Orthodox Church Destroyed by the Albanian Authorities
On the 26th of August, local officials destroyed the Orthodox church St. Athanasius, which is located in the village of Dhermi, in southern Albania.
Around 4:00 a.m., on the orders of the mayor of Himara, municipal police arrived on the scene and excavators destroyed the building. The few people who heard the noise of machines at dawn, went to the site, but were unable to stop the destruction. Later, the villagers returned to collect pieces of their church. On 20 August, municipal employees of Himara had already gone to the church and removed icons and sacred objects and made a first attempt at destruction. The Orthodox community was not warned beforehand. As soon as the faithful were informed of these preparations to destroy the building, they went there with the church's priest to protest and to prevent the act. They then expressed their indignation and declared that they were ready to defend their church. They gathered again in the afternoon. The St. Athanasius church was destroyed for the first time in 1972 by the Communists, who used its stones to built a hydraulic tank. In 1992, local residents built a new church to replace the old one. The destruction, performed by state employees, is a flagrant violation of Law No. 10057 of 22.01.2009 (translated as: "On ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Albania and the Orthodox Church of Albania" that guarantees the integrity of places of worship and protects against abusive actions of the state. Sources:
http://orthodoxie.com/une-eglise-orthodoxe-a-ete-detruite-par-les-employes-municipaux-dans-le-sud-de-lalbanie/
http://www.christianophobie.fr/breves/albanie-une-eglise-orthodoxe-detruite-illegalement-par-les-autorites-dans-le-sud-du-pays#.Ve1OUxHtmkp
Photo credits: christianophobie.fr and orthodoxie.com
