Albania personalities against Yanoulatos’ include leading members of the Orthodox Church

TIRANA, May 21 – Albanian personalities hailed Greek Archbishop Anasstassios Yanoulatos at the head of the Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, but they expressed different opinions on his nomination and requested that the local church be headed by a local person.
Sabri Godo, a well known writer and also honored president of the Republican Party, said he was not sure about the process of Yanoulatos’ nomination and he believed that it was done in a spontaneously without being authorized. He said the nomination was supposed to be decided by the Congress of the Orthodox Church, which was not done. Godo further said this nomination broke the 1928 status of the Orthodox Church.
Godo said that Yanoulatos got his first appointment for his post from the last communist president, Ramiz Alia, adding that the next president, Sali Berisha, found it impossible to undo that as it might provoke a harsh reaction from Greece.
Godo also was against putting quotas on the religious ethnicity in the country, opposing Yanoulatos’ ideas. “Who comments on those figuresŮ. to me, whose watch is backward and wants to prove things of no interest to anyone,” he said.
Godo said that he considered dangerous the fact that the leadership of the Orthodox Church was Greek. “We are a laic state and have defined ties with the religious communitiesŠ(They) have not created any problem. We do not need a foreign model, the least of those countries where religion has a direct great impact on the government and politics and on the society on general,” he said.
“Yanoulatos’ work will remain but there is needed a closing cycle,” he said. “His existence is not justified any more with the creation of the church.”
(Albania Autocephalous orthodox church) should be by no means autocephalous,” he said, adding the government should not intervene to resolve that issue and that is up to the religious orthodox community to do.
Pellumb Xhufi, deputy leader of the Socialist Movement for Integration party, was against Yanoulatos’ saying that Albania was not a typical Muslim country. Xhufi said that Yanoulatos has yet to know Albanians.
“An Albanian, for other reasons, is more fundamental and has a more consolidated historic character, like language and culture, has to do with the joint historic traditions,” he said.
They both expressed opposition to Yanoulatos’ idea that they are not entitled to express their opinions because of being Muslim, or atheist.
Xhufi also expressed doubts about the way Yanoulatos was nominated as head of the Orthodox Church after communism fell. He said he knew many orthodox friends who were against that nomination at the time and strongly criticized the prime minister and the president then for not making a statement.
In many cases Yanoulatos’ stand has coincided with that of official Athens, he said. And history and time will show and speak more on that.
Yanoulatos should replace himself with an Albanian priest because it has to “do with history, with Albanians’ very deep feelings.” An Albanian would do a better job, he said.