The congress held in Berat decided to declare the National Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania (KOASH). The archbishops of KOASH were: Theofan Noli (1923–1924), Visarion Xhuvani (1929–1937), Kristofo Kisi (1937–1948), Pais Vodica (1948–1966), Damian Kokoneshi (1966–1967) and Anastas Janullatos (1992–). Since 1923 the center of the church was the Metropolis of Durrës, Tirana and Elbasan, while after 1930 the center moved to Tirana, which was the capital of Albania, therefore it was called the Metropolis of Tirana, Durres, and Elbasan. The archbishop held the title: “Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and all of Albania”. During the period of the socialist system (1945–1990), measures were taken to weaken the influence of religion and limit religious activity, until the prohibition of religious rites and religious institutions in 1967. After the democratic changes in Albania, the Autocephalous Orthodox Church was reorganized, the former churches were brought back into operation and several new churches were built. (In the photo: Emblem of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2, Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1181-1182.
Graphic processing: AHCF
