Archbishop Anastasios of Albania

Anastasios Yannoulatos (Greek Αναστάσιος Γιαννουλάτος, Albanian Anastas Janullatos; * November 4, 1929 in Piraeus, Greece), Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and All Albania, and as such, the head of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania.

Anastatios Yannoulatos grew up in Greece. During his theological studies, he began with youth work in the Orthodox Church. In 1961, he came through the Orthodox Youth Movement to participate in the World Council of Churches.

At 33, he was ordained and went as a missionary to Uganda, where he learned Galla and Swahili. It was a severe disappointment for him as he had to give up this work because it was life-threatening ill with malaria. In 1972 he was at the University of Athens professor of religious history and was dedicated in recognition of his theological work, especially in the field of missiology bishop.

1981 his health was so far restored that he could travel to Africa again, this time due to an internal crisis of the African Church as the reigning Archbishop of the Diocese of East Africa. His work there extended to Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, who considered it a special concern to promote local governance of the Church. After ten years he returned to the University of Athens, where he was sent to Albania in July 1991 by the Ecumenical Patriarch, to see what had remained of the Orthodox Church after the communist Enver Hoxha. Its main task was to find a suitable candidate for a bishop, but it had few priests survived all age and usually in poor health.

In the same year he was even proposed to the Archbishop of Albania - a task that he did not accept without hesitation because he had a peaceful retirement presented with lectures at the university scientific analysis of the material collected in Africa. He made ​​it a condition that he would be both accepted by the Albanian people and by the ecumenical synod and the Albanian government - all three conditions were met, and on July 4, 1992, he was employed as head of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania.

His official title is Archbishop of Tirana and All Albania, but he has also been named Archbishop of Tirana and all atheists and has not rejected this item - his church is open to all, regardless of their faith.

Archbishop Anastasios is also heavily involved in the ecumenical movement: He is vice president of the Conference of European Churches. From 1984 to 1991 he was Chairman of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism of the World Council of Churches. Since 2006, Archbishop Anastasios is one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches.

In June 2006, Archbishop Anastasios of Albania is become the subject of heated debate and come under political pressure. The trigger was triggered by two Orthodox priests scandals: first, some priests had illegally required fees for sacred rituals by the faithful, on the other hand a large number of human bones have been found with a priest which he had exhumed for unexplained reasons. The Archbishop was then accused of lack of control over his clerics. Albanian nationalists took the opportunity to call for the resignation of the Greek Anastasios, to replace it with an Albanian bishop can.