs. The Greek and Roman churches among Slavs are opposed, excluding each other s members. The unity of Slavdom is further broken by a singular compromise, the Greek Catholic organizations, adhering to the pope but without a Latin ritual, whose married priests have surprised the Irish Catholics in America. In smaller numbers there are Protestant Slavs and Mohammedan Slavs. Some statesmen have feared Pan-Slavism; others, aware of these divisions, see as much diversity of feeling among Slavs as among other Europeans. Yet there is a solidarity, too little understood and of THE COMING OF THE SLAV 21 practical importance, due to the resemblance of Slav languages. A Bohemian can learn to read Polish or Russian in a month. The Slovak language has some grammatical forms more like the tongue of John Huss than the modern Bohemian. There has been no distinct Slovak Bible, and where they were allowed to read it, they have used the famous Kralicka Bohemian Bible. Grammars have been prepared for Croatians and Serbians, who speak the same language, a Croatian page in Roman type, the opposite Serbian page in a modified Russian alphabet. No wonder the Allies approve the experiment of combining them with the Slovenes, in one government of Jugoslavia. The Russian alphabet with modifications is used by Rus sians, Ruthenians, Serbians, Bulgarians, and the Roman alphabet, with diacritical marks, by Bohemians, Slovaks, Poles, Croatians and Slovenes. But, as spoken, this family of tongues has striking resemblances. Their declensions of nouns, their pronouns, prepositions, adverbs, and some common words of their vocabulary, are features of the family likeness. "Mamma, give me a kolatch," a little cake with preserves in the center, is a word universally understood by Slavs. Seton- Watson, states that a Slovak peddler "can wander from Pressburg to Vladivostock without encountering seri ous linguistic difficulties." Take the Gospel of John as a language lesson. Let a Pole hear it read in Bohemian, or a Bohemian hear it in Polish. It is profound in theology, of doctrinal importance, but simple, with many repetitions in vocabulary, having about eight hundred words of common life, a good start for a beginner in any language. With attention the Pole or the Bohemian recognizes so many words of the other s language that he soon comprehends whole paragraphs or chapters. With varying facility, perhaps corresponding to the relative 22 THE COMING OF THE SLAV distance of other Slavs from Czechoslovakia or from Poland, they would comprehend the pronunciation and vocabulary of all other Slav nations. Here is an interesting consequence from these resemblances. In. Russian churches the ritual is recited in "a dead language," and it has been sup posedly as dead as the Latin of the Romish ritual. Cyril and Methodius, the first missionaries among Slavs, used that language of the Russian ritual a millennium ago, a language now no longer spoken. Seemingly contradictory statements about it need not puzzle us. Stupid, inattentive hearers may not com prehend it. Cultured or attentive listeners, hearing it frequently, recognize the words as they would from any other Slav tongue, and, with profound interest in a language made venerable by religious use for centuries, proudly declare that they understand it all. Anglo- Saxon Gospels are also traced to early centuries, and are part of a course in English study; yet it is doubtful if any Englishman could understand them when read as easily as Slavs comprehend their ancient ritual. But there are consequences more practical and important. Dr. V. Losa, a Bohemian, undertook mission work in Pittsburgh Presbytery in 1900. He was in contact from the first with Bohemians, Slovaks, Ruthenians, and other Slavs. All soon understood Bohemian preaching and joined in singing Bohemian hymns. In his prayer meetings, Scriptures were read, verse about, from different Slav versions, as each man preferred, yet this variety of languages made no con fusion, but added interest to the exercise. For years, with growing usefulness, Dr. Losa demonstrated that a well-prepared Bohemian could regard the entire mass of Slavs as his mission field, especially as a body of well-trained helpers from these nationalities, with the divine blessing, was formed to cooperate with him. VACLAV LOSA, D.D. THE COMING OF THE SLAV 23 Let similar methods and evangelical zeal be applied a thousandfold, in ten thousand communities of Slavdom, and an evangelical solidarity, the best in the world, will be created among all Slav nations. Czechoslovakia, about a thousand kilometers long and in places hardly more than a hundred kilometers broad, lies in the heart of Europe, equally distant from the great seas, the Adriatic, the North, and the Baltic. It has four divisions, Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Slovakia, and later, Rusinia, a district of Ruthenian Slavs was added, by request of its people, to the east of Slovakia. The total area is about 56,000 square miles, and the population fourteen millions. It lies athwart the Berlin-Bagdad Railway, an important fact in international relations. Bohemia is supposed to get its name from an ancient Celtic tribe, the Boii, who also gave their name to Bavaria. The native name of the people, the Czechs, is understood to be derived from an ancient ancestor. The country is the westernmost Slav land in Europe, like a wedge between northern and southern Germans, hence a battle ground of the two races for centuries, and long before Huss. It is diamond-shaped, the points coinciding nearly with those of the compass. Its streams generally flow into the Moldau (Vltava), a branch of the Elbe flowing northwestward, a channel for com merce through Saxony. And Bohemian commerce follows the Danube southeastward. If canals connect the Danube with the Elbe, the Oder, and the Vistula, Czechoslovakia will be a center of extensive communi cations; and it hopes for development of water power. Bohemia s area is rich, half of it under cultivation; more than half of Austria s revenue from taxation came from Bohemia. There are mountain walls on three sides, but no distinct ridge toward Moravia, where the people speak the same language, and have 24 THE COMING OF THE SLAV always been associated with Bohemians. The famous Moravian Brethren after emigrating to Germany became Germanized. Brtinn (Brno) is Moravia s capital; and Prague, the capital of Bohemia, was pro nounced by Humboldt the most beautiful inland town of Europe. With the annexation of suburbs, and the influx of population since the armistice, Prague may soon contain more than a million souls and become more attractive to tourists than Vienna or Budapest. Czecho slovakia has minerals, also mineral springs, such as the Karlsbad and Marienbad resorts, and others, some thirty-three places in all, visited annually by hundreds of thousands. Slovakia in its first year of liberty made a rapid advance in education. It had about 5000 teachers in elementary schools; and in grammar, secondary, technical, and university grades, about 600 Czech professors, besides many Slovaks. There were 42 secondary schools, with nearly 4800 pupils. There was a development also in the press and in libraries. Bela Kuhn, in 1919, cruelly invaded Slovakia and over ran a third of the country, which lost a billion crow r ns; but this roused and united the patriotism of all Czechoslovakia. The great need of Slavdom is the gospel. America s polyglot immigration gives her the best of opportuni ties for planting evangelical missions among these people. In free America Bunyan s vision has been fulfilled, and the tyrant, grinning from his cave, has not been able to molest the pilgrims on their way to the Celestial City. The two main groups of this European throng are Latin and Slav. The Slav converts, some times with tears, ask Dr. Losa why America s religious privileges could not be enjoyed in Europe, especially in countries that never had a Reformation. Here are evangelical organizations equipped with everything M n> n> , CW^E: o p. Ililrl THE COMING OF THE SLAV 25 that wealth can buy; surely the gospel cannot be an American monopoly which is not for Slavs. Christian workers soon see how tactless it is to ques tion the sincerity of such people. It is like a question of veracity, which quickly kindles an American s indignation. It does not improve matters to intimate that their former state of superstition of formalism is good enough for their class of immigrants. If such darkness is not good enough for Americans, it is not good for any nationality on earth! True converts become epistles "known and read of all men." He that stole steals no more, but works with his hands that he may have to give to him that needs. Putting away lying, he speaks truth with his neighbor. No longer drunk with wine, he is filled with the Holy Spirit. He knows, too, that his new experience is due to God s power, "according to that working of the strength of his might which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places," the most sublime of illustrations. Not the lapsed only, the apparently susceptible, but the bigoted and fanatic, like Luther himself, may be the subjects of divine grace, should be offered the means of grace, and may become the best of accessions. Slav converts learn how America pours forth increasing millions for the evangelization of all races, in every clime, in every condition. And Slavdom, with its needs, is to them an open book. In normal times they are in unceasing communication with kindred beyond the seas. A Slav obtains that incom parable treasure, the Bible, and writes to a kinsman or friend about it. The destination of that letter may be Prague in Bohemia, or Brno in Moravia. It may be Riga, the Baltic seaport, or Petrograd, or Moscow. It may be Warsaw or Lodz, the great towns of Poland, 26 THE COMING OF THE SLAV or Belgrade, in Balkan regions, or Odessa, the port on the Black Sea, or Tiflis, in the Caucasus, or Vladivos- tock, on the Pacific Ocean. It may be any one of the vast number of Slav communities from the Adriatic to the Pacific. Now show these Slavs the nine volumes of the Edinburgh Conference in 1910 and the three volumes of the Panama Conference in 1916. The wonder grows that Slavdom is omitted, when every logical, doctrinal, strategic reason calls for its inclusion. The Panama Conference was an American victory for missions. In 1900, at the Ecumenical Conference in New York, Latin America was included in the dis cussions; but it was excluded from the Edinburgh Conference, through the opposition of some German societies and of elements in the Anglican Church. They regarded it as nominally Christian. At Edin burgh missionaries from Latin America drew up a defense of their cause. They did not inquire whether dominant churches in these lands are not Christian churches, but affirmed that millions are there without the Word of God and the gospel. The work of societies in the United States and Canada has included missions in Latin and Oriental churches, while British and Continental societies have a narrower basis. The action of these American missionaries led to the Panama Conference; and their arguments lay the same foundation for the evangelization of Slavdom. If the Holy Spirit is poured out, why may not this Slav line of progress become the most rapid and effective of all, and a reenforcement for Christian missions in pagan and Mohammedan lands? Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu wrote three volumes on "The Empire of the Tsars and the Russians," devoting the third volume wholly to the subject of religion. His purpose, like that of most writers on Slavdom, is not THE COMING OF THE SLAV 27 evangelical, yet evangelical -readers may obtain sug gestions from this work. He writes at length on relig ious feeling in Russia, on the Greek Orthodox Church, its usages, its clergy, married and unmarried; of the Schism or Raskol, the various sects not in the national Church, those that have priests, those that do not. Turn to the pages where he describes parochial visitations, where the "priest and deacon, in their vestments, go from house to house to sing an * Alleluia. The moment they enter, they turn to the eikons in the corner, rapidly recite the prayers for the occasion, give the inmate the crucifix to kiss, pocket their money, and go to the next house. . . . The clergy, on such occa sions, frequently become the victims of a fine national quality hospitality. ... So the parish clergy travel, . . . in full canonicals, dispensing blessings, and everywhere receiving in exchange a drink and a few kopeks. The consequences are easily divined. By nightfall there is little left of the priest. . . . Such scenes are naturally not calculated to bring the dissen ters back to the bosom of the Church. I once saw, in Moscow, in a picture gallery belonging to a wealthy raskolnik, a canvas by Perof representing just such a scene. The priest, crucifix in hand, totters along, while the drunken deacon soils the sacred vestments." In contrast we have the volume of "Pastor s Sketches" by the late Dr. Spencer, a Presbyterian pastor of Brooklyn, New York. He gives a touching account of his visits to a skeptical young Irishman, who died a believer in the atonement of Christ, and his interviews with the indifferent or irresolute, to whom he gave the earnest message, "Behold, now is the day of salvation!" Dr. Dalton, of Petrograd, told a story of Lord Radstock s evangelistic labors in that city, and of his convert, Colonel Pashkof, which appeared in the 28 THE COMING OF THE SLAV Catholic Presbyterian of August, 1881. It illustrates the possibilities for gospel work in Slavdom when liberty is assured. Lord Radstock was an adherent of Plymouth Brethrenism, somewhat modified; but the story is not of theological tenets, telling rather how this fisher of men used his net in the service of his Master. He could address his hearers in French and English, with which many of the Russian nobility were familiar, and being a nobleman himself he could approach them on an equal footing. "His first appearance was somewhat strange. He knelt in silent prayer, then invited the audience to join him, as in the very simplest speech he lifted up his heart unto God. He spoke in an ordinary conversa tional tone, regarding those things of which his heart was full. The loose threads of the somewhat vaguely expressed argument were all connected with the ever- recurring topic, the blessedness of those saved by Christ saved now, for the Saviour is ever present and offers salvation to the sinner; and when this salva tion has been truly received, he cannot be lost, for the Good Shepherd watches over his sheep. . . . "The worship of saints, and their supposed inter cession, as maintained in the Russian as well as the Roman Catholic Church, have an evil effect upon the relation of the soul to the Saviour. Worshipers prefer to address saints rather than the Saviour, shrinking in their sinfulness before the majesty of the divine Son; and to this feeling of aversion his future advent as the Judge of the world, adds, as it were a fresh force." Lord Radstock said nothing against the "Orthodox" doctrine on this point; he carefully abstained from any attack upon the Church of the country, and indeed sought to maintain cordial relations with all. At the same time he was able, by the grace of God, to bring the personality of the Saviour, through the warm and THE COMING OF THE SLAV 29 loving way in which he expressed himself, almost into personal communication with the seeking and longing souls whom he addressed. So it came to pass with them, as with the disciples on a certain occasion, "they saw no one, save Jesus only"; the cloudy veil of saints disappeared like the veil of clouds on a morning in spring; they saw before them in their devotions Jesus only, the Light of the world, and felt how graciously he laid his hands upon them, blessed, healed, and comforted them, and forgave their sins. As we are from youth accustomed to such views in evangelical Churches, we do not readily comprehend what a power ful effect is produced when these truths are first brought home to the members of the Greek or the Romish Church. This side of the truth, moreover, is not pre sented and emphasized as it ought to be in the teaching of the evangelical Church. "For weeks, in the highest society, in the circles of the nobility in Petrograd and Moscow, and even in the distant provinces, the most frequently recurring name was that of Lord Radstock. Some were enthusiastically in his favor; some derided the wonderful saint. Some who came to scoff remained to pray. Dr. Dalton then mentions one of these, Colonel Basil Alexandrovitch Pashkof, who was one of the richest men in Russia, who had in youth served in the Guards, and had an early introduction to the highest circles of the aristocracy. When converted by the truth, "he took up the yoke of his Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. The nobility of the man s character was seen in the thoroughness with which, from the begin- ming, he was ready to confess Christ. He soon became the central point of the movement. . . . About this time, Dr. Craig, of the Religious Tract Society, had found his way to Petrograd, desirous of doing some work of usefulness in the Russian capital, on the lines 30 THE COMING OF THE SLAV of the society. The importance of such work was at once discerned by Lord Radstock. The emperor had already permitted the Bible to be circulated in the vernacular language of the country, and it was impor tant that the circulation should be urged forward throughout the whole extent of the vast empire. If, hand in hand with this dissemination of the Scriptures, there could be circulated tracts and publications of a character fitted to counteract the influence of per nicious and revolutionary publications, which had already begun to spread, it was clear that a most important point would be gained." Dr. Dalton then tells how the first meeting of a new association for this purpose met in his house, also the difficulties that were experienced in preparing suit able literature, since mere translations from other languages were often ill adapted to Russian needs. He also describes the Christian activities of the Pashkof circles in hospitals and prisons, giving details of the conversion of a student nihilist, who himself wrote a tract entitled "He Loves Me." Further, he describes Colonel PashkoFs activities as a lay preacher. In droshky stalls and factories, year by year he carried on his work, telling his fellow sinners in plain language of the Saviour he himself had found. He strove to awaken first the consciousness of sin and then to lead them to the Saviour who bestows pardon and peace. "On Sunday evenings the people assembled in PashkoFs own house; and the splendid apartments which were formerly open only to the elite of Russian society for balls now stood open and were filled to overflowing by crowds, mostly belonging to the very lowest orders of society, who desired to hear the good news of salvation, and were moved to tears and supplications for relief from the burden of sin." Sometimes the crowd numbered as many as thirteen or THE COMING OF THE SLAV 31 fourteen hundred. Dr. Dalton met a peasant far in the interior of Finland, who said, "Pashkof has done us much good." He was informed that many Finnish laborers who worked in Petrograd had learned the Russ, and attended the meetings, carrying the same doc trines that they had learned to their distant homes. Dr. Dalton also states how Colonel Pashkof courteously wrote a letter in answer to a request by a Russian Church dignitary, and depicted his own spiritual development, in the heartfelt language of one who has passed from death unto life, "who speaks in the joyful tone of one who cannot wait to know whether his utterances square with ecclesiastical standards or not." The reply by this dignitary, also published, has "the reserved language of one who is accustomed to regulate all his utterances by such standards, and who is unable to conceive that there is any truth which cannot be regulated by them." Dr. Dalton in conclusion says that the Pashkof meetings had been prohibited, and that Pashkof had been requested to travel abroad for a time. He returned unmolested, but his princely halls were no longer crowded by willing hearers of the gospel. His followers were still active in various charities. Dr. Dalton s last sentence is: "The present arrest, however, that has been laid on the work is not to be regarded with dismay; there remains abundant encour agement for the prayer of faith and the patience of hope." In a very different tone M. Leroy-Beaulieu relates some later vicissitudes of this movement: "It would be unjust to look on Pashkovism or Radstockism merely as one of fashion s vagaries. . . . Neither Radstock nor Pashkof claimed that they had invented a new doctrine. They avoided all semblance of dogmatical controversy, merely commenting on the gospel. The success of this drawing-room revival was due princi- 32 THE COMING OF THE SLAV pally to the fact that it answered a spiritual need too long neglected by the Orthodox clergy. Since the priests would not preach, laymen preached in their place. "The Pashkovites are not outside the pale of the Church. They are a living proof of the great latitude which can be enjoyed within her ancient precincts, from the lack of authority on doctrine. For the teaching of these Orthodox Evangelicals is tinged with Protestantism, with Calvinism; it is based on justi fication by faith, wherein it differs from that of Sutayef and others, who declare religion to consist entirely of works. The Radstockists believe them selves to be assured of salvation when they feel inti mately united with the Saviour. Have you Christ? Lord Radstock used to ask each of his hearers; seek and ye shall find. While the English lord could address only society people, Mr. Pashkof extended his apostolic work to the lower classes. He gathered together in his own house all sorts and conditions of men. . . . This was a great novelty for Russia, where the cultured and illiterate were not heretofore in the habit of being served with the same intellectual nourishment. Similar gatherings took place in Moscow and other cities, under the patronage of society women, who took particular pleasure, in their own salons, in seating the footmen behind the masters." He mentions Mr. Pashkofs activity in publications, which were scattered broadcast in thousands of copies as far as the Caucasus, and in Siberia. The narrative continues: "So long as Radstockism was confined to the privileged classes, the government did not pay much attention to it. If there is freedom anywhere in Russia, it is in the drawing room. It was different when the propaganda passed from the dress coat to the sheepskin. The people, with their innate logic, THE COMING OF THE SLAV 33 did not always observe, in their attitude toward the Church and clergy, the deference dictated by good taste which persons drilled in the compromises of society life continued to show them. It happened, so one of Mr. Pashkof s friends told me, that some peasants heard him discourse on the uselessness of ceremonies and observances; and the first thing they did on returning to their izbas was to throw their eikons out of the window. The imperial government then thought it time to institute proceedings against the preaching aristocrats. Mr. Pashkof was sent out of Petrograd and advised to stay on his estates, then invited to travel abroad. Count Korf also had to leave the capital. The society founded by these gentlemen was dissolved in 1884; their press organ, the Evangelical Sunday Paper, was suppressed." It is contrary to the Constitution of the United States, and, thank God, to that of Czechoslovakia, to forbid evangelical assemblies, preaching, teaching, publications, and the formation of evangelical churches, open to all qualified applicants. As it is the purpose of this book to emphasize the significance of liberty in the land of Huss, reference to Bulgaria, and to Jugoslavia, is here omitted, except to mention that the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis sions, also the Methodists, have had missions in Bulgaria, duly reported in their publications. The Great War has spread abroad American ideas, among others, religious liberty, making it easier than before to win friends for that cause. The world never will find the way to safety and progress, until liberty for the gospel is won. No discussion of religion in Slavdom is adequate without mention of its Reformation. Such mention, among evangelical Bohemians, seems to be their irre pressible habit. When they are to describe something 34 THE COMING OF THE SLAV contemporaneous they seem instinctively to begin with Huss or later Reformers. The suppression of their Reformation was a trick of foreign oppressors. The same oppressors tried to suppress their language, their literature, their national spirit. Time was when ninety-five per cent of their Bohemian population was accounted evangelical. Persecutions, massacre, exile, changed this, so that more than ninety-five per cent for a long period has been nonevangelical. Poland, too, had its Reformation, and Reformed churches, as by a miracle, survive in both these Slav lands. Yet there are books or chapters in books about the Reforma tion which entirely omit the Slav Reformation, or barely allude to it. It is like a discussion of the War, which omits mention of any but the western front! At one time it seemed probable that Slav evangelicals would win great masses of Slavdom for the gospel. At one time nearly all the Polish Parliament were Protestants. If Calvin s hopes had been fulfilled, the history of all Slav nations since his day would have been different. His correspondence with Polish and Bohemian evangelicals shows a zeal for the extension of the gospel among these two Slav peoples that should be imitated by his followers to-day. A brief account of the Bohemian Reformation by Dr. W. G. Blaikie, the "Story of the Bohemian Church, was published years ago by the Presbyterian Board of Publication. Its last paragraphs, doubtless the best that could then be written about the needs of Bohemia, are now out of date. As a counterpart the writer prepared an account of the Polish Reformation, "Protestantism in Poland," published by the same Board. He was the more inter ested in the subject from a knowledge of the noble labors of Dr. R. J. Miller, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in promoting the evangelization of Poles, and his efforts to interest United Presbyterians and others in THE COMING OF THE SLAV 85 that work. Dr. Miller has succeeded in obtaining aid from the Presbyterian Board of Publication toward the support of a Polish evangelical paper, Slowa Zywota. On July 6, 1415, John Huss was burned to death by decree of the Council of Constance, and on that date, Bohemians of all creeds or of no creed unite to com memorate his martyrdom. How is it that after five centuries they still seem to worship that hero, and, that as a proverbial consequence, there is "a spark of Protestantism in every Bohemian"? Huss was distinguished as a popular preacher. As a Reformer, he was advancing on the same doctrinal lines as his English predecessor, Wyclif. He opposed the sale of indulgences. He desired the circulation of the Scriptures, and that communicants should partake of the cup as well as the bread, so that to this day, "the Book and the Cup" are symbols of the Reformed Bohemian Church. Huss so evidently loved the gospel that a true Hussite is clearly evangelical, and in fact Hussites were afterwards classed as Calvinists. Huss also cultivated the novelty of congregational singing. But as a patriot his name is endeared to multitudes who care nothing for religious doctrines. In 1409 German influence in the University of Prague gave way to native Bohemians, by a change in the voting. Then thousands of Germans departed and formed the University of Leipsic, while Huss became rector of the University. Huss reformed the spelling of the language, and the diacritical marks of Bohemian or Slovak are due to him, by which c, thus marked, has the sound of ch in church, and s, similarly, is sounded as in shall. His hand is thus seen in the grammar of every modern Bohemian or Slovak sen tence and in the development of the literature. Through centuries of Hapsburg tyranny, the German iron entered the Bohemian soul, so that Huss was 36 THE COMING OF THE SLAV always the ideal of their national aspirations. Cru sades were preached, hosts were assembled from nearly all of Europe to crush this small nation in the Hussite wars, but the genius of the Hussite general, Zizka, who was never defeated, drove them back. His battle hymn is still sung, in Bohemian and English, and is published in a fine illustrated edition of Bohemian folk songs, by Dr. Vincent Pisek, of New York City. Other Hussite hymns are still sung in Bohemian congregations. Wily enemies took advantage of divisions in Bohe mian ranks. The Utraquists, also known as Calix- tines, from the chalice or cup which they demanded for the laity, became the aristocratic party, and the stricter Reform party, the Taborites, became the democratic party, sometimes disastrously conflicting with each other. The destruction of the Taborites ended the Hussite wars. More than a hundred years after the death of Huss, when Luther took part in the famous disputation at Leipsic, he thrilled the audience by daring to criticize the Council of Constance, and by announcing himself in effect a Hussite. On November 8, 1620, the liberties of Bohemia were lost in the battle of the White Mountain, and only restored in part by the edict of Toleration in 1781. For over a hundred and fifty years the Bible could have been read only at the risk of life. Real religious liberty was assured by the triumph of the Allies in 1918, and by the constitu tion of Czechoslovakia, as well as by the character of President T. G. Masaryk, who is of evangelical affiliation. Count Valerian Krasinski in 1838 dedicated his work on the Polish Reformation, "To the Protestants of the British Empire and of the United States, by a Polish Protestant." For fifty years it made rapid advances, and a glance at a map of that time, showing THE COMING OF THE SLAV 37 swarms of evangelical churches in Poland would astonish anyone ignorant of that history. An account of the evangelical schools, printing presses, and Bibles of that period would deepen the impression. In the next fifty years there was a rapid decline. Finally Poland itself, "after a career of degeneracy almost unexampled in the history of the world," disappeared from the map. Again we quote Dr. Dalton, when in 1884 he addressed the Presbyterian Council at Belfast: "It is my deepest conviction, as the result of long years of study, that Poland has been strangled by the Romish Church. Had that noble people remained true to the leading of John Laski, then to the present day had those melancholy words, Finis Poloniae, remained unspoken. If anyone wishes to understand what the audacious man of Rome, with his bodyguard of Jesuits, can make out of a noble country, let him study the history of Poland to the present day, the history of a people that, as few others, offered in its worldly circumstances so many favorable points to a Presbyterian development." Chapter II COLPORTAGE THE form of evangelical effort known as colportage has for a long time, and on a larger scale than any other, been employed throughout the most of Slavdom, and among multitudes in the United States. A col porteur may not always be, as the French word sig nifies, "one who carries" something "on his neck," yet as a servant of Bible or tract societies he is a sort of book agent, needing all the courage, tact, energy, and perseverance that may be associated with that calling. Some western cattlemen have amusingly confounded the word with "cowpuncher." When such w r ork began in Japan, the natives called the colporteur "The-Holy- Book-to-sell-go-about-man." Another beautifully ex pressive term is "Bible messenger." The colporteur is an itinerant, generally a lay missionary. His main function is to distribute books, not specially to hold prayer meetings, start new Sunday schools, begin or organize new missions, or to preach, though on occasion, if qualified, he may do all these things. But if books are not circulated, Bible societies must go out of business. The colporteur promotes the reading of the Word. A good statement of the relative importance of the work is in the Westminster Shorter Catechism: "The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching, of the Word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation." Preachers and missionaries often find colporteurs indis pensable. Volumes might not suffice to tell of the mis- 38 THE COMING OF THE SLAV 39 sions that have originated from the reading of Bibles, by individuals or groups, in widely different parts of the world. It would be unjust to demand either from colporteurs or preachers that they produce some "permanent," showy results in some given time, according to a critic s caprice. We cannot dismiss Christ s rule for his Kingdom, "first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear." The Egyptian boatman casts his grain, his "bread" into the fertile flood of the Nile, "upon the waters," but he does not expect to find it till after "many days." Luther s conversion is usually traced to his reading of the Bible, which he first saw in Latin about the year 1504, when he was twenty years old; while his Reformation dates from 1517, years after. Bible women have accomplished things in Christian work that could not be done by an angel from heaven; but it is best that our colporteurs should be men. They may be required to carry from fifty to seventy pounds of books, under a blazing sky, or through winter s mud and snows and rains. They may walk through lonely forests, or through dangerous city neighbor hoods at night. They are "in journey ings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by" their own "countrymen, in perils by the" heathen, "in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren." Students on vacations may take up this work, men with years of education, or new converts so illiterate that they can barely scrawl their reports. Sometimes the uneducated men make the best salesmen. It would be difficult suddenly to abandon the support of an ordained man, a lady missionary, a mission station. But a colporteur may be supported in one region for a month, transferred to another for three months or a year, on short notice, to renew work whenever new occasions 40 THE COMING OF THE SLAV call for it. "Uncle John Vassar," colporteur of the American Tract Society, said that he was not a shep herd, but a shepherd s dog, to bring the sheep to the shepherd. Colporteurs are scouts of the Church. We can say to a colporteur what Moses said to his friend : "Thou mayest be to us instead of eyes." Colportage is the most flexible, most economical, of all Christian work, and it should be vigorously increased at home and abroad. Colportage, moreover, is a continuous survey, cheaper, more practical, and more evangelistic than any other kind of survey. Colporteurs often are required to pause, for some purely humanitarian errand, in behalf of the sick, the unemployed, the unfortunate, or those who may need an interpreter. The writer was superintendent of colportage for the Young Men s Bible Society of Allegheny County at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1900 and part of 1901. This was the first work of the sort this venerable organization had undertaken among foreigners. Two of the lessons from that experience prove the great usefulness of colportage: First, as never before, the Slav colporteurs revealed in that important center of evangelical churches the accessibility of the Slavs. One day a colporteur re ported that Schoenville, near the city, would be a good place for a mission. The writer called the atten tion of Dr. W. L. McEwan, his former fellow student, to these facts. Dr. McEwan warmly welcomed the idea, began a correspondence, learned the name and recommendations of Rev. V. Losa, then a pastor of a Bohemian Presbyterian Church at Clarkson, Nebraska, and did not rest until the latter was called to begin his mission at Schoenville. Developments made necessary a joint committee of Pittsburgh and Alle gheny Presbyteries and, later, the union of these two WILLIAM L. McEWAN, D.D., LL.D. THE COMING OF THE SLAV 41 presbyteries, mainly for the more effective prosecution of this work among foreigners. These brethren had sturdy minds, and strong local attachments, old and loved traditions, so that it cost a sacrifice of sentiment and convenience to make such changes, all of which began with these colporteurs. Dr. McEwan was an unwearied advocate and leader in the cause, year after year, and the results make up an important part of the achievements of his ministerial career. In 1902 the joint committee of these two presbyteries began colportage. No sales among Slavs had been reported from any part of the United States that were greater than those of the Bible Society at Pittsburgh. But the first year s sales among Slavs by the Presbyterian colporteurs were double those of the local Bible Society for a corresponding period. If colportage is a power for good in the region of Pittsburgh, why not for other regions in this country? With this conviction the writer corresponded with the late Dr. J. A. Worden, with the result that the Pres byterian Board of Publication in the summer of 1902 took up the work, the writer assisting in securing and directing their first colporteur among Slavs, a Bohemian, afterwards ordained as a minister, Rev. Frank Uherka. This work was done in Lehigh Presbytery, beginning at Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. Some years ago the estimate was made that the Presbyterian colportage of the country, including this Board and Pittsburgh Presbytery, exceeded that of the other denominations combined. Boasting is excluded; for no denomination has done all that it should have done for this work. Another result was achieved by Slav colporteurs of the Bible Society in Pittsburgh; they started a move ment among translators across the sea. Bible trans lators have been called "the pioneers of civilization; but the pioneers of pioneers are the colporteurs," and 42 THE COMING OF THE SLAV here is an instance. The colporteurs reported that Lithuanians would not accept the Bibles that were offered to them, as they were in an alphabet that they did not use. Inquiry showed that for many years in Russia there had been no permission to publish any books in the Lithuanian language. Consequently the Lithuanians were more destitute of Scriptures than the Dakota Indians, who have the Bible in their own tongue. The writer had a correspondence with the British and Foreign Bible Society on this subject, especially after he became pastor in 1902 at Shenan- doah, Pennsylvania, which was a Lithuanian strong hold. Questions arose as to the proper style for modern Lithuanian. Copies of Lithuanian newspapers, pub lished in America, in the Roman type used by the mass of Lithuanians to-day, were obtained and sent to London to the "B. F. B. S." And here the writer may be allowed to pay an American s tribute to the officials of that noble Bible Society, for the courtesy of their correspondence, and the patience and perseverance with which they met the problems of a new Bible version. The chief correspondent on such questions was the late Rev. John Sharp, of the Church of Eng land, the editorial superintendent. His successor is Dr. R. Kilgour, a Presbyterian, formerly a missionary in India. At last Russia removed the ban from the publication of Lithuanian Bibles. Colporteurs of the Presbyterian Board of Publication have sold them in America, and thousands of copies have been sold in Europe. At this point some explanations may naturally be made as to Lithuania. Disregarding what some lexi cographers or philologists may say as to the relation between the Lithuanian and the Slavic group of lan guages, the experience of colporteurs is that while Slavs can communicate more or less readily with other Slavs, THE COMING OP THE SLAV 43 they can scarcely understand one word of Lithuanian. Lithuania was once part of Poland, and many Lithu anians speak Polish, and thus communicate with Slav colporteurs. It pleases them that they may claim a high antiquity for their language, since scholars mark the resemblance between the Lithuanian and the venerable Sanskrit of India. But a professor in Oxford, England, objects to the claim that Lithuanian is "the oldest language in Europe," preferring to class it as a "well-preserved language" whose literary monuments are hardly more ancient than the Reformation era. In a survey of Slavdom, waiving questions of linguistic relationship, the practical fact is before us that Lithu ania always did and must have dealings with the Slav group, especially Poles and Russians; that the Great War leaves it recognized as a separate nationality; that it, too, proclaims religious freedom; and that it has interesting Lithuanian Reformed Churches, having knowledge and fellowship with Polish Reformed churches and adherents who are leaders in Lithuanian national affairs. In one of the Lithuanian publications we may see a facsimile letter addressed by John Calvin to their synod. The Reformers are their spiritual ancestry. American Presbyterians should establish regular communications with brethren of our own branch of the Church of Christ, kindred who too long have been obscure to us, who need a helping hand, and who may have inspiring successes to comfort them for centuries of hindrances. Americans would learn many lessons, if they could see the colporteur at his work. One of these men found a group of men at cards, perhaps drinking, and was sa luted with "Oh ! Go away ! We do not want your books !" "Ah!" he answered, "that is not fair! You should give me a hearing ! This book says, Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church. Is that a bad book?" 44 THE COMING OF THE SLAV "Oh, well, maybe it is not such a bad book!" "And this book says" and as soon as possible, the colporteur read the Book, and let it speak for itself. If any asked about the Virgin Mary, he turned to a passage where she is mentioned. If any inquired whether the Book contains any prayers, he read,"Create in me a clean heart, O God." Sometimes colporteurs are asked if the Book tells anything about the sufferings of Christ, and one colporteur said that he sold many a New Testament after reading Matt., ch. 27, the account of the crucifixion. Tears have streamed down the faces of those who hear in their language this story from the gospel. Some of the anecdotes published by Dr. George W. Montgomery in a booklet for Pittsburgh Presbytery are worth repeating: "Shortly after the work among the Slavonic people was begun in Schoenville, in the year 1900, a Bohemian man from Slavonia, Joseph Kujinek, was induced to attend the meetings. The place where our meetings were held was a small, unattractive rented room. Joseph had been a bad character in the Old Country, was often drunk, and his wife suffered greatly at his hands. As soon as he entered our mission he became very much interested in what he heard and hardly three weeks elapsed before he was soundly converted. He asked to be received into membership in the mission. We were very careful about receiving members into the mission, preferring to exercise a watch over them, ofttimes for weeks, that we might make no mistake. But we were obliged to make an exception in the case of this man. His testimony was so earnest and so touching that we admitted him at once to full communion. He stayed with the mission six months and was a most exemplary member. "After six months he returned to his European home i*j; THE COMING OF THE SLAV 45 where he remained. Letters reached us of how tender his meeting with his wife was. She went to the station to meet a drunkard, as she supposed, from whom she expected to suffer more than before, because she had heard that he had joined the "Devil s Church" in America. To her great surprise, however, he not only did not go to the saloon, but when he reached their home he opened a big book (Bible), read a chapter from it, and knelt down and thanked God for a safe return to his home. He read from his Bible every day and was a very tender husband, a thing to which his wife was not used. His wife was so moved after three or four days that she begged him with tears in her eyes to take her over to the same church to which he belonged. The following Sunday they both made a journey of three hours to the nearest Protestant Church where they became members. "Since that time they have lived a happy life in their home though bitterly persecuted for their faith. When Joseph learned that there were Protestants scattered about in the neighborhood, he began to visit them and within half a year he had found about sixty Protestant families. He was eager for meetings, but there was no building anywhere in the neighborhood which could be rented for Protestant use. He therefore bought a little house, made one room out of two, and began to gather the Protestants every Sunday. Within two years this work of one convert grew into a church. "Mr. Medvid, a Ruthenian convert, who a few years ago did not know of the existence of the Holy Book, was converted in Schoenville. Right after his conver sion he lost his job because he would not bribe his bosses any more, he would not go to saloons, and he would not swear. When he applied for work the boss sent him to the church to pray. It was impossible for him to get work hi Schoenville. He therefore moved to 46 THE COMING OF THE SLAV Coraopolis where he got work in an oil refinery. Almost all the workmen there happened to be Protestants and very good men. Before he got this job, however, he walked across the country from Coraopolis to Moon Run. When he was returning it was dark. Three men held him up and demanded money. One of them was a Negro who pointed a revolver in his face, threatening to kill him. This is the characteristic reply Mr. Medvid made to his threat: Money I have none, but as to your killing me I want to say that I am not afraid. My soul cannot be killed. It belongs to God. Such an unusual answer moved the Negro and he said: I had a good Christian mother who taught me to believe in God and obey him, but I went the wrong way. I will not harm you. Here is your watch; go your way; you are safe ." An illustration of the power of the printed page in shaping lives will be found in the following: "In some unknown way a copy of the Krestanske Listy, a paper that is published in Pittsburgh in the Bohemian language and edited by Dr. Losa, super intendent of the presbytery s foreign work, fell into the hands of a Bohemian woman at Raccoon, Pennsyl vania. She, together with her husband and quite a colony of Bohemians, had been living a life of sin and great indifference to religious matters for a number of years. When this paper came into her hands she was so deeply impressed with what she read that she came twenty -eight miles to the city of Pittsburgh to seek Dr. Losa and beg him to teach her more about the way to Godo Her child of seven or eight years accompanied her on this journey. More than two hours of time was spent in the office where she was directed to look to the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. She went away from the office with her face aglow with the new joy that had come to her by faith THE COMING OF THE SLAV 47 in Jesus Christ. She returned to her home and in a short time that entire community became quiet, peace-loving, and orderly." A brief account taken from a publication kindly furnished by the superintendent, J. M. Somerndike, of the work undertaken among Slavs by our Presbyterian Board of Publication may here be sufficient: "The efforts of the Board in behalf of foreign immi grants may rightly be termed "evangelizing" because they are concerned solely with the giving of the evangel or glad tidings to the host of foreigners in America. The Board s work is to sow the seed of the Kingdom, preparing the field for cultivation and harvest. Its efforts are confined to the preparation of evangelical literature in the languages of immigrant peoples and the distribution of such literature, together with the Scriptures, through the work of colporteurs. These colporteurs, who are missionaries in the truest sense, canvass foreign colonies and settlements, especially in the large cities, doing personal work besides gathering information which frequently prepares the way for the establishment of permanent mission stations. "Apart from the preached Word, the most effective means of spreading the gospel, especially among the immigrants, is through the printed page. Who can measure the far-reaching effect of the silent yet forceful messenger of God s truth in the form of a brief tract or leaflet placed in the hands of one who may be seeking the light? "While the Church continues to make liberal use of literature in introducing the gospel into heathen lands, it has been neglected in America, where it is even more urgently needed. The influx of millions of immigrants from southern Europe, speaking strange tongues, found us unprepared. With a very inadequate supply of evangelical literature in foreign languages, and with 48 THE COMING OF THE SLAV only a few Protestant ministers who could speak the languages of these newcomers, the Church found itself well-nigh helpless to convey the message of the gospel to any large numbers. "The Missionary Department of the Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work, with the assistance of other agencies, began to develop for this new immigration a series of tracts and booklets in the same manner as it met the immigrant problem of a generation ago, when the majority of those who came to our shores were from the countries of northern Europe. The Board also saw the necessity of reviving the work of the colporteur, who in former days had rendered such effective service in reaching the Swedes, Norwegians, French, and others who came to America in the earlier immigration. "A class of missionaries concerning whom we hear and read but little, consists of the humble colporteurs, or Bible men, who are taking the gospel to the people of many tongues in the language of their native lands. The colportage system of evangelization has been tried and tested for centuries." An account of the Slav periodicals published by the Presbyterian Board is given in the supplement to this book. In the Russian Empire for a number of years, col porteurs of the B. F. B. S. had special privileges from the Russian Department of Railways in the granting of free passes and for the free carriage of goods, thus saving thousands of pounds for the Society. Steam ship companies on the great Siberian rivers were like wise generous. In one report from Siberia, mention is made of an agent s journey of fifteen hundred miles, first class and free of charge; and that the total weight of Scriptures carried to and from the headquarters of that agency in that year was seventy-six tons. When THE COMING OF THE SLAV 49 the railways were congested during the War, these privileges were withdrawn. The colporteurs accord ingly did not sell so much on trains, but devoted them selves to the towns, especially those that have rail way junctions. In the summer, every year, one of the colporteurs journeyed from Petrograd to the White Sea. Among other places, he would go to the island of the famous Solovetsky Monastery, visited by thousands of pilgrims. He always received a welcome there, sometimes, too, much assistance in his colportage work, as the monks take supplies for the pilgrims. At the Verkolsky Monastery he once met the famous Father John of Kronstadt, who was making a visit. He had tea and dinner with him. "You have for a long time been serving in the Society, my friend," said Father John. "It is a good service one might call it apostolic." "Yes," said he, "I am now in my thirteenth year of service." When Father John s steamer was leaving, the colporteur asked if the former would give him passage with him back to Archangel; Father John at once con sented, and on the voyage spoke to him further about his work as a colporteur, rejoicing at his great success. When questioned about his health the colporteur replied that now, thank God, he was well, but that eighteen months before he had undergone a serious operation. "It is evident," said Father John, "that the Lord still had need of you, as he has brought you back to health and strength." On that journey of six thousand miles, the colpor teur circulated nearly three thousand copies of Scripture. The same colporteur earlier in this tour arrived at Archangel and found difficulty in obtaining a place 50 THE COMING OF THE SLAV to store his stock of Scriptures, of which he had about a thousand rubles worth. He went to the archpriest, and begged him to allow him to keep the books in the cathedral building; his request was granted, thus saving the Society all expense for storage. On another tour he was in a barracks where three hundred workers were quartered. His stock was rapidly exhausted, and one man who took several copies was besieged by the others: "Ivan Petrovitch! For Christ s sake, give me one little book, and I shall always pray for you!" A bookseller in Archangel remarked to him that in the north he supposed sales of Scripture would be small. "On the contrary," said the colporteur, "about a hundred rubles [then ten pounds sterling] a week." The bookseller wondered, for he himself did not sell as many of such books in a year, and asked how the colporteur managed it. "I go everywhere," was the reply, "and wherever there are doors open, there I offer the Scriptures. Here, for instance, in your own street, I have sold twenty-one copies in a drapery establishment and twelve in a grocer s shop. I go to the people, I bring the books under their noses, I tell them the price. I show them that it is the gospel, and urge them to buy that is all." The report adds: "That is all; but there lies in that just the very secret of being a colporteur." A suggestive paragraph in a B. F. B. S. report tells how the men are selected and trained. A colporteur is always admitted on probation for a period of from six to nine months. He has to show what is in him in the way of endurance, physical and moral; the col porteur s life will try a man quite sufficiently in this respect. He must show whether he has the gift of making himself and his vocation acceptable to people of different classes; he must show that he can exercise THE COMING OF THE SLAV 51 practical wisdom in his going to and fro among the people; he must show that he has some idea of the higher nature of his calling as a bearer of the Word of God: "Probationers often fail to attain our standard for admission to the full rank of colporteur. We hesitate sometimes in the case of a man who proves himself to have the salesman s gift but to be apparently devoid of any other qualification associated with the name colpor teur. Yet we have seen such a man at first a mere salesman, though a good one begin in the course of time to be interested in Bible circulation as such, and at last become proud of his calling as a colporteur and devoted to it. On the other hand, we have sometimes to do with good and earnest Christian men whose period of probation has shown them to have no aptitude for colportage." Elsewhere in these reports a col porteur whose reports were lengthy was advised to "write less and sell more." Speaking of objectors, a colporteur remarked that the least dangerous unbelievers are those who discuss Noah s ark, Balaam s ass, and Jonah s whale. Fre quently we find testimonies to the Word of God from surprising sources. On a train in Siberia one passenger exclaimed: "Brothers, those of you who do not possess a copy of this book, or have it in your homes, are not worthy of the name of orthodox Christian. In this book you will find knowledge, grace, and strength to fit you for the battle of life." Several fellow passengers then bought Testaments. On another occasion a soldier stimulated sales in a train by his exhortation: "Comrades, this book is for all the orthodox, and is the Book of books. Come, all who care for religion, and buy a copy!" A colporteur on another train offered books to a group of Kirghiz Tatars, who are Moslems. One of 52 THE COMING OF THE SLAV them could read Russian characters, and taking a copy of the four Gospels, he said: "I will buy the book. I know its contents, and they are good." He advised a Russian peasant sitting opposite to buy a book that he was examining, saying, "In this book you will find capital rules for daily life." The peasant did so, sur prised that a Kirghiz should commend the Scriptures to him. In a Cossack village the priest said to his congrega tion: "Brethren, we have among us to-day a man sent our way with copies of the Scriptures, a colporteur. I hope that in each house a copy of the Word of God may be found. We all have need of this Book." Another Siberian incident encouraged a colporteur. A peasant thanked him for his persuasion to take a New Testament the year before, saying that he was fleeing from sin and believed in Christ. He had had a discussion with a friend, Simon, about the passage in Heb., ch. 11: "Women received their dead by a resurrection: and others . . . that they might ob tain a better resurrection." Simon supposed that there must be two resurrections, but asked his friend to explain it. "I, how can I explain it to thee? * was the reply. "I m no pope [priest], but I ll give thee my idea on the verses. For example, thou and I are sad drunkards, Simon, thieves, swindlers, and revelers; our wives suffer all kinds of unpleasantness. They know no rest, and are always anxious for our return, on which, when we are drunk, we beat them unmercifully. Now all of a sudden, you, Simon, and I, Achim, start coming home sober to our wives, and begin to converse with them about faith and God and the Scriptures, tell them that we are now reformed men, take no part in revels or rogueries, but become honest men, and never touch vodka, or torment our wives. Is not that also, THE COMING OF THE SLAV 53 Simon, a case of returning to our wives, having obtained a resurrection and shaken off sin?" "I do not know," Simon answered, "but I think thou art talking sense, and perhaps there are two resurrections." "Six months have passed since then," said Achim to the colporteur, "but drink has never passed his lips; and this, mind you, is all the result of your selling me that copy of the New Testament." The region east of Lake Baikal is the most difficult section of Siberia, with a sparse and migratory popula tion. Some years ago an order was signed by the commander in chief of the Kazan Military Circuit: 1. Prikaz (i. e., Order) No. 509, December 25, 1912. Hereby is issued an order, to be carried out to the very letter, without any deviation whatever, in all companies and detachments of the regiments, at morn ing prayers to read daily one chapter in succession of the Gospels, in a clear, loud voice, and intelligible manner. The officers of the companies and detachments must select the men who are to read the Gospels, as well as see that this order is fulfilled to the letter, and duly carried out. For information: This order was issued for the Kazan Military Circuit on December 7, 1912, under No. 359. The report adds that if similar orders were every where in force, it would pave the way for colporteurs to gain access to Russian barracks in the Far East. Just before the Holy Synod of the Russian Church passed out of existence, it issued a permit for a reprint of the 1907 edition of the Russian Bible, without the Apocryphal books; and the Synodal Press, before it was declared the property of the State, had the sheets ready for delivery at the end of the year. This edition of twenty-five thousand Bibles came at a time when the stock of Bibles in various languages was exhausted 54 THE COMING OF THE SLAV in Russia, and when, through the breakdown in trans portation, no more could be had. When the railways reopened for a while the B. F. B. S. books were accepted free of charge, as under the old regime. Some anecdotes are given concerning colportage among Ruthenians, or as we may now designate them, Ukrainians. One very successful worker at Breslau said that of all the Slav nationalities passing through that center, these were the most approachable, and most receptive of gospel teaching. Thousands of books sold there find their way to the villages of Austria, and orders sometimes come to this Breslau colporteur from Galicia. So, in the barracks at Prague, a colporteur noted the avidity of Ruthenian soldiers to possess the Scriptures. Poverty was a hindrance in Galicia. In one village a group of men was formed to purchase a Bible as common property; and it was arranged that they should meet alternately in one another s houses for the purpose of Bible study. Often the colporteur was asked to tell stories from the Bible, and he always did so. One little Ruthenian maid bought a Gospel, and later the colporteur found her reading aloud to a crowd of villagers. "Here is the man from whom I bought it," she exclaimed, and in a few minutes he had sold ten more Gospels, a Bible, and several New Testaments. In the Bukowina a saddler informed a colporteur that there were only two complete Bibles, one of which w r as in the hands of the Pope of Rome and the other belonged to the archbishop of Lemberg! In the Bukowina, a colporteur working among Poles and Ruthenians sold a Bible to a Roman Catholic laborer, who said, "I am in perpetual wonder about this book, for there is no book in all the world so suited to all conditions in life, none so suitable for every rank and class." THE COMING OF THE SLAV 55 At a railway station in Russia a Polish soldier recognized and hailed a colporteur who was offering Scriptures to the men who were looking out of the car windows. He had bought a Bible on that very spot, on his way to the Far East, read it constantly, and found in it the way of everlasting life. Then he turned to his comrades and said, "Here, brothers, is the man who sold me the Bible, and counseled me to read it every day." As a consequence, the colporteur there and then sold ten more Polish Bibles. A Polish farmer was found, a man of saintly char acter and life, who had bought a Bible nine years before the colporteur s interview with him. A workman bought a Polish Wujek Bible and went from house to house reading it. This prepared the way, years after ward, for the colporteur who sold copies in that village. In a difficult region, a Polish family was visited that needed a new Bible, since they had been reading their copy for fifteen years. Another family near Cracow had treasured their copy for twenty-five years, resisting the priest in his efforts to obtain it. In Russian Poland a family that had been converted by reading the Bible had much trouble with their priest, who afterwards became friendly and bought a Bible for himself, a rare case. One enthusiastic laborer, a Pole, in East Prussia, treasuring his Bible, declared that when he returned to Austria he would tell his friends of the happiness he had found through believing in Jesus Christ. A curious story was reported from Germany. A young man who bought a Polish Bible was jeered at by his companions and took the Bible back to the colporteur, who entreated in vain that he should keep it. He finally left it on the fence by the roadside. Some time afterwards this worker was accosted by a woman who wanted to see his books. She had found the Bible on the fence, took it home, and as it was in 56 THE COMING OF THE SLAV her language, she would not be parted from it. In the region of Moscow, a man made a special journey to meet a colporteur and get a Polish Bible, as he had seen one in the hands of a fellow villager. Yet with painful monotony yearly instances are given of opposition, intense, organized, from the Polish Catholic priesthood, and in all parts of Poland, Russian, Austrian, or German. A colporteur mentioned a Pole who six years before had bought a Polish Wujek Bible from one of the colporteurs in eastern Germany. He discovered that he was a great sinner, but that he could be saved, not by works but by faith. A priest visited him, took the book from him, and kept it for some time. The Pole went to law and obtained a judg ment against the priest, who had to return the Bible. The priest finally informed the Pole that he had been shut out of the Catholic Church and declared a heretic. In a village not far from the town of Posen a girl was sent to a colporteur with a Testament that her mother had bought, asking him to refund the money. The girl said that her mother had ordered her to throw the book into the fire, because it distinctly stated that Peter had denied our Lord. The news went like wild fire through the village that he was circulating books slandering St. Peter. He complained that he was hunted like a wild beast. The priests visit all families where the colporteur has been, and burn all the books he has sold. They fulminate against him from the pulpit, warn school children of his coming, publish descriptions of him in the press, so that these workers are sometimes in danger of their lives. Even the Wujek, a Catholic version in Polish, is seized and burned. One Bible was taken from a Pole in Galicia to be sent to Rome "for the pope s inspection." He was assured that it might be some years before the pope would send it back. THE COMING OF THE SLAV 57 In Posen the people regard tKe Bible as antagonizing not only the Catholic Church but also the Polish nation. They say, "These are Protestant books, which are meant to steal our religion, after a law has been made to steal our land." The people are in fear of the priests, lest they refuse them the Communion and absolution. On a steamer going from Warsaw to Plotsk, a man asked a colporteur to come with him to a quiet part of the vessel and give him a Bible "inconspicuously." Often men and women who buy a Gospel hide it under a pillow, for fear the priest might burn it. In Posen the colporteur is often regarded as an emissary of Prussia, and is hooted through the streets by the children, or pelted with stones and heavy missiles. Yet encouraging hopes are expressed in one of these reports that the Poles, who are a religious people, will some day be transformed, when they become a Bible- reading people. Some Poles declared to a colporteur that they had lost faith in their priests. The same opposition from a Romish priesthood is seen among Slovenes and Croatians. The question naturally arises as to whether this is because the Bible if known would end their domination. We read of a woodman who bought a Slovenian Testament with eagerness. After finishing work at one place, a col porteur, himself a Slovene, found a man following him through the forest. He had had a copy of the Scriptures which the priest had taken from him. For more than an hour the colporteur talked with him in the forest, and after that Bible class, the Slovene returned, rejoicing in his new copy of the Word. Another Slovene in South Styria asked him whether his books contained anything about the Virgin Mary. It was a lucky thing that he satisfied him, as it was the man s intention otherwise to throw him into a pond. In one place a priest preached against the B. F. B. S., saying 58 THE COMING OF THE SLAV that it was the ruin of the Holy Catholic Church. "This Society offers us its books, but they are poison ous. Many have fallen from the faith through this very Society, whose books teach a different faith than ours." The B. F. B. S. report for 1908 gives an account of the restrictions and delays and some instances of perse cution in colportage work. The situation was intoler able. In some provinces, regions visited by throngs of American tourists, in Upper Austria, the Tyrol, Vorarlberg, and Salzburg, licenses were withheld from the colporteurs. It was a crime to sell a Bible in Vienna ! Yet Rosegger, Austria s greatest novelist, said: "I can never weary, all my life long, of pointing to the gospel. In Austria, where this Book lies fallow, we little dream what lies therein, how it encourages, elevates, and inspires suffering, wrestling, hopeless men. After the day s labor we lie down in our beds, full of care. That which we have sought and wished we have seldom attained, and the morrow sees once more the beginning of the worry and struggle of existence. How would it be, were we to take every evening that immortal book which is called the New Testament, and read a chapter or two aloud in our family circles and speak about what we have read? In this way we should disperse many a dark cloud. We should conquer our lot, instead of being conquered by it." Croatia is rated as a difficult field. Yet a Turk bought a Croatian Bible from a colporteur. A gendarme bought a Croatian Testament. A keeper of a light house ordered a Croatian Bible after the colporteur explained to him that the Bible was a great Light. Another was sold to a burgomaster who borrowed the money for it from a policeman. A young lieutenant said: "You sold a New Testament to one of my men. I have been reading it with great pleasure." Later on he visited the colporteur and bought a Croatian THE COMING OF THE SLAV 59 Bible. A high government official in one of the courts to whom he had brought a Bible held it aloft and said to his friends: "Gentlemen, this is the most important book in the world. It should have its place in every house and be read in every family." By contrast the colporteur s work is easier in Serbia and Bulgaria. A report says: "In Serbia we enjoy perfect freedom to carry on our work. The priests of the Serbian Greek Church are, as a rule, friendly. One priest bought over two hundred New Testaments for the members of his community." Priests tell the colporteur of the altered lives of those of their flock who study the Scriptures; peasants speak of the young men of their villages ceasing to follow ungodly ways since the Bible has been introduced among them. "As a rule, the Serbian loves the Scriptures. In this, he resembles his Russian cousin." Some Serbians said to the Bible man, "We do not want novels, but some thing about Jesus Christ." Another Serb said: "I would not resell my Bible for ten times its price. The money which it costs is as nothing to the treasure it contains." This last incident occurred in the wilds of southern Croatia. On a festival of the Greek Orthodox Church some Serbian young men bought Scriptures for their partners in a dance. The B. F. B. S. in Bulgaria has the northern half of the kingdom as its field, while the American Bible Society works in the southern part. Almost every year, the B. F. B. S. reports work done through the American Methodist Episcopal Mission which had its headquarters at Rustchuk. An officer in Rustchuk said to his men, "Buy this, read it attentively, and you will find it good both for your bodies and your souls." "But sir," said a soldier, "some say it is a Protestant book." 60 THE COMING OF THE SLAV "Yes, it is a Protestant book, because it always protests against sin and wickedness." One aged priest took a New Testament from the hands of the colporteur and held it forth to the assem bled people, saying, "This is the holy gospel, the record of the words of our God and Saviour, Jesus Christ." Then turning to the colporteur he said, "God bless you abundantly, my son, that your work may prosper to the salvation of our beloved nation." A chorister said to a colporteur, "Although I have been singing for years in the Orthodox Church, I found nothing to feed my soul upon, such as I find now in the New Testament." A priest at the Rustchuk railway station said to a Bible man, "You have a blessed lot in being privileged to distribute this Word of Life." Then turning to the bystanders he said, "Every household which does not possess this Book, and read it every day, is not worthy to be called a Christian household." Without giving further instances, we may quote once more: "Everywhere we are met by kind advice and encouragement from those in authority who wish to strengthen the interest of the Bulgarian people in the New Testament." The classic poem in English that portrays the soul of colportage is Whittier s "The Vaudois Teacher." It is well adapted for missionary programs. "O lady fair, these silks of mine are beautiful arid rare The richest web of the Indian loom, which beauty s queen might wear; And my pearls are pure as thy own fair neck, with whose radiant light they vie; I have brought them with me a weary way will my gentle lady buy?" THE COMING OF THE SLAV 61 And the lady smiled on the worn old man through the dark and clustering curls Which veiled her brow as she bent to view his silks and glittering pearls; And she placed their price in the old man s hand, and lightly turned away, But she paused at the wanderer s earnest call "My gentle lady, stay!" "O lady fair, I have yet a gem which a purer luster flings Than the diamond flash of the jeweled crown on the lofty brow of kings A wonderful pearl of exceeding price, whose virtue shall not decay, Whose light shall be as a spell to thee and a blessing on thy way!" The lady glanced at the mirroring steel where her form of grace was seen, Where her eye shone clear, and her dark locks waved their clasping pearls between; "Bring forth thy pearl of exceeding worth, thou traveler gray and old, And name the price of thy precious gem, and my page shall count thy gold." The cloud went off from the pilgrim s brow, as a small and meager book, Unchased with gold or gem of cost, from his folding robe he took! "Here, lady fair, is the pearl of price, may it prove as such to thee! Nay keep thy gold I ask it not, for the W T ord of God is free!" 62 THE COMING OF THE SLAV The hoary traveler went his way, but the gift he left behind Hath had its pure and perfect work on that high-born maiden s mind, And she hath turned from the pride of sin to the lowliness of truth, And given her human heart to God in its beautiful hour of youth ! And she hath left the gray old halls, where an evil faith had power, The courtly knights of her father s train, and the maidens of her bower; And she hath gone to the Vaudois vales by lordly feet untrod, Where the poor and needy of earth are rich in the perfect love of God! A history of colportage could be made a compre hensive affair. We might go back to apostolic days, and refer to the earliest Christian itinerants. Paul asked Timothy to bring with him the "books, especially the parchments." Dr. C. R. Gregory says that it would be difficult to discuss intelligently the question of the spread and general acceptance of the books of the New Testament among the Christians of the various lands and provinces, without referring to the possibilities of travel then and there. He says that a Roman in Greece or Asia Minor or Egypt would have been able to travel as well as most of the Europeans who lived before 1837. At that time many people traveled pretty much all over the world that was then known, which was the Roman Empire. The freight ships of the Mediterranean were not small, and they carried large cargoes of grain with the most punctual regularity. Along the splendid Roman roads Caesar THE COMING OF THE SLAV 63 traveled from Rome to the Rhone in his four-wheeled carriage in about eight days, making seventy-seven miles a day. In his two-wheeled light carriage he made ninety-seven miles a day. An inscription tells of a merchant in Hierapolis who traveled from Asia Minor to Italy seventy-two times. At the Ecumenical Conference in New York in 1900, Canon Edmonds remarked: "From whichever of the great missionary centers we start, from Antioch, from Alexandria, from Carthage, or from Constantinople, the footprints of the translator of the Bible are there. Beautiful are their feet, and their footprints are not only beautiful but indelible." Christian travelers then did the work of the modern colporteur, and spread abroad the ancient Gospels in the original Greek, also in Coptic, in Syriac, and in Latin, thus reaching im portant centers and provinces of the Roman Empire. Later, in more distant regions, even beyond the boun daries of the Romans, they carried Gothic, Anglo- Saxon, or the Slav Scriptures of Cyril and Methodius. The stream of such a history becomes broader when we reach the times of Wyclif, the "morning star of the Reformation." Mrs. Conant speaks of Wyclif s version as "England s first Bible, and for a hundred and thirty years her only one. The great, practical Reformer had not urged through this gigantic task as a mere experiment. He had his eye on a definite, practical result, the means for accomplishing which were in his own hands. . . . He had at command one of the most effective agencies of modern publication. The active, hardy, itinerant preachers whom he had sent out to proclaim by word of mouth glad tidings to the poor now formed a band of colporteurs for the written Word." Dr. Fisher in his history of "The Reformation" says of the Wyclifites or Lollards, "They were not exterminated; but the 64 THE COMING OF THE SLAV principles of Wyclif continued to have adherents in the poor and obscure classes in England, down to the outbreaking of the Protestant movement." Then came the Reformers, who had a vast advantage over their predecessors in the printing press, with its streams of Bibles in the principal tongues of Europe, and an unknown, immortal host of distributors. Dr. Fisher says, again: "In all Protestant lands, the universal diffusion of the Bible . . . has carried into the households, even of the humblest classes, a most effec tive means of mental stimulation and instruction." America may never know how much she owes to colportage. At the time of the organization of the American Bible Society in 1816 it was estimated that in eight states and territories alone there were still seventy -eight thousand families destitute of the Word of life. Samuel J. Mills in his missionary journeys met a man in Illinois who said that he had been trying for ten years to buy a Bible. It was brought home to his heart that this man w r as one thousand miles from any place where a Bible could be printed, and that many people in that wilderness must remain thus destitute to the end of their lives. Eminent patriots, statesmen, educators, were in the convention that organized the American Bible Society in New York City in May, 1816. In his "Centennial History of the American Bible Society," Dr. Henry Otis Dwight says: "One of the great facts of Bible distribution is that multitudes who have never read the Bible are every year persuaded by the colporteurs to read the Book, and are led to yield to its influence for good." The greatest development of colportage the world had seen was during the nineteenth century, through the Bible societies. The British and Foreign Bible Society was organized at the London Tavern in March, 1804, and its "Centennial History" was written by THE COMING OF THE SLAV 65 William Canton. A history of colportage must very largely employ the records of the American Bible Society and the British and Foreign Bible Society. But for a long time the British and Foreign Bible Society had the distinction of being greater than all other Bible societies combined. In its yearly reports of funds expended, workers employed, Scriptures dis tributed, new translations or revisions of translations of Scripture, and languages used, it far surpasses the American Bible Society. Where is the Christian patri otism of America, which can calmly allow so large a part of the world s burden of need thus to rest upon British shoulders? American enthusiasm for its own Bible Society seems feeble and faint in comparison with the powerful organizations, the demonstrations of loyalty and affection, that continually support the British and Foreign Bible Society, which is the greatest colportage agency in the world. In the spring of 1920 it reported at its annual meeting that through col porteurs in the previous year it had placed nearly five and a quarter million volumes in the hands of people speaking hundreds of tongues. This result, which is a quarter of a million greater than in 1918, "appears the more remarkable when we recollect that in central and eastern Europe, as well as in Russia, hardly any of our colporteurs have as yet been able to resume their work since the war." From the monthly magazine of the British and Foreign Bible Society, June 1921, we further quote concerning the 538 versions in the Society s historical table of languages: "Of these, 160 fresh names have been added since the present century began. The list now includes the Bible completed in 135 different forms of speech, and the New Testa ment completed in 126 others." This statement shows us all the kingdoms of the world as the field for col portage. 66 THE COMING OF THE SLAV The report of the British and Foreign Bible Society for 1910 states that in 1909 the Holy Synod of Russia refused to authorize an edition of the Russian Bible without the Apocrypha. Accordingly the Society for years could circulate in Russia only the New Testa ment, or Pentateuch, or Psalms, or other portions, and the report says, "Thus the problem of the Apocrypha meets us at every turn on the Continent of Europe." Between the years 1821 and 1820 a controversy was carried on which resulted in the exclusion of the Apocry pha from all Bibles issued by the British and Foreign Bible Society. At that period the Scottish Bible societies withdrew, later forming the National Bible Society of Scotland. These two Bible societies, also the American Bible Society, agree in this principle and exclude the Apocrypha from their publications. The Jews did not accept the Apocrypha as inspired, and these books are not in Hebrew Bibles. Jesus, also the New Testament writers, freely quoted from or alluded to the Old Testament, but never the Apocrypha. Three forms of the Apocrypha exist, first in the Greek Old Testament of the second century B.C. A legend narrated that it was made by seventy trans lators, hence its name, the Septuagint, from septuaginta, the Latin for "seventy," also its symbol, the "LXX." For hundreds of years this first translation of the Old Testament was the most widely circulated Bible, many Jews using Greek, though the existing copies are from Christian sources. Many leading Fathers of the Church in western Europe, including Augustine him self, never knew Greek. In the fifth century A.D. Jerome, the most learned of ancient translators, finished the Latin Vulgate, and included the Apocrypha, with some changes from those of the "LXX." For flip; Viilxm.te editions omit tlif Third Bonk of THE COMING OF THE SLAV 67 not inspired, and that "it requires the utmost prudence to extract gold from mud." But he placed after Revelation, at the close of the book, III and IV Esdras, and the Prayer of Manasses, which both Catholics and Protestants reject as not canonical. The West minster Confession of Faith, in the first chapter, says, 4 The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of Scripture; and are therefore of no authority in the Church of God, nor are to be any otherwise approved, or made use of, than other human writings." The Council of Trent said, "If anyone receive not, as sacred and canonical, the said books entire with all their parts as they have been used to be read in the Catholic Church, and as they are contained in the old Latin vulgar edition, let him be anathema." Accordingly, we have the list of the LXX; then also, with changes in arrangement and verses (for instance, in Esther) , in the Vulgate editions ; and lastly, in modern Catholic Bibles, as in the English Douay, the list of the Vulgate, but omitting the three above mentioned. Thus we have eleven: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch (including the Epistle of Jeremiah), the two books of the Maccabees, the additions, or "The Rest of ... Esther" and three additions to the book of Daniel, namely, the Song of the Three Holy Children, The History of Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon. There are no Apocrypha for the New Testament, the problem wholly concerning the spurious additions to the Old Testament. The late Dr. B. B. Warfield s explanation of inspira tion was that it is "the fundamental quality of the written Scriptures, by virtue of which they are the Word of God, and are clothed with all the character istics which properly belong to the Word of God. Accordingly, the very words of Scripture are accounted authoritative and not to be broken ; its prophecies 68 THE COMING OF THE SLAV are sure; and its whole contents, historical as well as doctrinal and ethical, not only entirely trustworthy but designedly framed for the spiritual profit of all ages." On the other hand, the reader s attention is invited to passages of the Apocrypha, showing errors of fact and history, errors of doctrine, where falsehood or other crimes are praised, morality based on expedi ency, alms commended as atonement for sin, and approval of prayers for the dead, or to saints. A vast amount of evangelical literature is safer and saner than these writings. In Tobit 1 : 4, 5, we learn that the ten tribes revolted from Judah under Jeroboam in Tobit s youth, making him two hundred and seventy years old at the time of the Assyrian Captivity. But, ch. 14 : 2, he died at the age of a hundred and two years, (or in LXX 14:11, a hundred and fifty -eight years.) An angel, ch. 12 : 15, calls himself Raphael, also one of the cap tives of the tribe of Nephthali, ch. 7 : 3, also ch. 5 : 18, that he is Azarias, son of Ananias, and as Dr. W. H. Green remarks, contrary to all analogy of angels visits, goes on foot with Tobit, three hundred miles. In Judith 1:5, Nebuchadnezzar reigns in Nineveh, whereas Babylon was his capital. Holofernes march was a "most extraordinary zigzag." Joachim or Elia- chim is said to have been the contemporary high priest, "whereas there was no high priest of this name until after the Exile, and then the kingdom of the Medes, ch. 1 : 1, had passed away " The story of Esther begins, ch. 1:3, in the third year of the king s reign, Esther is presented to the king, ch. 2 : 16-21, in the seventh year, but in the Apocryphal addition, ch. 11:2, Mordecai is rewarded in the second year. The cause of Hainan s hatred for Mordecai, ch. 3, is contradicted by the addition, ch. 12 : 6. And, ch. 16 : 10, Hainan is a Macedonian, THE COMING OF THE SLAV 69 v. 14, seeking to transfer the Persian kingdom to the Macedonians. Wisdom claims to have been written by Solomon, ch. 9 : 7, 8, "Thou hast chosen me to be a king. . . . and hast commanded me to build a temple." In ch. 15 : 14, "The enemies of thy people, that hold them in subjection," contradicts I Kings 4 : 20-25, since there was no such subjection in his time. He wrote in Hebrew; but in the LXX ch. 4:2 are words borrowed from Grecian games not in use till long after Solomon s time: "It triumpheth crowned for ever, win ning the reward of undefiled conflicts." See also ch. 10 : 12. There are imaginary additions to the miracles, ch. 16 : 20, 21 : "Thou didst send them from heaven bread . . . agreeing to every taste . . . and serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to every man s likings." So, in the sixteenth and seven teenth chapters are additions to the words of Moses concerning the plagues of Egypt. A wrong significance is given to the priest s dress, "a virtue which was due only to his office and mediation," ch. 18 :24, "for in the long garment was the whole w^orld." Chapter 10 : 4 mentions the murder of Abel as the cause of the Flood. In ch. 14 : 15 idolatry is traced to fathers making images of their dead children, instead of the reason in Rom. 1 : 21, "Their foolish heart was dark ened." There are also quotations, somewhat modified, from Isaiah who lived long after Solomon: ch. 13 : 11 from Isa., ch. 44; ch. 11 : 23 from Isa. 40 : 15; ch. 5 : 18-21 from Isa. 59 : 16, 17. Baruch, a "pious fraud," ch. 1 : 15, quotes the prayer of Daniel from his ninth chapter; and ch. 2 : 11 quotes Neh. 9 : 10, whereas, Nehemiah and Daniel lived in later times than Baruch and Jeremiah. Baruch 1 : 1-3 says that Baruch was in Babylon when Jerusalem was taken, contradicting Jer. 43 : 6, 7, saying that 70 THE COMING OF THE SLAV Jeremiah and Baruch were taken to Egypt. Baruca 1 : 7-10 refers to the Temple as still standing; but the Temple was burned when Jerusalem was capturec . After the Exile, Ezra 1 : 7, Cyrus brought forth and sent back to Jerusalem the vessels which had beei taken by Nebuchadnezzar; Baruch 1 : 8 says they wera sent back in the time of Jeremiah. Baruch 1 : 14 says this book was to be read in the Temple of the Lore , but there is no trace of such a custom among the Jews. The Epistle of Jeremiah inserted in a different plac3 from its position in the LXX, says, Baruch 6 : 2, that the Captivity in Babylon was to be seven generations, though Jeremiah prophesied that it would be seventy years. Of the additions to Daniel, The Song of the Three Children, inserted in the third chapter, is not appro priate to its occasion, which was their deliverance from the fiery furnace; for instance, "O ye ice and snow . . . O whales, and all that mo vein the waters!" Verso 47, of Catholic Bibles adds a statement not warranted by Daniel: that the flame mounted up above the furnace forty and nine cubits. The History of Susanna, ch. 13, vs. 54, 55, 58, 59, quoted by Jerome, has plays upon Greek words in the LXX, demonstrating clearly its Greek origin, whereas Daniel was written mostly in Hebrew, with chapters or passages in Ar amaic. The third of these additions, styled by Saint Jerome, the "fable" of Bel and the Dragon, Dan., ch. 14, opposes the statements of Daniel in several par ticulars. The two books ascribe the hatred of the great men against Daniel to completely different causes; as one writer says, "Both cannot be true; and we are in no difficulty as to which we should give the preference." Historians do not confirm the statement, I Mace., 1:6, 7, as to the death of Alexander. And con cerning the Romans, I Mace. 8 : 16 is incorrect, "And THE COMING OF THE SLAV 71 that they committed their government to one man every year, who ruled over all their country." Anti- ochus dies in Babylonia, I Mace. 6 : 4, 16, but is be headed in Persia, II Mace. 1 : 13, 16, and dies of a plague in the mountains, II Mace. 9 : 28. II Macca bees abounds in fables, for instance, about the sacred fire, ch. 1 : 19, about Jeremiah in Mount Nebo, ch. 2 : 4, and about the apparition that prevented Helio- dorus from invading the sanctity of the Temple, ch. 3 : 25. The LXX in II Mace. 1 : 18 says more plainly than the Vulgate and Catholic Bibles, that Nehemiah built the Temple and the altar, which were built long before he came from Persia, Ezra 3 : 2. Concerning any claim to inspiration, see II Mace. 15 : 39, almost the end of the book, "Here will I make an end, and if I have done well, and as is fitting the story, it is that which I desired: but if slenderly and meanly, it is that which I could attain unto." Calvin in his "Antidote to the Council of Trent" exclaimed, "How very alien this acknowledgement from the majesty of the Holy Spirit!" Also the prologue to Ecclesiasticus : "Wherefore let me entreat you to read it with favour and attention, and to pardon us, where in we may seem ... to come short of some words. . . . For the same things uttered in Hebrew, and translated into another tongue, have not the same force in them." Perplexity arising from the absence of a prophet is alluded to in I Mace. 4 : 46; 9 : 27; 14 : 41. More serious than errors of fact are errors of doctrine. In Tobit the angel s falsehood has been mentioned. Judith, ch. 9 : 13, prays for a blessing upon her false hood: "Do thou strike him by the graces of my lips." By the way, this book is the only evidence in history of the existence of such a place as Bethulia. Judith s conduct is praised. Ch. 15:10-12. In ch. 9, she praises the crime of Simeon, which is con- 72 THE COMING OF THE SLAV demned in Gen., ch. 49. Yet, ch. 11 : 10-13, a breaci of the ceremonial law, is thought a deadly sin. Ii Tobit 6 : 19 the angel advises him to lay the liver of the fish on the fire, that the evil spirit may be driven away; with which we may compare Matt. 17 :21, "This kind goeth not out but by prayer and fast ing." And ch. 12 : 12, the angel as mediator con veyed his prayer to the Lord, contrary to I Tim, 2 : 5, "one mediator." As to alms, Tobit 12 : 9, "Alms delivereth from death, and the same is that whicii purge th away sins, and maketh to find mercy and lifo everlasting." See also ch. 4 : 9-12 and Ecclus. 3 : 33. In Wisdom, it seems that the doctrine of emanation is taught, ch. 7 : 25; also the preexistence of souls, ch. 8 : 19, 20; also, the creation of the world from preexisting matter, ch. 11 :18; and that "the corruptible body presseth down the soul," ch. 9 : 15. Ecclus. 12:5-7, "give not to the ungodly: hold back thy bread, and give it not unto him," differs from the Sermon on the Mount. So also, ch. 33 : 25-30, advising cruelty to slaves, and the expression of hatred, ch. 50 : 27, 28. Its morality is based on expediency, ch. 38 : 16-18, "Let tears fall down over the dead . . . use lamentation, as he is worthy, and that a day or two, lest thou be evil spoken of." Baruch 3 : 4 has been used as a proof text for praying to saints: "Hear now the prayers of the dead Israelites." See also II Mace. 12 : 41-46, "It is therefore a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins," and ch. 15 : 14, the vision of Jeremiah, the dead prophet, praying for Israel. II Mace. 14 : 37-46 commends the suicide of Razias.* These quotations complete a chain of evidence showing errors in all these apocryphal books. * Dr. W. H. Green of Princeton, New Jersey, "General Introduc tion to the Old Testament, The Canon." Chapter III EARLY MISSIONS AMONG SLAVS THE views of Dr. Montgomery as to the principles of missionary work among foreigners are well known among his brethren. His great emphasis was for the gospel and its proclamation. From unpublished por tions of a manuscript that he prepared we have here his statements of the true and only foundation for all this work: "From a forest-clearing, river-trafficking hamlet, Pittsburgh has sprung forward within a century to leadership in the world s great centers, industrially, commercially, educationally, and religiously. The question of what she may be in the future, and what her influence on the world will be, will depend upon whether her citizens have the courage, at any cost to themselves, to maintain for themselves and transmit to their children the heritage of faith in and devotion to the God of their fathers, by the dissemination of the teachings of an open Bible; against such the gates of hell shall not prevail." He adds his conviction that the people have such courage, and that the thing will be done. He further discusses the obligation of the Church: " As the Father hath sent me into the world, even so send I you, was spoken to the Church, and nothing short of a full surrender and a complete dedication on the part of the Church can possibly please him who gave the commission while he himself stood within the shadow of Calvary. The whole life and purpose of the Son of God in this world was an interpretation of the character of God and a manifestation of the 73 74 THE COMING OF THE SLAV immeasurable love of God for the human race and r. revelation of the unspeakable hatred of God for sii which is the curse of that race. When Christ came intc > the world it was because God so loved the world, thai he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believetl in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. . . It is therefore clearly the business of the Church to inter pret to the whole world the character and purpose of Christ, as it was his business to interpret the heart of God the Father. Go . . . make disciples of al nations this is the commission. It is not difficult oi interpretation. There is no ambiguity here. "The field is white already unto harvest. No such opportunity was ever before given to any nation as is given to the Church now in the United States of Amer ica. If to the stranger within our gates is given the helping hand as he comes with the hand of help, if the nations of the world mingling in the toil of American industry learn not to hate one another, if old mis understandings which have caused bloodshed and bitterness may be corrected, if somehow there may come out of the melting pot a flow of humanity that has been freed from dross and superstition, if the blight of centuries of spiritual tyranny and priestcraft can be cured by the illumination of the intellect and the regeneration of the soul, then will American liberty be secure, and eastern and southern Europe will be aroused to greater and better things through the return of their sons, who in America, like Onesimus with Paul at Rome, have come back in newness of life and purpose to enrich the homeland in that which is worth far more than gold." A few years prior to the establishment of Presby terian work among Slavs in western Pennsylvania, missions had been begun among the French and Italians in Pittsburgh and Allegheny Presbyteries. History THE COMING OF THE SLAV 75 must here record the labors of a faithful man of God, Rev. John Launitz, for many years pastor in Alle gheny of the German Presbyterian Church, who could also preach in English, French, and Italian. Slavs in the Pittsburgh region outnumber French and Italians combined. From the time that Slav evangelization was first suggested here, Dr. W. L. McEwan, pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, was its leader and champion. If docu mentary evidence of this were desired, it might be seen in two of his published discourses, the first being an address before the Presbyterian Synod of Pennsyl vania, October, 1902. Here he describes the nature and the needs of the newer immigration: "The first diffi culty that confronted us in our efforts was the lack of qualified men to w^ork among these people. It is hardly possible to secure from the old country Protes tant ministers to undertake unorganized mission work. After much correspondence [doubtless largely conducted by Dr. McEwan himself] we were able to secure Rev. V. Losa, to whose wisdom, spirituality, tact, and earnestness we are indebted largely for the progress that has been made. ... It was wuth great difficulty he was induced to leave a settled, comfortable pas torate in Nebraska to begin a work among the thou sands of people single-handed, as far as human help was concerned, and with no possible introduction to those among whom he was to work.* He then quotes Dr. Losa s own account of his method of work as he began at Schoenville, a short distance from Coraopolis, near Pittsburgh: "At first my work consisted of visiting only. I announced services at once, but for several weeks I had no audience. I saw plainly that my work must be personal. When I noticed that I was welcome in a house, I revisited it again and again, and prolonged my 76 THE COMING OF THE SLAV visits. I read and explained the Scriptures to those who would listen, and thus interested them in the Word of God. Soon they began to read the Bible then- selves, and ask questions on my next visit. My visits lasted often three hours at a time. In a few months four of the men gave their hearts to Christ. Others were reached in the same way. Very soon after I started my work I made it a point to visit the hospit.il once a week. There was often a Slav among the inmates. Once I met a young man in the hospital, part of whose hand was amputated. He was filled with joy when he learned that I was a Protestant clergyman. He purchased a Bible at once and read it daily. I followed this young man from the hospital to his place of boarding, and to-day we have about ten young men in one mission reached through this hospital patient. I am thoroughly convinced that it requires a steady perseverance with individuals to be successful in this work, and, of course, a man unable to speak their language cannot do the work. "The English mission in the town, before I came there, was utterly inadequate. There is another point I emphasize. As soon as a man was converted, I con vinced him that it was his duty to bring others to Christ, and taught him the different ways in which he might hope to do this: First, to live an exemplary Christian life; second, not to lose an opportunity to give his per sonal testimony to the power of Christ to save; third, to distribute tracts and take an order for a Bible whenever anyone inquired for it. In this way, of course, I was helped immensely, and when other duties came to me and I was unable to make so many and so long visits, there were substitutes at work among the con verts. In the summer of 1901 our audiences were so large that crowds were standing on the street. Ever since, our quarters have been filled with regular attend- THE COMING OF THE SLAV 77 ants. If many of the regular attendants had not moved away during the last eighteen months, I would have been very much embarrassed as to how to shelter them, as our little room is packed when forty members are present. Sometimes when we had fifty present some had to be placed in the adjoining kitchen. "Our converts come from Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed people. The plain est preaching of the simple gospel will reach these people. It must be taken for granted when you address them that they do not know even the alphabet of Christianity, and when they are converted they will tell you that you were right. Protestant or not Protestant, they are spiritually dead, ignorant of the fundamental Christian doctrines and full of super stition. I consider it a great mistake to gather the nominal Protestants, irrespective of their spiritual con dition, into a church. Sometimes this is done with a view of teaching them to live better lives, when already they are in the full communion of the Church, but repeatedly this method has proved to be a failure. There are many obstacles and hindrances in this work. The people do not care for you at first, and many of them become your enemies and hate you when you begin to teach them to abandon their vices. Then priests and nuns try to neutralize your work. Beer and whiskey men see an enemy in you, and multiply their efforts to make the people drink heavily; but against all these and other hindrances stands the ever-powerful gospel. It requires that one firmly believe that God means what he says, and that he will fulfill his promises. Had I not believed this most sincerely and firmly when I started this work I would have abandoned it before I began it. From the human standpoint it was just as the physician in Schoenville told me upon my arrival. He said, You had better go 78 THE COMING OF THE SLAV back to Nebraska, as the obstacles are insurmountable here. Now three of my young men, two of whom have been employed for months as colporteurs, are in school with a view of being educated as missionaries." Dr. McEwan states that "during the year of 1902 six young men, converts under the preaching of Mr. Losa, have been employed as colporteurs and their work has been remarkably successful. With their help and the help of the woman missionary, Mr. Losa has started and is carrying on five Sunday schools about Schoenville. Cottage prayer meetings are also held, as well as the regular prayer meetings and the two church services. A suitable building for the work at Schoenville is now under construction, w T hich will be provided with classrooms, night-school rooms, bathrooms, and an am ple auditorium seating 250 people." His later discourse, published in 1906, shows progress in the work. His text was Num. 15 : 16: "One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you." "The American govern ment has one law and one manner for its citizens and the strangers that sojourn among them. The American public-school system receives the children of every nationality, only requiring that they be able to speak enough English to understand and recite. It is to the credit of these people, and by the mercy of God, rather than by our own wisdom and provision, that there are as yet so few breaches of the law and so little to cause us apprehension. Many of them will learn to love this new country of freedom. . . . There are others who form organizations to keep up their alle giance to the land from which they came, and who have no appreciation of the blessings they receive here. It is a problem for all statesmen and all patriots and all educators, and for every citizen." He here speaks of three ministers laboring among THE COMING OF THE SLAV 79 the Slavs, of a membership of 130 in the mother church at Schoenville, of nine young men from its ranks who were studying for the ministry, of ten women mission aries working in nine different schools; and he gives facts about the colporteurs, some of whom from time to time had been lent to other presbyteries. All this work was then under the " Joint Committee of the Presby teries of Pittsburgh and Allegheny." In 1904 a Pres byterian Missionary Training School was begun, where young women of various nationalities could be pre pared to do mission work among their own people. Dr. McEwan had pleaded for this. He now reports, "A suitable building in Allegheny has been leased; a qualified matron is in charge." Finally he makes this appeal : "It is enough to break the hearts of those who are familiar with the great needs, and who see the open doors that constitute providential calls, to attempt to carry on this work with the inade quate support that is provided. The feeling is constant that if only the facts could be put before the Christian people who have means, the responses would make the funds to be multiplied. In the name of common humanity we can make our appeal for these people whose physical surroundings are incompatible with health and morality. In the name of patriotism we can appeal that these people be educated into the responsibility of citizenship, and that the great Chris tian institutions of the civilization which we enjoy may not be broken down by the sheer weight of igno rance and alienage. In the name of your own safety and security we can appeal for help for these people. Now, by reason of the prosperity and activity in indus trial life, they are kept busy and measurably con tented. If some time of depression and idleness should come, unless they are educated and Christianized, it does not require the eye of a prophet or the spirit of a 80 THE COMING OF THE SLAV pessimist to foresee incalculable dangers. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose salvation is for all men, who came into this world "to seek and to save that which is lost," who shed his blood for the remission of sins, who commanded us to preach the gospel to every creature, we can appeal to you to help these poor and needy souls. It is difficult to see how a stronger appeal could be made to a Christian than to let the bare facts concerning the number and the needs of these people speak for themselves." One striking fact in the history of this Schoenville Mission throws a flood of light on the evangelical purpose of all this work. When the building that Dr. McEwan mentions was planned, one patron contrib uted sixteen hundred dollars to include a swimming pool. The time of the workers was more and more absorbed in the spiritual part of their routine, in prayer meetings, in Bible classes, and the like. This swimming pool then became a distraction and a burden. At last they abandoned the care of it, and closed it up. More power to such institutions ! Many chapters could be written of very different management in other institutions which ask the help of Christian men, where the physical, the recreational, has crowded out the higher, the spiritual work; where the swimming pool has eclipsed, or rather submerged, the prayer meeting; where young foreigners may learn to dance or to play billiards, but are not led to the Bible class. The story of the way in which the Training School was transferred to Coraopolis should be remembered. At the beginning of his work, it was necessary for Dr. Losa to choose a residence in Coraopolis, no suitable 1 house being available at Schoenville. Scarcely any foreigners were there, but gradually some servant girls and day laborers, Slavs, began to locate there, and -Dr. Losa succeeded in gathering them for regular THE COMING OF THE SLAV 81 prayer meetings. Mrs. Losa, herself an experienced missionary, rendered invaluable assistance. At one of these prayer meetings some asked why they might not have a church building of their own in Coraopolis, instead of going for such services to Schoenville. Dr. Losa explained that the people of the presbytery were contributing more than before to missions, and would not be likely to add this project until the people did something for themselves. They requested him to draw up a subscription paper. About thirty were pres ent, day laborers and servant girls almost exclusively; and scarcely one subscribed less than twenty to twenty- five dollars, or several hundred dollars in all. This again aroused Dr. McEwan, who soon added to the amount. Some lots were purchased in Coraopolis, but in 1908 a building formerly used as a sanatorium became available for the Training School. This was purchased and used for some time for church services, and also as a school. The first payment for this property was accomplished through the sale of the lots, which had been a result of the prayer meeting and the Slav sub scriptions. At a later time, the presbytery built a fine church at another corner of the lot, and secured next to it a residence for Dr. Losa. One great evangelical purpose has been clearly marked from the beginning in this work among for eigners. That purpose, as stated very simply by Dr. Losa, is "to bring people to Christ." This purpose dominates the details of every department or phase of work. In a sewing class the sewing lesson is preceded by devotional exercises, and the Scripture has more emphasis than the other instruction. In 1920, Rev. Frank Svacha acted as a field secretary, and his reports show this same spirit. His use of the stereopticon was admirable; but whether it was used to illustrate Christ s "Last Week" or the life of Washington, the gospel was 82 THE COMING OF THE SLAV in evidence. His report on "The Devotional Spirit of Our Vacation Bible Schools" says: "At the very beginning of our devotional service there must be an atmosphere of worship. Let us realize that it is the quiet hour with God, that shall be the very best founda tion for the morning session of our school. If that is attained, then under its influence the work that follows becomes a pleasure. The sweet influence of the Spirit of God dwells in the soul and gives both the teacher and pupil the patience, perseverance, and faithfulness that are so much needed to make the work successful." The pages that recount his numerous visits among the missions, ascertaining their condition and progress, are incidental proof that the only Americanization that is worthy of such a name is Christian Americanization. The program and exhibit planned by the superin tendents, Drs. Montgomery and Losa, for the session of Pittsburgh Presbytery in November, 1920, seemed like a climax for their twenty years of evangelical work among Slavs. It was held, only a few weeks before Dr. Montgomery s death, in the main auditorium of the First Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in the adjoining room there were interesting photo graphs with legends as to phases of the work, also a display of Scriptures and Christian literature in the languages used by the colporteurs and an exhibit of needlework. The program lasted about two hours, was instructive, convincing, and had much variety, There were recitations by children from the missions, speeches by missionaries of different nationalities, music in chorus by pupils of the Training School at Coraopolis, and singing in English, though some of the participants had arrived in this country from Czechoslovakia only a few weeks before. One hymn was sung by the throng of workers in ten languages. The superintendents made addresses. Dr. Mont- THE COMING OF THE SLAV 83 gomery s was not committed to writing and therefore cannot be reproduced. From Dr. Losa s notes we have the following: "Twenty years ago Pittsburgh Presbytery decided to try an experiment. Among a hundred thousand foreigners they had two little missions, Italian and French. They then called from the West a man who was inexperienced in the many-sided problem of beliefs, languages, and customs, but willing and devoted to this cause. Difficulties in the initial stages of this work were such that it is a wonder that it did not die in its infancy. And the credit for the survival of this child belongs to another man of this presbytery who in the providence of God was its most gentle nurse. Of course, you know that I refer to Dr. William L. McEwan, who will always be lovingly remembered by the first little groups of workers of twelve, fifteen, and twenty years ago." Dr. Losa also complimented the committees, "committees that cannot be matched in the United States: First, the Home Missions Com mittee of the Presbytery of Pittsburgh; second, the Joint Committee of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Presby teries, that followed; third, the trustees of Pittsburgh Presbytery, who have for their executive officer a man (Dr. Montgomery) who has not only a rare knowledge of the field, and wisdom and tact in using this knowledge, but also a genuine love toward these immense masses of future United States citizens, and toward the workers. And here lies the secret of the success and all the rest of the credit for any success in this work belongs to these faithful and untiring workers of many nationalities that stand before you to-day, and the converts that do not stand before you. . . . You must read between the lines to comprehend fully what has been done. That some fifteen hundred actual members were received, twenty ministers 84 THE COMING OF THE SLAV ordained, twenty girls became missionaries, fifteen men became colporteurs, thousands of children were gath ered in Sabbath schools those figures will give you only an incomplete idea of the whole work. Also, the thirty thousand dollars worth of Bibles, New Testa ments, and religious books sold, and millions of pages of tracts distributed, will not tell you the full story of your colporteur s w r ork. You would have to read between the lines about thousands of souls who were influenced by your missionaries and missions, about hundreds of converts who exerted a wholesome influence in their native countries, and some who started congre gations in Italy, Jugoslavia, and other places, to appreciate the work. . . . You would have to follow your missionaries from door to door and live through the experience of having the doors slammed in your face, of being ejected from some houses, of having promises to come to the meeting or to send the children to the Sabbath school, ninety -five per cent of which are never fulfilled, to appreciate the heroic spirit of your workers. "And you would have to enter the closed rooms of your missionaries and see their tears, the pessimism that slyly but persistently enters their hearts, and would surely destroy their usefulness and chase them away from their work if it were not for the new strength, new enthusiasm, that fills their hearts again after a fervent prayer that is poured out often in agony. You would have to meet some of the converts and hear the story from their own lips to realize fully that this kind of work done in this way and by these men and women, foreign-born or of foreign parentage, is the only kind that lays the right foundation for pure and true Americanism; and you would realize also the folly of the other kind of work that is so much emphasized to-day, and that goes only halfway, and the minor half THE COMING OF THE SLAV 85 at that just to the mind and head, but not to the heart and spirit. These exhibits will prove to you that we go the whole way and that the final goal is never lost sight of." Then he discussed their periodical literature, and if the life of the American people is to be gauged by what they read, especially on Sunday, "what shall we say of the foreigners who have no religious papers, and whose secular papers are far below those of Americans in spiritual respects, papers that write only sneeringly of religion and faith in Christ? Brethren, the letters that come to the editors of the papers published by the Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work under your supervision would convince you that these papers that are weekly visitors to thousands of foreign families are bringing untold blessings to them, and save many of them, hundreds of individuals, from infidelity. "Do we make and have w r e made any mistakes? The speaker confesses that he learned more from his mistakes than from his professors and books. Each mistake, rightly viewed, was a great asset to him for future work." Finally he appealed for the workers, that the brethren would be patient with them, encourage them, and not let them suffer financially. The presbytery always has taken good care of them; yet none must suppose that any of them are living in luxury! It was a pleasure to Dr. Montgomery to read a number of letters testifying to appreciation of this exhibit. One of these was from Dr. Isaac Boyce, as follows, dated, from Allison Park, Pennsylvania, November 26, 1920: "It was my privilege to be present in the meeting of the Presbytery of Pittsburgh on November 9, and to note and study carefully the exhibit of the foreign- mission work under your superin tendency; and I feel that it is but just to give you my personal appreciation 86 THE COMING OF THE SLAV of the work being carried forward in the region of Pittsburgh among the foreign population residing in it. "I was, as you are aware, for twenty-seven years a missionary of our Foreign Board in Mexico. I am not, therefore, a stranger to mission problems, and am able to appreciate the difficulties met with in carrying on such a work. ... It is, therefore, a very great pleasure to me to express to you my approval of your work, and to congratulate you on the fine results so far obtained in it. "Your organization meets with my most hearty approval. Mission work is, after all, the same the world over. It was my privilege to have a considerable part in the organizing and developing of our work in Mexico, as well as to study mission organization in all our world-wide work. It was rather surprising, as I studied your methods and your organization, to note how closely you have followed the general plan of work obtaining in the whole foreign-mission work of the Church, and I am enough of a Presbyterian to believe that our system is not excelled by the plans and methods of any Church. I note: "First. That while you recognize the absolute necessity of money for carrying on your work, you yet seem to appreciate that money is not by any means the most important factor entering into it; and that it has to be constantly watched lest it become a danger to the largest measure of success possible in such a work. "Second. You evidently recognize that the foreign worker, whether lay or minister, is the factor which must, in the long run, insure success or result in failure. There is always the danger of giving undue importance to the Americans who direct the work. Missionaries the world over have come to recognize the danger resulting from giving undue importance and promi nence to the American missionary, and looking on the THE COMING OF THE SLAV 87 foreign worker as of rather smaller importance. In the beginning of such a work the American looms large; but in the development and permanent organization and growth of such an enterprise the native worker, whether he works in the U. S. A. or in a foreign coun try, must take the prominent place, and gradually come to control and direct in large part the work. The American worker must decrease and the native increase. And I was happy to note in your exhibit that you appreciate this fact. "Third. The importance you are giving to the training of foreign workers meets with my most hearty approval. You are wise in giving such large place in your work to the school in Coraopolis. Without an educated native constituency on which, in ever- increasing ratio, the responsibility can be laid, the fullest measure of success cannot be realized, or even hoped for. I am convinced that the foreign nations in which evangelical work is being prosecuted will never be evangelized save by well-equipped native evangelists and pastors and teachers; and my conviction rests on long experience, and, as well, on some failure in my earlier mission experience to appreciate the importance attaching to the native worker and to his fullest equipment for his work. "In closing, let me say that I watched very closely for any seeming tendency to patronize the native worker and the native church. On no single particular, perhaps, do so many missionaries make shipwreck as on this not altogether unnatural tendency. We believe that our institutions and our methods are the best, but too marked a tendency to make our feeling promi nent is galling to the native worker and kills his initiative, or at least chills it very decidedly and makes it impossible for him to put his very best into his work. It was, as it always has been, grateful to me to note 88 THE COMING OF THE SLAV the cordial relations existing between Dr. Losa, and other prominent workers, and yourself. You, very wisely, push them to the front, and apparently strive to impress on them that the work in hand is primarily their work, and that its success depends principally on them. "Let me say that I most heartily enjoyed your exhibit in the recent meeting of presbytery. It brought back to me old memories which are very precious to me, and which I would not exchange for anything I can think of. It was just the repetition of things I had been through many, many times, and awakened in me a desire to be once more in a work to which I gave so many years; and which to my mind is the greatest enterprise which can engage the soul, and stimulate the very best that is in the soul, the spirit of the man or woman who loves the Lord Jesus, and prays intelligently for the coming of his Kingdom." A report was prepared for the presbytery s exhibit from which we have the following: "We have in Coraopolis a three-story frame building containing thirty-two rooms altogether. We can house twenty -two pupils comfortably. There are, living with the pupils, a matron and two teachers. ... So far, seventy-one girls have graduated. There are seventeen in the school at the present time. Four of them will graduate next spring (two Slovak, two Bohemian). . . . The rest of the girls, thirteen, came from Bohemia, every one of them a high-school graduate. Two of them are daughters of Presbyterian ministers. . . . We have been favored in having exceptionally capable and spiritual girls as our missionaries. ... At one time we had eighteen missionaries at work. This number has been curtailed on account of lack of workers. "Almost from the beginning of the foreign work under the general supervision of Dr. Losa, until now, P. W. SNYDER, D.D. THE COMING OF THE SLAV 89 the women, first by a joint committee from the presby teries of Allegheny and Pittsburgh, and after the union of the two presbyteries, by the Woman s Presby terian Home Mission Society, have cooperated with the men in the work. Their efforts have been confined very largely to the educational department in connec tion with the Training School located at Coraopolis, and to the support of certain women missionaries in specified fields of foreign work. . . . This cooperative work on the part of the Woman s Home Mission Society has been most harmonious and helpful, so much so that the monetary support of the work now amounts to more than ten thousand dollars a year. Too great credit cannot be given to the consecrated women who have so loyally supported this work." The report gives details as to organization and work of the "Joint Committee on Education" of the trustees and the Woman s Society. In April, 1921, the Presbytery of Pittsburgh ap pointed Dr. -P. W. Snyder as its new Superintendent of Missions. Dr. S. J. Fisher, who has had long experi ence in the presbytery, a popular writer for our Church newspapers, and the recording secretary for the American Hussite Society, has kindly furnished the following statement, dated at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, July 23, 1921: "In regard to your inquiry concerning the action of the Presbytery of Pittsburgh, in electing a successor to the late Dr. George W. Montgomery, as Superin tendent of Presbyterian Missions, I can heartily say that the presbytery feels it has made a wise choice in electing Dr. P. W. Snyder as superintendent. This mission work has been a constantly enlarging and increasingly important work. In diversity of operation, in the variety of its workers, and need of larger financing, it has grown remarkably through the years. A proper 90 THE COMING OF THE SLAV supervision calls for considerable ministerial experience, acquaintance with this region and its race problems, as well as a strong faith and appreciation of the need of the guidance of God. The presbytery feels that in Dr. Snyder it has found one who by training and quali ties of mind and heart is well fitted to discharge the duties of this important office. His experience as a pastor on the South Side, and great success at Home- wood, his years of relationship to the problems of Church comity and survey of the responsibility of each denomination in this city, have prepared him for an intelligent study and supervision of this work in this region. His acquaintance with the problems of the weaker church, and his sympathy with such enter prises and fields, gives the presbytery every reason to believe his plans, suggestions, and purposes shall give those missions an added value, and a still greater suc cess. As a man of experience, open-minded, and yet able to resist unwise or hasty experiments, he can be relied upon." REV. FRANCIS PRUDKY Chapter IV ENCOURAGEMENTS REV. FRANCIS PRUDKY, pastor at Olomouc, Moravia, was sent by the Church Missionary Society, an organiza tion which renders assistance to churches beyond the bounds of Czechoslovakia, to investigate a number of Bohemian colonies; his journeys throw light upon the possibilities of evangelizing various regions, populous or important, between the Baltic and the Black seas, through the work of evangelical Czechoslovaks. This story follows closely the recital given to the writer by Mr. Prudky during his visits to Pittsburgh in the latter months of 1920. Occasionally he observed differences in soils, occupations, or as to whether the people owned or rented their ground; for such details affect Church life in Europe as in America. Especially important is the difference of situation for the Bohemian colonies in regions dominated by Poles, or those in Russian districts; for convenience no distinction of Ukrainians as different from Russians will here be noted. In Poland he visited four centers of Bohemian Reformed churches, the largest church being at Zelov, and the largest city being Lodz. He journeyed farther among localities in two of the Russian "Governments," those of Volhynia and of Kherson. His first journey, in 1908, was through Russian Poland. A verst is .66 of a mile, or 1.06 kilometers; and some thirty versts from the notorious monastery of Czenstochov, where robberies and misdemeanors disgusted many in Russia, is Kucov, a village wholly Bohemian, of sixty or seventy families, with other families in neighboring villages. They had a good 91 92 THE COMING OP THE SLAV church building, destroyed by artillery in the second year of the War, but now rebuilt. They have also a parochial school and a schoolmaster. Their homes are neat, contrasting with Polish villages. They burn peat for fuel. The women have an elaborate linen head dress worn only on Sundays. The people are religious, loving the gospel. Though it was a week day, all left their work and came to church, where Mr. Prudky preached twice. The Russian Government made so many difficulties for pastors or others in securing passports that though they were not far from Moravia, they had little communication with it, and they had many questions to ask. Some twenty-seven miles beyond this place is Zelov, near Lask, which is the nearest station to Lodz. The Laski family of the nobility was famous in Poland, and from it came John Laski, the great Reformer of Poland, a friend of Calvin. Zelov, with 5000 inhab itants, is the largest Bohemian colony of Poland. Some 2500 are Bohemians, 2000 Jews, the rest Poles or Germans. The Bohemians came from German Poland in 1815, purchasing a portion of territory from a Polish nobleman, the deed of which Mr. Prudky examined. The soil is sandy, not rich, and the impor tant occupation is weaving cloth for the Lodz factories. The Czar Alexander I helped them to build a fine Reformed church, and they also have their parochial school. At first all were Reformed adherents, but some twenty years ago, Baptists and, later, Congregation- alists undertook missions there. The people are great Bible readers, and some time ago declined to take religious newspapers, saying the Bible was sufficient, for it was to them a spelling book, reader, geography, history, and their poetical literature. They speak the same fine dialect of Bohemian that is preserved in the Kralicka Bohemian Bible. In the forenoon of Sunday THE COMING OF THE SLAV 93 Mr. Prudky found their church full, a larger audience than the Reformed could then assemble in Bohemia or Moravia, for their congregation numbers five thousand souls. Before the War, it was the largest Reformed Bohemian congregation in the world. Connected with Zelov as headquarters, are some villages. In one of these the rent of the forest sustains their school. The schoolmaster, with a family of ten children, has a home of two rooms containing the kitchen and living room, and while there is only one knife for the entire company at table, each has a spoon ! This tour then leads to Lodz, next to Warsaw, the largest town in Poland, growing rapidly before the War, with several hundred thousand inhabitants, a town of cloth factories. The Reformed churches have a thousand souls, originally from Zelov, and a fine school. Mr. Prudky was there at the time of the revolution. Cossack soldiers escorted through the streets a carriage with mails and letters which they had captured. Soldiers w^ere in the cars, scrutinizing passports closely. Mr. Prudky s impression of the people there, in the meetings which he held, was that they also were lovers of the Bible and devout. At that time they depended for pastoral care upon the pastor in Warsaw, a Bohemian, Rev. Mr. Jelen, whose death some time afterward was much lamented. A cantor or teacher conducted their pulpit services, as Mr. Jelen could come only at intervals of some months. Congregationalists also hold services in Lodz. Lodz was originally German, and the eight or ten Lutheran churches there at first used the German language. Now they all use the Polish language. It is singular that German statesmen failed so signally to Germanize Posen s Poles, while these Germans of Russian Poland have been Polonized. Y The last community visited in Poland was Zyrardow, 94 THE COMING OF THE SLAV between Lodz and Warsaw. Here are almost ten thou sand people, whose homes, factories, churches, the cemetery with its sections, the entire place, all belongs to one German mill owner. He built and owns the Bohemian Reformed Church, as he does all the others in the town. It is a town of cloth factories. The Reformed number some six hundred souls, supplied by a cantor, with occasional visits from the pastor in Warsaw, Mr. Jelen, who was at that time superin tendent of the synod. On the occasion of Mr. Prudky s visit, the town was full of soldiers who were keeping order during a strike. There was no Bohemian Reformed Church in W r ar- saw, the capital of Poland, but a fine Gothic Reformed Church there. The superintendent of the synod, Rev. Semadeni, and the pastor of this Church, Rev. Skierski, were both ardently patriotic Poles. The four centers above mentioned are all that the Bohemian Reformed Church has in Poland; and all these are descendants from emigrants who left Bohemia after the disastrous battle of the White Mountain. It was a rare scene that occurred at the time when Mr. Prudky was present in the Synod of Vilna. There he was, a Bohemian Reformed leader, listening to dis cussions of Polish Reformed leaders, both ministers and laymen, the presiding officer being a Polish noble man. He conferred with them as to the difficulties of Bohemian Reformed churches in their Polish districts. In his tours he also made the acquaintance of Polish evangelical leaders in their Synod of Warsaw. It is doubtful whether any other representatives of the Polish and Bohemian peoples could be found who could hold conferences in so Christian and fraternal a manner as such evangelical men. The chariot of the gospel might speed victoriously among Slav peoples, when their watchmen see thus eye to eye. THE COMING OF THE SLAV 95 As he passed on into Russian regions, in the two Governments of Volhynia and Kherson, holding meet ings, he learned the conditions of the people, their difficulties, their needs. Details, some of which are recited elsewhere, show the attitude of the Russian authorities of that period toward these Reformed churches. The primitive houses built by Slav farmers, in some places with walls of earth and straw, can also be found in America. Very different conditions obtain in German Silesia, now a part of Poland, where the Bohemians of the younger generation have to some extent been Germanized. A singular contrast is that many German Lutherans in Poland have been Polon- ized. A still different situation appeared in districts now belonging to Jugoslavia, the territories of Croatia and Slavonia. In reports of such tours, to find churches in a low state, pastorless for years, hampered by unfriendly officials and oppressive governments, should not abate Christian hope and zeal. "The king s heart is in the hand of the Lord." And the Lord of the harvest hears the prayer that he himself has inspired, and raises up the laborers that are needed. All these moral wastes can be transformed into spiritual flocks of men. And when devout households are found, far from churches, who instruct their children in the Bible and catechism and eagerly profit by a minister s visit, this should have a place in the same narrative which describes centers with their hundreds or their thou sands of Church members. Moreover, to see a convert from America whose life was transformed from being brutal and drunken become a kind Christian husband, an earnest reader of the Bible, who helped to gather scattered families into a congregation and was serving as a church treasurer when Mr. Prudky found him, is good news from a far country, as cold water to a thirsty soul. 90 THE COMING OF THE SLAV Since the Reformation no Slav land has afforded such encouragement for evangelical work as Czecho slovakia, after the armistice was signed. Thereupon, losing no time, Bohemian Reformed and Lutheran Churches, whose separation had been an arbitrary enforcement of outsiders, united as the "Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren," with a constituency o\ about two hundred thousand; and they cultivate close acquaintance with about five hundred thousand Slovak evangelicals. Beholding many open doors, they ar( "like them that dream." A rapid survey of the region where Mr. Prudky labors, in North Moravia, w r ith Olomouc as headquarters, is demonstrative for all oi Czechoslovakia. Moravska Ostrava has been growing like a lesser Pittsburgh into an important manufacturing center. For some time in 1904 Mr. Prudky visited the place once in two months, gathering a small company of worshipers. An evangelical church is there, made up of Germans and of Polish Lutherans. These Poles, however, differ somewhat in dialect and disposition from other Poles, preferring to be classed as "Mora vians," and they readily send their children to Bohemian schools. In 1920 the Bohemian Reformed congrega tion, which had increased to nearly three hundred souls, was augmented to three thousand souls, by the union of Bohemian Lutheran and Reformed congrega tions. Germans naturally stood aloof from such a union; and the Poles had no more control in the church which had been erected partly by their contributions. To use that church for their services, this congregation must pay a goodly rent. The Poles having no Bohemian traditions, being in a transition state, scarcely know where they are ecclesiastically; and it is an urgen! problem to interest them in the erection of another building, when the building that they formerly had THE COMING OF THE SLAV 97 4 seemed to be the last contribution they needed to make. They are mostly miners, and the community is the most important field for development now in Czecho slovakia. The surroundings of Olomouc make a territory of about 4000 square miles with half a million people. It is a district that contains some of the best soil in Moravia. Pferov, since Mr. Prudky s visit to America, has become a separate charge, since Rev. C. A. Chval, of Pittsburgh Presbytery, toward the close of 1920 went there as pastor, his support being assured through funds raised by Drs. Montgomery and Losa. It is headquarters for several other communities. A neat church building was erected here in 1908. It is a historical place, the birthplace of Blahoslav, who died in 1571. His excellent translation of the New Testament from the Greek was afterwards, with minor revision, in corporated into the Kralicka Bible, and he w r as the author of many hymns and religious works. Here, too, is still shown the Gymnasium where for four years, 1614-1618, Comenius was the principal. A Bohemian Reformed statesman of that locality, Karel ze Zerotina, went into voluntary exile after 1620, but was allowed to revisit his estates, and died during such a visit. In a neigh boring village, Hranice, a former chapel of the Bohe mian Brethren still exists, now used as a warehouse. Another important locality, which should be a separate charge, is Prostejov, where there are many workmen. It has had services on alternate Sunday afternoons, with no church building, in a place of worship available only on Sundays. Mr. Prudky s assistant minister, Rev. Sedy, had his headquarters in Svebohov, afterwards changed to Hrabova, and the story of its origin as told by a Bohemian coworker in Germany so interested the hearers that a society was formed to provide the salary for the worker there. 98 THE COMING OF THE SLAV Since the War, this support has been withdrawn, and the support must be furnished by Bohemians. A century ago, a Bohemian Catholic attended a church festival in Prague and obtained a Bible. He gathered his friends, and the reading of this Bible together led to the creation of the Reformed Church at Svebohov Intolerable persecutions hindered them. It was found that they did not have the certificates, always required, that they had been to the confessional. "Our certifi cates," they said, "are our consciences." To be recog nized as Protestants, they must affirm their purpose to become such in "examinations," for six weeks. By a subterfuge the hours in a period of six weeks were counted, and this ingenious inquisition extended for a year or more, with every other annoyance added that could be invented. Yet by 1850 this Reformed group numbered seventy souls. They were allowed to retain their own cemetery, and to build a mausoleum, and this served as their place of worship until more tolera tion was granted. The assistant holds services in Zabr*eh, where Jiri Strejc was born, a writer of Bohemian metrical psalms. Zabreh has two villages, also Mirov in its circuit, where there is a state prison that should be regularly visited. Mr. Prudky visited eight places to catechize the children, his assistant visited six more, and a schoolmaster cared for another locality. There are also devoted women workers and young people who help in Sunday schools, in church support, and in the care of the poor. v In Hrabova, during July, 1921, Mr. Sedy wel comed his first confirmation class of twelve children who had been instructed there, and on the same occa sion received a hundred adults as Church members. In describing the work, he emphatically declares that our Board of Publication, by its picture cards and its Bohemian papers for children and for adults, has THE COMING OF THE SLAV 99 rendered invaluable service. "I do not know what could be done without your help; not half of what has been accomplished," he writes to Dr. Losa. And he mentions, as in almost every letter, a service in a new locality. Another pastor made a tour in what may be called "Moravian" Slovakia, where the dialect, in one Moravian village after another, increasingly resembles the Slovak. Often the attendance in the places men tioned was two hundred, or three hundred, with in stances of five hundred, nine hundred, a thousand, once fifteen hundred. In a hall where this instance occurred, of nine hundred present, he discoursed for an hour. But when he finished, all remained seated, and a voice requested, "Please continue." But he was too weary, and had to consider the care of his voice, in those frequent meetings; yet such behavior and re quests from audiences are not uncommon. Formerly, Bohemians would discuss anything but religion. Now, the news is reiterated, that in trains and everywhere, groups soon form that plunge into religious discussions, and audiences that would not listen to discourses on politics or socialism will crowd any auditorium to hear about Huss and the gospel. The pressure increases, urging Presbyterian Bohemian ministers in America, even for limited periods, to return to Czechoslovakia; and it is the exception, proving the rule, that when such men can be spared, and means provided, those who are already qualified, but no other Americans, could well be sent to relieve the emergency. Here, then, should be several separate charges in Mr. Prudky s former field. He dedicated a new church building, a beautiful structure, in July, 1920. Soon after he made his tour in America. When he returned home, he found most of his congregation strangers to him, for the new accessions, largely in his absence, a total of over three hundred for that year, made a 300 THE COMING OF THE SLAV new situation. Moreover, in the opening months of 1921, he welcomed two hundred more, so that his new church was already too small. His assistant s congregation grew from eighty members to eight hundred; and Mr. Chval, arriving in January, 1921, soon welcomed two hundred members. Moreover, Mr. Prudky had visited other localities, where he had lectured on John Huss. For Bohemian audi ences, so long misled by blind guides, this is the best, most congenial first lesson in gospel instruction. If twenty qualified pastors were suddenly to appear, he could promptly assemble audiences similar to those he has addressed, in strongly Catholic neighborhoods, now friendly to the gospel. New charges can be formed in the same way as those now being cultivated. In southern Moravia is Uhersky Brod, one of the reputed birthplaces of Comenius, also Uhersky Hradiste, with similar needs and promise; likewise, in southern Bohemia, Budejovice (Budweis). Rev. Krenek, of the Central West Presbytery, Bohemian, left the United States for an evangelistic tour in Czechoslovakia and everywhere was greeted by great audiences, often in the open air. Somewhat later, Rev. Dobias, of the Southwest Bohemian Presbytery in Texas, made a visit of nine months in a region of Czechoslovakia, of western Bohemia, at Domazlice, where a Protestant was a rarity. Two hundred members he found there, but when he returned to this country at the end of that visit, he had increased that number to three thousand ! In one week delegations from fifteen villages of the vicinity visited him, asking him to appoint services in their towns. Another Bohemian minister, in the fall of 1920, went from America to that land to engage in Y. M. C. A. work. He wrote that on March 6, 1921, he preached in Kralo- vice, where there had not been a Protestant previous THE COMING OF THR SLAV to January, 1921. After his sermon seventy-nine new members joined the newly organized Church. There were five hundred in the audience; the same Sunday, he preached in two other towns under similar condi tions. In this same season, it was reported that in Zizkov, a suburb of Prague, 5000 persons had united with the evangelical Church. Also, in Hrabova there were four hundred Protestants, gaining about ten new members a week, where a year before there were prac tically none. At the meeting of the Synod of the "Czech Brethren" in February, 1921, the pastor of the Pilsen Church stated that in and around Pilsen, there were some 13,000 accessions to his Church, enough for ten churches, or enough to make a new seniorat, or presbytery; while he was the only pastor available for them! Three times on Sunday the Pilsen Church was emptied for different audiences. So, in Brno (Briinn) , the capital of Moravia, two services were held in its church each Sunday morning, for the multitude had thus to be accommodated; and like arrangements are spreading elsewhere. These details may suffice to indicate a movement unexampled in Europe for centuries. The Czechoslovak census of February, 1921, adds its own testimony. The population is over thirteen million. The Evangelicals number about 1,500,000; "without Confession," or churchless, 4,500,000. Besides, parallel with the evan gelical movement is one of the "National" Bohemian Church. Some 142 priests petitioned for mass in the vernacular, the circulation of the Bible, the marriage of priests . They were excommunicated ; called * generals without an army." The Evangelicals welcomed them, believing that they were bound for an evangelical goal. And this census indicates that their adherents are 800,000! For Bohemia and Moravia, where Rome had claimed ninety-eight per cent, it seems that it could -10* THE^COMING OF THE SLAV retain only about fifty per cent; besides, these seces sions from its ranks continue. Dr. Herben, one of the foremost of journalists, wrote in the largest paper of Czechoslovakia: "Easter week in the rural districts of Bohemia and Moravia was absolutely a religious demonstration. Whole towns and villages were looking for some one to come and teach them what to do. Had there been enough preachers and teachers in the Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren, whole districts would have been celebrating Easter according to the Protestant rites, entirely outside of the Roman Catholic Church. Such is the attitude and such is the tendency of the people. * A religious paper of Bohemia in 1921 stated that in a year s time or less a hundred new preaching stations had been established in Bohemia alone, some of them already surpassing in numbers and zeal the older, self- supporting churches; and that every Sunday fifty ministers and laymen are endeavoring to supply these points, though not able to serve half the localities that call for the gospel. The movement has been mostly among the workingmen and the middle class; but is winning its way also among intellectual, cultured leaders. As this book goes to press, the news comes that Rev. Kenneth D. Miller, Associate Director of City and Immigrant Work for the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions, New York City, has undertaken a tour of investigation in Czechoslovakia and some adjacent countries. Some years ago he received an appointment to one of the fellowships provided by the Board, en abling him to spend some time in Bohemia, where he became proficient in the language. His service later for the Board was varied by work for the Y. M. C. A. among Czechoslovak troops in Siberia. He can readily get the viewpoint of Czechoslovak leaders. Arrange- THE COMING OF THE SLAV 103 ments are progressing also to send two or more Bohe mian ministers from America to Czechoslovakia. Dr. Losa s correspondence reveals further improvement in the organization of the "National" or Czechoslovak Church, whose priests often suffer hardship, as no pro vision has been made for their salaries since they left the Catholic Church. The latest indications are that a hundred thousand Bibles may not supply the present demand ifor them in Czechoslovakia. Owing to the increased cost of these, America ought to help in pro viding them. The foregoing pages describe a movement in Bohemia and Moravia. But in Slovakia a similar need has been recently discovered, which may lead to important de velopments. In Slovakia the masses have been either Romish or Lutheran; and leaders of the Bohemian Reformed churches scarcely knew of the existence of any Slovak Calvinists. When Mr. Prudky was in America he met some of them, who asked him to visit their brethren in Slovakia. In the summer of 1921 two delegations of Bohemians did so, and found twenty thousand of them in a fertile plain, having views of the Carpathians to the north, a region between Kosice and Uzhorod, a region that suffered in the wars, the Great War, and the later war between the Bohemians and the Reds. Whole cemeteries were the evidence. Magyar leaders gave warning of these visitors, wolves in sheep s clothing, as they said; or as a teacher declared, they were not Calvinists but Hussites, not praying to God but to Huss! But their way was prepared by Rev. John Sirny, who had charge of the Presbyterian Slovak Church at Monessen, Pennsylvania, and who was visiting Slovakia. Their audiences welcomed services, sometimes Communion services, in their own tongue. Their dialect was interesting. "Thy speech bewray- 104 THE COMING OF THE SLAV eth thee," is a principle of linguistic science. And here were Slovaks, whose salutations, various accents, and phrases, were different from those of western Slovaks, sometimes purely Bohemian, suggesting plausi bly that they were descendants of Bohemian exiles driven out by persecutions centuries ago. Magyar kultur, religious and otherwise, said Mr. Prudky in his letter to Dr. Losa, was plainly visible, for the school, church, magistrates, army, all aimed at the obliteration of Slovak self-consciousness, at their serfdom, at their separation from Bohemians. Their Calvinism was a confess! onalism, to emphasize a separation from Slovak Lutherans, formal rather than spiritual. Their very orthography was Magyarized, so as to make it difficult for them to read the writings of Slovaks or Bohemians. Yet the children who memor ized catechisms in Magyar parochial schools, or the people who heard sermons in that tongue, understood it no better than Latin. The visitation of twenty-three churches by these brethren supplied them with abun dant evidence as to such facts. The Magyar Reformed Church aims at "autonomy" for them, which means their domination by Magyar bishops and pastors. These leaders even choose the delegates for their ecclesiastical gathering, the "Conventus"; their pastors also are appointed, the people having no opportunities of electing them. The results of this tyranny are deplorable. It is not strange that the people sometimes call themselves "Magyars" though they do not know that language. They have been as serfs, looking up to Magyars as aristocrats, so that they do not comprehend true liberty. Since the Czechoslovak Republic was estab lished, the Calvinistic Magyar parochial schools have been closed, and the children are without instruction. There is no Slovak Bible with Magyar orthography, THE COMING OF THE SLAV 105 and the people are without Bibles. They are not apt to read anything, and drift into an unthinking habit, so that some Calvinists voted for the clerical party! They have learned to emphasize forms only; they have superstitions, even prayers for the dead, sometimes paying for masses in Catholic churches. Their pastors have their own farms, their tithes, their fees for baptisms, or other functions, but no salary otherwise. Thus the people have no idea of benevolence and its contributions, and their relations with ministers are pitiable. These have been as lords over God s heritage; the people cannot be born, or live, or die, without these officials, mere ceremonialists, and they must be paid. Love and confidence are absent ; and increasingly, many people refuse services that formerly were volun tarily rendered. The people make merit by adorning profusely the pulpit and table with embroidery and artificial flowers, and the long farewells for the dead at funerals are aids to superstition. Mr. Prudky has some counsels for this situation. Communications with Czech Brethren having thus begun, should be continued. Until the separation of Church and State is complete, the government should not recognize pastors who do not understand the language of their people. Spiritual teachers are needed for the schools, and if they are not available, even State schools are preferable to parochial schools under a Magyar regime. Good schools are a necessity. Bibles are a necessity, for a true evangelization; and a good colporteur, going from hut to hut, might introduce a new era. Literature easily understood is a necessity. A little paper, printed at first in Magyar orthography, changing slowly to Slovak, and containing some politi cal or agricultural articles, would do good. Finally, a Slovak seniorat or presbytery is a necessity. Stipends and subsidies should be provided for Slovak students 106 THE COMING OF THE SLAV for the ministry, and only efficient, spiritual men should work in Slovakia. This unique situation in Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia warrants the hope that in the future, and that not distant, a hundred qualified pastors, and then, if the Holy Spirit be poured out, a thousand, may not suffice for the flocks that need spiritual care in Czecho slovakia, requiring many problems of training, instruc ting, organizing the workers and the people. God grant that America may do her part in this time of harvest ! The Czechoslovak Review of Chicago published the Constitution of Czechoslovakia. Article 106 says that "All inhabitants of the Czechoslovak Republic enjoy, equally with the citizens of the Republic, in its terri tory full and complete protection without regard to race or religion." But as Washington s character and influ ence was a powerful guarantee for the terms of the American Constitution when it was regarded as an un tried experiment, so the influence of Thomas Garrigue Masaryk, the first President, elected for life in Czechoslovakia, is a fortunate asset for the stability and progress of that promising country. He was born March 7, 1850, in South Moravia. He had struggles with poverty in getting his education, in the grammar school of Brno, capital of Moravia, in the University of Vienna, and later in the University of Leipsic. In one of his journeys in Germany and Russia, he met Miss Charlotte Garrigue, an American lady, who became his wife. In 1879 he established himself as a lecturer in phi losophy at the University of Vienna; and when the Uni versity of Prague was divided into a German and a Czech University, he was transferred to this new Czech insti tution. A significant fact, not always mentioned, was that in the course of these activities, though born a Catholic, he united with the Reformed Bohemian THE COMING OF THE SLAV 107 Church. In 1891-1893, he served as a deputy in the Austrian Parliament, coming to the front rank as a political leader, patriotic, honest, and fearless. His eyes were opened to the hopeless corruption of Austria, and after leaving Parliament he continued to write and to advocate reforms. In various questions he took the unpopular side, facing storms of opposition, sometimes from powerful clerical organizations, yet finally winning his case. He was reflected to Parlia ment in 1907, and exposed the forgeries by which the Austrian authorities tried to implicate Serbia in a conspiracy, and by which in the Agram political trials fifty Jugoslav youths were condemned to death, but rescued by Masaryk s efforts. The War broke out while he was on important journeys. But we might well let him tell his story as he did in his first presidential message to the National Assembly, in the ancient royal castle of Prague, in December, 1918: "I myself saw clearly that I could not and must not remain in the service of Austria-Hungary. It is true that at first I hesitated to act; I felt the tremendous responsibility. I counted the cost of defeat but our soldiers, refusing to serve, and surrendering to the Allies, the criminal execution of our men who rejoiced at the promises of the Russian commander, the entire machinery of Vienna and Budapest barbarity, forced me to a decision." He mentions his journeys, seeking information, in Vienna, Holland, Germany. "In the middle of December, 1914, I departed for Italy, then still neutral, and from there to Switzerland. I had hoped to return once more to Prague and communicate the information gained by me, but it was no longer possible. In the fall of 1915 I proceeded to London, whence I made frequent trips to Paris." In London he was welcomed, and was appointed a professor at King s College. Moreover, he was then direct- 108 THE COMING OF THE SLAV ing the whole Czechoslovak movement in Russia, America, and France. When the Russian revolution broke out, he went, at a critical time, to Russia, and it was due to him that the Czechoslovak army was organized. "In May, 1917, I had to go to Russia; from Russia I departed early in March by way o* Siberia to Japan, through Japan to the United States, and after seven months residence there I returned a : the call of our government after a lapse of four years as the first president of the Czechoslovak Republic. . . . The history of our army in Russia is the history of Russia during the War. Kerensky at first was against us, until he found out that his offensive was to a large extent carried out by our three regiments, and thai our boys covered the fatal flight of the Russian army. After many attempts we finally managed to organize an army corps; and I can say without boasting that organizing this army during the anarchy and the complete break-up of the Russian army is the best testimony to the maturity not merely of our boys, but of the whole nation, for 100,000 men is enough to represent a nation. . . . Our army fighting on three fronts won our liberty for us." lie then recounts the steps by which the Allies recognized Czechoslovakia, saying, "It is natural that recognition by England and the United States, the greatest Allied Powers, strengthened us greatly, as the behavior of the enemies made plain. . . . Bismarck said that the master of Bohemia is the master of Europe. He described thus in his own way the special world significance of our nation. We are the westernmost Slav branch in the center of Europe, and we successfully helped to balk the German push toward the east. Our victory is likewise the victory of the other small nations menaced by Germany and Austria." He then shows the impor tance of cultivating harmonious relations with sur- THE COMING OP THE SLAV 109 rounding nations, and with a renewed Russia. When he discussed the Magyars, he tactfully changed from the Bohemian to the Slovak dialect. One writer in the Bohemian Review, commemorating his seventieth birthday, speaks of the love and reverence of the nation for him: "The Czechoslovak movement for inde pendence, its struggles and final victory, were not possible without Masaryk." Accordingly it means much that such a man, identified with the Reformed Church, began this historic message with a quotation from the famous educator and reformer, a well-known prophecy of John Amos Comenius: "O Bohemian people, I trust in God, that when the tempest of his wrath brought upon our heads for our sins, will have passed away, the reign of thy cause will again be restored." The evangelization of Slavdom can be furthered by a plan so simple that it is within the reach of every American Church and Christian. It would be an unspeakable boon, both to America and to Slavdom, if the Monthly Concert, a truly concerted movement among Presbyterians, were to restore and retain Czechoslovakia or Slavdom in its list of topics. Every month these topics receive regular discussions, for thousands of readers, in monthly or weekly Presby terian periodicals throughout America, and the missionary societies, young people s meetings, mid week services, echo and emphasize them. But for many years, up to 1920, Slavdom has been excluded from this sphere of blessing. Yet this is a sad departure from the former ideals of our fathers. Every year, their Monthly Concert program included "papal Europe," and while Italy and France received more attention, being more familiar, we may refer to the former Presbyterian magazine, the Foreign Mission ary, for November, 1883, where there is a brief 110 THE COMING OF THE SLAV quotation concerning the history and spiritual needs of Bohemia and Moravia. This spiritual sympathy, not only for this part but for all the rest of Slavdom, is greatly needed now. This magazine for September, 1879, quoted the report of a previous General Assembly as follows: "Believing that an instrumentality which, in the history of our Church, has been so signally blessed, may be yet made a means of blessing to the whole world, your committee call the attention of ministers and elders to the paramount importance of making more efficient the monthly meeting of prayer for missions where it is observed, and of reviving it where it is fallen into disuse." The Foreign Missionary for August, 1886, gives a table of statistics of organizations of Reformed churches on the Continent, in Bohemia, France, Italy, Belgium, et cetera, also another table showing the contributions sent to these Reformed churches from the Presbyterian churches of Scotland, England, and Ireland. "The above," it adds, "does not tell the whole story. Many special missions are aided from Scotland and England. . Best of all, a number of students have been brought from the countries of Austria, educated for the ministry in Scotch Theological halls, and sent back to their homes. The Reformed churches in papal lands have solid ground upon which to appeal to American Presbyterians. Their debtors we are. Our spiritual and temporal prosperity depend upon principles for which their earlier generations contended. It is but due return for us now to help them back to temporal and spiritual vigor. The five thousand dollars con tributed to them from the treasury of our Presby terian Foreign Board last year might well be multi plied tenfold." Sad to say, for many years, all such advertisement or regular news and discussions of Bohemia, now in Czechoslovakia, or of Slavdom, as THE COMING OF THE SLAV 111 well as of Latin Europe, have disappeared from Pres byterian papers in the United States, such publications now being sporadic, irregular; and such contributions are no longer reported by our Foreign Board. These probably never were part of a regular budget; yet special gifts, due largely to these publications, no doubt, have always been forwarded according to desig nations by donors.* The Presbyterian denominations of this country should now consider anew their spiritual responsibility for Slavdom. These Monthly Concert programs would be enriched, varied, made more adequate, if Czechoslovakia or Slavdom were included. A former secretary of the Presbyterian Foreign Board was of the opinion that whatever the topic for a monthly mission ary meeting, the whole world as the field for evangeliza tion should be the real theme. A multitude of states men have perceived that no sufficient discussion of world powers could be had if Slavdom were omitted. And shall the children of this world be "in their genera tion wiser than the children of light"? The history of the Monthly Concert of Prayer for Missions, or as it has sometimes been expressed, of a "Concert of Prayer for the Conversion of the World," has never been fully recorded. We may note two landmarks in such a blessed history : First, a discourse, making nearly two hundred pages, of Jonathan Edwards, America s greatest theologian. This was "An Humble Attempt To Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of God s People in Extraordinary Prayer For the Revival of Religion and the Advance ment of Christ s Kingdom on Earth." His text was Zech. 8 : 20-22: "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants *The recent news is welcome, that our Foreign Board will include Czechoslovakia and other countries of Europe in its topics, as of yore. 112 THE COMING OF THE SLAV of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts : I will go also. Yea, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord." He quoted a number of other prophecies, and showed that they were never fulfilled before the coming of Christ, and hence must refer to the glory and enlargement of the Christian Church. This text shows how this advancement should be introduced : "By great Multitudes in different Towns and Countries taking up a joint Resolution, . . . that they will, by united and extraordinary Prayer, seek to God that he would come and manifest himself, and grant the Tokens and Fruits of his gracious Presence. . . . This Disposition to ... Prayer, and Union in it, will gradually spread more and more, and increase to greater Degrees; with which at length will gradually be introduced a Revival of Religion. . . . In this Manner Religion shall be propagated, till the Awakening reaches those that are in the highest Stations, and till whole Nations be awaken d, and there shall be at length an Accession of many of the chief Nations of the World to the Church of God." He then discusses a memorial that had been sent from Scotland to America, "for continuing a Concert for Prayer, first entered into in the Year 1744." A number of Scottish ministers had made an agreement to observe some times for special prayer, and to con tinue this for two years. At the expiration of the time, this memorial was published, and some hundreds of copies sent to America, urging that the arrangement be continued and extended. The second part of this discourse offered "to Con sideration some Things, which may induce the People of God to comply with the Proposal and Request." This master mind then marshaled arguments, as if THE COMING OF THE SLAV 113 burdened with a message of high import. He showed that many prophecies of the future glories of the Church are yet unfulfilled, surely worth praying for. He had a chapter on what Christ did and suffered to obtain that day. Surely his Disciples . . . should also . . . be much and earnest in Prayer for it." Of all the encouragements to this duty, signifying importunity in prayer, he knew of nothing in the Bible so striking as Isa. 62 : 6, 7: "Keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." Throughout the Bible, especially the psalms, no other prayers are so frequent as those for the advancement of the Church, God s Kingdom of grace on earth. After urging the special needs of that time, in the eighteenth century, and the advantages of such a union of Christians, he refuted some objections and in conclusion quoted Isa. 25 : 9: "It shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; ... we will . . . rejoice in his salvation." Another publication, a book of about a hundred small pages, by Dr. Samuel Miller, of Princeton, New Jersey, appeared in 1832, "Letters on the Observance of the Monthly Concert in Prayer: Addressed to the Members of the Presbyterian Church in the United States." He, too, discussed the necessity of prayer, and of intercession, and the blessedness of union with others in this. He referred to the origin of the Monthly Concert in the Church of Scotland about a hundred years before, and how Edwards, "then of Northampton, in Massachusetts, labored with no small diligence and zeal to ... promote the plan." In 1784, this appointment was made monthly, on the first Monday evening of each month. The Presbyterian General Assembly in 1830 issued a pastoral letter calling atten tion to this subject. A few years later, it recom mended a change to the first Sunday afternoon in 114 THE COMING OF THE SLAV every month for the churches that might find it con venient. Dr. Miller fervently pleaded for more mission ary zeal in this matter. "Again I say to every minister, every member, and every well-wisher of our Zion, Awake! Awake! Pray and labor without ceasing until there shall be a general and united movement of our whole Church to carry the glorious gospel to every kindred and people and nation and tongue; until the knowledge and glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters fill the sea, Amen!" The Presbyterian Church has followed in its missions a different plan from that of some other denominations, since it never has sent missionaries to Europe. Dr. Ferdinand Cisaf, superintendent for the Reformed Church in Moravia, emphatically approved this plan in his article on "Los von Rom!" ("Away from Rome!") in the Presbyterian and Reformed Review, October, 1901: "Perhaps only Presbyterians have the better understanding of the matter that to strengthen the Continental Protestant Churches is the safest way to evangelize Catholic Europe." Some years ago the question was raised in the General Assembly whether it might be well to change this plan, and the matter was finally referred to the Board of Foreign Missions; its report in part is as follows (Minutes of the General Assembly, 1909, p. 341): "I. That it is inexpedient at the present time for the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. to establish Foreign Missions on the Continent of Europe, for the following reasons: "(a) The Presbyterian Church has already more foreign missionary responsibilities than it is dis charging. (6) The primary responsibility for work in Europe rests upon the Evangelical Churches of Great Britain and the Continent, which have recognized this obligation, and which in turn leave the vast work to THE COMING OF THE SLAV 115 be done on the western hemisphere to the American and Canadian Churches, (c) The establishment of Foreign Missions in Europe by the American Churches is regarded on the Continent and Great Britain as an unwise and harmful policy. "II. But there is need of friendly help in behalf of the Reformed Churches on the Continent, and the Evangelical Churches of Great Britain and America should show a large sympathy for their brethren in the Continental countries. The Board, however, cannot make any provision for such help out of its woefully inadequate income; but it is cordially ready to receive and forward any special designated gifts for these churches and their work, provided that the agents to whom the money is to be sent and the objects of work to which it is to be devoted are officially authorized by the highest ecclesiastical courts of the Churches con cerned, and approved by the General Secretary and Executive Committee of the Presbyterian Alliance. In acting thus for those interested, the Board could not assume any responsibility of accounting for the receipt of funds and transmitting them to the authorized agent." To propose resolutions of sympathy in the General Assembly for the Reformed Churches of Czecho slovakia, and then do nothing, is like saying, "Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, "notwithstanding the fact that urgent needs are unsupplied. Organizations were formed some years ago, which interested numbers of Presbyterians, to help Reformed Churches of France and Belgium, also Waldensian societies to assist the Waldensians of Italy. A sensible and practical plan for helping the Reformed Churches of Czechoslovakia has been proposed by Dr. W. L. McEwan, of Pitts burgh, Pennsylvania, and put into effect by his organ ization of "The American Hussite Society." If thou- 116" THE COMING OF THE SLAV sands of Presbyterians throughout the United States were to become members and contributors toward this organization, it would go farther than ever to supply the needs of Slav saints, and occasion many thanks givings to God. Summary The two things here to be emphasized are the Amer ican Hussite Society and the Monthly Concert of Prayer for Missions. The Hussite Society is admirably adapted to be the organ for all the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of America in obtaining funds for Czechoslovakia. The true policy for all these denom inations must be to send no American missionaries to Europe, but to send funds to aid our Reformed brethren there. The need for this is formally recognized, but in practice such contributions are difficult to secure, in the face of the increasing regular budgets of all churches. Hence the need for this organization. Moreover, the Monthly Concert of Prayer, including Czechoslovakia in its topics, will be a powerful help, making its appeal to thousands, through Church papers and missionary organizations. Thus there will be a more extensive publication of the great and growing importance of Slav countries, and the need of more evangelical work in them, including colportage and the training of a host of missionaries. "Pray ye ... the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest." "If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; if thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?" We ourselves, the THE COMING OF THE SLAV 117 whole Church to-day, need the same spirit as that of Samuel, when he spoke to Israel: "Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you." Supplement A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY McLanahan: "Our People of Foreign Speech." Grose: "Aliens or Americans?" Count von Liitzow: "Bohemia: An Historical Sketch." Thomas Capek: "The Slovaks of Hungary." R. W. Seton- Watson : "Racial Problems in Hungary." W. S. Monroe: "Bohemia and the Czechs." (See also his work on "Bulgaria and Her People.") Francis H. Palmer: "Austro-Hungarian Life in Town and Country." (Also the volumes of the same series pertaining to Slav countries. Likewise, the volumes in the series, "The Story of the Nations.") W. R. Morfill: "The Story of Poland." Leroy-Beaulieu : "Empire of the Tsars and the Rus sians." 3 vols. Latimer: "Liberty of Conscience Under Three Tsars." Pamphlets, published by the Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work: "Protes tantism in Poland," C. E. Edwards; "The Story of the Bohemian Church," W. G. Blaikie. Senate Document No. 662, 1911: Dictionary of Races and Peoples. National Geographic Magazine: February, 1917, and December, 1918. Emily Greene Balch: "Our Slavic Fellow Citizens." POPULATION AND AREA OF SLAVDOM Taking the number of Slavs as given in the Ency clopedia Americana, 1920, disregarding their losses in 118 THE COMING OF THE SLAV the World War, it would exceed a hundred and seventy million. If these were to have the happy increase recorded in the United States in the first decades of its history, doubling every thirty years, then before some infants of to-day reach fourscore years the Slavs themselves would number nearly a billion. Their territories, too, if properly developed, without any annexations, would amply support them. For this an American illustration, without details of discussion, may suffice. If the potato, an important article of diet be supplied, famine would not seem so threatening. Assume five hundred bushels of potatoes per acre, not a record yield, to be obtainable by modern industry, and the per capita consumption annually two and a half bushels, then potatoes for a billion persons could be produced by one fourth the arable land of Colorado, described as the most mountainous of American states. If the vast, undeveloped areas of Slavdom are culti vated by an industrious, intelligent race, the cost of living might everywhere be relieved. The area of all the Russias before the War would eclipse that of the full moon. Without here quoting logarithms, we may recall that the area of a sphere is the square of its diameter, multiplied by "pi" which is nearly 3.1416. The diameter of the moon is 2163 miles, and the full moon presents to us half the area of that sphere, or something over seven million square miles. Russian dominions exceeded eight million square miles, eclipsing the full moon, "which was to be proved," as geometries have said. COMPARISON OF MATT. 6 : 9-13, IN BOHEMIAN, POLISH, AND MAGYAR The cruelty of forcing the Magyar tongue upon Slovaks may be illustrated by a comparison of two THE COMING OF THE SLAV 119 Slav versions of The Lord s Prayer, the Bohemian, practically identical with Slovak, and the Polish, with the Magyar. If rendered audibly, the resemblance of the first two, to a Slav ear would be far more striking than to American eyes from the printed page. Only a little more than one word to a verse in these Slav tongues is unlike, and these may be guessed by Slavs from the connection. Not a single Magyar word resembles any corresponding Slav word. The only word common to all three is the Hebrew word, Amen! Bohemian 9. Otce nds, kteryz jsi v nebesich, posvSt se jmeno tve\ 10. Pfid kralovstvi tve. Bud vule tva jako v nebi tak i na zemi. 11. Chleb nas vez- de j si de j nam dnes. 12. A odpust nam viny nase, jakoz i my odpoustime vinnikum nasim. 13. I neuvod nas v pokuseni, ale zbav nas od zleho. Nebo tve jest krd- lovstvi, i moc, i slava, na v8ky. Amen. Polish Ojcze nasz, kt6rys jest w niebiesiech! Swie sie, imie. twoje; Przyjdz krolestwo twoje; badz wola twoja jako w niebie, tak i na ziemi. Chleba naszego powszedniego daj nam dzisiaj. I odpus"c nam nasze winy, jako i my odpuszczamy nas- zym winowajcom; I nie wwodf nas na pokuszenie, ale nas zbaw ode zle- go; albowiem twoje jest kr61estwo, i moc, i chwala, na wieki. Amen. Magyar Mi Atyank, ki vagy a mennyekben, szenteltessek meg a te neved; Jojjon el a te orsza- god; legyen meg a te akaratod, mint a mennyben ugy a foldon is. A mi mindennapi kenyeriinket add meg nekiink ma. Es bocsasd meg a mi vetkeinket, mike- pen mi is megboc- satunk azoknak, a kik eUenunk vet- keztek; Es ne vigy minket kisertetbe, de sza- badits meg min ket a gonoszto"!. Mert tied az orszag es a hatalom ^s a dicsosdg mind 6r- okke. Amen! 120 THE COMING OF THE SLAV Americans should recognize the difference between Magyars and Slovaks. Slovaks come from Hungary, but are not real Hungarians. Magyars, rulers of Hun gary, oppressed Slovaks in a way never experienced by Americans, even under George the Third, since they forbade them to learn their own language. Some Slav leaders estimate that the Magyar tongue is spoken by about seven millions. The Bohemian or Slovak tongue is a key to languages spoken by nearly two hundred millions. The Magyar is an agglutinative language, not inflected like Slav or Indo-European tongues; it is not Indo-European, but an Asiatic intruder, a linguistic island in the midst of Europe. A TYPICAL JUSTIFICATION FOR EVANGELICAL MISSIONS Converts among immigrants in America have a keen appreciation of the Reformation, and desire another Reformation for their own homelands. They would see their experience justified in a document which was a landmark of that movement, Calvin s reply to Cardinal Sadoleto, a work that Luther said "had hands and feet." Note the following paragraphs: "Since you have cited us as defenders to the tribunal of God, I have no hesitation in calling upon you there to meet me. Our cause, as it is supported by the truth of God, will be at no loss for a complete defense. I speak not of our persons, whose safety will be found not in defense, but in humble confession and suppliant deprecation; but in so far as our ministry is concerned, there is none of us who will not be able thus to speak: "O Lord, I have, indeed, experienced how difficult and grievous it was to bear the invidious accusations with which I was harassed o"n the earth; but with the same confidence with which I then appealed to thy tribunal I now appear before thee, because I know that in thy judgment truth always reigns. They charge THE COMING OP THE SLAV 121 me with two of the worst crimes, heresy and schism. The heresy was that I dared to protest against the dogmas which they received. But what could I have done? I heard from thy mouth that there was no other light of truth which could direct our souls into the way of life, than that which is kindled by thy Word. I heard that whatever human minds could conceive of themselves regarding thy majesty, the worship of thy deity, and the mysteries of thy religion was vanity. I heard that the introduction into thy Church, of doc trines sprung from the human brain, was presumption. . . . But when I turned toward men, I saw very different principles prevailing. Those who were regarded as leaders of faith neither understood thy Word nor cared greatly for it. Among the people themselves, the highest honor paid to thy Word was to revere it from a distance as a thing inaccessible, and to abstain from all investigation of it. Thy Christ was indeed worshiped as God, and retained the name of Saviour; but where he ought to have been honored, he was left almost without honor. There was none who duly considered that one sacrifice which he offered on the cross, and by which he reconciled us to thyself, none who ever dreamed of thinking of his eternal priesthood, and the intercession depending upon it none who trusted in his righteousness only. . . And then when all, with no small insult to thy mercy, put confidence in good works, when by good works they strove to merit thy favor, to procure justification, to expiate their sins, and make satisfaction to thee (each of these things obliterating and making void the virtue of Christ s cross), they were yet altogether ignorant wherein good works consisted. For, just as if they were not at all instructed in righteousness by thy law, they had fabricated for themselves many useless frivolities, as a means of procuring thy favor, 122 THE COMING OF THE SLAV and on these they so plumed themselves, that, in com parison of them, they almost condemned the standard of true righteousness which thy law recommended. That I might perceive these things thou, O Lord, didst shine upon me with the brightness of thy Spirit; that I might comprehend how impious and noxious they were, thou didst bear before me the torch of thy Word; that I might abominate them as they deserved, thou didst stimulate my soul. . . . As to the charge of forsaking thy Church, which they were wont to bring against me, there is nothing of which conscience accuses me, unless, indeed, he is to be considered a deserter, who seeing the soldiers routed and scattered and abandoning their ranks, raises the leader s standard, and recalls them to their posts. . . . Always, both by word and deed, have I protested how eager I was for unity. Mine, however, was a unity of the Church, which should begin and end in thee." This solemn scene was supplemented by another confession from a layman : "I, O Lord, as I had been educated from a boy, always professed the Christian faith. But at first I had no other reason for my faith than that which then everywhere prevailed. Thy Word, which ought to have shone on all thy people like a lamp, was taken away, or at least suppressed as to us. . . . I antici pated a future resurrection, but hated to think of it, as being an event most dreadful. And this feeling not only had dominion over me in private, but was derived from the doctrine which was then uniformly delivered to the people by their Christian teachers. They, indeed, preached of thy clemency toward men, but confined it to those who should show themselves deserving of it. They, moreover, placed this desert in the righteousness of works, so that he only was received into thy favor who reconciled himself to thee THE COMING OF THE SLAV 123 by works. . . . When, however, I had performed all these things, though I had some intervals of quiet, I was still far off from true peace of conscience; for, whenever I descended into myself, or raised my mind to thee, extreme terror seized me terror which no expiations nor satisfactions could cure. . . . Still, as nothing better offered, I continued the course which I had begun, when, lo, a very different form of doctrine started mp, not one which led us away from the Christian profession, but one which brought it back to its fountainhead, and, as it were, clearing away the dross, restored it to its original purity. Offended by the novelty, I lent an unwilling ear, and at first, I confess, strenuously and passionately resisted; for (such is the firmness or effrontery with which it is natural to men to persist in the course which they have once undertaken) it was with the greatest difficulty I was induced to confess that I had all my life long been in ignorance and error. . . . My mind being now prepared for serious attention, I at length perceived, as if light had broken in upon me, in what a stye of error I had wallowed, and how much pollution and impurity I had thereby contracted. Being exceedingly alarmed at the misery into which I had fallen, and much more at that which threatened me in view of eternal death, I, as in duty bound, made it my first business to betake myself to thy way, condemning my past life with groans and tears. And now, O Lord, what remains to a wretch like me, but instead of defense, earnestly to supplicate thee not to judge according to its deserts that fearful abandonment of thy Word, from which, in wonderful goodness, thou hast delivered me." The conclusion of this reply, as Dr. Reyburn says, in his "Life of Calvin," sums up the whole argument : "The Lord grant, Sadoleto, that you and your party may at length perceive that the only true bond of 124 THE COMING OF THE SLAV Church unity is Christ the Lord, who has reconciled us to God the Father, and will gather us out of our present dispersion into the fellowship of his body, that so, through his one Word and Spirit, we may grow together into one heart and soul." PRESBYTERIAN SLAV PERIODICALS The Board of Publication and Sabbath School Work of the Presbyterian Church makes interesting state ments about its periodicals for Slavs: "There are more than sixteen hundred newspapers published in the United States in foreign languages. Most of them are devoted exclusively to the printing of secular news and not a few of them are the pro moters of socialistic and anarchistic propaganda of the most virulent type. During the War many of them were filled with disloyal utterances and some were dis continued by order of the Federal Government. Since the close of the War, the vigilance of the Government with reference to these publications has relaxed and many new periodicals have appeared representing the most radical views "Without doubt it is the duty of the Church to meet this situation, which in some quarters has become fraught with danger to our American institutions, by an equally aggressive and persistent publication and distribution of literature devoted to the propagation of evangelical truth and Americanization." For the Bohemians or Czechoslovaks, "Our sixteen-page weekly paper, KresfanskS Listy (Christian Journal), has been published since 1906 under the editorial and business management of Dr. Vaclav Losa, a Bohemian mission ary pastor, who, because of his knowledge of the needs of the immigrants and his unusual executive ability, was appointed superintendent of the work among foreign-speaking peoples in Pittsburgh Presbytery. It THE COMING OF THE SLAV 1*3 is worthy of note that under his guidance the Presby tery of Pittsburgh is maintaining a larger work among foreign-speaking people than any other presbytery. Under his efficient leadership this Bohemian paper has been the means of strengthening the efforts of our own and other evangelical bodies among that people. . . . For the use of the children in the Bohemian Sunday schools we are publishing a weekly paper, Besidka (Story Hour), containing stories for children which the parents may read to them." Concerning the Ruthenians (or Ukrainians), "while the Protestant constituency among Ruthenians is comparatively small, their need of a periodical is as urgent as that of other classes of immigrants whom we are endeavoring to influence. During recent years there has been a well-defined movement away from the authority and worship of the Greek Catholic Church. Large numbers have turned to athesim and infidelity. For many years, under the oppression of Russia and with the approval of the Church authorities, these people have been prohibited from using their own language either in the schools or in print. In America they have a few newspapers, but our weekly paper, Sojuz (Union), is the only religious periodical in the Ukrainian tongue published in the United States." Lastly, as to Poles, "for the use of missionaries among the Polish immigrants our Board has united with the Publication Board of the United Presbyterian Church in the publication of a monthly periodical entitled Slowa Zywota (Words of Life). We have but few missions among the Poles, and at present these papers are circulated mainly through our colporteurs. The seed that has thus been sown is giving evidences of growth and the outlook for the future of this work is very encouraging." 126 THE COMING OF THE SLAV THE SLAV VERSIONS A new version of the Bible is "a well at which millions may drink"; and the British and Foreign Bible Society has excelled all other evangelical agencies in opening such wells for Slavdom. Data may be obtained from its annual reports, but especially from its encyclopedic work, the greatest ever attempted of its kind, "A Historical Catalogue of Printed Editions of Holy Scripture." The first volume, the English section, appeared in 1903. Beginning with the most ancient of the Slav versions, that which is popularly called "Slavonic," we quote: "The term Slavonic is popularly applied to that form of Slav speech which survives in ecclesiastical use in Russia and other Slav countries. Scholars distinguish three main recensions, Bulgarian, Serbian, and Russian, in ecclesiastical Slavonic. The majority of the editions belong to the Russian form of ecclesiastical Slavonic which is now in use among all Slavs of the Orthodox Church." The earliest editions were the Psalter (A.D. 1491), the Gospels (1512), the Acts and the Epistles (Moscow, 1564), generally considered to be the earliest book printed in Russia, and the entire Slavonic Bible in Volhynia, Russia, in 1581. But in the seven teenth and eighteenth centuries, the hundreds of editions, Testaments, and portions of this version catalogued, would amaze all who are unacquainted with such a history. All this implies myriads of readers. The Russian Bible Society was founded in 1813. Before it was suppressed in 1826 it was estimated that it had published at Moscow and Petrograd editions of the Bible and New Testament in Slavonic and Russian amounting to over 500,000 copies." Of Russian Scriptures we note: 1. The White Rus sian, in which a version was made in the first part of the sixteenth century. The language is "a Polish THE COMING OF THE SLAV 127 Russian, used in White Russia and parts of Lithuania. To-day the White Russian differs from the standard form of the language in little else than pronunciation. The first editions were at Prague, (Job, 1517)." 2. The Great Russian, which is simply the standard form of modern Russian. "All the editions are printed in the Russian character ( Grajdanski ) which is the modern form of the Cyrillic character introduced by Peter the Great. As in the case of the Slavonic Bible, the order and number of the books in this and other editions of the Old Testament, published by the Synod, agree with those in the Septuagint." The B. F. B. S. report for 1910 gives further details as to the Old Testament authorized and issued by the Russian Church. "It is a translation from the Hebrew. But the short variations which are found in the LXX are inserted in the text within square brackets, with a footnote on the first page pointing out the significance of these brackets. Of such additions there are a dozen in the first chapter of Genesis. The apocryphal books and passages are also included, with a footnote in every case stating that they are translated from the Greek." 3. The Little Russian, or Ruthenian, used in Galicia and southern Russia. The Ruthenians now prefer to be called Ukrainians. The first edition of the Ruthenian Scriptures was the Pentateuch (1869) at Lemberg. The B. F. B. S. reports state that the entire Ruthenian Bible was published in 1904, and that thus another European race is provided with the whole Bible at the expense of the B. F. B. S. and through its instru mentality. In 1910 it was stated that this edition, of course not containing the Apocrypha, had been for bidden in Russia, but would now be allowed if duty be paid. The earliest editions of the Serbo-Croatian Scriptures were the Liturgical Epistles and Gospels (1495) and 128 THE COMING OF THE SLAV the New Testament (1563). The Croatians gave us the word "cravat," from their national name. In B. F. B. S. price lists, the Croatian Scriptures are included under "Serbian," with the statement that they are in Latin character, the Serbian being in a modified Russian alphabet. Their report for 1919 mentions progress in preparing an improved Serbian version. In the report for 1902, mention is made of the death of Dr. Long, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, "till recently a professor in Robert College on the Bos- phorus. Dr. Long s relations with the Bible Society go back to 18GO, when he and the late Dr. Riggs, with two native Bulgarian scholars, were appointed to revise and further translate the Scriptures into Bul garian. This little band completed its labors in 1871, when the whole Bible was printed at Constantinople. This has ever since been the standard Bulgarian version." The report for 1919 mentions a revised Bulgarian Bible, nearly ready for the press. Some years ago, it was estimated that Slovenian was spoken by 1,500,000, of whom 1,300,000 inhabited southern Austria. As early as 1555 we find Matthew s Gospel in Slovene; in 1558, the Gospels and the Acts, and in 1584, the Slovene Bible, editio princeps. There is a Hungaro-Slovene Testament and Psalms for 75,000 Slovenes in Hungary, their New Testament in 1771, apparently reprinted in 1817. The report for 1915 announced that the complete Slovene Bible was published and added for the first time to the Bible Society s list. As to the interesting remnant of the Wends, they are 112,000 German subjects inhabiting a district along the river Spree, formerly known as Lusatia, now divided between Prussia and Saxony. They all belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Confession, except about 12,000 who are Roman Catholics. The term "Wend" THE COMING OF THE SLAV 129 is the appellation given them by their German neigh bors, but they call themselves "Serbs," and this name becomes in Latin, "Sorabus." Hence German phi lologists call this language "Sorbisch," and English scholars refer to it as "Sorb" or "Serbian." The Upper Wends are 77,000 in Prussia and Saxon Lusatia, and the Lower Wends have 35,000 in Prussian Lusatia. The B. F. B. S. price list, 1915, had a Testament and Psalms in Upper Wend. In Polish the earliest versions are Ecclesiastes, 1522, the New Testament, 1552, 1553, and 1556, and the Radziw^ll Bible of 1563, bearing the name of a noble Reformed family; besides the Roman Catholic Polish New Testament, 1593, and Bible, 1599, of Jacob Wujek at Cracow. The B. F. B. S. colporteurs circulate the latter as well as the standard Bible, of course without Catholic notes. In 1912 the publication of some tentative transla tions for Slovaks was announced, three of the Gospels; and the price list for 1915 contained a Slovak New Testament. History ascribes the earliest Bohemian translation of Scriptures to Cyril and Methodius, perhaps A.D. 860. This was revised by John Huss (1373-1415). The editio princeps of the New Testament is dated 1475, and that of the whole Bible, 1488. These were versions from the Vulgate. A century later the United Brethren appointed a committee to translate the Bible from the original tongues. This version was printed in 1593 at Kralitz Castle and has since been known as the Kralicka or Kralitz Bible, a great literary monu ment of the Bohemian language. The B. F. B. S. report for 1912 adds, that for many years Pastor Jan Karafiat, of Prague, has been comparing this version with the Hebrew and Greek texts, and noting more exact renderings of the original. Though delayed 130 THE COMING OF THE SLAV by the War, Mr. Karafiat s revised Bohemian Bible has been published, and copies have lately arrived in America. LETTERS OF DR. ELTERICH AND DR. HAYS From the long list of letters commending Pittsburgh Presbytery s exhibit, two additional messages are given here, one from Dr. W. O. Elterich, Presbyterian missionary of Chefoo, China, the other from Dr. C. C. Hays, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a former moderator of the Synod of Pennsylvania: Dr. Elterich: "It was a great pleasure to me to attend recently the Foreign Missions meeting of the Presby tery of Pittsburgh held in the First Presbyterian Church. I was exceedingly interested in the exhibit, the history of the work done among the foreigners of this region, and in the performances of the young women from the Coraopolis Bible Training School. I doubt if there is another presbytery in our Church in this country which can make such a fine showing. To a foreign missionary like myself who has been in China for many years, this work has especially appealed. I feel that the Presbytery of Pittsburgh has found the most sensible and effective way of dealing with the problem of evangelizing the European foreign popula tion in this country. The selection and training of foreign workers with an efficient foreign superintendent is the method which has made foreign missions such a success in non-Christian lands. It stands to reason that the same principles applied and adapted to the work for foreigners in this land are bound to be suc cessful, and this work of the Pittsburgh Presbytery is a striking example of the same. "In view of the millions in Europe who are coming to our shores as fast as they can get over, all churches and denominations should seriously consider how to THE COMING OF THE SLAV 131 handle this multitude to make them Christian citizens of our Christian Republic. Pittsburgh Presbytery is an example and model as to how this work can be done. May God s richest blessing rest upon the efforts of your committee and fellow workers who are doing this work." Dr. Hays: "It was a fine thing for Pittsburgh Pres bytery to set apart a day for the consideration of its foreign work and I took great pleasure in calling the attention of the Synod of Pennsylvania to what the presbytery is doing. I was greatly impressed with the interest manifested on your special day. The large attendance, including many like myself from outside your own presbytery, was itself an evidence of the success of your work throughout many years. The exhibit showing work done, buildings in operation, and the number and quality of teachers employed, was a most effective object lesson. No one can question that the work among foreigners is to-day the great work of Pittsburgh Presbytery." MR. PRUDKY S JOURNEYS CONTINUED We now follow this itinerary from Poland to the region of Volhynia in Russia, where there are about 50,000 Bohemians, including a Reformed element. First we note the village of Kupicev, near the cele brated fort of Brest-Li to vsk, and Kovel. It is seven miles from its train station, Holoby. Mr. Holub, a Presbyterian of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, was married in Kupicev. One half of this village is Russian, the other half Bohemian, and they are in great contrast. These are comparatively new settlers, not of two centuries ago, but since 1870. When the famous Bohemian historian, Palacky, and his son-in-law, Rieger, visited Russia, at a national convention in Moscow, they recommended that Bohemians emigrate 132 THE COMING OF THE SLAV to Russia in preference to America. There is a Re formed Bohemian school there, and they hold their meetings in it, as their brethren do in some other places where there is no church. The Russians have an Orthodox Church. A cantor supplies the Reformed congregation, and once a year, a Polish pastor from Vilna who has learned Bohemian to some extent, makes them a visit, as he does for Cesky Borjatin. Cesky Borjatin, the next place visited, is two miles from Luck, and has a fine Bohemian Reformed Church, with about five hundred souls, not counting some in surrounding villages. These are more cultured, and have more means than their brethren in some other centers just described. The soil is rich, yielding good crops of hops. The Bohemians suffered in the War. When an Austrian army captured the place, naturally they welcomed Bohemian soldiers who were in their ranks. The Russians recaptured it and proceeded to punish Bohemian civilians as traitors. The worthy Reformed curator, Opocensky, was imprisoned, and for some time in danger of execution, but later was released by the revolutionists. Another good worker is Joseph Baloun, also Janata, an elder, efficient in their church and in Sunday-school work. Baloun s son also had his escapes in war, eventually engaging in Y. M. C. A. work in Brno. The Russian Government had an idea that Bohemians were inclined to be Hussites; and while it did not favor Polish Roman Catholic churches, it was willing to encourage a Hussite movement, supposing that this would finally become Greek Orthodox. Accordingly they supported three Bohemian Catholic priests, married men, who were accepted as Hussites. In practice, according to policy, in one community these would conduct a Reformed service, in another a Catholic service, and elsewhere a Greek Orthodox THE COMING OF THE SLAV 133 service. In fact, they were not perfectly agreed, one preferring a Hussite organization, another the Old Catholic, while the third was undecided. Yet this peculiar style of Church unity did not appeal to Russian authorities, who abandoned their Hussite experiment, and decreed that all these Bohemian set tlers must become Orthodox. Some Bohemian Ortho dox churches still survive. But the Bohemian Re formed, deprived of their church and school, made protests. Later on, the czar became ill, and prayers everywhere were made for his recovery. Seizing such an opportunity, the Reformed asked that they too might assemble for prayer, and this was granted. After the czar passed away, and the new czar took the throne, a brave petitioner, risking arrest, fell on his knees before him with a petition. The czar graciously received him, and at last granted by a ukase religious freedom to the Reformed Bohemians. Mr. Prudky considered their Church life to be of a good type. They greatly desired a Bohemian pastor for themselves and the neighboring villages, and this occasioned another journey later on for Mr. Prudky to the Reformed Synod of Vilna. Mr. Prudky met one of the priests referred to, Kaspar, still Orthodox, no longer able to conduct a school as he had done for some time. He also met in Cesky Borjatin the widow of another of the priestly trio, Hrdlicka. In this place there is a Bohemian Orthodox school, with an Orthodox teacher, and the Reformed children, as it is a public school, are in attendance. Mr. Prudky next went to Michaelovka, near Rovno. In that region is the series of fortresses, Dubno, Luck, and Rovno. He held three meetings, morning, after noon, and night, taking most of the day. The mayor is a religious man. Here the Reformed have four hundred souls, and the Baptists a small number. The 134 THE COMING OF THE SLAV cause of temperance, or as they call it, abstinence," has made gains in that locality. The people have not the advantages of the culture and the soil which belong to those of Cesky Borjatin. The whole village belongs to a Polish nobleman. The Bohemians are renters, and the ground is not so well cared for as if they owned it. In this village, also in the next, of this tour, the people were originally from Zelov, hence from an emigration of 1620, and later. This next place is Hlupanin, with only eighty souls of the Reformed Church, but two or three hundred Baptists, who also have a resident minister. Mr. Prudky called upon him, and he and his people attended Mr. Prudky s service, which was held, as the Reformed here must do, in a private house. This ends the story for Volhynia, so far as it concerns Bohemian Reformed churches. In Hlupanin, far from any educational center, is a layman with a fine library, a man well versed in history and intelligent in theological discussions. From Volhynia, Mr. Prudky s tour led him to the. Kherson Government over Russian steppes, without trees, wood, or coal, first to the village of Alexandrowka, over a mile from Birzula, which is the junction of railroads connecting the important cities of Kiev and Ekaterinoslav. Their houses are neat, but primitive, the walls made of a mixture of earth and straw, repaired every year. Dr. Losa has seen such houses in Canada, constructed by emigrants from that part of Russia. These Bohemians built their houses in common, then distributed them by lot. They use agricultural machines, and rotate crops by changing a district of pasture to farm land, and the reverse, each year. For fuel they use a mixture of straw and manure, which some American westerners have called "Kansas coal." They raise wheat, corn, and sunflowers, for the people eat the seeds of the sunflower as Americans eat peanuts. THE COMING OF THE SLAV 135 The soil is very good, but the whole place is owned by a Russian nobleman; and as they must move away in a few years, they have no inducement to plant trees, evidently a wretched system for so good a country. In a later journey, Mr. Prudky observed that some soldiers, veterans of the war with Japan, owned small tracts allotted to them. Many farmers own fifty horses, and more than forty cows. There is no church, but a school used also as a meeting place. The Bohe mian Reformed have three hundred souls, and there are a few Baptists. Mr. Prudky afterwards sent them a teacher who is now in the United States, an ordained minister, Mr. Drobny. Originally these, too, were from Zelov. About twenty miles from this village, Mr. Prudky saw Bohemka, newly built, a larger place, "like a swallow s nest," he says, and having a fine view over the steppe. The Reformed have five hundred souls. They meet in the school, located in the center, where a flag is displayed at the time of service. Stundists are not far away, but Mr. Prudky was not able to visit them. He held three services on Sunday, and states that they are a good, spiritual people, loving their Bibles and their hymns. In these towns all can read, though not all can write, but they are surrounded by an illiterate population. The last part of this journey brought Mr. Prudky to two groups of families, all originally from Zelov. Four brothers, all with large families, live in Ljubasevka, which is a train station between Birzula and Ekateri- noslav. They own their land, and have good buildings, vineyards, fine grapes, vegetables, and flowers. Here also were trees. For their children they have a Bohe mian governess, instructing them in the Bible, cate chism, and the like. During three days, in forenoons and afternoons, they assembled to hear Bible expositions 136 THE COMING OF THE SLAV from Mr. Prudky, and as Baptists and Stundists were in their neighborhood, they had special questions to ask concerning their dealings with them. Farther on, in the hamlet of Zachovka, were three families, two of whom rent the ground, and one fur nishes labor. These have a few trees, a large planta tion of watermelons, also their gardens, and their primitive houses of earth and straw. A patriarchal, intelligent man, who has a library with religious books, the father of one of the families, lives with them. Here for the first time Mr. Prudky read an evangelical relig ious paper in Russian, published in Petrograd, the Evangelical Christian, copies of which he has seen since. This is interesting, as it shows the survival of publications from the Pashkof movement, to which it really belongs. Two meetings were held here, and people came sixteen miles from Bohemka to visit them. Mr. Prudky finished this tour with a brief visit again in Bohemka. For some years these Bohemka people had lived in the Samara Government on the Volga, where they had bought ground; but they had no rain for two years, and had to abandon the region. Some of them had gone from Samara to Siberia where they founded Novopavlovska in the Akmulinska oblast or province. They own their ground, and have a school for their meetings. They desired Mr. Prudky to visit them, but this would have involved a trip of fourteen days by train, and two hundred miles farther than their nearest station, which was impossible. And Mr. Prudky did not have time to visit the Stundists of the region at a period when they suffered persecutions. During two days in June, 1909, Mr. Prudky attended a Reformed Synod in Vilna, his second journey in Russia. There w r ere two Reformed synods then in Russia, the one of Vilna, the other of Warsaw. There is some interchange of visiting delegates between these THE COMING OF THE SLAV 137 synods, Bohemian pastors are in the Warsaw Synod; but Kupicev, Cesky Borjatin, Michaelovka, and some others send their representatives each year to the Vilna Synod. On this occasion, two were sent from Cesky Borjatin, earnestly seeking a pastor. A fine Polish f nobleman presided; and Rev. Fastrzembski was the superintendent. Mr. Prudky was cordially received. The synod still has some endowments, or had at that time; it was willing to assist Cesky Borjatin financially, and it made recommendations for a pastor. But difficulties intervened. Such a pastor must be a Russian subject, and must pass an examination in four of the eight classes or grades of a Russian Gym nasium, including a knowledge of the Russian language. Hence the Russian Government refused permission, and this charge has had no pastor since 1909 ! No such restrictions applied to Zelov, where an Austrian subject might serve as pastor. It seemed to be Russian policy then to encourage Bohemian churches in Polish terri tory, but to discourage them in purely Russian regions. But since Poland gained independence, Poland has closed Bohemian schools, which still are allowed in Russia, for instance, in Volhynia. The third journey of this series was in 1911, into German Silesia, now Poland, though west of Breslau it is Germany still. Husinec is now in Germany near Breslau, and has a Bohemian Reformed church, but no school, as the children are forced to attend German schools. They had preaching in Bohemian, and a German service once in three weeks, though invariably the hymns were in Bohemian. The Bohemian pastor then would accept no help from Mr. Prudky, so the latter held no service there, but visited the people, the elder Bohemians in villages near by, especially Upper, Middle, and Lower Podiebrad. The people here speek the classic Bohemian of the Kralicka Bible. 138 THE COMING OF THE SLAV Among the Germans they are formal, but among themselves familiar; with the former it is "Sie," and with their Bohemian brethren it is "du." They are prosperous, and in the markets their produce has the highest reputation. These Reformed people number more than six hundred, and they have a fine church building. Some time after this visit, the pastor died, and they called a minister from Pilsen. He came and preached with great acceptance to the older people, but the German Government refused its permission, and sent instead a German minister of Huguenot ancestry, who had learned some Bohemian in Friedrichstabor. This was some three years after Mr. Prudky s visit. The people protested against having a German pastor and a man of liberal theological tendencies. Recently the German Government, still pursuing its Germanizing policy, sent German hymn books for their services. To the older Bohemians their language is sacred, and the opinion they expressed to Mr. Prudky was that as their children lost their Bohemian language, they would be exposed to German influences and also lose their faith. For the benefit of Bohemians in German regions, a famous book of the great Bohemian educator and reformer, John Amos Comenius (Komensky), has been printed in Gothic type,- and used with excellent effect. It is, "The Will of the Dying Mother" "in which she divides among her sons and heirs the treasures entrusted to her by God." This message, issued in the middle of the seventeenth century, at the close of the great Thirty Years War, in which Bohemian liberties were lost, is a work that stirs the Bohemian heart by its pathos. The next locality visited was Friedrichsgratz (Bed- richuv Hradec) near Oppeln (Opoli) where there was a Slovak pastor, using Slovak and German. The German THE COMING OF THE SLAV 139 Government supports Germanizing pastors. He had a diploma from the German Government commending the progress of his school and church. That church is a loyal Reformed Church; he sought to make it Luth eran. Consistent Reformed people have a distaste for the use of the cross and for pictures in the church. Mr. Prudky remarked to him that there was one "picture" that he missed, which was a Bohemian Bible in that church! The children were being Germanized, as he observed in one family which he visited. He had no opportunity to conduct a Bohemian service on a week day, when people could be gathered together only with difficulty. This church has over a thousand souls. The homes of the people are neat. One old man told Mr. Prudky that he did not expect the Bohemian tongue to die out in that community; but Mr. Prudky did not share his hope. Like a true Bohemian, Mr. Prudky was much inter ested in a visit to Lesno (Lissa), near Posen, which has a library and a museum, with manuscripts and memo rials of Comenius, who for years administered the Gymnasium and the church there after leaving Bohemia during the Thirty Years War. The pastor of the German Reformed church was a good historian of Comenius. One of the treasures is a sacramental cup of gold, adorned with jewels, brought by a Bohe mian nobleman. There Mr. Prudky met Rev. Kurnatowski of Kovno province, a Reformed Polish pastor; and as a result of their interview there was held later in Prague a conference of evangelical Slav workers of several nationalities. Seen next in this tour was Friedrichstabor (Bed- richuv Tabor) with its villages, Cernin among them, in German Poland, near Bralin, a congregation with a total of twelve hundred souls. Here was the pastor above mentioned, who was afterwards transferred to 140 THE COMING OF THE SLAV Husinec. At the time he was friendly, and requested Mr. Prudky to preach, hoping for something to check a movement about which he was concerned, toward a so-called "Pentecostal" development, also some Baptist innovations. Old people were present who could not speak German, who wept when they heard the gospel once more, after years of privation, in their native tongue. Later on the church was for two years without a pastor, and the elders wrote asking Mr. Prudky to visit them. He asked the consent of the German pastor of Bralin, who sent a characteristic German response that he did not wish to see him in that part of the country, and that he would oppose him! So he could not return there. On this tour he revisited Zelov, and some other places above mentioned. The fourth and fifth journeys were in a different direction, to Croatia and Slavonia, by way of Vienna and Zagreb. He confessed that these travels were not so enjoyable as those in Russia; for he was impressed with the difference in an emigration from spiritual motives, such as could be found there, and an emigra tion induced by material gains. He did not see such spirituality in those colonies as in Russia. He noticed a peculiarity in the country, that the population was mixed to some extent as in America here a Croatian village, there a Serbian, another Italian, another German, and so on. First he saw Uljanik in Croatia, a small town, where the Bohemian church and manse were in one building, a congregation of some two hundred souls. Next he visited a congregation of some three hundred souls in Herzegovac. They had no church building, but worshiped in a public school. The character of the community may be inferred from the fact that they gladly arranged with a German minister to supply them, one who spoke Croatian, inasmuch as he offered THE COMING OF THE SLAV 141 to do so without salary! Mr. Prudky considered the congregation to be in a low state, materialistic, indiffer ent as to whether services were held in German or Bohemian. The last place visited in Croatia was BrsTjanica, where there were some ten Reformed families, most of whom had removed from Uljanik. Although it was far off, it could be reached by their horses, so that they could go there. They assembled for Mr. Prudky s service in a private house, and were thankful for it, showing a better spirit than those in Herzegovac. The last place in his journeys about Slavdom was Pletenica in Slavonia near Bosnia. (There is no Bohemian Reformed Church in Bosnia.) Church and manse here are one house, and a German minister supplied them who could preach in Croatian, the hymns also being in that language. Here he met that remarkable convert, Kujinek, their treasurer, the fruit of Dr. Losa s mission. On his fifth tour, revisiting this region, he brought them a Bohemian missionary, a deacon. This fourth journey had an additional excursion. From Pletenica Mr. Prudky went to Belgrade (Be leh- rad), capital of Serbia, spending two days seeing Mohammedan mosques and other places of interest. Here there is a small evangelical congregation, mostly German, with a church building, a school, and a parsonage. The pastor was friendly, a Croatian, a converted Romish priest, who had studied in Bielefeld, in Germany, and whose school was German, though emphasizing the study of Serbian. His preaching was in German. This is the only evangelical church in Belgrade, or so far as Mr. Prudky learned, in all Serbia, only scattered groups of evangelicals being found else where. Good work has been done in the colportage of the British and Foreign Bible Society. This church, 142 THE COMING OF THE SLAV apart from recognition by State laws, had direct support from the Serbian king and his prime minister. On New Year s Day, the pastor was regularly and formally received by the king, and in the church was a chair as a seat of honor for visitors from the court. The Slav Mohammedans have lost all Slav character istics, are classed as Turks, and differ from other Mohammedans only in being monogamists. Relatively they are not numerous in Belgrade, but abound in Bosnia. After a trip of six hours on the Danube, he arrived at O Moldawa, a station on that river. He had written to a pastor in this part of southern Hungary, who replied that he was in charge and had no need of help from Bohemia or any visitor from there. He sent gendarmes to investigate. They delayed Mr. Prudky for about an hour, but could not hinder his errand, as his passports were perfectly in order. Taking a car riage, he went eight miles up into the mountains, with views of fine scenery, as the famous "Iron Gates" of the Danube were not far off. Bohemians had had their colonies, some six villages, in this region for a hundred years. His purpose was to visit the only evangelical village of the group, Szensilona, where the Reformed have four hundred souls, and the Congre- gationalists, who came later, a hundred souls. The Reformed have a fine church, no Sunday school, but a public school. The mayor, Cermak, received him cordially. The pastor, whom he met in the market place was very unfriendly. He spoke only Magyar, which Mr. Prudky did not understand. He read his sermons in Bohemian, but the people could not under stand him; as for his personal characteristics he was wholly unacceptable to them. He, too, would have prevented this visit, if possible, by summoning gen darmes. Mr. Prudky met a few of the Congregation- THE COMING OF THE SLAV 143 alists in their missionary s house. Altogether, his stay in the village was only about two hours. He never revisited Hungary. A note may be added as to Zagreb (Agram), the important capital of Croatia, a university town, with more or less than 100,000 inhabitants. On his fourth journey, Mr. Prudky visited a Reformed family pos sessing a fine estate near the city. A few other Bohe mian families are scattered in the region. They go occasionally to Zagreb, though the evangelical church there is German. Their pastor must also know Croatian, and the church records must be in that language. Germans hold the fort, and expect all Reformed or Lutheran, all of the Augsburg or of the Helvetic Con fessions, to come to them, no matter whether they are Bohemians or of other nationalities. So it was for merly in Bohemia and Moravia. After the beginnings of toleration, the Bohemian Reformed congregations were all rural. German influences, even Protestant, opposed their coming into towns, as a Bohemianizing scheme. After 1880 (earlier than that in Prague), they did organize Reformed congregations in cities. (Brno, 1884; Olomouc, 1898, et cetera.) So when the Zagreb pastor died, and Pastor Gerza, who had been pastor in Uljanik ten years ago, visited there in 1917, of course the Germans did not call him to be their pastor in Zagreb. Prochazka, the deacon Mr. Prudky brought with him to Slavonia on his fifth journey in 1913, did good work, but in two years he died. During the War, in 1917, Pastor Gerza went from Bohemia to visit all these fields of the Bohemians in Croatia and Slavonia, finding all pastorless, sheep without a shepherd. Mr. Prudky adds to the sad picture their materialistic neglect of education. In the poor public schools, sometimes overcrowded, the Bohemian children, not 144 THE COMING OF THE SLAV knowing Croatian, are at a disadvantage and learn little. He saw a Bohemian boy of thirteen years, unable to read or write, which would be rare in Bohemia itself. STATISTICS OF THE BOHEMIAN BRETHREN, 1920 The Kalich ("Cup") or Church Yearbook of the Bohemian Brethren for 1920 gives statistics for the Reformed and Lutheran Bohemian churches separately, since their merger has not been completed in detail. A "seniorat" corresponds somewhat to our presbytery. Their synod, in February, 1921, planned to divide Bohemia and Moravia into twelve seniorats. In Bohemia, this Yearbook reports, of the former Reformed bodies, v in the seniorat of Prague, 15 churches, 23,189 souls; Caslav seniorat, 15 churches, 16,578 souls, and without repeating, corresponding figures: Chrudim, 15, and 19,957; Pode"brad, 17, and 20,495. Thus these four seniorats have over 80,000 souls. And of the former Lutherans in Bohemia, of parishes, 15, souls, 14,080. In Moravia the western seniorat, 18, and 27,362; the eastern, 10, and 16,245; and the Vsetin seniorat, 13, and 19,816, or a total of over 63,000 souls. Besides, there are "Moravian Brethren" supported by those of that name in Germany, with six congrega tions, 1331 souls, mostly Bohemian. It is now expected that German support will be withdrawn, and these too, merged in this united body. Of the officers of the synod, the names of some leaders may be mentioned: President, Rev. Josef Soucek, of Prague; vice president, Rev. Ferdinand Hrejsa, who is also a superintendent, of Prague; treasurer, Ferdinand Kavka, and secretary, Dr. Josef Krai, both of Prague. Of the synod s committee, Dr. Ferdinand Cisar, superintendent for Moravia, at Klobouky, Moravia; and of the substitute com- THE COMING OF THE SLAV H5 mittee, Rev. Francis Prudky, pastor at Olomouc, Moravia. These all can read English correspondence, and there are many other pastors or workers besides who can correspond in English. COMENIUS, AND "THE WILL OF THE DYING MOTHER* John Amos Comenius, famous as an educator and a reformer, was born in Moravia, March 28, 1592, and died in Amsterdam, November 15, 1670. After the Battle of the White Mountain, 1620, he fled to Poland, where in 1632 he was elected bishop of the "Unitas Fratrum Bohemorum," or Bohemian Brethren, being the last bishop in the history of that noble Christian communion. His educational writings gave him honors in Sweden, and England and a world- wide reputation. In 1654 he fled from Lesno or Lissa in Poland, in another war, to Holland, where he spent the remainder of his life. Among his numerous works is one in Bohemian, not translated into English, containing the remarkable prophecy of the future triumph of righteousness in his country: "The Will of the Dying Mother In Which She Distributes the Treasures Which Were Granted to Her by God." It is rich hi quotations of Scripture, and its pathos stirs emotion in every true Bohemian heart. It begins in the legal phraseology of a will, with the solemn utterances of a deathbed scene. The "Dying Mother" has no silver or gold, is in widowed circum stances, deprived of her churches and her property, but enriched with her Master s spiritual treasures, which she now bequeaths to her children and to her sisters, representing four classes. First, to the Bohe mian Brotherhood, she gives parting instructions. Some of them have strayed from their fellowship, or have compromised with their enemies. A tearful repentance is her bequest to them. They should turn to God like 146 THE COMING OF THE SLAV the Ninevites, and return to their first love. To her faithful ones, she leaves the better land, the hope of eternal life, the white robes and palms of the new Jerusalem, and the welcome voice, "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." To the Polish Brotherhood, really an offshoot of the Bohemian Brethren, this "Mother" speaks, as to her "second daughter," praying that no such desola tion may befall them as that of Bohemia. There were those who said they were Jews, but were not; they, too, should not have the name of the Brotherhood, while they were not of it. They should remember their origin, and should not be a degenerate, barren vineyard. They should maintain discipline, as many do not. If pastors bring in strange doctrines from foreign coun tries, let them beware lest the Church grow colder and colder, many forsaking it (as, in fact, many Polish nobles did in later times), and beware lest their candle stick be removed "out of its place." If they should be dispersed in foreign countries, let them serve Christ in other evangelical Churches, doing this in simplicity: "Walk in the good way that I have taught you, and seek concord and peace in every country where you may sojourn." In the course of these farewells, is a parting word to the Church of Rome, which had been a cruel step mother to many of them; and to it the "Dying Mother" bequeaths her own example! Then to her beloved sisters, first, to the Helvetic Brotherhood, to whom John Calvin had been sent, that he might bring them as a chaste virgin, to Christ, the "Mother" bids farewell, rejoicing that this Brother hood has discipline; and bequeaths her wish, that they may be more and more thoroughly established upon Christ; that they may abound in love, as well as in THE COMING OF THE SLAV 147 knowledge; that they may be more reverent, not seeking by their reason to pry too deeply into the mysteries of God. Referring to various sects, some in England, and their dangerous work, she commends to her sister the prayer of David, Ps. 25:21: "Let integrity and uprightness preserve me." Also she addresses her German sister, who had been her best beloved sister, but whose love for her in estrangement had grown cold. Her bequest is the wish for more discipline; and for a better understanding of the doctrine, "by faith alone" which had been abused, to the neglect of good w r orks. Luther s building was good, but unfinished, and now they are only living in its ruins. "Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" It is all in vain to have a mere knowledge of Christ; they would deceive themselves, to seek the consolations of the gospel without observing the law of love. The "Mother" then turns to all Christians, earnestly exhorting all to seek for more mutual love and unity. Finally, she turns to the Bohemian nation, and to Moravia. "I turn first to you, my native country, and entrust to you my treasures." And here is the prophecy above mentioned as to the return of righteous ness to that land. Her parting wish is that they may love the truth of God as taught by John Huss, and that they might grant freedom to the truth; that they use the Bible to learn more of God, since it has been so well translated from the original languages; that they maintain discipline, without which there could not be Christian life; that they be whole-hearted, not dividing their heart with the world; that they retain their Bohemian language in its classic purity; and that they care for the education of youth, in which other nations had made progress, while in Bohemia it had been neglected. 148 THE COMING OF THE SLAV "And what more shall I say? I must speak to you as Jacob did to his sons, or as Moses to his people: Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob/ Let Bohemia live and not die, and let not her men be few. Bless, Lord/ her substance, and accept the work of her hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against her, and of them that hate her, that they rise not again/ The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them/ Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: thy blessing is upon thy people/ RETURN TO the circulation desk of any University of California Library or to the NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY Bldg. 400, Richmond Field Station University of California Richmond, CA 94804-4698 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 2-month loans may be renewed by calling (510)642-6753 1-year loans may be recharged by bringing books to NRLF Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date. DUE AS STAMPED BELOW _ >CC 01 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY