The Apostolic Penitentiary in Local Contexts

The Survival of the Catholic Church in Albania during the Period of Direct Contact with the Ottomans (1458–1484)

THE SURVIVAL OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN ALBANIA DURING THE PERIOD OF DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE OTTOMANS (1458–1484) Etleva Lala The period between 1444 and 1468, in the Albanian historiography known as the epoch of Scanderbeg, was also the time of the Albanian wars against the Turks. Under the leadership of Gjergj Kastrioti Scanderbeg, the Albanians managed to resist the Ottoman attacks successfully for 24 years. An important role in the resistance of the Albanian people was played by the Catholic clergy. The clerics played the role of spiritual leaders in the wars against the Ottomans, being thus a great assistance to Scanderbeg.1 They also took part actively in battles, fighting against the Turks. After the death of Scanderbeg (January 17, 1468), the Albanians continued their war against the Turks, but never as successfully as under Scanderbeg’s leadership. In the years 1478/79, all Albania, except the cities of Durres, Antibari and Ulcinj , fell into the hands of the Turks.2 Towns were destroyed, people were killed or kidnapped. On September 2, 1479, three hundred men3 from the strong Catholic city of 1 The Albanian Catholic Church also played a decisive role in the diplomatic, economic and political support of Scanderbeg. See Oliver Jens Schmitt, “Paul Angelus, Erzbischof von Durazzo und seine Bedeutung für den Türkenkampf Skanderbegs,” Bollettino dell’Istituto Ellenico di Studi Bizantini e Postbizantini XXX (2000), 129; Bazilio Pandzic, “I francescani a servizio dell’Albania nell’epoca di Scanderbeg,” in V Convegno Internazionale di studi Albanesi (Palermo: Centro internazionale di studi albanesi, 1969), 185. See also Anton Fishta, “Skanderbegu dhe Françeskajt” (Skanderbeg and the Franciscans), Hylli i Dritës 6 (1930), 366-376; Marin Sirdani, “Kontributi i elementit katolik shqiptar në lame t’atdhetaris që prej kohve të vjetra deri në kohën e turqve të ri” (The contribution of the Albanian Catholic element in the field of patriotism from ancient times to the period of the Turks), Hylli i Dritës 9 (1933), 328-351; Athanas Gegaj, L’Albanie et l’invasion turque au XVe siècle (Paris: P. Geuthner, 1937). 2 Akademia e Shkencave të Shqipërisë, Historia e popullit Shqiptar (History of the Albanian People), vol. 1 (Tirana, 1967), 471 (henceforth: Historia e popullit Shqiptar). 3 The number varies in different sources. The source of Fetnameja of Fatih, cited by Gazmend Shpuza, mentions five thousand men killed on this occasion. See Gazmend Shpuza, “Lufta për mbrojtjen e ETLEVA LALA 116 Drivast were killed as a demonstration by the Turks, to set an example of revenge against the Catholic Albanians.4 The revenge of the Turks forced Albanians to migrate en masse towards the Italian cities on the western coast of the Adriatic Sea,5 and to the northwest (Dubrovnik and Dalmatian cities). As a result, whole villages and other inhabited centres are recorded to have been totally abandoned and left deserted.6 The local Catholic Church was considered one of the greatest enemies of the Turks, not only for religious reasons, but also because of its active participation in the wars. As a result, the Turks destroyed churches and monasteries, setting them on fire7 and plundering them. This situation had a strong impact on the status of Catholicism in the Albanian territories, and also on the quality of the activities in the existing Catholic institutions. As a result of the constant influx of Turks into Albania, the Catholic dioceses on the periphery of the territory, which had always been strongly influenced by the Eastern rite, were the first to succumb.8 For instance, the bishopric of Aulona (Vlora) ceased in the year 1399,9 the bishopric of Cernice (Çermenikë) in the year 1451,10 and the bishopric of Kroja (Kruja) seems to have fallen under the authority of the Byzantine-Orthodox autocephaly of Ohrid after the first fall of the city (1415).11 Shkodrës në vitet 1474 dhe 1478–1479” (The battles for the protection of Shkodra in the years 1474 and 1478–1479), in Konferenca e Dytë e Studimeve Albanologjike, vol. I (Tirana: Mihal Duri, 1969), 220. 4 Martin Barleti, Rrethimi i Shkodrës (De Obsidione Scodrensi), transl. into Albanian by Henrik Lacaj (Tirana, 1967), 100; Historia e popullit Shqiptar, 291, 312; Franz Babinger, Mehmet pushtuesi dhe koha e tij [Mehmet der Eroberer und seine Zeit], transl. and republ. (Prishtina, 1989), 431; Viktor Novak and Milan von Šufflay, “Statuta et ordinationes capituli ecclesiae cathedralis Drivastensis,” in Biblioteka arhiva za Arbanasku starinu, jezik i etnologiju , ijistoriska serija...