The Resurrection of the Church in Albania

Rating:
Summary: out of the ashes in Europe's poorest country
Review: As the book's author, it isn't for me to review "The Resurrection of the Church in Albania" but I can say something about what the reader will find. This is a portrait of a religious community that in the past 13 years has risen from the ashes in Europe's poorest country. While religious life in all its varieties had a hard time in each Communist country, only in Albania was every last place of worship closed -- in most cases destroyed. Nor was religious activity permitted even behind the curtains in one's own home. Just to make the sign of the cross or to dye eggs red at Easter could result in internal exile and slave labor. Thanks to the enthusiasm of the publisher, the World Council of Churches, text and photos are integrated on nearly every page. It is for the book's design that I give it five stars -- the text is for others to judge. All but a few chapters are profiles of individual people, young and old, clergy and laity. (...)