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The Seven Churches of Asia in 1846. by CAPTAIN NEWBOLD, F.R.S., &C

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The Seven Churches of Asia in 1846. by CAPTAIN NEWBOLD, F.R.S., &C 81 AET. III.— The Seven Churches of Asia in 1846. By CAPTAIN NEWBOLD, F.R.S., &c. UNDER the impression that any notice, however scant, bearing on the present state of the sites of the Seven Churches of Asia, will not prove wholly unacceptable to the Society, I have ventured to offer a few- notes taken during a recent tour to these interesting localities. In the Revelations, the Divine messages are addressed to the Churches in the following order:— EPHESUS SABDIS SMYRNA PHILADELPHIA PERGAMUS LAODICEA. THYATIRA In point of statistical importance, they rank in the present day as below:— SMYRNA EPHESUS PERGAMUS SARDIS PHILADELPHIA LAODICEA. THYATIRA Ephesus, however, still retains its ecclesiastical superiority in giving title to a Greek Archbishop, while the other Churches have only Bishops or Suffragan Bishops at their head, all of the Greek Church, and subject to the Patriarch at Constantinople. In noticing the sites of the several churches, I shall adhere to the order in which they occur in the Revelations. EPHESUS. Ephesus—the Great—the Ornament of Asia—is deserted. The hungry jackal prowls in the grass-covered theatre which echoed back the shouts of the tumultuous citizens, crying " Great is Diana of the Ephesians;" the owl screeches from its lonely walls; a pestiferous marsh, exhaling malaria and death, chokes up its port; while vast dis- jointed masses of brick and mortar, scattered on the hill of Ayasaluk, alone serve to indicate the site of the Church of St. John, re-erected by Justinian, and where the converts of St. Paul worshipped the only true and living Gcd. " I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place.'' (Rev. ii. 5.) VOL. XIII. G 82 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. Ayasaluk, the modern village, stands more than a mile from the ruins, and contains only one Christian hut—that of a Greek Cafeji; about forty Turkish cottages are scattered over the hill. The great marble mosque at its foot no longer resounds with the voices of the Muezzin and Khatib; it is fast participating in the fate of the more ancient buildings. The interior is encumbered with rank vegetation; the marble fountains have long ceased to refresh the air, and in many places the wall has fallen in. This mosque contains four large granite columns, said to have once formed part of the celebrated temple of Diana. Their circum- ference (abont eleven feet) I found to correspond closely with the dimensions of the broken granite pillars prostrate amid the ruins of the vast structure overlooking the port, or rather the marsh, at the western extremity of the ruins, and which is generally believed to occupy the site of the Temple of Diana. The granite of one of the latter columns has separated in flakes, evidently from the action of intense heat, possibly at the time of the burning of the temple. The marbles and granite pillars in the mosque appear to have been taken from the ruins of the adjacent church, which itself was probably enriched by the spoils of the temple. Within the Acropolis on the hill of Ayasaluk, a few paces beyond the gateway, I observed, among the rubbish, a fragment of a sculp- tured stone, on which was inscribed the legend1 E*E2IOY 1 Mr. W. J. Hamilton, in his interesting Researches in Asia Minor (vol. I. p. 541), states that between five and six miles from Ephesus (Ayasaluk), on the Smyrna road, he passed round the eastern foot of Mount Gallesus, on the lofty and almost inaccessible summit of which is perched the solitary castle of Getchi Kaleh. He did not visit it himself, and says that he " was not aware that any traveller had visited it, although it would be interesting to ascertain whether such a, conspicuous point from all the surrounding country is Hellenic, Byzantine, or even of a still later period. Mr. Arundell suggests the possibility of its having been an old Persian watch-tower." I visited this mountain fortress en route to Ephesus; and found it to be Byzantine of a bad style. The position is strong— precipitous on every side, except along the ridge to the north. The castle presents a mere shell, of moderate dimensions, and in shape an irregular rectangle. The walls, about twenty feet high, are flanked by towers, and constructed, like those of several other Byzantine castles, in Asia Minor, of alternate courses of small slates and thicker cut stones, cemented by a hard mortar, containing small fragments of brick and stone. The layers of slate represent the layers of square brick seen in the construction of some Roman fortresses. The entrances are narrow, and square at top. Over the lintel is a small round arch of square brick. The interior is filled with rubbish and vegetation. A few pieces of marble, apparently taken from some older structure, are seen built into the •walls. I could not find any inscriptions. The position ia very commanding, and was no doubt selected as the key of the pass by the valley of the Cayster, between Ephesus and Smyrna. THE SEVEN CHURCHES OT ASIA. 83 SMYBNA. The population of Smyrna, which, according to Mr. Hartley, amounted in 1824 to Turks .. .. .. 45,000 Greeks .. .. 15,000 Armenians .. .. 8,000 Jews .. .. .. 8,000 Europeans .. .. .. 1,000 Total .. 77,000 has now increased to Turks .. .. .. 60,000 Greeks .. .. 50,000 Armenians .. .. 8,500 Jews .. 8,000 Levantines and Franks .. 4,200 Total .. 130,700 The town is still rapidly enlarging to the south and south-east on the edge of the bay to Windmill Point. The Greeks, who in 1824 had only three churches, have now five; the Latins have three—in 1824, two; and the Protestants two, as formerly. Eight of the nine synagogues of the Jews, and the church of the Lazarists, were destroyed by the great fire in 1841, and are now being rebuilt. The Greeks possess numerous schools. The Protestant schools established by Mr. Brewer have failed, crushed by the better sup- ported and systematic machinery of the Propaganda, which has a large college. Mr. Lewis, the English chaplain, has established a girls' school. The Greek Church of Smyrna is presided over by a Bishop under the Patriarch, who resides at Constantinople, and continues in a flourishing state. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Rev. ii. 10.) PERGAMUS. Pergamus is in a more flourishing state than all the other Churches, except Smyrna; and, though rebuked for idolatry, received an equally gracious message through St. John. " I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful G 2 84 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OV ASIA. martyr, who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth." (Rev. ii. 13.) The present population consists of Turks .. .. .. 14,000 Greeks .. .. 1,600 Armenians .. .. 300 Jews .. .. .. 100 Total .. 16,000 In Mr. Smith's time (1671), there were only fifteen families of Christians, and those "badly off." The Christian quarter occupies the slope of the hill of the Acro- polis, on the left bank of the river, and contains two Greek and one Armenian churches. The modern Greek church is a showy gilded edifice; the ancient one, supposed to be that of the Apocalypse, is small, dark, and sombre. Adjoining it is a Greek school, where I found about thirty Greek children, reading portions from the Fathers, seated on the marble tombstones which formed the pavement of the school. The adjoining Greek burial ground is crowded with marble tombstones, some of which bear inscriptions of considerable antiquity. On two stones, built into the wall of a house in the street leading to the church, the following inscriptions occur: No. 1. ArAirafflSIIS-AINE-NflMEN AYSA AIAI2IAOTO2OIIPAO2IAIAI AYSA TEOMETPH2 AYSA IAIHAEISHKAAHME'TPIOTHTI AYSA ETIMH6HTHAIKAI02YNH AYSA No. 2. APXITEKTQN GIOI2AITEXNEITAI2IEPOI2 NEIKOAHMO2ArA9O2AMAAHOKAI NEIKQNE02 H2*AAI2ArOKAIKO2MH5EAnA2I ArOPANOMIONnEPinATONIAIHfclAOTEIMINI ENBIQAEKAAONEPrONENMONONEYIIOHA BPIIB No. 3 occurs on a stone built into the wall of a khan in the heart of the city— No. 3. BOYAHKAIOAHMO2ETEIMH2AN AYAIANAAKIMOYSYrATEPAAKKAN I ma EPAKAAYAIA2AAKIMIAAH2IEPEIA2 NIKH*OPOYKAinOAIAAO2A6HNA2 IIA2H2APETH2ENEKA THE SEVEN CHURCHES OP ASIA. 85 The following Roman characters are inscribed on a stone in the wall of the Turkish burial ground :— CF-TI SAMEI AORFV A mosque in the city, on the left bank of the river, has been pointed out as formerly being a church of the early Christians. From the style of architecture (Moorish), and its having no bema at the eastern end, I should doubt its having been originally intended for a church. THYATIRA. Thyatira, the fourth Church of the Apocalypse, had entirely dis- appeared after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, until again brought to light under the Turkish name of Aksa, or Ak Hissar, towards the close of the seventeenth century. Mr. Smith, the English Chaplain, and Sir Paul Rycaut, the English Consul at Smyrna, claim the merit of this discovery. It is still a flourishing town, containing about 2000 Greeks, 120 Armenians, and 8000 Turks. " That which ye have already, hold fast till I come." (Rev. ii. 25.) The Greeks and Armenians have each a church here. That of the Greeks is said to be the most ancient, and, the priest informed me, is built on the foundations, still visible, of the Church of the Apocalypse. It is a small but neat structure. In the churchyard the following inscription appears on a marble trough: No. 1. NENEAAON APXIEPEAKAI APXONAIABIOY A2IIATPIAO2KAIA QNOeETHNYIIOA AMENON ii« MIAYPHAION ANTONEINONBA2IAE AKAITPI2IIPE2BEY2AN TAIIPO2TOY2AYTO KPATOPASnPOIKAKAI APXIEPA2AMENON M«SH IOYAAIONY2IOY •• A2IAB XOYIIEPrAMHNQNKAIA rQNOGETOYKAIAPXIE PEO2KAI2TE*ANH*O POYAI2 «8 H2IIATPIAO AI*O «« ASn AYAAH2 PYTAMEG2E*H2ION IIIPE2IS m EIATHIIIP02 KAI2AP»«A2 86 THE SEVEN CHUEOHES OP ASIA.
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