Mihail Ciachir (also spelled Çakir; 27 April 1861 – 8 September 1938) was a

protoiereus A ''protoiereus'' (from , "first priest", Modern Greek: πρωθιερέας), or protopriest in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is a priest usually coordinating the activity of other subordinate priests in a larger church. The title is roughly equiv ...

and educator in the Gagauz language, and first publisher of Gagauz books in the former

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

Biography

Mihail Ciachir was born on April 27, 1861, in the Bessarabian village of

Ceadîr-Lunga Ceadîr-Lunga (, also spelled ''Ceadâr-Lunga''; Gagauz: ''Çadır-Lunga'') is a city and municipality in Gagauzia, Moldova. Demographics According to the 2014 census, the population of Ceadîr-Lunga amounted to 16,605 inhabitants, a decrease ...

, in a Gagauz deacon family. Ciachir studied at the Theological Seminary of

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ; formerly known as Kishinev) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Moldova, largest city of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial centre, and is located in the middle of the coun ...

. After graduation, he taught at a men's theological school. Three years later, he was elected Chairman of the Chișinău School Board. In 1896, he appealed to the Ministry of Education of the Russian Empire for permission to print books in the Moldovan language. This was granted provided the Moldovan text appeared parallel to the Russian. From 1901, Ciachir published several books on Moldovan grammar, and tutorials on Russian language and grammar. His textbook to help Moldovans learn Russian went through three editions in fourteen years. In 1904, Ciachir appealed to the

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

to permit him to publish religious literature in the Gagauz language. Three years later, he released in Gagauz translation selected passages from the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

, as well as the Gospel of St. Matthew. He was called the Apostle of the printed language by Gagauz contemporaries. After 1918, when Bessarabia became part of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania () was a constitutional monarchy that existed from with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King of Romania, King Carol I of Romania, Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian royal family), until 1947 wit ...

, Ciachir initiated the transition of Gagauz writing from the previous Cyrillic to the Latin script. In 1924, he joined the leadership of the Alexander Nevsky Brotherhood of the Eastern Orthodox Church to coordinate the struggle against the Romanianisation of Bessarabia. Ciachir was in touch with Atatürk and presented a copy of his book ''The History of the Gagauz of Bessarabia'' to him. Atatürk also provided several Turkish books and teachers to Gagauz people through Ciachir in order to prevent their assimilation. Ciachir worked for the Romanian magazine ''Viața Basarabiei'' between 1933 and 1934. In 1934, he published in the Gagauz language ''The History of the Gagauz of Bessarabia'', and two years later, ''Wedding Ceremonies of the Gagauz''. These two books established his ethnographic credentials. In 1938, Ciachir published his Gagauz-Romanian dictionary. Ciachir died in 1938 following a short illness, and was buried in the Chișinău Central Cemetery on Armenian Street.

Acclaim

Although Mihail Ciachir was not a professionally trained researcher, the value of his contributions to history and Gagauz tradition cannot be overestimated. Modern Gagauz researchers depend on his works, and while reinterpreting them, continue to treasure them as a valuable source for investigations carried out in a comparative historical perspective. Besides the literary and historical impact of Ciachir, his role in defining the Gagauz nationhood is lauded, in particular his spiritual and moral leadership of the Gagauz people. Indeed, for his attempts at a liturgical Gagauz, he is referred to as the

Cyril and Methodius Cyril (; born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (; born Michael, 815–885) were brothers, Population of the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Christian theologians and Christian missionaries, missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs ...

of his people, and celebrated throughout the province of Gagauzia today. The Governor of Gagauzia Mihail Formuzal declared 2011 the Year of Ciachir.

Works

*''Bucoavna'', 1900 *''Rusesc și moldovenesc cuvântelnic'', 1907 *''Agiutorid moldovenilor în vremea învățăturii limbii rusească'', 1911 *''Dicționar găgăuzo (turco) român'', 1938

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciachir, Mihail 1861 births 1938 deaths Moldovan writers Moldovan male writers Gagauz nationalists Romanian people of Gagauz descent People from Gagauzia