At the Church of the Holy Trinity in Mat, Pal Engjëlli wrote the “Baptism Formula” 563 years ago. It marks the first known document in the Albanian language.

On November 8, 1462, the Archbishop of Durrës led a church assembly. He worked closely with Albania’s national hero, Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu. At that time, the Ottoman invasion had disrupted church organization and the Catholic faith across Albanian lands.

The assembly aimed to issue key decisions and directives to restore order in the Catholic Church. Clerics from central and northern Albania attended. In addition, local leaders and many members of the population joined.

During the assembly, Pal Engjëlli wrote the baptism formula in Albanian. Therefore, priests could recite it during baptisms. Moreover, if no priest was present, parents could say the formula themselves.

Scholars documented the assembly in a 37-page parchment register. Later, in 1916, Romanian researcher Nicolae Iorga discovered it in the Laurentian Library in Florence, Italy. Seven pages contain the assembly’s rules, decisions, and the baptism formula in the Mat dialect.

The formula reads: “V’NTE PAGHEZONIT PREMENIT ATIT ET BIRIT ET SPERTIT SENIT”, which translates as “UN TË PAGËZOJ PËR EMËNIT ATIT E T’BIRIT E T’SHPIRTIT SHENJT”.

Although brief, the formula holds great significance. It represents early medieval Albanian writing. Furthermore, it predates Gjon Buzuku’s Meshari (1555), long considered the earliest Albanian text.

Thus, the Baptism Formula, dated 1462, constitutes the first documented instance of written Albanian. Today, the ruins of the Holy Trinity Church in Dazjan village, Mat, host a memorial honoring this historic assembly.

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