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"Only a person like Anastasios, with a profound theological formation and strong administrative skills, as well as a mission background, particularly in Africa, could achieve so much within this short period," Tsetsis said.

"I believe," Tsetsis added, "that in a period when church buildings in Europe are being converted into concert halls and exhibition centers, when parishes are being closed because of a lack of vocations, the Orthodox Church of Albania stands out as an example. Does Europe need a major calamity to rediscover her own Christian identity?"

Tsetsis said that the Orthodox Church had also become the main investor in Albania thanks to funds donated by Christians in Greece, by Greek Americans and by donor agencies following round-table discussions coordinated by the World Council of Churches in Geneva. The church itself was directly involved in the construction of schools, clinics and other buildings, and was providing work for hundreds of Albanians.

Asked if there was a risk that the donation of funds from Greek-linked sources could suggest the church was a de facto Greek church, Tsetsis said that Greece and Italy were the two most important financial powers supporting the growth of Albania's economy, a fact which US President Bill Clinton had welcomed during his recent visit to Athens. As a result, Albanians were realizing that they had every interest in pursuing a friendly relationship with Greece, Tsetsis said. He added that the Orthodox Church of Albania was truly a multi-ethnic church that included Albanians, Greeks—mainly in the south near the Greek border—Montenegrins and Romanian-speaking Vlachs. The diversity and multi-ethnic character of the Albanian Orthodox Church was stressed in the official "Act" of the Ecumenical Patriarchate granting autocephaly—self-government—to the church in 1937.

During his visit to Albania, from November 2 to 9, the Ecumenical Patriarch stressed the need for tolerance and the importance of Albania's own ethnic traditions. "We want to assist people to find and develop their faith, and cultivate virtue, especially through the means of their own language and culture," the patriarch said.

There are wide divergences between the various estimates of the strength of religious confessions in Albania. According to the Albanian news agency, ANA, about 70 per cent of the population of 3.5 million is Muslim, about 20 percent is Orthodox and 10 per cent Roman Catholic.

Copyright © 1999 Ecumenical News International

If you're interested in the religious statistics of Albania, or any other part of the world, visit Adherents.com

Check out Albania's religious history at Britannica.com

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

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November (Web-only) 1999, Vol. 43