The Interreligious Council of Albania met with its new composition, where the position of the late Archbishop Anastasios was taken by his successor Archbishop Ioannis, while the position of the old president of the Evangelical Brotherhood was taken by the new president Erion Silarit.

The president of the Interreligious Council of Albania, Georgios Meta, representative of the Catholic Church of Albania, paid tribute to the late Archbishop of Albania, who passed away in 2025.

He mentioned his contribution to the creation of the Council in 2007 and was one of its first founding members, and until the end of his earthly life he served and devotedly promoted the spirit not only of dialogue and cooperation, but also of coexistence.

Το Διαθρησκευτικό Συμβούλιο Αλβανίας συζήτησε και θέματα καίριας σημασίας που αφορούν τις θρησκευτικές κοινότητες στην Αλβανία, όπως η επιστροφή της περιουσίας τους που ακόμη εκκρεμεί, η φορολογία από το κράτος, η αντίδραση στο σχέδιο νόμου περί της οικογενείας και της ισότητας των φύλων κ. ά. Στο Διαθρησκευτικό Συμβούλιο της Αλβανίας συμμετέχουν ο επικεφαλής της Μουσουλμανικής Κοινότητας της Αλβανίας Μπουγιάρ Σπαχίου, ο Αρχιεπίσκοπος της Ορθόδοξης Εκκλησίας Ιωάννης, ο Καθολικός Επίσκοπος Γεώργιος Μέτα, ο Παγκόσμιος Ηγέτης των Μπεκτασήδων Έντμοντ Μπραχιμάι, ο Προέδρος της Ευαγγελικής Αδελφότητας της Αλβανίας Έριον Σιλαρίτ.

Interreligious coexistence in Albania, the visionary, inspirer and pioneer of which was the late Archbishop Anastasios, assessing that fanaticism does not lead to light, but to darkness, is proof that religions, without violating their dogmatic principles, can cooperate on social issues, with love for their fellow man as the basic foundation.

In Albania, through this cooperation, social unrest has been avoided and conditions of peaceful coexistence in a multi-religious environment have been ensured.

This cooperation, which is characterized as exemplary, is recognized and praised for its positive results not only in Albania, but also internationally.

True respect for the religious freedom of every human person and their dignity was the constant guiding principle of Archbishop Anastasios. And his successor Archbishop Ioannis seeks that the peaceful voices and actions of religions constitute lungs of cooperation and be used productively for the benefit of the people.

Religious consciousness, in its variety of forms, has the potential to contribute in various ways to the development of peaceful tendencies and, more generally, to the cultivation of mutual understanding. It is associated with humility, forgiveness, freedom from hatred, bitterness, jealousy, and flourishes with constant communion with God.