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Service for the Metropolitan of Gjirokastra/ Archbishop Joan: The Church of Albania will always remember him with gratitude

2025-07-01 17:30:00, Aktualitet CNA

Service for the Metropolitan of Gjirokastra/ Archbishop Joan: The Church of

The funeral service of the Metropolitan of Gjirokastra, His Grace, Archbishop Dhimitri, was held this Tuesday. Also present was the Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania, His Beatitude, Bishop Joani.

In his speech, Bishop Joani emphasized that the Church of Albania will always remember His Grace, Dimitri, with gratitude.

The Archbishop said that Gjirokastra will keep him in its heart as its beloved shepherd and everyone will stand by his blessed flock, which he led for 19 years, with love and care.

The Archbishop's full speech:

“We have gathered today with deep sorrow to bid farewell to our brother and fellow priest, His Grace, the Metropolitan of Gjirokastra, His Excellency Dimitris. On the 28th of the month, on the eve of the feast of the Holy Apostles, the Lord called to Himself this servant of His, who, following the example of the Apostles, dedicated his entire life to the service of the Gospel. Mixed feelings overwhelm us in the atmosphere of the feast of the Holy Apostles. We grieve and we mourn, but the hope of the message of the Resurrection, which the Apostles of Christ preached and continues to preach unceasingly by the Church, does not allow us to drown in the sea of ??sorrow. For - as Saint Paul teaches us - whether we live, we live to the Lord; and whether we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s (Rom 14:8).

Our brother, Metropolitan Demetrius, was born in Serres, Greece, in September 1940. From an early age he heard the call of God and obeyed it. He studied at the Faculty of Theology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where he received a good theological education that would accompany him throughout his life. But his heart did not seek only academic achievement, but primarily spiritual and ascetic perfection.

In 1974, at the age of 34, he entered the Holy Monastery of St. Catherine of Sinai, where he was tonsured a monk. In 1988, he was ordained Hierodeacon and Hieromonk. In this historic and well-known stronghold of Orthodoxy, under the shadow of the mountain where God spoke to Moses, His Grace Dimitri experienced the mystery of the desert and silence. He worked with dedication in the field of paleography and the systematization of the monastery’s precious manuscripts. The experience at Sinai profoundly shaped his personality. He learned the value of silence, obedience and humility. He cultivated a deep interior life that would later become a source of strength for his difficult pastoral work, because, as St. John Gojarti says: There are more storms that disturb the soul of a priest than waves that hit the sea.

In August 1991, when the Patriarchal Exarch, Bishop of Andrusa, His Grace Anastasios arrived in Albania to undertake the titanic task of rebuilding the destroyed Church, Hieromonk Dhimitër, with his great apostolic zeal, was among the first to respond to his call. He left his beloved Sinai Monastery and came to serve where the Church was in need. He felt this deeply, since from the Metochion of the Holy Sinai Monastery in Ioannina, where he served, he was informed about all the difficulties of the people of Albania.

Albania in 1991 was a country just emerging from the darkness of an atheist regime. The Church was completely destroyed. In this landscape of desolation, Archbishop Anastasios and his collaborators were called to do the humanly impossible, but possible for the love of God: to resurrect our Church from the ruins.

The meeting of Hieromonk Demetrius, as well as of all of us at that time, with Archbishop Anastasius, was decisive. The learned Hierapostle immediately recognized in the person of the Hieromonk of Sinai a valuable collaborator. The trust that developed between them was deep and unwavering. Demetrius became one of the Archbishop's closest collaborators in the work of rebuilding the Church.

Since the fall of 1994, he served as Protosingjel of the Holy Metropolis of Gjirokastra, in one of the most sensitive areas of our Church. Gjirokastra, a city with a rich history, but also with great complexity in ethnic and religious balances, needed a shepherd with experience, wisdom and discernment. For twelve years, as Protosingjel, Father Dhimitri worked tirelessly in the Metropolis of Gjirokastra. He traveled through villages, performed liturgies in ruined churches, supporting and encouraging the people in this difficult period.

His election by Archbishop Anastasios is in itself proof of the gifts and value of the deceased. Archbishop Anastasios did not choose his collaborators by chance; he sought people who combined spiritual maturity with pastoral wisdom, theological formation with humility, zeal with patience. It was precisely these gifts that he recognized in Father Dhimmitri, and for this reason, on November 11, 2006, the Holy Synod of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, of which the speaker was already a member, after the approval of the Statute by the General Clerical-Laity Assembly, elected him Metropolitan of Gjirokastra. His consecration took place on November 16 in the Church of the Annunciation of the Theotokos in Tirana, and his enthronement on November 26 in the Holy Church of the Archangels in Gjirokastra.

As Metropolitan, Dimitri carried out a multifaceted pastoral activity for nineteen years. Saint John Gojarti writes: The priest should behave towards his flock, exactly as a father would behave towards his young children. Metropolitan Dimitri embodied this paternal love. At the same time, he functioned as a stabilizing factor. With his distinction and his love, he managed to unite the flock, to build bridges over divisions, to bring peace where there was discord.

He showed special care for the young: the students of the "Precious Cross" Church Lyceum, as well as the girls' boarding school in Bularat and the schools of the Metropolis, which constitute exemplary educational institutions.

He was kind to everyone, few in words but essential, firm in his principles but full of understanding for human weaknesses. I remember Brother Dhimitër, the spirit of respect and cooperation that we always had and that he sealed with his sacrificial presence at the election of the new Archbishop of Albania a few months ago. While his health was shaken, he did not hesitate to travel to Tirana for the election and to stand for hours at the Liturgy, thus showing his respect for the Synod, his great love for the Church and his sense of responsibility for its future and unity.

I will not forget the last words of Archbishop Anastasios, when, as a representative of the Holy Synod, we visited him at the "Hygeia" hospital in Tirana: Be united and preserve unity with every sacrifice, repeating these words to us several times. Allow me to convey this message of unity, which Archbishop Anastasios emphasized to us that day, to all of you brothers of the Metropolis of Gjirokastra. I am sure that within this unity in Christ, the blessed hierarchs of our Synod who have departed from us and continue to pray for us, will intercede with Christ with courage for the flock of their beloved Church, to which they dedicated their lives. I will also try to serve this unity as Archbishop, with the grace of God.

Brothers and sisters,

The sorrow of separation is heavy, but the hope of the Resurrection turns sorrow into joy. For we know that death is not the end, but the beginning of true life according to the promise of our Lord and God Jesus Christ.

The Church of Albania will always remember you with gratitude. Gjirokastra will hold you in its heart as its beloved shepherd, and we will stand by your blessed flock, which you led for 19 years, with love and care.

Eternal be your memory, our blessed and unforgettable brother! Amen