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Historical Visit by the Ecumenical Patriarch
Religion, Science and the Environment Historical Visit by the Ecumenical
Patriarch 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 Patriarch"
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.
Work begins
on Cathedral in Shkodra
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.
Annunciation
Diagnostic Center Inaugurated
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.
Peace and
Reconciliation in the Balkans 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. |