unsustained by the
Scriptures, and of no practical advantage. The outset of the
Armenian mission was in some respects unlike that to the Maronites
of Syria, among whom the converts were at once excommunicated, and
treated as outlaws. The object of the missionaries was not to break
down the Armenian Church, but, if possible, by reviving the
knowledge and spirit of the Gospel, to reform it. They were content
that the ecclesiastical organization remain, provided the spirit of
the Gospel could be revived under it. They regarded the ceremonies
of the Church as mere outworks, not necessarily removed before
reaching the citadel; and believed that assaults upon these would
awaken more general opposition, than if made upon the citadel
itself, and that, the citadel once taken, the outworks would fall of
course. They felt, therefore, that as foreigners their main business
was to set forth the fundamental doctrines and duties of the Gospel,
derived directly from the Holy Scriptures.

This early position of the mission is stated merely as historical
truth. When their converts were excommunicated, after some years,
the case became changed, and of course their methods of proceeding
were greatly modified, so far as the hierarchy was concerned.

Obstacles soon arose that had not been anticipated. First, the
plague, with terrific violence, then, the cholera; and lastly, the
Egyptian civil war, which shook the capital, and endangered the
throne. There could be little intercourse with the people in these
circumstances; and during the latter part of 1832, the missionaries
were employed chiefly in their own houses, studying the languages,
and preparing elementary cards and books for the schools.

It would seem from the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, that his
affections were early drawn to certain favored individuals among
those first awakened by the Holy Spirit. It was so with the brethren
at Constantinople. Among the earliest students of Peshtimaljian, was
Hohannes Sahakian, who had been fond of books from childhood, and
for some time had longed to see his countrymen better furnished with
the means of education. Before entering the school, which he did in
1829, he had commenced reading the New Testament, a cheap copy of
which his father had purchased, and he was delighted to find his
preceptor so ready to sympathize with his views, and to aid him in
his investigations. In 1830, he began to converse on religious
subjects with his friend S