Quick Facts
Biography
Stathi Melani (1858–1917) was an Albanian Orthodox priest who participated in the Congress of Manastir and helped spread awareness of the Albanian written language in southern Albania. He was killed by a group of Greek nationalists near Përmet for insisting on the use of the Albanian language in the local Orthodox liturgy.
Life
Stath Melani was born on 18 September in Melan, in the district of Përmet. He had three sisters but was his parents' only son. His father, Kostandin, who had emigrated to Istanbul, brought Stathi with him in 1876-1877, and Stathi taught at one of the schools and worked as a newspaper boy there, having attained the latter job with the help of Albanian patriots according to Kastriot Bezati. Stathi then became active in the distribution of Albanian-language books, primarily coming from Bucharest distributed by one Stefan Pellazgu. In 1888, he married Konstandina Logo from the village of Izgar near his home in Melan, and the two had nine children together, five boys and four girls. In 1899 he emigrated to the United States, where he became a priest in the Church of Saint Mary in Worcester, Massachusetts. Between 1914-1917 Stathi served as priest for the St. Nicholas Church in Southbridge, Massachusetts.
His Albanian nationalist activism lasted 35 years and began first in Istanbul, to continue in the United States and in Albania. He contributed to the Albanian Renaissance with writings, books, newspapers and oral tales. Mihal Grameno said in 1907 described Melani as "a flaming patriot, wise and brave, and stubborn to fight for the rights of the Albanians during the time of Sultan Abdul Hamid II". Fan Noli wrote of him with great respect. Melani was not only a priest but also an armed resistance fighter with his own çeta; allied çeta captains included Mihal Grameno, Sali Butka, Cerciz Topulli and Themistokli Gërmenji. Instigated by Greek Metropolitans, Stathi was killed in 1917 on 24 December, Christmas Eve, by Greek nationalists (andartes) near Përmet and his head was sent in Greece. The death of Stath Melani caused a wave of protests across southern Albanian-inhabited areas, and also among Albanians living abroad in the US and elsewhere. Three years later, in 1920, Thanas Budo executed the man who had killed Stath Melani, just outside of Postenan.
Legacy
Stath Melani's exploits and actions are sung in ballads by Albanians. A road and a school in Përmet are named after him.