THE HISTORICAL FOUNDATION — OUR GREATEST ASSET
Few nations on earth can claim what Albania can:
– The history of the Albanian Church is almost as long as the history of Christianity itself. St. Paul in his letter to the Romans mentions these very lands, writing that he spread the gospel “as far as Illyricum.”
Bringing the message of salvation to this part of the world has been a tremendous challenge for centuries. Albania has a population of 4,500,000 people. It is located on the Adriatic sea coast of the Balkan Peninsula, between Kosovo and Montenegro on the north, Macedonia on the east, and Greece on the south. Apostle Paul wrote that he preached in the Roman province of Illyricum (Romans 15:19), and history holds that he visited Durrës.
– As early as 55 AD, the first bishopric in Albania was established in Durrës. The oldest bishoprics included Shkodër (Scutari), mentioned in documents as far back as 385 AD.
– The contribution of Christianity to Albanian culture cannot be overestimated. The Latin baptismal formula from the 15th century remains the first preserved written Albanian document. The first book in Albanian was a missal from 1555, the first Albanian poet was a Catholic priest, and the first Albanian dictionary was written in 1635 by Bishop Frang Bardhi.
– This community faced systematic eradication under the communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha from 1945 to 1991, culminating in the 1967 declaration of Albania as the world’s first atheist state — resulting in the seizure of 327 Catholic churches, execution or imprisonment of nearly all clergy, and widespread martyrdom.
– Despite this near-total suppression, underground persistence of faith enabled a post-1991 revival, marked by the reestablishment of the Episcopal Conference in 1993, papal visits by John Paul II in 1993 and Francis in 2014, and ongoing beatifications of martyrs.
This is not just history — this is **martyrology**. This is **resurrection**.
Albania has a story no other corner of Christianity can fully replicate.
albanianchristianity 