Albanian Orthodox Church

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The Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania is one of the newest autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, having only been established in the 20th century. Since its beginning it has had a difficult time. In its early days the use of the Greek language language in the rituals was seen as a threat to Albanian ethnic identity by Albanian nationalists.

The church suffered during the Second World War, and in the communist period that followed, especially after 1967 when Albania was declared an atheist state, and no public or private expression of religion was allowed.

The church has, however, seen a revival since religious freedom was restored in 1991, with more than 250 churches rebuilt or restored, and more than 100 clergy being ordained.

The Church currently has four dioceses, Tirana, Durrës and Elbasan; Berat and Kanina; Gjirokastër; and Korçë.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Autocephaly 1.2 Persecution 2 Revival 3 External links

[edit] History

Christianity in Albania goes back to the 1st century when missionaries from Judaea came to the Balkans with St Paul.

[edit] Autocephaly

Albanian nationalist Sami Frasheri wanted to see Greek elements in worship removed and Albanian used as the main language of priests and liturgy. The idea for an autocephalous church was first proposed in the Albanian newspaper in Romania, Drita ("The Light"). It was finally established by Fan Noli on April 12, 1937 when the Patriarch officially recognized it as autocephalous.

[edit] Persecution

The church greatly suffered during the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha as all churches were placed under government control, and land originally held by religious institutions were taken by the state. Religion in schools was banned. In 1952 Archbishop Kristofor was discovered dead; most believed he had been killed.

In 1967, inspired by China's Cultural Revolution, Hoxha closed down all churches and mosques in the country, and declared Albania the world's first (and only) atheist state. All expression of religion, public or private, was outlawed. Hundreds of priests and imams were killed or imprisoned.

[edit] Revival

At the end of the communist rule, when religious freedom was restored, only 22 priests remained alive.

The Ecumenical Patriarch appointed Anastasios to be the Patriarchal Exarch for the Albanian Church. Bishop of Androutsa Anastasios before his appointment was dividing his time between his teaching duties at the University of Athens and the Archbishopric of Irinoupolis in Kenya, which was then going through a difficult patch.

He was named Archbishop of Tirana on 24 June 1992 and enthroned on 2 August 1992. Though at first seen by the Albanian state as a possibly dangerous Greek nationalist, Anastasios has gained respect for his charity work and now is recognised as a spiritual leader of the Albanian Orthodox Church, although many Albanian Orthodox still are not comfortable having a Greek primate in their own country.

Archbishop Anastasios insisted from the start that the church that was to be revived would be an Albanian Church, but has greatly increased Greek influence in the church. Liturgical books and other literature were produced in the Albanian language between between 1910 and the 1940s. There are very few Albanian publications after his enthronment, while the Orthodox Albanians continue to use the New Testament published by the British & Foreign Bible Society in 1879. This is a dialectical translation, based on the King James Bible, while most Albanians use standard Albanian in their daily life and activity. There is now a new translation of the Bible produced by the Albanian Bible Society.

Anastasios started a seminary, initially in a disused hotel, and later in its own buildings at Shen Vlash, 15 kilometres from the port of Durres.

While most parishes use Albanian, Greek is also used in the ethnically mixed areas, where Greek or Vlach may be the dominant language. The biggest problem is in the south-eastern city of Saranda, where Albanian liturgy is not allowed in the cities main church, alienating a heavy part of the cities Orthodox population.

After the 1990s half of the Orthodox population left Albania mainly to Greece, Italy, North America, etc, but no Albanian parish was established to fill their pastoral needs, which are mainly addressed by the Greek parishes. This, the new diaspora, remains the most challenging question for the future primate of the Albanian Church.

[edit] External links

• Official Site of the Albanian Orthodox Church (Warning: requires Flash)
• Albanian Orthodox Library
• Eastern Christian Churches: Orthodox Church of Albania
• History of the Establishment of the Church

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