February 10

Newsletter Archive

This Day in the Life of the Church

February 10, 2024


From the History of the Albanian Church

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Fan Noli was ordained a priest in America by Archbishop Platon (Rozhdestvenskii) in 1908. He had his degrees from Harvard and the New England Conservatory of Music. In 1924, he became the 13th Prime Minister of Albania and later the first hierarch of the autocephalous church. Photo of Saints Peter and Paul Church in Durrës from distancefromnormal.com

My mother, Veronika, had her lungs cleared last Sunday, and they could not disconnect her from the ventilator because she was so weak. Today, she has been communicating for the first time via typing since then, although she is still on the ventilator. Thank you very much for your thoughts and prayers.

 

The Council of the Albanian Orthodox Church concluded on this day in 1950.

The history of Christianity in Albania dates back almost two thousand years. It can be divided into several periods: 1) from Apostolic times to 731 AD as a self-governing Church of Illyricum in the jurisdiction of the Thessalonian Church; 2) from 731 to the beginning of the eleventh century, it was in the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; 3) from the beginning of the eleventh century until 1767, most of the bishops were under the jurisdiction of the autocephalous Archdiocese of Ohrid (Bulgarian and Macedonian Church); 4) from 1767–1937, the Church was in the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; 5) since 1937, there has been an autocephalous Albanian Orthodox Church.

During World War II, Albania was occupied first by the Italians and then by the Germans. Greek–Catholics (Christians in union with the Pope of Rome) were preferred over the Orthodox. After the victory of the Albanian Labor Party (Communists), its leader, Enver Hoxha, instituted a policy of exterminating all religious beliefs in his country (in 1967, all religions were outlawed).

The Bylaws adopted in 1950 continue to define the life of the Albanian Church. I am not sure if the following point remains valid: “On par with the development of religious feeling,” Paragraph Four reads, “The Orthodox Autocephalous Albanian Church must instill in believers a sense of devotion to the power of the people of the People’s Republic of Albania, as well as a sense of patriotism and the desire to strengthen national unity. Therefore, all priests and employees of the Church must be Albanian citizens, honest, loyal to the people and the Motherland, enjoying all civil rights.”

 

Sources:

Archbishop Anastasios Yannoulatos, “Albania,” Pravoslavnaia Entsiklopedia.

K.E. Skurat, “Albanskaia Pravoslavnaia Tserkov’,” [The Orthodox Church of Albania], Pravoslavnaia Entsiklopedia.

Monk Benjamin, “Letopis' tserkovnykh sobytii Pravoslavnoi Tserkvi nachinaia s 1917 goda” [Timeline of the Church Events Starting With 1917.] Part IV: 1950-1960, Historical Studies of the Russian Church Abroad.


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