On Friday and Saturday in Boston, Massachusetts, final honors and a memorial ceremony were held for Father Arthur Liolin, the Orthodox priest who led the historic Albanian-American Church of St. George in the city for many decades.

Father Arthur Liolin passed away on September 28 at the age of 80. He will be remembered as a clergyman who dedicated his life to faith and the nation. Through a religious ceremony, family, friends, and believers in the historic church of St. George in Boston bid farewell to the well-known Albanian-American clergyman, Father Arthur Liolin.

Participants in these tributes remember him as a simple and wise figure, but above all as a good and active person who was engaged in the Albanian cause all his life.

Father Liolin was a follower of Fan Noli’s work, leading the Albanian-American church established by him 115 years ago for decades. He was also the Chancellor of the Albanian Orthodox Diocese in America, which comprises 12 churches.

“It was a great fortune for the church, or more precisely for the St. George’s Cathedral. Father Arthur was the person who more than anyone here in America managed to make an Orthodox church a church for all Albanians, and this is his merit. It was he who in church preached not only faith but also love for Albania, love for the homeland and other good virtues,” says Robert Ngjela, a member of the choir of the church of St. George.

“We have been together in lunches and dinners, at my house and his house. He has always been a man not only for faith, but also for people. I knew him as a man, more than I knew him as a priest. For me this is very important, because sometimes it’s hard to approach priests. He had a spirit and I think we have the same spirit and with spirit we will continue,” says Albanian-American activist Mark Kosmo.

Father Arthur Liolin played a significant role in the revival of Christianity in Albania, after a quarter-century during which religion was banned under communism, by baptizing Albanians who were deprived of this right by the dictatorship.

Meanwhile, in the United States, Father Liolin was engaged with the American and Albanian governments for the reestablishment of diplomatic relations, which had been interrupted for a fifty-year period.

He particularly assisted young Albanian immigrants in Massachusetts, while contributing to those in need through various educational, religious, and historical foundations.

“All those who have come and have tried, know the difficulties of starting. Maybe now it seems easier to us, because more Albanians have come, there is support and help for all new arrivals. When we came at first, this was the place we knocked on first. Here we found the first support and first jobs. Father Arthur sent me word, told me to go see a factory there, they hire young workers,” says Dhimitraq Demiri, a believer in the Albanian Orthodox Church in Boston.

Preserving the virtues of Father Arthur Liolin from generation to generation honors his figure, says Dorothy Christo, an Orthodox believer born in the United States with Albanian origins and a member of the church board.

“He was a wonderful priest. A true man of God who served the Albanian population here with pleasure. He was always hospitable, dedicated, and a treasure for our community. We have a very rich legacy. He wanted us to keep it and continue it with our children and grandchildren. Just like I and many others are doing. I think it’s important to continue the tradition and the path he was engaged in for 50 years, to continue honoring his memory,” says Ms. Christo.

Father Arthur Liolin also commands respect among American Orthodox clerics in Boston.

“Firstly, he was a man of knowledge. It’s very important for a cleric to be interested in learning, not only about religion but everything else. It’s important for those who want to be good theologians and pastors. He engaged and spoke on behalf of the Albanian diocese and the importance of its existence. I think Father Arthur had a gift to speak with everyone, was close to everyone, and helped anyone who was interested in Christ,” says Father Robert Arida, a retired cleric at the Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral in Boston.

Father Liolin comes from a family originally from Boboshtica of Korça./VOA