Written by Petrit Latifi

How Albania fell to Islam

“… Albania was Turkish. Deprived of its bishops and priests , without pastoral care and religious instruction, it subsequently fell into Islam over the centuries. Thousands who wanted to preserve their faith fled the country and …”¹

Paul III or Julius III approved Albanian for liturgical use, according to the book “Liturgie in lebender Sprache, Orient und Okzident” by Cyrille Korolevskij and Karl Rudolf, 1958. Link here.

“Albanian was undoubtedly approved for liturgical use by Paul III or Julius III. VI …”

1. The following article is taken from a German publication “Albania sacra: Diözese Alessio 2007” on the Albanian priests of northern Albania in 17th – 18th century. Link here.

Archbishop Marino Bizzi in the 17th century

“… In addition to the number of Christians, the visitors were particularly interested in the condition of the churches and rectories. When Archbishop Marino Bizzi travelled through parts of the diocese in 1610, he found the Franciscan church of S.Maria near Alessio intact; it was so large that it had space for 2,000 believers. The parish churches of Balldreni, Kakarriqi, Solomundi and Pëdhana were also well preserved.

When Benedetto Orsini wrote his first visitation report on the diocese of Alessio in 1629, the situation had changed somewhat: there was no longer a church in Alessio. The cathedral of S.Nicolò had been converted into a mosque, and the other churches had been destroyed or desecrated. Outside the town, one could still see the ruins of the church of S.Margherita, which had been destroyed by the Turks, and of the Franciscan monastery, which had also been burned down by the Turks.

In the part of the diocese controlled by the Turks, the parish churches of Kukli, Pëdhana, Zojmeni and Darda were intact; the church of Kallmeti had been repaired by the bishop. The churches of Renesi and Manatia had been destroyed by infidels, and the church of Mërqia was in a state of disrepair. Orsini had asked the authorities for permission to repair the church in his summer residence and the parish church of Manatia.

He also tried to rebuild the church of S. Maddalena in Renesi, which had apparently been completely destroyed, and used a trick: he secretly had new foundations laid and passed them off as the old ones of the church; then he had the church rebuilt with official permission. All other village churches were no longer functional in 1629, but this was not the fault of the Turks, but of the Catholic Mirdites:

“sono tutte destrutte per le incursioni delli Popoli chiamati Mirdita pure Albanesi ma nemici de Turchi”.

In the mountainous part of the diocese, which was not subject to the Turks, only ruins without windows, doors and altars remained of the churches. This time the Turks were responsible for this. Orsini tried to repair the church of Kaçinari with the help of the population and also had the church of Kashnjeti renovated from the foundations.

Four decades later, the situation had improved somewhat, as of the 19 parish churches of the diocese, only those in Mirdita, Montenegro, Mërqia and Treshi had been destroyed; five churches were in need of repair. The church of Pëdhana had been renovated in 1669.

In 1629 there was talk of the bell towers being torn down and the bells buried out of respect for the Turks, but the church in Balldreni now had a bell tower with a bell again (IX). In 1677 Bishop Giorgio Vladagni was able to report that a large number of churches had bells which called the faithful to worship on holidays; there was no such thing in any diocese in Turkey:

“Bona parte di queste Chiese hanno campane grande, e bellanili, che sona li giorni festivi, il che non si vede in alcun’altro vescovato sotto il Turco”

Some of the churches had bells so large that they could be heard in the villages surrounding the parish church; this was the case, for example, in

This was the case in Shëngjergji in 1694 (XVIII). The bells were also used for propaganda and to strengthen Christian self-confidence. Bishop Paolo Dodmassei had a large bell brought to the parish of Qafemali, which lay on the border of the Muslim settlement area.

Its sound was intended to show the Turks that there were still Christians in Qafëmali: This parish is faithful to the Turks of the Diocese of Sappa, and it was necessary that I order a large bell, and the sound of the bells should be heard by those who live there.” (XLIX)

18th century

At the beginning of the 18th century, Archbishop Vincent Zmajević noted that the diocese of Alessio was better equipped with churches than other Albanian dioceses (XIX). Although there are repeated reports of churches being set on fire by Turks or people of other faiths (i.e. Muslims, usually Albanians), in most cases they were quickly rebuilt by the believers.

They were sometimes supported by Muslim dignitaries. In 1703, for example, Zmajević reported that Montenegro was under the control of a good spahi who would allow the reconstruction of the destroyed churches (XIX). In 1789, Bishop Michele Criesesi reported that the deceased governor of Alessio had given his consent to the repair and extension of the parish church of Kryezezi, to whose fief the town belonged (XXXVI).

In 1795, the governor of Alessio and other Turkish notables offered to obtain permission for the reconstruction of the church of Mërqia free of charge (XXXVIII). Only twice is it recorded that the Turks did not allow the repair of churches: in 1694 this was the case with the church of Gryka (XVIII) and in 1753 with the repair of the church of Kakarriqi, which had been damaged by the earthquake (XXX).

The visitors often blamed passing Turkish troops for the burning of churches: in 1768, for example, the small church of S.Nicolò in Alessio was set on fire by the troops of the Beglerbeg of Rumelia during a campaign against Montenegro (XXXVI); in 1787, the oratory and the rectory of Treshi were set on fire during a looting by Turkish troops (XXXVI).

In the same year, the church of the Franciscan monastery near Alessio was burned down by Turkish troops (XL), and in 1795 the rectory of Treshi (XXXVIII). As late as 1846, Bishop Giovanni Topich wrote that the church and rectory of Alessio should be moved to another location, as they were located on a public road and had often been looted and set on fire by passing troops (XLVI).

The same visitor otherwise paints a very positive picture of the state of the churches and rectories in the diocese: damaged churches were repaired, the roofs were covered with tiles instead of straw: “Inallora ben potrà dirsi essere questa Diocesi risorta dalle sue rovine” (XLVI).

In the middle of the 19th century, branch churches were even established again to make it easier for believers in villages far away from the parish church to attend church services (XLVIII). The majority of the parishes owned between 12 and 15 fields, four had only 3-7 fields, the parish of Renesi had no land at all. Zojmeni had good arable land on which 20-26 mozza of grain were produced.

The size of the vineyard area is given in zappe. Here too, there are large differences in the size of the property. While the parish of S. Nicolò in Mirdita had 100 zappe of vineyards, the other parishes had 15-25 zappe, Treshi, Balldreni and Bocchiana had no vineyards at all. It is somewhat surprising that wine was grown in those days even in mountainous regions that are considered inhospitable today.

In the Mirdite parish, 120 mastell, in Fandi 25-30 barilf and in Zojmeni 80-100 barill of wine were produced annually (IX). The parishes of Blinishti, Kallmeti and Zuppa are reported to have produced wine in excess of their own needs. Three parishes (Pëdhana, Zojmeni and Mërqia) also had 30 olive trees each. In 1671/72, the parish of Zojmeni had 30 beehives, and Kaçinari had Vich (IX). The parish priests of Kaçinari, Molini and Zuppa operated mills, which also brought in profits in kind.

The priests seem to have cultivated the land themselves. In Gaspari’s report it is mentioned only twice (Kallmeti and Zojmeni) that they had the fields worked by third parties (IX).

In addition to their own agricultural production, the priests also had the church tithes of the faithful at their disposal, which consisted of 1-2 quarters of grain, and sometimes some cheese and wine. If the population was very poor, the church tithes were also very modest, as was reported in 1703 for the parishes of Montenegro, Ndërfanda and Balldreni (XIX).

In 1753, the priests of Korthpula and Shëngjergji had to be supported by the Propaganda Fide with a subsidy of 20 scudi each per year, as the agricultural production and the church tithes were not sufficient to cover their living expenses (XXX). It also happened that church property occupied by Muslims, as was the case in Balldreni and Kakarriqi in 1694 (XVIII).

All the visitors noted that in some parishes (1703 in Fandi, in Mirdita and in Blinishti, 19th century) the priests were able to live well from their land and from the donations of the faithful. Some parishes were even considered wealthy, for example Zojmeni, which in 1703 had three priests, not out of necessity but because of the amenities that the parish offered (19th century).

The parish office was therefore also a welfare institution, which provides an additional explanation for the multiple appointments. It is striking that it was almost always the same families that provided the priests in the diocese of Alessio. The most frequently mentioned families are Bianchi, Morici (Murichi), Negri, Scura, Stampaneo and Trascia (Trasci).

Some parishes were occupied by several members of the same family, such as Kallmeti in 1753 with Antonio, Giacomo and Giovanni Morici; Pietro Paolo and Giovanni Morici were still in the rectory as chierici (candidates for the priesthood) (XXX). In 1789, a special case was reported, also from Kallmeti: the four clergymen in office there were from four family clans who were so hostile to each other that they refused to pay taxes for pastors who did not belong to their own family:

“four peasant parishes, each with a strong will from their own parents, and they refused to pay taxes from the opposite parties”.

The bishop had no other option than to dismiss the oldest of the four pastors and appoint one from outside the area (XXXVI). The clergy working in the diocese of Alessio are judged differently in the visitation reports, and whether the visitor was a foreigner or an Albanian certainly played a role. There is unanimous criticism of the education or lack of education of the clergy. Of the 19 pastors who served in 1671/72, only one could read and write and therefore also teach religious education; 7 had minimal reading skills without understanding what they were reading (for example, the Mirdite priest Giovanni Mamesi: “sa poco leggere, e non intend”, IX).

In the 18th century, the situation only slowly improved. In 1753, of the 48 clergy working in the diocese, 14 could not write at all and 16 could only write with difficulty. The situation was no better with regard to the knowledge of Italian, which was necessary for communication with Rome and dealing with foreign bishops: 8 priests could not speak Italian, 18 could only speak it poorly.

Only three clergymen could speak Latin – these were the three who had studied at Italian colleges (XXX). As late as 1846, there was still a priest in the diocese who could neither read nor write. The visitor found that most of the others had very little or only mediocre theological knowledge (XLVI). The visitor at that time was Bishop Giovanni Topich, who had already claimed in his first report in 1844 that for the clergy of his diocese, dogmatics and moral theology were concepts that they could not understand.

The clergy, who were entrusted with the instruction of the people, themselves needed to be instructed on the basic teachings of the Christian faith:

“They are not only uneducated, but also arrogant and hostile towards foreign bishops. Bishop Benedetto Orsini had already stated something similar in 1629. He also found the Albanian clergy to be extremely malicious because they used Turkish help in conflicts with the bishop.”

The visitors also noticed that some clergymen carried weapons (“va armato di bocche di fuoco, e di taglio”); in 1671/72, 6 out of 19 priests did so (IX). Topich noted in his 1844 report that some priests wore their hair in a mop in the Turkish style, dressed like peasants and said mass in the same way. Other points of criticism were that the priests often spent days away from their parishes, took money for administering the sacraments, pursued secular trades, associated with Turks, let women sleep in the rectory and promoted superstition instead of fighting it.

Most reports also noted, however, that despite all their ignorance, the priests at least had good morals (“buona vita e costumi”, ottimi e santi costumi”, XXXVIII) and did not set a bad example for the population. Bishop Giorgio Junchi concluded from this that Conclusion: Although many members of the clergy were putrid, their bodies were healthy and there was complete harmony between the clergy and the bishop: “I cannot deny that many members of this [clergy] are putting their bodies away but it is healthy and I am perfectly at peace with them” (XXXII).

The only order that was present in the diocese of Alessio throughout the entire Turkish period were the Franciscans. They had three establishments there: monasteries in Alessio and Rubiku and a hospice in Pëdhana. In the 17th century, 11-12 (XIII) Franciscans worked in the diocese, and in the 18th and 19th centuries, 4-9 (XLV) Franciscans. Some bishops (Benedetto Orsini, Antonio Criesesi, Gabriele Barisich, Giovanni Topich and Ludovico Ciurcia) also belonged to the Franciscan order.

The main establishment was the monastery of S.Maria delli Angeli on the Drin near Alessio. It dates from the second half of the 15th century (XLIX) and was largely destroyed by an earthquake in the 17th century. In 1703, only two monks lived there (XIX). It seems to have been abandoned by its inhabitants at the end of the 18th century and was only revived at the beginning of the 19th century by Franciscans from Bosnia, because no Albanian Minorites could be found.

As Bishop Nicolò Malci reports in 1821, they were welcomed in Alessio by Christians and Muslims with great joy (con indicibile consolazione de Cristiani, ed anche piacere de Turchi Alessini”, XLIV). The monastery church of S.Maria delli Angeli was considered the largest and most beautiful church in the whole diocese.²

2. Albanian priests in Ragusa of the 14th century. Text is taken from Vjesnik Kr. hrvatsko-slavonsko-dalmatinskoga zemaljskoga arkiva Volumes 17-18, 1915. Source here.

“In Ragusa, all Ragusan monasteries are already occupied by Albanian monks. The guardian and the custodian of the Minorite monastery were at that time Scutarans, the prior of the Dominican monastery a Dulcignote. In 1374, the convent of the Ragusan Dominican monastery, with the exception of one Tragurin, consisted exclusively of Albanian monks, just as in 1393 the monastery.”

“In the plague year of 1349 and in the two following years, when the piety of the Ragusan population was particularly expressed in legacies and pilgrimage vows, 24 secular Albanian priests are mentioned in the notarial books as being in Ragusa, of whom 7 were from Drivasto, 7 from Dulcigno, 4 from S. Paulus de Polato, 2 from Antibari and one each from Balezo. As at home in the small towns until the 15th century, Albanian clergy also performed the notarial service on the islands of Lagosta and Meleda.”

“This city concluded a friendship treaty with the Ragusans, 137 who, fighting for ecclesiastical influence on Albanian soil, came into conflict not only with the city of Antibari, but also with the Serbian king Uroš I, the ruler of northern Albania. In rivalry with Antibari, Dulcigno was the only Albanian city under Vlkan’s son George (princeps Dioclie) that stood by Ragusa in 1248.”

“The fact that in 1407 a tough dispute broke out between the dioceses of Alessio and Arbanum for twelve border parishes, which caused a great uproar and discord among the nobles (maximus tumultus) … “

“Petrus Schapuder (Skipetar), in 1368 still canon of Drivasto, lived and later died (1400) in Ragusa as a simple presbyter. The Cathedral of Ragusa, the parishes of Breno and Rožat had permanent Albanian chaplains.”

“In the monastery of the Poor Clares (monasterium puncellarum), Albanian monks and priests are employed as chaplains and ortolans. In 1368, the Benedictine abbeys of Rotezo and Lacroma change their abbots.”³

3. Das venezianische Albanien (1392-1479) by Oliver Jens Schmitt in 2001, on Albanian priests and the Albanian renaissance in the 15th century

“The church, especially the archbishop’s residence in Durazzo, brought Renaissance ideas into central Albania in the second half of the 15th century; Skanderbeg mentioned in a letter that he had been told about the Epirote origins of his people. Archbishop Paul Angelus’s interest in antiquarian books was even more developed, and he probably had a significant influence on the Kastriota prince in his teaching of history. The proud aristocratic Paul…”

“…. village Gruemira grandj, whose economic structure was almost the same as that of Kalldruni: in Gruemira, however, the Catholic faith predominated, no fewer than four priests are known, and the ethnic Albanian element (surnames: Grouemirj, ten times, two of them priests; two Manassi; one Siroco; first names: Giergi, Gin, Bardj in addition to the Slavic Voyn, Mirosclauo, Radosclano).”

“… princes in faraway Italy, he recognized that Albanian Christianity had to be spared from internal conflict in order to defend itself against the Ottomans. He attempted to defuse the religious conflict by keeping overzealous Catholic clergy out of the mountains and by accommodating the Orthodox in his rhetoric. As a member of a local noble family, he placed the political interests of northern Albania above the missionary zeal of the Catholic Church in Germany.”⁴

References

1. https://books.google.se/books?id=BOgIAQAAIAAJ&q=albanische+priester&dq=albanische+priester&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZ6b7b_6uKAxUjJRAIHWhcPGc4jAEQ6AF6BAgIEAI
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2. https://www.google.se/books/edition/Albania_sacra_Di%C3%B6zese_Alessio/O0FQSlrAw58C?hl=en&gbpv=0 ↩︎
3. https://www.google.se/books/edition/Vjesnik_Kr_hrvatsko_slavonsko_dalmatinsk/YkI9AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=albanische ↩︎
4. https://books.google.se/books?id=tTdpAAAAMAAJ&q=albanische+priester&dq=albanische+priester&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=1&printsec=frontcover&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjkvrfX_quKAxWlGhAIHYKzGGA4bhDoAXoECAgQAg ↩︎