Excerpt from The American Missionaries and the Armenian Protestant Community: An Appeal Against the Policy of the American Missionaries Among the Armenian Christians
Read at a Special Meeting held in the City of New York, United States of America, in 1867.
IN presenting to this honoured assembly a condensed account of the existing differences between your Missionaries and the Armenian Protestant Churches, I fear that some of my hearers will not hesitate to think that we - the Armenian Protestants - after having received incalculable blessings from the American Christians through their missionaries, instead of expressing gratitude are demonstrating an un christian Spirit and evincing ingratitude and dissatisfaction. I beg, therefore, to say that such feelings do not exist either in the hearts of my brethren or myself and I can assure this assembly that we have always considered the Christians of this country, as well as their missionaries, our most respected benefactors. Feeling that their desire is to spread the light of the truth in dark countries in a way they think best, we-as far as it concerns us - think it our bounden duty to point out to them their mistakes in policy and Operation, that the light may be Spread more and more, till the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. We feel that we are in a condition to do this because of our better acquaintance with the peculiarities of the people, and our knowledge of the manner in which the policy of the missionaries is affecting them.
You have, Rev. Gentlemen, before you a person to deal with who will be very glad to receive your advice; if he is mistaken in one or in all points, nothing will give him more delight and pleasure than to be corrected; and, when he returns to his country, it will give him great satisfaction to communicate to his brethren the Opinion formed by this assembly, after a careful investigation of the points under question. I firmly believe that the result of this would be a reconciliation of all parties.
I wish it to be understood plainly that, as far as I am concerned, I have not any personal interest in prosecuting this matter. If you give to my people a better education, after being a father of a few children there is no probability of my having any share in it. If you increase the salaries of those employed by your missionaries, it will be no ad vantage to me; I have long ago determined to live and die with my people. As to treatment, I confess that the missionaries, with few exceptions, have behaved towards me with kindness and regard before these questions were raised. Then what induces me to Speak? It is because I am convinced that if we do not attempt to remedy the exist ing evils, there will be danger of a reaction in the work, which will cause great pain to all who love the kingdom of Christ.
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