- Henry Martyn
Infobox Saint
name= Henry Martyn
birth_date =18 February 1781
death_date =16 October 1812
feast_day=19 October
venerated_in=Anglican Communion
Missionary to India and Persia
birth_place =Truro ,Cornwall ,England
death_place =Tokat ,Ottoman Empire
titles=Missionary to India and Persia
beatified_date=
beatified_place=
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issues=Indian christianityHenry Martyn (
18 February ,1781 -16 October 1812 ), was anAnglican priest andmissionary to the peoples of India and Persia. Born in Truro,Cornwall , he was educated atSt John's College, Cambridge . A chance encounter withCharles Simeon led him to become a missionary. He was ordained a priest in theChurch of England and became a chaplain for theBritish East India Company .Martyn arrived in India in April 1806, where he preached and occupied himself in the study of linguistics. He translated the whole of the
New Testament intoUrdu , Persian and Judaeo-Persic. He also translated thePsalms into Persian and theBook of Common Prayer into Urdu. From India, he set out forBushire , Shiraz, Isfahan, andTabriz .Martyn was seized with fever, and, though the plague was raging at
Tokat , he was forced to stop there, unable to continue. On16 October 1812 he died. He was remembered for his courage, selflessness and his religious devotion. In parts of theAnglican Communion he is celebrated with a Lesser Festival on19 October .Early life
Martyn was born in Truro,
Cornwall . His father, John Martyn, was a "captain" or mine-agent atGwennap . As a boy, he was educated at Truro grammar school under Dr Cardew and he enteredSt John's College, Cambridge , in the autumn of 1797, and was senior wrangler and first Smith's prizeman in 1801. In 1802, he was chosen as a fellow of his college.cite book | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = F. L. Cross (Editor), E. A. Livingstone (Editor) | title =The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd edition
publisher =Oxford University Press | date =13 March 1997 | location =USA
pages =1046 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 0–19–211655–X]He had intended to go to the bar, but in the October term of 1802 he chanced to hear
Charles Simeon speaking of the good done in India by a single missionary, William Carey, and some time afterwards he read the life ofDavid Brainerd , a missionary to the Native Americans. He resolved, accordingly, to become a missionary himself. On22 October 1803 , he was ordained deacon atEly , and afterwards priest, and served as Simeon's curate at the church of Holy Trinity, taking charge of the neighbouring parish ofLolworth .Missionary work
Martyn wanted to offer his services to the
Church Missionary Society , when a financial disaster in Cornwall deprived him and his unmarried sister of the income their father had left for them. It was necessary for Martyn to earn an income that would support his sister as well as himself.cite book | last =Lee | first =Sidney | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =The Dictionary of National Biography | publisher =Oxford University Press | date =1909 | location = | pages = | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=Cys8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1201&lpg=PA1201&dq=1803+cornwall+disaster+martyn&source=web&ots=14phJb9ZDd&sig=GlZD7qvRusOrt3YNEEgiYTxr1Mo&hl=en | doi = | id = | isbn = ] He accordingly obtained a chaplaincy under theBritish East India Company and left for India on5 July 1805 . On his voyage to the East, Martyn happened to be present at the British conquest of theCape Colony on8 January 1806 . He spent that day tending to the dying soldiers and was distressed by seeing the horrors of war. He would come away feeling that it was Britain's destiny to convert, not colonize, the world.(1990) McManners, John. "Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity". Oxford University Press, 457. ISBN 0-19-822928-3] He wrote in his diary:India
Martyn arrived in India in April 1806, and for some months he was stationed at Aldeen, near
Serampur . In October 1806, he proceeded to Dinapur, where he was soon able to conduct worship among the locals in the vernacular, and established schools.(1837) Wilberforce, Samuel (ed.). [http://justus.anglican.org/resources/pc/india/martyn/journal.html "Journal and Letters of the Rev. Henry Martyn B.D."] . London: Seeley and Burnside.] In April 1809, he was transferred toCawnpore , where he preached to British and Indians in his own compound, in spite of interruptions and threats from local non-Christians.He occupied himself in linguistic study, and had already, during his residence at Dinapur, been engaged in revising the sheets of his Hindustani version of the
New Testament . He now translated the whole of the New Testament intoUrdu also, and into Persian twice. He translated thePsalms into Persian, the Gospels into Judaeo-Persic, and theBook of Common Prayer into Urdu, in spite of ill-health and "the pride, pedantry and fury of his chief munshi Sabat." Ordered by the doctors to take a sea voyage, he obtained leave to go to Persia and correct his Persian New Testament. From there, he wanted to go toArabia , and there compose an Arabic version. On1 October 1810 , having seen his work at Cawnpore rewarded on the previous day by the opening of a church, he left forCalcutta , from where he sailed on7 January 1811 forBombay . The ship reached port on his thirtieth birthday.Final voyage and death
From Bombay he set out for
Bushire , bearing letters from Sir John Malcolm to men of position there, as also at Shiraz and Isfahan. After an exhausting journey from the coast he reached Shiraz, and was soon plunged into discussion with the disputants of all classes, "Sufi, Muslim, Jew, and Jewish Muslim, even Armenian, all anxious to test their powers of argument with the first English priest who had visited them."1911] He next traveled toTabriz to attempt to present theshah with his translation of the New Testament, which proved unsuccessful. The British ambassador to the shah was unable to bring about a meeting, but did deliver the manuscript. Although Martyn could not present the Bible in person, the shah later wrote him a letter:cquote|In truth (said the royal letter of thanks to the ambassador) through the learned and unremitted exertions of the Reverend Henry Martyn it has been translated in a style most befitting sacred books, that is in an easy and simple diction...The whole of the New Testament is completed in a most excellent manner, a source of pleasure to our enlightened and august mind.cite book | last =Padwick | first =Constance | authorlink = | coauthors = | title =Henry Martyn, Confessor of the Faith
publisher =Inter-Varsity Fellowship | date =1953 | location =London | pages =172 | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = ]At this time, he was seized with fever, and after a temporary recovery, had to seek a change of climate. He set off for Constantinople, where he intended to return on furlough to England to regain his strength and recruit help for the missions in India. On
12 September 1812 , he started with twoArmenia n servants and crossed theAras River . Urged on from place to place by theirTatar guide, they rode from Tabriz to Erivan, from Erivan toKars , and from Kars toErzurum . They departed Erzurum and though the plague was raging atTokat , he was forced to stop there, unable to continue. He wrote his final journal entry on 6 October. It read, in part:On
16 October 1812 he died and was given aChristian burial by Armenian clergy.Legacy
His devotion to his tasks won him much admiration in Great Britain and he was the hero of a number of literary publications. Thomas Babington Macaulay's "Epitaph", composed early in 1813, testified to the impression made by his career:
cquote|Epitaph on Henry Martyn
Here Martyn lies. In Manhood's early bloom
The Christian Hero finds a Pagan tomb.
Religion, sorrowing o'er her favourite son,
Points to the glorious trophies that he won.
Eternal trophies! not with carnage red,
Not stained with tears by hapless captives shed,
But trophies of the Cross! for that dear name,
Through every form of danger, death, and shame,
Onward he journeyed to a happier shore,
Where danger, death, and shame assault no more.John McManners wrote in his "Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity" that Martyn was a man remembered for his courage, selflessness and his religious devotion. In parts of theAnglican Communion he is celebrated with a Lesser Festival on19 October .ee also
References
Further reading
*Bentley-Taylor, David. "My Love Must Wait: the Story of Henry Martyn", Downers Grove: IVP (1975).
*Henry, B. V. "Forsaking All for Christ: A Biography of Henry Martyn" London: Chapter Two, 2003.
*Sargent, John. "Memoir of the Rev. Henry Martyn B. D.", London: Hatchard (1816). Links to editions from [http://books.google.com/books?id=msEEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22henry+martyn%22 1820] and [http://books.google.com/books?id=vsAEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22henry+martyn%22 1844]
*Kellsye M. Finnie, "Beyond the Minarets: A Biography of Henry Martyn" Bromley: STL Books, 1988
*Smith, George. [http://books.google.com/books?id=abirsyBToxQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22henry+martyn%22 "Henry Martyn, Saint and Scholar"] , London: Religious Tract Society (1892).
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