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Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America

802 bytes added, 19:42, April 6, 2020
title updated
type=Diocese|
founded=1949|
bishopmetropolitan=[[Ilia (Katre) of Philomelion|Bp. Ilia]]|
see=Philomelion|
hq=Las Vegas, Nevada|
website=—
}}
The '''Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America''' is a [[jurisdiction]] of the [[Church of Constantinople|Ecumenical Patriarchate]] in the United States. Its current leader is [[BishopMetropolitan]] [[Ilia (Katre) of Philomelion]] (Vicar General since 1982 and bishop since 2002), who lives in Boston, Chicago, and Las VegasNevada.
In the first half of the 20th century, the Orthodox Albanian communities in America were loosely affiliated with one another, with six of fifteen communities claiming "independent" status and the others not incorporated as [[diocese]]s until after the Second World War. The return of Bp. [[Theophan (Noli) of Durres|Theofan (Noli)]] from exile in Germany in 1932 had reopened the discussion of the need for a canonical Albanian diocese in North America. (Metropolitan Theofan had been consecrated in 1922 as Bishop of Durres by the Church of Albania, which did not claim any jurisdiction in North America, and thus could not gain recognition as head of a diocese in the Americas.)
Ten other Albanian Orthodox [[parish]]es incorporated under Bp. Theofan's Archdiocese and two parishes persisted in an "independent" status.
In 1965 at the passing of Bp. Theofan, without an Archdiocesan nomination and under the cloud of Communist influence, the Church of Albania consecrated his successor, Bpthe then Rev. [[Stephen (Lasko) of Boston|Stephen (Lasko)]], who was not accepted throughout the Archdiocese and who likewise could not gain canonical recognition by the other Orthodox jurisdictions in North America. The situation was further irritated by the complete public suppression of all religious communities in Albania, with only the most stalwart Orthodox believers maintaining a clandestine liturgical life.
Bp. Mark and the Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America reasserted their status as the lone canonical Albanian Orthodox jurisdiction in the Americas. He regularly published the newspaper "Drita e Vertete" with the help of diocesan clergy such as Rev. Ilia Katre. By October 1971, with the acceptance of Bp. Stephen and the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America as a [[Albanian Archdiocese (OCA)|constituent diocese]] of the [[OCA]], the primary canonical controversy between the two organizations was ended.
The Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America played a crucial role in the resurrection of the Church of Albania. In 1990, the Diocesan [[clergy]] and laity petitioned the Ecumenical Patriarch, [[Demetrius I (Papadopoulos) of Constantinople|Demetrios]], during his visit to North America, to prepare a plan for the restoration of the Church of Albania. In 1991, the (then) Protopresbyter Ilia Katre, who had served for many years as Dean of Students at [[Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline, Massachusetts)|Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology]] in Brookline, MA, took up residence in Albania, organized and opened the Resurrection of Christ [[Seminary]] with the blessing of the newly-arrived Patriarchal Exarch, Anastasios. The Very Rev. Ilia also directed the enthronement of Anastasios as Archbishop of All Albania in August 1992. Individuals and delegations from the Diocese made major financial contributions to the Church of Albania as well as applied pressure on the government for the return of confiscated property to the Church. In 2002, His Grace, Bp. Ilia, returned to lead the Seminary for three years during which he expanded, strengthened, and lengthened the course to a full four year programme.
In North America, the Diocese has successfully integrated many pious, talented, and successful Albanian Orthodox immigrants into positions of leadership in her established communitiesin Boston, Chicago, and Las Vegas. In addition, the Diocese has His Excellency serves a Mission Parish in Toronto and made outreach to new other communities in Toronto, Montreal, Washington, Baltimore, and Baltimore Florida a priority with the hope that they may also be able to form permanent Albanian Orthodox churches in the near future. For the time being, however, it only consists of three parishes in the United States and a mission in Canada. Additionally, a chapel in Stowe, Vermont has been dedicated by His Excellency to St. Katharine of Alexandria on private land for use by one of the clergy families. The Most Reverend Ilia also recently accepted under his omophorion the St. Nicholas Orthodox Academy of Reno, NV which is staffed by diocesan clergy.  In 2019, in recognition of the numerous contributions of Bishop Ilia to Orthodoxy in North America, Albania, and elsewhere, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople elevated him to titular Metropolitan of Philomelion.
== External links ==
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