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Theophan (Fan) Stylian Noli ( January 6, 1882 - March 13, 1965) was an Albanian bishop and politician, who served briefly as prime minister and regent of Albania in 1924. Born in Thrace, as a young man Noli wandered throughout the Mediterranean Basin, living in Athens, Greece, and Alexandria, Egypt and supporting himself as an actor and translator. Through his contacts with the Albanian expatriate movement, he became an ardent supporter of the country's nationalist movement, and moved to Boston in 1906 in order to mobilize the Albanian emigrant community. At that time, Albanian ChristianChristian is: a follower of the faith of Christianity a popular first name and surname, especially in Northern Europe According to the New Testament, those who followed Jesus as his disciples were first called Christians by those who did not share their fs were part of the Greek Orthodox ChurchGreek Orthodox Church can refer to: the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the "first among equals" of the Eastern Orthodox Communion. the Church of Greece, which has been autocephalous since 1833., which was vehemently opposed to the nationalist cause. When a Greek Orthodox priest refused to perform the burial rites for a member of the Albanian community because of his nationalist activity, Noli and a group of nationalists in New EnglandThis article is about the region in the United States of America. For other uses, see New England (disambiguation . The New England region of the United States is located in the northeastern corner of the country. Boston is its business and cultural cente created the independent Albanian Orthodox ChurchThe Albanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church headed by the Archbishop of Tirana, Durres, and all Albania, Anastasios. It has about 650,000 members in Albania and about 45,000 in related churches in the United States. Its faithf. Noli, the new church's first clergyman, was consecrated as a priest in 19081908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). Events January-February January 1 A ball signifying New Year's Day drops in New York City's Times Square for the first time January 8 A train collision occurs in the Park Avenue T.
That same year, Noli began studying at Harvard, completing his degree in 19121912 is a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar) Events January 1 Establishment of Republic of China. January 6 New Mexico is admitted as the 47th U. January 17 British polar explorer Robert Falcon Scott and a team of four begin the. He returned to Europe to promote Albanian independence, setting foot in Albania for the first time in 19131913 is a common year starting on Wednesday. click on link for calendar) Events January-March January 30 House of Lords rejects Irish Home Rule Bill February 1 New York City's Grand Central Station opens as the world's largest train station. February 3 Th. He returned to the United States during World War I, serving as head of the Vatra organization, which effectively made him leader of the Albanian diaspora. His diplomatic efforts in the United States and Geneva won the support of President Woodrow Wilson for an independent Albania, and in 1920 earned the new nation membership in the fledgling League of Nations. Though Albania had already declared its independence in 1912, membership in the League of Nations provided the country with the international recognition it had failed to obtain until then.
In 1921 Noli entered the Albanian parliament as a representative of the liberal Vatra party, the chief liberal movement in the country. He served briefly as foreign minister in the government of Xhafer Ypi. This was a period of intense turmoil in the country between the liberals, represented by Vatra, and the conservatives, led by prime minister Ahmet Zogu. After a botched assassination attempt against Zogu, the conservatives revenged themselves by assassinating another popular liberal politician, Avni Rustemi . Noli's speech at Rustemi's funeral was so powerful that liberal supporters rose up against Zogu and forced him to flee to Yugoslavia (March 1924). Zogu was succeeded briefly by his father-in-law, Shefqet Verlaci, and by the liberal politician Ilias Vrioni ; Noli was named prime minister and regent on July 17, 1924.
Despite his efforts to reform the country, Noli's "Twenty Point Program" was unpopular, and his government was overthrown by groups loyal to Zogu on Christmas eve of that year. Two weeks later, Zogu returned to Albania, and Noli fled to Italy under sentence of death. He moved back to the United States in 1932 and formed a republican opposition to Zogu, who had since proclaimed himself King Zog I. Over the next years, he continued his education, studying and later teaching Byzantine music, and continued developing and promoting the autocephalic Albanian Orthodox Church he had helped to found. While in exile, he also managed to maintain ties with the communist government of Enver Hoxha that emerged after World War II and urged the American government to recognize the new regime in Albania. Toward the end of his life he retired to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he died in 1965.
