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Religious Coexistence through the Cult of Saints in Albania: Saints George and
Blaise

Presentation · June 2022

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.11923.96807

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 The Academic Journal of the
Department of Theology and Culture
University College Logos

Theology & Culture

Volume 4, June 2022
ISSN: 2708-6755

Department of Theology and Culture

University College Logos
 Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Thoma Çomëni
1. Aspects of reshaping the consciousness in the Orthodox Church
of Albania after the fall of the Communist System 11
Thoma Shkira
2. Religious Coexistence through the Cult of the Saints in Albania.
Saints George and Blaise 27
Thomas Mavromoustakos & Sotirios Despotis
3. Numerology in the Gospel of John I:
A contribution to the understanding of the numbers (2:6) 43
Georgios Gaitanos
4. Religious Freedom and Millet during the Tanzimat Reform 57
Thomas Mavromoustakos & Sotirios Despotis
5. Numerology in the Gospel of John II: The Jesus’ burial, the resurrection
and the significance of the numbers two and one hundred 81
 2
Religious Coexistence through the Cult of
Saints in Albania
Saints George and Blaise*1
Thoma Shkira
Lecturer of the History of the Church of Albania,
Department of Theology & Culture,
University College Logos, Tirana
Corespondence:
e-mail: thomashkira@yahoo.com
Abstract
The paper examines the importance of used for this paper. The latter will be an-
the cult of saints in the popular tradi- alyzed according to the case of each saint
tion of our country, which contributed and through their comparison.
over the centuries to the consolidation The purpose of the paper is to show that
of religious coexistence. It mentions the the cult of honoring the saints in our case
forms of reverence of folk traditions es- study of Gjergj Trofeprurësi and Vlashi
pecially dedicated to Saint George and of Sebasta, as two of the most popular
Saint Blaise, relying on historical data saints in Albania, being the final factor
and phenomena before and after the Ot- of religious coexistence which the latter
toman occupation in our country, which is rightly considered and is trumpeted
crystallized religious tolerance and coex- not only as the unique experience of a
istence even when the religious structure people but also as the achieved example
and the social conditions of our people of coexistence for the multicultural and
suffered great disproportions. multiethnic diversity of the whole hu-
The reason that these two saints are con- man society.
sidered is that they are widely honored Keywords:
by the people regardless of religion and Sacred cult, religious tolerance and
are general examples and representative
coexistence, multicultural and multi-
factor for religious harmony and coexis-
tence in Albania. Yet, it is not an isolated
religious diversity.
paper regarding the cases of these two Citation:
saints but also in forms of veneration of Shkira T. Religious Coexistence
other saints. through the Cult of Saints in Albania:
The bibliography from the National Li- Saints George and Blaise. Theology &
brary and the Central State Archive, Ti- Culture. 2022; 4: 27-41.
rana and materials containing data and Doi:
information on the forms of honoring
Saint George and Saint Blaise will be
1* Paper presented at the International Scientific Conference “Integrating Societies
through Religious Harmony And Coexistence. The Albanian Model in Tirana”, Tirana, 8th
May 2019.

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 Religious Coexistence through the cult of Saints in Albania ©2022 Shkira

Introduction

T
he activity “Religion in Society - The Model of Albania” started on
May 6. It coincides with Europe Week, the anniversary of the birth
date of our National Hero but also with the day of St. George the
Trophy-bearer which in some areas of our country is again celebrated accord-
ing to the Julian calendar1.
In this paper entitled ‘Religious coexistence through the cult of saints in
Albania, the forms of veneration dedicated to Saints George and Blaise are
mentioned, along with the historical data of the Byzantine centuries and the
phenomena of Islamization and crypto-Christianity during the Ottoman cen-
turies. All these together crystallized the religious tolerance and coexistence
among people, which overcame the historical and political intolerance even
when the religious structure and social conditions suffered great dispropor-
tions.
Thus, the unique experience of a people who passed ‘in fire and in water’
shaped through the cult of saints the ‘achieved’ coexistence, which remains
the contribution of today’s Albanian society where diversity and multicultur-
al, as well as multiethnic stratification stand out.
The cult of honoring martyrs initially had a local character (in the place
where he was martyred and where the martyr was known) but then its spread
gained ecumenical character. This also happened in our country which hon-
ored the local martyrs and then other martyrs, the honor to whom came from
the Christian community abroad. The sacrifice of the martyrs became the
concrete example of imitation of Jesus Christ and therefore the honoring of
their sacrifice was done in the name of the sacrifice and love of God. Thus,
their veneration enriched the spiritual life and social conduct, which paci-
fied Christians and established lasting balances in their community and in-
ter-community social life.
Thus we can say that Christians, while maintaining the teaching of the faith
of the founder Christ, with the axis of love for every man “love one another”
(John 13:34) and “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44) and freedom of choice
“Whoever wills to come after me” (Mark 8:34), crystallized the “spirit” of

1 The Christians of Shpati, Gollobërda and the Prespa area, in addition to the cele-
brations of the Gregorian calendar used today in the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of
Albania, according to their tradition, also celebrate many celebrations of saints according to
the Julian calendar. (These two calendars are 13 days apart).

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 Religious Coexistence through the cult of Saints in Albania ©2022 Shkira

communion and coexistence within the cult of reverence for the saints, even
for those who had religious differences.
In addition to material spiritual wealth, their cult in the people is evidenced
by all other forms of their reverence as part of intangible spiritual wealth. As
it is known, the fulfillment of spiritual needs for every stage of the life of the
Arbers was directly related to the cult of the saints in the context of life in
and around the ecclesiastical temples. Even after the institutionalization of the
Church, the Christians in the territory of Medieval Arberia, during the Byz-
antine and Ottoman centuries and until today, continued to have the Church
at the center of social and spiritual life.
Thus, the spirit of communion and the coexistence of the cult of saints in
the traditional Arber faith and the influence of later psycho-social factors ob-
served in various phenomena, such as Islamization and crypto-Christianity,
instilled in them tolerance and religious coexistence, which successfully with-
stood the wave of historical and political intolerance. Today, Albanians within
religious pluralism, nurture tolerance and want coexistence with each other,
so much so that their unique experience is worth promoting as an achieved
example of a people who passed ‘on fire and in water’ and became the Alba-
nian model of multi-religious coexistence.
Many saints such as the Apostle Caesar, Asti, Bishop of Durrës, Erazmi An-
tiochus, Flori and Lauri, George, Blaisei, Sergji and Bahu, The Seven, Saint
Kozmai, etc., treaded and testified to the martyrdom in our country, or the
cult of their veneration has been transferred from their country of origin, as
in the case of St. George and St. Blaise of Cappadocia, to our country since
the early Middle Ages. The forms of their reverence are numerous and to this
day, even after the attempt to forcibly liquidate this tradition and every reli-
gious and spiritual tradition in the last century by the Albanian Communist
Regime, are indicators of their great influence on social life and the spirituality
of the people, seen for example in the folk pilgrimages honoring the saints in
our country. One of the values of the influence of these religious factors and
historical phenomena is the coexistence and inter-religious tolerance of our
people.

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 Religious Coexistence through the cult of Saints in Albania ©2022 Shkira

1. The cult of Saints Gjergj and Vlash in the ecclesiastical-

folk tradition

In Albania, two of the most popular saints are Saint George the Trophy-bear-
er and Saint Blaise of Sebastia. The popularity and reverence paid to them is
multifaceted, which is noticed since the early ecclesiastical reverence by all the
Christian people throughout the medieval period.
During this period all material and immaterial spiritual culture, psycholo-
gy and virtues carried by our people, essentially consisted in the cultivation
of spiritual and worshiping life. Albanian academics such as Aleks Buda and
Myzafer Korkuti rightly considered Christianity as the main factor in the for-
mation of the Arber nation. (Bërxholi, 2015, pp. 143-144).
The popularity of the saints in the Medieval Arberia is evidenced by the
construction of numerous churches and monasteries dedicated to them and
by the abundance of toponyms of saints’ names, which have been preserved
until present time even after Islamization. According to some scholars, these
toponyms date back to the 6th century. Linguists Eqerem Çabej and Shaban
Demiraj date their introduction to our language before the 6th century. (Gjerg-
ji, 2001, pp. 10-11). Also, Kolec Topalli, based on the evidence of the Albanian
language, puts in the oldest names that have entered the first centuries of the
spread of Christianity the name of St. George (Topalli, 2000, pp. 407-408).
The centuries-old experience of our people with the saints of the Church,
inherited, cultivated and carried in the ecclesiastical conscience and in its
historical memory, well-known examples of true servants of Christ, among
whom he pays special homage to the great martyrs St. George the Trophy
Bearer, and St. Blaise, through the monuments of the churches, and the icons
dedicated to him, the toponyms of the same name, the folk traditions, folklore
and legends that refer to them.
1.1 Honoring St. George

St. George and his veneration in our country took place in the early Mid-
dle Ages. He with his life, miracles and martyrdom witnessed the preserva-
tion of true faith in the Triadic God and the defeat of the Dragon of idolatry,
otherwise known as the Miracle of the killing of the dragon by St. George in
ecclesiastical iconography, where the Saint is depicted riding on a white horse
killing the black man-eating dragon. The cult of his reverence is noticed in the

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toponymy of his name, in the dedication of many popular traditions and in his
emergence in the history of the Arbers.
Firstly, one of the four most revered saints with a church name in our coun-
try is St. George. Behind the churches of the Goddess Mary, St. Nicholas and
St. Friday are those of St. George the Trooper. Among others we can mention
many churches2 and toponyms3 that bear the name of St. George (Elsie, 2007,
2 There is a church of St. George in Tivar, (Montenegro), in Prizren (Kosovo), in St.
George on the river Buna, in Sapa of Shkodra, in Drisht of Shkodra (cathedral church), in
Kukël of Shkodra, in Nënshat of Shkodra , in Toplan of Shkodra, in Tërbun of Puka, in Cal-
akë of Laç, in Ndërfanë of Mirdita, registered in 1457, in Macukull of Mat, in Reç of Dibra,
in Bërzhitë of Tirana, in Shëngjergj of Tirana, in Tujan of Tirana, in Todorenj of Tirana, in
Vidhas of Elbasan, in Shëmill of Elbasan, in Bena of Elbasan and in Polis of Librazhd. There
was a church of Saint George in Korca, of the XII century, rebuilt in the XIX century, in Mbo-
rje of Korca. There were two churches of Saint George in Përmet. In Mbrezhan of Berat there
was a monastery of St. George. The name of the village Jergucat in Gjirokastra, took its name
from the church of St. George that was located in its center. Jergucati has today the church of
St. George: There are churches of St. George: in Berat (XIV century), in the Libofsha District
of Fier (1776), in Strum of Fier (1801), in Vithkuq of Korca (year 1767), in Shipska of Korca
(XVIII century) in Boboshtica of Korca, in the village of Gollomboç of Prespa (1937), in
Nokova of Gjirokastra, in the Terihat of Gjirokastra is the main church of the village named
after St. George, in Vllaho Goranxi of Gjirokastra, in Vanisht of Gjirokastra (XVIII century),
in Hoshteva, Zagori, today its ruins are located in the porch of the church of St. Kolli built
later; in Krane of Delvina (rebuilt from the foundations by Archbishop Anastasios), in the
upper Leshnica of Saranda (1525), in Deme of Saranda of the monastery of the same name
(XVII century), in Voloter of Saranda, between Nivica-Bubar and Saranda (XVIII century)
and St. George, a church in Durrës restored in the years of the Church’s resurrection after
persecution by the “power of darkness”. After 1991, the churches of St. George were built with
the funds provided by Archbishop Anastasios, the Cathedral Church of St. George Fier, the
Cathedral Church of St. George Lushnja (restoration), the Church of St. George in Kuqan of
Shpati, Elbasan; in Shkalle of Saranda. Church of St. George in Mborje, Korça, restored in
2018, etc. Mavrogjiro, Gjirokastra. Name of a small church of St. George, Polican Gjirokastra;
Ai-Jorgji, toponym to the south of the village Selio, Gjirokastra; In the same village is the ru-
ined church of St. George. In the same place there is also St. George-water source. Toponym
Saint George in Sopik, Gjirokastra; The toponymy of the iconostasis where it is located and
the condition of St. George by the believers in the village of Sotira, Gjirokastra; In the village
of Sofratik, the toponym and the chapel of Saint George; In Hllomo of Gjirokastra, decades
ago there was Ai-Jorgji conism in the ruins of the old church; In Topovo there is a chapel and
a toponym of St. George. In Konckë there is a chapel (house) of Saint George, there is also a
cypress tree of Saint George. In Hoshteva on the porch of the Church of St. Kolli, is the ruined
church of St. George. The latter is older and smaller than the first that was later built, the porch
of which covers the old church. Ai-Jorgji, toponym in Vanistër Gjirokastër, Raxn Ai-Jorgji, a
new conism was built here, earlier it was located next to the central well in Bodrishta, Gjiro-
kastër, Saint George, the name of the church at the head of the village Glinë and the property
around of this church. In Dhuvjan, the chapel of St. George. Kato Episkopi, (Lower Bishop),
the name of the church of St. George and the place around it, Ai-Jorgji, a very old church in
the old cemetery in Kalogoranxi, Gjirokastra, during the dictatorship turned it into a factory
of military vehicles.
3 Among the toponyms of St. George in the District of Gjirokastra we can mention: In

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p. 74).
There are also macronims of St. George such as: St. George Village (Sveti
Djordj), on the river Buna, Shëngjergj village in Tirana, etc. St. George Cave
in Dhivër (cultural monument). The city of Korça also keeps St. George the
Trophy-bearer as its protector. All of the above show popular reverence for
the saint.
Secondly, the many centuries experience of our people with the saints of
the church, inherited, cultivated and carried in the ecclesiastical conscience
and in its historical memory the well-known examples of the true servants
of Christ, among whom we emphasize again the special reverence paid to the
great martyr St. George the Trophy-bearer, through folk traditions, folklore
and legends.
The celebration of St. George takes place during spring, on April 23, is very
widespread in our country. People that day put straps on their belts, put green
leaves or branches on their heads. They do the same with cattle and their dish-
es. These along with their weight control want to symbolize health and life.
Also in some northern provinces, fires are lit, as well as lit in other areas for
Evangelism or for summer days, to purify the atmosphere (Sako, 1959, p. 28).
Moreover in the folk tradition, songs dedicated to the summer day were
also sung for St. George and vice versa. So these two festivals from the simi-
larities they had in some rites and ceremonies were equalized with each other.
Songs for this holiday are sung in groups and also performed in churchyards
(Daja, 1987, pp. 351-352).
In the village of Gjinar in the area of Shpat, Elbasan, the first song with
which it is thought that the games of the feast of St. George or Summer Day
started was “Eat, eat, bibishaje”: “Eat, eat, bibishaje/come friends to play,/ be-
cause it is St. George day!/ Come, friend, let us play/ As year after year and this
time! ” (Daja, 1987, p. 353)
Also, in the Albanian folklore, Saint George in the districts of Korça, in Po-
lena, in Drenova, the highland villages of Tirana and elsewhere, big and small
get up early before the sunrise, and take willows and leaves outside the village,
pluck the branches and wrap them around their waists, believing that when
the corns are threshed they will hardly be in pain. They bring branches home
and place them in their objects and at the same time go out and with branches
scare away snakes and worms, so as not to damage the crops. From the village
Klisar of Gjirokastra, old church; There is a chapel and toponym of Saint George in Lovina,
Gjirokastra.

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of Picalli in Tirana, the following was sung: “O Saint George the White, / O
Shëngjergj mushtullu, / same time next year,find me with a son / As this tree,
let my hair grow. / O Saint George in health, / the Highlanders go in their place”.
(Zheji, 1998, p. 60)
In addition, for St. George at the beginning of May (May 5), the people of
Dibra until the 60s of the last century overcame the fires with juniper and
painted red eggs, an element of Easter4. While to this day many Bektashis on
Summer Day (March 14) wish happy spring and give colorless eggs, cakes or
house beans and boiled corn, which respectively resemble the Easter egg in
spring, the Easter cake and the boiled wheat (koliva) of the Memorials, for the
spirits of the Souls Sabbath which precedes the great forty days of Easter in the
Christian tradition.
Thirdly, St. George in the history of the Arber people has served as a refer-
ence point and their protector. For example, John Kastriot bought the Mon-
astery of Hilandar from the rich, the stack of St. George. This stack was a
monastery which, before the purchase of John, joined to the larger Monastery
of Hilandar, as had happened with other smaller monasteries that were pur-
chased from the same Monastery. Later the Stack of St. George was called the
Stack of Albanians. (Shkira, 2019, pp. 87-88)
Also on a seal of John Kastriot appears an ecclesiastical figure, perhaps that
of St. George (Zeqo, 2000, p. 192). The reverence of the Arbers towards St.
George is also noticed in the Arbëresh of Italy who have built many churches
in his honor; one of them is also known as the Church of Saint George the
Albanian in Porto San Georgio (Marche) ”(Karanxha, 2009, p. 48).
All of these above show hope and reverence for the Saint.
It is worth mentioning the prophetic fulfillment of the “legend” of Vojsava
who, when she was pregnant with George, dreamed that a dragon was born
that had its tail in the Adriatic and its head in Asia. His mouth was open and
swallowed thousands of Ottomans (Noli, 1989, p. 87). The latter were called
the ‘Dragon of Asia’, who was beheaded in the second siege of Kruja. Also St.
George’s Day is associated with great victories of the anti-Ottoman resistance.
On the day of St. George, April 23, 1467, the warrior George Aleksi mortally
wounded the commander Ballaban Pasha, and with the victory against them,
the Second Siege of the Kruja Castle by the Ottomans ends (Biçoku, 1989, p.
500).
4 A story experienced as a child in the city of Peshkëpi by Dr. Stavri Trako, (Narrated
in Tirana on 30.04.2019).

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It is certain that without the help and example of the one who first killed the
dragon of idolatry, George Kastriot would not have won. Albanologist Evlogj
Kurilla writes that George Kastriot saw Saint George by his side on the battle-
field (Κουρίλας, 1930, pp. 269-270).
Professor Laszlo Veszpremy, in his lecture “The Anti-Ottoman Strategy of
Late Medieval Hungary”, delivered on dt. 08.10. 2018 in the “International
Albanological Conference dedicated to George Kastriot-Skanderbeg, the time
in which he lived and the traces he left in history” when asked by the author of
this paper, what was the role of the order of St. George and the cavalry order
of the Dragon of Zikismund in the Hungarian-Ottoman wars he replied: “The
military order of St. George was founded by Charles I of Anjou in 1320, which
is the same as the Knightly Order of the Dragon of Zikismund.” These military
orders had a significant effect on the anti-Ottoman resistance and served as an
important unifying factor in this war.5” Let us remember that even the folklore
of our people speaks about the knights, the dragons that killed the monster
(Tirta, 1987, pp. 204-207).
Also, Father Shtjefën Gjeçovi in his study: “Sebaste in Arbeni or Sebaste in
Armenia”, mentions that St. Blaise of Cappadocia, at that time small Armenia,
was the patron saint of the Order of Kreshniks which was divided into two
orders, the first to unravel the evangelical truths and the second to defend the
Christian faith with weapons in hand as many times as needed (Gjeçov, 1922,
p. 160).
Other military orders were established in Cappadocia, such as the order
of St. George and the order of the Janissaries. For this last order Christian
children were recruited until the seventeenth century. These last two military
orders were established in Cappadocia. The veneration of Saint George con-
tinued to the Spahis of Epirus who for two centuries until the beginning of the
XVII century held as their flag the image of Saint George the Trophy Bearer
(Παπαδοπούλου, 1949, p. 196).
As protopresbyter Georgios Metalinos mentions - The clash of Christian
Cappadokia and the Arab conquest in the 11th century brought about Bek-
tashism. At the tomb of Haxhi Bektashi in Cappadokia, Christians also came
after claiming that it was the tomb of St. Harallambi or in another case Haji
Bektashi was identified with St. Evstathi (Μεταλλινός, 2004, pp. 55-56)
5 Laszlo Veszpremy, The Anti-Ottoman Strategy of Late Medieval Hungary, lecture
at the “International Albanological Conference dedicated to Gjergj Kastriot-Skanderbeg, the
time in which he lived and the traces he left in history” Tirana, May-November 2018, held on
dt. 08.10.2018.

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The same phenomenon occurred with the tomb of St. Pandelimon on the
mountain of Prizren (Malcolm, 2001, p. 135) and with St. Spiridhon in Kruja,
for the tomb of Sari Salltik which according to Bektashi tradition has a total
of 7 tombs worldwide. Rightly this phenomenon of placing the later figure
on top of the previous figure within the stratification of cultures Prof. Shaban
Sinani called it ‘palimpsest’. (Sinani, 2012, p. 356)
In the city of Kruja in Albania, Muslims and Christians celebrated St.
George (Clayer 212, p. 446). These celebrations of saints preserved many ele-
ments of saints, such as: The Bektashis held icons of St. Spiridhon, St. George,
etc. Moreover, the awareness of the veneration of the saints was so vivid that
even in 1991, a group of Bektashi believers, following the tradition of their
ancestors, organize and go every year to the Church of St. Spiridhon in Corfu,
where his not rotten body is located and comparatively equalize it with Sari
Salltik. To this day, St. George is the protector of many states, cities and mili-
tary orders of many states in the world.
1.2 Honoring Saint Blaise

The toponyms of the medieval churches of St. Blaise, and its numerous
churches, conclude that in the 15th century, Arberia had dozens of churches
of St. Blaise6 and several centuries-old monasteries that honored his name af-
ter the veneration of St. Blaise Bishop and occupied a special place among the
Christian saints of Albania and not only (Elsie, 2007, pp. 84-85). (Elsie, 2011,
pp. 32-33).
In the Middle Ages, Arberia had three famous and miraculous monaster-
ies of St. Blaise. The first was near the former settlement of Sebasta near Laç,
where later, next to this monastery and the cave that still bears his name, the
Assembly of the Franciscans was built. According to the above albanologist,
St. Blaise, who had in his central church the cave of St. Blaise, was an Ortho-
dox monastery that was destroyed by an earthquake in 1853. For the same
monastery, the scholar Krutan Baki Dollma writes that after the martyrdom
of St. Blaise, the Byzantine monks built their monastery high above the cave
(of St. Blaise), a favorite place for these hermits of Christianity (Dollma, 2006,
p. 36).
6 “... In all this territory, starting from Durrës to Mirditë, there are extremely many
churches dedicated to Saint Blaise. And to be dedicated in such a small territory, over 30 churches
dedicated to this saint means that in this place of honor, the devotion to this saint was extremely
great through the centuries ... ” See: From the interview of Joan Pelushi, Metropolitan of Korça,
in the Documentary on St. Blaise, prepared by the Catechism Office of KOASH. https: //www.
youtube.com/watch? VçR9yYkK2z2kk.

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 Religious Coexistence through the cult of Saints in Albania ©2022 Shkira

The pilgrimage to this monastery of St. Blaise, in Laç, in Sebastë lasted

throughout the year and the characteristic for this monastery was that they
participated in celebrations, Albanians and not only and after Muslimization
continued the same pilgrimage by members of all religions as it continues to
this day (Elsie, 2007, pp. 84-85)7.
Another old monastery of St. Blaise was the Monastery of Saint Blaise of
Durrës, which was destroyed in 1967. Since the importance of this monastery
and at the same time the respect and reverence of the people, made the com-
munist regime hit this object symbol of Orthodox Christianity in Albania, to
then liquidate all religious buildings and institutions and hit the clergy. Eccle-
siastical celebrations and visits to this monastery, as well as to other churches
and monasteries in the country, were struck by the organized regime as re-
ligious practices and backward customs of religions. The forms of this coup
were well thought out and well organized by the communist regime in order
to enlarge this movement against religion in order to vanish the Christian and
the religious heritage in Albania for the younger generations (AQSh. F. 511,
v. 1967, d. 20, pp. 36-37). However, the secret believers constantly visited the
monastery of St. Blaise, endangering their freedom and life.
The new monastery of St. Blaise was built in 1996, with funds provided
by the Archbishop of Tirana and all of Albania, Prof. Dr. Anastasi. Again,
this monastery enjoys a large pilgrimage throughout the year and especially
during some holy days with the participation of all people, regardless of reli-
gion. To this day, at the Monastery Fair on August 15, it is noticed the popu-
lar dress of Mirdita women. Today is the venue of the Theological Academy
and the Department of Theology and Religious Sciences of Logos University
College, where staff is trained to be familiar with the knowledge of different
religions and nurture interfaith harmony in Albania.
The third monastery was built on the northern slope of Tomorr Mountain
and since 1343 is mentioned as Hibernum S. Blasii (Elsie, 2007, p. 85) howev-
er, it is thought to be earlier.
In the city of Vlora there was a former cathedral of the city named after St.
Blaise, which functioned as a church until its destruction in 1967.
The continuous reverence of our people for Saint Blaise is reinforced by the
7 There were churches dedicated in honor of St. Blaise in Shkodra (XIV), in Drisht,
in Skuraj of Mat, in Gjonëm of Lac, in Mazhë of Kruja, in Mëner of Tirana, in Bishqem of
Peqin, in Gjuricaj of Durrës, in Cape Rodoni, in Vlora (St. Vlasi), in Hoshteva of Zagoria,
Gjirokastra (there is already a toponym and its micronyms), there is also a nineteenth century
Orthodox Church in Dhuvjan of Gjirokastra, etc.

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local tradition of reverence of a local Saint Blaise, whose relics (relics) from
the village of Draç in Durrës were taken and sent to Dubrovnik, so much so
that it is not only considered the patron saint of this city but at the same time
the Republic of Ragusa was otherwise known as the Republic of Saint Blaise.
2. Elements of Crypto-Christianity as a factor of religious
tolerance

The burden of economic hardship, which was mainly borne on the shoul-
ders of the peasantry of the Christian rajah, became the main reason for the
inability to pay the rajah’s obligation to the state and to choose to convert to
the new religion of a good part of its population, an alternative which auto-
matically brought the exemption of the jizya tax (Skëndi, 2010, p.177). With
the escalation of the crisis in the empire in the seventeenth century, the phe-
nomenon of Islamization prevailed, preceded by the phenomenon of Cryp-
to-Christianity in the South and North of the country.
Crypto-Christians in our country were people who accepted and practiced
Islam in the eyes of the world, but in their hearts and consciences practiced
and preserved elements of the Christian faith. Although they claimed to have
become Muslims, in their hearts they did not deny the first religion. This is
mainly evidenced by their secret religious practices. However, the term ‘spot-
ty’ to the two-name crypto-Christians mostly indicates that, the Christian el-
ements in Muslim converts, knowingly or unknowingly, were kept alive for
a long time, as should the fact that the process of Crypto-Christianity until
in acceptance of the Islamization of a part of the Albanian population some-
where lasted longer and somewhere less (Pelushi, 2003, p. 75). However, the
Christian traditions of the ancients as forms of reverence for the saints were
not forgotten by both crypto-Christians and Islamists, which made Albanian
Muslims aware to this day that their ancestors were Christians. This common
popular experience has cultivated mutual respect and inter-religious harmony
among Albanians.
The conversion to Islam of only the chief of the family, as happened in many
Albanian families, proves the embrace of Islam in terms of survival (Skëndi,
2010, p.180). Consequently, Christian women and children continued to be-
have as such outside and inside the home. Since the experience of Christian
elements continued within the home threshold then conversion to Islam took
several generations to happen, as it did. Thus, within these gradual processes,
in most Christian families and tribes, when one or more members whole-
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heartedly professed Islam, either could be expelled as religious abandoner or

when it was performed just for the sake of justification by their relatives. This
justification on the verge of religious tolerance is triggered by the common
suffering of the Christian members and the newly converted. On one way,
the burden of sacrificing the faith of the ancients to them eased the pressure
of conversion for the rest of the Christian community. Therefore, there were
steady and slow changes in the social and religious structure but which were
significantly accompanied by the practice of elements of the Christian cult,
which still fostered unity in diversity and nurture healthy tolerance.
Finally, during the Albanian National Renaissance Period in the first half of
the 19th century, clergy and laic members of the Orthodox community such
as Andrea Idromeno, Vangjel Meksi, Grigor Gjirokastriti, etc. collaborated to
translate the New Testament into Albanian. Grigor Gjirokastriti translated it
in full into Albanian language, as a representative of the Ecumenical Patri-
archate in collaboration with the British Bible Society. While in the second
half of the XIX century in collaboration with the same Bible Society, Konstan-
din Kristoforidhi, translated the New Testament, in both dialects of the Alba-
nian language and made albanological works, which had a strong impact not
only to the Orthodox community but to all Albanians regardless of religion
(Shkira, 2021, pp. 97-109).
During this century, Albanians nurtured a supernatural nationalism. They
showed uniqueness in interfaith tolerance and coexistence with each other
and cooperated in overcoming religious tensions and conflicts. Although they
could not coexist and take communion as members of a single religious com-
munity they coexisted and cooperated as members of a society of the same
ethnicity.

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Interviews
Intervistë me Joan Pelushi, Mitropolit i Korçës, në Dokumentarin mbi shën
Blaisein, të përgatitur nga Zyra e Katekizmit të KOASH-https://www.youtube.
com/watch?vçR9yYkK2z2kk.
Veszpremy Laszlo, “The Anti-Ottoman Strategy of Late Medieval Hungary”,
referat në “Konferenca Ndërkombëtare Albanologjike kushtuar Gjergj

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 Religious Coexistence through the cult of Saints in Albania ©2022 Shkira

Kastriotit –Skënderbeut, kohës në të cilën jetoi dhe gjurmët që la në histori”

Tiranë, Maj- Nëntor 2018, mbajtur më dt. 08.10.2018.
Intervistë me Dr. Stavri Trako, Tiranë më dt. 30.04.2019.

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