At Stath Melani
Today is commemorated the martyrdom of “the hero and the great martyr of Albania”, as Fan Noli has called, At Stath Melanin, cleric and great patriot. Appreciating the importance of the autocephalous of Albanian Orthodox Church, he was ordained a priest, since in 1899 in the US and returned in his birthplace, where he held his first Mass in the Albanian language. This was enough that he became the enemy of Greek invasion and Ottoman invaders. He was imprisoned three times and during the lifetime, he was pursued and persecuted, but he didn’t change the road; he organized the “committee” çeta and fought with weapons for the freedom of the motherland. The Government of Vlora in 1912 appointed him commander of the army in Përmet. He was twice in America, where he worked with exiles, to keep alive the traditions and language and to commit in aid of distant homeland. When he returned to Homeland “the servant of god” was excommunicated. On December 24th, 1917 he was martyred, was beheaded and sent to Greece, as Ottomans did many years ago with Ali Pasha Tepelena.
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