New Archbishop of Albania the Koritsas John

This Metropolitan Koritsas Ioannisafter the Archdiocese of the Archbishopric, after the Blessed Anastasios Blessed Officer on January 25th, the Holy Synod elected a short time ago, as a new one. Archbishop of Tirana Durres and all Albania.

The Holy Synod met after the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral of the Resurrection of the Lord in Tirana. Members of the Synod, Metropolitans of Amantia Nathaniel and Argyrokastro Dimitrios, who are Greek citizens, were excluded from the candidacy, as they do not meet the criterion of Albanian citizenship, according to the Charter of the Albanian Church, approved in 2006.

With the announcement of the election of the new Archbishop, the bells in all the Holy Temples of Albania beat cheerful.

In his brief message to the faithful, who shouted “worthy” the young man emphasized, among other things, that with humility, obeying the will of God, he accepted this high ministry and promised to execute it with dedication.

“I will respect the sacred tradition and fight with all my might to defend the rights of the Church. Being aware of the burden of this responsibility, I pray to Christ, the founder of the Church, to give me enlightenment, power and wisdom. “

Archbishop John, according to Fatmir Peloussi, was born in 1956 in Koritsa, whose Orthodox church served as Metropolitan after his enthronement in 1998.

In his interviews, he has revealed that the years of the persecutions of any religion in Atheist Albania, was of interest to religious issues, and in 1975 he was experienced by Christianity from a copy in the French New Testament, which his friend gave him. Searches followed at the Tirana Central Library, where secret books of all religions were borrowed. The next high -risk step for himself and his family, in Albania, was his involvement in a secret group of Christians who met in various homes in Koritsa. His baptism was the same secret by Father Kosmas and was named John.

Following the fall of the Communist regime in Albania, he had the opportunity to study at the Orthodox Theological School of the Holy Cross in Boston, with a scholarship established by the Albanian community in America in memory of Bishop Van Noli and graduated in 1993. At the invitation of the Hierarch, John returned to Albania to assist his important work and in 1994 he was initially ordained a deacon and the end of the same year by Archbishop Anastasios.

With a master’s degree in Theological Studies, he served as a lecturer and dean of the Theological Academy of the Albanian Orthodox Church. In 1996 he was appointed Director of the Theological School of Durres and became Archimandrite. On July 18, 1998 he was elected Metropolitan of Koritsa and was enthroned a few days later.