(Hogg, Rena L) A master-builder on the Nile: being a record of the life and aims of John Hogg D. D.

, A Missionary, 1914, Pittsburgh PA, United Presbyterian Board of Publication. Rena L Hogg was John Hogg's daughter. http://books.google.com/books?id=WKQEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64&dq=%22john+hogg%22+%2 2bessie+kay%22&source=bl&ots=GKtzyRLIxL&sig=G5gxmIs4DYiPtvfW3jAEFtC92no&hl=en&ei=RXkS7u4GtStlAfKvK2bBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAoQ6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=r ena&f=false THE STORY OF THE ROBBERS [214] Of one of the most popular [local tales about Dr Hogg's many hardships,] his own account [also] remains to show how fact and fancy mingle in such current lore. The story has many versions and we tell it as related by a fine old patriarch. [215] At a village many miles distant from Assiut Dr. Hogg had been paying one of his periodic visits. The evening meeting was over and the missionary had sat late in conversation with his host and his friends, when to the amazement of all he rose to bid them adieu. In vain they urged him to spend the night with them, expatiating on the length of the way and the robbers that infested the district. He would neither await the daylight nor accept an escort. His work necessitated his reaching Assiut by morning, and in the Lord's keeping he was as safe as with armed men. He had not walked far in the dense darkness when he was accosted by a robber band who demanded his gold watch and purse. These he surrendered without demur, surprising his marauders with the gratuitous information that he had with him still another treasure that he would gladly add to their store. To their chagrin all that he drew from his pocket was a small book, but his audience were soon so entranced by the magic of his tongue and of that priceless Word, that their greed speedily vanished, their consciences awoke, and they began to hunger for salvation. Before morning dawned the whole band had been converted and were eager to return to him his stolen goods. But the purse he refused, and as one and all, Copts and Moslems alike, had decided to abandon their life of robbery, he supported them liberally from that time forward out of his own pocket until they had learned to earn an honest living and had become respected and God-fearing members of the Church! It seems heartless to destroy so romantic a tale, but the original story itself deserves preservation as recounted by the chief actors Dr. Hogg and Mr. Shenoodeh Hanna, his companion on the historic occasion. Their story runs as follows: After a hasty breakfast on a hot Saturday in June, the two friends left the "Ibis" at sunrise to walk to the village of Tahta two and a half miles distance from the river. They were warmly received by the only Protestant in the place, and his house was so continuously crowded by eager listeners that for once Egyptian hospitality seemed swamped by the tide of interest, and the bodily wants of the preachers were completely overlooked.

All day long they read and sang and preached and prayed, the changing audience fresh and eager, the speakers weaker and fainter with the passing hours, and all proposals to leave were overborne by the host's repeated assertion that he would feel forever disgraced if his guests should quit his house without food. At last, after fourteen hours of fasting, a sumptuous meal was spread, and of this the famished men partook with more speed than wisdom before starting out with a suitable escort to ride to the river. A jolting donkey is no happy sequel to a hasty meal, and Dr. Hogg, finding his companion unable to ride and his escort restive under enforced delay, decided that they would complete their journey on foot and unaccompanied. The servants with some polite demur gladly availed themselves of the reprieve, and the two preachers started riverward alone. When they [Hogg & Shenoodeh Hanna] reached the water's edge the boat was not in sight, and whether the landing lay north or south they could not tell. Some men when accosted misled them, either by mistake or of set purpose, their lack of a lantern perhaps arousing suspicions, and the night wore on in fruitless and solitary wanderings. Suddenly they observed on the river bank a man, innocent of clothes and bearing a gun, who started towards them till arrested by the sight of their shouldered umbrellas, which in the starlight passed easily for firearms. [[Mr. Shenoodeh says, "This made us certain that these men were highway robbers (a most natural inference as they were in a neighbourhood infested by them)]] [[Dr. Hogg states that the men were about to shoot them in self-defence, having received warning in their village an hour before that two suspicious characters were wandering along the bank, and having come for the express purpose of watching their melon crop against the marauders.]] The younger man [Shenoodeh Hanna] was distracted with fear, and still more so when he heard the sound of swimmers in the river perhaps coming to join their naked friend in some bloody deed. The two wanderers walked on as if unheeding, but when a little distance was gained, turned inland, running rapidly to reach a point invisible from the beach. Avoiding Scylla, they came as it seemed upon Charybdis a group of smokers, three men and a boy, two of them [217] armed and with the usual vicious guard of watch-dogs. Dr. Hogg thought it best to throw himself frankly on their protection, and as the dogs sprang forward with a threatening welcome, "Call off your dogs," he cried, "and I shall tell you a story that will make you laugh." A discussion followed, and they were soon received within the smoking circle to spend the remainder of the night in this strange company. [[The younger man [Shenoodeh Hanna], during the colloquy [i.e., dialogue] that preceded the promise of a night's protection, spent the time in anxious prayer except when personally addressed.]] As sleep was distant, it was proposed to pass the time in songs and tales, and Mr. Shenoodeh chose a Bible story that gave him the opportunity of dwelling on the sin of murder and the fearful punishment awaiting the guilty, a tale which brought from one of his listeners the

confession that only his brother's intervention had prevented him from shooting at Mr. Shenoodeh on his first approach. Towards morning the air grew cold, and the missionary, made anxious by his young friend's cough, dug a deep hole for him in the sand and buried him to the neck, after which both secured some broken sleep. At dawn one of their guard accompanied them to the boat, lying miles from the spot at which they had encamped, and received for the service a backsheesh that sent him away blessing their memory. There are discrepancies in the tale even as narrated by the two concerned, but these are easily explained by the fact that the younger man [Shenoodeh Hanna], during the colloquy [i.e., dialogue] that preceded the promise of a night's protection, spent the time in anxious prayer except when personally addressed, and would thus naturally miss some explanations. That one of the men was on the point of firing at them both narratives agree. But Mr. Shenoodeh says, "This made us certain that these men were highway robbers (a most natural inference as they were in a neighbourhood infested by them), while Dr. Hogg states that the men were about to shoot them in self-defence, having received warning in their village an hour before that two suspicious characters were wandering along the bank, and having [218] come for the express purpose of watching their melon crop against the marauders. The only real sequel to the story was that Mr. Shenoodeh wove it into an ingenious and thrilling sermon, which greatly moved his audience when it was preached in Assiut a few days later, and that while the sermon was being written the morning after the adventure, his companion [Dr. Hogg] in labour having bathed and breakfasted returned to Tahta and preached, to audiences varying from twelve to forty, five long discourses. ... Rena notes that John Hogg was in process of producing a book comparing Didache to other sacred documents revered by Coptic Christians immediately prior to his death by illness.

Athanasius el-Assiuty ("Tanassa") 1825 to 1916 Coptic Orthodox / Presbyterian / Episcopal (Anglican) Egypt http://www.dacb.org/stories/aa-print-stories/egypt/athan-el-assiuty.html The evangelization of Upper Egypt depended not only upon the efforts of Westerners but also upon local Coptic leaders. One of them was a gifted apologist and humble carpenter specializing in waterwheels, Athanasius "Tanassa" Ghobrial El-Assiuty. Born in 1825 in Assiut, he began his service to

the Coptic community as a Coptic Orthodox deacon and ended his life serving the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in Egypt. He spent most of his time promoting the revival of the Coptic Orthodox church and building good relations between Christian groups in Egypt; and secondly, evangelizing among his Muslim co-citizens. Tanassa was greatly influenced by the pioneering missionary efforts of Scottish Presbyterian John Hogg who arrived in Assiut in 1868. After Hogg began working in the area, the local Coptic Orthodox Bishop of Assuit issued an edict to all Orthodox villagers prohibiting them from cooperating with the Presbyterian missionaries. In response to this edict, Hogg publicly explained that he was only aiming to serve the Coptic Orthodox church and not to compete with it. Tanassa, at that time, had acquired a reputation for his gifted preaching abilities. In order to respond to Hogg's defense, the villagers cheered, "Bring out Tanassa! Tanassa!" Tanassa then engaged in a public dialogue with Hogg that was gentle and cordial, much to the surprise of the onlookers. After this event, Tanassa and Hogg became friends, enjoying each others' company. Tanassa became an active participant of Hogg's Bible studies; hosting roughly twenty-five other Orthodox men in his house for organized teachings led by the Scottish missionary. Tanassa's decision to support Hogg was courageous in that he was refused communion and participation in the church where he was once a well-revered deacon and teacher. As a result of his affiliation with Hogg, Tanassa was one of the first Copts to be excommunicated from the Orthodox Church, along with a group of other Bible study participants. John Hogg and Tanassa founded the First Evangelical Church in Assiut on March 6, 1870. Tanassa and his brother, Abadeer Ghobriel, were elected as governing elders on April 10, 1870. Members of this Evangelical church of Assuit would eventually become famous for the iconoclastic scandals in which Orthodox icons were destroyed and Coptic Presbyterians subsequently incriminated, escaping to Aswan. However, Tanassa was not involved in these incidents. He continued to preach, developing his reputation as a gifted speaker, and helping to establish Evangelical churches all around Assiut, as he continued to live off of his work building waterwheels. Because of his good reputation, he was welcomed everywhere by Egyptians. Eventually, Tanassa left Assiut for Cairo, abandoning his work as a carpenter for a job with the Anglican Church. To this day, the reason for his decision to switch from the Presbyterian Synod of the Nile to the Anglican Church remains unknown. Though he was encouraged to go to the Synod of the Nile seminary in Cairo, he ended up working with foreign Anglicans while still attending a Presbyterian Church in Cairo. As an Anglican employee, he was affiliated with a church which cherished principles of non-intervention when it came to relating to the local Orthodox hierarchy. Perhaps for this reason, he sought to mend his relationship with his parent church. And thus, Tanassa opted to serve the Anglicans rather than the Presbyterians.

A complete bio of John Hogg D.D. (1833-86) by Miss Bessie Hogg (widow?) in In the King's Service A Mission Study Course along Biographical Lines, Edited by Charles Watson, Philadelphia PA, Board of Foreign Missions of the United Presbyterian Church of N. A., 1905. http://books.google.com/books?id=VT_1mjLqZxMC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=john+hogg+egypt&source =bl&ots=K5HYLh1MJ7&sig=j387wGZ2cU6LqNfW9frlIIq3ZYs&hl=en&ei=90I-S53-

HMLjlAfa1PTjCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=john %20hogg%20egypt&f=false Relatives: Jessie Hogg (daughter, joined mission in 1887, married W L McClenahan in 1902, died 3/4/1905); Bessie Hogg (daughter); Miss Rena L Hogg (daughter, took furlough from Egyptian mission in 1906); George (older brother); James (oldest brother); Bessie (Kay) Hogg (spouse); Mary Lizzie (daughter, died at age 4); Unnamed son (died an infant);

Minutes of the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church of North America, Volumes 35-38 By United Presbyterian Church of North America. General Assembly http://books.google.com/books?id=AcMQAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA505&dq=%22hope+w+hogg%22&lr=&cd=20 #v=onepage&q=%22hope%20w%20hogg%22&f=false Minutes for 1893 have Rev Hope W Hogg as Secretary of the Mission Training College, Asyoot, Egypt, and resident in same town. Minutes of 1894 have Rev. Hope W Hogg resigning his position as a missionary, Sept 1894, due to changes in view regarding inspiration of scripture, etc. Teaching position extended to Jan 15, 1895 at mission board's request. Separation was amicable. Board respectfully noted that Hope W Hogg was son of a well respected missionary (John Hogg).

Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions edited by Gerald H. Anderson (1999) http://books.google.com/books?id=oQ8BFk9K0ToC&pg=PA299&lpg=PA299&dq=United+Presbyterian+ mission+egypt&source=bl&ots=_50bgPmAeZ&sig=V0sdpHeZuifVNks0dJMru1V6zAU&hl=en&ei=Yj1BS7_ 7EIuHlAfRiq2cBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CAwQ6AEwATge#v=onepage&q= United%20Presbyterian%20mission%20egypt&f=false John Hogg had 12 children with spouse Bessie (Kay) Hogg. Oldest was Hope Waddell Hogg (1863-1912). Alfred George Hogg (1875-1954) became a noted missionary in India. Laurence Alexander Hogg also became a missionary in India. William Richie Hogg (worked in IndoChina/Indonesia). Quintin Hogg. Peier Hogg. Johannes Baptist Hogg. Rena L Hogg (daughter, took furlough from Egyptian mission in 1906, wrote her father's biography, pub. 1914). Jessie Hogg (daughter, joined mission in 1887, married W L McClenahan in 1902, died 3/4/1905). Bessie Hogg (daughter, active in Calcutta, India in 1906). Mary Lizzie (daughter, died at age 4). An unnamed son died an infant.