A brief reference already has been made to the emissaries and missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church, who early, though unsuccessfully, endeavored to bring the Armenian Church under the influence and control of the popes of Rome. Yet it may not be considered a complete failure, especially after the establishment of the Mukhetarist convent and the activities of its monks, who edited many ancient Armenian works of those who were leaning toward the papal views. As the result about one hundred thousand Armenians cut loose from the Mother Church and formed the Catholic Armenian Church. This separation was completed by the appointment in 1830 of the Sultan of Turkey a patriarch over the Catholic Armenians. This missionary work has not advanced much since. A few centuries ago news traveled a great deal slower than it does now. The great Reformation in Europe, which shook the foundations of some governments, and shaped the destiny of the nations in the west, was not expected to die out without some little stir in the east. An Armenian priest wrote a book in 1760, praising the great reformer, Martin Luther, and his work, and called the attention of the people to the need for reformation in their own church. It is a pity that his book was never printed. It was, however, more or less, circulated and did its good work. The publication and circulation of the Bible by the British and Russian Bible Societies succeeded the above incident in the beginning of the last century. These events paved the way for a greater movement. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was organized at Bradford, Mass., June 29, 1810. Mr. Parsons “on his first visit to Jerusalem in 1821 encountered some Armenian pilgrims, whose interesting conversation drew from him the suggestion of a mission to Armenia itself. ‘We shall rejoice,’ said they, ‘and all will rejoice when they arrive.’” Several Armenian clergymen espoused the cause of reformation in 1826 at Beirut, Syria. Two of them, Bishop Dionysius and Krikor Vartabed, like Paul and Barnabas, traveled through Asia Minor preaching the Gospel to the people with great acceptance. “These brethren assured the missionaries that the minds of the Armenian people were wonderfully inclined towards the pure gospel, and that should preachers go among them doubtless thousands would be ready to receive the truth. They themselves wrote letters to their countrymen, which excited no little attention.”[83] The publication and circulation of several thousand copies of the Scriptures and their being eagerly read by the leading men, the labors of these and other Armenian ecclesiastics, and especially the training school for priests at Constantinople, which was committed to the charge of Peshtimaljian, “a profound scholar, a theologian, and an humble student of the Bible--a sort of an Oriental Melancthon, even in his timidity”--were indubitable signs of a wonderful reformation.