Our history

Bringing the message of salvation to this part of the world has been a tremendous challenge for centuries.

Introduction

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.

Christianity in Albania

Christianity came to the Illyrian-populated lands in the first century. Apostule Paul wrote that he preached in the Roman province of Illyricum (Romans 15:19), and history holds that he visited Durrës. When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in A.D. 395, the lands that now make up Albania were administered by the Eastern Empire but were ecclesiastically dependent on Rome. In A.D. 732, however, a Byzantine emperor, Leo the Isaurian, subordinated the area to the patriarchate of Constantinople. For centuries thereafter, the Albanian lands became an arena for the ecclesiastical struggle between Rome and Constantinople. Most Albanians living in the mountainous north became Roman Catholic, while in the southern and central regions, the majority became Orthodox.

Albanian Lands Under Ottoman Domination

Ottoman supremacy in the Balkan region began in 1385 but was briefly interrupted in the 15th century, when Gjerg Kastrioti, an Albanian warrior known as Skanderbeg, allied with some Albanian chiefs and fought-off Turkish rule from 1443-1478 (although Kastrioti died in 1468). Skanderbeg united the Albanian tribes in a defensive alliance that held up the Ottoman advance for more than two decades. His family’s banner, bearing a black two-headed eagle on a red field, became the flag under which the Albanian national movement rallied centuries later. Upon the Ottomans’ return, a large number of Albanians fled to Italy, Greece and Egypt and many of the Albanians who remained (about two-thirds of the Albanian population), submitted and converted to the Islamic faith. The first Albanians to convert to Islam were young boys forcibly conscripted into the sultan’s military and administration. In the early seventeenth century, however, Albanians converted to Islam in great numbers. Within a century, the Albanian Islamic community was split between Sunni Muslims and adherents to the Bektashi sect. Many Albanians won fame and fortune as soldiers, administrators, and merchants in far-flung parts of the empire. Albania would be a part of the Ottoman Empire until the early 20th century.

Albania Under Strict Atheistic Government
(1944-1991)

Enver Hoxha emerged as the dominant figure in Albania after five years of political turmoil following the end of World War II. He began to concentrate primarily on securing and maintaining their power base, and secondarily on preserving Albania’s independence and reshaping the country according to the precepts of Stalinism. In 1967 Enver Hoxha declared Albania “the world’s first officially atheistic state.” It was forbidden by law to believe or to speak about God. Throughout all rule, Hoxha engineered an elaborate cult of personality that elevated him to the status of infallible leader. He died in 1985.

Ramiz Alia became president in 1982 and, following Hoxha’s death in 1985, first secretary of the Albanian Communist party. Alia began to strengthen ties with other European nations, notably Italy and Greece, and restored diplomatic relations with the USSR (1990) and the United States (1991). The government began to allow tourism and promote foreign trade, and permitted the formation of the opposition Democratic Party.