Christian Orthodox Church in Shkodra Even though Orthodox Christianity has existed in Albania since the 2nd century AD, and the Orthodox have constituted 20% of the population of Albania throughout time, the first Orthodox liturgy in the Albanian language was celebrated not in Albania, but in Massachusetts. Between 1890-1920, about 25,000 Albanians, the vast majority of them Orthodox Christians from southeastern Albania, emigrated to the United States, settling in the areas surrounding Boston.