Monasterio de San Vlash

El Monasterio de San Vlash ( Monasterio de San Blas , albanés : Manastiri i Shën Vlashit , o El nuevo monasterio de San Vlash , ^{[ 1 ]} albanés : Manastiri i Ri i Shën Vlashit , o simplemente Shën Vlash ) es un monasterio de la Iglesia ortodoxa albanesa en el pueblo de Shënavlash, distrito de Durrës , Albania .

La iglesia dedicada a San Blas existía en este lugar en el siglo XVI , y posiblemente antes. ^{[ 2 ]}

En 1950, un grupo de monjas ortodoxas rusas lideradas por la jequesa María (Dokhtorova) ^{[ 3 ]} que fueron expulsadas de Yugoslavia "en media hora sin libros ni bienes de la Iglesia" ^{[ 4 ]} tras un fuerte enfriamiento de las relaciones entre la URSS y Yugoslavia, se instalaron en el monasterio. Escribieron una apelación al secretario del Patriarcado de Moscú, Lev Pariysky: "Fuimos expulsadas de Yugoslavia porque somos súbditas de la URSS y porque no ocultamos nuestro amor por nuestra patria. Estamos en Albania. Aquí fuimos muy bien recibidas tanto por las autoridades civiles como eclesiásticas, pero comprenderá lo lamentable que es no entender el idioma en el que se celebra el servicio". ^{[ 5 ]} Las monjas pidieron regresar a la URSS. Se presentó una petición para la entrada de monjas a la URSS y su reubicación en uno de los monasterios, pero en 1951, el ministro de Asuntos Exteriores, Andrey Vyshinsky, informó a Georgy Karpov que su Departamento coincidía con la opinión del Consejo para los Asuntos de la Iglesia Ortodoxa Rusa de que no era apropiado que las monjas y su sacerdote entraran en territorio de la URSS. Ante esta situación, las hermanas se negaron a viajar a Francia o a Estados Unidos y solicitaron ayuda para ser reubicadas en Bulgaria, donde llegaron en 1954. ^{[ 4 ]} Después de eso, la vida monástica en el Monasterio de San Vlash cesó. ^{[ 6 ]}

On April 4, 1967, a violent anti-religious campaign was launched. By a resolution of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of November 22, 1967, Albania was declared an atheist state, being the first country in the world where any expression of religious worship was prohibited by the Constitution.^[7][8] They decided to demolish the monastery. However, local residents, who were supposed to be involved in the demolition, refused to destroy the monastery. Then the destroyers attracted Komsomol members from another city and came to the monastery secretly.^[9] The monastery of Saint Vlash was the first cultural object to be destroyed, and after it other places of worship of all religions were destroyed.^[2]

But even after the destruction, the Orthodox Christians continued to visit this place, light candles around the perimeter of the destroyed churches and pray here.^[10] According to Metropolitan John (Pelushi), “Only a fragment of one building survived — part of two walls but no roof — and a few trees. You could not even discern the shape of the former church, though secretly people continued to climb the hill at night in order to pray. It was recognized as a sacred place".^[11]

In 1996, the monastery was revived and in the same year the Holy Resurrection Seminary of the Albanian Orthodox Church, founded in 1992, moved here. Restoration of the temple and the surrounding complex continued until 2001. The Seminary was transformed into a theological Academy, where not only men but also women study; a medical center was created at the monastery, and an orphanage was opened.^[10][2]

As OrthoChristian.Com wrote in 2016: "The Orthodox Shen Vlash Monastery in honor of St. Blaise is known to everybody in Durres. Restored, it proudly dominates the city, several miles away from the center. These several miles, according to Fr. Nikolaj (Nikolai) Nushi, a monastery priest, by no means prevents residents of Durres, other Albanian towns and other Balkan countries from coming here".^[12]