Change font size:
TIRANA, Dec. 26 – Albania’s president, Ilir Meta, has granted Albanian citizenship to Archibishop Anastasios Yannoulatos – the Greek-born leader of Albania’s Autocephalous Orthodox Church for more than 25 years. The archbishop had requested Albanian citizenship many years ago, but it had been denied by several former Albanian presidents who had cited the Albanian public’s sensitivity to having a foreign-born non-Albanian lead the country’s second-largest religious community. However, this week President Meta issued a decree, noting he valued Dr. Yannoulatos as one of Albania’s most honoured religious leaders preaching for religious harmony and tolerance. According to Meta, the archbishop’s 25-year…
