Ordination of Fr. Juxhin (Shkurti) and visit of Fr. Grigori from the Orthodox Church of Albania

Rafaela Prifti

On Sunday the first liturgy by the newly ordained priest of the diocese Father Juxhin (Shkurti) was held at St. Nicholas Albanian Orthodox Church in New York. The day before His Grace, Bishop Nikodhim of Boston and the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America ordained him to priesthood.

During the deaconate, Eugene has assisted with liturgies for the past three years while attending St. Vladimir Orthodox Theological Seminary. Following the ordination, on September 22, Father Eugene serviced his first liturgy at St. Nicholas. The church was honored to have Father Grigori Pelushi, a visiting dignitary from the Orthodox Church in Albania. He is Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Albania and chair of Radio Ngjallja – Resurrection Radio – a local Albanian radio station with 24 hours broadcast of mostly religious programming since 2001.

From September 19 to 21, the Albanian Archdiocese annual assembly led by Bishop Nikodhim was held at the Albanian Orthodox Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Philadelphia. At the invitation of the Right Reverend Bishop Nikodhim, Father Grigori attended the gathering and gave a presentation.

During his stay, Fr. Grigori is visiting several parishes of the Albanian Archdiocese in America including Boston, Trumbull, New York, Worcester as well as the theological seminary of Holy Cross and St. Vladimir.

Bishop Nikodhim has welcomed the cooperation with the Orthodox Church of Albania particularly in the media field and in future joint events designed to educate and forge friendships among the youth.