Fan Noli Way (Bronx)
Present name:None
Location:At the intersection of Morris Park Avenue and Tenbroeck Avenue
Honoree: Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (1882-1965) was an Albanian scholar, statesman, and religious leader. Ordained a priest in 1908, Fan Noli earned a degree from Harvard in 1912. In the same year he led the formation of the Pan-Albanian Federation of America, known as Vatra (The Hearth). It is now based in the Bronx, which has the largest ethnic Albanian community in North America.. In the early years of the 20th Century, following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Fan Noli was instrumental in securing the recognition of Albania as a sovereign state; the consolidation of Albanian as its national language; and the formation of the Albanian Orthodox Church. In 1924, he was briefly Prime Minister of Albania in a government that was overthrown in a military coup by the future King Zog. After years of exile in Germany, Fan Noli returned to the United States in 1932 and resumed his duties as head of the Albanian Orthodox Church in North America. He continued as a leader in the Albanian-American community for many decades. (Gjonaj)
LL:2022/54