Albania’s Orthodox church elects new leader, Archbishop Joan
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s Orthodox Church on Sunday elected Joan Pelushi as its new leader following the death in January of Archbishop Anastasios, who had revived the church after the fall of communism in 1990.
After a 40-minute meeting, the bells rang to note that the seven-member Holy Synod elected Joan, the metropolitan of Korca, as the archbishop of Tirana, Durres and all of Albania and also head of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania. Two metropolitans among them were excluded due to their Greek citizenship, in line with the statute of the church.
“I humbly accept this high service and promise to faithfully carry out my duty,” Joan said before signing the decision of the synod. He earlier led Mass at the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in downtown Tirana.
The Orthodox Church of Albania was declared autocephalous in September in 1922, after it had been subordinated to the archbishopric of Ohrid and the patriarchate of Constantinople.
Joan Pelushi, 69, worked at the Tirana Psychiatric Hospital until 1990, when the communist leadership collapsed. He studied in the United States at the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.
In 1994 he returned to Albania and became a priest and lectured at the church’s Theology University. Following more studies at the same university in Boston, in 1998 Joan became metropolitan of Korca, which also included the southeastern districts of Pogradec, Devoll and Kolonje, close to Greece.
Joan has translated and published many religious books. He has represented the country in international religious activities and has lectured on theology, history and philosophy.
“His contribution is not valid only in cultural, scientific and humanitarian areas, but also in strengthening the coexistence, inter-religious dialogue and patriotic education,” the church wrote.
All forms of religion were banned in Albania for 23 years starting in 1967, when the country was completely isolated from the outside world and the communists seized the property of Islamic, Orthodox, Catholic and other churches.
Joan is the sixth head of the Albanian Orthodox Church.
According to the 2023 census, Orthodox Christians in Albania make up about 7% of the country’s 2.4 million population, although the church says the actual number is higher. Half the population of the Western Balkan country identifies as Muslim, with Orthodox and Catholic Christians making up much of the remainder.