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