James Chisholm

James Chisholm

When we consider the word ‘ecumenical’ it can mean two things.  First, it can mean a sort of ungodly compromise – where those of different Christian faith traditions get together to discover their commonalities and try to merge into one.  While a noble thought, experience shows that the compromises tend to be around the lowest common denominator and, ultimately, the Christian teaching is watered down almost to the point of being unrecognizable.

Second, the word ‘ecumenical’ can mean something much better.  When Christians of many faith traditions gather together for the purpose of propagating the Gospel and shining the light of Christ, often great things can happen.  Samaritan’s Purse is a contemporary example of this kind of cooperation.

James Chisholm is a great example of godly ecumenicalism.  Born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1848 he moved to Virginia to teach and ended up becoming the rector (pastor) of St John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth.  A few years later his wife passed away, leaving him the single father of two young sons.  He was described as unassuming and shy, his physical appearance as pale and frail, and he seemed somewhat awkward around people.

In the Spring of 1855, a Yellow Fever epidemic hit Portsmouth and Norfolk.  People of means fled to the country while the poor stayed behind.  Unfortunately, those who fled included the city’s doctors and clergy.  Reverend Chisholm sent his sons to stay with distant relatives and resolved to stay in Portsmouth.  Several weeks into the epidemic, he wrote:

Shall I regard personal safety alone, and flee with all speed from this atmosphere of poison and death, or shall I look the question of my relations to society, to humanity and to God, full in the face, and decide accordingly?  The question of duty, as a minister of Christ, has determined me to stand in the post to which, I believe, all along the providence of God called me.

James remained, along with a single Catholic priest, to minister to the entire city of 12,000.  Survivors of the plague wrote of his tirelessness in providing the medical care he could, in his surprisingly energetic preaching to the lost of the city – pointing them to the Cross, in patiently staying by the bedside of those who were dying, and even in digging graves for those who lost their fight with the disease.  He seemed like a changed man, tirelessly ministering to his own congregants who stayed behind, as well as those of the other Protestant churches and even some of the Irish-Catholic congregants of the overburdened Priest. 

By that Fall, the disease had run its course through the city and it began to abate.  It was only then that Reverend Chisholm began to show signs of the disease himself.  He was taken to a Naval hospital in Portsmouth where his exhausted body finally gave out.  He was 39 years old, one of over 3,200 victims of the disease.  His funeral was attended by 20 people, from all the different faith traditions of Portsmouth.  The funeral was conducted by a recently-returned Baptist minister.

Reverend James Chisholm is remembered in the Episcopal calendar on the date of his death, September 15^th.  He has a memorial in Cedar Grove Cemetery and was long remembered by all the churches in Portsmouth for his incredible energy and commitment to serving those in need in a critical time.  As he wrote late in the plague, “I trust that I more than ever realize the ‘Eternal God is my refuge, and underneath are the Everlasting Arms.’ I am in His hands to do with me what seemeth Him good.”

Sources:

e-mail from Christian History Institute

https://standingcommissiononliturgyandmusic.org/2010/09/15/september-16-james-chisholm-priest-1855/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Chisholm_(priest)

 

 

 

The Siege of Eger Castle

 

The other September 11^th

In the middle 16^th century, Europe was working through the ramifications of the Protestant Reformation and the social and political turmoil that resulted from that watershed event.  On top of this, Eastern Europe was under threat from the expanding Ottoman Empire.  The Kingdom of Hungary fought some pitched battles against the Ottoman armies of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and the Hungarians were soundly defeated in a series of battles.  It was during these battles that the King of Hungary was killed without a clear successor.

Facing turmoil from within the Kingdom and threats from the Ottomans, fate found Baron Istvan Dobo de Ruszka – a man we will call Dobo – in command of Eger Castle in northern Hungary, the strategic gateway into central Europe.  Political turmoil and previous military defeats kept reinforcements from arriving and Dobo ended up facing the entire combined Ottoman armies, numbering over 60,000 trained soldiers with over 150 siege cannons.  Dobo had roughly 1,500 men defending the castle with less than two dozen medium and small pieces of artillery.  There were also a number of women and children who had taken refuge within the castle walls.  Dobo’s defenders included some trained soldiers and many peasants recruited from the surrounding villages.  The castle was as well-stocked as Dobo could make it to withstand a siege.

It was on September 11^th, 1552, when Suleiman appeared before the castle at Eger and presented his demand for unconditional surrender to Eger Castle.  Dobo read the letter to his men, who answered him enthusiastically that they would never surrender.  They then prayed in the manner of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19 when surrounded by the Assyrians, saying “We expect aid from God only, and not from men.”  Dobo answered with a nighttime surprise raid to steal supplies from the Turks.  Sulieman replied with a full 18 days of cannon fire, with all 120 guns hurling 50-pound balls into the fort and its walls.  They then tried a full assault on the castle and were repulsed.  More cannon fire was absorbed and more assaults were repulsed by the highly-motivated Hungarians under Dobo’s leadership.  At one point, Ottoman cannon fire hit the magazine of the fort and tons of gunpowder exploded, blowing a hole in the castle wall.  The Hungarians stood in the gap and repulsed the attack on the breach in the walls.  They were able to rebuild and reinforce the wall while under fire.  The Hungarians then took to manufacturing their own gunpowder in the basement of the castle.

Dobo and his little army withstood the siege for 38 days.  On the 39^th day, the exhausted Hungarians withstood yet another major assault.  The defenders were down to 700 men and were beginning to fall back when the women sheltered in the castle rushed forward.  Some took weapons from fallen soldiers and fought hand-to-hand on the battlements.  Other women poured boiling oil on the heads of the attackers.  The Ottomans lost over 8,000 soldiers that day alone and retreated in humiliation.

All in all, during the siege, over 12,000 cannon balls landed within the walls of Eger Castle.  Over half of the soldiers in the castle were wounded or killed.  However, their reliance on God’s protection and their own courage kept Hungary in Christian hands for another generation. 

Christian History Institute (via e-mail)

https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Eger_(1552)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istv%C3%A1n_Dob%C3%B3