Christianity in Albania was established throughout the country in 325 AD. From 1100 AD, the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

carried out Church missions in the area. In relation to the increasing influence of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

s started to settle down in the area in the 13th century. From the 15th century to the 19th century, under the rule of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

, Christianity was replaced by

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

as the majority religion in Albania during the Ottoman Empire. The Albanian government, as per the disputed 2011 population census, gives the percentages of religious affiliations with only 58% Muslim, 10% Catholic, 7% Orthodox and 15% atheist or nonreligious since the fall of Communism in 1991, yet the 2011 census did not get most of the population due to poor counting of the population and the inability to reach most citizens. In the 2011 census the declared religious affiliation of the population was: 56.7%

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 13.79% undeclared, 10.03%

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, 6.75% Orthodox believers, 2.5% atheists, 2.09%

Bektashis The Bektashi Order; sq, Tarikati Bektashi; tr, Bektaşi or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi mystic movement originating in the 13th-century. It is named after the Anatolian saint Haji Bektash Wali (d. 1271). The community is currently led ...

, 0.07% other Christians and 0.02% other.Albanian census 2011
The 2011 census on religion and ethnicity has been deemed unreliable by the Council of Europe as well as other internal and external organisations and groups. A 2015 study estimated some 13,000 conversions to Christianity from Muslim backgrounds.

Eastern Orthodoxy

According to the numbers given by the government in 2010 it was stated that

Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonic ...

was practiced by about 20% of Albanians within Albania. In the disputed 2011 census the percentage of Orthodox believers was listed as 6.75% of the population. Albania is historically linked with both the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and Eastern Orthodoxy. Albanians were among the first peoples of the region to receive missionaries and convert to Christianity. With the split of the Church in 1054, Orthodoxy become the religion for the Albanians inhabiting the areas under the Byzantine rule. The first Orthodox liturgy in the Albanian language was held not in Albania, but in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Subsequently, when the Orthodox Church was not allowed an official existence in communist Albania, Albanian Orthodoxy survived in exile in Philadelphia with the church in Philadelphia being founded in 1913 and in Boston in 1965.

Catholic Church

The Catholic Church in Albania is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. According to the numbers given by the government in 2011 it was stated that around 10.03% of the religious population is Catholic, however new government figures reveal the percentage of

is 21.3 There are five dioceses in the country, including two archdioceses plus an Apostolic Administration covering southern Albania. Prior to the Ottoman invasion, Christianity was the religion of all

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ser ...

. The northern Albanians adhered to Catholicism, whilst in the south they were followers of Eastern Orthodoxy.

Protestantism

There are about 8,000 Protestants in Albania, grouped among 189 Protestant associations including the Albanian Evangelical Alliance (VUSH).

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Christianity in Albania

Eastern Orthodoxy

Catholic Church

Protestantism

See also

Further reading

References

External links