With faith in Christ and hope in the resurrection, we join the many voices sharing the news of the repose of His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania. His Beatitude was 95 years old.
His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania was a visionary leader who played a pivotal role in restoring and revitalizing the Orthodox Church of Albania after decades of oppression under communist rule. Elected Archbishop in 1992 by the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he undertook the immense task of rebuilding a church that had been nearly eradicated. Over the following decades, he oversaw the construction and restoration of over 450 religious and community buildings, including more than 150 new churches, monasteries, seminaries, and schools. He established institutions such as a theological seminary, a printing press, medical centers, and youth programs, ensuring the church’s sustainability and its ability to serve the faithful.
Beyond physical reconstruction, Archbishop Anastasios nurtured the spiritual and communal life of Albanian Orthodoxy. He trained and ordained a new generation of clergy, created a self-sufficient church administration, and developed charitable initiatives that supported Albanians of all backgrounds. Under his leadership, the church provided critical humanitarian aid, including assistance to victims of the Bosnian War and Kosovar refugees, regardless of their religious affiliation.
Archbishop Anastasios was also a distinguished academic, earned both his B.D. and Th.D. with highest honors before serving as Professor of History of Religions (1972–1992) and Dean of the Theological Faculty of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1983–1986); he later became Professor Emeritus of the same university. His academic contributions were recognized globally, as he received honorary doctorates (Th.D., D.D., and Ph.D. honoris causa) from 19 universities across Greece, the United States, Cyprus, Romania, Georgia, Albania, and Italy. Additionally, he was a Corresponding Member of the Academy of Athens (1993–2005) and an Honorary Member since 2006.
Before his tenure in Albania, Archbishop Anastasios had already established himself as a distinguished theologian and missionary. He played a pioneering role in rekindling the Orthodox interest in foreign missions (from 1958). He was ordained Deacon (1960); Priest-Archimandrite (1964), Bishop of Androussa (1972) for the position of the General Director of the Apostolike Diakonia of the Church of Greece (1972-92); Locum Tenens (Acting Archbishop) of the Holy Metropolis of Irinoupolis in East Africa (1981-1990); Metropolitan of Androussa and Patriarchal Exarch in Albania (1991-1992), and then Archbishop of Tirana, and All Albania (June 1992 onward). His earlier missionary work in East Africa, particularly in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, helped strengthen Orthodox communities, ordain local clergy, and establish seminaries and schools.
A firm advocate of inter-Christian dialogue, Archbishop Anastasios played a significant role in the World Council of Churches, serving on its Central Committee and later as a member of its presidium.
His Beatitude published two books with SVS Press and contributed to the St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly. His publications with the Press include Facing the World, Orthodox Christian Essays on Global Concerns, published in 2003, and In Albania: Cross and Resurrection, published in 2016, translated by the Archdeacon Dr John Chryssavgis. He also visited St Vladimir’s Seminary on a number of occasions, receiving an honorary doctorate in 2003.
His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios receiving a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, from St Vladimir’s Seminary in 2003
In 2011, three SVOTS seminarians visited Albania as the culmination of a summer course titled "The Missiology of Archbishop Anastasios (Yannoulatos) and Practical Evangelism," taught by Fr Luke Veronis.
During his last visit in 2014, His Beatitude met for a conversation about missions and book publishing with administrators, faculty, and staff from the seminary, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon, primate of the OCA and The Very Rev. Dr. John Jillions, OCA chancellor at the time, as well as several other hierarchs and representatives of local churches.
His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios in Three Hierarchs Chapel, 2014
Dr Ionuț-Alexandru Tudorie, Interim President and Academic Dean, offered his reflections on the repose of His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios, saying, “The St Vladimir’s Seminary community mourns the repose of such a great luminary for our contemporary Orthodox Church; we are commemorating him in our prayers and chapel services every day. However, we also rejoice in the hope that such a ‘good and faithful servant’ has departed this life to eternal rest in the presence of our Lord.”
May the memory of Archbishop Anastasios be eternal!
