What will the Albanian Church be like with the new Primate?
The late Albanian Archbishop Anastasios was a bishop who was respected and loved throughout the Orthodox world. Who is his successor?
On March 16, 2025, during the second week of Lent, elections for a new Archbishop were held at the Synodal Center of the Albanian Orthodox Church in Tirana.
As a result of the vote, the now former Metropolitan of Korchinsky, John (Pelyushi), became the Primate of the Albanian Orthodox Church. Our website has paid a lot of attention to this event. And the reason for such attention is that we, the Orthodox believers of Ukraine, are concerned about the position that the head of the Albanian Church will take on the so-called OCU issue. Therefore, let us try to look at the personality of Metropolitan John of Korchinsky and understand what course he will choose for the Albanian Church in the near future.
Historical context of the election
Before we try to answer the question of what course Bishop John will choose, let us recall the historical context in which he will have to carry out his ministry. Let us also say a few words about the significance of the late Archbishop Anastasios – both for the Church and for the Albanian people in general.
Albania is a predominantly Islamic country. However, during the funeral service for the Primate of the Albanian Orthodox Church, the parliament of this country postponed its sessions out of respect for the personality of the deceased, and representatives of the highest leadership of the state were present at the burial ceremony. Let us recall that Archbishop Anastasios is an ethnic Greek by origin. However, in the Albanian press one could read the words that he "did not bring Greece to Albania, but brought Albania to Greece." What does this mean?
The fact is that Albanians and Greeks, who have lived side by side for centuries, interpret some historical events differently, which is why there are certain disagreements and tensions in relations between them. It should be noted that for the Greeks, Orthodoxy has always been the most important part of their national identity. You are not Greek if you are not Orthodox - such statements can often be found in Greece. In turn, for the Albanians, religion, although it played a significant role, was perceived somewhat differently. After all, both Muslims and Christians live together in the country. And, most importantly, the Orthodox community of Albania has almost always sought to form its own church identity and independence from external influence. Such processes are very much disliked by the Greeks, in whose eyes the autocephaly of the Albanian Church is hardly justified, since Albania was under the influence of the Patriarchate of Constantinople for a very long time.
But the “church question” remains very acute within the country. On the one hand, the southern regions of Albania are home to a Greek minority, which traditionally belongs to the Greek Orthodox community and maintains close ties with Greece (many Albanians speak Greek, although they were born in Albania). On the other hand, government officials and politicians constantly emphasize the need to preserve the full independence of the Albanian Church, which in their eyes is an integral part of national identity. In this context, any ties with the Patriarchate of Constantinople are often perceived as an attempt to influence the internal affairs of the Albanian Church. This causes a sharp reaction from the government and creates problems for the clergy and believers.
At the same time, a significant part of Albanians highly value elements of Greek culture – music, literature and art. Greek heritage is perceived as part of the common cultural heritage of the Balkans.
In addition, there are many in Albania who believe that close ties with the Greek Churches (Hellenic and Constantinople) do not bring anything bad and can only strengthen spiritual life. But there is also an opposite point of view, according to which such ties, and especially the integration of Greek traditions, language and culture, can undermine the independence of the Albanian Orthodox Church and negatively affect national identity.
This state of affairs led to the Albanian hierarchs being able to find a reasonable balance, where, on the one hand, there is respect for Greek culture and spirituality, and on the other hand, there is a desire to preserve autocephaly and their uniqueness. And this balance is the merit of the late Archbishop Anastasios. He was able to build church life in such a way that, while maintaining very close ties with the Greek Churches (suffice it to say that he never hid his friendship with Patriarch Bartholomew and did not keep silent about his Greek origin), the Albanian Church retained freedom from external influence. The late Primate consistently defended the need for equal dialogue, where each side respects the sovereignty of the other and does not try to impose its own vision of the situation.
This state of affairs was especially clearly reflected “in the Ukrainian question,” that is, in the problem of the OCU.
Let us just briefly recall that Archbishop Anastassy became one of the most irreconcilable and consistent critics of the creation of the OCU in the Orthodox world. He demanded that a Pan-Orthodox Council be convened on this issue and repeatedly expressed support for the persecuted UOC.
In addition, the Synod of the Albanian Church put forward the most reasonable objections regarding the possibility of recognizing the canonicity of the ordinations and legalization of Ukrainian schismatics, and also repeatedly spoke out in support of the UOC. Neither friendship with Patriarch Bartholomew, nor respectful attitude towards the Greek Churches that recognized the OCU, nor the Greek origin of Archbishop Anastasios himself influenced this position in any way. Moreover, these factors should not influence the position of Metropolitan John of Korchin.
Biography
The newly elected Archbishop John, formerly Metropolitan of Korca, was born on January 2, 1956 in Tirana. From his early youth, during the period of severe religious persecution, he was secretly baptized by a priest – one of the first to join the underground Church in the conditions of total atheism and state persecution. From 1979 to 1990, John worked in a psychiatric hospital in Tirana, and in 1990 he decided to leave for the United States to obtain a theological education. The Bishop graduated with honors from the Holy Cross School in Boston, receiving a Master of Theological Studies in 1993. Already in 1992, driven by the desire to contribute to the restoration of the destroyed church life in Albania, he established contact with Archbishop Anastasios and decided to return to his native country. In September of the same year, John returned to Albania, where he began teaching at the Theological Academy of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania.
On February 27, 1994, he was ordained a deacon, and on December 4 of the same year, a priest. In 1995, he again went to the United States to continue his studies, and in 1996 he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. For his high results in the 1995-1996 academic season, he was included in The National Dean's List, a list of the best students from all universities in the United States of America. Returning to Albania, he became the dean of the Theological Academy, where he worked until 1998, after which he was elected Metropolitan of Korça.
Since 1998, John has continued his service as a metropolitan, combining his pastoral work with teaching, translation and scientific research. He prepared the text of Dogmatics, the first theological publication in Albanian, translated many works of the Church Fathers and played an important role in the formation of a unified philosophical and religious terminology in Albanian theological literature. In addition to his native Albanian, he is fluent in English, French, Italian, Greek, Latin and Hebrew.
In 2000, he founded the periodical Tempulli, which quickly established itself as one of the leading scientific and cultural magazines in the country. The magazine brings together in its pages the works of renowned intellectuals, researchers and albanologists, both from Albania and from foreign countries. Bishop John is not only the editor-in-chief of this publication, but also actively participates in the creation of scientific articles devoted to issues of culture, history, archeology, philosophy and theology.
During his years of service, he repeatedly represented the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania at international conferences, including within the framework of the work of the World Council of Churches and in dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church.
Will the new Primate continue the work of Archbishop Anastasius?
It is believed that Metropolitan John was not only a disciple of the late Archbishop Anastasios, but also his permanent assistant for many years. It is quite possible that the texts of the Albanian Church, prepared and published during the life of Archbishop Anastasios, were created not without the help of Bishop John. And we have the right to expect that not only the synodals, who signed a statement about the dubious actions of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on the territory of Ukraine almost 5 years ago, have not changed their minds, but the new Primate of the Albanian Church has not done so either.
Moreover, in his first speech, read from the pulpit of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Tirana, the bishop promised to “observe the sacred canons and Holy Tradition and strive with all his might to protect the rights of the Church.”
And this is what we expect from the Primate, not only we, but also those people whose pastor he has become. As the Albanian priest Ilija Mazniku rightly said, “the new Archbishop of Albania has many responsibilities, but the most important one, which we all expect, is to follow the same path as Archbishop Anastasios.”
