ary
Herald_ for 1855, pp. 142-147.

CHAPTER XXV.

THE ARMENIANS.

1855-1860.

There are times when the movements of armies are evidently made
subservient, in divine Providence, to the progress of the Gospel;
and the history of missions to the Oriental Churches would be
imperfect without some notice of the Crimean war of 1854 and 1855.
The historian of that war has shown, that it originated in the
desire of Nicholas, Czar of Russia, to secure certain rights in the
"holy places" at Jerusalem (in which he was opposed by the Roman
Catholic government of France), and to obtain a formal recognition
of himself as protector of the millions in Turkey professing the
Greek religion.[1] But for the seasonable return to Constantinople
of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe in 1853, there is reason to fear,
that the extraordinary persistence of the Czar might have been
successful, and that the protectorate would have been used to
destroy the evangelical missions.[2]

[1] See volume first of Kinglake's _Invasion of the Crimea_. He
describes very minutely how the English nation was drawn into the
war; but it is not necessary to go into that subject here. The
nation was doubtless much influenced by its desire to uphold the
Turkish government in order to keep open its communication with
India.

[2] Some idea of the spirit in which such a protectorate might have
been exercised, may be obtained from two out of a number of kindred
articles of the Russian Penal Law:

"Article 206. Whoever is found guilty of having induced others to
secede from the Greek Orthodox Confession, and to join another
Christian Church, will be condemned to the loss of the rights of his
social position, to transportation to Tobolsk or Tomsk (Siberia), or
to the punishment of the lash, and one or two years of imprisonment
in the house of correction.

"Article 207. Whoever endeavors, by preaching or writing, to seduce
members of the Orthodox Church to join any other Christian
community, will be punished the first time, with the loss of some of
his special rights, and imprisonment for one or two years in a house
of correction; the second time, with imprisonment in a fortress from
four to six years; the third time, with the loss of all his personal
and social civil rights and status, and transportation for life to
Tobolsk or Tomsk (Siberia), with imprisonment of one or two years."
--_New York Observer_ for August, 1871.

The author was in the interior