2 August 1992: The Enthronement of Archbishop Anastasios

The second of August is a landmark date for the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania. On this day in 1992, Archbishop Anastasios was enthroned in Tirana as Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania. Together with 24 June, the day of his election, 2 August marks the canonical restoration of the Church of Albania after the totalitarian atheist persecution.

One year earlier, in July 1991, Anastasios, then Bishop of Androusa, had arrived in Albania as Patriarchal Exarch. He encountered a wounded Church: churches destroyed or converted to other uses, only a few elderly clergy remaining, and a people who for decades had been denied the freedom to express their faith openly. Yet within this desolate reality, he also discerned the living seeds of the Orthodox faith that had remained hidden in the souls of the people.

The arduous journey of restoration began with the paschal greeting, “Christ is Risen.” On 24 June 1992 he was elected Archbishop, and on 2 August he was presented to the Orthodox faithful of the country and enthroned. The acceptance and steadfast support of the faithful accompanied him throughout his long archiepiscopal ministry.

His enthronement address bore the…