American protestant missionaries and their educational institutions in the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire (19th Century – Beginning of 20th Century)

In the heyday of the American foreign religious missions, Protestant societies were active throughout the Balkans and in the Middle East. The representatives of the Congregational Church, under the leadership of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), were the most influential among them, operating in the Ottoman Empire since 1819. Their aim was to propagate the Gospel, using a variety of missionary agencies. An important role among these was played by the schools opened by the missionaries with a dual purpose: to prepare native helpers for the mission, and to attract new followers to Protestantism. The first Protestant educational institutions were opened in the Ottoman capital, followed later by others in the European provinces of the empire: in Philippopolis (Plovdiv), Eski Zagra (Stara Zagora), Samokov, Monastir (Bitola) and Salonica (Thessaloniki). Providing good quality and modern education, these schools went far beyond their purely religious priorities, had a wide cultural influence, and promoted ideas and practices that contributed to the modernisation of the Ottoman Balkans.