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Our small parish has sent a significant number of missionaries, including whole families, to Albania over the last 20 years. Why have we done this?
Albania is a small country—about the size of Vermont with a population of 2,933,102 (March 2018 est.)—and is one of the poorest in Europe. While most of Eastern Europe was communist for several generations, Albania was under an isolationist and thoroughly atheistic regime. The result was that religion was almost stamped out. Now that Albania is in its adolescence of democracy and religious freedom, people are re-defining what is important and meaningful in life. In the face of persistent unemployment and poverty, however, the lure of materialism and capitalism is a temptation that threatens to overshadow more spiritual goals. Albania is 70% Muslim, 20% Orthodox Christian and 10% other (mostly Roman Catholic), but most people have only a nominal belief.
The Albanian Orthodox church has had to rebuild completely from scratch. Under the leadership of His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios, the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania has reestablished its clergy, rebuilt its churches, opened a theological school to train clergy, opened an elementary school, started and runs numerous programs and camps for children in Albania and Kosovo, and many other activities of the church.
This is a time of bringing people to a true understanding of faith in Christ!
The Hoppe Family
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Our very own Hoppe family has been serving in Albania since 1998. All Saints is where Nathan was chrismated into the Orthodox Church in 1994. The Hoppe’s are sent from All Saints through the Orthodox Christian Mission Center to serve as missionaries under the leadership of Archbishop Anastasios in the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania.
Nathan teaches the early church fathers at the Resurrection of Christ Theological Academy and directs the Central Children’s Office of the Orthodox Church of Albania, a ministry in which he works closely with Gabriela. He represents the Orthodox Church of Albania at a number of international gatherings including the official dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church and the dialogue with the Lutheran World Federation. Nathan also serves on the steering committee of the Lausanne-Orthodox initiative (LOI), is a member of the Advisory Council for World Vision Albania and Kosovo and is on the board of the Inter-Confessional Bible Society.
Nathan was born and raised in Colombia, South America, where his parents continue to serve as missionaries. He is a graduate of Wheaton College and Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Nathan has now served in Albania for 20 years. Gabriela, a native of Albania, is a graduate of the Resurrection of Christ Theological Academy and the University of Tirana she also holds a master’s degree in Children’s and Family Ministry from Bethel Seminary. In addition to her role in the Central Children’s Office, Gabriela devotes much time to her important responsibilities as wife, mother and homemaker.
The Hoppes have three children, Tristan (20), Katherine (17), and Daniel (8).
Donate
To donate to the Hoppe mission in Albania, click here, and select “Nathan and Gabriela Hoppe” in the designation window. You may also donate via check by sending to:
Hoppe Mission
c/o Treasurer
All Saints Orthodox Church
4129 W. Newport Ave.
Chicago, Illinois 60641
Make your check payable to “All Saints Orthodox Church” and indicate “Hoppe Mission” in the memo line.
Contact
You can contact Nathan and Gabriela by phone (numbers listed below) or by e-mail.
- Nathan: 355698524045
- Gabriela: 355698524047
Fill out the following form to send Nathan an e-mail. Additionally, if you would like to subscribe to the Hoppe’s newsletter, check the checkbox below, fill out the form, and click send.