The Beautiful Persecuted Turkish Church
Catherine, married to Thomas, has been my friend for well over 30 years since college. In those years, one of my special memories consisted of our letter correspondence in 1992 while she lived in Turkey. Several years ago, she returned to Turkey with her husband Thomas and as I listened to their experience, I felt excited listening to the ways Turks experience hospitality and their natural sense of community in ways that reflect the Gospel in ways that are less common in North America. So I asked Catherine to guest write for Kingdom Rice and she agreed!
Hi! I’m Catherine and here’s a little background on myself. Growing up, my family moved often to other parts of the country, and I developed a respect for other cultures and views in America – a West Coast lens, Eastern Seaboard lens, and a Southwest lens. In college, I turned my experiences towards a history degree, with an emphasis on the Middle East. So given the opportunity, I spent a summer in Turkey. I loved the people and the culture, and learned to see the world a little through a Turkish lens. I wanted to return and continue working on a secondary degree, but marriage and kids delayed my plans.
Finally, several years ago, I was able to return with my husband. Yes, there were changes, the Turks are dealing with the same problems we all deal with in modern society. We’ve been back several times, made new Turkish friends and acquaintances. Why my love of Turkey? I love the people, they are very relational and hospitable in general. As a Christian, I love studying the roots of Christianity in Turkey. That is where the biblical book of Acts took place, and where Christianity was heavily persecuted, yet grew.
On our first trip, my husband and I set out to visit all seven churches of the book of Revelation, real churches with real problems and successes. That experience allowed the seven letters to the seven churches found in Revelation to mirror how well churches are actually following Jesus. The most fascinating church to me was the Laodicean one. Not far from a large tourist destination, the church has only recently been uncovered and rebuilt with an adjacent museum. In the displays were the history of the church, alongside Jesus’ letter to the church. It was clear that once Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity, and after the Council of Nicaea (also in Turkey), this church began to change for the worse. It became wealthy, set up extra rituals and rules, which Jesus condemns, saying they are “lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev. 3:16). This church was esteemed because of their successes, and other churches began to follow their trends. This reminded me of many of our own churches, as they have left their zeal and love of Jesus for money, popularity, and numbers.
On another trip, we witnessed the unique and important role of hospitality for Christians in a land where persecution is real. Setting the scene, we connected with a Turkish Christian pastor, who runs a visible church. I say “visible” because Turkey is about 98% Muslim, and persecution of Christians is real depending on the region and the current government. We love the fact that this church is able to have services and home studies, and they have an active presence expressed in local projects. This is very important because Turkish culture is very into hospitality, believing that “what goes around, comes around.” Hospitality in Turkish culture hearkens back to the Middle Eastern roots of Christianity but also plays in their view of the afterlife. Hospitality, of course is a core part of Christian faith, e.g. “do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers” (Heb. 13:2). While the church in Turkey was keeping the “biblical” lens of Christianity, the neighborhood around the church has a “Turkish/partial biblical” lens; they believe in Abraham through Islam. This overlap in lenses allowed for concrete expressions of hospitality that’s made it possible for the Christian church to rehab a historic Christian cemetery, which is extremely important in a predominantly Muslim culture where most cemeteries are for Muslim burials only. When people convert to Christianity in that culture, they often have to leave their families, and have no chance for a Christian burial for them or their loved ones. The local Christian church, by practicing hospitality in the local community, makes it possible not only for Christian worship, but Christian burials.
The Turkish Christian church is beautiful; they don’t have the “Christian Culture” trappings that we experience here in North America because being a Christian comes at personal and societal cost. Christianity prior to its legalization with Emperor Constantine, was a persecuted church; these circumstances shaped a beautiful church. The modern Turkish church continues to grow despite persecution unlike the decline experienced in North America. We were able to attend a service in their historic church building, with simple non-performative worship music, and I felt this must have been what the early church was like. Clearly, their love of Jesus was there. After the service, we joined a potluck lunch, and everyone welcomed us as fellow believers in Jesus; we were a part of their family. What a joy to participate in the hospitality and beauty of a persecuted church.
As mentioned earlier, the “Turkish” lens, being Middle Eastern, has a partial “Biblical” lens expressed in hospitality the value of the afterlife. I.e., how we individually and collectively live today directly affects the afterlife rewards, or punishment. Partial “biblical” lens means they see through the narrative of Abraham. Whereas Western loyalties starts with self, Turk’s loyalties lie with family first, then tribe and neighborhood, then country. But that has a downside, which has led to violence in Turkish, as well as all Middle Eastern history. I love Turks, respect their lens, their viewpoint of life. Their Turkish lens reflects the Bible in ways that my Western culture does not.
The goal for both the Western and Turkish church is to pursue a “biblical” lens that would usher all adherents into an experience of God’s glory and honor. Both the Western lens and the Turkish lens have faults, yet because of Turk’s expression of faith is shaped by their persecution along with their Middle East values of hospitality, sense of family and the afterlife, the church there has much to offer the Western church. These offerings would include some of the things I named in this post, namely the practice of hospitality, the influence of actions today on life eternal, and seeing ourselves less individualistically. Yet the Turkish lens must also keep striving towards a “biblical” lens. My travels in Turkey, and elsewhere, have exposed me to the faults on both sides; the only lens that transcends both the West and Middle Eastern lens is the “biblical” lens, one that invites followers to experience the relational beauty of God.
As it stands, the Western church has largely lost what it means to follow Jesus as its first love. Like the Turkish church experience, maybe it will take persecution for the Western church to rediscover the glory of God through Jesus. Maybe that’s what it will take for the Western church to set aside the rituals and trappings of the Laodicean church. After all, the basic tenets of Christianity is not to be “lukewarm,” but to “know nothing…except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified,” (1 Cor. 2:2), and to “love the Lord your God with all your heart…and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). The persecution of Christian among the Turks has strengthened the church. Meanwhile, I’m concerned the Western church is following in teh footsteps of the ancient Roman church once Christianity was sanctioned by the Emperor. Lord have mercy on us all! Lord grant us the grace to return to our first love.