“There is nothing so small that can not be blown out of proportion” says Ruckert’s law. This probably describes the way the Albanian Orthodox Church must be feeling lately. In the last few years there has been a sustained ‘campaign’ (of varying intensities) of criticism addressed at the Orthodox Church and its head, the Archbishop Janullatos, which has often rubbed off on both the Orthodox community and people of Orthodox origins. A series of incidents, such as the mysterious exhumations in Kosina, the matter of church property in P쳭et and the latest and most controversial of all, the refusal of his Excellency Janullatos to celebrate mass in honour of the victims of the ȡm genocide, have caused a furore amongst the Albanians, be they in Albania proper or in Kosovo and Macedonia. Several media outlets, politicians and historians have made their hostility to the Orthodox Church and its actual leadership abundantly clear. The language used to describe it, and in some cases the Orthodox community as well, in various forums and chat rooms on the internet is often poisonous and full of hatred (indeed the comments are at times in the same vein as ‘the only good Injun is a dead Injun’), although many are careful to point out that the Orthodox Church and the community it represents are two rather different things.
It is perhaps not surprising that those most vehement in their criticism or who sometimes profess outright hatred for the Orthodox Church are ethnic Albanians from neighbouring Macedonia and Kosovo (at least that is the conclusion one draws judging from the Albanian spelling used by the participants in the discussions.) Short of a proper study on the subject one can only speculate on the reasons for this hostility towards the Orthodox Church on the part of our Albanian brethren in Kosovo and Macedonia, but they are probably historical and perfectly understandable: the enemies these populations have had to face and at whose hands they have suffered are all Orthodox and the Orthodox Churches in these countries have often played an active role in the suppression of the Albanians. This in turn has caused them to view all Orthodox Churches with suspicion. In Albania proper on the other hand there are some who view Orthodox Greece as an aggressive power bent on fulfilling its Megali Idea by claiming the south of Albania (the so-called Vorio Epirus) and who therefore view the Albanian Orthodox Church as a fifth column whose loyalties cannot to be trusted fully. Needless to say, those who profess such opinions are a minority and the nationalist and patriotic credentials of the Orthodox Albanians are just as good as those of any of the other Albanian religious communities. And yet such opinions do resonate.
It is also needless to say that such rhetoric can hardly be positive for the religious harmony in Albania. Denouncing the actions (or lack thereof) of the Orthodox Church in populist tones by evoking the national cause might win a politician some points in the short term, but the long term effect is bound to be detrimental. This is not to say that the Albanian Orthodox Church should enjoy some sort of immunity from criticism; far from it. But these critics must think of how someone belonging to the Orthodox faith or coming from an Orthodox background might perceive the media campaign on the exhumations in Kosina – to name but one incident. The accusations levelled against the Orthodox Church seem to have been an almost knee-jerk reaction on the part of many outspoken critics of this church and its leadership. It did not seem to matter that there had been no investigations into what really happened in Kosina. The words of a disgruntled worker sufficed to convince many of the guilt of the Church. Guilty until proven innocent as it were and one would have been forgiven for believing that the Orthodox Church was about to hand over Kosina to the Greeks. And when the investigations revealed no such conspiracies on the part of the Church or its leadership, and that if anything, these had been the misguided actions of a local priest, the media were quick to point out that the prosecutors had been intimidated and that they could not be trusted anyway, and that somehow the Church had intervened, and that the Greek ambassador must have had a hand in it all, etc, etc, etc.
This incident does show one thing: belief in conspiracy theories is always emotional rather than rational and so seems to be the distrust vis-ஶis the Albanian Orthodox Church too. This is just what makes these sorts of situations dangerous.
In fairness, one has to say that most of the high profile figures that have come out to criticise the Orthodox Church have been careful to distinguish between the Church and its congregation, but this does not always filter down to the common people. That is why these critics should reflect and think more carefully of the consequences of their actions and the language they use. After all, it is easier to open a Pandora’s box than to close it!
The Albanian Orthodox Church and its leadership also bear their part of the blame for the current situation. While it is true that an archbishop’s post is not an easy one to fill and that Janullatos has done a good job in rebuilding the Church from scratch (as pointed out by the Albanian Church in Boston too), they must also realise that the Greek origins of the Archbishop were bound to be controversial. Couple this with some of the mistakes committed by this same Archbishop and one can understand the suspicion that exists on the ultimate intentions of Janullatos even if one does not agree with it. There is also another element which the Church leadership has not grasped or has intentionally ignored: the Orthodox Churches of the neighbouring countries, e.g. Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, have always been at the forefront of the national cause of these countries (the latest example being the role of the Serbian Church in the wars in the former Yugoslavia). His Excellency has often pointed out that the Church’s role is spiritual and that temporal matters are best left to politicians. A sentiment to be congratulated, under normal circumstances, but many Albanians do not seem to believe the Church is living up to its professed position. If the Greek Church is involved in politics (which are often perceived as being detrimental to the interests of Albania) and if Janullatos is a Greek priest, why should we believe that he has Albania’s interest at heart, goes the argument. Let’s take the latest incident involving the refusal to hold mass for the victims of the ȡm genocide. The reluctance to hold a Christian mass honouring Muslim victims might be understandable from a doctrinal point of view, but the Catholics faced exactly the same quandary and that did not stop them from celebrating mass anyway. Indeed the Catholic clergy has never failed to play an important role in issues pertaining to Albania’s interests. Why was it so impossible for the Orthodox Church to do the same? Well right or wrong as it may be, one answer does lend itself: because Janullatos is a Greek, the Albanian Orthodox Church seems to find it more important not to offend the Greeks than to honour Muslim Albanian victims who suffered at the hands of the Greeks. This seems to be the way this decision has been interpreted by many Albanians who were deeply disappointed by it.
It may be that the Archbishop and the Church leadership perceived the invitation as a deliberate provocation, or even a trap, and maybe there were elements of both in that. But if it was a trap, they fell into it. The refusal to celebrate mass in order to avoid mingling in politics was in itself perceived as a political statement which only provides the critics of the Church with more ammunition.
Both the Albanian Orthodox Church and its critics have to realise that the most valuable thing Albania ever produced is summed up in the famous verses: “the faith of the Albanians is Albanianism”. This is the principle upon which modern Albania was built and this is also what distinguishes us from our neighbouring countries where heinous crimes have been committed in the name of religion. For those who are inclined to paint the Orthodox Church black it should serve as a reminder that making the Orthodox community feel under attack in the name of patriotism or nationalism can hardly be positive for Albania. For the Church it should be a reminder that in a country that has up to now performed a real miracle in terms of religious harmony, the Church is duty bound to subject its own interests to the greater good, which in this case means the Albanian national cause. This does not mean that the church should betray it beliefs. It simply means that it should continue on the path set for it by the great men who built the Albanian Autocephalous Church. And unfair though it might be His Excellency Janullatos and those around him must realise that the Archbishop needs to go the extra mile in order to convince the Albanians that he has the interest of Albania at heart.
