Ribton, Herbert Panmure (1831–1882)

Herbert Panmure Ribton was a physician and the first known Adventist missionary to enter the Muslim areas of the world. His dedicated and impressive service was very short, and in the end, he paid the ultimate price.

Early Years

Ribton was born in Ireland in 1831 as the grandson of the wealthy Irish baronet and once lord mayor of the city of Dublin, Sir George Ribton. On the death of the baronet, his title and money went to the eldest son, Sir John Ribton. Herbert’s father, Dr. George Ribton, was the youngest child and thus did not get a share of the inheritance. Instead, he had to battle his way through medical school. Within two years, misfortune plagued him, and he lost all his children except for Herbert. However, more misfortune struck when Herbert was only two years old, and he also lost his wife.¹

His father was unable to take care of his young child. So, Herbert was taken in by a family friend, Henry Farange of Dublin, whose daughters nurtured him as he grew up. They also carefully instructed him in the doctrines of the Church of England. The teachings about Jesus became dear to Herbert. He became anxious, however, about their beliefs about hell and had a difficult time finding peace of mind. It was not until he turned the age of eleven, when he was back with his father, that the load was lifted from his shoulders by his father’s words: “My son, you are giving yourself much hopeless trouble. Do you not see that Jesus has done all for you that you cannot do; that by the cross he has delivered you from hell?” From that moment, the Bible became the dearest book for him, and he was filled with enthusiasm for gospel. He wanted from his very youth to be a missionary for Christ.²

In October 1850, Ribton was accepted into Trinity College in Dublin at the age of nineteen. Driven to study books, mathematics, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, etc., his health broke, and he had to go to Italy to recover. When he returned, he married a young lady by the name of Adelaide. Now he had to support not only himself, but also his wife as he returned to his former studies. Ribton received his B.A. degree in 1860. First, he became a university professor. Then, to “Rise in the world,” as he expressed it, he changed his profession to civil engineer and worked for Dun Laoghaire, Co., in Dublin.

In 1863, he sent two letters of mathematical formulae to the Dublin Builder, and the following year, 1864, he proposed building a railway line from Gorey to Courtown. This was successfully achieved with Peter Joseph Moran as the acting engineer. Ribton did not feel, however, that he was succeeding in anything. Sickness constantly prevailed in his home. All day long he worked, and at night, he stayed awake to care for his sick children. Two of his girls died. His wife’s health was also broken, and his father became ill and passed away a year afterward.³

Desire to Work as a Missionary

Ribton soon re-visited the idea of becoming a missionary. Feeling strongly impressed, he left engineering and went back to college to study medicine. He was told that this field would be an excellent opportunity to serve Christ. Full of zeal, he joined a maternity hospital and made a special study of obstetrics. When the hospital had to shut down due to postpartum infections, Ribton was one of the volunteers who attended the patients in their homes. Consequently, he had a total breakdown regarding his health, and the doctors told him that he would not live through the winter. His thoughts went back to Italy where he had recovered before. He sold his father’s furniture and moved there with his wife and child, not really knowing what to do.

Another 11 years passed with him holding different jobs and positions, but without much joy. Then Ribton made a vow to God to work only for His kingdom and be led by His Spirit. He offered himself to the Methodist Church and worked as an evangelist and preacher for six months. But he could not reconcile himself with the doctrine of sprinkling. Next, he decided to try the Baptist Church, where he nearly came to direct a Baptist mission in Naples. ⁴

Conversion and Work in Italy

Then one day, while in Naples, he came across some copies of the Sabbath Memorial, a Seventh-day Baptist quarterly from London, England. When he read them and later accessed J. N. Andrews’ book on the Sabbath, he was convinced of the Sabbath truth. “That day was the beginning of a new epoch in my life,” he later wrote. He and his family began to observe the Sabbath, and he set about to present the truth to others. A few joined them in Sabbath worship.

From Switzerland, J. N. Andrews sent him copies of Les Signes des Temps (Signs of the Times). Through reading these magazines and other Seventh-day Adventist publications, he accepted the Adventist faith.⁵ Elder Andrews visited him in 1877. He studied further with him and gave this report: “Bro. Ripton feels deeply the responsibility of the work upon which he has entered, and he will do anything in his power to lead men to the truth and make the work self-sustaining. He will seek to benefit not merely the Napolitans, but the foreign residents of this city, with many of whom, he is acquainted.”⁶

Ribton, along with his wife, daughter, and another believer were baptized close to the spot where Paul landed on his journey to Puozzoli (biblical Puteoli), Rome, just a few miles west of Naples. “The circumstances under which the baptism took place, and the associations of the spot, made the occasion one of most solemn and joyful interest.” ⁷

Ribton was a scholar familiar with Latin, Greek, and Hebrew as well as French and Italian. He became an active missionary for his faith among the people of Naples. At that time, it was one of the largest cities in Italy with a population of more than 600,000. He translated several tracts into Italian. They were distributed along with Les Signes des Temps to interested people.⁸

Since many of the believers were scattered throughout the city, attempts were made to secure a venue for Sabbath services and public meetings. Although it was difficult, eventually a place was found.⁹ Ribton was a hard worker. In a letter to Andrews, he wrote: “The past fortnight I have preached sixteen times, written many letters, and made many visits.” In addition, he had to provide for his family. Ribton’s hard work seemed to be paying off. Tracts were sent and requests for Bible studies came in from Sicily, Malta, and other places--even Alexandria in Egypt. But the converts in Naples were generally poor. Although Ribton’s goal was to make the work self-sustaining, it was obvious that the means to support the expanding work at the time were not sufficient among the new converts. Therefore, an appeal was made to the General Conference leadership by 22 believers, without the knowledge of Ribton. They requested a bigger hall in Naples, to be able to print a magazine in Italian like Les Signes des Temps, and support Ribton so he could work full time for the mission.¹⁰

Missionary to Alexandria

The Les Signs des Temps that was sent out by the believers in Naples also reached an Italian colony in Alexandria, Egypt, where a group of Seventh-day Adventists had emerged. In an article in the Adventist Review in 1878, there was already a hint that Ribton would follow up on these interests. “Eld. S. N. Haskell brings information in reference to the work in Italy and in Egypt, which is of the deepest interest. The way seems fully open for Dr. Ribton of Naples, Italy, to spread the present truth in those countries.”¹¹

Ribton, who by that time spoke fluent Arabic, moved to Alexandria in 1879 and was the first known Adventist missionary to the Muslim areas of the world. He opened a day school and held Bible classes, sometimes supporting himself working as a physician. He shepherded the group of Adventists and endeavored to preach to Arabs and other members of the cosmopolitan community. He worked among the sailors in the port and was active with door-to-door visitation and translation of literature into Arabic. Ribton’s main objective was to train each member to spread the Advent message, claiming in one report that soon this group would be able to do so in at least five languages.¹²

In a report from Egypt in November 1879, Ribton told of his work together with Guiseppe Rupp, a very active layperson. Letters and tracts to Baptist ministers had been sent, and several new subscribers’ addresses for Les Signs des Temps and Signs of the Times were sent to the editors in Switzerland and California. He had used his profession as a physician as a means of “carrying the Word into many places where it would otherwise be impossible to gain access.” Also, he was requesting the means to print tracts in Greek and Arabic for the people in Alexandria.¹³

This first attempt to enter the Arab world suddenly ended in a tragedy when Dr. Ribton, together with two of his Italian associates Rupp and Aligretti, were killed in the Alexandria Massacre on June 11, 1882. They had just been distributing tracts among the sailors and were attacked by a mob who was plundering and killing at will. They ruthlessly murdered with no provocation whatsoever. Ribton’s daughter, who was with him, saw her father struck down and wounded. In shock, she barely escaped the same fate herself. She was sheltered in the house of a sheik until the riot subsided and then brought home to her mother disguised in an Arab vail. The mutilated bodies were recovered from one of the hospitals and given a decent burial. Mrs. Ribton and her daughter left Egypt and went back to Dublin, Ireland, where they lived with relatives.^{14 15}

With the loss of their leader and the dwindling foreign community, Seventh-day Adventists were displaced from Egypt, and the mission was forced to withdraw.¹⁶ Ribton will be dearly remembered for his unselfish and courageous service in Italy as well as in Alexandria, Egypt.¹⁷

Sources

Andrews, J. N. “Appeal from Italy.” ARH, June 6, 1978.

Andrews, J. N. “Naples, Italy.” ARH, September 13, 1977.

Andrews, J. N. “Naples, Italy.” ARH, October 11, 1977.

McEdward, Rick. “A Brief Overview of Adventist Witness among Muslims.” In A man of Passionate Reflection: A Festschrift honoring Jerald Whitehouse, edited by Bruce Bauer, 238-239. Berrien Springs, MI: Department of World Mission, Andrews University, 2011.

Meyers, Cecil K. “Into All the World.” ARH, February 16, 1922.

Oyer, A. M. “Particulars of the Death of Dr. Ribton.” ARH, September 19, 1882.

Pfeiffer, Baldur, ed. 1981. The European Seventh-day Adventist Mission in the Middle East 1879-1939. European Study Series 23, vol. 161. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Peter Lang.

Ribton, Herbert Panmure. “A Sketch of the Life of Dr. Ribton.” ARH, October 18, 1877.

“Ribton, Herbert Panmure.” Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720-1940, an online database. Accessed June 23, 2024. https://www.dia.ie/architects/view/4530.

Ribton, H. P. “Report from Egypt.” ARH, January 1, 1880.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association. Various years. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.

White, James. “Foreign Mission.” ARH, July 4, 1878.

Notes

1. Herbert Panmure Ribton, “A Sketch of the Life of Dr. Ribton,” ARH, October 18, 1877, 122-123.↩

2. Ibid.↩

3. Ibid.; “Herbert Panmure Ribton,” Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720-1940, an online database, accessed June 23, 2024, https://www.dia.ie/architects/view/4530.↩

4. Ripton, 122-123.↩

5. “Ribton, Herbert Panmure,” Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (SDAE), rev. ed., (1996), 5216.↩

6. J. N. Andrews, “Naples, Italy,” ARH, September 13, 1877, 92.↩

7. Cecil K. Meyers, “Into All the World,” ARH, February 16, 1922, 24.↩

8. SDAE, 5216.↩

9. J. N. Andrews, “Naples, Italy,” ARH, October 11, 1977, 116.↩

10. J. N. Andrews, “Appeal from Italy,” ARH, June 6, 1878, 180-181.↩

11. James White, “Foreign Mission,” ARH, July 4, 1878, 12.↩

12. Rick McEdward, “A Brief Overview of Adventist Witness among Muslims,” in A man of passionate reflection: A Festschrift Honoring Jerald Whitehouse, ed. Bruce Bauer (Berrien Springs, MI: Department of World Mission, Andrews University, 2011), 238-239.↩

13. H. P. Ribton, “Report from Egypt,” ARH, January 1, 1880, 13.↩

14. A. M. Oyer, “Particulars of the Death of Dr. Ribton,” ARH, September 19, 1882, 601-602.↩

15. It appears that a plot had been laid by Colonel Arabi Pasha to massacre all the Europeans at Alexandria on Sunday June 11 when they were out promenading or riding with their families. The colonel had previously circulated the assurance that while he had command, the Christians should have protection. Thus they were taken unawares. A.M. Oyer, 601.↩

16. Baldur Pfeiffer, The European Seventh-day Adventist Mission in the Middle East 1879-1939, European University Study Series 23, vol. 161, Ed 1981 (Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Peter Lang), 51.↩

17. See also, Rex Riches, The Story of Herbert Panmure and Adelaide Ribton, Rex and RoseMarie Riches, 2006.↩