“You have lost your guide, all of us, Christians, have lost a brother and a worthy apostle of Christ, and all those who knew him have lost a precious and wise friend”. Mgr Gjergj Meta, President of the Albanian Bishops, wrote this in a letter to the Holy Synod of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania and to the “dear Orthodox brothers and sisters”, following the passing on Saturday, 25 January, of His Beatitude Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana, Durres and all Albania, in a hospital in Athens where he had been hospitalised for a few days. “The contribution of His Beatitude will remain in the history of our country as that of a missionary of the Gospel immediately after the fall of communism, but also as that of a good father and pastor who rebuilt the Orthodox Church of Albania with his wisdom, perseverance and vision”, Mgr Meta wrote, remembering his great contribution to dialogue among Christians and with other religions both in Albania and worldwide. Anastasios, who was 95 years old, contributed to the work of the Interconfessional Bible Society of Albania for the translation of the Holy Scriptures and was among the founders of the Interreligious Council of Albania, of which he served as President for two terms, until last year. “I can say with full conviction, from all the personal meetings I had with His Beatitude, from the conversations we exchanged, from his writings and from his entire life”, the Catholic Bishop concluded, “that what St John Chrysostom said about St Paul can also apply to him: tasting the love of Christ was the culmination of his goals and, enjoying this treasure, he considered himself happier than anyone else”.