Grigor M. Cilka (1875-1919) 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 reverend and missionary. In the height of the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian ...

he became a teacher at the first Albanian school for girls in

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...

. His wife Katerina was kidnapped during the

Miss Stone Affair The Miss Stone Affair (, ) was the kidnapping of American Protestant missionary Ellen Maria Stone and her pregnant Bulgarian fellow missionary and friend Katerina Cilka by the pro-Bulgarian Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization.''O ...

Early life and education

Grigor Cilka was born in 1875 in

Vithkuq Vithkuq () is a village and a former municipality in the Korçë County, southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Korçë. The population at the 2011 census was 1,519. The municipal uni ...

. The family later moved to Monastir. He was educated at missionary schools in Monastir, and later

Samokov Samokov ( ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in Samokov Valley between the mountain ranges of Rila, Vitosha and Sredna Gora, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due ...

. Cilka was a convert from

Orthodox Christianity Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Protestant Christianity Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes justification of sinners through faith alone, the teaching that salvation comes by unmerited divine grace, the priesthood of all believers, and the Bible as the sole infallible sour ...

. He went to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to finish his education at the

Union Theological Seminary Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (shortened to UTS or Union) is a Private college, private ecumenical liberal Christian seminary in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, affiliated with Columbia University since 1928. Presently, Co ...

Career

During his stay in the US, Cilka in 1899 married Katerina Cilka, a Bulgarian nurse and Protestant from

Bansko Bansko ( ) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, located in Blagoevgrad Oblast near the city of Razlog. Once mainly a stockbreeding and travelling merchant community, the town is now an international centre for winter and summer tourism. More rec ...

. In the summer following their marriage, they returned to Bulgaria, settled in Korçë and dedicated their efforts toward missionary work, teaching and humanitarian activities in surrounding villages. Cilka founded a Protestant parish in Korçë. After studying

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, Cilka became a member of Korçë-based organizations that sought the creation of an Albanian state independent of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In the late nineteenth century debate over choosing an Albanian alphabet, Cilka was a supporter of the Frashëri alphabet. Together with his wife Katerina, Cilka served as teacher at the first Albanian school for girls in Korçë.

Miss Stone Affair

In 1901, Katerina, 6 months pregnant, embarked on a regional tour at the invitation of her friend Ellen Maria Stone, an American Protestant missionary. Both were kidnapped by

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it initia ...

(IMRO) members who ransomed them for money in what become known internationally as the

. Ottoman authorities suspected Protestants of involvement and for a short time, Cilka was arrested on orders by the vali (governor) of

Salonika Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

on unfounded charges of being complicit in the kidnapping. After Katerina's release, the Cilkas returned to Korçë and authorities from the Ottoman state continued to suspect the couple of involvement in the event. The couple had a daughter named Eleni.

Later life

During the IMRO

Ilinden Uprising Ilinden ( Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Илинден) or Ilindan ( Serbian Cyrillic: Илиндан), meaning " Saint Elijah's Day", may refer to: Events * Republic Day (North Macedonia) Republic Day () or Ilinden () is a national holiday in North ...

against the Ottoman Empire (1903), to prevent additional persecution by the Ottomans, the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

consul assisted the couple to temporarily flee the region. In 1908, Cilka was a delegate to the

Congress of Manastir The Congress of Manastir () was an academic conference held in the city of Manastir (now Bitola) from November 14 to 22, 1908, with the goal of standardizing the Albanian alphabet. November 22 is now a commemorative day in Albania, Kosovo and ...

, an

academic conference An academic conference or scientific conference (also congress, symposium, workshop, or meeting) is an Convention (meeting), event for researchers (not necessarily academics) to present and discuss their scholarly work. Together with academic jou ...

with the goal of standardizing the

Albanian alphabet The Albanian alphabet () is a variant of the Latin alphabet used to write the Albanian language. It consists of 36 letters representing all the phonemes of Standard Albanian: The vowels are shown in bold. The letters are named simply by their ...

. He was active in contemporary public discussions over culture and education in Ottoman territories with Albanian populations, and supported in various newspapers the usage of

Latin script The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...

to write Albanian. To boost education and intellectual thought among Albanian people, Cilka promoted various literary works known around the world. Cilka served as director of the girls' school, later he was imprisoned by Ottoman authorities and the educational institution closed shortly thereafter in February 1904. In 1906, an Albanian guerilla band assassinated Greek bishop

Photios Photius I of Constantinople (, ''Phōtios''; 815 – 6 February 893), also spelled ''Photius''Fr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., and Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Mate ...

and Ottoman authorities unable to arrest the perpetrators, had Cilka and other Korçë Albanian notables involved in the national movement imprisoned, but released soon after. Cilka in 1906 was involved in the establishment of groups geared toward nationalist aims. After the declaration of independence, Cilka moved to

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

where he died in 1919 from the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

Early life and education

Career

Miss Stone Affair

Later life

See also

References

Further reading