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Powerful Witness of
the Resurrection of the Orthodox Church
- 100 priests
and deacons father for national clergy meeting
His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios,
together with 100 priests and deacons, gathered for a national clergy
meeting on February 12, 1998 at the Resurrection of Christ Theological
Academy located at the Monastery of St. Vlash, Durres. Due to instability in
the country, this was the first meeting in more than two years for clergy
from all four dioceses around Albania to come together in a pastoral setting
with the Archbishop. The gathering included 92 clergymen from the new
generation of priests and deacons who have been ordained over the past six
years, together with several older priests ordained before the Church closed
in 1967, as well as other missionary priests.
It was also the first time for many of the
clergy to see firsthand the beautiful new complex of the St. Vlash Monastery
and the Resurrection of Christ Theological Academy. Most of the recently
ordained clergy studied at the seminary when it was still located in an old,
dilapidated workers camp on the beach of Durres from 1992-1996.
After a prayer of thanksgiving and doxology
service Thursday morning, the meeting opened with an address by Archbishop
Anastasios in which he emphasized the importance of remembering our past
while looking forward to our future. He gave a summary of the past six
years, and focused on all the positive achievements accomplished by the
Church. He made mention of the most obvious fact of 100 clergy gathering
together. When the Church reopened in 1991, only 22 clergy had survived the
communist era, of which only five are still alive. Today 92 new priests have
passed through three years of learning and training to be prepared to serve
the Church.
Another clear reminder of the progress of
the Church was the meeting place itself. The Theological Academy
comfort-ably housed all 100 participants over the two day meeting. It was
emphasized, however, that the school is only one of the hundreds of new
buildings the Church has erected over the past six years. Seventy new
churches have been built, 63 reconstructed, and 100 repaired during these
years.
The Archbishop mentioned other areas of
progress – in social, developmental and health outreach, in the
establishment of groups among the children, youth, women and intellectuals
in most cities, and in educational and catechetical ministry among all the
various groups.
After the Archbishop spoke, various priests and
lay leaders offered other topics including Spiritual Responsibilities of the
Priest, The Priest and Modern Society, Canonical Obedience for the Priests,
Church Finances, Church Publications and Distribution, Recovery of Church
Properties, and Church Construction. Interspersed between these talks were
morning and evening worship services, open discussions and brotherly
fellowship.
Church “Rejoices”
Over New Children’s Magazine
The Office of Publications for the Orthodox
Church in Albania recently published the fourth edition of its new
children’s magazine “Gezohu” (“Rejoice”). This monthly magazine is geared
towards children ages 6 to 13. Each month 2,000 copies of the magazine are
distributed throughout the country and sold through the church. Future plans
include selling the magazine in bookstores in the major cities.
Archbishop Anastasios had desired for a
long time to begin such a children’s magazine. It was actualized in
September, 1997 when an editorial committee, including a professor of child
psychologist, was selected and proceeded to decide the magazine’s name and
to discuss the format. The first edition was printed in November. The
current editor of the publication is George Bushaka, one of Albania’s
best-known children’s writers and publishers. The contents of the magazine
include a variety of spiritual and educational themes. It features popular
Bible stories, teachings about Orthodox feast days, adapted lives of the
saints, and other religious topics, as well as social and moral children’s
stories, scientific articles, special sporting events, interviews, puzzles,
problem solving activities, and proverbs.
The multicolor magazine is full of pictures
and illustrations, including photographs of historical monuments. Special
competitions inviting students to submit their artwork, poetry, and other
writings are continuous and published periodically.
Archbishop Visits
Patriarchate of Alexandria
Archbishop Anastasios, as the head of the
Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, made an official visit to
Patriarch Petros of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt on
February 25 – March 3, 1998. Together with the Archbishop were Archimandrite
Joan Pelushi, Fr. Jani Trebicka, and Deacon Josif Gjyli.
During their meetings, the two heads
of these autocephalous churches discussed issues and problems related to
their respective sees. Archbishop Anastasios has a special interest in the
lands and mission in Africa, especially since he was Acting Archbishop of
East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda) from 1981-1991.
The visit to Alexandria also gave the
Archbishop an opportunity to visit Patriarch Shenuda of the Coptic Orthodox
Church. Patriarch Shenuda is the head of the more than 8,000,000 Coptic
Orthodox Christians in Egypt. The Patriarchate of Alexandria was one of the
most important and ancient sees in early Christendom. Together with the
Churches of Rome, Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Antioch, they comprised the
five centers of the early Christian Church. From the Second Ecumenical
Council, Alexandria was placed in importance after only Rome and
Constantinople.
Thus, it is a tradition for the head
of every Orthodox Autocephalous Church to make official visits to their
sister Orthodox Churches around the world in their order of seniority.
Archbishop Anastasios first officially
visited Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of the Church in Constantinople.
Future plans include visits to some of the other 13 Autocephalous Orthodox
Churches around the world.
Tirana Women’s
Group Reaching Out to the Poor
First there is a visit
to Petro’s house. He is blind. His wife and he have no children. They
struggle to survive on their combined pension of $40 a month. They live
alone and few people ever visit them. That is, until several women of the
Tirana women’s group heard about them and began making weekly visits with
food, house supplies, and an abundance of love. They even supplement their
income from time to time.
Another visit is to Luljeta, a 43 year old
woman who has been bedridden for the past 23 years with muscular dystrophy.
She has been living in a hospital room for the past seven years. Several
months ago one of the women from the Tirana group met her. Now, almost
weekly, different women pass by the hospital with flowers, little gifts, or
simply a word of love and concern to Luljeta.
Petraq is a divorcee. His wife left
him several years ago. He lost his house in the investment frauds that
rocked Albania last year. He himself is an orphan, and has no extended
family. He lives in a 3m x 4m room in the basement of an apartment building.
He struggles to find daily work, which at best may pay him three dollars a
day. But work is scarce. Numerous times the women’s group has passed by his
house with a special care package, a little monetary gift, or most
importantly, a compassionate presence expressing care and concern.
These are just three of countless stories
which involve the women’s group of Tirana. Other visits include outreach to
homebound people, to orphanages, to a boarding house for street children, to
a school for the blind and deaf, and to the hospital. Monthly, they offer
meals at a men’s Old Age Home.
Regularly they reach out to 300 other poor
or desperate families around Tirana, and last Christ-mas, they delivered 800
pack-ages of food to needy families.
Most of their support comes from
money collected in their “Box for the Poor,” which sits in the entrance to
the Cathedral of Tirana. Over the past two years, from this box alone they
have collected and distributed more than $10,000 worth of aid and love in
small ways to countless people.
This women’s group learned the necessity of
putting their faith into concrete practice from their twice weekly lessons
on Spiritual Formation and Catechism. At the foundation of their work are
the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he said, “I was hungry and you fed
me; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was naked and you clothed me; I
was sick and in prison and you visited me.”
Fifth Church
Kindergarten Opened in City of Lushnje
On February 16, 1998, on behalf of Archbishop
Anastasios, Fr. Martin Ritsi presided over the water blessing of the fifth
kindergarten to open under the auspices of the Orthodox Church. The newly
renovated kindergarten is in the city of Lushnje, and has 95 children
enrolled in its days program.
The first of the Orthodox Church’s
kindergarten’s was opened in Tirana in October 1994, with an enrollment of
26 children. It later moved to a renovated building beside the Cathedral of
the Annunciation, and now includes 70 children. The Kindergarten of Durres
opened in June, 1995 with an enrollment of 25 children. It continues to
function in a rented building, but has grown to 70 children. The
Kindergarten of Korca also opened in June 1995 with an enrollment of 25
children in a rented house. It now has expanded to 70 children. The
Kindergarten of Kavaja opened in January 1997 in their large Church complex
that also includes a medical clinic, guest house, and youth center. It
enrolls 100 children. Future plans include to find permanent buildings for
the Kindergartens of Korca and Durres, and to establish new kindergartens in
the cities of Gjirokastro and Elbasan.
The Kindergartens are all staffed by
licensed Albanian nursery school teachers. The program includes the state’s
program of math, language and art requirements, which has been modified to
included updated methods. A primary Orthodox catechism program, along with a
foreign language component (English or Greek) supplements the State program.
To improve the qualifications of its
teachers, the Church has received approval from the Ministry of Education in
Albania to offer training seminars for its teachers. Specialized teachers
from Greece and America have offered teaching seminars on various
theoretical and practical aspects of early childhood education. In January,
Kiki Papavassiliou, a noted Greek educator, offered a four-day seminar
featuring a hands-on approach to learning language and math skills. An
extensive training seminar is planned for the summer.
Mobile Dental
Clinic Begins Work in Albania
At the beginning of March, the Orthodox
Mobile Dental Clinic began operating. This is a part of INTERREG II, an
Albanian-Greek Dental Health program approved by the official health board
of the European Community.
The Mobile Clinic is a large van which
contains modern dental equipment. Dental care offered includes regular teeth
cleaning, fillings, emergency care, placement of bridges for children, care
of gums, removal of cysts, and treatment for other oral infections.
The Mobile Clinic will have two phases. The first
phase includes a cooperative effort between Greek and Albanian dentists. The
second phase will be only with Albanian dentists. Each Albanian dentist
included in both phases will pass through two specialty programs. First,
they will partake in a 250 hour qualification and demonstration course of
tooth protection, including new methods of care. Second, they will
participate in 750 hours of practical work. The dental clinic will visit
schools in the rural areas of Albania, as well as in Tirana, Gjirokaster,
Korca, Himara, and Saranda. The focus will be on children from 6-18 years
old. The aim is to reach 5000 patients, as well as to begin teaching the
people how they can best protect and care for their teeth in a proactive
manner.
Under the initiative of Archbishop
Anastasios, and in cooperation with the Monastery of Simonopetro of Mount
Athos, this program became a reality when it was officially sponsored by the
European Union (70%) and the Greek Ministry of Health (30%). The Church of
Albania itself is the one responsible to put this program into action.
Church Offers
Support to Universities
In response to a request for aid by Mr. Banush
Mezini, the rector of the “Eqerem Çabej” University of Gjirokaster,
Archbishop Anastasios visited the campus on January 19, 1998 in order to see
the situation of the University. Earlier, the Archbishop, on behalf of the
Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, offered a gift of $10,000 USD
worth of furniture for the computer laboratories of the School.
This isn’t the first time the Church has
offered aid to the public universities. Last year, in response to a request
for aid from the Agricultural University of Tirana after its total
destruction in March 1997, the Archbishop decided to use funds that were
designated for the construction of a Church and instead offered them to the
University. The Technical Office of the Orthodox Church offered the labor
and materials in replacing doors and 60 windows (2.2m x. 1.4m), as well as
plastering and painting the building. The total expense of the project was
over $20,000 USD.
The Archbishop has a keen interest in the
welfare of the universities of Albania, especially since he himself was a
professor of History of Religions of the University of Athens for more than
30 years.
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