Orthodox Christians. In 1577, 38 chieftains of the Himarë region appealed to Pope Gregory XIII for arms and supplies against the Ottomans. They promised to switch allegiance from the Orthodox to the Roman Catholic Church, and recognize Philip II of Spain as their sovereign. They asked to retain their Orthodox liturgical customs 'since the majority of the population is Greek and does not understand the Frankish language'. From 1577 to 1765 the population accepted the Pope as the religious head of the community and identified with the Roman Catholic Church. The success of the Roman Catholic missionaries among the Eastern-rite Albanians in Himarë led to the region becoming a refuge for Orthodox prelates that had converted. Himariotes thus largely adhered to Christian faith, although individual conversions to Islam were recorded from the early 16th century. One of them, Ajaz Pasha, became Grand Vizier and was sent by the Ottoman Sultan to put down the 1537 revolt of Himariotes. Even so, crypto-Christianity appeared, particularly in the villages of Fterre, Corraj, and Vuno. Moreover, Basilian missions were sent by Rome since 1682, founding a number of Greek schools. In August 2015 Albanian police demolished the renovated Orthodox church of Saint Athanasius in Dhermi, as local authorities weeks earlier declared it an "illegal construction". The Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania declared it a vandalistic act of desecration and a violation of church property'' and it also triggered diplomatic protests from Greece. This is the second demolition of the church, the first having taken place during the era of the People's Republic of Albania, but at the time the church was rebuilt by the local Orthodox Church after the restoration of Democracy in the country (1991). The Albanian government has promised to rebuild the church after archaeological excavations have taken place. The demolition of the religious monument also triggered strong reactions from the European Commission. Language Himariote dialect of Greek The vast majority of people in Himarë, who call themselves "Horiani" (), meaning locals in the local Greek dialect, are bilingual in both Albanian and Greek. In the town of Himarë as well as in nearby villages of Dhërmi and Palasa mainly speak a unique local Greek dialect that preserves many archaic features no longer found in standard Modern Greek. This dialect has small variations in the way it is spoken in every town, especially in the accent. Elements of Slavic influence are limited