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It was with much sadness that I received news of the death of dear Archbishop Anastasios of Albania. I count it as one of the great privileges of my life to have worked closely with him when we were both Presidents of the World Council of Churches from the Assembly at Porto Alegre in 2006 to the Assembly in Busan in 2013. 

Upon the admission of Archbishop Anastasios of Albania to “Evangelismos” Hospital in Athens at the beginning of January 2025, expressions of widespread acceptance and appreciation emerged from people of all educational backgrounds and ages, from various societal circles (ecclesiastical, academic, political, journalistic), as well as from international inter-Christian and interfaith communities and beyond.

His Beatitude Anastasios, archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania, shares a message for the World Council of Churches (WCC) global fellowship, between the Orthodox Easter and Pentecost. In today’s world, the message notes: “The invoking of Christ’s name has no place in plans of political expediency and oppression of individuals and peoples.”

Anastasios, an honorary member of the Academy of Athens and a former WCC president, with more than six decades in the ecumenical movement, is known as a herald of peace and wisdom in inter-religious and international circles. 

The world’s Orthodox Christians drew together in prayer, in small groups, in cathedrals and churches, or at home with loved ones, ringing a traditional Orthodox Easter greeting in an especially challenging year: “Christ is risen! Indeed, Christ is risen!”