Orthodoxy in Albania

Orthodoxy in Albania arrived in the area of contemporary Albania during the Roman period.

In Albania, Orthodoxy underwent many changes due to sociopolitical difficulties of the medieval period resulting in the conversion of the Albanian north to Catholicism and under the Ottomans the widespread conversion of Albanians to Islam in central and southern Albania. Following the Albanian National Awakening (Rilindja) tenets and the de-emphasizing of religion during the 20th century, the democratic, monarchic and later the communist governments followed a systematic de-religionization of the Albanian nation and national culture. Due to this policy as with all other faiths in the country, Orthodoxy underwent radical changes. Decades of state atheism which ended in 1991 brought a decline in religious practice in all traditions. The post-communist period and the lifting of legal and other government restrictions on religion allowed Orthodoxy to revive through that generated new infrastructure, literature, educational facilities, international transnational links and other social activities.

Christianity first arrived in Albania with Saint Paul during the 1st century. Saint Paul wrote that he preached in the Roman province of Illyricum, and legend holds that he visited Durrës. However it was with Constantine the Great, who issued the Edict of Milan and legalized Christianity, that the Christian religion became official in the lands of modern Albania. The schism of 1054, however, formalized the split of Christianity into two branches, Catholicism and Orthodoxy that was reflected in Albania with the emergence of a Catholic north and Orthodox south. In the 11th century, the Catholic church created the archbishopric in Bar that brought the bishoprics of Drivast, Ulcinj, Shkodër and others under its control. As such during the latter half of 12th century Catholicism spread in northern Albania and in southern Albania partially made inroads among the population. The religious transition from Orthodoxy to Catholicism in northern Albania was also due to Albanians using conversion as a means of resisting pressures arising from geopolitical factors such as conflicts with Orthodox Serbs. During the moment of schism (1054) Albanians were attached to the Eastern Orthodox Church and were all Orthodox Christians.

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