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MISSIONARY
ACTIVITIES
It
is understood that the missionaries, who first came to Turkey,
were the members of the “British and Foreign Bible Society”;
and after the establishment of this organisation in 1804 it
started to send the missionaries from Izmir to the inner parts
of Anatolia. As from 1819 the American missionaries began
to come.
In
1896, differant missionaries, who were related to different
Churches, 7 from America, 4 from Britain, dispersed to the
Ottoman lands. 176 American missionaries and 869 local assistants
worked together with them. The principal cities, where there
was a mission were as follows: Bursa, Izmir, Merzifon, Kayseri,
Sivas, Trabzon, Erzurum, Harput, Bitlis, Van, Mardin, Antep,
Maras, Adana, Hacin, Ankara, Yozgat, Amasya, Tokat, Arapkir,
Malatya, Palu, Diyarbekir, Urfa, Birecik, Elbistan, Tarsus.
Although
the missionary activities did not support the Armenian revolts,
they played an important role within the context of preparing
the ground for the rebellions. The reports received from the
provinces recorded that the missionary activities increased
in the periods just before and immediately after the rebellions.
REFERENCE
Gürün,
Kamuran, Ermeni Dosyasi, TTK Basimevi, Ankara,1983,pp.40-44
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