Archbishop Anastasios, head of Albania church, dies at 95


  • World
  • Saturday, 25 Jan 2025

FILE PHOTO: Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and All Albania Anastasios holds a mass at Resurrection of Christ Orthodox Cathedral in Tirana, Albania, April 29, 2018. REUTERS/Florion Goga/File Photo

ATHENS (Reuters) - Archbishop Anastasios, head of the Orthodox Church of Albania, died at a hospital in Athens at the age of 95 on Saturday, the church announced.

Anastasios played a key role in reviving the church in Albania, an independent branch of the Eastern Orthodox Church, after being elected to lead it in 1992 following the fall of the communist regime which had ruled the Muslim-majority country for decades.

Anastasios was admitted to a hospital in Tirana with flu in early December but his condition deteriorated and he was airlifted to Athens to be treated at Evangelismos Hospital.

"His Beatitude fell asleep in the Lord today... at Evangelismos Hospital in Athens, due to multiple organ failure," the Orthodox Church of Albania said in a press release.

A vocal supporter of dialogue among different religions, Anastasios had previously served as a missionary in several countries in Africa and was well known for his charitable work to help the poor and outcast in Albania.

(Reporting by Fatos Bytyci and Lefteris Papadimas; editing by Jason Neely)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In World

Spain to give legal status to 25,000 migrants affected by Valencia floods
Congo's Bukavu under threat as M23 rebels warn of intervention
Italy arrests 130 people in large-scale raid on Sicilian Mafia
Colombia defense minister will leave gov't, ministry says
Pope Francis criticizes Trump's immigration crackdown in letter to US bishops
Iran pardons journalists who reported woman's death that triggered unrest
Sweden honours mass shooting victims and searches for answers
WFP says staff member died in detention in northern Yemen
Sweden sentences woman to 12 years in prison for genocide, war crimes in Syria
Many Argentines back Milei on economy. His war on diversity is more divisive

Others Also Read