Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church
| Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church Kisha Protestante Ungjillore e Kosovës |
|
|---|---|
| Founder | Gjerasim Qiriazi |
| Independence | June 16th 1985 |
| Recognition | Recognized by Kosovo government |
| Primate | Artur Krasniqi |
| Headquarters | Pristina |
| Territory |
 Kosovo Albania
|
| Possessions | 42 buildings in Kosovo |
| Language | Albanian |
| Members | 10,000-15,000 |
| Website | http://www.kishaprotestante.net/ |
The Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church (Albanian: Kisha Protestante Ungjillore e Kosovës) (KPEC) is a Protestant church based in Pristina, Kosovo. It is one of the four protected major religions in the Kosovo Law of Religious Freedoms. There are between 10,000 and 15,000 Kosovar Albanians that follow this church, 6,000 in Pristina alone. There are 42 churches in all of Kosovo. Its President is Pastor Driton Krasniqi.
The Kosovo Protestant church was founded by Gjerasim Qiriazi but there were Protestant efforts previously. The British Foreign Bible Society was a Protestant committee for the Ottoman Empire. There was a minor Protestant reformation in the Balkans after the Cyrniea war in 1856 after the Ottoman Turks had to give up. Albania was the sole country in the entire Ottoman Empire to take in the reform beliefs. The first Albanians to convert to Protestantism were Nikolla and Dhimitër of Manastir, who did so in 1876. One year later, Gjerasim Qiriazi also converted.
By 1882, however, the Albanian Evangelical Church family grew up to 36 believers. The first Protestant church was born in Manastir. In this year, prayers and sermons were conducted in the Albanian language. In 1890, a second church was opened in Korça, led by the newly Christian Gjerasim Qiriazi. Qiriazi was also the head of the first national society within Albania named "Evangelical Brotherhood". As a result, Gjerasim Qiriazi is considered the father of the Kosovo Protestant Evangelical Church.
The church was officially inaugurated on June 16, 1985, by the leadership of Artur Krasniqi. There is a church in downtown Pristina, that was built after the church was inaugurated in 1985. Since 1999, after the Kosovo War, more Kosovo Albanians have been converting to the church. Currently, about 15,000 Kosovar Albanians follow this church, most of them have converted. 2,000 of them regularly attend church. There is about 6,000 followers in Pristina alone.
Local Protestant churches carry different names, either by its functional or by its organizing structure make the formal religious community which is called The "Kosova Protestant Evangelical Church" (KPEC). KPEC has an ecclesiological structure in the organization of its decision-making and executive bodies. The KPEC church hierarchy is formed in that way so it is doctrinally biblical and practically functional. At the local level, Evangelicals respect the autonomy of local churches in self-governing its everyday church affairs. However, at the national level, KPEC bodies are: Assembly (Synod), Council of Ministers (Presbytery) and the Chairman.
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