I just happened to stumble across this video of the episcopal ordination of Giorgio Demetrio Gallaro, eparch of the Greek-Catholic community in Piana degli Albanesi in Sicily. This took place on June 28 of last year; the principal consecrator is Bishop Donato Oliverio, eparch of Lungro degli Albanesi in the mainland province of Calabria. Bishop Gallaro served for many years as a priest in the Melkite Eparchy of Newton, Massachusetts.
We have mentioned these Byzantine Rite communities of southern Italy a few times previously; they descend in part from the Greek settlements which were formerly very numerous on the Italian peninsula, and partly from the groups of Albanians, who crossed the Adriatic in the 15th century to escape from the Turkish invasion of their lands. (Hence the distinction “degli Albanesi - of the Albanians”; Albano and Albanese are both fairly common last names in Italy.) It is marvelous to see how they have preserved their liturgical and cultural traditions for so many centuries.
We have mentioned these Byzantine Rite communities of southern Italy a few times previously; they descend in part from the Greek settlements which were formerly very numerous on the Italian peninsula, and partly from the groups of Albanians, who crossed the Adriatic in the 15th century to escape from the Turkish invasion of their lands. (Hence the distinction “degli Albanesi - of the Albanians”; Albano and Albanese are both fairly common last names in Italy.) It is marvelous to see how they have preserved their liturgical and cultural traditions for so many centuries.
