This is the fo~erllt in the series of booklets o~~tlii~iiig the history and work of the Covenanter Chz~rcllin fields abroad. The first was a brief sketclt of the begilz~~iilgand growth of the work in South Chii~a.The secoild was air otrtline of the work in Manclzzckuo written bg the Rev. . J. G. Vos. The third is the story of tlze work itt Syria written by the Rev. A. J. McFarland, D.D. The foi~rth covers the work ill the Cypr~csfield and is written by Mr. Wilbtcr W. Weir. While tentative efforts had been put forth earlier the CIz~~rchdid not get a real start in Cyprus until ISQG. The work then begun has been carried on contin~~o~rslysince. It started as aiz offshoot of our Syrian Missioia. While the beginning of the work seeirred to have been alinost acci- dental, rather than the result of deliberate p1aniziit.g and foresight, it was intended to be an integral part of the work in Sgria. Bz~tthe event proved that it was the opening of another field with a difJerent lailguage, l~istory and outlook. As the years passed it was found that tlze probleins and conditions were so different, with no coin- moil langr~agesave English, that they became two inde- pendent nzission fields. So in reality the Coveizanter Chzrrch has four fields in latlds ab~oaclwhere it preaches the gospel and lifts up a stanclarcl to which tlze faithful may repair. TJzis brief history is sent otct wilh the prayer that it nzay prove a means of quickening Jresh interest and se- curing more earnest sztpport of tlze work in this field.
PUBLISHED BY This brief sketch of tlle work of the Reforilled Presbyteriail Mission in Cyprus \\.as written at tlle request of our Foreign Board. The activities of our Church in the Island did not begin until 1888 ; but the illissionary enterprise, which touch- ed the Near East mucll earlier, did not fail to in- clude Cyprus. Hence some reference to the \\rorli carried on for a short time by the Anlericai.1 Board of Co~l~inissionersfor Foreign Missioils is necessary to provide the proper background for our worlr. It would be interesting to know what mission- ary effort was expended in the island between the time of St. Paul and the era of modern mis- sions; but this would require a separate study and much research. Many interesting details have been omitted in this narrative. Time given to it has not been suf- ficient to follow out lines of research that would doubtless reveal many such details. It is hoped that with this as an outline other facts may be gathered, and the story made more complete. Records have not been kept with a view to pre- serving a history of the work; and not all the best records have been available for the writer. Tlze Rev. Henry Eason a?td Wife, OUT first missionaries in Cyprus As the booklet is primarily for the American reader, the names and record of the faithful labor of many local workers have been omitted. Thanks are due to Rev. C. E. Caskey for help- ful suggestions, and for taking the time to study the reports of the British and Foreign Bible So- ciety while on a mission tour in Egypt, and for his summary of data gathered from those reports ; to D. S. Dimitriades for helpful information fur- History of Our Mission nished the writer when he first took up the work J 4 in Cyprus ; to Barnabas Coi~stantinopouleswho in Cyprus has been the colporteur of the British and For- eign Bible Society since 1930 and who has writ- I. R'oI.~of the Arne:-ican Board of Comlzzissioners ten more fully regarding the recent work of the for Foreign Missions Society in Cyprus. In a corner just inside one of the enlrances The writer will be glad to receive corrections to the enclosul~eabout the Chn1.ch of St. Lazarus, from those who have had better opportunities Lanlaca, Cyprus, there is n grave sloue bearing to Icnow the exact dates as well as more detailed the following inscription : "Sacred to the mem- knowledge of the events narrated. May this brief ory 01 the Rev. Lorenzo Warriner Pease, native record of what has been attempted be a stimulus of the United States of America and First Mis- to those who, having heard the call, will under- sionary of the A.B.C.F.M. to Cyprus, who died Aug. 28, 1839. Agecl 30 yrs. 3 mo. 8 days. 'The take the work in the future; and may it increase Righteous shall be in Everlasting Reinembrance,' the interest of many others who have provided Ps. 112 :6." Then follows, in the Greelc language, support so essential to the work. Rev. 14 :13 : "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord " On another stone, just besicle this W. W. WEIR . . . Troodos, Cyprus one, we read, "Sacred to the memory of Lorenzo July 23, 1938 Erasten Pease, Born March 14, 1837; Died July 10, 1838, and Lucincla C. Pease, Born March 14, 1837; Died Dec. 2, 1838; Infant children of Rev. Lorenzo W. and Mrs. L. L. Pease, American Mis- sionaries to Cyprus." On the third stone, on which appears the name of Daniel Ladd, Jr., soil of Rev. Daniel Ladd and Mrs. C. H. Ladd, we read these words: "His birth placed hi111 on the borders of the terrestrial Promised Land. His death we trust introduced him into the Heavenly inheritance of the children of God." The child was bol-11 in Beirut, Syria April 15, 1837, and clied in Lamaca, Cyprus, &lay 18, 1839. These three tomb stones, marking the graves of one adult and three children, are the material monuments to the early efforts of American mis- sionaries in Cyprus. Under appointment of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Caril-hcr's Hall, La~~taca,CZJ~ITPLS (soutltwest view) Missions, Rev. and Mrs. Lorenzo Pease set out Five from goston on August 20, 1834. In October, they in Cyprus in October, 1836, Rev. J;unes L. Thomp- reached Smyrna, Turkey. In November, Mr. sol1 ha\7ing started ~vorlcin March of same Pease started out to explore Cyprus, and by Feb- year. ruary, 1835, he lzad finished his tasli. 011 Octo- Some light is thro\vn on the opportunities foulld ber 15, 1835, he established a mission station at in the lsIand at that time and on the health pl-ob- Larnaca. I-Ie opened a school with ten p~ipils, lens involved by the follon?ing notes froin the which by January 1836, had increased to se~~en- "Minutes 01 the Syria Mission" : ty-eight. Finding Cyprus very poorly suplllied April S 18.37. "Resolved first, that as tllc I'ield with schools and teachers, he started a trainiilg of usefulness is enlarging and becolllillg 1110re school for teachers, beginning wit11 I'ourteen stu- promising-as the people are very friendl~r,and dents. Before the end of 1836 the mission hucZ ailsious that the statioll should be liept ui1-flnc1 two scl~oolsbesides the training school, and a to- as less oppositioil to our labors has been. ewe- tal enrollment 01 170. rienced there than at ally other station 111 the Although the common people were very friend- Mediterranean-a espericnce thus Sar goes to ly, the higher officials of the Greelr Orthodox prove that with proper care our brcthren may Chi~rchwere hostile, and on May 8, 1838, they dwell safely during the arhole year on the island- succeeding in closing these schools as Protestant the Mission, in view of all these facts, feel free schools, re-opening them later in the name of' the to reconl~l~enddecidedly the permanent establish- Greelis. The records of the Ajllericnil Board shoiir lllent ol that st a 1'ion. that A4r. Pease kept at the nrorli after the scl~ools "lt was Resolved thal the brethren in Cyprus were closed : be requested to take into consideration the ques- "I-Ie worked on in l~reaching,which 'was his tion \vhether, if' that statioll be permanently es- no st delightful employment,' in conversation and tablislied, it be, in their view, desirable to have correspondence. I-Ie acquired an accurate and val- it collliected with this nlission or wit11 the Sillyrna uable facility in the Greelr language and its idi- misson; and to report at our next general meet- oms, completecl a treatise on nloderll Greeli Gram- ing. mar; and had projected the preparation of a life "Whereas it is our deliberate opinion, in view of Christ. 13s plans of labor were broad alld far- of all the I'acts which we are able to obtain, that reaching into the future. He mras beloved alld es- the residence of our missioilary brethren at Lay- teemed by all. In August, 1839, he was seized by naca during the whole year ~7ouldbe extremely severe interlnittent fever and aftelmthree weelis hazardous to their health-and, Whereas the of it died on August 28. Daniel Ladd preached doubts of the Prudential Coillmittee as to the ex- his funeral address before a great assembly. His pediency 01 continuing the mission on the islalid wife stayed on for two Years, returning to Amer- are evidently based, in no small degree, upon the ica in 1841. James Tl~oinpsonalso returned home, unl~ealthinessof the climate-Resolved, first, that and the 3iIissiol1 to Cyprus was closed in 1842. we regard it as the imperious d~tyof our beloved Daniel Ladd \tras then transleelreed to Bmsa, Tur- brethren at that station, to remove to a more Ic~Y." (Notes were provided by Miss Grace 13. healthy residence during the seasoil denoin- IC~~PP,Assistant Librarian, A.B.C.F.M., Boston, iilated there "the siclily season," to such a place, if Mass.) possible as will enable them to continue and ex- ~ev.and Mrs. Daniel Ladd had joined the work tend their missioiiaiy worlr effectively." (Ex- Six Seven tract from Minutes of the Syria Mission, fur- E 11. The Early Work of the British and nished by Janles H. Nicol, Secretary, Syria Mis- Foreign Mission Bible Society sion, Beirut.) 1 in Cyprus "Evidently it was a double reason of lacli of i results and the health situation" writes a mis- The records of the British and Foreign Bible sionary in Syria, relerring to the closing of the Society in Port Said, Egypt, sllonr thal as far work in those early days. A Cypriot has expressed back at 1835 some copies of 1)ortio11~then trans- it as follows: "On account of the bad climate I lated were sent to Cyprus. The saine is recorded the American hqissioll had to leave the field of for 1836, and in 1837 the sale of Portions \iTitS re- Cyprus. All around Larnaca as \\-ell as in the 1 ported. Perhaps tllere was sonle cooperation at town, many marshes relnained all the year round that time wit11 the ~orliersof the A.B.C.F.XI. SOY and there were nlany kinds of dangerous I'evers it is recorded in the "Brie1 Chronicle of the Syrian causing many deaths every year." (Notes on the Mission," under date of May S, 1S36, that "255 Cyprus Mission, by D. S. Dimitriades.) churches in the islaild were suppliecl with Bibles." A lluadred years later, it is still necessary to No mel~tiollis macle of ally further activity of sleep under nets from April to November as a the B.F.B.S. in the Island until 1878 the year Sng- precaution against rnoscluitoes and sandflies, and land took over the government, to administer it it is advisable to get away to' the mountains dur- for Turkey. Mr. Jacob Bacli former merchant in ing the hottest part of the summer. But there is Constantinople, was appointed sub-agent that little comparison between modern conditions and year. (Cyprus was under the Turliish Agency of those esisting a century ago. the Bible Society until 1895 urhei1 it was placed under the Egyptian Agency.) He established a depot in Larnaca. The condition of the Cyprus people at that tillle is indicated by the figures which he reported to the Society-only two in ev- ery hu~dredof the population could read. Sir Garnet Wolseley, the High Coillinissioner oS the island, obtained admission of Scriptures free of duty. The Archbishop of tlle Greeli 01.lhodos church was friendly to the circulation 01 Scrip- tures, and gave a lelter of recommendation to aid in the general work of distribution. By 1882, when Mr. Back left the island, he had circulated 10,000 copies. In 1883, the record shows, 1952 copies were dis- tributed. In 1884 3,397 copies, and it was reported that the rulers and clergy were friendly. Mr. Stor- ey toured most of the Island that yeas. He report- Main Building, Lnmnca, Cyprus (front view, looking ed {hat education was advancing, and that the north across the garden from the roof of the scltool Turks had begun to buy Gospels and especially bath house). Erected in 1911. copies of Proverbs. Dr. Thompson, head of the Eight - Ni~ie Turkis]] Agency at that time, said that Mr. Stor- As the year 1591 lllarlis the conling 01 the first ey's sales placed him "facile Princeps" amow the American n~issiollaryunder the Board of Foreign of the Turlrish Agency. 1,598 copies hlissio~~sof the Reformed Presbyterian Church were reported for 1585. of North America, the narratil~eof the nrorl; of Reference was also made by Mr. Storey to the the British ancl 17oreign Bible Society is here school for girls, opened by Miss Fluhart in Lar- dropped. (For a furtl~e~accouilt see Appendis.) naca. Ile says of the morli of these schools, "In both these the Bible is carefully studied, and we rejoicc at this esainple of honor to the Word of God." FIis reference to the school of Miss Fluhart deserves more consideration than we are able to give it o\ving to lack of information. One may meet in Larnaca today some who were her pupils. It seenls that she was not able to continue for many years, but her short work made a deep impression on the Iives of her pupils. Oiitstand- ing among then1 was the Iate Evanthea Pieridou who, besides donating large sums towards the extension of the Iocal hospital, left with the Gov- ernment of Cyprus many thousands of pounds to be used as an endowment fund to provide school fees for poor children of Larnaca, regardless of race, nationality or religion. In 1937-38 the Acad- emy had one student supported by this fund, and the number will be increased by one each year u~ltilit reaches six or seven. A still greater num- ber will be supported in other schools as well. I\IIlS.Storey reported that 30,000 copies had been sold in the Island "within the last ten years, whereas previously not more than a few hun- dreds, at most, existed." He reported that educa- . tion was nlaki~lgrapid progress, and that good government was producing security and confi- dence. By 1890 he reported that Eronl 2,000 to 3,000 copies a year xvere going to Cyprus. The Ronlan Catholic priest had been the only olle to oppose hi111 the previous year. Roads in the Island had improved, and he now considered using a ve- hicle. Ile ]lad suffered from influenza, and con- sidered it advisable to worlc in the mountains dur- The il4ission Chapel (Covenanter Church), Larnq,ca, ing Sour months of the year. Cyprus. This chapel replaced the old "Iron Churclz. Ten Eleven --. Ii
111. The Reformed Presbyterian Church der guard to his home in Rlt. Lebanon and forbid- rI den to go to any other part of the Turkish Em- Sends Its First -Missionaries ! pire. Reference has already been made to the open- ing of a school in Larnaca 1sritl1 htr. Andrea Vi- "The new missionaries landed in Cyprus about tali of Syria as the teacher. The question is often November 1, 1891, and Rev. Henry Easson of the asked, "Ilo~vdid the work of the Reformed Pres- i Lataliia hlission was iilstructed by the Board to byterian Mission in Cyprus start?" We have the go to Cyprus and assist Mr. Stevenson in select- answer most fully stated in the notes of Rev. ing and purchasing a Mission lot. He did so as Henry Easson, written while worlting in the Lar- soon as the cholera quarantine regulations would naca Mission, and clated October 1, 1896. Ile says, perinit. The lot was purchased in February, 1892, "In the summer of 1888 many of the schools of and arrangements were made for the buildiilg of the Lataliia Mission Field were closed by the F the foundatioils for the iron chapel to be sent Turltisll Government, and it was thought best out from London. by the Mission to open a station at Larnaca, Cy- "Mr. Stevenson had started a very iilteresting prus, and a teacher whose school had been closed service for the city beggars. Instead of giving was brought over from Lataliia to take charge them a mite every day he refused lo give theill of the scllool and an assistant was enlployed to anything any day with the exception of Saturclay teach Greek. The head teacher taught English and requested them to come at 8:30 in the morn- and Arabic. ing. When they were assembled Daoud would read "A Sabbath School was also opened and is well a portion of Scriplure and give a few words of attenclecl. explanation, closing will1 a short prayer and then "The school opened with twenty pupils but dur- Mr. S. would distribute the loaves to strengthen ing the second year the attendance increased to tlle body. He usually had about fifty beggars sixty." present and some tell or more of the neighbors We qirote further from Mr. Easson's record of who came in to see and to listen. I-Ie also started those early days: "In the summer of the same an evening class for youilg men who wished to year (1891) Rev. J. R. W. Stevens011 and wife get a knowledge of English and they also at- were appointed to this field and the Y.P.S.C.E. tended a Bible class on the Sabbath. of the 2nd New Yorlr congregatioll became re- "Brother Stevenson never saw more than tlle sponsible for the salary of the missionary. foundation of the chapel for in March he was "At the request of Rev. R. M. Somerville, D.D., i badly poisoned by medicine lie was taking to Secretary of the Board, Rev. Henry Easson se- I break up an attack of fever. Dr. David Metheny cured the services of Daoud Saada and he was in of Bfersine at great trouble and expense was the Larnaca nearly a mouth before Mr. and Mrs. I I first to reach him and he was soon followed by Stevenson arrived. I Dr. J. M. Balph of Latakia. "Mr. Daoud Saada had been in the employ of "On April 12, 1892, a meeting of the 'Commis- the lMission in the Tarsus Field. The Tul-l