|
A sacred taskA true story from Albania's national awakeningTask accomplishedA SACRED TASK Gjerasim Qiriazi is a man little-known outside Albania. His life is, however, a fine example of missionary work from a time before 'the land of the eagles' became 'the world's first atheist state' that many more will now be able to take due inspiration from thanks to the author's work. Quanrud, who studied at Prishtina University and was himself a missionary in Albania through the 90s, must have sensed a moment of revelation akin to Indiana Jones' discoveries when he uncovered packages of lost documents relating to Qiriazi's life caked in dust in the Istanbul offices of the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS) in 1989. If he had been wearing a wide-brimmed hat, it would have surely blown off in a sudden gust of providence. The author has since undertaken his own long and thorough 'sacred task' researching sources across the Balkans and elsewhere to present a full and valuable picture of Qiriazi's life for the first time, and reclaim him from subsequent Communist make-overs. Working with the BFBS towards the end of the 19th century, Qiriazi was a pioneering Albanian evangelical missionary to his own beleaguered people, who were at the time suffering under the twin heels of Ottoman rule and Greek national interests sadly being played out through the Orthodox Church. Despite fervent opposition, Qiriazi played a key role in the production of Albanian language Scriptures, preached and established a church in the town of Korce, co-founded the first ever Albanian language school for girls with his sister Sevastia and much more. As he used the Albanian language, his work was crucial in fermenting national consciousness at a time when Albanians were being told that God simply did not understand their tongue. This work he termed his 'sacred task'. The book is well-written, if at times thoroughness takes precedence over narrative engagement for the general reader. That said there is ample to captivate including incidents such as Qiriazi's six-month abduction by bandits, and Sevastia's visit to an imprisoned Albanian patriot in the bowels of a Turkish fortress as the Bosporous thuds against the walls. Quanrud's task has been well-accomplished. Paul Alkazraji,
|