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 The Orthodox Church in Albania Under the Ottoman Rule
15th-19th Century
Dr. Konstantinos Giakoumis
University of New York Tirana

Writing in the last century of the Byzantine Empire, the scholar-monk Joseph Vryennios
(1350-1431/2) was convinced that the fate of the Orthodox church and faith was indissolubly
connected with the Byzantine state when he prophesized:
―What do you think the consequences will be if the Fall overtakes diligence? Believe me, I am telling the
truth, our City is no longer the Metropolis of the Romans [as we used to know it]; it is instead a field of
obliteration, a fortress of the adversaries and an invincible enemy of the Christians. In no long a time, but
within a week the Church and the Kingdom, the values of Noblemen, nunneries, guest-houses, monasteries
and heirlooms, the freedom, all of the honour and glory of our nation and all of our goods will perish upon
like a broken shell and along with them, I say, our Orthodox pride 1‖.
Yet, history has shown that neither was Byzantine control over Constantinople able to contain the
process of Islamization of Hellenism in Asia Minor (a process that continued from the 11th to the 15th
century2) nor did the Orthodox faith disintegrate after the City‘s fall to the Ottomans.
Albania is often portrayed as a model of religious tolerance, symbiosis or even osmosis and
syncretism3; in late 19th century nationalist literature it is even said that ―Feja e shqyptarit asht
shqyptaria!‖ (―the religion of Albanians is Albanianism‖)4. Yet, as we are going to show in this
paper, its own particularities and geo-strategic, social and political importance notwithstanding, the
Orthodox Church and Orthodox Christians in Albania during the Ottoman rule were as similar to the
conditions prevailing in other provinces of the Empire, as Albanians were integrated into the diverse
mechanisms of the Ottoman state. For the purpose of thorough investigation of the subject, this
paper was divided in five intertwined sections dealing with the geo-strategic importance of the place
for the strategic thinking of the Ottoman state, the structure of the Orthodox Church in the Ottoman
state, Her relations with the state authorities at all levels and the Orthodox Christian Identity, the
dealings of Orthodox Christians with Non-Christians and Christians of other Christian
denominations, the cultural heritage of the Orthodox Church in Albania and last but not least,
Orthodox Christian policies towards the use of the Albanian language.
Following social methodologies and macroscopic methods of historical enquiry pertinent to the
School of Annals, this paper, while taking into consideration the related secondary sources, it
compares, contrasts or supplements them with primary sources extracted from Archives in Greece,
Turkey and Albania, epigraphic data and the preserved material culture.

1. Geostrategic Importance:
Epiros and Albania constitute a geographical unit which exhibits unique similarities with the
entire northern part of the Mediterranean (Western Asia Minor, Southern Italy and France, Spain
and Portugal). Its geological and morphological features have determined, to a considerable degree,
its historical, political, social and cultural evolution over the course of the centuries. Three major
types of rock prevail here: limestone, flysch, and alluvium. Together with the climatic factors, they
constitute the territorial conditions of this region‘s mountains and plains. Compact mountainous
ranges create five major parallel mountain chains on a N.-NW./S.-SE. axis. The terrain consists of
low mountains and hills, small, fertile basins, lakes of limited surface area, torrents and rivers. The
flow of the rivers is affected by the axis of the mountain chains. Rich materials brought by them to
the Adriatic, Ionian and Ambrakian coasts form extensive deltas and lagoons through successive
alluvia, with the result that the coastal zone acquires a certain swampy form with firm sandy lies of
the land.
The orientation of the road arteries is in conformity with the geological-morphological lie of
the land and in line with the direction of the mountain chains, converging at the region‘s southern
edge. Another transverse network of roads, which passes through high plateaux, saddles, plains,
fords and narrow passages establishes communication between the coasts, the interior mountainous
zone of and the eastern regions of the Balkans.
The coastal shores are hardly accessible because of the precipitous zone of Mount
Akrokeraunia on the one hand, and on the other the extensive marshes and sandy alluvia in the
estuaries of the rivers. The gulf of Vlorë, however, is deep and safe; it is there that the sea becomes
sufficiently narrow to form a passage from the Balkan Peninsula to the Apennines: the straits of
Otranto. To the South, along the shores of Thesprotia, there are a number of natural bays and ports,
some of which, however, are shallow, while others are scarcely accessible.
The climate of Epiros varies from that of the mild temperate Mediterranean to the more
extreme continental weather patterns of the central Balkans. Transverse plains and mountain saddles
allow Mediterranean breezes to penetrate as far as the natural, remote hinterlands of Pindus, thereby
causing deep climatic projections of a Mediterranean character in the regions east of Pindus. In the
other mountainous zones a bitter continental climate prevails. The overall temperature range and the
level of the annual rainfall explains the existence of diverse flora and fauna with zones of
Mediterranean vegetation along the coastal regions and in parts where the warm temperate and the
cold climate of Northern Europe meet, as well as in other highland zones of dense Mediterranean
and continental forests. The extent of these last zones (which were once far more dense and
extensive than they are today) together with the abundance of pasturelands and meadows were
crucial for the formation of a mountain economy with a vigorous cattle-breeding orientation.
I believe that the relative isolation of the region resulted more from its limited natural
resources than from the compact mountain chains, swampy plains and inaccessible shores which cut
it off from the major arterial roads of the peninsula. Only the Ionian Islands and the Otranto straits
were Epiros and Albania‘s constant bridgehead towards the Italian peninsula. For when a Balkan
state assumed power, it attempted to control the region‘s coasts in order to keep an eye on the
opposite shore. Correspondingly, whenever a great power rose in the Apennine peninsula, it felt the
urge to take control the passages and the opposite coasts. Access to Balkan centres was chiefly
facilitated by the Via Egnatia, whose major ports in the Adriatic, Durrës and Vlorë, were among the
most important cities of Epiros. From there, via Lake Ochrid, Monastir and Thessaloniki, the Via
Egnatia extended to Constantinople5.
High mountain chains and other natural obstacles intensified the reclusive and separatist
attitudes of the populations that lived in these lands by preventing the convenience of
communication between different regions, while the mountain economy favoured a social
organisation based on the clan system. However, whereas these conditions limited social contacts,
they did not entirely prevent them. The shepherd population, for example, being in constant need of
richer pastures for the flocks, exploited every possibility of movement made available by a dense
network of mountain trails and passages. These nomads or semi-nomads (during migration periods
or in seasonal movements) made use of every possible road giving access to the desired pasture
fields.
The geographical features of Epiros, as summarised above, were unfavourable for the
development of a buoyant economy based entirely on agriculture. They also prevented the creation
of large cities, owing to, among other reasons, the lack of rich hinterlands. The almost complete
absence of exploitable mines, unlike the situation in Byzantine and Ottoman Serbia and western
Bulgaria, also handicapped possibilities for the formation of major urban centres.
These unique conditions, therefore, greatly affected the historical destiny of Epiros and
Albania. Yet, in spite of adverse conditions, this region played an active role in all of the major
movements and stages of Balkan history and contributed on an equal footing to the continuing
cultural development of the area. On the other hand, these lands were never of primary importance
either for the Byzantines or the Ottomans. Located at the natural border line between these Empires
and the Latin West, and used by each as springboard for expansionist policies (equally by the powers
of Latin Christianity), they constituted a region of great strategic value which had to be kept under
firm control. This is important to keep in mind in order to understand much of the region‘s turbulent
history during the Byzantine, and especially the late Byzantine, period and it explains the tenacious
struggle of the Ottomans in the 14th and 15th century to hold on to a place of otherwise marginal
value. The relations of Epiros with the wider Byzantine and Ottoman worlds were affected by two
interdependent factors: its geographic position and structure, and political events. Both governed the
region‘s economic, demographic and cultural development. Thus, this province was first and
foremost a border district of great strategic importance, whose population‘s favour must have been a
distinct policy of both eastern and western powers.

2. The Orthodox Church’s Relations with the Ottoman State, Structure, the Phenomenon of
Islamizations and the Orthodox Christian Society and Identity.

2.1. The Orthodox Church’s Relations with the Ottoman State.

As a huge multi-ethnic and multi-cultural state, the Ottoman Empire was theocratic and highly
pragmatic in its inter-religious affairs. The origin of Ottoman toleration for Christianity and Judaism
must be sought in pre-Islamic religious layers that provided formative elements of Islamic faith6 and
Islam‘s theocratic precepts: specifically, its theology and law as embodied in the Koran, linking all
monotheists to a common fate on the Day of Resurrection and beyond 7 and also maintaining that
―there is no compulsion in religion‖8 and that ―I have my religion, and you have your religion‖, a
notion which would certainly have been very strange to non-Muslims in earlier times9. With regard
to Christianity, Mohammed‘s contract with the Christians of Yemen became the basis of Ottoman
toleration towards their Christian subjects10 — provided that the latter pay a fixed poll tax as a token
of submission. It was, therefore, an element in Islamic legal practice that the Christian subjects of a
Muslim state could preserve their own religious organisations and traditions.
The millet11 system, applied to the non-Muslim communities living in a Muslim state, owed its
specifically Islamic legal bases to the very beginnings of Islam, to the events of Muhammad‘s
Medinan years (622-623)12. In the Ottoman Empire the word ―millet‖ became a technical term, and
was used for the organized, recognized, religious and political communities enjoying certain rights
of autonomy under their own leaders13. The millet system was based on the recognition by the
sultan, by way of a decree, of the existence and limited authority of a non-Muslim community. The
non-Muslims remained always dhimmi, subjects of the Islamic state conducting their own
communal affairs in certain defined spheres of life, in this case within the Church organization14.
Accordingly, the Orthodox patriarchs and the Jewish hahambaşi became ethnarchs in the true sense
of the word, rulers of their people, where ‗people‘ meant, as in medieval times, a religious, not a
national, group. It is precisely for this reason that the various Balkan peoples, Slavs, Albanians and
Greeks, were joined together into one ‗millet‘.
Both political and religious reasons forced Islam to preserve and even enhance and extend the
pre-Ottoman status, authority and competences of the Orthodox Church over the Orthodox
communities. Hence, the Orthodox believers in the Ottoman lands speaking different languages, all
came to be designated administratively as Rum, literally ―Roman‖. The Ottomans, though
distinguishing them ethnically, did not give importance to their national or racial differences.
Parallel with the Ottoman advance, the Orthodox Church had to adopt itself to the new
situation; either Greek or Serbian Orthodoxy had no other alternative to survive. Accepting the
status offered by the Ottomans, the Orthodox Church preserved its ecclesiastical organization.
Retaining Her Byzantine status as an important civil organ, in the Ottoman times the Orthodox
Church extended its rights and found ways to play a no minor role in lay affairs15.
Simultaneously, the pragmatic character of the Ottoman state carried religious toleration into
the realm of political requirements and economic forces. At the political level, in accordance to the
old Christian hierarchical structure of having a Patriarch at the Head of a Synod administering
Church affairs, but in contrast to Christian canons of elevating a prelate from the ranks of
ecclesiastical hierarchy at the head of the Orthodox Church, Gennadios Scholarios, upon Mehmed
II‘s order, was ordained Patriarch at a forced and non-canonical pace16. With respect to economic
forces, the Patriarch, the Patriarchate, and its officials became part of the Ottoman administration
and were thenceforth bedecked with privileges based on the economic relations between the Porte
and its Christian subjects17. In return for Her status, the Orthodox Church gave sultan‘s authority a
certain religious and ‗God-pleasing‘ dimension18 and incorporated the public functions of the
Ottoman state into its religious and pastoral practices and administrative dealings, thereby securing
‗natural‘ acceptance of its lot by the Christian subjects of the Ottoman state19. The Church
considered the tribulations of the Christians as a divine retribution for their infidelity, thus securing
in a way the western borders of the Empire through its, generally speaking, anti-unionist attitude in
the potential merger of the Orthodox with the Papist Church20. Last but not least, the Church
condemned those who thought otherwise, this allegedly being contrary to the will of God21.

2.2. The Orthodox Church in Albania’s Structure During the Ottoman Rule.
The Ottomans did not interfere in the internal organisation of the Church. Throughout the
occupation, ecclesiastical jurisdictional divisions continued to exist in the Orthodox Church in
Albania, centred, as prior to the Ottoman occupation, at two, major ecclesiastical jurisdictional
levels, the Archdiocese of Achrida and the Patriarchate of Constantinople through primarily the
Metropolis of Ioannina22. The study of the structure of the Orthodox Church in Albania during the
Ottoman rule is extremely difficult due to the paucity and dispersion of the related sources, the
obscurity of many ecclesiastical inscriptions that could cast light on the matter and the lack of proper
methodological skills of most 19th and 20th century scholars who wrote on the subject, who often fall
in contradictions or fail to consider sources that they elsewhere cite.
As mentioned above, the autocephalous Archdiocese of Achrida retained under its pastoral care
territories of modern central and S.E. Albania that were geographically and historically associated
with it23. The Ottoman occupation finds the Metropolis of Dyrrachion (Γπξξάρηνλ, Durazzo, Drač,
Durrës) and the Dioceses of Gora and Mokra (Γθόξα θαη Μόθξα), Belagrada (Βειάγξαδα, Berat),
Kolonia, Deavolis and Selasphoros under the Archdiocese of Achrida‘s orbit of influence. The
historical Metropolis of Dyrrachion is mentioned in sources once as a Metropolis of Dyrrachion,
Gora and Mokra and once as Metropolis of Dyrrachion in whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction was the
Diocese of Gora and Mokra. After 1767, the Metropolis was subjugated under the Patriarchate of
Constantinople until the 20th century, when, on the occasion of the recognition of the Orthodox
Autocephalous Church of Albania (1937), it was renamed to ―Metropolis of Tirana, Dyrrachion and
Elbasan‖24. The Diocese of Belagrada, at all probability, had already fused smaller provincial church
centres, like the Dioceses of Poulcherioupolis, Spathia (Alb.: Shpat) and Mouzakia (Myzeqe),
Graditsion (Gradeç), Apollonia, Aulona (Vlorë, Valona), Kanina and Glavenitsa. The Diocese
remained under Achrida until 1767, yet it was promoted before 1743 to a Metropolis, which held the
second rank in the order of metropolitan precedence of the Archdiocese. In 1767 it was subjugated
under the Patriarchate of Constantinople acquiring the 78th rank of metropolitan precedence; in 1862
it was promoted to the 60th rank and at a later stage to the 55th 25. Last but not least, at the eve of the
Ottoman domination the regions of S.E. Albania seemed to be part of the Diocese of Kolonia and
Deavolis, subjugated in the Metropolis of Kastoria. The later development of the city of Korça led to
the establishment of a Diocese of Korytsa, which in 1670 was promoted to the ranks of a Metropolis,
the Diocese of Kolonia and Deavolis being merged in it. In its subjugation under the Patriarchate of
Constantinople it acquired the 75th rank of Metropolitan precedence. The thriving development of
Voskokopoja (Moschopolis) compelled the Metropolitans of Korytsa from the late 18th century to
incorporate Voskopopa‘s name in the official title of the Metropolis (Korytsa and Moschopolis). For
a short period of time, between March 1828 and May 1834, it also includes the Archdiocese of
Pogoniani, due to the inability of the latter‘s province to sustain a Bishop while, after Pogoniani‘s
detachment, in 1835, in was also merged with Përmet. Its metropolitan precedence changed again in
January 1902, when it was promoted to the 34th rank26.
 The other pole of ecclesiastical authority in the remaining parts of south and S.W. Albania was
the Patriarchate of Constantinople through the Metropolis of Ioannina, incorporating the Dioceses of
Vellas, Buthrotou (Butrint), Dryinoupolis and Cheimarra (Himarrë). While the Dioceses under the
jurisdiction of the autocephalous Archbishopric of Achrida enjoyed greater stability of their ‗order of
precedence‘, the increasingly more important role of the city of Ioannina since 1204 marked changes
in its metropolitan rank. Because of the importance of Ioannina as the administrative, financial and
educational centre of Epiros, its Metropolis rose in the ecclesiastical ‗order of precedence‘ 27 of the
Ecumenical Patriarchate, as indicated in the relevant Notitiae. After the elevation of the Diocese of
Ioannina to a Metropolis in 131828, the Diocese of Dryinoupolis was placed in its jurisdiction. In the
14th century the Metropolis was the 53rd in rank29, whereas in a Notitia dated between 1453 and 1500
it had risen already to 33rd in rank. In 1590 it rises to 6th place, while in 1615 it falls back to 33rd. The
metropolis is also mentioned in the Notitiae of 1680 and 1690 but the known sources do not give its
ordering. In 1710 it held the 12th place; in 1715 and 1731 the 32nd, then the 29th in 175930. Finally in
1808, under the rule of Ali Pasha, Patriarch Gregory V raised it to 13th in rank31.
The most populous Diocese of the Metropolis of Ioannina in the territories of modern Albania
was that of Dryinoupolis and Argyrokastron. Its seat was initially located in the city of
Adrianoupolis but after its destruction the diocese was transferred to Gjirokastër and assumed the
name Δρυϊνουπόλεως καὶ Ἀργυροκάστρου. It is first mentioned (ὁ Δρυϊνουπόλεως) in a
Notitia dating from the 10th-11th century where it is said to hold the seventh rank of Dioceses under
the Metropolis of Nikopolis32. In the 11th-12th century it is indicated as being eighth in the order of
Dioceses in the same Metropolis (ὁ Δρυϊνουπόλεως)33 and finally, it is referred to in another
Notitia dated between 1453 and the 16th century34. In the post-Byzantine period it is mentioned in the
Notitiae of 1615, 1678, 1680, 1690, 1710, 1715 and 1759 as a Diocese of the Metropolis of
Ioannina35. Finally, in 1832 the Diocese of Dryinoupolis merges with the Diocese of Cheimarra and
Delvinon to form one Diocese under the name36 Δρυϊνουπόλεως καὶ Χειμάρρας, while in 1835
the Diocese was promoted to a Metropolis under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical
Patriarchate37.
The Orthodox Christian population of the south-western coasts of modern Albania were under
the pastoral jurisdiction of the Diocese of Cheimarra. Without clear information about the date of its
founding, with 976 as a terminus ante quem, the Diocese is thought to have been under the
Archdiocese of Achrida from the 11th century until 1285, when it was subjugated under Ioannina. In
the 14th century it is mentioned as subject of the papal Church and in 1363 the Patriarchate of
Constantinople re-established its ecclesiastical authority over it. After the Ottoman census of 1431/2,
its territory extended to the region of Delvina, thereby acquiring the title ―Diocese of Cheimarra and
Delvinon‖. In 1813-1821 it fused with the Diocese of Dryinoupolis, yet after Ali Pasha‘s death the
Diocese of Cheimarra and Delvinon regained its autonomy until 1832, until in 1835 it finally merged
with the newly founded of Metropolis of Dryinoupolis. The rationale of this merger can be
concluded in consideration of the proximity of the seat of the Metropolis with Delvina, which had
already become the capital centre of the Diocese of Cheimarra since 187138.
As shown from the brief overview above, the available primary and secondary sources indicate
that the territoriality of ecclesiastical jurisdictions was fluid, influenced not only by short and
medium-term political and ecclesiastical developments, but also by the flux of Islamization and the
economic development (or regression) of one region or the other. In terms of periodization, the date
of the abolition of the Autocephalous status of the Archdiocese of Achrida (1767) can certainly be
considered as a terminus. A specialized study of the development of the Orthodox Church‘s
jurisdictional structure during the Ottoman Empire in the methodological model that S. Vryonis
applied for 11th-15th century Asia Minor, though not within the scope of this present contribution,
would indeed cast light in many unknown aspects of all of the parameters mentioned above.
2.3. The Orthodox Church in Albania and the Phenomenon of Islamizations During the Ottoman
Rule.
A significant motif in post-Byzantine Church history concerns the Orthodox congregations and
their religious problems, chief among them being conversion to Islam (Islamization). This was a
matter of deep concern both in Epiros and in Albania. Demographical data of the Gjirokastër city
and region details concerning the numbers of Christian and Muslim populations are given
demonstrating the pace of Islamization39.
Relations between the Ottoman conquerors and the Christians underwent three major phases.
The first coincided with the different stages of Ottoman occupation. In the earlier phase (14th-15th
century) a policy known as istimālet was put into effect: here the Ottomans generously granted many
privileges and incorporated most of the pre-existing divisions of authority into the Ottoman
administrative structure40. According to a marginal note in a Menaion of the Metropolis of
Dryinoupolis, the Ottomans in 1434 registered a number of Christian sipahis from different
villages41. According to the available sources, this first phase in the relations ended with the fall of
Constantinople (1453)42. Thereafter, according to the chronicle of Gjirokastër43:
the Hagharins (= Muslims) were very patient until Constantinople was taken and then
they became wild wolves towards the Christians. They destroyed churches and
monasteries; they destroyed Phoinikoupolis (Finiq), Konitsa, expelled the Christians
from Gjirokastër, burnt houses, massacred many Christians and there was disconsolate
wailing and weeping. And then around that time (1456) the king issued a command to
these places and the Christians became pacified.
This account has been confirmed by a similar narrative in another Epirote chronicle, the chronicle of
Tsaraplana44:
… when Constantinople was taken in the year 1453, the Turks became infuriated towards
the Christians, issued commands, and destroyed the churches and the castles. There were
great disturbances and uncontrolled lamenting was heard for two years. Then, after two
years, they brought consolation to these places, peace reigned and every one remained in
his place.
The second phase, which lasted almost until the Tanzimat Reforms (1830-1856), was
characterised by a number of remarkable improvements in the status of Christians, especially after
the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774). This became known as the period of the millet policy45. The
third period of period of relations between the Ottoman sovereigns and their Christian subjects dates
almost from the Tanzimat period and extends up to the independence of the different Balkan states,
where such relations in effect seized to exist.
During the first 150 years of Ottoman power in Albania there was no extensive Islamization
such as that which occurred, for example, in Bosnia. Nor did large numbers of Muslims settle in the
newly-conquered lands46 as they did in Thrace, eastern Bulgaria and Macedonia. In these early
decades of Ottoman domination, Islam in Albania47 was represented by a loose network of
administrative and military centres in which the Muslim population was considerably less than a
half of the total number of the inhabitants. Beyond the urban centres one can hardly speak of
incidents of conversion to Islam. In fact, the Ottomans were very careful to observe the legal
procedures involved in proselytism48. In the 15th century sixteen Albanian cities were almost
completely Christian, among them Gjirokastër, Kanina, Këlcyrë and Përmet49. Most conversions
occurred after the death of Scanderbeg (1468); in Zagori, for example, in spite of the privileged
status of the region, 14 families were Islamized in 1492. By 1510 in the province of Vlorë there
were already 1.206 Muslim living amongst 14.304 Christian families50. At the end of the 16th
century conversion to Islam had so much penetrated into central Albania, that a Greek traveller in
Durrës in 1580 reported that ―in the region of Durrës there are no Greeks‖ (that is, Orthodox
Christians)51. In the 15th century converts to Islam came chiefly from the old ruling class 52 and the
new class of timar-holders53, while from the 16th century onwards Islamizations won ground also
over the peasantry54.
 Conversions to Islam intensified in the 17th century55. The participation of the Epirote
Christian sipahis in the war of the Ottomans against Erivan in 1635 was a landmark in this respect.
After their victory, the Divan was so alarmed at the actual strength of the Christian sipahis, that it
ordered all of them to become Muslims in order to preserve their positions. As a consequence, more
than 12,000 Epirote sipahis converted to Islam56. According to a note signed by a certain Konstantis
Vryonis in January 27, 1637, the relevant command stipulated that: ―those Romans who possessed
fiefs should Islamize to retain them, otherwise they will be forfeited‖57. There are two other sources,
which confirm the same. First, the so-called ‗Codex of the City of Delvinë‘ which mentions that in
1635, when ―the sons of untruth and darkness‖ had increased, they dwelt in the quarters of
Gjinaleksi, Kalapodates (of the shoe-tree makers) and Paputzides (of the shoe-makers) where they
confiscated the Christian churches and converted them to mosques ―for the glory of their religion‖,
thereby forcing the non-Islamized Christians to move to another quarter58. Secondly, in 1670/1
Evliya Çelebi refers to a tradition concerning the practice of Islamizing in the once Christian
garrison of the Castle of Zhulat, namely, that the guards of the garrison were forced to become
Muslims in order to preserve their positions59. In the course of the 17th century Islamization had
become so widespread that in 1610 Marino Bicci, the Catholic bishop of Antibari, wrote that he
feared that in 10 years all Albanians might have converted to Islam60. In 1648 the Cypriot Catholic
missionary of Himarrë, Neophytos Rodinos, wrote that the Bishop of Glykeon found entire villages
being converted from one year to the next61. In 1670/71, when Evliya Çelebi visited Gjirokastër,
Islamic life had undergone a remarkable development62. Conversion had seriously decimated the
Christian population in the provinces of Albania in the 17th century. According to Pouqueville, the
ratio of Muslims to Christians in the 17th century was 9 to 1, whereas Eton claims it was 8 to 263;
both estimates would seem to be exaggerations.
In the 18th century Islamization increased and a large number of inhabitants of Labëri, Filiates,
Pogon and Kurvelesh converted. On 25 December 1724 the scholar-monk Nektarios Terpos went to
the village of Dragot, Elbasan to celebrate the Christmas liturgy. Upon entering the village church
he found the parish priest and around a hundred and fifty women but only fifteen men. He learned
that the other men had all converted to Islam64. In 1739, twenty five villages in Thesprotia were
forced to convert to Islam en masse65. It has also been noted that conversions intensified after the
wars of Russia with the Porte (1710-1711, 1768-1774, 1787-1792, 1806-1812)66.
It is relatively easy to follow the process of Islamization in Gjirokastër and its districts by
surveying demographic movements and fluctuations. Until the 16th century Christianity prevailed
unequivocally [see Note 39] and the only evidence for Muslim life in this period was the mosque of
Bayazid II (1481-1512), built within the walls of the Castle67. Apparently this served the needs of
the janissaries of the Castle garrison and the few Muslim officials. By the end of the 16 th century,
however, 23% of the city had already turned to Islam68, while in 1670/1, Evliya Çelebi provides
information for a population growth of 526% compared with statistics from the end of the previous
century69. In spite of opinion to the contrary70, the Christian element of the city not only did not
increase, but actually decreased at a rate of 17%. The cause for the expansion of Gjirokastër was the
immigration of the provincial peasantry to the centre owing to the worsening conditions of peasant
life, which in the case of Albania also involved conversion71. Islamization continued during the 18th
and the beginning of the 19th centuries. This period sees a gradual increase of the population in the
district of Gjirokastër and a parallel decrease of the Christian population partly attributed to peasant
mobility and partly to apostasy. For the entire province of Gjirokastër (both city and countryside)
there were almost no cases of Islamizations for most of the 15th century. However, towards the end
of the century, in 1490 to be precise, there were already 12 Islamized families registered72, most
probably members of the old ruling aristocracy. Having integrated itself into the Ottoman
administrative machine, this group assumed the Islamic faith from the second or third generation 73.
At the beginning of the 16th century (c. 1506/07) there were 53 Muslim families and 4 Muslim
celibates74, probably from the class of Christian sipahis or fief holders, and, possibly a small
number from the few Muslim settlers charged with military or administrative duties by the Ottoman
government. Throughout the 16th century the number of Muslim families remained rather stable; in
1583 there were 49 Muslim families and 40 celibates75. Figures from the 17th century portray a
dramatic decline in the Christian population, but it is not until 1830-1867 that we have specific
evidence of Muslim households already outflanking the Christian [see Note 39]. This breach
widened towards the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th, when the kaza of
Gjirokastër numbered approximately 68,000 Christians and 72,000 Muslims. While it is certain that
this process was not sudden, we do know that in the 19th and 20th centuries most Muslims of the
kaza of Gjirokastër lived in the city itself.
There are four main reasons for the spread of Islam throughout Albania and a part of Epiros.
The first were social and political: since the Ottomans treated Christians with certain distrust,
conversions were favoured in order for the latter to acquire and retain official positions and
privileges76. The second main reason was economic: Islamization frequently accompanied freedom
from exploitation, arbitrariness, overwhelming income tax and the payment of the poll tax.
Conversion was also the means of amassing wealth77. Furthermore, it has been suggested that
Albanians were well known for their indifference to religion. In the Middle Ages, for example, they
converted effortlessly from Orthodoxy to Catholicism and vice-versa, and during the Ottoman
domination from either confession to Islam. Even heresies such as Arianism and Bogomilism were
widespread in the country78. Furthermore, the illiteracy of the clergy79 and the attendant poverty of
the church must have played a role in Islamization. Aravantinos has recorded the manner in which
the Labs (the inhabitants of Labëri) were converted. Apparently, at a time of great famine, the
bishop of Delvinë and Himarrë stubbornly refused to permit the semi-nomadic Labs to break the
fast and consume milk. Their request to do so was countered by threats of interminable hell 80. In
addition, worshiping in a language other than their own has also been considered as a factor that
influenced Albanians towards Islam. Last but not least, fear of the possible consequences of the
Ottoman occupation constituted another reason for disappointed and scared Christian populations
living in regions formerly under Venetian rule and newly under Ottoman occupation felt impelled to
convert. In his work on Venice and Albania, Arna states that ‗Valona piu volte perduta e ripresa fu
acquistata per sempre nell’ anno 1690 dai sultani. In quei frangenti una parte della populazione,
specie nelle città e nelle pianure, si era lasciata attrarre dai nuovi dominatori ed era passata all’
islamismo‘81.
However, the waning of Christianity in Albania was not a simple process; many reacted and
the peculiar phenomenon of Crypto-Christianity arose82, which, in some places made its presence
felt even through the communist 20th century. Albania also became a haven for Bektashism, a
heresy for conservative Islam. This sect proposed a more modest approach to religious issues. Older
historiography viewed Bektashism in the case of Albania as a religious sect that might have
included Christians who eschewed ‗Orthodox‘ Islam but wished to preserve a certain contact with
their previous Orthodox Christian faith83. A militant expression of resistance against Islamization
was the appearance of neomartyrs during the Ottoman domination. These were Christian converts
who, having chosen to apostatise from Islam, faced the death penalty imposed by Islamic Law84. In
Epiros and Albania there were at least 18 neomartyrs (2 in the 16th century, 2 in the 17th, 9 in the
18th and 5 in the 19th), which indicates the pace of Islamization [see the following table]85.
Name of neomartyr Place of origin Date of martyrdom
Jacob the Arvanid Region of Korçë + 01.11.1519
John Terrovo, Ioannina + 18.04.1526
Nikolaos Metsovo + 17.05.1617
Christos Preveza + 15/16.04.1669
Auxentios Vella + 25.01.1720
Nikodemos Elbasan + 11.07.1722
Anastasios the furrier Village Hagios Vlasios, Igoumenitsa + 08.07.1743
Christos the gardener or the Arvanid Region of the River Vjosë + 12.02.1748
 Anastasios Paramythia + 18.11.1750
Panagiotis Delvinë + 24.06.1767
Parthenios, bishop of Radovisdiou, Arta — + 12.01.1777
Kosmas the Aetolian Aetolia + 24.08.1779
Zacharias Arta + 20.01.1782
Niketas Corfu + 04.04.1808
Demetrios Samarina + 1808
John Konitsa + 23.09.1814
Paul, monk of Konstamonitou Monastery Ioannina + 1822
George Ioannina + 17.01.1838
Finally, emphasis must be given to the role of enlightened clergymen, such as Saint
Sophianos, bishop of Dryinoupolis86, Nektarios Terpou87 and Saint Kosmas the Aetolian88 in the
restriction of Islamization. To a certain degree, these men, through the testimony of their sacrifice,
helped to contain proselytism.

2.3. The Orthodox Christian Society and Identity in Albania during the Ottoman Rule.
In order to understand the role of the Orthodox Church in the Albanian society we need to
bear in mind that before the Enlightenment, and in many ways after it, the social life of the Christian
subjects in the Ottoman Empire and in Western Europe, especially that of the peasantry, was
structured around the seasonal, religious calendar. Church life not only constituted an element of
self-determination, but also a component of peasant society‘s functional composition. Ecclesiastical
life was diffused throughout social life89: to cite certain examples from the peasantry, the penalty-fee
for anyone refusing to help in the opening of a canal was in favour of the saint of a village90, while at
the harvest each producer kept four ears of corn for the Virgin Polysporitissa (‗of the many
seeds‘)91. On Easter day peasants wore their new clothes92; for the feast of St. George (28 April) the
goat herders hung a bell on their best-bred billy-goat93; on the eves of Easter or the feast of St. John
the Baptist (29 August) the villagers spread clay earth over the rafters of their houses94, while on
Christmas Day they slaughtered a fattened hog95. Since the daily life of peasant society was based on
the division between the Good and Evil, it is important to focus on the protective role of the church
in order to understand the structure of the peasant community. The fear of Evil inevitably affected
any daily task that was not protected by an ecclesiastical act which blocked the action of the Evil
One. This antithetical relationship between the faithful and the demonic powers was strong element
in peasant daily life, for which reason the Church made provision by using benedictions and
exorcisms for all occasions. These can be seen in the prayer anthology known as Εὐχολόγιον96.
Since the peasantry were highly conscious of the presence of evil-working demons in their lives,
historical research should consider the effects of the place and purpose of ritual actions in daily life,
rather than taking into account in a general and abstract way what is loosely termed ‗faith‘ 97. The
demonic realm as perceived in a provincial setting was populated by ghosts, elves, goblins, imps,
sprites, lamias, trolls, ogresses, spectres, nightmares, shrews, hags, furies, hellcats, termagants, etc.
The Church and its functionaries played a very important role not only in the identities of the
peasant or the townsman in Ottoman Albania, but also in these local societies‘ modes of governance.
The basic administrative unit in the Ottoman village was the council of noblemen, the
Demogerontia, which convened in the village church, which was built in an accommodating way for
such events [fig. 1]. Vice-versa, the village council took special case for the building and
maintenance of village churches, as evidenced by a multitude of inscriptions98. The village priest or
the abbot of the nearby monastery was ex officio a member of the council reporting to the local
Bishop or Metropolitan, as evidenced inter alia by the letters of the abbots of the monasteries in
Poliçan and Longo regarding two cases of divorces in their villages in 1850 and 185899.
The Christian society in the cities was also inseparable from the Orthodox Church. The
causes of the community affairs were pleaded by the community‘s Council, in which the local
Bishop or Metropolitan was a Chairman, as is shown in several acts of the Demogerontia and as
from the last quarter of the 19th century the ―National Committee‖ of Gjirokastër. The case of
reconstruction of the two churches of Gjirokastër and the related letter by which the Christian
community assumes collective responsibility for the undertaking is indicative enough of the
Christian identities, as opposed to the outsiders and the mode of self-administration of the city‘s
community, while demonstrating the links between the community‘s affairs and the local Church100:

Duplicate copy of the original letter. + [Bishop] Dositheos of Gjirokastër confirms.

The Christian inhabitants of the out-of-the-castle quarters *inhabitants of the varoş+, both
the more and the less influential, hereby acknowledge through this letter of agreement that with
God’s good pleasure we decided to renovate the two old churches of the Almighty and of the
Taxiarchs from their foundations, because they were incommodious and in a state of detriment.
……… It is for this reason that we first testify that all expenditures that may emerge at *the site
called] Kara Yapi solely for the [building] of the two churches, will be spent by the entire
community. Likewise, all bribes and presents that may come up, [payable] to outsiders [like] Kurt
Pasha, the province’s vali, for the two buyurldu, to the kadi for the two ilcam and kefş hücet, as well
as to our ayans, masters and, if need be, to minor officials, [all of these] expenses will be shared
equally by the entire community. Second, we testify that if, God forefend, there will be any
subsequent attack or liabilities accrued by [officials in] Istanbul, the vali of Rumeli, the province’s
vali, the ayans or other outsiders of the city of Gjirokastër, or the kadi, due to the [reconstruction]
of the two churches of the Almighty and of the Taxiarchs, this damage will be paid by the entire
community. Likewise, if, God forbid, a certain Christian or nobleman or anybody of a lower rank
among us suffers any personal damage due to the renovation of the churches, this damage will
again be paid by the entire community. Thirdly, we testify that for all the loans that we may
collectively contract for the construction of the churches, that is for the one at the place called
‚Kara Yapi‛, half of them will be assumed by us, the inhabitants of the Old Bazaar, and the other
half by those of Paliourotos, while the [related] bond will be issued by the entire community.
Inasmuch as other essential expenses for the decoration of the one or the other church are
concerned, they will be charged to each one of our quarters (mahalla). Hence, this present letter of
ours was compiled as an indication of what has been agreed and was ratified by the signature of
each and every one along with a duplicate copy, so that both quarters keep one letter and may
this stand as a proof. May 3, 1776. [Signatures follow]

The organizations of guilds also had strong ties with the Orthodox Church. The unpublished
register of the Guild of Tailors of Voskopoja provides deep insight on this matter. The register101
begins with an ecclesiastical curse to anyone who might attempt to steal it (f. 1r: ―… and may
whoever might attempt to steal it have the curses of the 318 fathers of the Ecumenical Synods‖),
while the meetings of the guild took place at the church of the Dormition of the Virgin in Voskopoja
(f. 10v: ―In February 8, 1716 the present masters of the guild of the tailors, both major and minor,
we convened at the church of our Most-Holy Theotokos……‖). While a great deal of inscriptions and
manuscripts mention individual donations to churches, donations were also made by guilds either in
cash, like the allocation of 300 aspres to Ardenica Monastery and 150 aspres to St. Demetrius church
in Voskopoja in 1718 among the revenues left-over in the annual balance of the guild raised through
obligatory dues commonly imposed to each member of the guild102, or in kind, as for example the
donation of the pins necessary for the construction of the church of St. Charalambos in Voskopoja
by the Guild of Moschopolitan Coppersmiths103. This example and the patronage of the icon of the
Nativity of the Virgin in Ardenica‘s catholicon by the Guild of Peddlers [fig. 3] constitute interesting
cases of ―product promotion‖ in a period in which the term ―Marketing‖ had not yet been coined.
Last but not least, the contributions of the Orthodox Church in Albania in education and the
preservation of knowledge are irrefutable; yet, time constraints do not allow me to elaborate on this
any further.
3. The Relations Between Orthodox Christians and “the Others”.
In the previous section we have demonstrated that identities during the Ottoman rule were
primarily based on religion. It was only late in the 19th century that ethnicity and the national
awakening became a formative part of identities. In this section we are going to delve into the
relations of Orthodox Christians with Muslims, Jews and Catholic Christians.

3.1. Orthodox Christian Relations with the Muslims

While in official public manifestations the Orthodox Church in the capital and its provincial
jurisdictions upheld the Ottoman authority [i.e. Berat‘s Doxology]104, in internal affairs two
Orthodox Christian attitudes towards their Muslims fellow-subjects can be observed.
In the milder of those Muslims are invariably portrayed as ―outsiders‖ (ἐξωτερικοί). From
the multitude of related evidence, I would quote only a couple retrieved from local documentary
sources. The first source is a catalogue of expenses incurred for the reconstruction of the two
churches of the city of Gjirokastër in 1760s:
1) ―We present the following expenses for these two churches, which are to be borne by the entire
community, as well as all of the bribes and presents that might be incurred to the ‗outsiders‘, the
current vali (governor) of this place Kurt Pasha…, the kadi …, the ayans and other masters…‖105.
2) ―Register of expenses of the church of the Almighty… [given] to ‗outsiders‘, bribes and presents,
the Pasha of Berat, the local kadi, beys and masters…‖106.
3) Καταγραφὴ τῶν ἐξόδων τοῦ οἰκοδομήματος τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῶν Ταξιαρχῶν, εἰς τὸ
καρᾶ Γιαπὶ | κοινῶς λεγόμενον. | ……………
Εἰς ἐξωτερικοὺς δῶρα καὶ χαρίσματα, εἰς τὸν πασιὰν εἰς Μπεράτι, καὶ ἐδὼ εἰς |
κατήν, καὶ μπέηδες, καὶ αὐθεντάδες …………………………………………………
» 1312: 60.
In the more hostile of these attitudes, Muslims are characterized as ―infidel‖ at best, while
characterizations like ―sons of untruth and darkness‖107 and ―wild wolves‖ reflected the more radical
views108; Nektarios Terpos was among the leaders of polemists portraying the Prophet Mohammed
as ―pseudo-Prophet‖ or ―anti-Christ‖109. Reflections of such a hostile attitude in ecclesiastical mural
paintings can be evidenced in late 18th and 19th century frescoes, such as in the loft gallery of Berat‘s
cathedral of the Dormition of the Virgin (modern-day Onufri Museum), or frescoes in the church of
Sts. Peter and Paul in Hoshtevë, Gjirokastër [fig. 4]. Clearly, such polemical attitudes did not enjoy
wide social acceptance, as they sprang from zealous monastic milieux in periods where Islamization
was a major issue; in effect, the Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire in Albania lived in relative
peace with their Muslim fellow-subjects, who made sure that Ottoman sovereignty was frequently
reminded and practised in a pragmatist way.

3.2. Orthodox Christian Relations with the Jews.

With regards to the relations between Orthodox Christians with Jews, behind a screen of
aggressive anti-Semitism projected stereotypically in ecclesiastical literature and painting, Orthodox
Christians at all levels of the society lived mostly in peace with their Jewish co-subjects, conducted
business with them and pleaded their causes, while retaining their own religious identity and societal
forms of organization and protecting their own interests.
The thriving Jewish community of Ioannina goes back to antiquity, when the Romaniot
community is believed to have been established110, yet their overall populations increased
significantly at the end of the 15th century when tens of thousands of deported Jews from Spain were
settled with the state‘s approval in various cities of the Ottoman Empire and primarily Thessaloniki
and Vlora111. The Jewish presence in other parts of West Balkans dates back to the 13th century,
when a number of Jewish families were reported to live in Durrës trading salt. After the Ottoman
occupation of the city in 1501 Jewish settlements increased and included communities in Lezha,
Berat and Elbasan. After the Ottoman occupation of Vlora in 1417, the city became the Ottomans‘
first port ever possessed in the shores of the Adriatic Sea and encouraged a small Jewish trading
community to settle there in 1426; in the following decades the Jewish community in Vlora rose in
number and influence comprised of Jews from France, Corfu and other Venetian settlements, the
Iberian peninsula, and Naples. In the censuses of 1506 and 1520 in Vlorë there were some 528
families (more than 2,600 inhabitants). Jews became active in the city‘s trade; Vlora imported
European goods and exported cotton fabrics, velvets, mohair, brocades, spices and leather from
Bursa and Istanbul, while the Jews in Vlora were mostly dealing with the textile trade. In 1519/20
Berat also numbered about 25 Jewish families. In 1596 the Jewish communities of Vlora and Berat
took action to redeem Jewish captives who had been brought to Durrës. The defeat of the Ottoman
fleet in Lepanto in 1571 and the ensuing insecurity of the Ionian and Adriatic coasts of the empire
must have been responsible for the decline of the Jewish community in Vlora indicated in the 1583
register (211 families). In the 17th century the Jewish community in western Balkans gained
importance; in the middle of the 16th century Nathan of Gaza passed from Berat to report a number
of Shabbetai Zvi followers living there. It is said that by the 18th century many of the Jews in West
Balkans had converted to Christianity or Islam, while others had emigrated. In the 19th century Jews
from Ioannina renovated the Jewish settlements in Gjirokastër, Delvinë, Vlorë, Berat, Elbasan,
Kavaja and Himarra112.
Orthodox Christians perceptions of Jews were deeply influenced by biases perhaps as old as
Christianity itself113. The role of Jews in Christ's Crucifixion was never forgiven. In the Orthodox
hymnography of the Holy Week several hymns plea the Lord in a revengeful manner ―to give them
according to their works, because they contrived vain things against You‖114. Such feelings are
recorded in widespread textual sources used in Orthodox Christian literature, especially in
excommunication letters. From the plead of related examples, I quote only one: ―καὶ ἡ μερὶς
αὐτοῦ μετὰ τοῦ προδότου Ἰούδα, καὶ τῶν θεομάχων Ἰουδαίων, τῶν σταυρω|σάντων
τὸν Κ(ύριο)ν τῆς δόξης‖ [... and may his/her part [be classified] along with Judas the traitor and
the God-fighting Jews who crucified the Lord of Glory]115.
Such textual statements can also be coupled with visual statements in ecclesiastical painting.
A typical example is the representation of the Last Judgement, a subject, whose iconography was
consolidated in the 14th century and became a standard theme in the eastern wall of a narthex
especially in a monastic decorative programme. There are again many examples one can quote, but
here we have chosen only a couple. On the eastern wall of the narthex in Ardenica Monastery,
Myzeqe (1744), painted by Constantine and Athanasios, the two brother painters from Korça [fig. 5],
the scene of the Last Judgement is divided in two parts of which the lower right part of the viewer, at
the left side of Jesus is reserved for the sinners condemned to Hell. It is there that a throng of Jews
[fig. 6] identified by inscription, with expressive gestures of fear, are looking towards Moses, who is
pointing the glorified Jesus in a mandorla, who is seated at the top of the scene above His throne and
the tools of His martyrdom, including the Holy Cross. While the condition of this part of the fresco
is relatively good, the faces of most of the Jews have been scraped intentionally, as is the case in
many of the little devils depicted in the lowest right parts of the scene. This indicates that the
audience did not only view the scene, but it could probably also grasp its meaning or at least the
negative connotation of the Jews in this case. Another such example [fig. 7] was chosen from the
church of Sts. Peter and Paul at Hoshteva, Gjirokastër, in whose narthex, painted along with the
other parts of the church in 1843, Jews of the Last Judgement [fig. 8] do not only appear in the same
place as in the fresco of the Ardenica Monastery, but they are also tied by a rope held by a devil at
the left of the painting, while they are chased by another devil in their right who is about to inflict a
strike on them with a wooden stick, while another devil at the lower right is directing a spear against
them.
 Even though such evidence in older scholarship were considered to be adequate to prove
collective anti-Jewish attitudes, other evidence point to the contrary. The long and relatively
peaceful symbiosis of Jews and Orthodox Christians in the city of Ioannina has left a rare imprint in
the frescoes of the southern wall at the beginning of the little dome of the naos of the
Philanthropenon Monastery on the Isle of Ioannina (1542). In the rare subject of ―He Took a Child
and Put it in the Midst of Them‖ [Mk 9:35-37]116 there is a small inscription [fig. 9] on the gamble
of the pediment of the building between Jesus and His Disciples which reads ―yon‖ [fig. 10],
meaning dove117. A dove, a symbol of chastity, is depicted in the scene, above a snake-dragon,
symbol of the evil spirit. The existence of veils forming a crown in the turban fashion of Ottoman
tombs in the same painting has been attributed to a certain exoticism emanating western trends of the
Quatrocento118.
There further are documentary sources that provide other indications of a relatively peaceful
symbiosis. In a letter dated June 21, 1819 the heirs of a certain Ioannis Vasileiou, a carpenter from
Gjirokastër who passed the way in Constantinople, appoint a certain Panos Anastasiou as their
plenipotentiary warden to collect the estate and holdings of the deceased from his partner Elias
Minachis, a Jew from Ioannina119. While this can only be considered as evidence of the liberal spirit
of middle classes of merchants and artisans, we also dispose evidence that the Ecumenical
Patriarchate of Constantinople adopted the same spirit: in September 12, 1827, Patriarch
Agathangelos addresses a letter to Metropolitan Benedict of Ioannina informing him that the Jewish
community in Istanbul had turned to the Patriarchate through persons of authority to ask the
Patriarch to order him that he and the noblemen around him plead the causes of the local Jews in the
absence of Jewish influential persons in the local society of Ioannina120. It seems that the Ecumenical
Patriarchate kept firm control of the relations between Orthodox Christians and local Jewish
communities. In one particular case, it did not hesitate to interfere in a case dynamically
commanding Metropolitan Averkios of Arta to dispatch all documents concerning a prior case
between his predecessor Neophytos and a certain Jew named Michael Peshas so that the case is
trialled in the capital by the Patriarchal Ecclesiastical Court under Patriarch Anthimos VI121.
How are we to interpret the controversial data presented herein? The repetition of anti-
Semitic quotations in Orthodox hymnography and ecclesiastical canon documents, like
excommunications, must have been virtually stereotypical and mechanical, since the majority of the
simple faithful were definitely unable either to understand or contextualize what they heard or saw
with the members of the Jewish community that they would encounter. Instances of conflict
appearing in some sources of the Life of Saint Kosmas the Aetolian, after which the saint was
allegedly slandered to Kaplan Pasha of Berat who ordered his execution, even if they hold true, must
have been rather rare and isolated. The evidence provided in this paper seem to suggest that
Orthodox Christians at most levels of the Ottoman society lived in peace with their Jewish co-
subjects, conducted business with them and pleaded common causes, while they retained their own
religious identity, societal forms of organization and protected their own interests.

3.3. Orthodox Christian Relations with other Christian Denominations.

The events during and after the Fall of Constantinople into the hands of the crusaders of the
Fourth Crusade (1204)122, as well as those after 1204, including heavier taxation for the peasantry,
augmented forced labour (angary), distribution of lands as feuds to Crusaders, strict limitations of
trade favouring Latin states and, last but foremost, the onerous and detestable slave trade of
Orthodox war captives by western traders123, were so crucial as to form, in the words of Bishop
Kallistos of Diokleia, the ―deep disgust‖ and ―lasting horror with which Orthodox regard the sack of
Constantinople by the Crusaders‖, so difficult to be realized by ―Christians in the west‖124.
The Orthodox Church, who retained her authority and influence over the Byzantine people,
was another principal factor determining the relations between the Orthodox and the Roman-
Catholic worlds. Beyond dogmatic and liturgical disagreements 125, there further were deep
contradictions related to the daily role of the clergy. Sensibly, the inhabitants of several non-
Venetian-dominated cities and villages under the guidance of Orthodox prelates or monks gradually
adopted an intense hostile attitude towards the Roman-Catholic world, which, later, paved the way to
the Ottoman occupation of the Balkans126.
Studying the iconographic programmes of ecclesiastical monuments provides several hints to
understand a past, whose creators were mostly bearers of a rich oral culture who however left only
few written records. Every image in ecclesiastical paintings is an exegesis, literally meaning ‗leading
out‘, an interpretation of a religious event. Even though images shape visual memory of how the past
looked like, the use of image as exegesis changed over time. Thus, any given image not only
constructs or reconstructs visually the biblical past, but also envisages links between this past and the
period‘s present.
Several post-Byzantine churches and catholica in Epiros and Albania provide substantial
evidence of a ‗hostile‘, anti-Latin visual statements consciously that persist up to the first half of the
17th century, after which the phenomenon gradually fades out in mechanical repetition of earlier
post-Byzantine models.
The most impressive cases can be viewed in the early post-Byzantine mural paintings of the
Lite of Philanthropenon Monastery‘s catholicon on the Isle of Ioannina (painted in 1560) 127. There, a
great number of torturers, represented in different scenes of martyrdoms, bear the form of western
knights128. Exceptionally interesting is the martyrdom of St. Vincent, represented on the southern
wall of the Lite; the saint‘s executioner is engaged into chivalric dancing figure before he effects the
final attack the fatal attack against the saint [slide 11]129. In the martyrdom of St. Babylas and his
disciples, a figure, identified by Garidis as a Spanish merchant, stands before the ruler 130. Very
similar to an equestrian harness of Otto Heinrich, Count Palatine of the Rhine, dating 1530s and
other German armours dating from the first quarter of the 16th century is the mounted knight who
tortures St. Amphilochios, Bishop of Ikonion, by dragging him behind his galloping horse [slide
12]131. Similar models have, undoubtedly, been utilized to represent the executioners of St. Stephen
the Younger, the Confessor [slide 13]132. Patronized by the renowned family of Philantropenoi, who
migrated from Constantinople due to its growing pro-Latin support, the Monastery of St. Nikolaos of
Philanthropenon virtually provides the most palpable examples of anti-western pictorial statements.
Similar, yet far less impressive examples can also be found in other 16th century monuments.
The scene of the Betrayal of Jesus in the church of St. Athanasios at Goranxhi, Dropull (Gjirokastër
region) [slide 14] dates in 1524 and imitates panoplies of the 12th and 13th centuries133. In the
catholicon of Diliou Monastery, on the Isle of Ioannina (1542/3), the scenes of Christ‘s Derision, the
Route to Golgotha, the Carrying of the Cross, the Ascent to the Cross and the Marys at the Tomb
contain soldiers depicted in a western 14th and 15th century fashion134; yet, western influences in the
armoury of several military saints indicates trends that may shadow the strength of the thesis
presented herein135. However, the persistence of such examples point to the contrary. Cases
indicating the ‗Latinization‘ of soldiers can also be found in the third 16th century monastery on the
Isle of Ioannina, the Eleousa Monastery (third quarter of the 16th century), in the representations of
Christ‘s Derision, Pilate and His Suite, the Carrying of and Ascent to the Cross136. From other 16th
century monuments in the regions of Epiros we can cite the church of the Transfiguration at Veltsista
(1568)137, that of St. Nikolaos at Krapsi (1563)138, the narthex of Barlaam Monastery, Meteora
(1566)139, the church of St. Demetrios at Veltsista (1558-1568)140, the narthex of Dryano
Monastery‘s catholicon (last quarter of the 16th century) [slide 15]141 and the church of St. Nikolaos
at Dhuvjan, Dropull (end of the 16th century)142.
The 17th century also offers some good examples, while the phenomenon clearly fades out in
unsophisticated imitations towards the 18th century. One can cite the Martyrdom of St. Theodore
Stratelates in the church of the Dormition of the Virgin at Zervat, Dropull (1603)143, the Massacre of
the Innocents in the catholicon of Ravenia Monastery, Dropull (second quarter of the 17 th century)144
and the Carrying of the Cross in the naos of the catholicon of the Transfiguration Monastery at
Mingul, Gjirokastër (1666) [slide 16]145. From distant memories of the phenomenon in the 18th
century we could cite the martyrdoms of saints in the third zones of frescoes, western wall of the
church of St. George at Libofshë, Fier (1782)146, which seemingly reproduce 17th century models.
There is currently fairly limited research conducted with regards to the Orthodox Christian
relations to Christian denominations other than Catholic in Albania.

4. Orthodox Christian Art in Albania During the Ottoman Rule.

The Ottoman occupation of Albania in the 15th century and the wars that ensued for its
stabilization leading to the ‗Albanian campaign‘ of Sultan Bayezid II (1492), markedly affected
religious, economic and cultural life. Local master builders, however, seemed to have collaborated in
the building of mosques, while soon after the establishment of the ‗Pax Ottomanica‘, church building
started anew. Along with the growth of financial possibilities, small single-aisled wooden-roofed
churches began to rise at least from the beginning of the 16th century, if not earlier 147. Their beauty
was more interior than exterior, since they were decorated with frescoes. Examples include the
churches of St Demetrios Savvou (pre-1525) and St Athanasios Mantzari (pre-1513) in Poliçan, St
Georgios in Leshnicë e Sipërm (pre-1525), St Athanasios in Pecë (pre-1525), etc.148 The same period
also witnessed a rebuilding programme of the old Byzantine churches whether in urban centres149 or
in nearby villages150.
In the field of ecclesiastical painting, after a century‘s period of artistic inactivity, painting
recurs at the beginning of the 16th century. As early as 1503 the church of Saint Nikolaos at
Boboshticë is painted with a donation from a certain Petros Chartophylax151, while during the first
quarter of the 16th century five more little churches were (re)painted: Saint Athanasios of Mantzari
(1513); Saint Athanasios at Goranxi (1524); Saint Demetrios of Savvou (1526) at Poliçan; Saint
George at Upper Leshnicë (1525) and Saint Athanasios at Pecë (1525) 152. In the course of the 16th
century those parts of central Albania belonging to the Archdiocese of Ochrid and Berat in particular
became a centre of artistic production around the gifted painter Onuphrios153 and his successors154.
In Gjirokastër and its environs the painting of the second half of the 16th century is marked by four
important monuments: the Chapel of Saint Nikolaos at Dhuvjan (third quarter of 16th century)155, the
nave of the catholicon of the Monastery of Jorguçat, painted in 1584 by the monk Nikephoros, and
the catholica of the Monasteries of Dhuvjan (1594) and Dryano (last quarter of 16th century)156.
Thus, at the dawn of the 17th century, this particular region showed itself to be fertile in different
living artistic traditions. Its artists drew upon the aesthetic principles of various schools, such as the
master painters Michael and Constantine from Grammos, representatives of the then prevailing
Epirote school157 (nave of the catholicon of the Monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin in
Divrovouni (1603)158 and the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin at Zervat (1607) 159. Other
painters include Onuphrios from Cyprus, a 17th century representative of the School of Berat160
(Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in Vllahogoranxi, 1622)161 and Alevizos Phocas from
Cephallonia, whose relationship with the ‗Cretan‘ School162, dominant at that time in the Ionian
Islands, has yet to be ascertained (Church of Saints Menas, Victor and Vicentios in Tranosishtë,
1617, and Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in Vllahogoranxi, 1622)163. Evidently, post-
Byzantine art up to the 17th century was equally developed in southern parts of Epiros164.
Thanks to Ottoman pragmatism in the legal status of post-Byzantine church building, onwards
from the mid-16th century the construction and decoration of Orthodox houses of worship shows a
remarkable quantitative and qualitative increase. Inheriting many figurative and constructional
principles from the rich Byzantine legacy of the Despotate, church architecture found its own ways
through more liberal interpretations of types and shapes, but always in conformity with the local
religious, social and economic conditions that created it.
In the region of Dropull, the 16th and 17th centuries mark the construction, through the support
of the villagers, of no less than 11 monasteries. This unprecedented increase in the number of
monasteries, (in spite of the fact that they were inhabited by laymen), has led many scholars to name
it with the somehow far-fetched ‗little Mount Athos‘165. Their presence alone might be enough to
contradict much of the ‗catastrophe theory‘ regarding the Ottoman domination at least in the 16th
and 17th century. The architectural types of the single-aisled church and of the inscribed-cross
dominate architectural trends.
The increased decentralization of the Ottoman state in the 18th and in particular in the 19th
century resulted in an increased number of new churches and catholica built. The boom of Church
construction in several time segments of the 18th century is evident in many provinces of the Empire.
During the prelacy of Dositheos, Bishop of Dryinoupolis, Gjirokastër region (1760-1799), as many
as seventy churches were built in the region‘s villages and many old churches were repaired 166. This
picture is in concordance with the aggregates of Pirro Thomo, who concluded that in a total of 89
studied post-Byzantine churches in modern-day Albania that he took under consideration, 43 were
built in the 18th century167. The abolition of prior restrictions after the Tanzimat reforms in the 19th
century simplified the legal status church building.
In the realm of ecclesiastical painting, the 18th and 19th centuries present a variety of
influences. Major monastic centres, such as Mount Athos, exercised much influence on a number of
painters who came in contact with it, such as David of Selenica, as best evidenced in the naos of the
church of St. Nikolaos at Moschopolis, or the two painter brothers Constantine and Athanasios from
Korça and their sons, as, for example, in Ardenica. A second source of influence was the so-called
―Cretan‖ school of painting, which affected certain artists, active in the painting of portable icons. A
third source of inspiration was the endemic ―Epirote‖ School of painting, which influenced a number
of painters in the Albanian south. Last but not least, certain wandering artists working on
commissions appealed mostly to popular tastes, especially in the 19th century. Ecclesiastical painting
at the beginning of the 20th century was deeply influenced by the ―Latinizing‖ style that was very
popular in Greece.

Concluding Remarks
In the present paper I attempted to integrate much of the scholarly work of the last 15 years on
the Orthodox Church in Albania during the Ottoman rule. Several aspects of the Orthodox Church‘s
structure, the organization of the Orthodox community, the Church‘s and the community‘s relations
to the Ottoman state, the relations of the Orthodox in Albania with their non-Orthodox co-subjects,
as well as the material culture and Albanian ecclesiastical language are the living legacy of the
Ottoman past to present-day Albania. In spite of the turbulent communist years, in my view,
Orthodoxy remains an increasingly influential faith in Albania, certainly enjoying no less popularity
than other faiths in countries that never experienced an atheist regime.
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 NOTES
1
Vryennios Joseph (1768), Σα επξεζέληα, επηκειεία Δπγελίνπ Βνπιγάξεσο, η. 2, Λεηςία, ζ. 280-281: ―Τὶ δὲ ὑμῖν
λογιζομένοις δοκεῖ, ἐὰν φθάσῃ προφθάσαι ἡ πτῶσις τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν; Πιστεύσατέ μοι λέγοντι τἀληθῆ,
οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι Ῥωμαίων Μητρόπολις αὕτη ἡ Πόλις ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ πεδίον ἀφανισμοῦ, καὶ φρούριον τῶν
ὑπεναντίων, καὶ πολεμία χριστιανῶν ἀπροσμάχητος∙ καὶ οὐκ ἐν χρόνῳ μακρῷ, ἀλλ’ ἐν μιᾷ ἑβδομάδι,
Ἐκκλησία, καὶ Βασιλεία, καὶ Πολιτεία, καὶ Ἀρχόντων ἀξίαι, καὶ Παρθενῶνες, καὶ Ξενῶνες, καὶ
Μοναστήρια, καὶ κειμήλια, καὶ ἐλευθερία, καὶ τιμὴ πᾶσα καὶ δόξα τοῦ γένους ἡμῶν, καὶ πάντα ἡμῶν τὰ
καλά, ὥσπερ ὀστράκου μεταπεσόντος, οἰχήσεται, καὶ μετὰ πάντων αὐτὸ τὸ ἡμέτερον καύχημα, λέγω ὄν
τὸ ὀρθόδοξον‖.
2
On this subject, I have relied on the excellent monograph of Sp. Vryonis [Vryonis S. (2000), Ζ Παξαθκή ηνπ
Μεζαηωληθνύ Διιεληζκνύ ηεο Μηθξάο Αζίαο θαη ε Γηαδηθαζία ηνπ Δμηζιακηζκνύ (11νο – 15νο αηώλαο), translation by K.
Galavariotou, second edition, Athens: M.I.E.T. Ed.].
3
For a few examples of this stereotypical projection of an imposed 20th century reality into the past, see Vickers M. –
Pettifer J. (1997), Albania. From Anarchy to Balkan Identity, London: Hurst & Company, p. 110 and passim; Pettifer J. –
Nazarko M. [eds.] (2007), Strengthening Religious Tolerance for a Secure Civil Society in Albania and the Southern
Balkans, Amsterdam: IOS Press, passim; Tarifa F., Lucas P. and Weinstein J. (2007), To Albania with Love, Washington
D.C.: University Press of America, p. 111. For a revision of this ―myth‖, see Malcolm N. (2002), ―Myths of Albanian
National Identity: Some Key Elements, as Expressed in Albanian Writers in America in the Early Twentieth Century‖, in
Schwandner-Sievers S. – Fischer B.J. [eds.] (2002), Albanian Identities: Myths and History, Indiana: Indiana University
Press, pp. 84-87. One could also cite numerous other authors referring to religious syncretism in the Balkans during the
Ottoman period.
4
For the different early editions of the famous poem ―O moj Shqypni‖, see Jarnìk J.U. (1881), Zur albanischen
Sprachenkunde, Leipzig, pp. 3-6 and Bulo J. (1986), ―Një variant i ri i vjershës 'Moj Shqypni' të P. Vasës‖, Studime
Filologjike, v. 4, pp. 209-216. For its importance in the eve of Albanian national awakening, see Lubonja F. (2002),
―Between the Glory of a Visual World and the Misery of a Real World‖, in Schwandner-Sievers S. – Fischer B.J. [eds.]
(2002), Albanian Identities: Myths and History, Indiana: Indiana University Press, p. 92 and Elsie R. (2005), Albanian
Literature: A Short Story, London: I.B. Tauris, pp. 82-88.
5
For the most recent study with respect to the Via Egnatia in Ottoman times, see Zachariadou E. [ed.] (1996), The Via
Egnatia under Ottoman Rule, 1380-1699, Rethymnon: Crete University Press.
6
Giannoulatos A. (1993), Ισλάμ: Θρησκειολογική Ἐπισκόπησις, Athens, pp. 45-66.
7
Koran II:62, cited in Kiel M. (1985), p. 144.
8
Koran II:256; cf. Kiel M. (1985), p. 144.
9
Koran 109:6; Lewis, B. (1999), The Multiple Identities of the Middle East, New York: Schocken Books, p. 117.
10
Montgomery W. (1956), Muhammad in Medina, Oxford, p. 359-360; Gradeva R. (1994), ―Ottoman Policy towards
Christian Church Buildings‖, Etudes Balkaniques, v. 4, p. 16.
11
The word milla, more familiar in its Turkish form millet, is a Qur‘anic Arabic word of Aramaic origin, originally
meaning ―a word‖, hence a group of people who accepted a particular word or revealed book. It is also used of other,
including non-Muslim, religious groups, and some deviant groups within the Islamic world: Lewis B. (1988), p. 38.
12
Bosworth, C. E., ―The Concept of Dhimma in Early Islam‖, in: Braude B. & Lewis B. (1982), p. 37
13
Lewis, B. (1991), pp. 38-9.
14
Inalcik H. (1991), p. 420.
15
Hadrovics L. (1947), Le people serbe et son église sous la domination turque, Paris, p. 54.
16
Gennadios Scholarios belonged to the ranks of laymen when sultan Mehmed II ordered his appointment to the
Patriarchal throne. His ordination at a forced pace to the ranks of a deacon, priest, Bishop and Archbishop / Patriarch
without prior resolution by the Church‘s Holy Synod constitutes a non-canonical procedure practised only in times of
hardship by the Orthodox Church. For the nomination of Gennadios by sultan Mehmed II, see roughly Braude B. &
Lewis B. (1982), pp. 69-83 and Georgiades-Arnakis G. (Sept. 1952), ―The Greek Church of Constantinople and the
Ottoman Empire‖, The Journal of Modern History, v. 24/3, pp. 235-236. For the Patriarch‘s status, see Inalcik H. (1991),
pp. 407-436 and the bibliography on notes 11, 13.
17
On this subject as seen from a Marxist point of view, see Papaioannou D. (1991), pp. 38-45.
18
There is a popular saying that the fall of Constantinople stemmed from God‘s will: ‗Πάψετε τὸ χερουβικὸ κι ἄς
χαμηλώσουν τ’ ἅγια, / παπάδες πάρτε τὰ γ’ἱερὰ, καὶ σεῖς κεριὰ σβηστεῖτε / γιατὶ εἶναι θέλημα Θεοῦ ἡ
Πόλη νὰ τουρκέψῃ / ...‘ [Politis N. (1925), Δθινγαί από ηα ηξαγνύδηα ηνπ ειιεληθνύ ιανύ, Athens, p. 4].
19
To secure and protect the link between the power of the Ottoman state and the Orthodox faith, Phanariotes produced
appropriate texts. The translation into the language of the people of the Apostolic Constitutions as a Nomocanon by
Georgios Trapezountios (17th-18th c.) is a typical example. Although it was probably never printed (because of the death
of Nikolaos Mavrokordatos) [Papastathis Ch. (1985), ‗Ννκνθάλσλ Γεσξγίνπ ηνπ Σξαπεδνπληίνπ‘, Αλάηππνλ εθ ηνπ
Κέληξνπ Δξεύλεο ηεο Ηζηνξίαο ηνπ Διιεληθνύ Γηθαίνπ ηεο Αθαδεκίαο Αζελώλ, Athens, p. 372], the Nomocanon shows
how the association between the two was made. Old regulations about fulfilling one‘s financial obligations towards the
state authorities were re-written in a modern, intelligible form. Note the following parallel passages, the first from the
original and the second, a translation:
1) ‗Πάσῃ βασιλείᾳ καὶ ἀρχῇ ὑποτάγητε ἐν οἷς ἀρέσκει τῷ Θεῷ, ὡς Θεοῦ διακόνοις, καὶ τῶν ἀσεβῶν
τιμωροῖς πάντα φόβον τὸ ὀφειλόμενον αὐτοῖς ἀποπληρώσατε, πᾶσαν εἰσφοράν, πᾶν τέλος, πᾶσαν
τιμήν, δόσιν κῆνσον. Θεοῦ γὰρ τοῦτο διάταγμα, μηδενὶ τι χρεωστεῖν, εἰ μὴ τὸ τῆς φιλίας σύμβολον ὁ
Θεὸς διετάξατο διὰ Χριστοῦ‘, Patrologia Graeca, v. 1, verse 825].
Cha pt e r 1 3 , B o o k 4 .
Εἰς κάθε βασιλείαν καὶ ἐξουσίαν νὰ ὑποταχθῆτε εἰς ἐκεῖνα ὁποῦ ἀρέζουν τὸν Θεόν, ὡσὰν ὁποῦ εἶναι οἱ
ἐξουσιασταί, ὑπηρέται τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ παιδεύουν τοὺς κακούς. Νὰ πληρώσετε εἰς αὐτοὺς κάθε
χρεωστούμενον φόρον. Κάθε εἰσόδημα, κάθε χαράτζι, κάθε τιμήν, κάθε δόσιμον. Διότι ἔτζι προστάζει ὁ
Θεός. Κανενὸς νὰ μὴν χρεωστᾶτε τίποτες, πάρεξ τὸ σημάδι τῆς φιλίας, ἐκεῖνο ὁποῦ ἐδιώρισεν ὁ Θεὸς διὰ
μέσου τοῦ Χριστοῦ [Papastathis Ch. (1985), op. cit., pp. 482-483].

2) ‗… Καὶ ὑμεῖς οἱ δοῦλοι ὑποτάγητε τοῖς κυρίοις ὑμῶν ὡς τύποις Θεοῦ ἐν προσοχῇ καὶ φόβῳ ὡς τῷ
Κυρίῳ, καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώποις.’ [J. P. Migne, op. cit., verse 1008].
Cha pt e r 1 3 , B o o k 7 .
‘… Καὶ ἐσεῖς οἱ δοῦλοι νὰ ὑποταχθῆτε εἰς τοὺς αὐθεντάδες σας μὲ μεγάλην προσοχὴν καὶ φόβον, ὡσὰν
ὁποῦ εἶναι εἰς ἐσᾶς Θεοὶ καὶ νὰ στοχασθῆτε πὼς ὑποτάσσεσθε εἰς τὸν Θεόν, καὶ ὄχι εἰς τοὺς
ἀνθρώπους.‘‘ [Papastathis Ch. (1985), op. cit., p. 553].

3) Τὸν βασιλέα βοβηθήσῃ, εἰδὼς ὅτι τοῦ Κυρίου ἐστὶν ἡ χειροτονία τοὺς ἄρχοντας αὐτοῦ τιμήσῃς, ὡς
λειτουργοὺς Θεοῦ ἔκδικοι γὰρ εἰσὶν πάσης ἀδικίας οἷς ἀποτίσατε τέλος, φόρον, καὶ πᾶσαν εἰσφορὰν
εὐγνωμόνως. [J. P. Migne, op. cit., verse 1009].
Cha pt e r 1 6 , B o o k 7 .
Νὰ φοβηθῇς τὸν βασιλέα, ἠξεύροντας ὅτι ἡ χειροτονία του εἶναι ἀπὸ τὸν Θεόν. Τοὺς ἄρχοντάς του νὰ
τοὺς τιμήσῃς ὡς ὑπηρέτας Θεοῦ, διότι εἶναι ἐκδικηταὶ πάσης ἀδικίας. Εἰς τοὺς ὁποίους νὰ πληρώσετε μὲ
εὐχαριστίαν δόσιμον, χαράτζι, καὶ κάθε ἄλλο εἰσόδημα. [Papastathis Ch. (1985), op. cit., p. 554].
It is noteworthy to cite an example from Berat. In February 06, 1884 Metropolitan Anthimos Alexoudis of
Berat inaugurated a new belfry on the Prodigal Son‘s Sunday. To celebrate the occasion, Metropolitan Anthimos
composed a short prayer that was said following the Great Doxology. Three passages reveal the relationship between the
Orthodox Church and the acceptance of Ottoman domination [Central Archives of the State, Tirana, F. 143, D. 1, f. 6-7].
I am hereby citing them:
i) ― Ἔτι δεόμεθα ὑπὲρ ὑγείας, σωτηρίας καὶ πολυχρονίου ζωῆς τοῦ Μεγαλειοτάτου, γαληνοτάτου, καὶ
εὐσπλαχνικωτάτου ἡμῶν Ἄνακτος Σουλτὰν Ἀβδοὺλ Χαμὶτ Χὰν αὐθέντου ἡμῶν, καὶ τῶν ἐξοχοτάτων
πολιτικῶν καὶ στρατιωτικῶν ὑπαλλήλων καὶ παντὸς τοῦ στρατοπέδου αὐτοῦ‖ [We further pray for the
health, salvation and longevity of His Majesty, our most serene and merciful King Sultan Abdul Khamit Khan, of our
master and the most distinguished civil and military servants and of all in his camp].
ii) ―Κύριε ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ὁ Βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων καὶ Κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων, παρ’ οὗ πᾶσα
βασιλεία καὶ ἐξουσία ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Σοῦ δεόμεθα, καὶ Σὲ παρακαλοῦμεν τὸν Μεγαλειότατον,
κραταιότατον, γαληνότατον καὶ εὐσπλαχνικώτατον ἡμῶν Ἄνακτα Σουλτὰν Ἀδβοὺλ Χαμὶτ Χὰν
αὐθέντην ἡμῶν ὡς κόρην ὀφθαλμοῦ ὑπὸ τὴν σκέπην τῶν πτερύγων σου διαφύλαξον∙ τὴν πολύτιμον
ζωὴν αὐτοῦ περιχαράκωσον τῇ πανσθενεῖ Σου δυνάμει. Λάλησον ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἀγαθὰ ὑπὲρ
πάντων τῶν λαῶν τῶν ὑπὸ τὸ κραταιὸν σκῆπτρον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνίσχυσον αὐτὸν ἐν πάσαις ταῖς
λαοσωτηρίαις βουλαῖς αὐτοῦ. Ναὶ Κύριε, ἐπάκουσον ἡμῶν δεομένων Σου καὶ διαφύλαττε τὴν Αὐτοῦ
Αὐτοκρατορικὴν Μεγαλειότητα τὸν Σουλτὰν Ἀδβοὺλ Χαμὶτ Χὰν αὐθέντην ἡμῶν ἐπ’ ἐσαεὶ ἀνώτερον
παντὸς ἀνιαροῦ συναπαντήματος. Σὺ γὰρ εἶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ δοτὴρ πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ
σοὶ τὴν δόξαν ἀναπέμπομεν τῷ ἀνάρχῳ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρί, πάντοτε, νῦν καὶ ἀεί, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν
αἰώνων. Ἀμήν‖ [O Lord, our God, the King of the rulers and the Lord of the lords from Whom [emanates] every
kingship and lordship on the earth, we pray to You and ask You to keep His Majesty, our most mighty, serene and
merciful King Sultan Abdul Khamit Khan under the protection of your wings; secure his life with Your omnipotent
might; speak in his heart for the benefit of all people under his mighty scepter and strengthen him in all his people-saving
decisions. Yes, o Lord, listen to our prayers and keep His Imperial Majesty, the Sultan Abdul Khamit Khan for ever
beyond any weary encounter. Because you are the king of peace and giver of all gods and unto You we always render
glory, the God and Father without beginning, nor and for ever and onto the ages of ages, Amen].
iii) ―Πολυχρόνιον ποιῆσαι Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν μεγαλειότατον, γαληνότατον καὶ εὐσπλαχνικώτατον ἡμῶν
Ἄνακτα Σουλτὰν Ἀδβοὺλ Χαμὶτ Χὰν αὐθέντην ἡμῶν. Κύριε φύλαττε αὐτὸν εἰς πολλὰ ἔτη‖ [May Lord the
God make long-lasting His Majesty, our most serene and merciful King, the Sultan Abdul Khamit Khan, our master. O
Lord, keep him for many years].
20
Papaioannou D. (1991), pp. 20-33.
21
For those reasons anathemas were pronounced on Christians who failed in their duty to the state or to the ecclesiastical
administration [Papaioannou D. (1991), pp. 58-62]. Recent research has shown that during the Ottoman domination, the
use of excommunication was for far more complex functions than a mere punishment [Michaelaris P. (1997),
Αθνξηζκόο: Ζ Πξνζαξκνγή κηαο Πνηλήο ζηηο Αλαγθαηόηεηεο ηεο Σνπξθνθξαηίαο, Athens; Gerouki A. (1992), ‗΢πιινγηθέο
λννηξνπίεο θαη Ηζηνξία ηνπ Γηθαίνπ. Οη αθνξηζκνί ζηελ Βελεηνθξαηνύκελε Κέξθπξα (1675-1797). Μεζνδνινγηθέο
πξνζεγγίζεηο‘, Πξαθηηθά ΗΒ΄ Παλειιελίνπ Ηζηνξηθνύ ΢πλεδξίνπ (Μάηνο 1991), Thessaloniki, pp. 167-175; Gerouki A.
(June 1988), ‗Ο θόβνο ηνπ αθνξηζκνύ‘, Σα Ηζηνξηθά, v. 5, No. 8, pp. 53-68.
For the relations of the Orthodox Christian community with the Ottoman state we are hereby citing a basic
bibliography: Anastasiou I.E. (1983), Δθθιεζηαζηηθή Ηζηνξία, v. 2 (11νο αη. Μέρξη ζήκεξα), Thessaloniki; Iorga N.
(1935), Byzance après Byzance. Continuation de l’ histoire de la vie byzantine, Bucarest; Embiricos A. (1975), Vie et
institutions du peuple grec sous la domination ottomane, Paris; Hasluck F. W. (1929); Hering G. (1992), Οηθνπκεληθό
Παηξηαξρείν θαη Δπξωπαϊθή Πνιηηηθή (1620-1638), Athens; Inalcik H. (1969-70), ‗The Policy of Mehmet II toward the
Greek Population of Istanbul and the Byzantine Buildings of the City‘, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, v. 23-24, pp. 229-249;
Inalcik H. (1991), pp. 407-436; Inalcik H. (1993), ‗The Turks and the Balkans‘, Turkish Review of Balkan Studies, v. 1,
pp. 9-42; Kabrda J. (1969), Le système fiscal de l’ église orthodoxe dans l’ Empire Ottoman (d’ après les documents
turcs), Brno; Konortas P. (1998), Οζωκαληθέο Θεωξήζεηο γηα ην Οηθνπκεληθό Παηξηαξρείν (17νο αξρέο 20νύ αηώλα),
Athens; Papadopoulos Th. (1952); Papadopoulos Th. (1967), ‗Orthodox Church and Civil Authority‘, Journal of
Contemporary History, v. 2/4, pp. 201-209; Runciman S. (1968), The Great Church in Captivity: a study of the
Patriarchate of Constantinople from the eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence, Cambridge;
Stamatopoulos D. (2003), Μεηαξξύζκηζε θαη Δθθνζκίθεπζε: πξνο κηα αλαζύλζεζε ηεο ηζηνξίαο ηνπ Οηθνπκεληθνύ
Παηξηαξρείνπ ηνλ 19ν αηώλα, Athens; Stephanidis V. (19597), Ἐκκλησιαστικὴ Ἱστορία. Ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς μέχρι σήμερον,
Athens; Viotis S. (1971), ‗Ἐθναρχικὸς Ῥόλος τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Ἱεραρχίας‘, Κυπριακαὶ Σπουδαί, v. 35, p. 95-107;
Vryonis S. (1969-1970), ‗The Byzantine Legacy and Ottoman Forms‘, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, v. 23-24, pp. 251-308;
Vryonis S. (1981), Studies on Byzantium, Seljuks and Ottomans, Reprinted Studies, Malibu; Vryonis S. (1981),
‗Religious Changes and Patterns in the Balkans, 14th-16th Centuries‘, in Studies on Byzantium, Seljuks and Ottomans,
Reprinted Studies, Malibu; Vryonis S. (1981), ‗The Greeks under Turkish Rule‘, in Studies on Byzantium, Seljuks and
Ottomans, Reprinted Studies, Malibu; Vryonis S. (1988); Ware T. (1964), Eustratios Argenti: A study of the Greek
Church under Turkish Rule, Oxford; Ypsilantis-Komnenos A. (19722), Ἐκκλησιαστικῶν καὶ Πολιτικῶν τῶν εἰς
Δώδεκα Βιβλίον Η΄ Θ΄ καὶ Ι΄ ἤτοι Τὰ Μετὰ τὴν Ἅλωσιν (1453-1789) (Ἐκ χειρογράφου ἀνεκδότου τῆς ἱερᾶς
μονῆς τοῦ Σινᾶ), edited by archimandrite Germanos Aphthonidis; reprint in Athens; Zachariadou E. (1996).
22
On the jurisdictions of the Orthodox Church in Albania during the Ottoman rule, see Glavinas A. (1998), pp. 241-268;
Germanos Metropolitan of Sardeon (1937), ‗Δπηζθνπηθνί θαηάινγνη ησλ ελ Ζπείξσ θαη Αιβαλία επαξρηώλ ηνπ
Παηξηαξρείνπ Κσλζηαληηλνππόιεσο‘, in Ζπεηξωηηθά Υξνληθά, v. 12, pp. 11-103; Oikonomou G. A. (1955), 40 άγηνη ηεο
Ζπείξνπ, Ioannina; Oikonomou P. (1969), Ζ Δθθιεζία ελ Βνξείω Ζπείξω, Athens; Oikonomou P. (1971), Ζ ελ Ζπείξω
Δθθιεζία Γξπϊλνππόιεωο, Πωγωληαλήο θαη Κνλίηζεο από ηεο πξώηεο δηαδόζεωο ηνπ ρξηζηηαληζκνύ κέρξη ηωλ θαζ’ εκάο
ρξόλωλ, Athens; Oikonomou P. (1974), Ζ ηζηνξία ηωλ ηνπηθώλ Δθθιεζηώλ ηεο Ζπείξνπ, Athens; Oikonomou P. (1986),
Ζ Οξζόδνμνο Δθθιεζία ηεο Αιβαλίαο, Athens; Oikonomou P. (1988), Ζ Οξζόδνμνο Δθθιεζία ηεο Αιβαλίαο θαη ε
ζπκβνιή ηεο εηο ηελ δηαηήξεζηλ ηνπ Διιεληζκνύ ηεο Βνξείνπ Ζπείξνπ, Athens; Oikonomou P. (1988), ‗Ζ ζπκβνιή ηεο
Οξζνδόμνπ Δθθιεζίαο εηο ηελ δηαηήξεζηλ ηνπ Διιεληζκνύ ηεο Βνξείνπ Ζπείξνπ (ιαηξεπηηθά θέληξα - ηεξόο θιήξνο)‘,
in Papatheodorou A. [ed.] (1988), Βόξεηνο Ήπεηξνο - Άγηνο Κνζκάο ν Αηηωιόο: Πξαθηηθά Α΄ Παλειιελίνπ Δπηζηεκνληθνύ
΢πλεδξίνπ (Κόληηζα, 22-24 Απγνύζηνπ 1987), Athens, pp. 421-440; English synopsis, pp. 441-442; Oikonomou P.
(1990), Οξζνδνμία θαη Διιεληζκόο ζηε Βόξεην Ήπεηξν: Ζ Δθθιεζία ελ Βνξείω Ζπείξω από ηεο πξώηεο δηαδόζεωο ηνπ
Υξηζηηαληζκνύ κέρξη ηωλ θαζ’ εκάο ρξόλωλ, Athens: Nea Thesis Ed.; Oikonomou P. (1991), Αγηνιόγηνλ πάληωλ ηωλ ελ
Ζπείξω αγίωλ, Athens.
23
For the Archdiocese of Achrida and its jurisdictions in modern-day Albania, see: Alexoudis A. (1868), ΢ύληνκνο
Ηζηνξηθή Πεξηγξαθή ηεο Ηεξάο Μεηξνπόιεωο Βειεγξάδωλ θαη ηεο ππό ηελ Πλεπκαηηθήλ Απηήο Γηθαηνδνζίαλ Τπαγνκέλεο
Υώξαο, Corfu; Ibid. (1984), ―΢πλνδηθαί Πξάμεηο ηεο Αξρηεπηζθνπήο Αρξηδώλ θαη Πάζεο Βνπιγαξίαο‖, Γειηίνλ
Ηζηνξηθήο θαη Δζλνινγηθήο Δηαηξείαο ηεο Διιάδνο, v. 4/15, pp. 547-573; Šopov A. – Strzov G. (1894), ―Kodeks na
Ohridskata Patriarshiya‖, Sbornik na Narodni Umotvorenya, Nauka i Knizhnina, v. 10, pp. 536-579; Gelzer H. (1902),
Der Patriarchat von Achrida, Leipzig; Péchayre A. (1936), ―L‘ Archevêché d‘ Ochrida de 1394 à 1767‖, Échos d’
Orient, v. 35, pp. 183-204, 280-323; Kodov C. (1964), ―L‘Original du Code du Patriarcat d‘ Ochride‖, Byzantinoslavica,
v. 25, pp. 270-278; Apostolski M. (1978), Ohrid i Ohridsko niz Historiyata, Skopje;
24
For a basic outline of the history of the Metropolis of Dyrrachion, see Christopoulos G.A. (2000), The Splendour of
Orthodoxy. 2000 Years - History - Monuments - Art, v. II (Patriarchates and Autocephalous Churches), Athens: Ekdotike
Athenon.
25
For the Diocese and later Metropolis of Belagrada, see Oikonomou P. (1990), Οξζνδνμία θαη Διιεληζκόο ζηε Βόξεην
Ήπεηξν: Ζ Δθθιεζία ελ Βνξείω Ζπείξω από ηεο πξώηεο δηαδόζεωο ηνπ Υξηζηηαληζκνύ κέρξη ηωλ θαζ’ εκάο ρξόλωλ,
Athens: Nea Thesis Ed., pp. 60-63 and 77-80, where additional bibliography.
26
For the Diocese and later Metropolis of Korytsa, see op. cit., pp. 58-60 and 69-76 and Rëmbeci A. (2009), Ο Κώδηθαο
ηεο Μεηξνπόιεωο Κνξηηζάο: Έθδνζε θαη Ηζηνξηθή Σεθκεεξίωζε, Master‘s dissertation submitted at the Faculty of History
of the Ionian University, Corfu, pp. 115-131, where additional bibliography.
27
On the ecclesiastical ‗order of precedence‘, see Papadopoulos Th. (1952), p. 93.
28
Chrysos E. (1976), ‗Ζ πξναγσγή ηεο Δπηζθνπήο Ησαλλίλσλ ζε Μεηξόπνιε‘, Γωδώλε, v. 5, pp. 336-348, where the
relevant literature cited.
29
Glavinas A. (1998), p. 264.
30
The rankings of the Metropolis of Ioannina in the Notitiae for these years is given by Papadopoulos Th. (1952), p. 112
(see p. 103 for an explanation of the symbols).
31
Glavinas A. (1998), p. 264.
32
Darrouzès J. (1981), Notitiae Episcopatuum Ecclesiae Constantinopolitanae, Paris: Institut Français d‘ Études
Byzantines, pp. 327 (No. 539) and pp. 95-117.
33
op. cit., pp. 363 (No. 589) and pp. 136-153
34
op. cit., p. 421 (No. 166) and pp. 197-198.
35
Papadopoulos Th. (1952), p. 112 (for an explanation of the symbols, see p. 103).
36
Glavinas A. (1998), p. 265.
37
Kokolakis M. (2003), p. 222.
38
For the Diocese of Cheimmara (and Delvinon), see Oikonomou Ph. (1990), Οξζνδνμία θαη Διιεληζκόο ζηε Βόξεην
Ήπεηξν: Ζ Δθθιεζία ελ Βνξείω Ζπείξω από ηεο πξώηεο δηαδόζεωο ηνπ Υξηζηηαληζκνύ κέρξη ηωλ θαζ’ εκάο ρξόλωλ,
Athens: Nea Thesis Ed., pp. 51-58, where additional bibliography.
39
For these data, see Gjakoumis K. (2001).
40
On this subject, see Amantos K. (1930), ‗Ζ Αλαγλώξηζηο ππό ησλ Μσακεζαλῶλ Θξεζθεπηηθώλ θαη Πνιηηηθώλ
Γηθαησκάησλ ησλ Υξηζηηαλώλ θαη ν Οξηζκόο ηνπ ΢ηλάλ Παζά‘, Ζπεηξωηηθά Υξνληθά, v. 5, pp. 197-210; Skendi S.
(1982), pp. 243-244; Inalcik H. (1991), pp. 409-410 and note 3. On the privileges granted by the Turks in Epiros, see:
Papastathis Ch. (1997), ‗Όξνη ππνηαγήο — ηα πξνλόκηα‘, in Sakellariou M. V. [ed.] (1997), Ήπεηξνο. 4000 ρξόληα
ειιεληθήο ηζηνξίαο θαη πνιηηηζκνύ, Athens: Ekdotiki Athinon Ed., pp. 241-244, 453a; for the policy of the Ottomans to
preserve old structures of authority and, after effecting slight changes, to incorporate them into the Ottoman
administrative structure, see: Bryer A. - Lowry H. [ed.] (1986), Continuity and Change in late Byzantine and early
Ottoman Society, Birmingham - Washington DC.: Centre for Byzantine Studies - Dumbarton Oaks Ed. The policy of the
conquerors to grant privileges, in order to win over local populations was, of course, older than the Ottoman occupation
of Epiros and Albania. For an earlier example from Charles Anjou see: Dourou-Eliopoulou M. (1998), ‗Les ‗Albanais‘
dans a seconde moitié du XIIIe siècle d‘ après les documents angevins‘, in Gasparis Ch. [ed.] (1998), p. 236.
41
Zotos-Molossos V., Ηζηνξία ηεο Ζπείξνπ εθ δηαθόξωλ ρεηξνγξάθωλ ζπληαρζείζα, MS. 62, G. Vlachogiannis Archive,
General Archives of the State, Athens, K 97, section B, p. 117b. On this manuscript, see Diamandis K. [ed.] (1974), Σα
πεξηερόκελα ηωλ Γεληθώλ Αξρείωλ ηνπ Κξάηνπο, Athens, pp. 368, 851-852.
42
Ziangos N. (1974), pp. 10-11.
43
Petridis Ath. (1871, reprint: 1973), ‗Υξνληθόλ Γξπνπίδνο‘, Νενειιεληθά Αλάιεθηα Φηινινγηθνύ ΢πιιόγνπ
«Παξλαζζόο», v. 1, part 2, p. 24.
44
Kontonasiou Sp. (1952), ‗Από ηελ παιαηόηεξε ηζηνξία ηνπ Βαζηιηθνύ (Σζαξαπιαλώλ)‘, Ζπεηξωηηθή Δζηία, v. 1, pp.
800; compare Vranousis L. (1962), Υξνληθά ηεο Μεζαηωληθήο θαη Σνπξθνθξαηνύκελεο Ζπείξνπ, Ioannina, pp. 204-206.
The similarities between these documents may indicate the existence of a common source.
45
Inalcik H. (1991), pp. 410-421.
46
Vryonis S. (1988), p. 108; cf. idem. Vryonis S. (1981) [a], ‗Religious Changes and Patterns in the Balkans, 14th-16th
Centuries‘, in Studies on Byzantium, Seljuks and Ottomans, Reprinted Studies, Malibu and Vryonis S. (1981) [b], ‗The
Greeks under Turkish Rule‘, in Studies on Byzantium, Seljuks and Ottomans, Reprinted Studies, Malibu.
47
For an updated, historical study of Islam in Albania, see Sciarra L. (1996), ‗L‘ Islam in Albania‘, Oriente Moderno -
Problematiche islamiche in area balcanica: Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Numero speciale, Roma, pp. 1-77.
48
Greek historians note that Sultan Mehmed II threatened those who refused to enforce the legal procedures of
conversion to Islam with the death penalty. See Martinianou Ioakeim (1957), Ζ Μνζρόπνιηο, 1330-1930, Thessaloniki,
p. 19; Vakalopoulos A. (1967), Ηζηνξία ηνπ Νένπ Διιεληζκνύ, v. 2, Thessaloniki, p. 45; Ziangos N. (1974), p. 17.
49
Todorov N. (1986), Ζ Βαιθαληθή Πόιε. 15νο -19νο Αηώλαο, v. 1, Athens: Themelio Ed., p. 93.
50
Vranousis L. - Sphyroeras (1997), ‗Οξγάλσζε ηεο ηνπξθηθήο δηνηθήζεσο θαη θνξνινγία‘, in Sakellariou M. V. [ed.]
(1997), Ήπεηξνο. 4000 ρξόληα ειιεληθήο ηζηνξίαο θαη πνιηηηζκνύ, Athens: Ekdotiki Athinon Ed., p. 252α.
51
Miloitis I. (1882), ‗Οδνηπνξηθόλ‘, Παξλαζζόο, v. 6, p. 641; compare Michalopoulos Ph. (1940), Κνζκάο ν Αηηωιόο,
Athens, p. 78; Papadopoulos N. (1970), Ζ Γνύβηαλε ηεο Γξνπόιεωο Βνξείνπ Ζπείξνπ, Athens, p. 38 and Papadopoulos
N. (1976), p. 40: on the equivalence of the term ‗‗Greeks‘‘ and ‗‗Christians‘‘.
52
Pulaha S. (1982), pp. 144-145.
53
Inalcik H. (1951), pp. 130-131; Rizaj S. (1985).
54
See, for example, the instance of Islamization of the 14 families from Kastaniani village [Papadopoulos N. (1976), p.
44].
55
Ziangos N. (1974), pp. 57-61.
56
The event is recorded by the 18th century scholar Kosmas Balanos (1731-1808), and first published in: ‗Ηζηνξηθόλ
θαηά παξάδνζηλ ηνπ καθαξίηνπ Κ. Κνζκά Μπαιάλνπ, δηδαζθάινπ Ησαλλίλσλ‘, Αζελά, 1831, pp. 99-103, also see Ο
Κνπβαξάο, v. 1 (1961), p. 18 [both references cited in Papadopoulos N. (1976), pp. 38-39 and note 1 in p. 39]. This
elusive documentation is perhaps more accessible in the works of the 19 th century scholar Panagiotis Aravantinos
[Aravantinos P. (1856), v. 1, pp. 225-227 and idem. (1866, reprint: 1984), Πεξηγξαθή ηεο Ζπείξνπ εηο Σξία Μέξε, ,
introduced in the reprint by K. Th. Dimaras, Ioannina, v. 2, pp. 163-164], from which reference most posterior scholars
used the information [for example, see: Aravantinos S. (2000, digital reprint of the 1895 edition), Ηζηνξία ηνπ Αιή Παζά
ηνπ Σεπειελιή, Athens: Dodoni Ed., v. 1, p. 46, note 1 and Ziangos N. (1974), p. 57 and note 3]. Machiel Kiel has studied
the background of these sipahis in the light of Ottoman sources [Kiel M. (1985), p. 88].
57
Sathas K. (1867), Διιεληθά Αλέθδνηα, v. 1, Athens, Νν. 126.
58
Bamichas Th. (1930), ‗Κώδημ ηνπ Νανύ ηεο Πόιεσο ηνπ Γειβίλνπ‘, Ζπεηξωηηθά Υξνληθά, v. 5, p. 58.
59
Çelebi Evliya (1902), Shqipnia para dy sjekujsh, translation of v. VI, VIII from the Turkish book «Evliya Çelebi
Seyahatnamesi», translated by Vuçiterni S., Tiranë, p. 27.
60
Paparigopoulos K. (1983), Ηζηνξία ηνπ Διιεληθνύ Έζλνπο, Athens: Faros Ed., v. 5, pp. 15-18.
61
Ziangos N. (1974), p. 60.
62
Ergolavos S. (1996), Δβιηά Σζειεκπή: Σαμίδη ζηελ Ήπεηξν. Έλα απνθαιππηηθό ληνθνπκέλην ηνπ 17νπ αηώλα, Ioannina:
Epeiros Ed., p. 90; cf. Gjakumis K. (2001), p. 53 and note 63 in p. 65.
63
Ziangos N. (1974), p. 59.
64
Terpou Nektarios (1732), Πίζηηο, Venice, pp. 224-227; compare: Glavinas A. (1999), ‗Ζ ζπκβνιή ηνπ Μνζρνπνιίηε
ηεξνκνλάρνπ Νεθηαξίνπ Σέξπνπ ζηελ αλάζρεζε ησλ εμηζιακηζκώλ‘, Γηεζλέο ΢πκπόζην ‘ΜΟ΢ΥΟΠΟΛΗ΢’, Θεζζαινλίθε
31 Οθηωβξίνπ - 1 Ννεκβξίνπ 1996, Thessaloniki: Macedoniki Vivliothiki No. 91, pp. 31-32.
65
Vranousis L. - Sphyroeras (1997), ‗Οξγάλσζε ηεο ηνπξθηθήο δηνηθήζεσο θαη θνξνινγία‘, in Sakellariou M. V. [ed.]
(1997), Ήπεηξνο. 4000 ρξόληα ειιεληθήο ηζηνξίαο θαη πνιηηηζκνύ, Athens: Ekdotiki Athinon Ed., p. 252a.
66
Glavinas A. (1998), pp. 243-244.
67
Riza E. (1981), Qyteti-Muze i Gjirokastrës (monografi), Tiranë: «8 Nëntori» Ed., p. 42 and Kiel M. (1990), p. 141. Ö.
L. Barkan, ‗894 (1488/1489) yili cizyesinin tahsilatina âit muhasebe bilânçolari‘, Belgeler, 1/1 (1964), p. 95, in which
are mentioned the salaries of the functionaries attached to the mosque of Gjirokastër for the economic year 1489.
68
Pulaha S. (1988), p. 26.
69
Gjakumis K. (2001).
70
Ergolavos S. (1995), p. 90.
71
Kiel M. (1990), pp. 139-140.
72
Todorov N. - Velkov A. (1988), Situation démographique de la Péninsule balkanique (fin du XVe s. - début du XVIe
s., Sofia: Edition de l‘ Académie Bulgare des Sciences, p. 16.
73
Inalcik Ζ. (1951), pp. 130-131; Pulaha S. (1982), pp. 144-145; Rizaj S. (1985), pp. 127-131.
74
Inalcik H. (1951), p. 132, note 1, who cites data from the Archives, Registres de Tapu, No 1078, Hijra date 912. This
information was republished in Skendi S. (1956), p. 319, who incorrectly read the Hijra date as 1510, instead of 1506/07.
75
Pulaha S. (1988), p. 13, who studied the data from the land registers of Vlorë [T.K.A., Defteri mufassal liva-i Avlonya,
Kadastro Umum müdürlugününarsivi, Ankara, No. 62].
76
On the social reasons for conversion to Islam, see Vakalopoulos A. (1975), p. 157; Kiel M. (1990) [2], p. 89; Skendi S.
(1956), p. 320; and Skendi S. (1982), p. 248, Pulaha S. (1982), pp. 163-164; Glavinas A. (1998), pp. 242-243.
77
Skendi S. (1956), pp. 319-320; Zamputi I. (1966), Aspects dy mouvement albanais de libération dans les premiers
siècles de la domination ottomane notamment au cours de 1593-1620, booklet of a paper presented in the Ier Congrès
International des études balkaniques et sud-est européennes, Tirana: Édition du Commité National Albanais des études
Balkaniques. The paper was published in Studia Albanica, v. 1, p. 6; Papadopoulos N. (1976), p. 47; Skendi S. (1982), p.
248.
78
Kiel M. (1990), p. 17; Rizaj S. (1985); Çela E. (1987), ‗Dëshmi të besimit të cekët fetar në disa krahina të Shqipërisë
së veriut e të mesme nën dritën e dokumenteve të shek, XVII (Témoignage sur le sentiment religieux de la population de
certaines regions de l‘ Albanie septentrional et centrale à la lumière de documents du XVII siècle)‘, Studime Historike, v.
2, pp. 153-165; French synopsis in pp. 165-168; Çela E. (1988), ‗Autorë të huaj mbi mendësinë dhe mungesën e
fanatizmit fetar tek Shqiptarët (shek. XVIII-fillimi i shek. XX) [Les auteurs étrangers à propos de la mentalité des
Albanais et de l‘ absence de fanatisme religieux chez eux]‘, Studime Historike, v. 2, pp.123-134; French synopis in pp.
134-138; Kiel M. (1990) [2], p. 89.
79
Skendi S. (1956), p. 320; Skendi S. (1982), p. 248. Clerical illiteracy was a general phenomenon. See, for example, the
comment by the western traveller, Prococke, in 1738 with regard to the clergy in Cyprus: cited in Çiçek K. (1992),
Zimmis (non-Muslims) of Cyprus in the Sharia Court: 1110/39 A.H. / 1698-1726 A.D., Ph.D. thesis submitted at the
Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies, The University of Birmingham, Birmingham, p. 212.
80
Aravantinos P. (1856), pp. 244-245, note 1.
81
Arno E. (December 1935), ‗Venezia e l‘ Albania‘, Rassegna Italiana, v. XIV / No. 211, p. 12.
82
On Crypto-Christianity in Albania see: Thesprotos K. - Psalidas Ath. (1830, reprint: 1964), Γεωγξαθία Αιβαλίαο θαη
Ζπείξνπ, introduction and notes by Ath. Papacharisis, Ioannina: Η.Ζ.M. Ed., p. 7; Papadopoulos N. (1970), Ζ Γνύβηαλε
ηεο Γξνπόιεωο Βνξείνπ Ζπείξνπ, Athens, pp. 40-41; Papadopoulos N. (1976), pp. 42-43; Nikolaidou E. (1979), Οη
θξππηνρξηζηηαλνί ηεο ΢παζίαο. (Αξρέο 18νπ αηώλα - 1912), Ioannina; Graceni B. (1989), ‗Le chryptochristianisme dans la
région du Shpat au cours de la dernière periode de la domination ottomane‘, Studia Albanica, v. 2, pp. 93-102; Glavinas
A. (1998), pp. 244-246. On this phenomenon in other provinces of the Ottoman Empire, see Hasluck F. W. (1929), v. II,
pp. 469-474 (for Trebizond) and Vakalopoulos A. (1975), p. 158 (for Crimea).
83
On Bektashism see: Birge J. K. (1965), The Bektashi Order of Dervishes, London: Luzac & Co. Ltd., pp. 541-551;
Glavinas A. (1998), p. 246; John Pelushi, Metropolitan of Korçë (2000), ‗Kriptokrishterimi në Shqipëri‘, paper given in
the International Symposium «2000 Vjet Art dhe Kulturë Kishtare në Shqipëri», Tiranë, 16-18 Nëntor 2000, Tiranë. On
Crypto-Christianity specifically for the province of Gjirokastër, see Hasluck F. W. (1929), v. II p. 541.
84
On the neomartyrs, in general see Patrinelis C. (1964), ‗Μία αλέθδνηε πεγή γηα ηνλ άγλσζην λενκάξηπξα Γεώξγην
(1437)‘, Οξζόδνμνο Παξνπζία, v. I, pp. 65-74; Anastasiou I. (1971), ‗΢ρεδίαζκα πεξί ησλ λενκαξηύξσλ‘, ΜΝΖΜΖ
1821, Thessaloniki, pp. 7-61; Theocharidis I. - Loules D. (1988), ‗Οη λενκάξηπξεο ζηελ ειιεληθή ηζηνξία (1453-1821)‘,
Γωδώλε, v. 17/1, pp. 135-150; Tritos M. (1991), ‗Γεληθά πεξί ησλ λενκαξηύξσλ‘, Ζπεηξωηηθό Ζκεξνιόγην, v. 13, pp.
324-336, where analytical citations of earlier literature; Theocharidis I. (1991), ‗Οη λενκάξηπξεο ζηελ ειιεληθή ηζηνξία
(1453-1821) (supplement)‘, Γωδώλε, v. 20/1, pp. 57-68; Iliou Ph. (1995), ‗Πόζνο καξηπξίνπ‘, Σα Ηζηνξηθά, v. 12/23, pp.
267-284. The non-Greek bibliography includes: MacFarlane Ch. (1850), Turkey and its Destiny, Philadelphia, pp. 55-56;
Delehaye I. (1921), ‗Greek Neomartyrs‘, The Constructive Quarterly, v. 9, pp. 701-712; Hasluck F. W. (1929), v. 2,
Oxford, pp. 452-459; Salaville S. (1950), ‗Pour un répertoire des Néo-Saints de l‘ église orientale‘, Byzantion, v. 20, pp.
223-237; Arnakis-Georgiadis G. (September 1952), ‗The Greek Church of Constantinople and the Ottoman Empire‘,
Journal of Modern History, v. 24/3, pp. 235-251; Vryonis S. (1971), pp. 360-362; Clogg R. (1973), ‗A little-known
Orthodox Neo-Martyr, Athanasios of Smyrna (1819)‘, Eastern Churches Review, v. 5, pp. 28-36; Karpat K. (1983), ‗The
Situation of the Christians in the Ottoman Empire‘, International Journal of Turkish Studies, v. 4/2, pp. 259-266; Russell
N. (1983), ‗Neomartyrs of the Greek Calendar‘, Sobornost, v. 5/1, pp. 36-62; Karpat K. (1986), ‗Ottoman Views and
Policies Towards the Orthodox Christian Church‘, Greek Orthodox Theological Review, v. 31/1-2, pp. 131-155;
Theocharidis I. - Loules D. (1989), ‗The Neomartyrs in Greek History, 1453-1821‘, Études Balkaniques, v. 25/3, pp. 78-
86; Zachariadou E. (1990-91), ‗The Neomartyrs‘ Message‘, Γειηίν ηνπ Κέληξνπ Μηθξαζηαηηθώλ ΢πνπδώλ, v. 8, pp. 51-
63; Kamperidis L. (2000), ‗Neomartyrs‘, in Speake Gr. [ed.] (2000), v. 2, pp. 1139ii-1140ii; Gjakumis K. (2001).
85
Glavinas A. (1998), pp. 248-249.
86
On this saint, see Glavinas A. (1998), p. 250 and Tritos M. (2000), ‗Ο επίζθνπνο Γξπτλνππόιεσο ΢νθηαλόο‘,
Ζπεηξωηηθό Ζκεξνιόγην, v. 21 (forthcoming), where citations of earlier literature.
87
Glavinas A. (1998), pp. 250-252; Glavinas A. (1999), ‗Ζ ζπκβνιή ηνπ Μνζρνπνιίηε ηεξνκνλάρνπ Νεθηαξίνπ Σέξπνπ
ζηελ αλάζρεζε ησλ εμηζιακηζκώλ‘, Γηεζλέο ΢πκπόζην ‘ΜΟ΢ΥΟΠΟΛΗ΢’, Θεζζαινλίθε 31 Οθηωβξίνπ - 1 Ννεκβξίνπ
1996, Thessaloniki: Macedoniki Vivliothiki No. 91, pp. 29-43; Glavinas A. (1999), ‗Ο κνζρνπνιίηεο ηεξνκόλαρνο
Νεθηάξηνο Σέξπνπ, έλαο νηθνπκεληθόο ρξηζηηαλόο‘, in Δηθνζηπεληαεηεξηθόλ αθηέξωκα ζηνλ κεηξνπνιίηε Νεανπόιεωο θαη
΢ηαπξνππόιεωο θ. ΓΗΟΝΤ΢ΗΟ, Thessaloniki: Holy Metropolis of Neapolis and Stavroupolis, pp. 341-364; Tritos M.
(1999), ‗Νεθηάξηνο Σέξπνο, ν κνζρνπνιίηεο δηδάζθαινο ηνπ γέλνπο‘, Ζπεηξωηηθό Ζκεξνιόγην, v. 20, pp. 85-111, in
which most of the earlier literature.
88
From the rich literature regarding saint Kosmas the Aetolian and his contribution, see Giakoumis G. (1996), Ο Άγηνο
Κνζκάο θαη ην κνλαζηήξη ζην Κνιηθόληαζη (Shën Kozmai dhe monastiri në Kolkondas), Marousi (Athens); Glavinas A.
(1998), pp. 252-254.
89
Papaioannou D. (1991), pp. 68-72. For the pastoral agricultural ecclesiastical customs of the year see: Loukatos D.
(1992), Δηζαγωγή ζηελ Διιεληθή Λανγξαθία, Athens, pp. 261-280. On the Byzantine legacy in folk life and tradition in
the Balkans with special reference to religion in the life and the seasonal and religious calendar of the Balkan peoples, as
well as the panegyris, see Vryonis S. (1988), especially pp. 117-130, 133-137.
90
Loukopoulos D. (1983), Γεωξγηθά ηεο Ρνύκειεο, Athens-Ioannina, p. 210.
91
This feast was on 21 November, the day of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple [op. cit., p. 259].
92
Loukopoulos D. (1985), Πώο πθαίλνπλ θαη ληύλνληαη νη Αηηωινί, Athens-Ioannina, p. 131.
93
Lamnatos V. (1987), Οη κήλεο ζηελ αγξνηηθή θαη πνηκεληθή δωή ηνπ ιανύ καο, Athens-Ioannina, p. 28.
94
Loukopoulos D. (1984), Αηηωιηθαί νηθήζεηο, ζθεπαί θαη ηξνθαί, Athens-Ioannina, p. 12.
95
op. cit., p. 66.
96
Loukatos D. (1992), Δηζαγωγή ζηελ Διιεληθή Λανγξαθία, Athens, pp. 101-106.
97
Papaioannou D. (1991), pp. 74-77.
98
For example: Church of St. Nikolaos at Valësh, Elbasan: “This holy and most venerable church of our father Saint
Nicholaos, Archbishop of Myra, the miracles-worker was built from foundations and was decorated with icons with
contributions, toils and expenses of all inhabitants of Valësh, both great and minor, during the prelacy of the most God-
loving Bishop, Sir Laurence, and during the priesthood of the most pious Kolia Tata Lekabe, in the year 7112 (=1614)‖.
Popa Th. (1998), No. 16, pp. 56-57.
99
A.Q.Sh., F. 139, D. 2, ff. 99r and 107r
100
A.Q.Sh. F. 139, D. 2, f. 25v-26r.
101
A.Q.Sh. F. 141, D. 2.
102
A.Q.Sh., F. 149, D. 2, f. 12v: And from the above 1335 aspres we gave to the All-Holy Theotokos of Ardeousa 300
aspres.
103
op. cit., f. 57v.
104
See for example the Doxology to the Sultan in Note 19, i-iii.
105
F. 139, D. 2, f. 25v: «…φανεροῦμεν, ὅτι τὰ ὅσα ἔξοδα ἤθελον ἀκολουθήσῃ εἰς τὸ καρὰ γιαπὶ μόνον τούτων
τῶν δύο | ἐκκλησιῶν νὰ ἐξοδευθῶσιν ἀπὸ ὅλην τὴν κοινότητα, ὁμοίως καὶ ὅσα ῥουσφέτια καὶ δωρήματα
ἤ|θελον ἀκολουθήσῃ εἰς τοὺς ἐξωτερικούς, τόσον εἰς τὸν νῦν βαλῆν τοῦ τόπου κούρτπασαν διὰ τὰ δύω |
μπουγιουρντία, ὅσον καὶ εἰς τὸν κατὴν διὰ τὰ δύο Ἰλάμια, καὶ κέφς χοντζέτια, ὁμοίως καὶ εἰς τοὺς |
ἀγιάνιδές μας καὶ ἄλλους ἀφεντάδες, καὶ χρείας οὔσης, καὶ εἰς ἄλλους παραμικρούς, ὅλα αὐτὰ | τὰ ἔξοδα
νὰ ἐξοδευθῶσιν ὁμοίως ἀπὸ ὅλην τὴν κοινότητα».
106
F. 139, D. 2, f. 26r: «Καταγραφὴ τῶν ἐξόδων τοῦ οἰκοδομήματος τῆς ἐκκλησίας μόνης τοῦ
Παντοκράτορος | ἤτοι τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς. | ………………
Εἰς τοὺς ἐξωτερικοὺς δῶρα καὶ χαρίσματα, εἰς τὸν πασιὰν εἰς Μπεράτι, καὶ ἐδὼ εἰς κατὴν, | καὶ μπέηδες,
καὶ αὑθεντάδες ………………………………………
» 1250: = |Ἔτι εἰς ἀν(θρώπ)ους τοῦ βαλῆ Μουσταφάμπεη ὁποῦ ἐφύλαττον τοὺς μαστώρους, καὶ ἔτι δώρα
τοῦ κατῆ.» 112: 90 = |».
107
See note 58.
108
See note 64.
109
See Note 64.
110
Dalven R. (1990), The Jews of Ioannina, Philadelphia, p. 3.
111
Gerber J. (1992), The Jews of Spain, New York, p. 146. For the Jews in Vlora see Veinstein G. (1987), ‗Une
communauté ottomane: les Juifs d‘ Avlonya (Valona) dans la deuxième moitié du XVIe siècle‘, in Cozzi G. (19?), Gli
Ebrei e Venezia secoli XIV-XVIII, Atti del Convegno internazionale organizzato dall‘ Istituto di storia della società e
dello stato veneziano della Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venezia, Isola dis San Giorgio Maggiore 5-10 giogno 1983,
Venezia, pp. 781-828.
112
Kiel M. (1990), pp. 22-23 and 40-41 and 266-277 and 278-279; Spector S. –Wigoder G. [eds.] (2001), The
Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, v. 1, New York, p. 26
113
Lieu J. (1992), ―History and Theology in Christian Views of Judaism‖, in Lieu J. – North J. – Rajak T. (1992), The
Jews Among Pagans and Christians in the Roman Empire, London and New York, pp. 79-96.
114
Old Testament sources were used for these hymns: cf. Jeremiah, 3:64 and Ps. 27:4.
115
This is a part of stereotypical expressions used in excommunication letters, cf. Giakoumis K. (2008), Ο Κώδηθαο ηνπ
Γνζηζένπ Δπηζθόπνπ Γξπϊλνππόιεωο θαη Αξγπξνθάζηξνπ (1760-1858), Tirana, f. 35v.
116
And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and
servant of all." And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them,
"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent
me."
117
Garidis M. (1999), ―΢ηελέο Δπαθέο – Δηθνλνγξαθηθέο θαη Σερλνηξνπηθέο – κε Δπξύηεξα ΢ύγρξνλα Ρεύκαηα ηεο
Δπξσπατθήο Γεληθόηεξα Εσγξαθηθήο. Μαξηπξίεο από ην Γηάθνζκν ηνπ Δζσηεξηθνύ Νάξζεθα (Ληηήο) ηεο Μνλήο
Φηιαλζξσπελώλ, 1560‖, in Garidis M. – Paliouras A. [eds.] (1999), Μνλαζηήξηα Νήζνπ Ηωαλλίλωλ. Πξαθηηθά
΢πκπνζίνπ «700 ρξόληα 1292-1992», Ioannina, p. 69.
118
op. cit.
119
Giakoumis K. (2009), Ο Κώδηθαο ηνπ Γνζηζένπ Δπηζθόπνπ Γξπϊλνππόιεωο θαη Αξγπξνθάζηξνπ (1760-1858), Tirana,
f. 61v-62r.
120
Codex of Patriarchal Correspondence No. 16, p. 91.
121
This is shown in a patriarchal letter dated September 6, 1846. Codex of Patriarchal Correspondence No. 24, p. 354.
122
On the history of the Fourth Crusade I am hereby citing a selection of comprehensive secondary sources which use
extensively both Byzantine as well as western primary sources on the issue: Bradford E. (1967), The Story of the Fourth
Crusade, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., reviewed by Velde E. (1969), The History Teacher, v. 2/2, pp. 61-62; Queller D.E.
(1977), The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, 1201-1204, Philadelphia, reviewed by Folda J. (1979), in
Speculum, v. 54/3, pp. 620-622 and by Riley-Smith J. (1979), in The English Historical Review, v. 94/372, pp. 624-625;
and Bartlett W.B. (2000), An Ungodly War: The Sack of Constantinople and the Fourth Crusade, New York, reviewed
by Sauers R.A. (2001), in The Journal of Military History, v. 65/1, pp. 169-170. For a selection of primary sources, see
Hallam E. [ed.] (1989), pp. 198-245.
123
Zachariadou E. (1996), pp. 28-61.
124
Ware T. (1964), The Orthodox Church, Baltimore, p. 69. For Byzantine negative literary reactions to the second
crusade, see Jeffreys E. – Jeffreys M. (2001), ‗The ―Wild Beast from the West‖: Immediate Literary Reactions in
Byzantium to the Second Crusade‘, in Laiou A.E. – Mottahedeh R. P. [eds.] (2001), The Crusades from the Perspective
of Byzantium and the Muslim World, Dumbarton Oaks – Washington D.C., pp. 101-116; cf. ibid. p. 117.
125
For these differences set in their historical context, I cite two basic sources: Papadakis A. (1994), The Christian East
and the Rise of the Papacy. The Church (1071-1453 A.D.), Crestwood-New York: St Vladimir‘s Seminary Press; Ware
T. (1964), Eustratios Argenti: A study of the Greek Church under Turkish Rule, Oxford: Clarendon Press; and Kolbaba
T.M. (2001), ‗Byzantine Perceptions of Latin Religious ―Errors‖: Themes and Changes from 850 to 1350‘, in Laiou A.E.
– Mottahedeh R. P. [eds.] (2001), The Crusades from the Perspective of Byzantium and the Muslim World, Dumbarton
Oaks – Washington D.C., pp. 117-143.
126
See note 18.
127
Garidis M. (1999), ―΢ηελέο Δπαθέο – Δηθνλνγξαθηθέο θαη Σερλνηξνπηθέο – κε Δπξύηεξα ΢ύγρξνλα Ρεύκαηα ηεο
Δπξσπατθήο Γεληθόηεξα Εσγξαθηθήο. Μαξηπξίεο από ην Γηάθνζκν ηνπ Δζσηεξηθνύ Νάξζεθα (Ληηήο) ηεο Μνλήο
Φηιαλζξσπελώλ, 1560‖, in Garidis M. – Paliouras A. [eds.] (1999), Μνλαζηήξηα Νήζνπ Ηωαλλίλωλ. Πξαθηηθά
΢πκπνζίνπ «700 ρξόληα 1292-1992», Ioannina, pp. 65-75.
128
Among the several examples that can be mentioned here I choose only: 1) The martyrdom of St. Tarachos [Garidis M.
– Paliouras A. [eds.] (1993), p. 95, fig. 144], whose torturer‘s helmet is comparable to 14 th century examples [e.g. the
representation of Sir Geoffrey Luttrell from the Luttrell Psalter, ca. 1340, Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988), p. 67; cf. the
open at the front and lowering at the sides Italian sallet ca. 1480, op. cit., p. 121, figure above, or the Knights Tilting,
from the Ordinance of Chivalry, 15 th century English illuminated manuscript by St. John Astley, op. cit., p. 159]. 2) The
martyrdom of St. Epicharis [Garidis M. – Paliouras A. [eds.] (1993), p. 113, fig. 170, 172], whose torturer‘s overcoat and
helmet is comparable to 16th century western harnesses [e.g. the equestrian harness of Otto Heinrich, Count Palatine of
the Rhine, ca. 153.0s, Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988), p. 175]. 3) The beheading of St. John the Baptist [Garidis M. –
Paliouras A. [eds.] (1993), p. 174, fig. 291], whose executioner‘s helmet and overcoat is comparable to 14 th century
examples.
129
Garidis M. – Paliouras A. [eds.] (1993), pp. 96-97, fig. 145-146. For similar figures, see the executioner of St.
Marcianus, op. cit., p. 103, fig. 161.
130
Op. cit., pp. 78-79, fig. 112, 116.
131
Op. cit., pp. 105, 107, fig. 160, 162 in comparison with Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988), pp. 142 (up), 143 (up), and
175.
132
Garidis M. – Paliouras A. [eds.] (1993), pp. 114-115, fig. 174, 176 in comparison with Edge D. – Paddock J.M.
(1988), pp. 142 (up), 143 (up), and 175.
133
The church in question in unpublished. For the comparison, see Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988), pp. 84 ff.
134
Liva-Xanthaki T. (1993), ‗Δμσηεξηθέο θσηνγξαθίεο, Σνηρνγξαθίεο, Αλαπηύγκαηα, ΢ρέδηα θαη Τπνκλήκαηα Μνλήο
Νηίιηνπ‘, in Garidis M. - Paliouras A. [ed.] (1993), Μνλαζηήξηα ηεο Νήζνπ Ηωαλλίλωλ, Ioannina, figs. 385, 387 and 293
on pp. 231, 232 and 238 respectively; cf. Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988), pp. 84 ff.].
135
Op. cit., figs. 391 and 408 on pp. 235 and 244.
136
Papadopoulou B. (1993), ‗Δμσηεξηθέο θσηνγξαθίεο, Σνηρνγξαθίεο, Αλαπηύγκαηα, ΢ρέδηα θαη Τπνκλήκαηα Μνλήο
Διενύζαο‘, in Garidis M. - Paliouras A. [ed.] (1993), Μνλαζηήξηα ηεο Νήζνπ Ηωαλλίλωλ, Ioannina, figs. 455-459 on pp.
277-279; cf. Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988), pp. 84 ff.
137
See the scenes of the Massacre of the Innocent, the Betrayal, Christ‘s Judgement by Annas, Caiaphas and Pontius
Pilate, the Derision and the Carrying of the Cross, the Ascent to the Cross and the Crucifixion, Joseph of Arimatheia
before Pilate and the Marys at the Tomb [see Stavropoulou-Makri A. (1989), figs. 14b, 19b, 20, 21a-b, 22-24, 26 and 28-
29 (details), 31a and 33b; cf. Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988), pp. 84 ff.].
138
Martyrdom of St. Demetrios [Stavropoulou-Makri A. (1989), pp. 137-153, fig. 54a; cf. Edge D. – Paddock J.M.
(1988), pp. 84 ff.].
139
Martyrdoms of saints. [Stavropoulou-Makri A. (1989), pp. 157-167, figs. 56a, 57; cf. Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988),
pp. 84 ff.].
140
The Judgement by Annas and Caiaphas [Stavropoulou-Makri A. (1989), pp. 153-157, figs. 60 and 61a; cf. Edge D. –
Paddock J.M. (1988), pp. 84 ff.].
141
Martyrdoms of Sts. Demetrios and George; cf. Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988), pp. 84 ff. The frescoes of the this
monument date in the last quarter of the 16 th century, with substantial overpainting from the 17 th and the 19th century
[Giakoumis G. – Giakoumis K. (1994), Οξζόδνμα Μλεκεία ζηε Βόξεην Ήπεηξν, Ioannina, pp. 79-81 and figs. 160-162;
Giakoumis G. (1994), pp. 28-33 and figs. 29-43].
142
See the soldier next to Longinus in the scene of the Crucifixion [see Giakoumis G. – Giakoumis K. (1994), p. 150,
fig. 300; cf. Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988), pp. 84 ff.].
143
Giakoumis G. – Giakoumis K. (1994), pp. 53-55 and 56 and fig. 105 on p. 56; cf. Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988), pp.
84 ff.].
144
Giakoumis G. – Giakoumis K. (1994), p. 144, fig. 287; cf. Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988), pp. 84 ff. For the
monastery, see Giakoumis G. (1995), Ζ Ηεξά Μνλή Ραβελίωλ Γξόπνιεο, Athens where citations to the relevant literature.
145
For the monastery, see Giakoumis G. – Giakoumis K. (1994), pp. 114-117; cf. Edge D. – Paddock J.M. (1988), pp. 84
ff.
146
Giakoumis G. – Giakoumis K. (1994), pp. 72-75, figs. 144-154, and particularly fig. 148 on p. 73.
147
In the history of Albanian architecture it is maintained that the first post-Byzantine churches date from the second half
of the 16th century [Baçe A. - Meksi A. - Riza E. - Karaiskaj Gj. - Thomo P. (1980), Historia Arkitektures Shqiptare
(nga fillimet deri në v. 1912) (= History of the Albanian Architecture from the beginning till 1912), maket, Tiranë, p.
368i], while on p. 369i the authors refer to the early 16th century churches which we shall also cite below. Thomo P.
(1998), p. 258i dates it to the 16th century and mentions an increase in church building during the 17th century Thomo‘s
dating, however, is mostly incorrect, since he uses the date given in the frescoes‘ inscription as that of the building of the
church. It will be pointed out in Chapter III that the painting of the churches was usually accomplished much later than
the building.
For future scholarship, it must be stated that the beginning of post-Byzantine architecture in Albania may well be
earlier than the beginning of the 16th century, if my suspicions about the dating of the little chapel of the monastery of
the Virgin or Kostar [for the monastery of Kostar, see Giakoumis G. (1994), pp. 102-103, ill. 227-232] are correct. The
chapel is not only unpublished, but also unstudied; photographs of it may be seen in Giakoumis G. (1994), pp. 102, 103,
106, ill. 227, 232 and pl. on p. 106. The church is a small, short, oblong, building which should be dated to the post-
Byzantine period, according to its masonry (roughly hewn unequal blocks of limestone held by a thin layer of mortar,
and fragments of bricks). The timberwork detected in the photographs is typical of the post-Byzantine period [Bouras
Ch. (1995), Ηζηνξία ηεο Αξρηηεθηνληθήο: Αξρηηεθηνληθή ζην Βπδάληην, ην Ηζιάκ θαη ηε Γπηηθή Δπξώπε θαηά ην Μεζαίωλα
(= History of the Architecture: Architecture in Byzantium, Islam and wetern Europe during the Middle Age), Athens:
Melissa ed., p. 470]. The decoration of the chapel, however, (series of herring-bone bricks in the western, northern and
on the interior eastern side) is, to the best of my knowledge, without precedent in post-Byzantine monuments of Albania;
it could therefore, be dated to the 15th or 16th century, since this type of decoration was used in the first two centuries of
the Ottoman period and later fell into decline [Vokotopoulos P. (1979), ‗Ο Ναόο ηνπ Αγίνπ Μελά ζην Μνλνδέλδξη‘
(English summary: ‗The church of St. Minas in Monodendri‘), in Churches in Greece 1453-1850, v. 1, p. 118 and
Oikonomou C. (1989), ‗Ο ΢ηαπξεπίζηεγνο Ναόο ηνπ Αγίνπ Ησάλλνπ ηνπ Πξνδξόκνπ ζην ΢ηαπξνδξόκη ηεο Ζπείξνπ‘
(English summary: ‗The cross-vaulted church of St John the Baptist at Stavrodromi in Epiros‘), in Churches in Greece
1453-1850, v. 3, pp. 128, 130]. Certainly, this little chapel is one of the older post-Byzantine monuments in Albania and
deserves a detailed study. It has also been touched upon in Giakoumis K. (1996), ‗Αλαμηνπνίεηεο (αλ θαη όρη εληειώο
άγλσζηεο εξεπλεηηθά πεξηνρέο. Ζ πεξίπησζε ηεο Αιβαλίαο. [Πιεκειιώο δεκνζηεπκέλνη λανί θαη θαζνιηθά ζηε λόηηα -
λνηηνδπηηθή Αιβαλία, από ην 10ν κέρξη ην 17ν αη]‘ [English summary: ‗Not widely known research areas: the case of
Albania (Insufficiently published churches and catholica in South, South - West Albania from the 10th to the 17th c.‘], in
Fledelius K. - Schreiner P. (1996), Byzantium. Identity, Image, Influence, XIX International Congress of Byzantine
Studies, University of Copenhagen, 18 - 24 August, 1996, Major Papers, Copenhagen: Danish International Committee
for Byzantine Studies Eventus Publishers, p. 130.
148
The earliest phase of post-Byzantine painting in these churches, especially the first two, has been examined for by
Georgios Giakoumis (doctoral dissertation at the Archeology Faculty of the University of Ioannina).
149
Church of Vlacherna, Berat, 1578.
150
St Nikolaos in Selcan (1554) and St Nikolaos in Kurjan (1570).
151
Personal observations.
152
On all of these monuments and their associated problems, see the doctoral thesis of George Giakoumis for the School
of Archaeology, Faculty of Byzantine Studies, The University of Ioannina. On the churches of Saint George at Upper
Leshnicë (1525) and Saint Athanasios at Pecë (1525), see Giakoumis G. (2001), Ο Ναόο ηνπ Αγίνπ Γεωξγίνπ ζηελ Άλω
Λεζηλίηζα (1525), Athens, where references of the earlier literature.
153
On the School of Berat, see the concise study of Garidis M. (1989), pp. 199-216, 265, 360, where most of the earlier
literature is cited.
154
Dhamo Dh. (1987), ‗Pasuesit e Onufrit në Berat (Les continuateurs d‘ Onufër à Berat)‘, Studime Historike, v. 1, pp.
169-184.
155
Giakoumis G. - Giakoumis K. (June 1994), ‗Γνύβηαλε: ν Άγηνο Νηθόιανο‘, Γειηίνλ ηεο Ζπεηξωηηθήο Δηαηξείαο, v.
213, pp. 300-313, where the dating is given as 17th century.
156
On all of these monasteries, see Giakoumis G. - Giakoumis K. (1994), pp. 74-81 and ill. 147-163.
157
‗Epirote school‘ (it has also been named ‗School of Thiva or ‗School of North-Western Greece‘) is known as a
pictorial system which developed from the fourth decade of the 16th century to the beginning of the 18th century in a
large number of monuments located particularly in Epiros (where the most important works of the school are to be seen
in the frescoes of the monasteries of the island of Ioannina) and extending to Aetolia and Akarnania, in certain
monuments of Thessalia and Macedonia, extending as far as Bulgaria, F.Y.R.O.M., Serbia and Albania.
 This pictorial system was shaped and developed as a self-sown idiom in connection with the paintings of the so-
called ‗Cretan‘ school. It is characterised in general by the fundamental particularities of a pictorial school: an aesthetic
theory, a consistent iconographic index, an ensemble of narrative and decorative elements, a technique and colour
preferences revealing its forms and conceptions on the divine figures in a manner which corresponds with the philokalia
(aesthetic principles) of its fellows. Furthermore, the Epirote School was distinguished by its strength to develop and
change with each case and accordance to contemporary artistic currents, but also with consistency to its structural and
spiritual principles and its uninterrupted unity with the local pictorial tradition. The Epirote school further influenced the
art of artists active in the second half of the 18th century onwards. Some of these characteristics have been verified by
earlier scholarship [Millet G. (1916), Recherches sur l’ iconographie de l’ Evangile, Paris, p. 648; Xyngopoulos A.
(1957), ΢ρεδίαζκα ηεο Θξεζθεπηηθήο Εωγξαθηθήο Μεηά ηελ Άιωζηλ, Athens, pp. 113-126; Evangelidis D. (1959), ‗Ο
δσγξάθνο Φξάγθνο Καηειάλνο ελ Ζπείξσ‘, Γειηίνλ ηεο Υξηζηηαληθήο Αξραηνινγηθήο Δηαηξείαο, v. 1 (period 4), pp. 40-
54] and systematised by later scholars [Chatzidakis M. (1974), ‗Ζ Μεηαβπδαληηλή Σέρλε (1453-1700) θαη ε Αθηηλνβνιία
ηεο, Γεύηεξε Πεξίνδνο (1527-1630), Ο Φξάγθνο Καηειάλνο θαη νη Άιινη Θεβαίνη‘, in Ηζηνξία ηνπ Διιεληθνύ Έζλνπο, v.
10, pp. 424ii-428i; Gounaris G. (1980), Οη ηνηρνγξαθίεο ηωλ Αγίωλ Απνζηόιωλ θαη ηεο Παλαγίαο Ραζζηώηηζζαο ζηελ
Καζηνξηά, Thessaloniki, pp. 179-182; Liva-Xanthaki T. (1980), Οη ηνηρνγξαθίεο ηεο Μνλήο Νηίιηνπ, Ioannina: I.M.I.A.H.
Ed., pp. 195-208], some of whose interpretations and reasoning, however, cannot be accepted today. The first scholar to
set the theoretical basis and verify the existence of the Epirote school was Acheimastou - Potamianou [Acheimastou-
Potamianou M. (1983), Ζ Μνλή ηωλ Φηιαλζξωπελώλ θαη ε πξώηε θάζε ηεο κεηαβπδαληηλήο δωγξαθηθήο, Athens, pp.
173-235 (197-221); recension by Paliouras A. (1981), Ζπεηξωηηθά Υξνληθά, v. 23, pp. 372-378]; her views were
confirmed and systematised from an inter-Balkan perspective in the works of Garidis [Garidis M. (1975), ‗Contacts entre
la peinture de la Grèce du Nord et des zones centrales balkaniques avec la peinture moldave de la fin du XVe siècle‘,
Actes du XIVe Congrès International des Études Byzantines, Bucarest 1971, v. II, Bucarest, pp. 563-569, fig. 1-10;
Garidis M. (1989), pp. 171-199, 215-216], as well as of other scholars [Paliouras A. (1982), ‗Γεληθή Θεώξεζε ηεο
Εσγξαθηθήο ζηελ Αηησιναθαξλαλία ην 16ν Αηώλα‘, Ζπεηξωηηθά Υξνληθά, v. 24, pp. 121-129, fig. 1-13; Chatzidakis M.
(1987), Έιιελεο Εωγξάθνη κεηά ηελ Άιωζε (1450-1830) κε εηζαγωγή ζηελ ηζηνξία ηεο δωγξαθηθήο ηεο επνρήο, v. 1,
Athens, pp. 86-89; Stavropoulou-Makri A. (1989); Tourta A. (1991), Οη Νανί ηνπ Αγίνπ Νηθνιάνπ ζηε Βίηζα θαη ηνπ
Αγίνπ Μελά ζην Μνλνδέλδξη, Γεκνζηεύκαηα Αξραηνινγηθνύ Γειηίνπ Nr. 44, Athens, pp. 211-230 (where the placement
of the Linotopi painters in the Epirote school); Paliouras A. (1993), ‗Από ηελ Ήπεηξν ζηε Θεζζαιία. Έλαο
Καιιηηερληθόο Γξόκνο (From Epirus to Thessaly - An artistic road)‘, Πξαθηηθά Γ΄ ΢πκπνζίνπ Σξηθαιηλώλ ΢πνπδώλ,
Trikala, v. 2, pp. 41-67 and fig. 1-16 (English synopsis, p. 67); Garidis M. - Paliouras A. (1993), ‗Ζ Εσγξαθηθή ησλ
Μνλαζηξηώλ ηνπ Νεζηνύ Ησαλλίλσλ‘, in Μνλαζηήξηα ηεο Νήζνπ Ηωαλλίλωλ: Εωγξαθηθή, Ioannina, pp. 11-15;
Acheimastou-Potamianou M. (1994), Διιεληθή Σέρλε: Βπδαληηλέο Σνηρνγξαθίεο, Athens, pp. 31ii-32ii, 189-175 (fig. 171-
175), 199-203 (fig. 180-185), 206-208 (fig. 188-190), 256ii-258i, 259i-261i, 261ii-262ii; Kanari Tr. (1996), Les
peintures du catholikon du monastère de Galataki, Paris (Ph.D. thesis); Chatzidakis M. - Drakopoulou E. (1997),
Έιιελεο δωγξάθνη κεηά ηελ Άιωζε (1450-1830), v. 2, Athens: Institute of Byzantine Studies Ed., pp. 76i-79i dhe fig. 24-
29 (entry ‗Καηειάλνο Φξάγθνο‘), pp. 102ii-104i and fig. 52-53 (entry ‗Κνληαξήο Φξάγθνο‘); Semoglou A. (1999), Le
décor mural de la chapelle athonite de Saint Nicolas (1560). Application d’ un nouveau langage pictural par le peintre
thébain Frangos Katellanos, Paris: ‗Septentrion‘ Publ.].
158
Popa Th. (1998), p. 295, No. 807.
159
Giakoumis G. - Giakoumis K. (1994), pp. 53-55 and ill. 99-101, 104-105.
160
For a brief description of this school of painting and its principles, see Giakoumis K. (2001), ‗Σα εηθνλίδηα ηνπ
επηζηπιίνπ ηεο κνλήο ΢πειαίνπ Ληνύληδεο‘ (The Small Icons on the Epistyle at the Monastery of Spelaio), in
Ζπεηξωηηθά Υξνληθά, v. 35, pp. 343-385; English synopsis, pp. 367-368.
161
Dhamo Dh. (1978), ‗Piktura e Onufër Qipriotit në kishën e Vllaho-Goranxisë‘, Studime Historike, v. 1, pp. 129-142;
Giakoumis G. - Giakoumis K. (1994), pp. 55, 57 and ill. 103, 106-107 and ill. 290 in p. 145; Popa Th. (1998), pp. 229-
230, No. 547.
162
For a concise description of the so-called ‗Cretan‘ school of painting, see Giakoumis K. (2001), ‗Σα εηθνλίδηα ηνπ
επηζηπιίνπ ηεο κνλήο ΢πειαίνπ Ληνύληδεο‘ (The Small Icons on the Epistyle at the Monastery of Spelaio), in
Ζπεηξωηηθά Υξνληθά, v. 35, pp. 343-385; English synopsis, pp. 367-368.
163
On the Church of the Saints Menas, Victor and Vicentios in Tranosishtë (1617) see Popa Th. (1998), pp. 227-228, No.
541. On the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin in Vllahogoranxi (1622), see Popa Th. (1998), pp. 229-230, No. 547.
164
See Chalkia E. (1997), ‗Παιαηνρξηζηηαληθή Σέρλε‘, in Sakellariou K. [ed.] (1997), Ηζηνξηθνί Διιεληθνί Υώξνη:
ΖΠΔΗΡΟ΢. 4000 ρξόληα ειιεληθήο ηζηνξίαο θαη πνιηηηζκνύ, Athens: Ekdotike Athenon Ed., pp. 166-181; Vokotopoulos
P. (1997), ‗Ζ Σέρλε θαηά ηελ Μεζνβπδαληηλή Πεξίνδν (8νο-12νο αη.)‘, in Sakellariou K. [ed.] (1997), Ηζηνξηθνί Διιεληθνί
Υώξνη: ΖΠΔΗΡΟ΢. 4000 ρξόληα ειιεληθήο ηζηνξίαο θαη πνιηηηζκνύ, Athens: Ekdotike Athenon Ed., pp. 196-197;
Vokotopoulos P. (1997), ‗Ζ Σέρλε ζηελ επνρή ηνπ «Γεζπνηάηνπ»‘, in Sakellariou K. [ed.] (1997), Ηζηνξηθνί Διιεληθνί
Υώξνη: ΖΠΔΗΡΟ΢. 4000 ρξόληα ειιεληθήο ηζηνξίαο θαη πνιηηηζκνύ, Athens: Ekdotike Athenon Ed., pp. 224-237 and
Triantafyllopoulos D. (1997), ‗Μεηαβπδαληηλή Σέρλε (1430-1913)‘, in Sakellariou K. [ed.] (1997), Ηζηνξηθνί Διιεληθνί
Υώξνη: ΖΠΔΗΡΟ΢. 4000 ρξόληα ειιεληθήο ηζηνξίαο θαη πνιηηηζκνύ, Athens: Ekdotike Athenon Ed., pp. 318-336, where
most of the general earlier literature is cited.
 165
On this subject, see Giakoumis K. (1997), ‗Desire for the Divine and monasticism in Post-Byzantium: the case of the
less known monastic community in Dropolis of Southern Albania‘, communication given in the XXXI Spring Symposium
of Byzantine Studies, The University of Sussex (21-24 March 1997), abstract of which was published in Bulletin of
British Byzantine Studies, v. 24 (1998), p. 51.
166
For this, see the Codex of Dositheos, A.Q.Sh. F. 139, D. 2, ff. 5r-6r.
167
Thomo P. (1998), tab. II on p. 237.

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