A traveller of a certain quality, who has seen many countries, shouldn’t get tired until he sees a very special country: Albania or the Country of Eagles, as it is called. By the year 1972, as I well remember, a stunted atheist encouraged me that in fifteen years it wouldn’t be any church left in România. Over the years I saw what he dared to say, knowing what happened in 1967 in the Country of Eagles, more than those we heard about Albania declaring itself the first atheistic country in the world, under the lead of president Enver Hogea.
In April 1992 I was taking an official trip, as a member of a parliamentary deputation, part of the Committee for Human Rights, Creeds and Minorities, to attend the first Macedo-Romanian from Albania Congress. After only a week, invited by the Macedo-Romanian communities and with the blessing of Patriarch Teoctist I attended Easter, this being the first service after a quarter of a century. I was overwhelmed by the emotions that wouldn’t end.
It was then when I first heard of Archbishop Anastasios, sent by the Ecumenical Patriarchate to organize the martyr Church of Albania. I said organize because everything had to be taken from the beginning. I received the blessing to officiate the customary services, living the strongest religious feelings that I ever felt in my pastoral life.
On this occasion a few hundreds of Macedo-Romanian were christened with the help of Dumitrache Veriga, who after a year was to be ordained at Arges for the Macedo-Romanian in Korcea, to whom he built a beautiful church, designed in Arges.
I shall tell briefly, of course, to those who read Argesul Ortodox, what I saw and what I heard on the occasion of my pastoral visit to Albania.
In 1967 Albania was not only declared the first atheistic state in the world but it was a real tragedy. Churches were blown away, cemeteries were destroyed, remaining only those which were declared monuments. There were left only 11 orthodox priests out of 950. Terrors overran the country which was as beautiful as a Balkan Swiss. Christians were not allowed to cross themselves and to gather for prayer in any place. Any religious publication was forbidden and icons and prayer books were hidden from the houses. It was a true disaster that lasted for a quarter of century. In this Country of Eagles it was sent a man of God, the great Archbishop Anastasie, a skilful theolog and an extraordinary missionary of the Orthodox Christian world.
He started from the beginning! He founded theological schools to train the local clergy of tomorrow. He printed religious publications. He ordained and he set the superior hierarchy, metropolitan bishops in the long widowed dioceses and priests in the parishes without shepherds and clerical order. Hundreds of churches arose like flowers perfumed with faith and apostolic enthusiasm. And how many other orders were set with enthusiasm by the Great Apostle of nowadays, archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and entire Albania.
This miraculous hierarch, invited by the Patriarch of Romania, His Holiness Teoctist, honoured Dumitru Staniloae Symposium, attended the Holy Synod meeting, visited the citadel of Târgoviste, was filled with joy seeing the Diocese of Vrancea and Buzau, blessed the new church from Ploiesti and received a presidential decoration.
We were filled with joy in prayer and in word of comfort, many serene and full of grace days. The Romanian Orthodox Church was glad to embrace this jewel of worldwide orthodoxy, to honour him, thanking God who works miracles through his chosen!

	CALINIC
	Bishop of Arges and Muscel