Dimitriy Chakir, Iserliya village priest: life, work and identification specifics

Abstract

a clear focus on the Bulgarian origin, presented in the article of D. Chakir, to a certain extent is a reflection of the official point of view on the origin of the Gagauz, specific to the Russian administration. In addition, he served his entire life in Bulgarian parishes; communicated with parishioners and delivered sermons in Bulgarian language. He perceived this environment as akin and experienced the powerful impact of Bulgarian identity. The author draws attention to the next important factor. Exactly at the turn of the 19 th -20 th centuries the processes of transformation in the area of self-awareness of the Gagauz people were rapidly proceeding. And Dimitri Chakir had a chance to live and write his essays when the processes in the field of Gagauz identity were not yet transformed from quantity to quality. However, with his work on the ancestry Chakirov also contributed to the strengthening of the Gagauz identity, including M. Chakir himself.