Gjerasim Qiriazi

Gjerasim Qiriazi

Gjerasim Qiriazi
Born (1858-10-18)October 18, 1858[1]
Monastir, Ottoman Empire
Died January 2, 1894(1894-01-02) (aged 35)
Ethnicity Albanian
Home town Monastir, Ottoman Empire (now Republic of Macedonia[2]
Movement Protestantism
Albanian National Awakening
Religion Protestant[2]
Spouse(s) Athina Mikelidhi[1]
Children Stefan Qiriazi[1]
Relatives Brother of Gjergj Qiriazi (1868-1912)
Sevasti Qiriazi (1871-1949)
Parashqevi Qiriazi (1880-1970)
Brother-in-law of Kristo Dako[2]

Gjerasim Qiriazi (1858–1894) was an Albanian Protestant preacher and educator. He is the founder of the Protestant Church of Albania and the Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church. He also founded the first Albanian school in modern times in 1887 in Korçë, Albania, then part of the Ottoman Empire.[2]

Biography

Further information: Kyrias Family

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 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.[2][3]

In 1891, he and his sister, Sevasti Qiriazi, opened the first Albanian school for girls in Korçë. He also had a younger sister, Parashqevi Qiriazi, who started to work at the girl's school (Albanian: Shkolla e vashave) when she was only 11.[2][4]

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

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 3 Femi Cakolli, Magda Maylam (2008-12-18), Biografia e Gjerasim Qiriazit (1858-1894) (in Albanian), Living Word Bible Church, retrieved 24.1.14 Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Elsie, Robert (2001). A dictionary of Albanian religion, mythology, and folk culture. Library of Congress: New York University Press. pp. 210–212. ISBN 0-8147-2214-8. Retrieved 05/10/2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  3. ↑ Kyrias, Gerasimas (1901). Captured by brigands. Religious Tract Society.
  4. ↑ de Haan, Francisca; Daskalova Krasimira; Loutfi Anna (June 30, 2006). A Biographical Dictionary of Women's Movements and Feminisms in Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe, 19th and 20th Centuries. Central European University Press. pp. 454–457. ISBN 978-9637326394. Retrieved 05/10/2010. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)

External links

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