Gjerasim Qiriazi (18 October 1858 – 2 January 1894)
was an
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
Protestant preacher and educator. He is the founder of th
Evangelical Church of Albania, (VUSH) Vëllazëria Ungjillore e Shqipërisëand the
Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church
The Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church ( sq, Kisha Protestante Ungjillore e Kosovës) (KPEC) is a Protestant church network based in Pristina, Kosovo. It is one of the four protected major religions in the Kosovo Law of Religious Freedoms. B ...
. He also founded the first Albanian school in modern times in 1887 in
Korçë,
Albania, then part of the
Ottoman Empire.
Biography
Qiriazi attended a Greek school of his native
Manastir, Macedonia. He then went to
Samokov,
Bulgaria, to attend the
American College. After he finished his studies, in 1883, he started to work for the
British and Foreign Bible Society
The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world.
The Soc ...
in
Korçë.
On November 15, 1884, while traveling to
Lake Ohrid, 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. He also had a younger sister,
Parashqevi Qiriazi, 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, 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, 1987
*"First Class Order of Freedom" -
Albanian, 1992
Further reading
* Quanrud, John, ''Gerasim Kyrias: and the Albanian National Awakening 1858-1894'', Institute for Albanian and Protestant Studies, 2016.
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