Elias Riggs (November 19, 1810 – January 17, 1901) was an American

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

and linguist.

Biography

Elias Riggs was born on November 19, 1810 in

New Providence, New Jersey New Providence is a borough on the northwestern edge of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Passaic River, which forms the county boundary with Morris County bordering Chatham Township. As of the 2020 United S ...

. He was the second son of Elias and Margaret (Congar) Hudson Riggs. His father was the pastor of the local Presbyterian church. During his missionary activities in 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) ...

he contributed greatly to the

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...

. He organized with Albert Long the first translation (by

Neofit Rilski Neofit Rilski ( bg, Неофит Рилски) or Neophyte of Rila (Bansko, 1793 – January 4, 1881), born Nikola Poppetrov Benin ( bg, Никола Поппетров Бенин) was a 19th-century Bulgarian monk, teacher and artist, and an impo ...

), and worked on editing, printing and dissemination of a translation of the Bible into modern Bulgarian. In 1844 he published the first

Grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domain ...

of the modern Bulgarian language. Riggs did research on Chaldee Language, and also guided the translation of the Bible into modern Armenian language.Georgi Genov
American Elias Riggs and his contribution to the Bulgarian National Revival
. ''Historical Archives''. Sofia, Issue 9-10, November 2000 - May 2001. (in Bulgarian) The government and church of newly independent

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

originally opposed Riggs' mission, but later had to accept American and British

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

activities among Christians other than

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

. Riggs took part in negotiations identifying the then actual ethnic

delimitation Boundary delimitation (or simply delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, states, counties or other municipalities.

between

and

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...

in the Ottoman Empire, resulting in an approximate line drawn between

Serres Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...

and Edessa in Macedonia north of which the Christian population was recognized as predominantly Bulgarian. Subsequently, the 1876

Constantinople Conference The 1876–77 Constantinople Conference ( tr, Tersane Konferansı "Shipyard Conference", after the venue ''Tersane Sarayı'' "Shipyard Palace") of the Great Powers (Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia) was held in Constan ...

of the Great Powers confirmed that early delimitation in its more comprehensive definition of ethnic

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 ...

n lands as of the late 19th century.

Publications

Honour

Riggs Peak Riggs Peak ( bg, връх Ригс, vrah Riggs, ) is a peak rising to 1690 m in Imeon Range on Smith Island, South Shetland Islands. Situated 2.38 km southwest of Neofit Peak, 5.4 km southwest of the summit Mount Foster, and 8.6&nbs ...

on Smith Island,

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...

is named after Elias Riggs.

References

External links

Notes on the Grammar of the Bulgarian language Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened version ...

- 1844 - Smyrna (now Izmir) - Elias Riggs * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riggs, Elias 1810 births 1901 deaths American Presbyterian missionaries People from New Providence, New Jersey Translators of the Bible into Bulgarian Macedonia under the Ottoman Empire Ottoman period in the history of Bulgaria 19th-century translators Presbyterian missionaries in Europe Protestant missionaries in Bulgaria Presbyterian missionaries in the Ottoman Empire American expatriates in the Ottoman Empire Missionary linguists