In the book “ЦАСЕ ЛИСТ НАУКУ, КЊИЖЕВНОСТ И ДРУШТВЕНИ ЖИВОТ” published in 1896, we can find an interesting passage on how the Ottomans and the Greek Patriarch of Fener worked together to oppress Albanians.

Summary:

Amid the intricate games between the Ottoman Porte and the Greek Patriarchate of Fener, the Albanians found themselves trapped between empires of faith and power. The Porte and Fener, though pretending to be rivals, worked hand in hand when it came to suppressing non-Greek and non-Turkish peoples. Even the faintest sympathy toward Albanians was branded an offense.

“Arbanas-Serbophile,” they said, as if caring for another nation’s fate were a crime. For both the Porte and the Greeks of Fener, the Albanian question was never about faith, but about control: keeping a restless people quiet, obedient, and invisible beneath the shadow of foreign authority.”

Between the Porte and Fener: the Albanians under double domination

Among the many peoples of the Ottoman Empire, few were caught in as cruel a bind as the Albanians. Divided by religion but united by language and heritage, they became the target of both the empire’s central power—the Porte—and the Greek Patriarchate of Fener, which sought to extend its cultural and religious domination over all Orthodox Christians. What appeared to be a rivalry between mosque and church was in fact a partnership: both institutions agreed on one essential goal—to silence the rise of non-Greek and non-Turkish nations, and especially the Albanians.

The trap of obedience

The district councils and local Christian authorities, under pressure from both Constantinople and the Patriarchate, urged Albanians to remain “calm and obedient” to imperial orders. In return, Fener was rewarded with privileges from the Porte, which is proof of the hidden bargain between them. Whenever the patriarchate’s influence weakened, Greek clergy and diplomats maneuvered to restore it, often at the expense of Albanian autonomy. The appearance of religious guidance masked a political project: to keep the Albanian population passive, fragmented, and loyal only to outside powers.

The politics of accusation

Within this alliance, the worst crime was to show sympathy for Albanians. The term “Arbanas-Serbophile” became a convenient label to denounce anyone, patriarch, priest, or layman, who recognized Albanian identity or demanded education in the Albanian language. To Fener, an “Albanian” was acceptable only as a Greek-speaking Orthodox believer, stripped of national consciousness. To the Porte, an “Albanian” was tolerable only as a quiet imperial subject. Between the two, the Albanians were denied the right to name themselves.

Wealth, power, and manipulation

The text also reveals how wealthy Greek financiers such as Leonidas Zarifi and Pavlos Stefanović Skylitsi shaped the patriarchate’s politics through money and influence. Patriarchs who showed leniency toward Albanians or other non-Greek groups were overthrown under their pressure. Their power ensured that the church served national politics rather than faith. In this atmosphere, the Albanian cause was not merely ignored—it was deliberately erased.

Conclusion

For both the Porte and Fener, the “Albanian question” was never a matter of religion or doctrine, but of control. By denying Albanians the right to their language, their schools, and even their name within the Orthodox Church, Fener helped perpetuate a system of cultural domination that the Ottoman state found politically convenient. Together they worked to keep a restless nation silent.

Yet in that silence, Albanian identity endured. Out of the pressure to forget, a stronger memory was born, one that would soon challenge both the crescent and the cross that had conspired to keep it invisible.