The year 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Albania.

Nasho Idrizi was one of the first Albanians to accept the truth. While living in the United States during the early 1920’s, he studied the Bible with the International Bible Students, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then called.

Nasho returned to Albania in 1922. Eventually, other Albanians who had become Bible Students while living in the United States returned home to share what they had learned.

Thanas Duli was one of the early Bible Students in Albania. He recounted: “In 1925, there were three congregations organized in Albania as well as isolated Bible Students and interested persons throughout the land.”

During those early years, several publications were translated into Albanian, such as The Harp of God and A Desirable Government. The December 1, 1925, issue of The Watch Tower said that “a goodly number [of Albanian publications] were placed in the hands of the people, and the Albanians are taking hold of the truth with much joy.”

People began referring to the Witnesses as ungjillorë, meaning “evangelizers,” because of their zealous preaching activity. Nasho Dori, who was baptized in 1930, recalled: “In 1935, a group of us rented a bus to preach in the town of Këlcyrë. After that, we organized a larger tour of Albania, visiting the towns of Përmet, Leskovik, Ersekë, Korçë, Pogradec, and Elbasan. We finished the tour in Tirana just in time to observe the Memorial of Christ’s death.”

In 1939, Fascist Italy took control of Albania and banned Jehovah’s Witnesses. Neutrality became an issue, as our brothers refused to take up arms during the Greco-Italian War. a During those years, 15 brothers served prison sentences. Brother Nikodhim Shyti was sent to a concentration camp and was never heard from again.

Toward the end of World War II, the Communist Party took power in Albania in 1944. The persecution continued. Many of our brothers were imprisoned and tortured. Others were sent to labor camps far away from their families. In those years, Albania was closed off from the rest of the world. The 1959 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses reported: “While the rulers of the land may separate the brothers in Albania from the rest of the New World Society, they cannot cut off the operation of God’s holy spirit upon them.” Albania declared itself the first atheistic state in 1967. The small group of Witnesses who remained there continued to cautiously practice their faith.

After the fall of Communism, Jehovah’s Witnesses gained legal recognition on May 22, 1992, after more than 50 years under ban.

There are now 5,550 Witnesses in Albania, serving in 89 congregations. We rejoice with our brothers that “in a mighty way, the word of Jehovah kept growing and prevailing” despite intense persecution.—Acts 19:20.