St. Jovan Vladimir's Church, Orthodox church in Shijon, Albania

St. Jovan Vladimir's Church is an Orthodox place of worship in central Albania with distinctive white stone walls set against mountains. The building features traditional Orthodox architecture suited to the local landscape and serves both religious and communal purposes.

The first temple here was a large Orthodox basilica from the time of Tsar Samuil, destroyed in an earthquake that also levelled Durrës. Karl Thopia rebuilt it in 1381, and a Greek inscription above the entrance called him a relative of the French king. Thopia died in 1388 and was buried in the church. In the 18th century a monastery grew around it and became the seat of the Archdiocese of Dyrrhachium.

The church is dedicated to Jovan Vladimir, the Dukljan prince and son-in-law of Tsar Samuil, who was beheaded; the name Jovan was added by the people and adopted by the Church because, like St John the Baptist, he lost his life by decapitation. Services to the saint were held in Albanian and were shorter than those in Slavonic. Between the two world wars the monastery ran a shelter for frail elderly people from the Skadar area.

The monastery stands in the village of Shijon, about an hour northwest of Elbasan in the valley of Kuç. The church is built of stone in the Byzantine style and has no dome, so look for the Greek inscriptions on the outer walls and the carved slab in the courtyard. The marble plaque naming the founder in Cyrillic was removed in 2006 and replaced by one with a Greek inscription.

A marble plaque bearing the founder's name in Cyrillic script was removed in 2006 and replaced by one with a Greek inscription. Inside, the relics of St. Vladimir were kept in a wooden coffin placed within a stone sarcophagus locked with a padlock and sealed with three seals.