The Day of the Macedo-Romanian Martyrs in the Balkans will be marked with memorial services in Bucharest and Korçë, Albania, on March 23.
In Bucharest, a memorial service will be held at Mavrogheni Church at 10.00 a.m. The Macedo-Romanian Cultural Society organised the commemoration.
At the Church of Saint Saviour in Korçë, the service will start at 10:30 and is organised by the Nicolae Iorga Cultural Foundation of Sarandë and the Romanian Association of Korçë.
The event in Albania will be followed by a laying of wreaths at the bust and grave of the Aromanian priest Halambie Balamace, who was killed on Easter night (March 23, 1914).
The fact that he served in Romanian and wanted to belong to the Romanian Orthodox Church was not well regarded by those who considered it would damage the ecclesiastical organisation in the region where he lived.
Nicolae Iorga Foundation in Sarandë installed the bust of Father Haralambie Balamace in Korçë last year, on the Day of Balkanic Romanianity (May 10, 2021).
In 1962, Father Haralambie Balamace was declared a Hero of the Albanian nation, and in 1994 President Sali Berisha awarded him the title of “Teacher of the Nation”.
Aromanians are recognised as a Romanian national minority in Albania. Many have studied in Romania and now hold influential positions in central and local government in Albania.
The commemoration of the Balkan Aromanian martyrs is held annually at Mavrogheni Church in Bucharest because it is believed that its founder, ruler prince Nicolae Petru Mavrogheni, was a kutchovlach. The church also keeps a fragment of the relics of St. Andrew Saguna, a prominent representative of the Aromanian community in our country.
Photo: Nicolae Iorga Foundation
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