Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America

Saint George Cathedral

523 East Broadway  South Boston, MA 02127-4415

Albanian Orthodox celebrate Centennial Year in Boston

Boston -    On Sunday March 9, 2008, His Grace, NIKON, Bishop of Boston, New England and the Albanian Archdiocese of the Orthodox Church in America  welcomed hierarchs, clergy and faithful to Saint George Cathedral in  Boston to commemorate the Centennial Year of the Archdiocese and the beginning of the apostolic mission of its founder, the late Archbishop Fan Noli.

                     His Beatitude, ANASTASIOS, Archbishop of Tirana, primate  of the Orthodox Church of Albania  attended to pay homage to Noli's memory.  The Archbishop - who was recovering from eye surgery in Boston - praised Fan Noli's efforts in laying the foundation for the Albanian Church, for his translations of liturgical books and other masterpieces of world literature and for establishing an institution which continued for a century.  All three bishops and the attendant clergy then chanted a Memorial Prayer in front of Fan Noli's Portrait.

                 Bishop NIKON transmitted the greetings of His Beaittude, Metropolitan HERMAN and his brother bishops of the Holy Synod on this auspicious occasion.   In addition, His Grace Bishop Ilia (Katre) of Philmelion and of the Albanian Diocese under the Ecumenical Patriarcahte  concelebrated the liturgy, assisted by numerous clergy. Many hundreds of diocesan lay leaders and faithful gathered for worship.   As March 9 was also the Sunday of Forgiveness in the Orthodox Church, the day before the beginning of Great Lent, Bishop NIKON and BISHOP ILIA issued a joint Centennial Encyclical

                   The first liturgy in the Albanian language was first celebrated in Boston by then priest - and later Archbishop - Fan Stylian Noli in March, 1908.  It was a significant moment since his homeland had been subjugated for five centuries under Ottoman rule, during which time the use of the vernacular had been surpressed.  The movement in the U.S. helped foster the independence of Albania in 1912 and the formation of an indigenous and autocephalous Albanian Orthodox Church in the homeland.

                        After graduating from Harvard in 1912, Noli would later become Albania's first democratic premier in 1924.  A prodigious scholar, Fan Noli would translate many liturgical books and hymnals from Greek first into Albanian, and later into English.   As well, he became a noted translator of Shakespeare, Ibsen, Cervantes and Longfellow into Albanian, after returning to Boston to oversee his U.S.-based church.  His doctoral thesis at Boston University on Albania's 15th Century national hero, George Castriioti Skanderbeg became a classic,  Noli's scholarly work, entitled  Beethoven and the French Revolution, for the New England Conservatory of Music  was later published and received accolades from George Bernard Shaw, Thomas Mann and Jan Sibelius.

                    Saint George Cathedral and Noli's connection became a symbol for democracy in the homeland when the Balkan nation began to shed its Communist past in 1990.  The church's current pastor, the Very Rev Arthur Liolin was the first clergyman to enter the formerly atheist Albania in 1988, helping to foster improved relations with the U.S..  Today, Albania has emerged from its isolation and is considered one of the staunchest allies of the  U.S. in the Balkans, while also seeking membership in the European Union.

                  The March 9th celebration welcomed guests at Anthony's Pier 4 on Boston harbor.  The proceedings were aired on the BBC and the Voice of America's TV. The Centennial year continues with the opening of an Exhibition in Boston on May 4,  and shall culminate with a Grand Gala at the World Trade Center on September 27, 2008.