Editing Christianization (section)

=== Albania ===
{{Main article|Christianization of Albania}}
[[Proto-Albanian language|Proto-Albanian]] speakers were Christianized under the [[Latin]] sphere of influence, specifically in the 4th century AD, as shown by the basic [[Christianity|Christian]] terms in Albanian, which are of [[Latin]] origin and entered Proto-Albanian before the [[Gheg Albanian|Gheg]]–[[Tosk Albanian|Tosk]] dialectal diversification.{{sfn|Malcolm|1998|pp=36–38}}{{sfn|Fischer|Schmitt|2022|p=16}}

At the time of the [[Slavic migrations to the Balkans|South Slavic incursion]] and the threat of ethnic turbulence in the Albanian-inhabited regions, the Christianization of the [[Albanians]] had already been completed and it had apparently developed for Albanians as a further identity-forming feature alongside the ethnic-linguistic unity.{{sfn|Demiraj|2002|pp=36–37}} Church administration, which was controlled by a thick network of Roman bishoprics, collapsed with the arrival of the Slavs. Between the early 7th century and the late 9th century the interior areas of the [[Balkans]] were deprived of church administration, and Christianity might have survived only as a popular tradition on a reduced degree.{{sfn|Fischer|Schmitt|2022|p=25}} Some Albanians living in the mountains, who were only partially affected by Romanization, probably sank back into the Classic Paganism.{{sfn|Demiraj|2002|p=26}}

The reorganization of the Church as a cult institution in the region took a considerable amount of time.{{sfn|Demiraj|2011|p=63}} The Balkans were brought back into the Christian orbit only after the recovery of the [[Byzantine Empire]] and through the activity of Byzantine missionaries.{{sfn|Fischer|Schmitt|2022|p=25}} The earliest church vocabulary of [[Middle Greek]] origin in Albanian dates to the 8th–9th centuries, at the time of the [[Byzantine Iconoclasm]], which was started by the Byzantine Emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian]].{{sfn|Demiraj|2011|pp=63–64, 70}} In 726 Leo III established ''[[de jure]]'' the jurisdiction of the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople]] over the Balkans, as the Church and the State established an institution. The Eastern Church expanded its influence in the area along with the social and political developments. Between the 7th and 12th centuries a powerful network of cult institutions were revived completely covering the ecclesiastical administration of the entire present-day Albanian-speaking compact area. In particular an important role was played by the [[Theme of Dyrrhachium]] and the [[Archdiocese of Ohrid]].{{sfn|Demiraj|2011|p=64}} Survived through the centuries, the Christian belief among Albanians became an important cultural element in their ethnic identity. Indeed, the lack of [[Old Church Slavonic]] terms in Albanian Christian terminology shows that the missionary activities during the [[Christianization of the Slavs]] did not involve Albanian-speakers.{{sfn|Demiraj|2011|p=71}} In a text compiled around the beginning of the 11th century in the [[Old Bulgarian language]], the Albanians are mentioned for the first time with their old ethnonym ''[[Names of the Albanians and Albania#Arbanasi|Arbanasi]]'' as half-believers, a term which for Eastern Orthodox Christian Bulgarians meant Catholic Christian.{{sfn|Elsie|2003|p=3}} The [[East–West Schism|Great Schism of 1054]] involved Albania separating the region between Catholic Christianity in the north and Orthodox Christianity in the south.{{sfn|Ramet|1989|p=381}}

Regardless of the Christianization, [[Albanian paganism|ancient paganism persisted among Albanians]], and especially within the inaccessible and deep interior{{sfn|Norris|1993|p=34}} – where [[Albanian folklore]] evolved over the centuries in a relatively isolated [[Albanian tribes|tribal culture and society]]{{sfn|Elsie|2001a|pp=vii–viii}} – it has continued to persist, or at most it was partially transformed by the Christian, and later Muslim and Marxist beliefs, that were either to be introduced by choice or imposed by force.<ref>{{harvnb|Norris|1993|p=34}}; {{harvnb|Qafleshi|2011|pp=43–71}}; {{harvnb|Hykolli|Krasniqi|2020|p=78}}</ref> Albanian traditions have been [[Oral tradition|orally transmitted]] through memory systems that have survived intact into modern times. The Albanian traditional customary law ([[Kanun (Albania)|Kanun]]) has held a sacred – although secular – longstanding, unwavering and unchallenged authority with a cross-religious effectiveness over the Albanians, which is attributed to an earlier pagan code common to all the [[Albanian tribes]].{{sfn|Tarifa|2008|p=11}} Historically, the Christian clergy has vigorously fought, but without success, the [[Albanian paganism#Rituals and practices|pagan rituals]] practiced by Albanians for [[Albanian paganism#Traditional festivals|traditional feasts]] and particular events, especially the fire rituals ([[Zjarri (Albanian paganism)|Zjarri]]).{{sfn|Tirta|2004|p=250}}{{sfn|Qafleshi|2011|p=49}}