The Protestant Missionaries had a long history in Diyarbekir prior to\nopening up this Protestant Church. As conversion of Muslims was forbade\nby the government (for a time under the death penalty), missionaries\ntargeted Christians of the empire for conversion (West, 1875, page 536).\n The first Protestant missionaries, Dr. Grant and Mr. Homes, appeared in\nthe city in 1839 (Dwight, 1861, page 306; Anderson, 1872, page 83;\nDr. Grant, 1840, page 128). Soon after Dr. Grant arrived at the end of\nMay, panic broke out in the city over the great defeat in the Battle of\nNezib, and some of the Muslim populace sought to kill all Europeans in\nthe city, forcing Grant and Homes to leave only 40 days after Grant\narrived (Dr. Grant, 1840, page 129). The city was visited by\nmissionaries Hinsdale and Mitchell in 1841 and Laurie in 1842 (Anderson,\n1872, page 83). By 1848, a large number of Bibles in Ashkharhapar\nArmenian were distributed in the city (“Erzeroom”, 1850, page 127). In\n1849 it was visited by Mr. Peabody, who saw some people following\nProtestantism; he reported that one Protestant man was recently beaten\nby the Armenian metropolitan for discussing religion with the priests\nwithout the proper qualifications (Anderson, 1872, page 83; “Erzeroom”,\n1850, page 127). Mr. Schneider visited the city in spring 1850 and\nhelped create the roots of Protestantism in the city (Dwight, 1861, page\n307; Anderson, 1872, page 83). He saw up to 100 people in attendance.\n Interestingly, he saw during this time disproportionately more Assyrian\nfollowers than Armenian. Schneider reports that the work of the\nmissionaries was strongly disapproved of by the Armenian and Assyrian\nclergy; he reported strong protestations by the Armenian metropolitan\nand Syriac Orthodox patriarch, which led him to appeal to the vali:

\n
He received me politely, and as I found him entirely alone I had a\nvery favorable opportunity to communicate with him. Before went,\nfourteen individuals gave me their names to hand to the Pasha as\nProtest- ants, if necessary. The results of my interview with him, thus\nfar, have appeared very favorable. He tacitly gave me permission to\npreach here, these Protestants have been virtually acknowledged by him,\nand this number of individuals have been fully and publicly committed to\nProtestantism. (“Aintab”, 1850, page 268)
\n

Fletcher reported that one Armenian clergy of the city said the\nfollowing:

\n
Why do these people come here to overturn our old churches and to\nalter our customs, which we have maintained since the days of the\nApostles! We do not deny them the title of Christian, nor do we wish to\nmeddle with their way of serving God. It may do for them, but we prefer\nto hold by the ancient customs, and the writings of the Holy Fathers.\n We do not send missionaries to America, though perhaps we may think\nthey need them. (Fletcher, 1850, page 253-254)
\n

Sandreczki reports a similar incident in 1850, when speaking with the\nleading Vartabed of the city:

\n
Suddenly his gaze focused sharply on our friend from Aintab, who had\njoined us without any special request from our side and had modestly\ntaken his seat (on the floor) at the lower end of the room among the\nVartabed’s people. “Who are you,” he asked him slowly, as if inquiringly\nor suspiciously? “I am an Evangelical—Avederanlü [Protestant]— from\nAintab,” our friend answered calmly. But these few words—this one word,\nI must say—summoned up a storm that I will not soon forget. With a\ncontemptuous and piercing glare, he began to pour out his indignation\nabout this foreigner of the American missionaries and about them and\ntheir heresies in the most violent scolding words directed at us. Why\ndid they come and throw the stone of contention among the people?\nWhether they believed that the Armenian Church did not exist able to\ninstruct the people in Christianity, etc. (Sandreczki, 1857, page\n200)
\n

His conversation with the Syrian Patriarch went somewhat\ndifferently:

\n
Today, in the morning, we paid our respects to the Syrian Patriarch,\nwho was presently here. His lower garment was scarlet red, but the upper\ngarment was bright salmon red; in addition, he wore a dark violet-blue\nturban, which tapered off into a rather narrow cone at the top. He\nreceived us in a very friendly manner, as there was much gentleness in\nhis whole being. The conversation was conducted alternately in Turkish\nand Arabic, and he himself directed it to subjects that must reveal our\ndifferent views. They talked about churches, seats of faith, abuses,\nimages, saints, about reform and missionaries. He thought that people in\nEurope knew too little about his church and therefore might have\nmisunderstood or misrepresented some things. I assured him that our\nlearned theologians, ecclesiastical and other historians and also other\nresearchers were at home in this field and were well acquainted with the\nlanguage, the confessional writings and literature in general, as well\nas with the conditions of the past and the present. Then he raised the\nobjection that missionaries should only be sent to the heathen, which is\noften enough the case even in Europe. We pointed out (Revelation John\nIII:1) that a Christian church could well get into a condition that\nwould require a renewed proclamation of the truths of salvation that had\nbeen suppressed or, as it were, lost.
\n
The whole conversation was held as if between friends. (Sandreczki,\n1857, page 242)
\n

He also reports on the actions apparently instigated by some Armenian\nclergymen against a Protestant meeting:

\n
Towards evening there was another prayer meeting, in which I read and\napplied Matth. 10. In the meantime, a bunch of Christian children had\nlined up in front of the house and were shouting all the time, throwing\nstones over the outer wall and banging on the gate. Such things belong\nto the weapons with which the priests want to “fight down” the “new\ndoctrine,” because we soon learned that these are the instigators. One\nreally does not know which one should consider greater: the malice or\nthe stupidity.
\n
On our way out, the clerical forces retreated; but we heard their\nnoise again immediately afterwards and decided to put an end to the\nmischief as soon as possible, because the poor Protestants were really\nin danger; for heavy stones had flown into the courtyard, some even as\nfar as the assembly hall, and in the crowds even worse things could\nhappen to them. (Sandreczki, 1857, page 213-214)
\n

In fact, Sandreczki got a far more friendly reception from the vali,\nwho promised to issue warnings against causing disturbances for the\nProtestant missionaries (Sandreczki, 1857, page 236-237). In spring\n1851, Mr. Azariah Smith founded a small church in the city, attended by\nArmenians and Syriac Orthodox (Anderson, 1872, page 83). Many of the\nAssyrians of the church wanted to make admission of members into the\nchurch less strict, and opposed the missionary leadership, however\nDr. Smith convinced them of the necessity of those restrictions in order\nto prevent people living selfishly (Anderson, 1872, page 83). Mr. and\nMrs. Dunmore arrived in November 1851 with an Armenian preacher Stepan\n(Anderson, 1872, page 84). Stepan led the church because Mr. Dunmore\ncouldn’t speak Turkish well (Anderson, 1872, page 84). By 1852, the\nchurch had 22 members (“Diarbekir”, 1853, page 137). Dunmore also\nreports a change in position of the Syriac Orthodox; he reports that\ntheir bishop allowed the reading of the Turkish-translated Bible in the\nchurch at the request of the congregation and “admits that Protestants\nhave the truth” (“Diarbekir”, 1853, p. 137). It was around 1852 that\nTovmas Boyajian, the future pastor, converted from Apostolic\nChristianity to Protestantism:

\n
Tomas, who had long been vacillating, boldly declared himself a\nProtesant, and though his bishop offered him the monthly reward of two\nhundred piastres for two years, paid in advance, if he would leave the\nProtestants, his reply was: “Go tell the bishop that I did not become a\nProtestant for money, and that I will not leave them for money, even\nshould he give me my house full of gold.” Tomas was then nineteen years\nof age, and had an orphan brother and two sisters dependent on him. He\nhad been a prosperous silk manufacturer, but after he became a\nProtestant, both nominal Christians and Moslems refused to trade with\nhim, and he was impoverished. It was decided to send him to the Bebek\nSeminary. (Anderson, 1872, page 85; “Arabakir”, 1855, page 76)
\n

The Rev. Henry Lobdell, M.D. visited the city in April 1852\n(Anderson, 1872, page 86; Tyler, 1859, page 142). Lobdell and Dunmore\nwere persecuted by the local inhabitants:

\n
I never went into the streets without being saluted with the cry of\n“Prote [Protestant],” and seldom without receiving a shower of missiles.\nSeveral times, while walking for exercise with Mr. Dunmore, on the roof\nof his house, I was hit by stones flung from the roofs of adjacent\nbuildings. The women screeched and threw dirt; the boys hurled stones\nand brick-bats; while the husbands and fathers stood by cheering them on\nin their diabolical work. The Saturday before I left, we happened to be\nwalking through the open court of a mosk [the Ulu Câmi‘i], and stopped\nto look at the tall Corinthian columns of marble raised around it by\nancient Christian hands. A crowd of forty or fifty gathered round us,\nand though all classes of the citizens pass daily through the court, we\nwere foreigners and Protestants, and it was a good time for the Moslems\nto wreak their vengeance. They at first attacked me, but when they saw I\nwould offer no resistance, they fell upon Mr. Dunmore; he tried to parry\ntheir blows with his cane, but was seized by the throat, and I feared he\nwould be strangled. It would have been madness for me to rush to his\nassistance; I tried to pass quietly away, but a part of them turned upon\nme, seized and hurled away my hat, and, though now in the open street,\nwe both felt that it was quite uncertain whether we should escape alive.\nThey at length began to throw stones; one of two pounds’ weight hit my\nside, and I picked it up as a witness against the offenders. The\nmissiles came so thick, and the mob was so fierce, that we were obliged\nto run with all our might. We found temporary safety in the bazaars, and\nsoon after effected our escape to Mr. Dunmore’s house. We were thankful\nfor deliverance from such a death, but we deemed it expedient to make a\ncomplaint to the Pasha; we were refused redress, and were even told by\nthe Pasha that he did not believe a word we said! Such is justice and\ntoleration in Diarbekr. (Tyler, 1859, p. 152)
\n

Mr. Dunmore describes the same incident:

\n
As we were standing in front of it, in the public highway, examining\nits architecture, several lads came up and began to insult us and to\norder us away. We did not notice them, but went further from the\nmosque, and stopped to examine some old marble pillars. Soon, however,\nwe found a rabble about us, who began to jerk our garments. I then\nturned and spoke to them, and they instantly rushed upon us like tigers.\n They seized Dr. Lobdell’s hat, threw it into the air, and began to beat\nhim. One ruffian seized me by the throat. By main strength I loosed\nhis grasp, and was moving off, when two men tried to wrest my cane from\nme, but did not succeed. We retreated as fast as possible, but when we\ngot out of the reach of their hands, they resorted to throwing stones,\nsome of them weighing two or three pounds. One hit Dr. Lobdell in the\nside, and we saw no alternative but to run for our lives. We went\nimmediately to the Pasha, taking one of the largest stones with us, and\nmade a statement of the facts in the presence of the council. He\nrefused to do anything more than to send a man to inquire who was in\nfault, the ruffians, or we! He said he knew nothing about us.\n(Anderson, 1872, page 86)
\n

It appears that by around 1853, the Protestants came to be led by a\nman named Shemmas, a candle maker apparently native to the city (Dunmore\nand Walker, 1854). By 1853, the congregation reached 200 people with 28\nmembers, but in 1854, it decreased to 11 members—5 men and 3 women; four\nof the men were former deacons in the Syriac Orthodox (Meryem Ana)\nchurch (Anderson, 1872, page 88-90; “Diarbekir”, 1853, page 137). In\n1854, the missionary activity faced multiple roadblocks. First of all,\nthe vali started requiring extra taxes for Protestants (against the\norders of the Sultan), which the congregation refused to give; Shemmas\nwas tortured at the stocks for this infraction (Dunmore and Walker,\n1854). In addition, the members again protested against the\nrestrictions on membership—specifically that only members and their\nchildren could be baptized (Anderson, 1872, page 91). Rev. Dunmore,\nRev. Augustus Walker, and Rev. Nutting were accompanied by Mr. Marsh and\nDr. Lobdell to reorganize the church in the city (Anderson, 1872, page\n92; “Arabakir”, 1855, page 75). After the arrival of the British Consul\nR. Holmes, Esq. in November 1854, the Protestants enjoyed much more\nprotection, and by 1855 their congregation grew to around 450 people\nwith more members being added, both from the Armenian and Syriac\nOrthodox churches and the Catholic Church (Anderson, 1872, page 93;\n“Arabakir”, 1855, page 75). It is reported that during this time their\nplace of worship was “near a khan [likely Hasan Paşa Hanı] and near the\nmarkets” (“Diarbekir”, 1856, page 205). Tovmas Boyajian also returned\nfrom the Bebek seminary in late 1854 and began preaching in the city\n(“Arabakir”, 1855, page 76). Many of the Armenians and Syriac Orthodox\nwanted to convert their whole churches to Protestantism; the Syriac\nOrthodox pressured their priests to read in Turkish or Arabic instead of\nancient Syriac:

\n
The people demanded that the Bible in Turkish or Arabic should be\nread in the church, instead of the ancient Syriac, which is to most of\nthe people a dead language; and the Bishop was forced to yield to the\nrequest. But finding at length that this was rapidly undermining his\ninfluence and that of the priests, they secretly removed the Scriptures\nfrom the church. But they have found that the Word of the Lord is not\nbound. The deacons or readers carry their own Bibles, and when the\nBishop and priests lecture upon the duty and efficacy of picture worship\nand prayer to the Saints, the deacons will read Jer. xliv. 9-20, and\nMatt. iv. 10. If they enjoin the strict observance of their appointed\nfasts, the deacons will read 1 Tim. iv. &c. When the Patriarch who\nresides at Der Zeifran sent recently for his accustomed annual donation,\nthey refused to give anything, returning word that if he attempted to\ncompel them, they as a body would become Protestants, and renounce all\nsubserviency to him. (Walker, 1855, page 207; Anderson, 1872, page\n93)
\n

Rev. George C. Knapp was appointed leader in the city in April 1856\n(Anderson, 1872, page 99). By that time, the church had regular\nservices:

\n
There were four services on the Sabbath. At the first, an hour after\nsunrise, fifty persons assembled for prayer and praise, and the meeting\nwas conducted by two native teachers; one reading his own translation of\nDoddridge’s “Rise and Progress” in Turkish; the other, after having read\nthrough Dr. Goodell’s “Notes on Matthew,” and a volume of his sermons in\nTurkish, had commenced reading discourses of his own. The second was at\nthe time of “noon cry” from the minarets, when Mr. Walker or Baron\nTomas, now returned for a time from Bebek, preached to about two hundred\npersons, who listened more attentively than most American congregations.\nAt the ninth hour (three o’clock in the afternoon) Baron Tomas met a\nBible-class of sixty or eighty of the more intelligent Protestants. The\nlast preaching service, at the tenth hour, was usually attended by a\nhundred or a hundred and fifty persons. From forty to seventy persons\nwere present at the Friday evening meeting. The monthly concert was well\nattended, and with increasing contributions. Mrs. Walker had a Wednesday\nafternoon meeting for the women, at which from twenty to forty were\npresent. (Anderson, 1872, page 100)
\n

It appears that by 1856, the strict suspicion of the Armenian clergy\ntowards the American missionaries had softened somewhat. Rev. C. N.\nRighter mentions a positive reaction from the Armenian bishop on the\ndistribution of Bibles:

\n
I also called upon the Armenian bishop. He was a venerable old man,\nwith a flowing white beard, and received me with the greatest\npoliteness. I expressed to him the desire of the American Bible Society\nto furnish every family with the Bible in the modern language, which all\ncan understand. He replied, “It is eyi, chok eyi [iyi, çok iyi]” — good,\nvery good. “The bible teaches us the way to heaven. There is one Saviour\nfor English, Americans, and Armenians. Through the blood of Christ we\nall find salvation, and we are brothers in Christ Jesus.” He says, “It\nis a shame if every family who can read does not have the Bible.” As we\nleave, he presses us warmly by the hand, and remarks, “In Christ, I hope\nwe may meet in heaven.” (Samuel Irenaeus Prime, 1859, page 243)
\n

Around 1856-57, Garden notes that there were 39 members of the\nchurch, 200-300 consistent congregation including around 60 women, and\nthree missionaries, who were all married (Garden, 1867, page 192).\n Mr. Knapp left Diarbekir in May 1858 (Anderson, 1872, page 104). In\nthat year, the congregation ranged from 70 on the week days up to 200 on\nSundays and 300-600 on special occasions (“Diarbekir”, 1859, p. 175).\n By the end of 1859, the members reached 73 people (Anderson, 1872, page\n105). After the British Consul Holmes left his position in Diyarbekir\nin 1860, his former house was bought by the Protestants and converted\ninto a church; it cost 1000 Turkish pounds, with 300 being paid by the\ncongregation, 420 from donors in America, and 280 from the American\nBoard (Anderson, 1872, page 105; “Recent Intelligence”, 1860, page 316).\n By 1861, the Protestants were led by Rev. Augustus Walker and preached\nto by Tomas Boyajian, and Protestantism appeared to be much more widely\nheld and accepted, according to the missionary Mr. Dwight (Dwight, 1861,\npage 306; Anderson, 1872, page 73). The congregation was around 400\npeople at that time, and they were addressed in Armenian (Dwight, 1861,\npage 307). By 1862, there were 84 members (Anderson, 1872, page 227;\n“Mission to Eastern Turkey: Station Reports”, 1862, page 217). In 1863,\nTomas Boyajian was officially ordained and appointed pastor of the\nchurch in the city in the former consulate, the first meeting attracting\nover 1000 people (Anderson, 1872, page 228; West, 1875, page 496). In\n1865, a new missionary, Tarakçı Toma, was appointed to the city, and\nTomas Boyajian left; Mr. Walker also returned to the city in November\n(“Diarbekir—Station Report”, 1866, p. 209; “Diarbekir”, 1867, p. 205;\nWalker, 1866, page 109). The mission also started competing with a\nRitualistic Episcopalian pastor in the city, appointed by the Bishop\nGobat in Jerusalem (“Diarbekir—Station Report”, 1866, p. 209; “Fruits of\nthe Ritualistic Movement”, 1873, page 368). A second meeting place\n(with a building in the shape of a cross) was also bought for 12500\npiatsres and opened up near the Meryem Ana Syriac Orthodox Church due to\nthe overcrowding of the former consul building, annoying the Syriac\nOrthodox Patriarch (“Diarbekir—Station Report”, 1866, page 210; John\nHorace Savile, 1867, page 386). Walker passed away in 1866 of cholera\n(“Diarbekir”, 1866, page 382). In 1866, a meeting of the Harpoot\nEvangelical Union was held in the city (Wheeler, 1868, page 245). When\nBoyajian returned in 1867, he struggled to obtain deeds for the current\nbuilding (the former house of the consul) from the American missionaries\nin order to build a new church due to the dilapidated state and small\nsize of the old building (“The American missionaries and the Armenian\nProtestant community”, 1869, p. 59). He then left for America in order\nto raise money for the new church, which the American Board strongly\ndisapproved of, because they believed that the money should go to more\nneedy churches (“Harpoot”, 1868, p. 120; “Misrepresentations Corrected”,\n1870, page 86). In around 1872, a new mission chapel—the Surp Prgich\nChurch—was built, the largest Protestant Church in Turkey holding up to\n2000 people, with 250 attending the first session (West, 1875, page 506;\n“Geïllustreerd zendingsblad voor het huisgezin; orgaan van het\nJava-Comité en van het Centraal-Comité voor de Oprichting en In Stand\nHouding van een Seminarie Nabij Batavia, 1872, no 9-10, 1872”, 1872,\npage 124). It appears that by 1877, the congregation increased\nsignificantly, up to 800-1000 people—around 90% Armenian and the rest\nAssyrian (Cutts, 1877, page 106; Geary, 1878, page 210). Around this\ntime Boyajian separated the congregation from the American missionaries\nand became closer to the Church of England (Cutts, 1877, page 106).\n Cutts notes:

\n
Many of the congregation feel the irregularity of their\necclesiastical status. They would gladly be members of a reformed\nArmenian Church; but they feel that to go back to the Armenian Church as\nit is would be in some respects a backward step in their religious life,\nwhile, probably, the Church would not receive them back without\nconcessions to which they could not submit. On the other hand, they\nrepudiate much of the teaching and discipline of the modern American\nmissionaries. This body of Protestants looks with strong sympathy to the\nChurch of England. (Cutts, 1877, page 107)
\n

Boyajian had taken much influence from England, most likely after\nvisiting England to gain support for his work; he dressed like an\nEnglish clergyman, taught the doctrines of the Church of England, and\neven had an English wife (Henry C. Barkley, 1891, page 275; Birks, 1895,\np. 242). Apparently, Boyajian wanted to have his congregation\ncompletely subordinate to the Church of England in Jerusalem, however\nthe local population prefered their independence from foreigners (Birks,\n1895, page 260). Nevertheless, Boyajian still held great hopes of the\nreformation of the Armenian Apostolic Church by the laity (Birks, 1895,\npage 262). By June 1886, the congregation of these “English\nProtestants” was around 300 families (“Annalen van het Genootschap tot\nVoortplanting des Geloofs; behelzende brieven van de bisschoppen en\nmissionarissen van de missien der onderscheidene werelddelen, mitsgaders\nalle berigten, betrekking hebbende tot de missien en het Genootschap tot\nVoortplanting des Geloofs, 1887, Deel: negen en vijftigste deel, 1887”,\n1887, page 316). However, in January 1887, Dr. Barnum, Miss. Bush, and\nMiss. Seymour were able to bring Boyajian’s faction back into the\nmissionary church (“Reconciliations at Diarbekir”, 1887, page 150). In\n1897, the church was visited by Mr. Browne and Miss. Bush; they reported\nhigh attendance at the church:

\n
Such a sight as met my eyes as I entered our big, beautiful church on\nthe very first day; every seat full, and the aisles and all around the\npulpit, women seated on the floor and many in the galleries! And so it\nwas every day. On Monday of this week the house was fuller than ever. I\ncannot give you the number, but there were at least 500, and the pastor\nsays many more, but I doubt it. (“Diarbekir”, 1897, p. 276)
\n

However, in 1901, Browne reports that the church was in disarray due\nto the absence of pastor or preacher:

\n
To say we found this church in a deplorable condition, torn by\nfactions, jealousies, etc., would express inadequately their need of\nmissionary visitation. Perhaps this can be expressed in a more realistic\nway by saying this is our fourteenth week of labor here and the end is\nnot yet (“Eastern Turkey Mission”, 1901, page 157)
\n

By 1902, the Church was aparently still functioing and was preached\nto in the Armenian language (“Der christliche Orient : Monatsschrift der\nDeutschen Orient-Mission”, 1902, p. 36). As of 1907, the church was led\nby pastor Rev. Vartan Amirhanian, evidently an Armenian (“Eastern Turkey\nMission”, 1907, page 447).

Dağtekin describes the layout of the church:

\n
Unlike the other Armenian Churches in Diyarbakır, the structure was\nplanned as a closed Greek cross (Fig. 5.). The narthex is located in the\nnorth-south direction to the west of the structure. There are three\nnaves in the church, while the center was the timber framed dome, the\nsidewalls comprise flat roof on wooden beams. . . . In addition to the\nmain entrance at the west, the church also has entrances in the north\nand south directions. The abscissa of the church is externally\nemphasized and internally rounded. The bema podium built in front of the\nabscissa is accessed by a two-stepped staircase. There is a wooden\ngallery floor rotating the western, northern and southern wings in U\nshape. The wooden stairs leading to the gallery floor are built in the\nnorthwest and southwest of the naos. On the north of the church, there\nis a lead-covered bell tower. (Dağtekin, 2019, page 138)
\n

Aykal, Arslanboğan and Hillez, and Haspolat also describe the\narchitecture (Haspolat, 2013, page 339; Haspolat, 2015, page 67; Sonay\nArslanboğan and Semra Hillez, 2011, page 405).

Current Location: Diyarbakır İli Sur İlçesi Muallak Sokakta 32 pafta,\n246 ada, 1 nolu parsel

\n",[468],"Description",[470],"The Protestant Missionaries had a long history in Diyarbekir prior to opening up this Protestant Church. They faced pushback from the old churches in the city and from the Muslims as well. They also faced internal dissension multiple times during their history in the city. This church building was built around 1872, the largest Protestant Church in Turkey holding up to 2000 people, with 250 attending the first session.",[391]]

Featured

Other