TIRANA, February 9 – On 9 February 1908, Fan Noli began his rise within the Orthodox Church hierarchy in the United States of America. On that date, the Church ordained him as a deacon. In March 1908, the Orthodox archbishop of New York ordained him as a priest. Shortly after, Noli celebrated the first Orthodox liturgy in the Albanian language in Boston.

Later, in July 1919, the Church elected Noli as Bishop of the Albanian Orthodox Church in America. As a result of his long efforts for an independent national church, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul officially recognized the Autocephalous Albanian Orthodox Church in 1937.

Fan Noli was born on 6 January 1882 and died on 13 March 1965. Over time, he became one of Albania’s most prominent national figures, serving as a statesman, senior cleric, patriot, poet, translator, publicist, historian, and musicologist.

Noli was born in Ibrik Tepe, in Edirne, Turkey, where he completed secondary school. In 1904, he moved to Egypt and worked as a teacher. At the same time, he connected with leading figures of the Albanian patriotic community. During this period, he translated Sami Frashëri’s work “Albania: What It Was, What It Is, and What It Will Become” into Greek.

In 1907, Noli moved to the United States and founded the association “Besa-besë” [Traditional Albanian pledge of Honor] in Boston. From 1909 to 1911, he published the newspaper “Dielli” [The Sun]. In addition, in 1912, he co-founded the Pan-Albanian Federation of America “Vatra” [The Fireplace] with Faik Konica.

That same year, Noli completed higher studies in philosophy at Harvard University. Years later, in 1938, he graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music. Meanwhile, in 1920, Albania elected him head of its delegation to the League of Nations in Geneva. As a result of Albania’s membership, the country gained international recognition.

In 1921, Noli published “History of Skanderbeg”. Later, in June 1924, he emerged as a leading figure in Albania’s democratic reform movement. Following the June Movement of 1924, he served as Prime Minister for a six-month period.

Alongside his political activity, Noli maintained extensive literary and cultural work. He translated works by William Shakespeare, Omar Khayyam, and Miguel de Cervantes. Fan Noli died on 13 March 1965 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in the United States of America.

/a.p./