Derviş Efendi

Çankırılı Derviş Efendi also left a trace in the late Ottoman scholarly circle centered on Fatih in Istanbul under the name “Kengirili Hâfız Derviş Efendi.”

His main career in Istanbul was as dersiâm and chair preacher of Fatih Mosque. Dersiâmlık referred to the authority of teachers who had completed madrasa education to give public lessons to students and the public in the great mosques. Dersiâms were especially associated with the great scholarly centers of Istanbul such as Fatih, Süleymaniye and Beyazıt, and their lesson circles were open not only to madrasa students but also to listeners from different walks of life.

Derviş Efendi’s title of “kürsü şeyhi” is also important. Chair preachers were official functionaries in the great mosques who explained the verses and hadiths in the sermon after Friday prayers and gave preaching and counsel. The chair preacher of Fatih Mosque was one of the Friday preaching offices within the imperial mosques of Istanbul, with a certain order and hierarchy of prestige.

Derviş Efendi was also among the first graduates of the Theology Branch of the Darülfünun.

Elmalızâde Derviş Efendi died on 1 Ramadan 1326 (27 September 1908) and was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery.