TIRANA, January 30/ATA/ At the “Resurrection of Christ” cathedral in Tirana, there was held the funeral ceremony of the Archbishop of Albania Anastasios.
Numerous believers were gathered in the courtyard of the cathedral, while inside there were the representatives of the Orthodox clergy from Albania and abroad, the representatives of religious communities in the country, representatives of the diplomatic corps in Albania and others.
In recognition of Archbishop Anastasios’ immense spiritual and social contributions, attending the ceremony were senior state officials, President Bajram Begaj, Prime Minister Edi Rama, Speaker of the Parliament Elisa Spiropali and others.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was also present together with a government delegation.
Patriarch Bartholomew, Head Of The Holy Orthodox Church presided over the farewell ceremony saying the mass held on this occasion.
Anastasios died on January 25 at a hospital in Athens. He was 95. For days, Orthodox Christians have been flocking to the Resurrection Cathedral in Tirana, where Anastasios was lying-in-state since earlier this week.
After two days of homage, Archbishop Anastasios is laid to rest in the crypt of the Cathedral./p.s./