The Immigrant Tide, Its Ebb and FlowSteiner, Edward Alfred
History
The Immigrant Tide, Its Ebb and Flow
Steiner, Edward Alfred
United States -- Emigration and immigration
Jan Chorvat and his wife, in their outlook upon life, in the strength of
their convictions, in their passion for righteousness, would have fitted
easily into the church of the Puritans anywhere on this side the sea,
where Puritanism is still at its best. In his asceticism Jan Chorvat
reminded us of John the Baptist, in the sweetness of his temper of the
Beloved Disciple, and, in his zeal and passion for Christ, of the
Apostle to the Gentiles.
Here was a Slovak who spoke English almost perfectly, who wrote his
native language classically, who clung to a noble faith passionately;
yet that which bound us to him closely and I must regretfully admit,
most closely, was the fact that Jan Chorvat was what he was, because of
certain religious influences emanating from America. These influences
and ideals, which are slowly growing stronger, are being augmented and
reënforced by returning immigrants who come home with a passion for
their kinsmen, eager to redeem them from their individual and national
sins.
The centre of this religious movement is in O Tura, one of those
mountain villages isolated, but brought into the world's current by
mighty ideals; fit birthplace of a new hope.
Here a Protestant pastor ministered in the more or less stereotyped
forms of the established faith, and, when he died, left three daughters,
the "Roy Sisters," to carry on his work for the people he loved.
Hampered by a strict orthodoxy and a suspicious government, they
hungered with their people and for them, unconscious of a larger faith
and a better way; until so commonplace a thing as a religious newspaper,
published by the missionaries of the American Board at Prague, found its
way to them.
Our credulity has been so severely tested by the narratives of
missionaries who hinged mighty consequences upon trivial causes, that
here too one is assailed by doubt; until one reads Christina Roy's
little story: "How I came to the Light."
In simple yet graphic language, she tells of her life in the parsonage,
her father's struggle against adverse conditions, her own budding
ideals, and finally the important moment when for the first time she
came in touch with the vital truths of Christianity as presented in the
little Bohemian newspaper, _Bethania_. Upon so slender a thread
travelled this mighty current which gave direction to her own life,
which has enabled her to enlarge the vision of an oppressed peasantry,
and which is now encouraging her and the noble group of men and women
around her to attempt the almost hopeless struggle against
intemperance.
Whether one agrees with the type of theology which these people preach
or not, one can but feel that they are in touch with real spiritual
forces, and that, by the test of character and of work accomplished, we
who travel faster in the paths of what we call progress, are compelled
to halt and admire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account