By The European Times | Created at 2025-03-17 12:01:33 | Updated at 2025-03-18 03:29:16
15 hours ago
Albania’s Orthodox Church on Sunday elected Joan Pelushi as its new leader following the death in January of Archbishop Anastasios, who had revived the church after the fall of communism in 1990.
After a 40-minute meeting, the bells rang to note that the seven-member Holy Synod elected Joan, the metropolitan of Korca, as the archbishop of Tirana, Durres and all of Albania and also head of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania. Two metropolitans among them were excluded due to their Greek citizenship, in line with the statute of the church.
“I humbly accept this high service and promise to faithfully carry out my duty,” Joan said before signing the decision of the synod. He earlier led Mass at the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in downtown Tirana.
The Orthodox Church of Albania was declared autocephalous in September in 1922, after it had been subordinated to the archbishopric of Ohrid and the patriarchate of Constantinople.
Joan Pelushi, 69, worked at the Tirana Psychiatric Hospital until 1990, when the communist leadership collapsed. He studied in the United States at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.
In 1994 he returned to Albania and became a priest and lectured at the church’s Theology University. Following more studies at the same university in Boston, in 1998 Joan became metropolitan of Korca, which also included the southeastern districts of Pogradec, Devoll and Kolonje, close to Greece.
Joan has translated and published many religious books. He has represented the country in international religious activities and has lectured on theology, history and philosophy.
“His contribution is not valid only in cultural, scientific and humanitarian areas, but also in strengthening the coexistence, inter-religious dialogue and patriotic education,” the church wrote.
All forms of religion were banned in Albania for 23 years starting in 1967, when the country was completely isolated from the outside world and the communists seized the property of Islamic, Orthodox, Catholic and other churches.
Joan is the sixth head of the Albanian Orthodox Church.
According to the 2023 census, Orthodox Christians in Albania make up about 7% of the country’s 2.4 million population, although the church says the actual number is higher. Half the population of the Western Balkan country identifies as Muslim, with Orthodox and Catholic Christians making up much of the remainder.
According to the statutes of the Albanian Church, the new head of the Church was elected by the Holy Synod, which currently consists of seven hierarchs:
Metropolitan Asti (Bakalbashi) of Berat, Vlora, and Kanina (b. 1974)
Metropolitan John (Pelushi) of Korça, Pogradec, Kolonjë, Devoll, and Voskopoja (b. 1956)
Metropolitan Demetrius (Dikbasanis) of Gjirokastër (b. 1940)
Metropolitan Nicholas (Hyka) of Apollonia and Fier (b. 1972)
Metropolitan Anthony (Merdani) of Elbasan, Shpat, and Librazhd (b. 1959)
Metropolitan Nathaniel (Stergiou) of Amantia (b. 1957)
Bishop Anastasios (Mamai) of Krujë (b. 1979)
The election of the new Primate was announced by the ringing of the church bell.
Epifaniy Dumenko congratulated Archbishop John on his election as the Primate of the Albanian Church.
On March 16, 2025, Epifaniy Dumenko published a congratulatory message on Facebook addressed to the newly elected Archbishop John, the Primate of the Albanian Church.
Dumenko stated that he is “praying” for the Archbishop and the entire Albanian Church. In return, he expressed his hope that the Albanian Primate would also pray for the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), for Ukraine, and for “the victory of truth and a just peace.”
His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil congratulated the newly elected Albanian Archbishop John by phone, the website of the Bulgarian Patriarchate reported. Patriarch Daniil wished his brother to continue the God-pleasing, fruitful and regenerative work of his ever-memorable predecessor, the blessed late Archbishop Anastasius, who restored the Albanian Church and became a great missionary of our time. The new Albanian Archbishop expressed his deep gratitude to the Bulgarian Patriarch for his call, expressing the hope that the excellent relations between the two sister Churches will continue in the future.
Biography of Archbishop John (Pelushi)
The new Archbishop of Albania, John (Pelushi), was born on January 1, 1956, in Albania to a Bektashi family. His family suffered persecution under the communist regime – his father was imprisoned in 1944 as an “enemy of the state.”
Despite the atheist repression in communist Albania, the young John showed great interest in religious matters. In 1975, he was introduced to the New Testament through a friend who was a secret Orthodox Christian, which had a profound impact on his conversion to Christianity. In 1979, he was secretly baptized by Fr. Kosma Kirjo.
After the fall of the communist regime, he pursued theological education at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brooklyn, USA, thanks to a scholarship from the Albanian Orthodox community in America. After completing his studies in 1993, he returned to Albania to assist in the restoration of the Albanian Orthodox Church.
In 1994, he was ordained a deacon and later a priest by Archbishop Anastasios. He was later appointed assistant rector of the Theological Academy in Durrës and was elevated to the rank of archimandrite in 1996.
On July 18, 1998, the Holy Synod elected him as Metropolitan of Korça. Archbishop John has represented the Albanian Orthodox Church at various international events and is fluent in Albanian, Greek, and English.
