Prayer Requests
Ask the Lord to send forth laborers to live and work among the Kadardians of Turkey.
Ask the Lord to soften the hearts of the Kabardians so that they will be receptive to the Gospel.
Pray that God will reveal Himself to the Kabardian people through dreams and visions.
Ask the Lord to save key leaders among the Kabardians who will boldly declare the Gospel.
Pray that God will give the Kabardian believers opportunities to share Christ with their families and friends.
Take authority over the spiritual principalities and powers that are keeping the Kabardian people bound.
Ask God to raise up prayer teams who will begin breaking up the soil through intercession.
Pray that strong local churches will be raised up among the Kabardians |
The Kabardian People of Turkey
26 Mar 2007
Location
The Kabardian People of Turkey are scattered throughout the country, with strong concentrations around the Black Sea and Kayseri. In most of the large cities where Kabardian are found, associations and clubs exist to strengthen cultural bonds and promote their culture.
History
The Kabardian people were almost entirely concentrated in the Caucuses in what is modern Russia until 1860. At that time they were conquered and most of their population was killed or forced to flee to the Ottoman Empire. They are one of the 2 main groups that are often identified by outsiders as Circassian. The Kabardian people are identified as the East, or Upper Circassian, and speak the Kabardian language. Before fleeing the area, they had lived in the same area for thousands of years and they knew almost constant warfare with these neighbors. These people seem to have been conquered three times during their history: first by the Kok Turks; second, by the Mongols; and last, by the Russians. By the mid-1860's, roughly 90% of the Kabardian population had been either killed or forced to flee to various parts of the Ottoman Empire, the population that settled in Turkey has been mostly integrated. Though they have a strong desire to hold onto their language and culture, it has only recently become legal for them to teach their language. Many of the Kabardian people feel it may be too little too late.
Spiritual Identity
Although Christianity was introduced to the Kabardian people between the sixth and twelfth centuries by Byzantine missionaries, they have been Sunni Muslims for the past three or four hundred years. Nevertheless, many pagan relics and some forms of Eastern Orthodox Christianity can be found in their oral traditions and religious practices. They are viewed by many of the orthodox Middle Eastern Muslims as being very liberal and have often come under persecution.
Status of Christianity
Since arriving in Turkey, the Kabardians have had very little exposure to the Gospel. Those who have migrated to the cities have had more opportunity to hear a Gospel presentation in Turkish, but most of the rural people have not been exposed. The NT and Jesus film are available in Kabardian, as well as several key books in the OT.
Resources for more info – secular or religious (web sites, books, etc)
For general info, visit:
wikipedia.org
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