Agathangjel Çamçe

Bishop Agathangjel (secular name Vangjel Çamçe; 1877–1946)[1] was an Albanian Orthodox cleric and important figure of the early Albanian Orthodox Church. He was a staunch supporter of the autocephaly of Albanian Orthodoxy and a close collaborate of Fan Noli, founding father of the Albanian Orthodox Church. He was metropolitan bishop of Berat and was a member of the Holy Synod of the Albanian Orthodox Church.[2]

His Grace

Agathangjel
Metropolitan of Berat and Vlorë
Elected18 February 1929 (1929-02-18)
Personal details
Born
Vangjel Çamçe

1877
Korçë, Ottoman Empire today Albania
Died1946
NationalityAlbanian
DenominationOrthodoxy
ProfessionTheologian

He was born in the city of Korça in 1877. In 1913 he emigrated to the United States, where he distinguished himself as an activist of the Albanian National Movement. In 1919 he was ordained a priest in New York, where he served for two years preaching to Eastern Orthodox Albanians in the Albanian language. While in America, in the same year he laid the foundations of Saint Mary’s Orthodox Church in Natick, Massachusetts, one of the centers of the Albanian diaspora and its patriotic movement.[3]

In 1921, Agathangjel Çamçe returned to Albania and a year later participated in the Congress of Berat (September 10–17, 1922), where Autocephaly was proclaimed. On 18 February 1929 he was made Bishop of Berat, Vlora and Kanina in the Cathedral Church of the Evangelization in Tirana, by bishop Visarion Xhuvani and bishop Viktor, becoming part of the synod.[2] Together with the Serbian bishop of Shkodër and another bishop, Evthim Ikonomi, Agathangjel Çamçe created the 2d Synod of the Albanian Orthodox Church with Visarion Xhuvani as leader.[4] In October 1940, Agathangjel Çamçe took part in the special synod organized by the Italian-Albanian eparchies at the Abbey of Grottaferrata, where under discussion was the possibility of Grottaferrata welcoming the newly converted Orthodox clergy and assisting their theological training.[5] In 1941 Agathangjel Çamçe was made Metropolitan of Korça. After the Italian invaders’ evacuation, Fan Noli together with A. Çamçe from Jamestown, New York, and father Vasil Marku from Saint Luis, Missouri, came to Albania to offer their services to the Albanian government.[6] He died in 1946.

References
  1. James Pettifer, Mentor Nazarko (2007). Strengthening Religious Tolerance for a Secure Civil Society. IOS Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1-58603-779-6. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  2. Bido, Ardit (27 November 2021). The Albanian Orthodox Church: A Political History, 1878–1945. Routledge & CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-138-35472-2. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  3. Duka, Valentina (2001). Shqiptarët në rrjedhat e shekullit XX: gjurmime historike. 2001. ISBN 9789992770382. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  4. Myftiu, Genc (2000). "Albania, a Patrimony of European Values". SEDA, 2000. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  5. Murzaku, Ines Angjeli (2009). Returning Home to Rome: The Basilian Monks of Grottaferrata in Albania. Analekta Kryptoferris, 2009. ISBN 9788889345047. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  6. Noli, Fan (1968). "Vepra të plota: Autobiografia". Rilindija., 1968. Retrieved 2020-10-14.

Sources
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