Enthronement of Archbishop Ioannis of Albania
With the participation of delegations from Autocephalous and local Orthodox Churches, as well as officials from the governments of Albania, Greece, and other countries, the official enthronement ceremony of the new Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania, Ioannis, is being held today at 12:00pm (Albania Time)
The ceremony is taking place at the Cathedral of the Resurrection in Tirana and was preceded by a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy, concelebrated by members of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania.
The Church of Greece and His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece are represented by His Eminence Metropolitan Ioustinos of Nea Krini and Kalamaria, while the Greek government is represented by the Minister of National Defence, Nikos Dendias, and the Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Sofia Zacharaki, who both traveled to the Albanian capital.
Archbishop Ioannis becomes the second Archbishop of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania since the fall of the communist regime, and the first ethnically Albanian Archbishop since 1967.
Thirty-three years after the enthronement of the Late Archbishop Anastasios, the newly installed 69-year-old Archbishop of Albania, Ioannis, is now called to continue—guided by a spirit of love—the path laid down by his predecessor and spiritual father.
He will be supported in this mission by the members of the Holy Synod of the Church of Albania, including Metropolitans Demetrios of Gjirokastra, Nikolaos of Apollonia and Fieri, Antonios of Elbasan, Astios of Berat, Vlora, and Kanina, Nathanael of Amantia, and Bishop Anastasios of Kruja.
Who is the new Archbishop of Albania?
Archbishop Ioannis, born Fatmir Pelushi in 1956 in Korçë, served the Orthodox Church there as Metropolitan following his enthronement in 1998.
In interviews, he has revealed that during the years of religious persecution in atheistic Albania, he developed a strong interest in spiritual matters. In 1975, he first encountered Christianity through a French copy of the New Testament, which a friend gave him under the pretext of helping him learn French.
This discovery led him to further exploration at the National Library of Tirana, where he secretly borrowed books on various religions. His next step, taken at great personal risk to himself and his family in an era of intense persecution, was to join a secret group of Christians who gathered in private homes in Korçë. In the same clandestine manner, he was baptized by Fr. Kosmas and received the name Ioannis.
After the fall of the communist regime, he was given the opportunity to study at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Boston, through a scholarship established by the Albanian-American community in memory of Bishop Fan Noli. He graduated in 1993 with a Master of Theological Studies. At that time, the late Archbishop Anastasios had already begun the monumental task of restoring the Orthodox Church in Albania.
Responding to his call, Ioannis returned to Albania to assist in this mission. In 1994, he was ordained a deacon, and later that same year, a priest, by Archbishop Anastasios.
He went on to serve as a lecturer and dean of the Theological Academy of the Albanian Orthodox Church, and in 1996, he was appointed director of the Theological School of Durrës, receiving the rank of archimandrite
On July 18, 1998, he was elected Metropolitan of Korçë and was enthroned shortly thereafter.
