Orthodox Church in America Albanian Archdiocese
| Archbishop of Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America | |
|---|---|
| Archbishopric | |
| Orthodox | |
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| Incumbent: Nikon (Liolin) |
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| Country | US |
| Province | California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of St. George |
| First incumbent | Fan Noli |
| Formation | 1908 |
| Website | Orthodox Church in America-Albanian Archdiocese |
The Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America (Albanian: Kryedioqeza Orthodokse Shqiptare në Amerikë) is one of three ethnic dioceses of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). Its territory includes parishes, and missions located in seven states in the United States – California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
The earliest organized Albanian dioceses were set up under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church in America (now Orthodox Church in America), because the Church of Constantinople would not allow the rise of any Albanian Orthodox Church and officially opposed the use of the Albanian language in churches until 1937 when the Autocephalic Orthodox Church of Albania was recognized by Constantinople.
On March 18, 1908, as a result of the Hudson Incident, Fan Noli was ordained as a priest by a Russian bishop in the United States. In March 1908, Noli thus led the first time in Albanian the Orthodox liturgy for the Albanian-American community.
After political dislocations following the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia, all ties with the Russian Orthodox church were severed, and the Albanian churches under Noli became independent.
After World War II, following the controversies about Noli's status, and the political divergences of Albanian-Americans with the rise of Communism in Albania, Patriarch of Constantinople, Athenagoras, to send a canonical bishop, the Rt. Rev. Mark (Lipa) who organized the Diocese in 1949-1950 and accepted into it the considerable community in Chicago and an older parish, the first of three Albanian Orthodox parishes to locate in South Boston.
Ten other Albanian Orthodox parishes incorporated under Bp. Theofan's Archdiocese and two parishes persisted in an "independent" status.
By October 1971, with the acceptance of Bp. Stephen and the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America as a constituent diocese of the OCA, the canonical controversy was ended. Meanwhile, the Albanian Orthodox Diocese of America founded by Lipa continued under the jurisdiction of the Church of Constantinople affiliate with The Greek Orthodox Church in America.
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