“The Church of Albania had been persecuted, desolate and seemed dead. Its churches and monasteries had been closed, plundered, alienated or destroyed. Worship had been prohibited by law.

“The Church of Albania has tasted and continues to taste the fruits of your labors, your love and your prayers,

“When it emerged from the long night of atheist persecution, deprived of its visible structures and with its human resources almost exhausted, the Mother Church of Constantinople did not leave it alone.

“the faithful of Albania are ready to promote peace and the unity of Orthodoxy.

“These were very difficult months for us, following the passing of His Holiness and as our Church continued its life without him

“the Church does not regard this moment as one of despair, but as a testimony to the victory of life

“his Church had “diminished itself” by granting autocephaly, only to receive a “cup of ingratitude” in return

Patriarch Bartholomew ›

head of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

Reported

“the authorities in Ukraine and Armenia were destroying the Church using Bolshevik methods

Robert Amsterdam ›

International human rights lawyer

Reported