The Work of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center in Albania 

Kristina Whiteman 

The Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) is the overseas mission sending agency for the canonical jurisdictions of the Orthodox Church in the United States.1 Along with other Pan-Orthodox agencies, its work is overseen by the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America (ACOB-USA). As the only American Orthodox2 body tasked with overseas mission,3 OCMC recruits, trains, supervises, and supports short-term mission teams, long-term missionaries, and other related mission projects.4 The OCMC is a relatively young organization, having been reorganized as the Pan-Orthodox American mission agency only in 1994; however, its roots go back to the Greek mission renewal movement of the late 1950s and early 1960s.5

 OCMC’s official mission is to “make disciples of all nations by bringing people to Christ and His church.” Although its vision is firmly rooted in evangelism, its values include holistic mission in the language and culture of indigenous peoples.6 While OCMC has a mission presence in Uganda, Kenya, Mongolia, Indonesia, Guatemala, Romania, Alaska, and Albania, its work in Albania is the focus of this article.

Albanian Traumas

The church in Albania dates back to the first century A.D.7 At the epicenter of the 11th century split between Eastern and Western Christianity and later overtaken by Islam, Albania nonetheless maintained its Orthodox Christian witness across two millennia. Named an autocephalous Orthodox Church in 1937, Albania, shortly afterward, was plunged into World War II and then totalitarian Communist rule.8 The systematic destruction of the Orthodox Church, indeed, of all religion in Albania, followed.9 

By the time the Communist regime collapsed in 1990-91, the Albanian Orthodox Church lay in ruins both literally and figuratively. While only 15 elderly and infirm priests and three deacons had survived persecution, thousands of Orthodox believers privately had kept their faith alive.10 Under these extraordinary circumstances, it was concluded that the Church of Albania would need outside help in rebuilding. In 1991 Archbishop Anastasios (now Archbishop of Tirana, Durres, and All Albania) became the head of the Albanian Orthodox Church. 

It is almost impossible now, looking at the resurrected Church in Albania, to comprehend how completely Christianity had been annihilated in this country. I once asked an Albanian acquaintance whether the stories were really true--was it really, truly an “atheist” country? “Oh yes,” she replied. “I myself had literally never even heard the word God until I was ten years old, let alone have a concept of who God was. And I am not unusual in my country.” This woman now holds an important post in the Albanian Orthodox Church. Her personal story is an example of the astonishing work of the Holy Spirit. 

Archbishop Anastasios

It is important to note the importance of the work of Archbishop Anastasios in Albania, both because he has been one of OCMC’s closest partners and because he himself is a preeminent figure in Albania and, indeed, in worldwide Orthodoxy. He was a key figure in the Greek youth and missions movements of the 1950s and 1960s and has been involved with the World Council of Churches since the early 1960s. He established the official Greek missions agency in 1968, directed the service branch of the Greek Orthodox Church in the 1970s, and spent the 1980s in East Africa as its acting archbishop.11 As he had done in his other ministries, in Albania Archbishop Anastasios has focused on raising up an indigenous Albanian clergy, on empowering local laity, and on living out the Orthodox faith in a truly “Albanian” manner. 

It is difficult to quantify the numerical growth of the Church under Archbishop Anastasios. A 2011 census put the Orthodox population of Albania at seven percent, but this number is strongly contested by the Albanian Orthodox Church, which cites anti-Orthodox bias and poor polling techniques; the Church maintains that approximately 24 percent of Albanians are Orthodox. Archbishop Anastasios’ service in Albania has not always been easy. Traditionally tensions have existed between Albania and Greece. Although without success, a worldwide search had been made for an Albanian qualified to be the hierarch. Some Albanians, nevertheless, opposed the appointment of a Greek as head of the Albanian Orthodox Church. Unfortunately this remains an issue for some nationalistic factions within the country. In the Church, however, even his former critics have appreciated his ministry and have come to support his leadership. What is clear, even with the difficulties Archbishop Anastasios has faced, is that his spirit of love, peace-making, ecumenical openness, and passion for the image of God in all people has been a key component in the resurrection of the Albanian Orthodox Church.12

OCMC in Albania

OCMC missionaries and short-term mission teams have been a part of the work in Albania since the early 1990s, as have OCMC-funded mission projects. Archbishop Anastasios’ service in Kenya in the decade prior to his move to Albania put him in contact with OCMC missionaries, several of whom came to serve with him in Albania. Early long-term missionaries, both priests and laity, ministered in various capacities, assisting with theological education, health care, social ministries, primary education, youth programming and summer camps, and relief work. Much of the focus of this early work was the training of indigenous Albanian believers who would increasingly assume the work of missionaries. 

Over the course of the past quarter century, Albania has continued to be the field where OCMC is most active.13 Every year several short-term mission teams (which last between one and four weeks) travel from the U.S. to minister alongside long-term missionaries. Participants are enriched by their experience of the resurrected Albanian Church. As they offer their gifts in service, they at the same time increase their passion for missions at home. Thus, OCMC’s work has become an important missional bridge connecting the U.S., Albania, and the rest of the world. 

Over the years multiple OCMC “mission specialists” (who serve for mid-range periods, often in roles where they have special skills) and long-term missionaries (who serve for at least two years) have served in Albania. The work of OCMC missionaries has continued to vary widely, including assistance with computer literacy, soup kitchens, catechism and youth programs, seminary education, translation, and medical missions. As of 2017, four missionary households were active in Albania.14 

Current OCMC missionaries work in the field of education and children’s and young adult ministries. Two serve at the Protagonist School, which began in 2002 with 15 students and now enrolls over 700 students in elementary and high school classes. Several missionaries teach at the Resurrection Orthodox Theological Academy, which trains both clergy and laity in the Orthodox faith. Ministry to students at the University of Tirana, ministry through the Central Chidren’s Office of the Orthodox Church of Albania, and summer camps in Albania all fall under the leadership of OCMC missionaries. From the fall of the Communist government in 1990-91 to the present, the Orthodox Church in Albania has labored to rekindle the light of Christ in the lives of the Albanian people. At every step, OCMC has been a collaborator in this work. Like any partnership, it has had its ups and downs; in the end, however, those who have come for long- and short-term ministry have created an alliance that seeks to bring the gospel to those who have not heard it, to faithfully make disciples, and to glorify God through the strengthening of the Body of Christ. ♦

Notes 

1. Recognized Orthodox jurisdictions in the United States number 13. Each is considered “canonical,” being in communion with the larger Eastern Orthodox Church. 
2.  The phrase “American Orthodox” is used to denote the broad category of all canonical Orthodox in the United States of America. “Orthodox Church in America” is the specific Orthodox jurisdiction in the U.S. that grew out of the Russian Orthodox Mission. 
3. The International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) is also under ACOB-USA. While it does operate outside the U.S., its primary focus is disaster relief and development projects, rather than missions. 
4. For more information on the work of OCMC, see https://www.ocmc.org. 
5.  Alexander Veronis, “History and Background of the OCMC,” The Dedication of the New Archbishop Anastasios & Archbishop Demetrios Missionary Training and Administration Building (St. Augustine, FL: 2009). 
6.  https://www.ocmc.org/about/index.aspx. 
7. Lynette Hoppe, Resurrection: The Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania 1991-2003 (Tirana, Albania: Ngjallja Publishers, 2004), 9.
8. An autocephalous Orthodox Church is one in which the national council of bishops is not under the authority of any other national bishops, while remaining in communion with the worldwide Orthodox Church. 
9.  Hoppe, Resurrection, 10-13. 
10.  Hoppe, Resurrection, 15. Just prior to the worst state persecution it is estimated that the Albanian Orthodox Church consisted of “three dioceses presided over by bishops, 12 districts headed by highranking priests, 330 parishes, and 25 monasteries.” Hoppe, Resurrection, 13. 1
11.  Luke Veronis, Go Forth: Stories of Missions and Resurrection in Albania (Ben Lomand, CA: Conciliar Press, 2010), 49. Orthodox bishops are canonically required to be celibate. See also Jim Forest, The Resurrection of the Church in Albania: Voices of Orthodox Christians (Geneva: World Council of Churches Publications, 2002). 
12.  Veronis, Go Forth, 49.
13. Lynette Hoppe, who served in Albania for eight years, is an example of hard-working OCMC missionaries. Lynette and her husband Nathan Hoppe arrived in 1998 as part of a group of long-term OCMC missionaries. Lynette was actively engaged in many areas of ministry, especially to children and to the poor. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, Lynette continued to minister to others through the final 20 months of her life. Upon her death on 27 August 2008, she was granted her final wish to be buried in Albania “as an everlasting symbol of the love of Christ, which is stronger than death.” Her example of authentic faithfulness continues to be a witness to those in Albania and, indeed, to all who know her story. Luke Veronis, ed., Lynette’s Hope: The Witness of Lynette Katherine Hoppe’s Life and Death (Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press, 2008). 
14. https://www.ocmc.org/about/view_country.aspx?countryId=3.

Kristina Whiteman is a Ph.D. student in the E. Stanley Jones School of Evangelism and World Missions, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky.