THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
sionary Society, and the Archbishop of Canterbury's Assyrian Mission; Roman Catholic ; Russian Orthodox.
The American Congregationalists in 1834 sent Justin Perkins and in 1835 Asahel Grant (qq.v.) as missionaries to the Nestorians, commissioning them to strive " to enable the Nestorian 2. Work of Church, through the grace of God, to Congrega- exert a commanding influence in the tionalists spiritual regeneration of Asia." They and Pres- settled in Urumia in 1835. Perhaps it byterians. was not to be expected that Puritan Christians would be able long to work within the bounds of the most ancient of the separated Eastern churches. The separation of the Evangelicals was perhaps inevitable, but it was gradual and not until about 1870 was it complete. The Evangelical church thus formed is recognized as a member of the Alliance of Reformed Churches holding the Presbyterian system. It has about 3,000 communicant members. In 1870 the work of the A. B. C. F M. was transferred to the Board of Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A., and since has been expanded by the establishment of stations at Tabriz, Teheran, Hamadan, Resht, Kazvin, and Kermanshah. The branches of the work that have been most strongly developed and have had the largest general influence in the country are the educational and medical. The best known and most efficient schools and hospitals in Persia are those connected with this mission. (Perhaps the names that best deserve special mention are those of Justin Perkins, who established the mission and more than any one else reduced modern Syriac to literary form; Fidelia Fiske, who began female education and whose life has become a classic in missionary annals; John H. Shedd (q.v.), who did much to organize the work; Benjamin Labaree, who perfected the translation of the Scriptures, and J. P. Cochran, M.D., who gained a very unique influence over Persians of every class.) In connection with this mission the American Bible Society has done an important work in publishing and distributing the Scriptures, especially in Syriac. The present statistics (1909) are as follows: Missionaries, 37 (besides wives and including 6 male and 3 women physicians); native ministers 35, communicants 3,110, adherents about 7,000; contributions $4,200; 62 schools with 2,692 pupils (of whom 1,120 are girls, and not less than 500 Moslem children), school fees over $3,000; 4 hospitals, 617 in patients, out patients over 50,000, and medical fees nearly $10,000.
Similar to the work of the Presbyterians is that of the Church Missionary Society in southern Persia. The work was established in Isfahan 3. Other in 1869 by Robert Bruce, who will also Protestant be remembered for the revision of Missions. Henry Martyn's translation of the New Testament into Persian. Special prominence has been given to medical and educational work. Stations have been established in Kerman, Yezd, and Shiraz as well as Isfahan. The statistics of the work is as follows: 33 missionaries, including 4 men and 5 lady physicians; native clergy 1; native teachers 28; communicants 189 and ;
Christians 412; schools 8 and scholars 409, of whom 161 are girls; hospitals 6. The British and Foreign Bible Society does an extensive work in southern Persia.
After a series of communications with the Nestorian patriarch and repeated appeals, Archbishop Benson founded the Archbishop of Canterbury's Assyrian Mission. The headquarters were established in Urumia in 18S4, and were removed to Van, Turkey, in 1907. Most of their work has been for the Syrians in Turkey, especially since the adhesion of most of the Syrians in Persia to the Russian Orthodox Church. The purpose of the mission has been to strengthen the Nestorian Church to resist propaganda from without and to stimulate spiritual life within that body; and this purpose has been adhered to in a very conservative sense. The main work of the mission is educational and literary. The present statistics of the work in Persia are as follows: Missionaries 2, schools 30, scholars 470 (of whom about 150 are girls). There are 12 other Nestorian schools with about 300 pupils. The number of Nestorians in Persia is probably about 4,000.
The present Roman Catholic mission was founded in 1840 by the Lazarists, in consequence of the representations of M. Bore, a French sa- 4. Roman vant. In 1856 they were reinforced Catholic by Sisters of Charity. The Lazarists and Greek and the Sisters of Charity (Sisters of Church St. Vincent de Paul) have establish- Missions. ments in Urumia, which is the episcopal seat, Salinas, Tabriz, and Teheran. There are also Armenian Catholics at Isfahan, and Chaldeans in Sena. At the head of the work is the apostolic delegate, at present Mgr. Lesne, titular archbishop of Philippopolis. Most of the native Roman Catholics are of the Chaldean rite with Archbishop Audo, at their head, whose seat is at Urumia. Under the vigorous direction of Mgr. Cluzel (died 1882), their propaganda among the Syrians made rapid though not solid progress; but recently it has been stationary. In their schools are Moslem as well as Christian pupils. The statistics of the work are not obtainable, but the number of adherents is probably about 5,000.
The Syrians (Nestorians) living in northwestern Persia, have long had close industrial relations with Russia, and the expectation that long existed was that Russia would ultimately be political master of northern Persia. The Russians were looked on as the expected saviors from Mohammedan rule. Accordingly repeated petitions were offered by the Syrians to the Holy Synod and orthodox bishops to receive them into the Orthodox Church. The priests sent to investigate the conditions were received in 1897 with an enthusiastic welcome and the next year the large majority of the Syrians in the Urumia district were received into the Orthodox fold after renouncing the errors of their national church. A monastic mission under the headship of an archimandrite has been established and the Orthodox Syrians were organized under two Syrian priests. The clergy are mainly converted Nestorians. -A t first not only the bulk of the Nestorians, but also not a few members of the Protestant and Roman