ALBANI. - A people of the Caucasus dwelling in Albania, whose fate was bound up with that of the Armenians. Tradition points to Eliseus as the first preacher of Christianity among the Albanians; he penetrated deep into the country and built a small church where he was later martyred. The Albanians were converted entirely to the faith through the apostles sent by the Armenian Church at the beginning of the 4th century. Soon a Church was formed on the Armenian model, with a katholikos residing at Partav and dependent on the Armenian Church. The Albanian katholikosate was suppressed in the 19th century.
The Albanians joined the Armenians in the religious wars against the Mazdaean cult of the Persians (451). Later, having separated from the universal Church together with the Armenians, they attempted union again in 709, but the Armenian katholikos Elias, at a council held at Partav, deposed the Albanian katholikos Nerses Bakur, who had promoted the reconciliation, and replaced him with Simon.
Albanian literature, begun by St. M. Sroob in the 5th century, was completely destroyed in the 6th century by the Xasiri. No people suffered more persecution than the Albanians, given their geographical position which marked the passage from Asia to Europe; as a result of this their Christian faith was completely destroyed and replaced by Islam.