The Land Of Transformation

Introduction

I told my relatives and friends that I would be travelling across the “ia” countries. The “ia” countries were Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania. These were all former communist countries in the European continent. I have already been to Croatia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic (former Czechoslovakia). On 1 January 1993 Czechoslovakia separated peacefully (in what is known as “velvet divorce”) into two new countries becoming the Czech Republic and Slovakia. For this journey I would leave aside three other “ia” countries – Serbia, Armenia and Bosnia (Herzegovina). But what really is Eastern Europe? Several definitions of Eastern Europe exist today, depending on the context in which they are used. They are lacking in precision and are probably outdated. The “boundaries” of Eastern Europe are subject to overlap and fluctuations. The definitions vary among experts, even among political scientists, as the term “Eastern Europe” has a wide range of geographical, socio-economic and cultural connotations. In many cases regions are of social constructs defined by abstract, neutral criteria and not necessarily strict physical features. Therefore, there are “almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region”. A United Nations paper adds that “every assessment of spatial identities is essentially a social and cultural construct”.

Background

On a previous journey of ours from Athens to Northern Greece we came across some Greeks in a Chinese restaurant in Thessaloniki. We were pleasantly surprised to hear them speaking fluent Mandarin Chinese. We got into a spirited conversation with them and discovered that they were Christian missionaries. They were trying to share the good news of the Gospel (Evangelion) with the Chinese population. I like to think that as true believers and followers of Jesus they did not believe they were offending the spirituality of the Chinese (if there is such) in carrying out the instruction of the Risen Christ :-(Mathew 28:19). This was where I believe we were witnessing the parakletos at work in the transformation of the beings. People come into our lives for a reason. On the lighter note we were also advised by them to visit Bulgaria, a short drive from Thessaloniki, if ever we find the opportunity to do so.

Three years later May and I found the opportunity to do so. Here we are, on our way to Bulgaria (albeit) from the other direction – from Romania… In planning for this journey, I was aware that while the eastern geographical boundaries of Europe are quite well defined, the boundary between Eastern and Western Europe is not really geographical but historical, religious and cultural. However, I will treat Bulgaria, Macedonia and Albania as falling within the confine of South Eastern Europe. These countries were under Communist rule – People’s Republic of Bulgaria (1946–1991), Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1945–1991) and People’s Socialist Republic of Albania (1946–1992). I was informed that it was not possible for people to practise their religion under the communist systems and there were instances of religious persecutions in these countries.

Communism does not recognise a god as does Christianity. Marxism sees the individuals as the creators of their own environment. In Christianity, God is the creator. These two different world views created tension. Although in theory, there was some freedom of religion in these countries (Albania being the exception at that time) but in practice, there were restrictions on religious expression. During the Cold War period religious practices and church activities were regulated and closely monitored. Churches invariably found themselves in very precarious positions. Communist rule was to erase the church as an institution. In some cases, this was successful. But even in their restricted position, churches had played a significant role as proponents of change. Some historians believe that communist governments underestimated the dynamics and significance of Christianity. According to researcher Dr. Katharina Kunter even though in the political context of the Cold War (where every country in Eastern Europe had its own special characteristics) the ecumenical contacts between Christian churches helped them to reimagine Christianity as a multinational movement. This generated a very important sense of solidarity under communist rule and during the Cold War. The spiritual and pastoral duties of the churches also received much attention. Between years 1989-1992, opposition to totalitarian communism became very visible. Communism in Eastern Europe finally collapsed.

After the fall of communism, the new political elites were faced with the challenges of creating the institutions of a democracy: transformation of state-planned economies into market economies, the gradual introduction of the rule of law and the growth of a civil society. It was not clear that these former communist countries would be able to transform themselves successfully…

Bulgaria

We arrived Bulgaria from Romania by train on the October 15th, 2019. We left Bucharest North station (Romania) at 12:40 with one change at Russe and arrived in Sofia (Bulgaria) at 22:20. This train journey took us through some incredible sceneries as we crossed the Danube (which separated Romania and Bulgaria) over one of the longest steel bridges in Europe. The Romania-Bulgaria border is an internal border of the European Union. At the time of our visit neither Romania nor Bulgaria is part of the Schengen area. Border controls are conducted between the two countries. We waited in the comfort of our compartment for border officials to collect our passports, stamped and returned to us

After we checked into our Ab&b that evening, I recalled the conversation we had with the Greek Missionaries at Thessaloniki. I did a search on Religions in Bulgaria and discovered that in concert with the fall of communism in Bulgaria, Christianity has also seen a decline, with the most serious from 2001 onwards. According to the 2011 censor the percentage of Christians in the overall population has dropped from 86.6% in 1992 to 61% in 2011. However, unlike former Yugoslavia (in the 1990s) Bulgaria has not experienced any significant ethnic or religious confrontations. I observed and had the comfortable feeling that perhaps the religious communities in this country could coexist peacefully.  

Our Ab&b was close to Vitosha Boulevard the main pedestrian street in Sofia. It is actually a walking boulevard “claimed” by the pedestrians for cosmopolitan dining with varied Greek French Italian Chinese Arab & of course local menu to offer. This street is “alive”. It was interesting for us to take our daily walk there. Someone told us about Mekitsa & Coffee.  So we went further out to the tiny café. There, we saw a selection of the mekitsas (fried dough) topped with a variety of either sweet or savory toppings. We tried the traditional mekitsa with powdered sugar, and one with a blend of cheese.

But there are more to see in Bulgaria, especially in the old town in Plovdiv. Plovdiv remains relatively unknown to most North American tourists, but it is beginning to be featured on more and more Balkan itineraries – for good reason. At the time of our visit it has already been declared the European Capital of Culture 2019. A lady of Bulgarian heritage, with her Scottish husband, have recently become our “neighbours” in Vancouver. She had advised me that the Old City of Plovdiv is a must visit if I ever decide to travel to Bulgaria. I took her advice as I am a dilettante in observing the process of change and transformation. In visiting old cities around the world I would be absolutely fascinated by the designs and constructions which have been formed as a result of continued human habitation, combining cultures and architectures of different periods, from Antiquity, Middle Ages and revival to the modern age… Plovdiv has a strong claim to being the oldest continually inhabited city in Europe. The old town, with its winding cobbled streets and elegant revival-era townhouses was a perfect place for us to have our leisurely afternoon stroll.

The Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and the Turks have all fought to claim Plovdiv as their own. Plovdiv was originally established by the Thracians around 5000 BC. It is difficult to summarize 7000 years of visible history of this old city. We saw the Roman stadium and the partially unearthed stadium below the main street. A short distance from the Roman Stadium the 600-year-old Dzhumaya Mosque still serves the Muslim Turkish families who stayed behind after the collapse of Ottoman rule.

Macedonia

Someone who is well-informed, would ask me which Macedonia I would go visit. That would be a legitimate question. I was interested in visiting Skopje. That would be the Republic of North Macedonia, a successor state of the former Yugoslavia. This country became a member of the United Nations in April 1993, but there had been a dispute with Greece over the name “Macedonia”. It is significant to note that the nationality of Alexander the Great was probably one of the issues that had fed into the dispute between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) over the name. Alexander the Great was born in July 365 BCE in Pella, the capital of Ancient Macedonia, which now sits within modern Greece. The conflict was resolved between Macedonia and Greece, barely a year before our visit, with an agreement that the country be renamed “Republic of North Macedonia”. This renaming came into effect in February 2019. So, here we were, visiting not a new country but an old country with a new name. Skopje, the capital and the largest city of North Macedonia, is the country’s political, cultural, economic, and academic center. This will be my visit to the fourth country among the six socialist republics in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY with Belgrade as its capital) consisting of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.

Even though Skopje has been destroyed many times throughout its history, there are still many historical landmarks which reflect the successive occupations of the city. Skopje has one of the biggest Ottoman urban complexes in Europe, with many Ottoman monuments still serving their original purpose. We decided to visit The Old Bazaar, one of the oldest and largest marketplaces in the Balkans. The earliest known sources which mentioned its existence date back to the 12th century. Under the Ottoman the Old Bazaar developed rapidly to become the city’s main centre of commerce. The Ottoman history of the bazaar is evidenced by the mosques, numerous caravanserais and Hans (Turkish for ‘Lead Inn’) which we saw among other buildings and monuments. We soon discovered that inside the Old Bazaar was a maze of oddly shaped blocks of shop houses and covered market areas lining the sides of narrow stone alleys that occasionally open out into slightly wider streets and public squares. The bazaar was heavily damaged by earthquakes that occurred in 1555 and 1963, as well as during the First and the Second World Wars. However, since the earthquake of 1963 it has become a ground for creative and modernist experiments. I noticed at the time of our visit that it is once again the subject of massive building campaigns, probably due project “Skopje 2014”. 

As part of the Yugoslav Wars, North Macedonia did experience some violence in 2001 but it did not reach the level of violence experienced in other countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. The conflict was predominantly ethnic, rather than religious, in character. I was informed by people we came across that Skopje is actually a city where old, reactionary, eastern and western perspectives coexist even though incidences of vandalism have occurred at some religious sites. The Macedonian Orthodox Church has reported acts of vandalism, including an attempt in February 2017 to burn the door of a church in Saraj. Pew Research Center estimates that due to extremely low fertility rates, Christians will fall to 55.1% of the country’s population. Perhaps it is good that they have recently constructed the Millennium Cross as a memorial for 2,000 years of Christianity in the region.

Saint Paul began spreading Christianity in Macedonia towards the mid 1st century AD.  “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them”:-Acts 16: 9-10 (KJV). The town Berea (in Macedonia) is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, where the apostles Paul (followed by Timothy and Silas) preached the Christian gospel. He visited Berea during his journeys through Europe and Asia. Berea or Beroea was a city of the Hellenic and Roman era now known as Veria (or Veroia) in Macedonia, northern Greece.“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” :-Acts 17:10-11 (KJV).

We visited the newly consecrated Church of Saint Clement of Ohrid, a rotunda type church composing of domes and arches. It is an interesting Macedonian architectural design, and at the time of our visit, the largest cathedral of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. The construction of the cathedral began in 1972 and was consecrated in 1990 on the 1150th anniversary of the birth of the church patron saint, St. Clement of Ohrid. The main church is dedicated to St. Clement of Ohrid, and one of the chapels is dedicated to Emperor Constantine and Empress Helena.

Less than an hour by car from the city we found ourselves at the very gate to the Macedonian countryside. We arrived at nature paradise known as Canyon Matka, an outdoor attraction  of breathtaking scenery. Canyon Matka is relatively underrated even though it is easily one of the most captivating places we came across on this journey.

On the way back from Matka Canyon we visited a small 12th-century Byzantine church located in a monastery complex. The church was constructed in 1164 with irregularly shaped stone blocks and bricks embedded in layers of mortar.  I was fascinated by the Byzantine art frescoes inside the church depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ and various hagiographies. I had the deep feeling of sanctitude enshrined in this simple church. I have always known and also fully understand that each one of us has individual consciousness of the things around us and different people are affected differently (if at all) when they visit places such as this (see also: http://www.freepilgrim.com/journey-to-patmos/  ) . Christian traditions concerning such places point to a mystery which neither theologians nor the scientific community have yet been able to explain…

There was so much to listen to, see, feel, taste, and touch in North Macedonia beside Pastrmajlija, old forts, canyons, monasteries and churches but we had to move on…so, the next day we left Skopje on a mini coach for Albania.

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Albania

Many of us do not realize that despite the spread of Christianity in this part of the world by the early church the commonly practised religion in Albania is Islam (mainly Sunni or Bektashi). Christianity comes second (mainly Orthodox and Catholic). There are also many irreligious people. In a sense Albania is “neutral in questions of belief and conscience” and constitutionally a secular country since 1967. The Marxist-Leninist government from 1946 to 1992 declared Albania as the world’s first and only “Atheist state”. But after the end of its communist regime in 1991 and years of severe religious persecution The Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania has been entirely rebuilt and enjoyed great progress. The practice of religion slowly returned. According to the “Creative Efforts” published by The Autocephalous Church of Albania, 460 parishes have been organised and catechism, preaching, and liturgical life has returned to most cities and villages. But religious observance and practice is still generally lax today. Polls have shown that, compared to the populations of other countries, few Albanians consider religion to be a dominant factor in their lives. Albanians when asked about their own religion usually refer to the historical religious legacy of their parents or ancestors and not to their own choice of faith.

It is a strange that I related this journey along “The Land of Transformation” to Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa was born on 26 August 1910 into a Kosovar Albanian family in Skopje North Macedonia where we were the week before. She was baptized in Skopje, the day after her birth. She considered the day of her baptism i.e. 27 August 1910 her “true birthday”. Her family lived in Skopje until 1934 when they moved to Tirana. Her parents, Nikola and Dranafile Bojaxhiu, were of Albanian descent.

I was informed that in visiting Albania’s capital Tirana I would be delving into the past and present of a country that had seen intense turmoil since it was founded in the 1600s. During our visit there, I witnessed proud monuments and brand-new projects (with some remnant of disintegrating soviet-era buildings) standing side-by-side. An equestrian statue of a national hero stands as the focal point of the city with beautiful pastel buildings surrounding the Skanderbeg Square.

On the north end of the Square stands the modernist National History Museum containing exhibits covering prehistoric times through to the Communist rule and the anti-Communist uprisings. Each building, monument, mural or painting depicts has its own emotionally charged story to tell, whether it is about the daily life during the time of Ottoman or during the period of oppression in the 20th-century.

The country rediscovered itself after decades of isolationism under communist rule. With the collapse of communism, it began to develop closer ties with other countries of Western Europe and the United States. At the time of our visit Albania had already achieved its foreign policy ambition to integrate into the world’s modern economic and security organizations. It is already a full member of NATO and was among the first Southeast European countries to join the partnership for the peace programme. It got candidate status for the EU in June 2014 in recognition of its progress in reforming its institutions to meet EU standards. However, Albania is not expected to join the EU soon, not at least until after 2020…

Just a thought:

I have long realized that we could never fully understand every aspect of the lifestyle, custom and cultural life of the people we come across; not even of those within the very country and place we live. That in all aspects of our lives we have to make our own choices. Every choice we make along the “way” will have consequences for the journey we take in order “to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”: –1 Timothy 2:4 (KJV). “knowledge” in this text is “epignosis” in Greek, which means the coming of salvific or transformational knowing. It is not informational knowing! It is the God centred personal spiritual knowing as we journey through this life. May we be guided and know to walk His way…