The Ecumenical Patriarch
News from
Orthodoxy in Albania
Occasional Publication of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania
Number 14 – December 20, 1999
Articles in this issue:
Historical Visit by the Ecumenical Patriarch
Work Begins on Cathedral in Shkodra
Annunciation Diagnostic Center Inaugurated
Peace and Reconciliation in the Balkans
The Ecumenical Patriarch, His All Holiness Bartholomew I, together with a seven person delegation from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, made an historic visit to Albania on November 2-9, 1999. Their visit was in response to an invitation made by His Beatitude Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and All Albania and the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania.
His All Holiness Bartholomew was warmly welcomed by thousands upon thousands of Orthodox and non-Orthodox believers alike in all the cities he visited. Government officials received him with head of state honors, welcoming him at the airport and inviting him to private meetings with the President of the Republic, His Excellency Rexhep Meidani, the Speaker of the Parliament, Skender Gjinushi, the Prime Minister, Ilir Meta, the head of the Socialist Party, Fatos Nano, the head of the leading opposition party and ex-president, Sali Berisha, as well as with local officials in every place he visited. He also met with numerous diplomatic representatives. All praised the visit as a momentous event in the life of not only the Church in Albania, but for the nation as well.
The whirlwind seven-day tour of the Ecumenical Patriarch included pastoral visits to faithful believers in the four dioceses throughout Albania, as well as to the great variety of ministries and activities of the Church.
Upon his arrival, Archbishop Anastasios and the Holy Synod of Albania led His All Holiness to the Cathedral of the Annunciation in Tirana where more than 100 clergy, together with hundreds of believers awaited the first doxology and official words of welcome. His Beatitude Anastasios emphasized the gratitude of the Orthodox believers in Albania for the special contribution of His All Holiness in the canonical rebuilding of the Autocephalous Church of Albania. His All Holiness ex-pressed his own gratitude to the faithful believers and the Albanian government, “I am deeply touched and filled with an indescribable joy visiting your historic country and the holy, autocephalous Church of Albania…. Glory to God that the Orthodox Church of Albania is able to govern itself today and to be truly autocephal-ous, equal with other Orthodox Churches around the world.”
His All Holiness was received by numerous governmental officials on the first night, and then by religious leaders of the country the following evening. President Meidani lifted up the excellent example of peaceful co-existence between the religious communities of Albania and noted the important role the ecumenical patriarch has played in “helping to develop a spirit of peace, tolerance, and civil respect.”
During the first three days of the visit, the Ecumenical Patriarch visited a variety of places and projects within the diocese of Tirana. He began to see in detail the colossal work of resurrection which Archbishop Anastasios has led within the Church of Albania. One of his first visits was to the northern city of Shkodra, where he blessed the cornerstone on the new Nativity of Christ Cathedral. His All Holiness later visited the “Nazareth” working complex near Tirana, which houses the Church’s printing and publishing house, an icon and mosaic studio, a wood workshop, and a candle factory. He made brief visits to the St. Nicholas Church in Kavaja, where he looked in on one of the Church’s nine kindergartens and one of her four health clinics, as well as to the new cathedral in Durres.
A special visit was made to the Resurrection of Christ Theological Academy and the ancient Monastery of St. Vlash. The Ecumenical Patriarch had lunch with the theological students, and encouraged them by emphasizing that they were a “foundation stone in the great, holy and loving building of Christ.”
The Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop Anastasios were warmly received in Berat by His Eminence Ignati, Metropolitan of Berat and a host of believers from the city. They welcomed him at the Church of St. Spyridon, and then accompanied him on a tour of the recently-excavated monastery of St. Kosmas in Kolkondis.
On November 6, His All Holiness traveled to the city of Gjirokaster. After singing a doxology at the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, the Ecumenical Patriarch visited the Holy Cross Ecclesiastical Boys High School. During this visit in Gjirokaster, His All Holiness praised the work of His Beatitude. “Archbishop Anastasios is an outstanding personality not only in the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, and not only in world Orthodoxy, but also throughout the entire Christian world. He is a gift from God to humanity.”
A majestic, nationally televised hierarchical Divine Liturgy was concelebrated in the Annunciation Cathedral of Tirana by the Ecumenical Patriarch and Archbishop, together with Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco, Metropolitan Dimitrios of Sebastia, Metropolitan Ignati of Berat, Metropolitan John of Korça, and hundreds of believers on Sunday, November 7. During this climatic moment, both primates of the Church reflected on the historic significance of the visit, and offered gifts of appreciation for each other’s work. Archbishop Anastasios accentuated, “The presence of His All Holiness in the mist of the Church of Albania’s family is a very unique blessing… and another manifestation of the unity among all Orthodox, of which the first guardian and coordinator is the Great Church of Christ, the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”
The final visit of His All Holiness was to the city of Korça, where myriads of believers waited in the rain to welcome the Ecumenical Patriarch. Metropolitan John of Korça warmly welcomed him: “Today we all have the ineffable joy of your presence…. The Mother Church gave the inestimable contribution to our church when she chose our Archbishop to lead this Church…. For this, Orthodox believers will always be grateful to the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”
His All Holiness summarized all that he had witnessed in by saying, “For all who do not believe in miracles at the end of the 20th century, let them come to Albania and see for themselves what has been done here.”
In his final statement at the airport, the Ecumenical Patriarch concluded, “Our admiration for the work done by the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania is great. As we have said other times, we attribute this fact, first, to the blessing of God; second, to the esteemed government which has legally allowed tolerance of faith and to the Albanian people who traditionally respect this tolerance; third, to Archbishop Anastasios, who is a rare and incomparable personality, greatly talented, with vast experience, a world traveler, multilingual, very loving and wise, a good organizer, zealous, and internationally renowned and prestigious; and finally, to his coworkers and the faithful believers of the Orthodox Church.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I visited several of the new churches that have been built in the past decade. On the second day of his visit, he celebrated a water blessing for the foundation of the Nativity of Christ Cathedral in Shkodra. Hundreds of believers, along with local authorities and religious leaders of the Roman Catholic and Muslim communities, were present.
His All Holiness noted, “Today is a special day as the Church begins building and dedicating this temple to the Nativity of Christ, which is a symbol of eternal peace. The foundation of every Church has great significance, but this one today takes on special significance as we prepare to celebrate 2000 years of Christianity.”
The new project in Shkodra will become one of the 74 new Orthodox churches which have been built from their foundation since 1992. The technical office of the Church has also overseen the restoration of 65 churches/monuments and 5 monasteries, as well as the repairing of more than 130 other churches. In addition to this enormous undertaking, the Church has built or reconstructed 20 other large projects, including among other buildings the Theological School Complex, the Ecclesiastical High School, the Archdiocesan Building, three Diocesan centers, the Diagnostic Medical Center and other clinics, guest houses, kindergartens, and the Nazareth workshops and working complex.
His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, officially opened the Orthodox Church’s Annunciation Diagnostic Center in Tirana on November 7, 1999. He and Archbishop Anastasios, together with scores of guests, including State representatives and leaders in the Albanian medical community, toured the newest, and one of Albania’s most modern and impressive medical centers.
The diagnostic center, which contains state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, em-ploys some of the top physicians and medical professors of the country. Its specializations include pathology, pediatrics, neurology, gynocology, radiology, dentistry, cardiology, endokrinology, nefrology, microsurgery, rheumatology and physical therapy.
The opening of this center is the latest work of an overall project by the Orthodox Church to provide quality medical care in Albania. At present, the Church oversees other medical clinics in Korça, Lushnje, Kavaja and Jergucat, and operates a mobile dental clinic that visits villages and towns throughout Albania.
His Beatitude, Archbishop Anastasios, took part in several international conferences during the month of November, emphasizing the instrumental role the Church must play in securing a peaceful co-existence between all peoples and faiths in the Balkans.
On November 12-14, 1999, the Archbishop was one of the panelists in Genua, Italy at a conference entitled, “Churches as Sisters; People as Brothers.” One of the main sessions discussed the theme “Reconciliation in the Balkans: Political Problems and Christian Answers.” In his presentation, Archbishop Anastasios described the role the Church of Albania played during the Kosovo crisis. “Our Church offered considerable aid…to all people in need, regardless of religion or race… Despite the fact that the Church of Albania is relatively poor, we are rich in friends, and thus, had the ability to help … In such critical situations, we Christ-ians cannot offer simply abstract ideas and general proposals, but must strive forward in unity and solidarity to secure justice and dignity for all people and minorities, and work for a more humane society…. The holy oil of religion must never be used to inflame conflicts, but instead be used to heal wounds and sooth hearts.”
The Archbishop transmitted a similar message in a conference organized mainly by the Council of European Churches and the Norwegian government in Oslo, Norway on the theme, “Europe After the Kosovo Crisis.”
Then, on November 26-27, 1999, His Beatitude traveled to Amman, Jordan to attend a forum of Southeastern European religious leaders organized by the World Conference on Religion and Peace. The theme was “The Role of Religious Leaders in Reconstruction, Reconciliation, and Development.
Historical archive bulletin. Source: http://www.orthodoxalbania.org:80/nb14.htm — Wayback 20001001011248.