Republic of Albania
| |
 |
|
| |
| |
From atop Rozafa Castle, the River Bojana – Buna – Bunë – Бојана, passing by ancient Shkodër and onward to Liqeni i Shkodrës – Скадарско језеро – Lake Skadar, largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula, shared with Montenegro – Црна Гора. |
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
Kisha e Shën Stefanit në majë të Rozafës Kalaja – the Church of Saint Stephen atop Rozafa Castle
|
|
| |
 |
| |
|
|
| Ilirët – Ἰλλυρία – Illyria |
Kam, pra, me se të mburrem në Jezu Krishtin për punët që kanë të bëjnë me Perëndinë. 18 Sepse nuk do të guxoja të flas për ndonjë nga ato gjëra të cilat Krishti nuk i bëri nëpërmjet meje, për t’i sjell në dëgjes johebrenjtë me fjalë dhe me vepër, 19 me fuqi shenjash dhe çudirash, me fuqi të Frymës së Perëndisë; kështu, prej Jeruzalemit e përqark dhe gjer në Iliri, kam kryer shërbimin e ungjillit të Krishtit, 20 duke u përpjekur të ungjillëzoj atje ku nuk ishte i njohur emri i Krishtit, që të mos ndërtoj mbi themelin e tjetërit. 21 Por, sikurse është shkruar:
“Ata, ndër të cilët nuk u qe shpallur, do të shohin,
dhe ata që nuk kishin dëgjuar për të, do të kuptojnë.” |
|
| |
|
Romakëve 15:17-21 |
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ, 20 thus making it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on another man’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,
“They shall see who have never been told of him,
and they shall understand who have never heard of him.”
|
|
| |
|
Romans 15:17-21 |
|
 |
|
|
| Sheshi Demokracia – Democracy Square |
|
Migjeni Teatri |
| |
With a Catholic mother and an Orthodox father, of Serbian background at that, Albanian poet Millosh Gjergj Nikolla was non-religious and irreligious, which explains how this theater, one of the most important in Albania, on the central circle of Shkodër, built during communist times, could bear his name, or rather his acronym- nom de plume Migjeni. He died in 1938 of tuberculosis at the age of 26, though in Torino, Italy. His poems and prose are full of saddness, suffering and dispair. Poor guy. Might the religious confusion of his native land have contributed mightily to both the extreme poverty surrounding him all his life and to his own personal and literary response? Enver Hoxha died in 1985, the Albania he had ruled Stalin-style for nearly 40 years the poorest country in Europe. Yet even at that, over the course of his long time in power Albania experienced huge advances in industrialization and Albanians, those who survived, experience a huge increase in literacy and life-expectancy. Reflect on pre-communist Albanian realites. Russians at least can more easily generate some nostalgia for pre-Communist times, for Православие и Самодержавие – Orthodoxy and Autocracy, even if doing so requires that they avoid much of the writings of their dozen most important novelists and story writers. Albanians lack this illusive luxury. But consider whether this circumstance should rather increase interest in European Christendom membership. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
The banners all about Albania in 2012 celebrating
100 Vjet Pavarësi – 100 Years of Independence
are, after all about a celebration of Independence ... from the Muslim Ottoman Turkish Empire. |
|
| |
 |
|
| |
Skanderbeg equestrian monument in Krujë
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
The horos in the Kisha Ortodokse e Shën Palit dhe Shën Asti në Durrës – Orthodox Church of Saint Paul and Saint Astius in Durrës |
|
| |
Amfiteatri i Durrësit / Dyrrachion – Durrës Amphitheater, dating to early II century, and also incorporating a VI century chapel dedicated to God and to Shën Asti – Astius Saint and Martyr (* in Ἰλλυρία – Illyria – 98 in Dyrrhachium, now Durrës †), first Bishop of Dyrrhachium, who refused to renounce God and worship the god Dionysius and was killed on that account during the reign of Emperor Trajan. |
|
| |
 |
|
| |
| |
From atop the Royal Villa of Durrës looking east toward Tirana, only about 30 kilometers distant. |
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
|
To delight and serve the communist-cum-nationalist leader Enver Hoxha (in power from 1944 until his heart attack and burial in 1985 in a pyramid to make Mao take pause) this nationalist mosaic adorns the facade of the National History Museum in Tirana. |
|
|
| |
|
Shqipëria - Bashkuar Krishterimi Evropian |
| |
|
Albania - United European Christendom |
|
