WCC moderator Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm said: “With the death of Archbishop Anastasios, so many of us have lost a personal friend. As a fellow bishop, I have also admired his indefatigable work as a bridge-builder and reconciler among the Orthodox churches in Europe and beyond, especially in the decades after the Cold War and up to our present day. This work has been invaluable in an era when conflicting national, economic, and political interests and loyalties threaten our unity. We are so grateful to you, Archbishop Anastasios!”
Mild manner, bold leader
Anastasios’s personal kindness, mild manner, and openness to learning from a variety of traditions and points of view made him a natural ecumenist and a progressive force in interreligious and missiological circles.
He served as a member of the WCC Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME, 1963-1969) and on its missionary studies committee, then as secretary for missionary research and the relations with the Orthodox churches in the WCC General Secretariat (1969–71). He then participated in the WCC programme on Dialogue with People of Living Faiths and Ideologies (1975–1983) and as moderator of the CWME (1984–1991), as a member of the WCC central committee (1998–2006), and as a president of the WCC (2006-2013).
Archbishop Anastasios was an active participant in the planning and convening of the autocephalous Orthodox churches in their Holy and Great Council in June 2016, capping decades of his inter-Orthodox work.
Under his leadership, the Orthodox church of Albania hosted many interdenominational meetings at the Academy of Saint Vlasios. Anastasios also initiated the establishment of the Interreligious Council of Albania (KNFSH), aiming to promote dialogue and the harmonious coexistence of religious communities.
Along with dozens of medals and awards, the archbishop was awarded 19 honorary doctorates.
