Memory eternal Archbishop Anastasios of Albania

[gzt]

He revived the Orthodox Church in Albania after the fall of communism. https://apnews.com/article/albania-archbishop-anastasios-dead-61be99b9c6ab069fb71e658efa09a707

 

[ArmyMatt]

memory eternal! a modern apostle if ever there was one

 

[The Liturgist]

Memory eternal

 

[The Liturgist]

memory eternal! a modern apostle if ever there was one

Indeed, I also really admire Archbishop Fan Noli for his work in preserving the Albanian Orthodox faith as part of the OCA among the Albanian diaspora in the United States. He did an early translation of liturgical propers into English, which is around the same age as Fr. Seraphim Nasser’s famous “Five Pounder”, since he believed that this would become the main language of the diaspora in English, particularly given that it was uncertain how long the evil regime of Enver Hoxha would continue to oppress the people of his homeland.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Indeed, I also really admire Archbishop Fan Noli for his work in preserving the Albanian Orthodox faith as part of the OCA among the Albanian diaspora in the United States. He did an early translation of liturgical propers into English, which is around the same age as Fr. Seraphim Nasser’s famous “Five Pounder”, since he believed that this would become the main language of the diaspora in English, particularly given that it was uncertain how long the evil regime of Enver Hoxha would continue to oppress the people of his homeland.

the first time the Liturgy was ever done in Albanian was by him in the States.

 

[The Liturgist]

the first time the Liturgy was ever done in Albanian was by him in the States.

That’s really exciting, since it suggests he knew the Hoxha regime would not last, and knew that the people, propagandized against religion by Hoxha and forcibly separated from the Church in many cases by the mass-execution of clergy (I think fewer than a hundred priests survived who were able to secretly baptize infants and liturgize underground, since like the DDR the secret police in Albania were extremely paranoid, probably moreso than the Stasi and certainly moreso than the Securitate, and this meant informants were everywhere). Since due to the economic hardships Hoxha imposed upon the Albanian people, it could not be guaranteed that anyone from the generation raised in the Church would survive, it would become an imperative to communicate doctrine efficiently in the new Albania, and also to preserve the faith of those Albanian-speaking immigrants who had lost everything, so they would remain in the church, continue to feel the uncreated grace of the Holy Spirit as a presence in their lives, and continue to send the youth to the Orthodox Church, and not be poached by heretics who might allege that the Orthodox were idolatrous and that the Albanians were being punished (and as we know, there are heretical counterfeit churches, many of whom, perhaps most, enjoy respectability in the US and are not widely regarded as cults, but in terms of their opportunist attacks on Orthodoxy they show their true nature) that prey upon the Orthodox faithful in times of hardship, tempting them to abandon the church like demons tempt us to sin. Also, having Albanian speaking Orthodox Christians who could communicate the faith in Albanian was probably a component of his strategy for the re-implementation of the Albanian Church, while having English language services would protect the youth.

Thus he was a pioneer in both English and Albanian liturgical celebration, although if I recall the book I have by him is in English only. I do reckon his work was of benefit to Archbishop Anastasios, memory eternal, whose name by the way seems extremely appropriate for someone involved in the revitalization of Orthodoxy in Albania, the means for joyous repose for the surviving confessors who had suffered horror in this life.

By the way regarding Archbishop Fan Noli, I have for several years felt that he should be looked at for glorification, and in the case of Archbishop Anastasios I would not be surprised if that were also the case.

 

[The Liturgist]

PREFACE​

The main purpose of this book is to help the younger generation of the Eastern Orthodox Church follow the Services, which are usually conducted in foreign languages. For this reason the Services have been abridged and the secret prayers have been omitted. A special feature of the translation is the rhythmical rendering of the liturgical responses and of some anthems to make them fit the meters of the Slavonic text and the musical settings of the various Russian composers. The author wishes to express his gratitude and acknowledge his indebtedness to previous translators of the Prayer Book, especially to Miss Isabel Hapgood, the leading pioneer in this field.​

Bishop Fan Stylian Noli,​

Boston, Massachusetts
June, 1949

The pragmatic approach Archbishop Fan Noli took in his English language service book, which clearly shows it to be intended not just for Albanian but pan-Orthodox use in the Metropolia, by the laity, as a reference for their use, is reflected in this Preface, where he also sets out his work to make the music compatible with Slavonic musical settings which were at the time (and still are) mainstream in the Metropolia and also remain in the other parts of what was once the united Russian Orthodox Metropolis of New York and North America under Metropolitan St. Tikhon of Moscow and Archbishop Rafael Hawaheeny of Brooklyn (for example, in the AOCNA, which uses musical settings for hymns that originated from the ROC, in addition to some Greek Orthodox polyphonic settings by composers such as Michaelides, and Byzantine and Syro-Byzantine Chant), and in ROCOR which has very splendid Church Slavonic music at Holy Virgin Cathedral in San Francisco and the Synodal Cathedral of the Sign in New York City, and in the OCA at cathedrals like Holy Trinity in San Francisco, Holy Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church in Los Angeles, and Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Church in Vancouver, and elsewhere, as appropriate, one will find Romanian church music in the Romanian parishes, and other music throughout the OCA, which also has a very good English language hymnal with pan-Orthodox musical settings.

I also admire his acknowledgement of Isabel Florence Hapgood, whose work was not only groundbreaking but also did a particularly good job in matching Orthodox liturgical terminology to the closest Western equivalent, for example, she refers to the Prokeimenon as a Gradual, which seems accurate.

Archbishop Fan Stylian Noli - Memory Eternal!
Archbishop Anastasios of Albania - Memory Eternal!

 

[ArmyMatt]

By the way regarding Archbishop Fan Noli, I have for several years felt that he should be looked at for glorification, and in the case of Archbishop Anastasios I would not be surprised if that were also the case.

as God wills!

 

[gzt]

Let your light shine

 

[E.C.]

Memory eternal!

By the way regarding Archbishop Fan Noli, I have for several years felt that he should be looked at for glorification, and in the case of Archbishop Anastasios I would not be surprised if that were also the case.

Archbishop Fan may encounter some issues with his political activities within Albania - bishops typically do not become prime ministers.

 

[prodromos]

Memory eternal!

 

[RileyG]

 

[Dorothea]

Memory eternal!