Missionary Activities In The Lands Of Ottoman Turkey: The Emergence Of Robert College And The American College For Girls

According to the Oxford Dictionary, mission is a task that is done on behalf of a religious institution, especially a Christian one, which aims to spread the faith of that institution. Mission is also a place that is run by a religious institution. And the missionary is someone who has assumed the purpose of spreading the religious duty. This proclamation duty, which started with Jesus-the Prophet, has continued until today and still continues. The main goal of the person, who is appointed by such a decree, is to spread Christianity. There are many ways and methods to accomplish this task. The first and foremost of these ways and methods is to open educational and training institutions. The purpose of these institutions is to achieve the ultimate goal by educating people who are deprived of education in society. In this context, these institutions have had a great influence on the political, social, cultural and economic change and development of Ottoman Turkey. When viewed from this perspective, it appears that these institutions are the most important means of missionary activities. It is known that missionary schools, which were opened in this land and the number of which exceeded a thousand, have a large share even in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. In this study we are going to indicate how the missionary activities have started and developed while at the same time we are going to focus on two educational institutions which still continue their education and have trained many famous businessmen, politicians, authors, and teachers. The first of these institutions is Robert College, which was officially founded in 1863, and Cyrus Hamlin is the person who was most influential in the establishment of the college. The other one is the American College for Girls. Although Cyrus Hamlin was effective in the establishment of this college, actual development was during Mary Mills Patrick’s presidency.

Keywords

Missionary, Missionary Activities, Robert College, American College for Girls, American Board.