20-24 septembrie 2009 - Biblioteca Metropolitana Bucuresti

Romanian schools in the Balkan Peninsula during the 20 th century 775Churches Administration in Turkey, which also had its headquartersin Bitola. Management of this Administration has been entrusted toG.C. Ionescu. In 1906 the Administration was again transformed intoInspectorate, headed by N. Tacit who was helped by five school inspectors.Greeks’ reaction to the foundation of so many schools (and churches)belonging to Romanians did not delay to appear. They have alwaysdenounced to the Turkish authorities the Romanian school-teachers as athreat to the Ottoman state; then they prevented by any means – such asbreaking the books, the removal of priests from religious service – theintroduction of the Romanian language in schools and churches 20 .The Greek government had a special policy with respect to theOttoman authorities, amending it according to the successes obtained byBulgarians, Serbs, and Albanians. Their policy has resulted in actions thatwent from the financial support of the Greek schools to the organization ofterrorist gangs (antarts) 21 in Greece, who went in Macedonia 22 , or in Epirand Thessaly, and where throughout terror, and sometimes murders, theycalled for people to declare themselves Greeks.Taking into account the way the Romanians responded to persecutionsthey were subjected, the Balkan Romanians were divided into twocategories:a) nationalist Romanians, those who have endured all the persecutions:Turkish, Bulgarian, Greek, Serbian, maintaining their language, religion,habits and Romanian consciousness. They sent their children to Romanianschools and attended Romanian churches. In regions where there were noschools, churches or Romanian priests, nationalist Romanians preferredto leave their children not baptized, than to accept that their children beassigned Greek, Bulgarian or Serbian names, from the official lists givenby the Patriarchate of Constantinople 23 .20M.V. Cordescu, op.cit., 1 and 5.21Antarts – Greek armed gangs in the service of the Greek Orthodox officials andwho persecuted and even killed the Romanians who were not favorable to Greeks.22A.M.A.E., Constantinopole fund, vol. 224 (1867-1893), not paged – The Report ofthe Romanian consul in Thessaloniki issued on January the 9 th 1890.23A.M.A.E., Constantinopole fund, vol. 180, not paged – in a report drawn bythe Inspector of Schools – Nicholas Tacit, which dates from the 30 th of July 1905, it isrecorded that the Romanian community leaders in Grebena were interviewed by a band ofGreeks, concerning the purpose of the Romanian cause. Being asked why is a Romanianand sustains the Romanian cause, Stere Popa, leader of the local Romanian community,answered, "I am Romanian, not Vlach, because among us we call ourselves Romanians, asyou and other foreigners call us Vlachs. I do love the Romanian nation of which I belongto, the Romanian school and church and everything that is Romanian… my old father