A History of Protestant missions in the near East

Syria and Palestine 267
Palestine, owing to the undeveloped state of the country, and
the consequent lack of demand for such work. Only two
ways out of this difficulty seemed to be open. Either upon
leaving the school they must emigrate to Egypt, East Africa,
Europe, or America, as so many Oriental Christians were
doing, thus becoming scattered over the whole world and lost
to their own country, or they must be provided with work in
connection with the Syrian Orphanage. Now Father Schneller
had, from the very beginning, methodically bought up all
the ground about the orphanage that he could lay hands on,
thus quietly acquiring for the orphanage a considerable property
which was fairly compact, and was steadily rising in
value. Upon this estate, then, pupils leaving the orphanage
were settled, forming a Protestant community, which, in the
course of years, numbered one hundred and forty souls. Some
of the pupils also settled in Jerusalem, and, with a view to
caring for their children, and at the same time to gaining a
footing amongst the inhabitants of the city, a school of three
classes was begun there, combined with a kindergarten ;
both
of these are very well attended.
After Schneller's death an Evangelical Union on behalf of
the Syrian Orphanage was formed, in 1896, in Germany, with
its headquarters in Cologne, whence the extensive institutional
scheme was directed. The Syrian Orphanage has a yearly
budget of nearly 9,000, of which 7,500 are collected from
individuals, chiefly as Christmas gifts.
(c)
The Kaiserswerth Deaconesses' Homes. Previous to both
the Jerusalem Union and the Syrian Orphanage, the Kaiserswerth
Deaconesses' Homes were at work in Palestine. In 1851
Pastor Theodor Fliedner, the founder of this organization, accepted
the cordial invitation of Bishop Gobat to come to Jerusalem,
and, with four of his deaconesses, took possession of a simple
house on Mount Zion, belonging to the Prussian crown. From
this modest beginning there has grown the extensive work of
the German deaconesses with its two main branches.
At first
the deaconesses devoted themselves to the education of the
women, whom they found to be in a very neglected condition.