UOC Primate congratulates new head of Albanian Orthodox Church on election

On behalf of the bishops and faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onufriy of Kyiv and All Ukraine congratulated His Beatitude Archbishop John of Albania on his election as Primate. Metropolitan Onufriy emphasized the high authority of Archbishop John in the Orthodox world, reminding him of the friendly relations between the Ukrainian and Albanian Orthodox Churches. The text of the greeting was published on the official website of the UOC.

“Your life path reflects the difficult history of the Albanian Church in the second half of the twentieth century. You secretly received holy baptism during the atheistic regime in your country. Subsequently, you became not only a witness but also a participant in the revival of Orthodoxy in Albania. You were a disciple and companion of the Archbishop of Anastasios, under whose omophorion you formed and served as a priest and then as a bishop. During your archpastoral ministry, you became a well-known hierarch among the Local Orthodox Churches. In particular, we fondly remember your visits as part of official delegations of the Albanian Orthodox Church to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. It is obvious that the Lord, by His wise Providence, prepared and led you to the highest Primate’s ministry, to which you were elected by the Holy Synod of the Albanian Orthodox Church,” – the greeting reads.

His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry emphasized the firm commitment of the Albanian Church to the canonical order, expressing hope that His Beatitude Archbishop John will continue the work of the late Archbishop Anastasios, remaining on guard of the purity of Orthodoxy.

“Having a previous experience of fraternal communion, support and devotion to the canonical structure of the Orthodox Church, we hope for further friendly relations between the Albanian and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches, as it was during the Primate of your predecessor, the late Archbishop Anastasios. The Albanian Church in world Orthodoxy has become one of the examples of humble and sacrificial service to Christ, fruitful Christian preaching and mission, and deep spiritual life, thanks to which your Church was able to revive after a period of persecution by atheistic authorities and showed the whole world the miracle of the resurrection of the Christian community. I wish that under Your First Presiding Omophorion, the Albanian Orthodox Church will preserve and multiply all that has been created and laid down before. May the Lord strengthen you in the worthy fulfillment of a new ministry, for the sake of building up the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12), in preaching and caring for the blessed Albanian flock,” – added the Primate of the UOC.