Albanian Orthodox Church

The creation of a new diocese in the Albanian Orthodox Church has caused an angry row between the Church authorities and a rebel priest - who has often accused it in the past of acting as the agent of Greece.

Albania’s socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama seems to be inflaming the relations between Greece and his country, after posting a provocative tweet on his account regarding Greece’s official complaint about the demolition of a Greek-Orthodox Church and skirmishes between locals and Albanian authorities.

The Greek Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned what it called a "violent incident" at the church of Saint Athanas in the Albanian village of Dhermi, describing what happened as "unacceptable and contemptible".

Construction police from the local Himara Municipality went to Dhermi on Friday to remove the concrete roof of the church, claiming it was an illegal build.

BELGRADE - Serbia is entitled to request rights for its minority in Albania, as the Albanian minority in Serbia has absolutely all the rights, in line with top European and world standards, Aleksandar Cotric, a member of the Serbian parliament's committee on the diaspora and Serbs in the region, said on Friday.

Serbian patriarch visits Albania, nationalist protest

TIRANA -- Leaders of Orthodox Christian churches - including a delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) headed by Patriarch Irinej - were in Albania on Sunday.

They consecrated the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in the country's capital, Tirana.

TIRANA - Leaders of Orthodox churches - including a delegation of the Serbian Orthodox Church headed by Patriarch Irinej - consecrated the Resurrection of Christ Cathedral in Tirana on Sunday.

The consecration service - a major event for all Orthodox churches - was led by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Albania's Balkanweb reports.