Obrazy na stronie
PDF
ePub

during the coming year according to the former plan. The bi-monthly articles on German and English affairs which have graced the pages of the Review for several years, and which are excellent specimens of "Foreign Religious" and "Foreign Literary Intelligence," will be continued during the coming year. The articles on German affairs are by E. Lichtenberger. The monthly reviews of French affairs will, as in former years, be alternately supplied by Pressensé and Sabatier. Articles are announced as forthcoming in the course of 1880 from Pressensé, Bersier, Naville, Godet, Astié, Father Hyacinthe, (on Paganism in Paris, formerly and at present,) and others.

ART. IX.-FOREIGN RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE. MOHAMMEDANISM AND CHRISTIANITY IN TURKEY AND THE NEW BALKAN STATES.-The treaty of Berlin, as was expected, has greatly changed the religious aspect of the Turkish empire and the neighboring States. Roumania, Servia, and Montenegro have been generally recognized as independent States, and thus a considerable portion of the Balkan peninsula again finds itself under Christian rule. Bulgaria remains nominally a dependency of Turkey, but, virtually, it is likewise an independent Christian State. Even East Roumelia is really made a new Christian State, as it has its own Parliament, under a governor who must be a Christian, and whose appointment must be confirmed by the Christian powers. Besides, Bosnia and Herzegovina have been placed under the administration of Austria, and they can never be replaced under the direct rule of Turkey, but must become either a part of the Austrian Empire or States virtually or really independent, like the other new States just referred to. In consequence of these changes the rule of a Mohammedan government over large territories and a population of several million Christians has ceased, and a considerable number of Mohammedans have now become subjects of Christian governments.

The following table, which gives the total population of each of these States, together with the Mohammedan population and the population connected with the Greek Church, will illustrate the magnitude of the changes which have taken place in the religious aspect of these countries:

[blocks in formation]

All the above States, with the exception of part of Montenegro, were, until 1878, subject to the rule of the Sultan. In consequence of the treaty of Berlin the Sultan's authority over a population of nearly 11,000,000 has been wholly, or at least virtually, destroyed. Of this population about 1,600,000 are Mohammedans, who will now be distributed among six different Christian States. They form a minority in each of these States, except in Eastern Roumelia, where they constitute about one half of the total population. The immense majority of these Mohammedans do not belong to the Turkish race, but are descendants of Slavs, who were induced by the prospect of worldly advantages and privileges to embrace Mohammedanism. They still speak the language of the Slavic tribes to which they belong, and the consciousness of a common nationality cannot fail to exert upon them, in the course of time, a strong influence. The national feeling makes ¶tself so strongly felt in all the Slavic countries that it will certainly attract many of the young Mohammedans; and it must, of course, be expected that in proportion as the Mohammedan Slavs begin to feel a more intense interest in the aspirations of their race, their connection with the Islam will be weakened. All the six Christian States of which these Mohammedans are subjects have to make provision for the religious worship of the Mohammedans; and as all of them have a constitutional form of gov ernment, it will be a matter of considerable interest to watch the development of the Church government of the Mohammedans in these States.

There is as yet no indication that the decay of the Mohammedan power in Turkey, which has for centuries been on the increase, has received any check. On the contrary, other territorial losses will certainly occur ere long, and a general dissolution becomes more and more probable. Turkey has bound itself by the Berlin Treaty to cede a part of its territory to Greece, and the execution of this part of the treaty has thus far been only delayed by the disagreement of the Greek and Turkish commissioners. In Candia and the smaller islands the Mohammedan element of population is so weak, and the desire of the majority of the population who belong to the Greek nationality for annexation to Greece is so strong, that a reunion with the kingdom of Greece appears to be very probable. In Asia, as the British embassador, in 1879, told the government of Constantinople, the failure of the Turkish government to carry out the reforms promised in the separate treaty between England and Turkey, has stimulated among the Armenians, and also among the other Christian nationalities of the Asiatic dominions of Turkey, aspirations for an autonomy similar to that of Bulgaria and East Roumelia, in Europe. By the pressure brought upon him by England, the Sultan has finally been forced to intrust to an Englishman the task of reconstructing the administration in the Asiatic provinces. The financial condition of this empire is so wretched, and the inability of most of the Mohammedan statesmen to effect any lasting reforms so palpable, that even the chief representatives of the religious interests of Mohammedanism, the ulemas,

urged, in 1879, upon their government the appointment of able financiers of Christian Europe to assume the control of the Turkish finances. Turkey is the only country in Europe the population statistics of which are little known. The statements both of the total population and the religious statistics have hitherto greatly varied; only of late greater care has been taken to obtain reliable figures. In view of the probability that the disintegration of Turkey will go on, the following religious statistics of the vilayets or provinces of European Turkey, which are given by M. Jakshitch, the head of the statistical bureau in Belgrade, Servia, will be found of interest:

[blocks in formation]

The table shows that in none of the vilayets the Mohammedans constitute a large majority, and that in several they even are very largely in the minority. The Christians generally would prefer incorporation with one of the Christian Balkan States, and the weakness of the Mohammedans makes it highly probable that a partition of at least European Turkey between the Christian races of the Balkan peninsula is highly probable. In Asiatic Turkey Mohammedanism is, numerically, much stronger. The Mohammedans constitute the large majority of the population, numbering about twelve and a half millions of a total population of sixteen and a half millions. But here, also, Turkey is threatened with great losses in the future. The difference of race makes itself felt in Asia also. Of the Mohammedans only 6,000,000 are Turks, the remainder belong to other races. The Christians, about 2,800,000, constitute a considerable majority in several districts. They have begun to aspire after political independence, or at least autonomy; and if ever they should secure the acquiescence of both Russia and England the Turks will be entirely unable to resist their demands for independence. Another very remarkable fact in regard to the future of Asiatic Turkey is the very rapid advance of the Greek population all along the coast. Almost the entire commerce of the large cities is in the hands of Greeks, Armenians, and other Christians. The Turks feel their inability to compete with the Christians, and more and more fall back from the coast to the interior. In Africa, Egypt has, of late, grown so rapidly that it now has a territory larger than the entire immediate possessions of the Sultan, with a population about equal to that of Asiatic Turkey. The authority of the Sultan in the African dependencies is not much greater than it is in Bulgaria. It must necessarily come to an end if the power of Turkey is still further reduced in Europe and Asia.

As Mohammedanism continues to decline, the power and influence of the Greek Church, or, as it calls itself, the Orthodox Eastern Church, are looming up. A few years ago this Church had among the independent governments of the earth only two representatives, Russia and Greece, leaving out Montenegro, which was a little principality of only 120,000 inhabitants, and the independence of which was not recognized by Turkey. Now there are four other States in which the Greek Church will predominate-Servia, Roumania, Bulgaria, and Eastern Roumelia. The latter is likely to be, ere long, united with Bulgaria. Every further loss of Turkey will add to the territory, population, and power of these States; and in the history of the Christian Church the Greek Church must, therefore, occupy henceforth a more prominent place than in the past. This growth will, however, greatly change the inner constitution of the Church. The Patriarch of Constantinople still is, and probably will remain for a long time to come, the most prominent bishop of the entire communion; but the Churches of Russia, Austria, Greece, Servia, Roumania, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and the Churches of the Bulgarian nationality in East Roumelia, have made themselves entirely independent of his jurisdiction. Therefore, although the honorary pre-eminence of the See of Constantinople continues, the direct jurisdiction of the Patriarch has become limited to the Christians of Greek nationality living under Turkish rule. The progressing consolidation of the Bulgarian nationality, and the prospective annexation of large districts of the European part of Turkey to Greece, are likely very soon to reduce this jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople to still narrower limits. As the Greek Church of Bosnia and Herzegovina is of the same (Servian) nationality as a large portion of that Church in Austria-Hungary, the Austrian government is intent upon establishing the closest union between these two Churches. It is estimated that in Austria-Hungary there is a population of about 3,100,000 which belongs to the Servian nationality. If to this number the Servians of Bosnia and Herzegovina are added, the number of Servians who are under the rule of the Emperor of Austria rises to more than 4,300,000, a number exceeding that of all Servians outside of the Austrian dominions. The establishment of a strong, consolidated Servian Church within the boundaries of Austria appears, therefore, to many of the leading statesmen of Austria as a matter of grave political importance for the future of the Empire. The Churches of Bosnia and Herzegovina were, until the treaty of Berlin, under the Patriarch of Constantinople. Nearly all the bishops appointed by the Patriarch were Greeks, who did not understand the Servian language, and had no sympathy with the national aspirations of the Servians. The latter, therefore, were greatly dissatisfied with their Greek bishops. This feeling was fostered by Austria after it bad obtained possession of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The history of the past relations between the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Servian nationality was referred to, to prove that any jurisdiction of Constantinople over Servia was a usurpation. At the time when Servia was a

powerful kingdom it had a Patriarch of its own at Ipek, whose independence was recognized by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Subsequently a large number of Servians, including the Patriarch of Ipek, emigrated to and settled upon Austrian territory; and in the course of time the Austrian Government deemed it good policy to establish within its own borders a Servian patriarchate at Carlovitz, which claims to be the heir and legitimate successor of the patriarchate of Ipek. The proposition to place all the Churches of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Patriarchate of Carlovitz appears, therefore, to be quite natural, and a measure of this kind would have the great political advantage of promoting the permanent political union of these provinces with Austria. At the end of November, 1879, the Patriarch of Carlovitz and the Bishops of Ofen and Neusalz were summoned to Vienna and Pesth to be consulted on this subject by the Governments of Austria proper and Hungary.

ART. X.-QUARTERLY BOOK-TABLE.

Religion, Theology, and Biblical Literature.

The Advent of Christ; An Elucidation of the great Prophecy of our Lord, with special Reference to the Question, Whether Christ will make his Appearing before or after his Millennial Kingdom, together with an Answer to the Question, Did the Apostles expect the Advent of Christ in their own Day? By FRANZ L. NAGLER. 24mo., pp. 222. Cincinnati: Hitchcock & Walden. 1879. We have given above a translation of the title of a small book written in the Germanic dialect of our great Teutonic speech. Mr. Nagler avows that he once believed, but has now renounced, the doctrine of a premillennial advent. And as he indorses largely, but in a perfectly independent spirit and with some acute criticisms, many of the views which we have put forth distinctively from all other commentators, giving us full and frank credit, our hope is that our commentary, when fully completed, will prove a future safeguard for our people against those periodical fits of expecting the immediate advent which have proved so great a detriment to religion.

Full of mischiefs especially have been the interpretations of the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, both by English commentators, as Whitby and Clarke, and German commentators, such as Stier and Lange. Both have violated the fundamental principles of exegesis in misconstruing that chapter, and have made it pregnant with infidelity and heresy. Modern Universalism was born of the allegorizing of that chapter.

The readers of our commentary on Matt. xxiv and xxv are aware that we hold the phrase "these things," in the disciples'

« PoprzedniaDalej »