Conservation and Rescue Interventions in the Church of St. Athanasius

The monastery church of St. Athanasius in Leshnica, Saranda, is the only one that has survived from the entire monastery complex. It holds special worship, historical and cultural values and it belongs to the Orthodox spiritual heritage. During last spring, a major part of the building structure collapsed causing serious problems. Because of the fact that this church is a "cultural monument under state protection", every kind of maintenance or intervention work from the local Orthodox community is prohibited. Its abandonment and the lack of urgent interventions in solving the roof problems, or consolidating its foundations, has brought severe damage to the building especially after landslides and earthquakes. 

Due to such a damage, Archbishop Anastasios tried to find ways to overcome the given situation. This initiative shows again his sensitivity towards the preservation of the historical heritage of the Orthodox Church, but also his concern for the local community. In order to undertake the necessary interventions, specialists were sent to observe the church terrain and to design respective projects for emergency work. Meanwhile, a group of workers was also sent by IMK who only covered the building with plastic sheets which would aggravate the situation further during the winter season. 

Considering the serious problems that could be caused in the remaining parts of the Hagiographic frescoes of a special value, Archbishop Anastasios recommended the initiation of urgent intervention work during March 2018, despite the financial difficulties. The work consisted in saving and preserving the remaining structure, and in creating the right conditions for the functional rehabilitation of the church of St. Athanasius. 

More specifically the undertaken work involved: the removal of all the remains that had fallen inside the church and the arrangement of the material, leaving aside the pieces with contents of the frescoes. The surrounding area was cleansed from the vegetation and the church path was paved. The whole drainage system was rehabilitated so that the water flows did not affect the foundation of the church. The remains of the iconostasis were piled up. Also, supporting structures were added in the still-standing arcades on the north and east side. Demolished stone roof tiles and fractures from the structure, which posed a risk to the believers and visitors, were carefully removed. 

The main intervention which took place was the installation of a high metal sheath covering all the remaining walls and cubes, in order to preserve them in the long run with the prospect for later intervention when the conditions would enable the eventual reconstruction of the church of St. Athanasius. 

Besides the financial expenses for the work, it should be highlighted the fact that the work was carried out in exceptionally difficult terrain conditions such as the lack of road which impeded the transportation of constructing materials, lack of electricity in the joining and assembly process etc. 

It is worth-mentioning as well that during a period of financial difficulties, in this distant and isolated realm of the Metropolis of Gjirokastra there were other contributions provided by Archbishop Anastasios for the faithful, such as the rehabilitation of the motorway, the restoration of the church of St. Nicholas etc. 

In addition, another intervention which is programmed to be soon implemented is the restauration of frescoes in the endangered areas, in order to avoid further damage to such an art work that carries special and rare artistic values. 

Source: http://orthodoxalbania.org