What Can the Bible Do?

ALBANIA — Here, on the doorstep of Europe, anarchy is being played out to the full extent of its meaning, while some of the oldest civilised nations watch, almost powerless to intervene.

And yet it is intervention that many Albanians desperately long for; the intervention of order and discipline which will restore sense and purpose to their society in ruins. And according to the Christian community, it is the moral values of the Bible - a book that was banned only a few years ago - that the people need.

Challenge

"Our task is to reach people with the Scriptures, to challenge them to see and accept biblical ethics, to present them with God's plan of salvation," said Altin Hysi, the newly-appointed Executive Secretary of the Bible Society in Albania.

"Because of the past our standards in Albanian society have fallen very low: many people live without morality; there is corruption, lies, hatred and vengeance. Orthodox Archbishop Anastasias, who is also the chairman of the Bible Society board, has publicly stated that the nation's morality is damaged, and called for a return to biblical principles.

"Many people feel that Albania is a cursed land; there is great fear and some despondency, with people thinking that we will never see improvement. But if the churches can live the Scriptures and the members give a good witness as Christians, I believe we will see changes," said Mr Hysi.

It is hard to imagine the extent of social disintegration until you visit the hospitals: 7-year-old Eda was hit by a stray bullet; Fatmir, 23, had been shot when trying to warn a young boy not to play with a machine gun. There have been nights of continuous gunfire; in Korca, bandits broke into an orphanage and stole everything including the beds, and then ransacked the place.

Father Luke Veronis, missionary priest of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, wrote in a recent edition of Frontier: "During these tragic hours, indefinable and uncontrolled dark powers are released from even the hearts of common citizens. When the smallest opportunity is given, many mercilessly steal from whomever it may be, even their own neighbour. They do not hesitate to plunder hospitals, orphanages and religious institutions, injuring the sick, elderly and innocent children."

Anarchy

Christians are struggling to survive and not be sucked into the flood of anarchy. In Berat, where there are reports of gunfights in the streets, the churches have suffered persecution, both mental and physical, with the local authorities reluctant to provide protection, even when individual believers were being abused.

However, there were hopeful signs of the churches setting an example despite the chaos. The Evangelical Alliance organised a successful joint Easter service and many churches took part that had not previously been involved. "There is a closer sense of unity in the Christian community now," Mr Hysi said.

In two cities, Durres and Kucove, the churches decided to organise peace concerts and open-air worship. "This was a wonderful display of Christian unity, with all the churches participating," Mr Hysi said.

"In Durres, the Mayor said he would not have allowed such a public meeting normally, but due to the circumstances and the intentions of the Christians to focus on peace, he allowed the services, and several thousand people attended that concert.

"It was a wonderful opportunity to introduce people to the Bible's message of hope, reconciliation and peace with God. Further to this witness was that at the height of the troubles, Christians went to give blood for the many injured. They were also those most involved in a clean-up of the city."

Much to learn

Mr Hysi has recently begun the task of organising the distribution of Scriptures throughout Albania. He says that there is much he needs to learn about and it will be some time before the Bible Society can be fully active again. "Not only do we have to have security throughout the country first, but we have to establish contacts with churches, ensure transport is available and find out the extent of stock we will need.

"We are planning to distribute the Filipi translation of the Bible which is now complete. This has been done by the Roman Catholic Church, and we will use this for a distribution aimed at young people. We will also be distributing the Orthodox New Testament (Christo-forides) which we have printed for the Orthodox Church.

"There are several other translations which are also ready: the full Protestant Bible is completed; this is a Swiss-Italian venture done by a professor called Deodati. Another version of the New Testament is also ready, and the Orthodox Church is working on a revision of the Christoforides which we will distribute."

A request for an update on one of the past distribution projects highlighted the complexities of the crisis. In 1996 a group of Scottish motorcycle riders had organised a sponsored bike ride to raise money for Scriptures. These were intended for Albanian prisoners - a project supported by the National Bible Society of Scotland.

The Scriptures would have been distributed by Christians who regularly visited the jails. "How can we carry out this project now? The jails have been broken into and all the prisoners are at large," said Mr Hysi.

He explained that it was almost impossible to carry out any meaningful distribution while the country continued to live through the current crisis. "Without police there is no law, no order; travel is dangerous, and in certain regions anyone seen moving is liable to be shot at," he said. Crime and looting go unchecked.

Looked after

God had looked after them through the troubles: when the warehouse was broken into, nothing was taken or damaged. They were able to move the furniture and computer equipment to a new, more secure office on the very day that troubles started in Tirana; the offices were then broken into and looted three times.

Later they were able to move the stocks of Scriptures to the basement of a large house that was being used as a school for missionary children. It is a much more secure place that can be used until at least September.

Other Christian organisations were not so fortunate: the main warehouse outside town used by Christian and other humanitarian organisations was looted and burned with significant losses. But the Bible escaped: Archbishop Mirdita said that despite the burning and looting of the Caritas warehouses, the Bibles that had been stored there were not touched.

Security

A translation symposium due to be held in Tirana in June had to be postponed because of the lack of security at night. This would have brought together scholars and church leaders to discuss the development of a new interconfessional Bible translation project aimed at supplying all the churches with a good translation of the Bible.

The Bible Society in Albania was officially registered in October 1996, and leaders then began the search for someone to organise the work. Altin Hysi had been a refugee in Austria in April 1991 where he came into contact with Protestant Christians, and the following year he accepted the Christian faith.

Active

He then became active in his local church and in a university student group, and late in 1993 he attended a three-month Bible course in Austria conducted by Torchbearers. It was during the Bible course that he felt called back to Albania, and in December of that year he returned to Tirana and joined Emmanuel Church. He was subsequently appointed Treasurer of the Albanian Evangelical Alliance.

Before 1991, Albania was officially an atheist country, and the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, as well as any independent churches, were forced underground. Today there are about 100 Protestant churches with 8,000 believers, as well as the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Urgent needs

Mr Hysi anticipates that many of these churches will be approaching the Bible Society for help in providing the Scriptures as soon as it is possible. "It is my immediate aim to make sure that we can meet the most urgent needs of the churches for the Bible," he said.

"We need to look at the whole organisation and structure of the Bible Society. We will need to hire staff, organise transportation, set ourselves up in a property we will have to buy. I am keen to show the people of Albania and the government that we have a well-run organisation which can make a significant contribution to society .

"Now we are facing the insecurity surrounding the forthcoming elections, if they will take place. Many people feel that is not certain. People are now more open to talk about the Gospel. Before, the pyramid pension scheme seemed to offer them an easy option: life would soon be enjoyable for the lucky ones.

False hope

"But it was a false hope, and their hopes have been shattered with their lost savings, and they feel that all the officials have betrayed them. You can have a discussion about salvation, faith and about Jesus Christ more easily now than before, because people are saying things like: 'Truth? What is truth? Where is truth?' We want to show them that it is in the Bible.

"When I look at our long-term goals I see two main aims: to have our own translation that everyone can have a copy of; and that we will be able to go up and down this land distributing Scriptures in partnership with the churches, helping people to discover new ethics and real hope in the biblical message."

Despair

Quoting Archbishop Anastasias, Father Luke Veronis writes: "'Remember, this was a country that Satan had in his hands for 50 years. Don't think that he is going to sit back while we try to bring the light of Christ into this land.'" I have spoken to numerous people: many are in total despair and can see little hope for the future. They question how all this could happen, what has got into people's hearts?

"The writer Solzhenitsyn said: 'The line of good and evil does not run between countries or ethnicities, but through the heart of every person.' The answer, then, is not in a political system but in a radical change of people's hearts. I have told myself that when things return to normal and we resume our church work, I will focus more on our people encountering Christ in the depths of their hearts."


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This page was last updated on Tuesday, 24th June 1997.