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James Cantine

Reverend James Cantine (1861 -- 1940) known for “sticking where he goes”, was an American Missionary, scholar, traveler and a graduated engineer. He was born in the United States of America, Ulster county in New York, at Stone ridge in March 3, 1861. In 1883 he graduated as a Civil Engineer from Union College in Schenectady. The following three years after his graduation, he worked in Westinghouse Company in Schenectady. He also was a Sunday school teacher in the Presbyterian Church and later became the superintendent in the church’s city mission. After those three years, he believed his calling was ministerial and decided to take a theological course at New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Jersey.

On October 1, 1889, Reverend Cantine was ordained as a missionary by his classis in the Fair Street Reformed Church, Kingston, New York. When in New Brunswick Theological Seminary. Rev. Cantine believed he was "never a joiner" because he did not want to join the Student Volunteer Movement that had just began. During his time at the seminary, he met Dr. Lansing who shared his passion for Arabia and this served as Rev. Cantine’s inspiration to start the Arabian Mission in his last year 1889. This paved way for other missionaries like Samuel Zwemer, Philips T. Phelps, and Mary Bruins Allison.

Rev. James Cantine was the first to leave for the American Arabian Mission in 1889. He first had to learn Arabic in Beirut and Syria where he attended meetings of the Syrian Mission that he attributed the success of the Arabian mission. Cantine was a missionary in Basrah, Muscat, and other regions in Arabia from 1890- 1921. He spread the gospel in Sana’a the old capital city of Yemen from 1891, 1894. After his classmate joined Rev. James Cantine, together they set up in the city of Basrah the first station.

James Cantine married Elizabeth DePree in 1904. They both served in Arabia, she died in 1927 and Reverend Cantine died later in 1940 after suffering a major heart attack.

Call to Action

In Cantine’s short stories of “How the Mission Started” in the book The Golden Milestone : Reminiscences of Pioneer Days Fifty Years in Arabia, he illustrates his change of heart in career early on which led to the establishment of a new mission in great difficulty.

Education

Reverend Cantine graduated with a Civil Engineering Degree from Union College in 1883. He worked for three years before he decided that his real vision lies in the ministerial field. He then decided to go to New Brunswick Theological Seminary at New Brunswick over Princeton University which he thought was imposing and large for him. Cantine was ordained in 1889 and set out to plan his mission to Arabia.

Work

After graduating from Union College, Cantine worked in Westinghouse Company in Schenectady, the experience whose value he compared to if he was a missionary then instead of a draftsman. This reflection period led to his decision to consider his vision of ministerial work.

Journey

James Cantine was the first the American to sail to Arabia. He waited in Beirut, Syria for his classmate as he took the opportunity to learn Arabic and gain insights from the Syrian Mission. Rev. Cantine and his colleague selected Basrah as their first base because of its location along the eastern coast that enabled easy access to the whole of Northern Arabia. One of his earliest responsibilities was to manage a bible shop.

In 1895-1896, Rev. Cantine visited churches in America and greatly stimulated the interest, prayer and offerings although he had little success in finding new missionaries to join him in the mission.

Challenges

Among other numerous challenges Cantine’s earliest milestones other than language, included securing a mission house, recruiting a doctor for the mission, Turkish authorities, and establishing the Mason Memorial Hospital.

Cantine tried to establish the first station in the town of  Mohammerah which was ruled by a conservative Arab sheikh but due to the political tension, he could not.

Cantine faced difficulties in renting a house for the mission because the governor of the town had released an order “not to rent a house to American Missionaries” Cantine and his colleague were able to settle with a catholic christian who helped them build a house.

Cantine in his effort to initiate a medical mission insisted that Dr. Lansing send a medical doctor to Basrah who did not last long because of his lack of appreciation for the gospel, this first recruitee decided to have private practice without the spiritual mission. Cantine requested for a second medical doctor, unfortunately, this new doctor contracted dysentery and had to be sent back to America. Cantine did not give up to make sure the mission had a doctor, therefore he requested for a third doctor Dr. Worrall came and this brought a level of stability for the mission.

Cantine was under careful scrutiny by the Turkish authorities who thought his books in the bookshop carried secret information that would threaten the country. Specifically, one day a soldier instructed him to hand in a book and he refused which led him to prison. He reported to the governor first accusing the soldier to be drunk and he was freed. Later, the government stopped observing them and there were no soldiers on their doors any long.

Impact and Works

In 1892, Cantine left Basrah to Baghdad to study the country. In Baghdad, he spoke to some Moslems and shared with them the Scripture after twenty-one days he returned to Basrah.

In 1898, Cantine urgently left Basrah for Muscat because Peter Zwemer and another colleague fell sick. Later, Muscat came to be known as Cantine’s station, after he married Elizabeth DePree in 1904, they stayed in Muscat and facilitated building a school in the memory of Peter Zwemer. In 1901, Cantine helped build a two story building, the Mason Memorial Hospital after extensive negotiations with the ruler of Bahrain.

Rev Cantine is credited for the first Christian conversion of a Syrian Muslim, Kamil.

Legacy

Cantine’s legacy is wrapped in his overriding passion to see the work of Mission being undertaken by the vast Christian Church. He was known for bridging the Arabian Mission and other missions in the region even at the expense of compromising with political pressures hence his reference as a “missiology engineer”. Also, Cantine was particularly praised for the way in which he dealt with the extremely Islamic environment he worked in, as well the problem solving skills he exhibited in resolving issues related to the Arabian mission policy and general management.

Final years

Rev. Cantine’s wife died in 1927, he continued his missionary work in Arabia for a further of two years after her death. In 1929, his physicians advised him to retire and go back home. On his return home he continued promoting the work of the Arabian mission by speaking out to various sections of the reformed church for which he eventually received honors by the Reformed Church congregation of Stone Ridge.

Rev James died in 1940 at the Benedictine Hospital after suffering a major heart attack. He had originally suffered a first heart attack while vacationing in Florida. There remained his sister Catherine H Cantine and several nephews and nieces.

Rev. Cantine was  honored for his 50 years of missionary work on the 27th of October 1938 by the Reformed Church at Fair Street, the very same church at which he was first ordained.