Archbishop of Albania: The Feast of the Transfiguration reveals humanity’s ultimate calling

The Orthodox Church of Albania solemnly celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord on August 6 with festive Divine Liturgies held across the country, led by Archbishop Ioannis of Albania and the Church’s hierarchs.

Archbishop Ioannis presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior in Tirana, located within the “Tabor” Spiritual Center, concelebrating with Bishop Ignatios of Amantia and clergy of the Archdiocese.

Following the Divine Liturgy, the Archbishop blessed the traditional grapes, explaining that, just as fruit reaches maturity, the feast points to humanity’s ultimate destiny.

“As the fruits are ripe, so today’s feast reveals our final destination,” he said. “The ripening of fruit marks the completion of a cycle, and the true fulfillment of human life is its transformation—the attainment of what Orthodox theology calls theosis, when human beings become partakers of the divine nature. This is the joy of today’s feast.”

Archbishop Ioannis further emphasized that the light revealed by Christ at the Transfiguration was the uncreated light of the divine energies, demonstrating that when human nature is touched by God, it…