Albanian Orthodox Church

Not to be confused with Church of Caucasian Albania.

Orthodox Church of Albania
Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania
Kisha Ortodokse Autoqefale e Shqipërisë
Resurrection of Christ Cathedral in Tirana, Albania
PrimateArchbishop Anastasios of Albania
Bishops6
Priests135
Parishes911
Monasteries150
Language
HeadquartersResurrection Cathedral, Tirana, Albania
TerritoryAlbania and Albanian diaspora
FounderTheofan Stilian Noli
Independence17 September 1922[1]
RecognitionAutocephaly recognised in 1937 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Separated fromEcumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Members500,000[2]-700,000-800,000[3] (claimed), number much higher when diaspora is considered.
Official websiteorthodoxalbania.org
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Eastern Orthodox Church
Christ Pantocrator (Deesis mosaic detail)
Mosaic of Christ Pantocrator, Hagia Sophia
Overview
Background
Organization
Autocephalous jurisdictions
Autocephalous Churches who are officially part of the communion:

Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure:

Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches:

Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church:


Autonomous jurisdictions

Semi-Autonomous:

Episcopal assemblies
Noncanonical jurisdictions
Ecumenical councils
  • Other possible ecumenical councils:
  • Other important councils:
History
Theology
Liturgy and worship
Liturgical calendar
  • The four fasting periods:
Major figures
Other topics

The Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania (Albanian: Kisha Ortodokse Autoqefale e Shqipërisë), commonly known as the Albanian Orthodox Church or the Orthodox Church of Albania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It declared its autocephaly in 1922 through its Congress of 1922, and gained recognition from the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1937.

The church suffered during the Second World War, and in the communist period that followed, especially after 1967 when Albania was declared an atheist state, and no public or private expression of religion was allowed.

The church has, however, seen a revival since religious freedom was restored in 1991, with more than 250 churches restored or rebuilt, and more than 100 clergy being ordained. It has 909 parishes spread all around Albania, and around 500,000 to 550,000 faithful.[2] The number is claimed to be as high as 700,000 by some Orthodox sources – and higher when considering the Albanian diaspora.[4][5]

  1. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-12-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ a b John Anthony McGuckin (28 December 2010). The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Its History, Doctrine, and Spiritual Culture. John Wiley & Sons. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-4443-3731-0. Retrieved 8 June 2012. The Orthodox currently represent about half a million faithful, worshipping in 909 parishes.
  3. ^ CNEWA - Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania Archived 2008-01-26 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Kryesore". Archived from the original on 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2015-09-05.
  5. ^ "Albanian Orthodox".