Theofan Stilian Noli

Theofan Stilian Noli, also known as Fan Noli, was a priest, writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, and orator. He was born in 1882 in Ibriktepe, a village in the Ottoman Empire, to an Albanian family. He studied in Athens and Bucharest, where he learned to write in Albanian. He emigrated to the United States in 1906 and became a leader of the Albanian community there. He founded the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America, and became the first Albanian bishop in 1908. He also wrote and translated many literary and religious works in Albanian and English, such as fables, poems, plays, and the New Testament. He was a prominent figure of the Albanian National Awakening and advocated for the independence and unity of Albania. He returned to his homeland in 1913 and participated in the Albanian Congress of Trieste. He led the diplomatic efforts for the recognition of Albania by the Great Powers and the League of Nations. He was elected to the Albanian parliament in 1921 and became the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was also the leader of the opposition party, the Albanian People's Party. In 1924, he led a popular uprising against the government of Ahmet Zogu, known as the June Revolution. He became the Prime Minister and the regent of Albania, and initiated a series of reforms in education, economy, justice, and culture. However, his government was short-lived, as Zogu returned with the support of Yugoslavia and Greece and overthrew him in December 1924. Noli fled to Italy and then to the United States, where he resumed his religious and academic activities. He earned degrees from Harvard, the New England Conservatory of Music, and Boston University. He also wrote several books and articles on Albanian history, culture, and politics, as well as on Shakespeare, Beethoven, and Skanderbeg. He died in 1965 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and was buried there. He is considered a national hero and a martyr by the Albanian people, and a champion of literature, history, theology, diplomacy, journalism, music, national unity, and ecumenism. [1](^1^) [2](^2^) [3](^3^)