This past week (March 2nd-March 10th, 2019) the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, in cooperation with OCMC and OCF, hosted a group of 6 university students from the United States and Canada.
This team of students learnt about the resurrection of the Orthodox Church in Albania after the persecutions she has suffered.
They were also able to form bonds with students from Albania, realizing the universal character of the Orthodox Church.
On Friday, March 8th, the team from the Americas combined forces with the youth groups from the Churches of Tirana and Gjinar as well as Ecovolis to plant 190 saplings in the village of Gjinar.
The area that was reforested had recently been burnt by a fire. The day started with a visit to the Church of Gjinar where the youth heard about the deep faith of the Christians of Gjinar who kept their faith alive through the various persecutions as well as a short talk about the importance of our roles in maintaining the natural world given to us by God and referring all things back to our Creator.
After planting the trees the students enjoyed a lunch together during which the Americans were taught traditional Albanian dances.
After lunch, we visited the Church of St. Nicholas in Shelcan to witness an exceptional example of the work of the talented iconographer Onufri.
Photo courtesy of Stephanos Ritsi/Facebook
