News from
Orthodoxy in Albania
Occasional Publication of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania
Number 8 – August 10, 1998
Articles in this Issue:
The Holy Synod of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania
Summer Youth Camps a Success
6th Anniversary of Church's Resurrection
Syndesmos Youth Meet in Albania
Seminarians Finish Catechism Program with 190 Baptisms
First National Youth Musical Festival
The Holy Synod Of The
Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania Formed
After several years of negotiations among representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Church of Albania and Albanian authorities, by the grace of God, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania was formed. The enthronement of His Eminence Ignatios, Metropolitan of Berat, Vlora and Kanina, (who is 64 years old and comes from an Arvaniti background), took place on Saturday, July 18, 1998, in the city of Berat. His Beatitude Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana, Durres, and All Albania, presided over the service, together with two representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, His Eminence Evangelos, Metropolitan of Perga, and His Eminence Meliton, Metropolitan of Philadelphia.
In the afternoon of the same day, Archbishop Anastasios and Metropolitan Ignatios, making up the first nucleus of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, together with the two representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, composed an extraordinary Holy Synod in Tirana. These two representatives have been involved in dealings concerning this issue with the Albanian authorities since 1992. During this historic meeting, the Holy Synod dealt with urgent issues facing the Church of Albania, accepted the previously given resignations of His Eminence Alexander, former Metropolitan of Gjirokaster, and His Eminence Christodoulos, former Metropolitan of Korça, (who were not accepted by Albanian authorities due to their ethnic background) and afterwards, elected two Albanian hierarchs.
Elected as Metropolitan of Korça was Archimandrite John Pelushi (43 years old). He previously served as a teacher and assistant director of the Theological Academy of the Church of Albania. He graduated from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in America with a Masters of Divinity degree. Elected as Bishop of Apollonia was the Reverend Father Kosma Qirjo. He is a 77 year old representative of the earlier generation of priests, who heroically continued to conduct baptisms and celebrate Divine Liturgies even during the years of severe persecution. Archbishop Anastasios, with Metropolitans Meliton and Ignatios, presided over the ordination of the Metropolitan of Korça in front of a large number of faithful at the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Tirana on July 20. The representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate departed for Constantinople the next day. On July 23, Archbishop Anastasios, with Metropolitans Ignatios and John, presided over the ordination of the Bishop of Apollonia.
Following all the above developments, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania is now comprised Archbishop Anastasios as president, Metropolitan Ignatios, Metropolitan John, and Bishop Kosma.
The solution of this difficult problem, which bothered all sides for a long time, especially the Orthodox of Albania, was generally accepted and agreed.
6 th Year Anniversary of Church Restoration
Faithful believers from different areas of Albania came to the Annunciation Cathedral in Tirana on August 2, 1998 to celebrate the sixth anniversary of the official restoration of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania. It was six years ago that His Beatitude, Archbishop Anastasios, was officially enthroned in the Cathedral of Tirana as Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and All Albania.
In this joyous event occurred another historical event – the first Divine Liturgy concelebrated by all the members of the Holy Synod of Albania. Concelebrating together with His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios were His Eminence Ignatios of Berat, His Eminence John of Korça, and His Grace Kosma of Apollonia.
It was a day of festive gratitude as various clerics and believers offered congratulations to Archbishop Anastasios for the work achieved over the past six years, and warmly recalled stories of love and hope which best exemplified the overall effort of the Church. As the Archbishop reflected on the past years, he noted that one of his greatest desires was fulfilled with the establishment of the Holy Synod. This had been a concern of his from the resurrection of the Church back in 1991.
The sixth anniversary presented an opportunity to consider again the progress of the Church in the different areas of worship, catechism, education, publishing, construction, and social outreach. The Archbishop continued to ordain graduates from the Resurrection of Christ Theological School, raising the number of new priests and deacons to more than 100.
Construction projects proceeded at an noteworthy rate these past six years:
– The two million dollar theological school complex
– construction or restoration of the ancient monasteries St. Vlash, Ardenica, St. Kosma, and Svernec
– 70 new churches from their foundations
– 65 reconstructed or restored churches
– more than 100 refurbished churches
– 15 new chapels,
– new metropolitan centers in Tirana, Gjirokaster, Korça, and Berat
– kindergartens in Tirana, Durres, Kavaja, Korça, Lushnje
– three medical clinics, with the new Annuncation Diagnostic Medical Center in Tirana to be opened later this year
– a Church workshop in Tirana, housing a new candle factory, wood factory, printing house, icon and restoration studio
– and many other projects
Looking at these results, it is obvious that the Orthodox Church is one of the most serious investors in Albania, offering work to dozens of local companies and hundreds of laborers. But there are two observable characteristics – first, she does not receive any special privileges from the government; and second, she does not take any income outside of the country.
This September the Holy Cross Ecclesiastical College (for high school boys) will open in Gjirokaster. This past year also saw the opening of the Church Radio station “Ngjallja” (Resurrection).
Youth movement in numerous cities and villages continued to grow. The first national youth music festival was a success, as well as a summer camping program with more than 350 participants (see other articles in this issue). Different youth groups and seminarians offered outreach in the area of catechism and social work. Church kindergartens continued to expand, and new plans are being contemplated for a Church orphanage. In general, many are coming forward for catechism and baptism, including people from non-Orthodox backgrounds or families.
In the area of social welfare, the Church continued to reach out to needy people through its Diaconia Agape ministry. Over the past years, thousands of tons of emergency aid, food, clothing, and medical supplies have been delivered through the Church to thousands of people irrespective of their religious persuasion. A mobile dental clinic began functioning, traveling to different villages and offering free dental care. Countless individuals and organizations, known and unknown, outside Albania have offered generous donations, for which the Church is grateful.
Church medical clinics in Tirana, Korça, and Kavaja presently function, with plans for others to open soon in Lushnje and Gjirokaster. Rural developmental programs involving agriculture, water supply, and guidance in health and domestic management have been implemented. Also groups of Orthodox women in various parishes are developing their own particular activities in the field of human welfare.
On the whole, the church offers an invaluable contribution to the contemporary society, acting as a vibrant and creative entity instilling hope for the future in both spiritual and concrete way.
More than 400 youth from ages 8-30 participated in five different Church camps throughout the month of July and early August. Two boys’ camps (for ages 13-17, and 18-30) were held on the scenic island of Svernec, Vlora, in the ancient Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. Each camp was 14 days long, and included a program of daily worship services, Bible study, spiritual discussion, sporting competition, swimming at the beach, and Christian fellowship. Another camp was held in the mountainous area of Vithkuq, Korça, for high school boys from the Korça..
Two girls’ camps were held at the Resurrection of Christ Theological Seminary in St. Vlash, Durres. The older girls camp (ages 16-25) lasted for two weeks, while a children’s camp (ages 10-15) lasted for four days. The girls program was similar to the boys, with the addition of an outreach program to an old age home and an orphanage.
On June 26 to July 6, 1998, 46 young Orthodox Christians from Albania and nine other countries met at the Resurrection of Christ Theological School in St. Vlash, Durres for a Syndesmos meeting. Syndesmos is an international Orthodox organization that brings together young adults from all over the world to share their common faith. The theme of the conference was “Making Disciples of Christ.”
The purpose of the conference was to enrich the faith of the young Orthodox Christians with a variety of activities during the 10-day retreat. The first part of the retreat included presentations from keynote speakers, small group discussions, and interactive workshops. The last four days of the retreat was occupied by travelling together to historic and spiritual sites of Albania.
Other activities included morning and evening worship services (offered in Albanian, English, Greek, Slavonic, and other languages) fellowship, and discussions which all contributed to an atmosphere conducive to spiritual growth.
Countries represented at the meeting were Albania, America, Czech Republic, England, France, Greece, Holland, Poland, Russia, and Syria.
Eighteen students from the Resurrection of Christ Theological School of St. Vlash-Durres (Albania) finished a one month catechism program on July 19, 1998. Over the past month, these students visited 11 villages daily, offering catechism lessons, teaching songs, and playing games with more than 450 children and youth. The goal of this project was to offer an Orthodox witness in villages where a strong catechetical effort in educating the youth and preparing them for baptism has not been present.
During the final week, priests from different areas came and baptized more than 190 children and youth. The largest baptism took place in the Adriatic sea, near the village of Seman and the ancient monastery of Apollonia, where four neighboring priests baptized 95 people. In the mountain region of Shpati, a two hour rugged journey from Elbasan, 60 children were baptised. Two years earlier in this same area, student catechists had prepared 150 children, who later were baptised. The final group worked in three villages of Korça, finally baptizing 35 youth.
Students from the seminary were divided into four groups, covering three general areas of Albania. Students in the Muzeqe area stayed at the Monastery of the Virgin Mary – Ardenica. The group in Shpati rented a house in the general center of Gjinar, and then walked to villages as far as two hours away to do their catechetical work. In Korça, one group stayed at the Mitropoli of Korça, daily traveling to two neighboring villages, and the other group lived in the Monastery of Kamanica and worked in that predominately non-Christian village.
"Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song,
And His praise in the congregation of Saints." (Psalm 149:1)
More than 170 youth from 14 different areas of Albania participated in the first National Orthodox Youth Musical Festival on June 21, 1998. Beautiful Orthodox hymns, original Christian melodies, and traditional folk songs entertained an audience of 500 people, including His Beatitude Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania.
An all girls group from Korca won first prize after they sang a beautiful rendition of the prokeimenon from the feast of Pentecost, "Who is so great a God as our God," together with a traditional song from Korca. The youth group from the village of Kelcyra, near the city of Permeti, won second place. Third place went to the youth group of Selenica, who sang an original song entitled "St. Athanasi." Other youth groups participating came from the cities of Durres, Lushnje, Kavaja, Fier, Vlora, Elbasan, Gjirokaster, and Permeti, and the villages of Bubullime and Libofshe.
The Music Festival gathered youth for three days with the central goal of encouraging the youth from the different areas to come to know one another and to exchange musical talents and youth-oriented ideas. The participants arrived on Saturday evening at the Holy Resurrection of Christ Seminary at St. Vlash – Durres. The gathering began with a Vespers Service, dinner, and introduction of youth groups. On Sunday, the youth traveled to the Annunciation Cathedral in Tirana for the Divine Liturgy.
After the liturgy, the Tirana youth hosted a cocktail for all participants at St. Prokopi Church in the central park of Tirana. While at St. Prokopi, each group performed a recording of their musical selections at the Church's "Resurrection" radio station. The competition was then broacast the following week over three successive days. After the recording, the participants enjoyed lunch with Archbishop Anastasios. Immediately following lunch, the participants had a final rehearsal before the concert that evening.
The Festival took the format of a competition, with each group being judged by a panel according to three criteria: musical quality, appearance, and originality.
A highlight of the National Musical Festival was an inspiring drama by the students of the seminary on the Life of St. George the Great Martyr. Also, young girls from Tirana's catechism and choir groups opened the Festival with several musical selections, and closed the concert with a dance performance.
Archbishop Anastasios announced plans for the musical festival to become an annual event. Future plans include possibly adding another day for groups to perform more musical selections and traditional dances from their area.
Historical archive bulletin. Source: http://www.orthodoxalbania.org:80/nb8.htm — Wayback 20010306221432.