On Friday, August 5, 2016, in the Hall of the Holy Synod, Archbishop Anastasios received the pupils of the Holy Cross Ecclesiastical Lyceum of Sukthi who had successfully completed the State Exams. The respective Lyceum is constantly distinguished for its pupils’ high scores. This year the grade point average in their state exams was again quite high (8.3) and no failing grades were received.
The Lyceum pupils were warmly welcomed by His Beatitude, Archbishop Anastasios, who congratulated them on their success. The director of the school, Mr. Nikolla Perdhiku, made a brief presentation of the present year’s school results; then he mentioned the general achievements of the school over the years and also thanked His Beatitude for his continuous support and interest. On behalf of the graduates, student Enkel Sinani, the best of 2016 class, delivered the greeting on the occasion.
In addition, Archbishop Anastasios encouraged the pupils to move forward on their path of knowledge ensuring his permanent support. Then the Archbishop handed to each high school graduate the diploma as well as a Gospel and an icon. A very exciting moment was when Archbishop Anastasios noticed that every year, the pupil with the highest grade point average would be awarded a scholarship by him for undergraduate studies.
Finally, the Lyceum graduates attended two documentaries: one about the Resurrection of Christ Cathedral in Tirana and the other about the rebuilding of the Church from the ruins.
The Holy Cross Ecclesiastical Lyceum of Sukthi in Durres was founded by His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios in September 2007. The school started with a limited number of pupils but their number has constantly been increasing. This is due to young people’s will to move closer to the Orthodox faith, but also as a result of the selected teaching staff, who are highly qualified for their job.
All pupils of the Lyceum are granted a full scholarship by Archbishop Anastasios. The respective scholarship includes the tuition fees and the living expenses (e.g accommodation and meals). Admissions to school are made on the basis of a competition which is held in August of each year.
Seven generations of graduates have already completed the Ecclesiastical Lyceum. Over the years, the students who graduated from this high school have pursued their higher studies in different fields such as Economics, Engineering, Social Studies, etc, at various universities in Tirana, Durresi, Elbasani, Korca as well as at the Resurrection of Christ Theological Academy in St.Vlash in Durres, at Logos University and in other universities abroad (e.g Italy, Germany, etc.)
In addition the successes of the Holy Cross Ecclesiastical Lyceum pupils involve the overcoming of other challenges in their school life as well. For example they have won several awards in the High School Olympiads conducted on national level. In the 2014-2015 Olympiad organized by the Ministry of Education one second prize and two third prizes were won by the pupils of the school, whereas this year one second prize was won.
Besides school, the Lyceum pupils attend also the Divine Liturgy on regular basis, participate in the Byzantine choir of the school, and organize trips and excursions to various churches and monasteries.
Thoma Dhima
Translated by: Juljana Kodheli
