The case of the Orthodox Church of Albania is a complex one. Is Archbishop Anastasios irreplaceable? Anyone familiar with ecclesiastical matters cannot, under any circumstances, definitively say yes. He has left an indelible mark, essentially rebuilding this Church from the ground up.
The question of his succession has always been a challenging equation. As the lyricist says, who can truly compare with him?
Archbishop Anastasios’ health is under strain, and given his advanced age, the head of the medical team, Dr. Kotanidou, is doing everything scientifically possible to keep him alive. He has told those who visited him that he entrusts his future to the will of God. Archbishop Anastasios is one of the few hierarchs with international influence, extending far beyond the borders of the neighboring country.
The Greeks and Rama
Many names have been suggested as potential successors to the Archbishop of Albania, including Greek bishops. Metropolitan Nicholas of Mesogaia has been mentioned due to his shared spiritual origins, and Metropolitan Ignatios of Demetrias because of his connections with the neighboring country. However, the charter of the Church of Albania makes such scenarios unlikely.
The Mitsotakis government has stated that it does not wish to interfere in the internal affairs of the Church, leaving room for the Rama government to act discreetly behind the scenes. Meanwhile, both the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate are closely monitoring developments, each for their own strategic reasons. Both would clearly value the opportunity to have another Church aligned with their interests.
This is not the time to analyze the profiles of the potential successors in Albania. It is simply evident that the possibility of a hierarch of Greek origin is extremely difficult, if not impossible.
One name, however, stands out as pivotal to the future of the Church of Albania: Metropolitan Ioannis of Korça, whose role, if not as the successor, will undoubtedly be catalytic.
Lesson learned
Where did God, through humans, send Archbishop Anastasios? Absolutely nowhere. To absolutely nowhere. No Church, no infrastructure, nothing. Few hierarchs could accomplish what he did. God took him from where he was placed, elevated him, and made him a hierarch of international stature.
“The position doesn’t make the man, but the man makes the position,” a clergyman friend told me recently. Anastasios took what amounted to nothing and turned it into “something.”
It would be wise for those aspiring to positions and offices to take this to heart. Have a “plan” first. Keep the vision clear in front of them. Ambition, yes—why not? To create something, even if they are handed nothing to begin with.
Melchizedek
*Published in the newspaper “Orthodoxi Alitheia”
