Gjerasim Qiriazi (18 October 1858 – 2 January 1894) was an Albanian Protestant preacher and educator. He is the founder of th
Evangelical Church of Albania, (VUSH) Vëllazëria Ungjillore e Shqipërisë
and the Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church. He also founded the first Albanian school in modern times in 1887 in

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau som ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Biography

Qiriazi attended a Greek school of his native Manastir, Macedonia. He then went to

Samokov Samokov ( bg, Самоков ) is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in a basin between the mountains Rila and Vitosha, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due to the suitable winter sports conditions, Sam ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, to attend the American College. After he finished his studies, in 1883, he started to work for the British and Foreign Bible Society in

. On November 15, 1884, while traveling to

Lake Ohrid Lake Ohrid ( mk, Охридско Езеро , al, Liqeni i Ohrit , also referred as ''Liqeni i Pogradecit'';) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of E ...

, he was kidnapped by bandits, who held him for ransom for over a year. This episode was narrated by Gjerasim in '' Captured by Brigands'' and published after his death in English in 1901. In 1889, he commissioned the printing of the book of Genesis and the Gospel of Matthew in Albanian Tosk, and the Gospel of Matthew in Aromanian, which were printed by "Dituria" in Bucharest on behalf of BFBS. In 1891, the first Albanian school for girls in Korçë was founded by Qiriazi and his sister,

Sevasti Qiriazi Sevasti Qiriazi-Dako (Sevasti D. Kyrias) (ca. 1871–1949) was an Albanian patriot, educator, Protestant missionary, author, pioneer of Albanian female education, and activist of the Albanian National Awakening. Early Life Sevasti was born ca. 1 ...

. He also had a younger sister,

Parashqevi Qiriazi Parashqevi Qiriazi, also known as Paraskevi D. Kyrias (2 June 1880 – 17 December 1970) was an Albanian teacher of the Kyrias family who dedicated her life to the Albanian alphabet and to the instruction of written Albanian language. She was a ...

, who started to work at the girls' school ( sq, Shkolla e vashave) when she was only 11. He died at an early age from

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...

, which he caught during his captivity.

Works

In addition to ''Captured by Brigands'', Qiriazi wrote an Albanian language grammar, poetry, songs and school books. A selection of his writings was published by his brother, Gjergj, in the collection ''Hristomathi a udhëheqës për ç'do shtëpi shqiptari'' (Monastir, 1902). Both brothers co-wrote the song collection ''Kënkë të shenjtëruara'' (Monastir, 1906).

Awards

*"Teacher of the People" -

Socialist People's Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

, 1987 *"First Class Order of Freedom" -

n, 1992

References

External links

Development of the Protestant church amongst Albanians (Kosova Protestant Evangelical Church)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qiriazi, Gjerasim Converts to Protestantism from Eastern Orthodoxy People from Bitola 1858 births 1894 deaths Albanian educators Albanian Protestants Albanian evangelicals Activists of the Albanian National Awakening People from Manastir vilayet 19th-century Albanian people Gjerasim

Biography

Works

Awards

Further reading

References

External links