Religious scholar from Belgium discusses Albanian Primate’s position on OCU

Photo: Archbishop Anastasios. Source: Albanian Church website

Vassilis Saroglou, renowned religious scholar and full professor of psychology at the University of Louvain, spoke about the position of the late Archbishop Anastasios of Albania on the recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), as reported by the Greek edition of UOJ.

According to the professor, in the fall of 2019, he sent an analytical note to the Primate of the Albanian Church outlining the potential consequences of the Church of Greece recognizing the OCU. In response, Archbishop Anastasios personally contacted the author to discuss the situation.

"I’m already 90 years old; perhaps God wants something from me and keeps me alive," Saroglou quoted Archbishop Anastasios from their conversation.

The religious scholar noted that the Primate of the Albanian Church expressed serious concern about the deepening schism in the Orthodox world that arose after the Ecumenical Patriarchate's recognition of the OCU. According to Saroglou, Archbishop Anastasios’ stance was driven by care for global Orthodoxy rather than ethno-political factors.

The Albanian Orthodox Church, along with several other Local Churches, has not recognized the autocephaly of the OCU, granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in December 2018.

"The schism in Orthodoxy has widened, and one might say that after six years, it has possibly solidified. A future historian may investigate whether this hasty and rather problematic recognition of autocephaly, which led to the devaluation of the previously canonical Ukrainian Church, became an additional reason or justification for the intensification of Russian aggression against Ukraine and the West," Saroglou stated.

Background: Vassilis Saroglou is the president of the International Academy of Religious Studies and a former president of the International Association for the Psychology of Religion. He currently holds the position of professor of psychology of religion at the University of Louvain (Belgium). Listed among the world’s top (0.5-1%) cited scholars, Vassilis Saroglou has received scientific distinctions from APA-Div 36 (Early Career Award, Mentoring Award, Fellow, William James Award), APS (Fellow), SPSP (Fellow), EAPP (Mid-Career Award), IAPR (Godin Prize), and AISR (Fellow). He has served as IAPR President and IJPR assoc. and co-Editor. In 2020, he received the Quinquennial Solvay Excellence Prize (FNRS) in human and social sciences.

Previously, the UOJ reported that the Albanian Church had defended the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Read also

Armenian bishop arrested for attempted coup plot

The opposition calls what is happening a political crackdown and an attempt by the authorities to weaken the protest and the influence of the Church in society.