The Assembly (Council) of Arbër, a meeting of the Albanian Catholic clergy, was held in Mërqinje, Lezha, with the support of Pope Clement XI. The Assembly of Arbër examined the social and spiritual condition of the believers, aiming to implement the Vatican’s orders in Albania, to face the continued islamization of the population. Among the first decisions were the requests to open schools and to publish books in the Albanian language, which were implemented during the 18th and 19th centuries, with some religious publications made in the dialect of Shkodra. The acts of the Assembly of Arbër were printed as a separate publication in the Albanian language, as early as 1703. They are also valuable as an important linguistic document. (In the photo: Exterior view of Shën Gjoni Church, in Mërqinje.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 2, Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, page 1433.
Photo: © Xhoxhi L., personal archive
