TIRANA, Albania (AP) 鈥� Thousands of Albanians gathered in the capital on Thursday to pay their last respects to Archbishop Anastasios, who revived the country鈥檚 Orthodox Christian Church after the fall of the country's communist party in 1990.
Anastasios, who was the Archbishop of Tirana, Durres, and All Albania and also head of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, died on Jan. 25 in Athens. He was 95.
There was a somber mood as people massed in the streets around at the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in downtown Tirana for Anastasios who led the church after he reestablished it in 1991.
All forms of religion were banned in Albania for almost 50 years from the the mid-1940's, when the country was completely isolated from the outside world. The communists had also expropriated the property of the established Islamic, Orthodox, Catholic and other religions.
Albanian's leaders and visiting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis were joined by representatives of Orthodox clergy from around the world. Albanians and world religious leaders also attended the funeral service.
It took two days for Anastasios's funeral procession to reach the capital by car after it entered the country through its southern border with Greece.
A similar service was held at the main Greek orthodox Church cathedral in Athens before the procession travelled to Tirana.
Born Anastasios Yannoulatos in Piraeus, Greece on Nov. 4, 1929, he arrived in Albania in 1991, immediately after the collapse of the communists that had ruled the country since the mid-1940s
Anastasios has been praised for rebuilding the church from the ground up, building hundreds of churches, establishing educational and charitable institutions, and educating a new generation of clergy,.
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 tiny Western Balkan country identifies as Muslim with Orthodox and Catholic Christians making up much of the remainder the remainder.
The Albanian Orthodox Church will elect Anastasios' replacement.
By Llazar Semini, The Associated Press
