His Beatitude, Archbishop +Anastasios reposed in the Lord on Saturday the 25th (Gregory the Theologian) and was buried on Thursday the 30th (The Three Holy Hierarchs) in the crypt under the new Cathedral of the Resurrection in the center of Tirana, the capital city.
Sine 1994, I had the privilege to meet with him many times, at least twice in private at critical junctures. Obviously, a man of great faith who had dedicated himself to the service of Christ and His Church, he simultaneously exuded a genuine concern for all of the practical considerations facing his flock during the difficult transition from totalitarian communism to a pluralistic democracy. He inspired the believers and many other non-believers by remaining at his post and weathering the many storms alongside of them: the incessant meddling into & persecution of the church for political gain, the internal civil conflict of 1997 which killed thousands, and the war in Kosovo which sent hundreds of thousands of refugees into the arms of the Orthodox Church. The words "grace" and "dignity" and "authenticity" always come to mind when I think of him and the careful works he oversaw: the churches, monasteries, schools, clinics, iconography studios, woodworking centers, and even a hydroelectric station. His delicate efforts to reconvene the Holy Synod with competent churchmen from within the country demonstrated, perhaps more than any other act, his commitment to the ancient principles and canonical norms of the Orthodox Church. He was no one's pawn. He belonged to Christ first and always.
When cursed, he blessed. When insulted, he remained silent. Although he would have never expressed himself in any hostile way toward his adversaries, in many ways the works he led in Albania spit in the eyes of the communist holdovers. They couldn't buy him, they couldn't intimidate him, and they couldn't outsmart him. Quiet and persistent for decades in pursuit of the rights of the church, the primatial siting of the cathedrals in Korce and Tirana showed all observers the power of the hand of the Lord. Yet, he never gloated over those victories but moved on to the next task at hand. Let all glory be to God! Doxa to Theo! Lavdi Perendise!
May his memory be eternal. Qofte i perjeteshem kujtimi i tij.
