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ere long, every Swedish family in Finland would be furnished with a Bible. The demand for the Finnish Testament he states to be so great in the government of St. Petersburg, that the whole edition was already nearly exhausted. "The inhabitants have been famishing for want of the word of life, and now they are almost insatiable." The emperor has given the Bible Society the privilege of sending all letters and packages by post free of expense, so that even Bibles may now be sent to the remotest parts of the empire with ease and without cost. The most important part of Mr. Paterson's communication respects a Pastoral Letter addressed by the Roman Catholic Metropolitan, his eminence Stanislaus Sistrensevitch Bogush, Archbishop of Mogileff, to his flock, and which has been published in the gazette, recommending to them the reading of the Scriptures. His letter commences with an extract from the decrees of the Council of Trent, in which it is declared that the Gospel, as contained in the Bible, is the source of all saving truth and pure morality, and that those are cut off from the society of the church who do not receive as holy and canonical the books of the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament. In conformity with this decree, the Metropolitan states, that in the year 1778 the late Pope Pius VI. had prefaced an Italian version of the Bible with an introductory epistle, explaining the necessity of reading the holy Scriptures, which contains the following

words:

"At a time when a vast number of bad books are published, which most grossly attack the Christian religion, and which are circulated even among the unlearned, to the certain destruction of souls, you judged exceedingly well, beloved son in Christ, to translate the Bible into your native language, intelligible to the people. By the printing and publishing of it, Christians will be excited to read it: you have, therefore, opened the most abundant sources, out of which they can draw pure doctrine and morality, to cleanse them from error, which is so widely disseminated in this corrupt age," &c. The Metropolitan then proceeds as

follows:

"A Bible Society has been esta blished in St. Petersburgh, under the presidency of his excellency Prince Alexander Galitzin, minister for foreign

confessions.

The Society prints the

Bible in all the languages spoken in the Russian empire. At present, it is also engaged in printing an edition of the New Testament in the Polish tongue, according to the Vulgate version, under my superintendance, the press being corrected by the Jesuit fathers. After this edition is finished, the Old Testament will be printed also. The New Testament is likewise publishing in the Samogitian language, by the Bishop of Samogitia. His imperial majesty has been pleased to grant encouragement to this vast undertaking. Liberal subscriptions are made for its support by the rich, and many thousand kopecks are laid together by the poor, and sent in to promote its grand object. For this money, Bibles and New Testaments are sent to different quarters, and sold at a low price, and given to the poor, gratis. In different governments of the empire, Auxiliary Societies are forming by friends to this cause, of different confessions, for the purpose of collect lecting subscriptions, and transmitting them to the Society in St. Petersburg, in order to receive Bibles for sale and distribution. The progress of this ge neral undertaking, by European Chris tians, may be seen in the public ga zettes. But I, by this epistle, give inti mation to my flock, concerning the Bible Institution in Russia, and con clude with the following words of St. Paul; I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.

"Given in St. Petersburg, De

cember 14, 1814."

3. A letter from the Rev. R. Pinker ton, dated St. Petersburgh, June 5, 1815, contains a report of the establish ment of an Auxiliary Bible Society in the sea-port town of Theodosia, in the Crimea. The following is an extract from this report:

"It appears from the plan of the Russian Bible Society, that its primary object is to furnish the nations of the Russian empire with the Bible in their different languages, and in particular to afford our own Russian Bible to all at a low price, and to the poor without

money.

We are not from hence to conclude, however, that it is not per

The British and Foreign Bible Sooiety has granted to the Russian Bible Society 2501, in aid of printing and circulating the Samogitian Scriptures.

mitted, or that it is inconsistent with the aim of the Bible Society, to bestow the gift of this daily bread, containing eternal life, on the nations beyond the borders of the empire. On the contrary, the Russian Bible Society, during the short period of its existence, has already shewn, in its intercourse with the British and Foreign Bible Society, as stated in its Report of 1813, the universality of its spirit of Christian love, and its desire to put the Word of God into the hands of those who are without the boundaries of the empire.

"As the town of Theodosia is inhabited chiefly by foreigners of different reJigious persuasions, it will be necessary to inform them, that the spirit and rules of the Russian Bible Society do not prevent it from sending the holy Scriptures to their friends beyond the borders of Russia. The Bible Society has limited the object of its undertaking to the distribution of the holy Scriptures in different languages, without note or comment. The object, in its simplicity, is exalted, and worthy of the spirit of the Gospel.

"The Theodosian Branch Bible Society will strive to distribute the Word of God among unbelievers, having before it a vast field,-first in the penin, sula of the Crimea, and secondly in the neighbouring countries of Caucasus and Anatolia, for making known the Gospel to all nations who still remain in Heathen or Mohammedan darkness. But without exactly fixing the extent of the sphere of its operations, it is easy to observe, that it will comprehend particularly the countries lying on the shores of the Black Sea. Abhazia, Mingrellia, and Anatolia, being in the closest commercial connexion with Theodosia, present a wide field for the Bible Society proposed to be in that city.

"It is well known, that in former times the Abhazi were enlightened by the faith of Christ, and belonged to the Greek communion, possessed their own bishops, and were reckoned to the Eparché of Alanie, the seat, of which see was Theodosia, and afterwards Phanagoria. After the fall of the Greek empire, however, the nation of the Abhazi, like the Circassians, being deprived of preachers, and not pos sessing a written language, returned to their heathenish customs, and at length many of them embraced the Moham medan religion. Surely, it is possible

to enliven the remembrance of extinguished faith, by causing the rays of the Gospel light again to shine upon it.

"The inhabitants of Mingrellia have been more fortunate than their neighbours, the Abhazi. They have preserved the faith of their fathers in the midst of the heavy yoke of bondage which has lain upon their country for several centuries; and, notwithstanding the persecutions of cruel Moham medans, they still continue to hold the Christian faith according to the Greek Confession, and perform their religious services in the Georgian language. If the poverty of the inhabitants, the ig norance of the clergy, and the strong hold of national customs, have hitherto prevented the better organization of the Mingrellian Church, which remains without pastors, and almost desolate; yet now, when this country is joined to the Russian empire, we may surely expect that some help will be given, particularly from the exertions of the Bible Society, provided it were only possible to find means for printing the holy Scriptures in the Georgian language, for distribution in Mingrellia, where church books are very scareo and very dear*. From what has been here stated, it is evident, that the spiritual wants of the inhabitants of Mingrellia are excessive, and demand immediate attention. It is also well known, that the same scarcity of the Scriptures exists in Imeretta, and even in Georgia itself."

"After Mingrellia, the next in order is Guria, or Gurial, a small state inhabited by Christians belonging to the Greek Church. They speak the same language as the Mingrellians, and their state is the very same, in regard to Christian organization; that is, they are denominated Christians, though almost stran gers, not only to Christian civilization, but even to the external form of it.

"At length, the coast of Anatolia presents itself to view, extensive, and well peopled mostly by Greeks and Armenians, who compose the labouring, or what is there styled the black, part of the community. The lot of these Christians, yet our brethren, sunk in ignorance and poverty, under the iron rod of Turkish dominion, surely merits our

At the time when this idea came into the mind of the writer, his desire was already begun to be accomplished by the efforts of the Committee of the Russian Bible Society.""

compassion. Poverty, produced by oppression, has deeply rooted ignorance aniong them, and this has at length be gotten indifference to the knowledge of the Word of God. These poor people are reduced so far, that they have for gotten their native tongues, and now pray to God in the Turkish language. There are still Greek and Armenian churches among them, in which divine service is performed; but this is done in a very unedifying way, which may easily be conceived, when it is known, that even the priests themselves have but a very small knowledge of letters. Certainly, God is not confined to magnificent temples, and a splendid ritual of worship, but accepts for a prayer every sigh which ascends from the bot tom of the heart; yet such deformity in bis service, humanly speaking, appears to be a dishonouring of his glory, and ought to touch the brotherly love of every Christian, and powerfully rouse compassion for the unfortunate lot of the Greek and Armenian inhabitants of Anatolia, who are deprived of every means of extricating themselves out of their present lamentable condition. To furnish them with the holy Scriptures in the Greek, Armenian, and Turkish languages, is the only aid which the Bible Society can afford them. Thereby you will pour into their sorrowful souls the sweet consolations of the Gospel, and strengthen their patience to bear up under the temporary evils of the present life, with the hope of blessedness in the world to come; for their only hope at present is in the Divine blessing, sent down upon suffering humanity, by means of Bible Societies.

**The Theodosian Branch Society will take upon itself the sacred obligations of promoting these views, having mimerous facilities by the central commercial intercourse which the port of Theodosia has with Abhazia, Mingrellia, and Anatolia. From these short remarks, it is easy to observe, how important and extensive the field is, which presents itself to the zeal and activity of the Members of the Theodosian Auxiliary Bible Society. Success, and further extended views, depend upon God. He, by his omnipotent goodness, will direct all for the best, and will make even impossibilities possible to contrite spirits, that hunger after his righteousness.

“Theodosia, April 3, 1815,#00 x 12,

Mr. Pinkerton adds: “ Trejoice to say, that our Committee bave unani mously resolved to give every encou ragement to promote the final establish, ment of the Theodosian Bible Society, and to relieve the spiritual necessities of the poor Abhazi, Mingrellians, and Anatolians, so affectingly described in the above statement; and also, without loss of time, to send off a quantity of Greek and Armenian New Testaments, so that no time be lost in trafismitting the treasures of the Gospel with the first merchant vessels which leave the port of Theodosia for the shores of Mingrellia and Anatolia. I leave you, my dear friend, to make your own ob servations on this wonderful opening of Divine Providence, to rekindle the Christian flame among the churches of Asia Minor, where first the great Apostle of the Gentiles preached the doctrine of the Cross. For my part, I confess, that no communication, ever laid before the Committee of the Russian Bible Society, afforded me more pleasure, and, in my opinion, promised such fair opening to the Word of God into the Turkish empire, where so many hundred thousands of Christians alone are destitute of it. O that the Turkish Bible were ready for distribution! Pray use every means to carry it on in Berlin with speed. There is great encouragement at present to put the Word of God into the hands of Mohammedans. As a proof of their strong prejudice against Christianity having abated, I shall instance two pleasing incidents. The other day, I' met with a Tartar prince, arrived a few days ago from the Crimea, who is a major-general in the Russian' service, and is about to march for the frontiers at the head of four regiments of Tartar cossacks, belonging to that peninsula. I made inquiries of him respecting the character of the Mufti of the Crimea, who subscribes 50 rubles annually to the Bible Society, and is at the head of up. wards of 10,000 Mohammedan priests. The General said, that the Mufti was an enlightened man, that he recommended to the priests to read the Tartar New Testament; that he had granted per mission to himself, for he is still a Mussulman, and the other Tartars under his command, to wear the crosses of distinction conferred by his imperial msjesty for acts of valour; and lastly, that he teaches them, that religion does not consist in meat and drink. ***The second incident is also interest.

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ing. I remarked to you, in my last, that the Bucharian Ambassador had, with his own hand, copied part of the manuscript of the Persian New Testa, ment. I have since been informed, that this Ambassador, lately arrived from the city where poor Abdalla suffered martyrdom for his attachment to Christ and the New Testament, has already in his possession a Tartar New Testament, which he brought with him, and in which he is said frequently to read."

The Committee of the British and Foreign Bible Society have recently granted to the Russian Bible Society, for the Theodosian Auxiliary, 5001.

4. A second letter from Mr. Pinker ton, dated June 15th, transmits some extracts from the printed Report of the Moscow Bible Society, which he states to be “ drawn up in a masterly style of language, and to be full of piety and zeal for the advancement of the good cause." Among other striking facts, it states the following ;→→→

"According to the most authentic sources of information, it appears, that during 234 years, since Bibles were first printed in Russia, no more than twenty two editions of the Slavonian Bible have appeared, consisting in all of but about sixty thousand copies!”

And this for all the succeeding generations, of a population consisting of so many millions of souls!

5. Communications from Mr. Paterson, dated at St. Petersburgh, Aug. 11th, and Sept. 2d, contain some interesting statements. The Archbishop of Georgia has informed the Committee, that some of the Mohammedan tribes in the Caucasus had requested persons to be sent to teach them to read, that they might be able to use Christian books. A prince of the Mongolian tribe, has earnestly requested to have the Scriptures sent to him and his people, in a language they can read and understand. The Committee have resolved to print 5000 copies of the Scriptures for the inhabitants of Moldavia and Wallachia (the ancient Macedonia), making their sixteenth language.

The British and Foreign Bible Society has granted to the Russian Bible Society 1000l. for its general purposes, and 3001, for the Moldavian Scriptures..

6. Mr. Morison sends from Canton in China, (Jan. 30, 1815,) a copy of a 12mo. edition of the Chinese New Testament. The cost will be half a dollar a copy.

He has begun to print the Old Testa ment. The Society has granted 10001. to extend the circulation of the Chinese Scriptures, i

7. The Rey. Mr. Supper, secretary to the Java Bible Society, in a letter dated Batavia, Feb. 4, 1815, states that the Arabian merchants and scheiks read with eagerness the Bibles they receive of him; sitting in companies for wholę nights for this purpose; the Chinese in this island also read eagerly the New Testaments distributed among them last year by Mr. Milne from Canton. "I sometimes,” he says, go round on purpose, and often find Chinese parents reading to their families, in the morn ing, out of the New Testament.".

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8. The Rev. T. Robertson, in a letter from Calcutta, March 27, 1815, obsérves, that by the efforts now using, “knowledge, the best of knowledge, will be increased." "Indeed," he adds, "there are manifest tokens of the fall of idolatry at least; and I observe, that all those who have learnt the English language, even imperfectly, have acquired new sentiments with respect to the Author of their being, withoutthemselves being aware of it. Thus the foundations of Polytheism are undermined daily, and a hope excited, that in a little time we may hear the whole building tumble to the ground. With the sacred Scrip tures in our hands, we can have no doubt, as to the temple that will rise upon its ruins. We look up to your Society, as the great instrument, under God, for the raising of this house of the Lord, where the nations of Hindoostanee may flow together under the ban pers of Jesus Christ,"

9. The Seventh Report of the Philadelphia Bible Society, states, that there are now "within our national limits, seventysix societies, who have taken their respective shares of this great design. But lest it should be inferred, that there is the less need of the liberality of professing Christians in this city and its vicinity, the managers take occasion to make known, that their proceedings have continually tended to enlarge their views and opportunities of use. fulness."

CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY,

The Annual Report made to this So ciety on the 2d of May last has been some time before the public, and we have regretted that it has not been in our power sooner to notice its contents.

It is preceded by a sermon preached on that day by the Rev. E. T. Vaughan, M. A., Vicar of St. Mary's and All Saints, in Leicester, from 1 John v, 11, 12. The general doctrine which the preacher endeavours to establish, is that "the reception of Christianity is essential to salvation." If then, the heathen withont Christ, having no hope, cannot be saved;" if there be none other name under heaven given amongst men which can avail to this end, "let us rejoice that there are so many different communities even in our own country pursuing separate and combined efforts in this great work. Let us give to each our right hand of fellowship, our good wishes, congratulations and pray. ers. Let us see whether we cannot make our own labours more abundant and more successful." Give your alms to-day, under the awakening conviction, that thus only shall the heathen come to God! Look at the world-it is not only a world which lieth in wickedness, but a world in convulsions; a world groaning and travailing in pain together, till all the kingdoms of the earth become the kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ. The decree, long since gone forth, seems now to be on the eve of its accomplishment! Jerusalem shall be built: the foundations of the temple shall be laid.

"Our favoured island and its dependencies have an exalted share in the vast enterprize. It is remarkable, that, whether a faithless and ambitious Conqueror, or the meek successor of St. Louis, fill the throne, Britain, it seems, is to be the model of the new frame of things: our polity is to be their polity, so far as a dissimilar national character and state of things can bear it. True religion, too, is on the increase here, and makes known her march by sounding her trumpet in many excellent institutions, by which her combined cause is to triumph. Her sons and her daughters die, and thus prove them. selves to be no better than their fathers; but other sons and daughters rise up, and are baptized for the dead. We lose our Venn, to model; our Cecil, to paint; our Robinson, to enforce; our Buchanan, to explore; our Thornton-son worthy of thy father!-to counsel and support: but we have a veteran pioneer or two, still left to lead the way: we have still inventive genius to plan; we have still laborious industry to prosecnte; we have nobles and se

nators to plead; we have citizens to enrich, and soldiers to pray for us, What are all these, but so many en couragements to go on with our work, looking to ourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

"I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies and by the judgments of God; by dawning hopes and by revived terrors; by the ashes of your dead friends, and by the spirit of the dead which breathes in the living; by the groans of perishing heathens, and by the joys of heaven-born, laborious, consistent Christians; by the pajus of hell, and by the glories of heaven; come, lengthen the cords, and strengthen the stakes of your tent-come, bring the gold, the silver, and the stones, which are to form the gates, the walls, aud the battlements of the last city to be built-come, enlarge the commission of your angel, and bid him fly with his everlasting Gospel to every nation, and kiudred, and tongue, and people-to preach unto all them that dwell on the earth, from the river to the sea, und from the flood to the world's end."

The following is an abstract of the Report:

The pecuniary resources of the Society have been greatly augmented. For twelve years its income was 20001. The 13th year it was 30001, The 14th year yielded 11,0001. Its amount during the past year has exceeded 16,0001. Considerably more than the half of this sum has arisen from the efforts of Anxiliary Associations. Since the last Report, many fresh Associations have been added to the former list; among the rest, an Hibernian Auxiliary Society, of which an account was given in our Number for April, with various associations de pendant upon it, has been instituted, Extensive associations have also been formed for Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire, for Plymouth, for Birming. ham and its vicinity, for the town and county of Bedford, for Manchester and Salford, for the town and county of Derby, for York, Newcastle on Tyne, Lancaster, and other places. This enlargement of its funds, and increase of auxiliary institutions, we may justly regard as the indication of an enlightened conviction of the duty of all Christians to contribute their utmost to this work of mercy; the evidence of a growing sense of gratitude to Christ, and of compassion for the perishing souls of men.

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