Christianity in Albania

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Christianity in Europe
by percentage of country population
Christianity in Europe (2010)
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95-100%
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Malta
Moldova
Armenia
Romania
Vatican City
90-95%
San Marino
Portugal
Liechtenstein
Ireland
Serbia
Croatia
Poland
Iceland
80-90%
Finland
Austria
Hungary
Bulgaria
Italy
Denmark
Ukraine
Norway
Slovakia
Monaco
Greece
Georgia
Andorra
Lithuania
70-80%
Luxembourg
Belarus
Switzerland
Cyprus
Russia
Montenegro
Slovenia
Spain
60-70%
France
Belgium
United Kingdom
Sweden
Germany
50-60%
Netherlands
Latvia
North Macedonia
30-40%
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Estonia
20-30%
Czech Republic
10-20%
Albania
Kazakhstan
5-10%
Kosovo
2-4%
Azerbaijan
< 1%
Turkey Christianity in Europe-2010.svg
Christianity in Europe
by percentage of country population
Christianity in Europe (2010)
  95–100%
  90–95%
  80–90%
  70–80%
  60–70%
  50–60%
  30–40%
  20–30%
  10–20%
  5–10%
  2–4%
  < 1%

Byzantine Orthodox Church in Berat. Byzantinische Kirche (Berat).jpg
Byzantine Orthodox Church in Berat.

Christianity in Albania began when Christians arrived in Illyria soon after the time of Jesus, with a bishop being appointed in Dyrrhachium (Epidamnus) in 58 AD. [2]

Contents

When the Roman Empire was divided in 395 AD, modern Albania became part of the Byzantine Empire, but was under the jurisdiction of the Roman pope until 732, when Emperor Leo III placed the church under the patriarch of Constantinople. [2] When the Christian church split in 1054, the south of the country stayed with Constantinople while the north followed Rome. [3]

From 1100 AD, the Roman Empire carried out Church missions in the area. In relation to the increasing influence of Venice, the Franciscans started to settle down in the area in the 13th century. From the 15th century to the 19th century, under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Christianity was replaced by Islam as the majority religion in Albania. [4]

Demographics

Census in 2011

The 2011 population census, gives the percentages of religious affiliations with 58% Muslim, 10% Catholic, 7% Orthodox and 25% atheist, nonreligious or other since the fall of Communism in 1991. [5] However the 2011 census is disputed due to poor counting of the population and the inability to reach most citizens. [6] A 2015 study estimated some 13,000 conversions to Christianity from Muslim backgrounds. [7]

Census in 2023

According to the 2023 census, there were 1,101,718 (45.86%) Muslims, 201,530 (8.38%) Catholics, 173,645 (7.22%) Eastern Orthodox, 115,644 (4.81%) Bektashi Muslims, 9,658 (0.4%) Evangelicals, 3 670 (0.15%) of other religions, 332,155 (13.82%) believers without denomination, 85,311 (3.55%) Atheists and 378,782 (15.76%) did not provide an answer. [8]

Eastern Orthodoxy

According to the numbers given by the government in 2010 it was stated that Eastern Orthodoxy was practiced by about 20% of Albanians within Albania. [6] In the disputed 2011 census the percentage of Orthodox believers was listed as 6.75% of the population. [5] Albania is historically linked with both the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy. Albanians were among the first peoples of the region to receive missionaries and convert to Christianity. With the split of the Church in 1054, Orthodoxy become the religion for the Albanians inhabiting the areas under the Byzantine rule.

The first Orthodox liturgy in the Albanian language was held not in Albania, but in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Subsequently, when the Orthodox Church was not allowed an official existence in communist Albania, Albanian Orthodoxy survived in exile in Philadelphia with the church in Philadelphia being founded in 1913 and in Boston in 1965.

Catholic Church

Catholic church in Vlore. Vlora katholische Kirche.jpg
Catholic church in Vlorë.

The Catholic Church in Albania is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. According to the numbers given by the government in 2011 it was stated that around 10.03% of the religious population is Catholic. [6] The Albanian census in 2023 note that 8% of Albanians are Catholic.

There are five dioceses in the country, including two archdioceses plus an Apostolic Administration covering southern Albania.

Prior to the Ottoman invasion, Christianity was the religion of all Albanians. The northern Albanians adhered to Catholicism, whilst in the south they were followers of Eastern Orthodoxy. [9]

Protestantism

Figures in 2022 note that 0.45% of the population are Protestant. [10] This is about 13,000 people. Many Protestant denominations come under the umbrella organisation, the Albanian Evangelical Alliance (VUSH). [11] [12]

Freedom of Religion

In 2022, Albania scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom. [13]

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

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Eastern Orthodoxy arrived in the areas of Illyrii proprie dicti or Principality of Arbanon during the period of Byzantine Empire. Those areas fell under the Ottoman Empire during the late medieval times and Eastern Orthodoxy underwent deep sociopolitical difficulties that lasted until the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Between 1913 and until the start of WWII under the newly recognized state of Albania, Eastern Orthodoxy saw a revival and in the 1937 the Autocephaly after a short Eastern Orthodoxy schism and contestation was recognized. Decades of persecution under the Communist state atheism, which started in 1967 and officially ended in December 1990, greatly weakened all religions and their practices especially Christians of Albania. The post-communist period and the lifting of legal and other government restrictions on religion allowed Orthodoxy to revive through institutions and enabled the development of new infrastructure, literature, educational facilities, international transnational links and other social activities.

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References

  1. Pew Forum, Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050
  2. 1 2 Britannica website, History of Albania
  3. Encyclopedia.com website, Albania, The Catholic Church In
  4. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website, Albania's History, article dated 2004
  5. 1 2 Albanian census 2011 Archived 14 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 3 Albanian Government. "L'Albania oggi" (in Italian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Albania. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  7. Miller, Duane; Johnstone, Patrick (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". IJRR. 11: 15. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  8. "Population and Housing Census 2023" (PDF). Instituti i Statistikës (INSTAT).
  9. Ramet, Sabrina P. (1989). Religion and Nationalism in Soviet and East European Politics. Duke University Press. p. 381. ISBN   0-8223-0891-6. Prior to the Turkish conquest, the ghegs (the chief tribal group in northern Albania) had found in Roman Catholicism a means of resisting the Slavs, and though Albanian Orthodoxy remained important among the tosks (the chief tribal group in southern Albania),...
  10. The Archive of Religion Data Archives website, Retrieved 2023-07-18
  11. Operation World website, Retrieved 2023-07-18
  12. VUSH official website
  13. Freedom House website, Retrieved 202-07-18