Reverend Gjerasim Qiriazi Gerasim D. Kyrias | |
|---|---|
| Founder of Albanian Protestant Community | |
 | |
| Church | Albanian Evangelical Brotherhood (Protestant) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 19-20 April 1890 by American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions |
| Consecration | by John Henry House, Alexander Thomson, et. al. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 18, 1858 |
| Died | 2 January 1894 (aged 35) Monastir |
| Buried | Protestant Cemetery, Monastir |
| Nationality | Albanian |
| Denomination | Evangelical Protestant |
| Spouse | Athina Mikelidhi |
| Children | Stefan Kyrias |
| Occupation | Preacher, educator |
| Alma mater | Collegiate and Theological Institute (Samokov, Bulgaria) |
| Signature |  |
Gjerasim Qiriazi | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Gerasim D. Kyrias Gerasimos Kyrias |
| Employer(s) | British and Foreign Bible Society, Turkish Missions Aid Society |
| Organization | Vëllazëria e Ungjillorëvet |
| Notable work | Kënkëtore: Hymna per nde Falëtorët të Ungjillorëvet (1893); Captured by Brigands (1901); Krestomaci (1902, 1907) |
| Movement | Protestantism Albanian National Awakening |
| Relatives | Brother of: Sevasti Qiriazi, Gjergj Qiriazi, and Parashqevi Qiriazi[1][2] |
| Awards |  Honor of the Nation People's Teacher.png){kind=small} Order of Freedom, Class I |
Gjerasim Qiriazi (in English Gerasim Kyrias) (18 October 1858 – 2 January 1894)[1] was an Albanian Protestant preacher, Bible translator and distributor, educator, and activist of the Albanian National Awakening. In the early 1890s he founded the Albanian Evangelical Protestant community and the first Albanian school for girls in Korçë, Albania, then part of the Ottoman Empire.[1]
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Further information: Qiriazi family |
Qiriazi attended a Greek school of his native Manastir, Macedonia. He then went to Samokov, Bulgaria, to attend the Collegiate and Theological Institute. 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.[1][3]
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[4] and his sister, Sevasti Qiriazi. He also had a younger sister, Parashqevi Qiriazi, who started to work at the girls' school (Albanian: Shkolla e vashave) when she was only 11.[1][5]
He died at an early age from tuberculosis.[6]
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).
When Gjerasim Qiriazi founded an Evangelical Brotherhood in 1891 for Albanians, Albanian-inhabited territories were still under Ottoman rule. Now that Albania and Kosovo are sovereign states, Protestant communities there, such as the Evangelical Brotherhood of Albania (VUSH), the Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church (KPUK) (founded in 1992 and 2005 respectively)—and other Albanian Evangelical entities—regard Gjerasim Qiriazi as their spiritual founder.
The Korça School for Girls was immortalized in Albanian cinema by the beloved film Mësonjëtorja (The School) (1979). The character inspired by Gjerasim Qiriazi was "Stefan Bardhi" and was played by actor Gulielm Radoja. Consistent with the official atheistic and censorial policies of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania, all religion was portrayed as anti-Albanian and the school was identified as completely non-religious (laike).[7]
