By Peter Anderson
Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania, died January 25, 2025, at age 95
On January 25, 2025, Archbishop Anastasios (“Anastas” in Albanian) of Tirana, Durrës and all Albania, primate of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, died at the age of 95 from multiple organ failure following a viral infection.
The Liturgy and funeral service for Archbishop Anastasios were held on January 30 in the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Tirana. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided at the funeral service. The primates of five other Local Orthodox Churches were present, as well as representatives from eight additional Local Orthodox Churches. Archbishop Flavio Pace, Secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, represented the Vatican.
Archbishop Anastasios had played the extremely important role of restoring the Orthodox faith in Albania after the fall of the communist government under Enver Hoxha. Prior to the Hoxha regime, approximately 20 percent of the Albanian population were Orthodox.
A majority of the population were Muslim. Of the communist regimes in the world, the Hoxha regime was the harshest in persecuting religion. All churches and mosques were closed. Clergy were imprisoned. The possession of a Bible or icon was a criminal offense. Albania claimed to have established the first completely atheistic state in history.
In January 1991, the Ecumenical Patriarchate appointed Anastasios, then a Greek bishop, to be the Patriarchal Exarch for Albania. He arrived in Tirana not knowing even a single word of the Albanian language. In the entire country at this time, the surviving Orthodox clergy consisted of no bishops, 15 priests, and two deacons, most of whom were infirm. Because of nationalistic sentiment in Albania, Archbishop Anastasios needed to resurrect a church that was truly Albanian, and not Greek.
In the subsequent 33 years, Archbishop Anastasios created over 400 parishes and ordained 168 new clergy. There are now eight Orthodox bishops in Albania, six of whom were born in Albania. The Archbishop launched approximately 450 building projects and created an Orthodox theological academy and seminary, newspaper and radio station. It was an amazing accomplishment.
Archbishop Anastasios enjoyed excellent relations with other Christians and faiths. Before becoming a bishop, he taught the history of religions and founded the Center of Missionary Studies at the University of Athens.
From 1981 to 1991, he was the acting Orthodox archbishop for East Africa. In Africa, he had frequent contact with people of other faiths.
He had an appreciation for the culture of the African people and refused to Hellenize them. He had the Liturgy translated into four African languages.
The relations between Archbishop Anastasios and the Catholic Church were excellent. To the surprise of many, the first visit of Pope Francis outside of Italy was to Albania in 2014.
Following the death of the Archbishop, Pope Francis wrote about his meeting with the Archbishop in 2014 and stated: “I will always cherish the fraternal embrace and the words exchanged on that occasion.”
On the day of the Archbishop’s death, Bishop Gjergj Meta, president of the Albanian Catholic Bishops Conference, stated that “we Christians have all lost a brother and a worthy apostle of Christ and for all those who knew him, a valuable and wise friend.”
Archbishop Anastasios was also very active in the international ecumenical movement and served as president of the World Council of Churches for three years.
The life of Archbishop Anastasios demonstrates that one can be a great and brilliant Orthodox bishop, and at the same time be open and friendly with other faiths. Sadly, some Orthodox bishops, especially those who are from predominantly Orthodox countries with little opportunity for contact with other faiths, have not learned this.
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