Macedonian Orthodox Church

Macedonian Orthodox Church Language Church Slavonic and Macedonian Headquarters Skopje and Ohrid Territory Republic of Macedonia Possessions United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand Founder n/a Independence (see below) Recognition Unrecognized by other orthodox churches Official website www.mpc.org.mk

The Macedonian Orthodox Church (Macedonian: Македонска Православна Црква, Makedonska Pravoslavna Crkva) is the body of Christians who are united under the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, exercising jurisdiction over Macedonian Orthodox Christians in the Republic of Macedonia and in exarchates in the Macedonian diaspora.

The church gained autonomy from the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1959 and declared the restoration of the historic Archbishopric of Ohrid. On July 19, 1967, the Macedonian Orthodox Church declared autocephaly from the Serbian church, a move which is not recognized by most mainstream Orthodox churches.

Iconostasis of the Church of the Trinity in Radoviš

History

Origins

Church of St. Leontine, near Strumica

• According to the sources in the Acts, Saint Paul, Christ's disciple, began spreading Christianity in Macedonia and elsewhere on the Balkan Peninsula towards the mid 1st century AD. He visited this region on two occasions during his journeys through Europe and Asia. He was followed by Timothy and Silas, who remained in Macedonia after his departure. At that time, as a Roman province Macedonia often changed its borders and its ethnic composition. As a result of the Christianization in the first three centuries, the Christians in Macedonia at the beginning of the 4th century already had an organised Church with an established ecclesiastical hierarchy, whose bishops regularly participated at the ecumenical councils.

• In the 5th century the Church had several metropolises and dioceses. The metropolises of Thessalonica and Skopje were the most distinguished among them. Several Christian basilicas originate from this period, including the one near the village of Bardovci, in the western outskirts of Skopje.
• During the reign of the emperor Justinian I (527-565), who came from the village of Tauresium in the Skopje region, a new town was built near the emperor's birthplace, named Justiniana Prima after him. The Metropolitan of Skopje was appointed an autocephalous Archbishop. Cathellian was the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese Justiniana Prima, at the time the third by honour among the local Orthodox Churches, after Rome and Constantinople. The other archbishops were: Benenat, Paul, John I, Leon and the last one John IX, who in 680-81 took part at the Trullo Council in Constantinople.
• The work of the holy Apostle Paul and the holy emperor Justinian I was continued by the holy brothers Methodius and Cyril and their disciples Saint Naum of Preslav and Clement of Ohrid with the help of of the current Bulgarian ruler knyaz Boris. Around 990 Ohrid became the seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate after the Byzantines burnt the capital Preslav and the subsequent moves of the Patriarch to Aridaia, Edessa and Prespa. After the fall of the First Bulgarian empire the Emperor Basil II acknowledged the autocephalous status of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and by virtue of special royal decrees set up its boundaries, dioceses, property and other privileges. The Archibishopric was seated in Ohrid in the Byzantine theme of Bulgaria and was established in 1019 by lowering the rank of the autocephalous Bulgarian Patriarchate and its subjugation to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
• In 1767 the Archbishopric was abolished by the Turkish authorities and annexed to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Efforts were made in 19 and the first part of 20 century to restore the Archdiocese, and in 1874 it became part of the new established Bulgarian Exarchate. The Christian population of the bishoprics of Skopje and Ohrid voted in 1874 overwhelmingly in favour of joining the Exarchate , the Bulgarian Exarchate became in control of the whole of Vardar and Pirin Macedonia. The Bulgarian Exarchate was also represented partially in Aegean Macedonia. In 1890 the citizens of Ohrid sent a petition to the Great Patriarch of Constantinople to ask for the renewal of the of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. During this time period Metropolitan Bishop Theodosius of Skopje made several pleas to the Bulgarian church to allow a separate Macedonian church, he viewed this as the only way to end the turmoil in the Balkans.

Quote: Is it not high time to put an end to hatred between blood brothers? And how could this be achieved if not by the way of our national Church , by way of the Archbishopric of Ohrid? I shall be sincere, my dear brother in Christ, and shall openly declare to you: we, the Macedonians, to not suffer as much by the Turks, long live our Padishah, as by the Greeks, the Bulgarians and the Serbs, who have set upon us like vultures upon a carcass in this tortured land and want to split it up.

As Vardar Macedonia became part of Serbia after World War I, since 1918 and before the World War II several of the Bulgarian Exarchate's dioceses became part of the Serbian Orthodox Church. During the Bulgarian annexation in WWII the local dioceses became again part of the Bulgarian Exarchate.

Struggle for Autocephaly

In March 1945, the People's Republic of Macedonia was created as one of six republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, governed by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. In 1944, in Skopje, a Resolution of Archdiocese of Ohrid restoration as Macedonian Orthodox Church was submitted to the Serbian Orthodox Church who had since 1919 been the sole titulary. This resolution was rejected, but a later one, submitted in 1958, proposing the Ohrid Archdiocese of Saint Clement as a Macedonian Orthodox Church was accepted (June 17, 1959) under strong pressure from the Communist authorities. Dositej was appointed the first archbishop. The Macedonian Orthodox Church at that time only held autonomous status.

Serbian Orthodox Church agreed with these decisions in the resolution AS. No 47/1959 and 6/1959, minutes 57 of June 17/4, 1959. That agreement was celebrated in a common liturgy by the Macedonian priests and the Serbian Patriarch German in 1959 in Skopje, as a sign that Serbian church recognizes an autonomy of the Macedonian church. In 1962 Serbian Patriarch German and Russian Patriarch Alexis visited the Macedonian Orthodox Church. On the feast of Saints Methodius and Cyril in Ohrid two patriarchs and the Macedonian Metropolitan Dositej concelebrated Holy Liturgy as the first liturgy of the head of the Macedonian church with heads of other Orthodox churches.

During the Third Clergy and Laity Assembly on July 19, 1967, in Ohrid, the Macedonian Orthodox Church was self-proclaimed as autocephalous, which was the official public will of the people in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia.

Many Orthodox Churches admit the faithful of the Macedonian Orthodox Church to communion. The hierarchy of some Churches serve with the priests of MOC, but will not serve liturgically with the hierarchy of MOC. Some also recognise the need for MOC clergy to be able to serve with hierarchs from outside MOC, and to provide an open channel for the resolution of various pastoral problems MOC clergy cannot resolve within MOC.

Relations with the Serbian Orthodox Church

Lamentation of Christ (1164). Fresco from Nerezi near Skopje

• Since the breakup of Yugoslavia and the end of Communist repression of the Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church has been in conflict with the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which has yet to gain recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople or any other autocephalous church. The issue of dispute is the method used to gain autocephaly, the issue of the Serb Orthodox minority (according to the last census, there are 40,000 citizens of the country declared as Serbs) and the question of some hundreds of Serb Orthodox shrines from the medieval Nemanjić period.

The two Churches had been negotiating the details of a compromise agreement reached in Niš, Serbia in 2002, which would have given the ethnic Macedonians de facto independent status just short of canonical autocephaly. The agreement was signed and agreed upon by three Bishops in the Macedonian Orthodox Church (Metropolitan Petar of Australia, Metropolitan Timotej of Debar and Kicevo; and Metropolitan Naum of Strumica). After political officials exerted pressure on the clergy of the MOC for accepting the agreement, the Bishops later reneged on the agreement, leaving only Archbishop Jovan of Ohrid (secular name Zoran Vraniškovski) from the Macedonian side in agreement. Suddenly the signed agreement was rejected by the Macedonian government and the Holy Synod of MOC. In turn, the Serbian Orthodox Church granted full autonomy to the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric, its embattled branch in the Republic of Macedonia, in late May 2005 and appointed Jovan as its Archbishop.

The later chain of events turned into a vicious circle of mutual accusations and incidents involving SOC and, partly, Serbian government on one side, and MOC, backed by the Macedonian government on the other. The Macedonian side regarded Jovan as a traitor and Serbian puppet. Jovan complained of a new state-backed media campaign against his Church. "They are creating an unstable, explosive atmosphere among the population and are virtually inviting people to lynch us," he told Forum 18 News Service [1]. The government has denied registration of his Church [2], attacked its places of worship and launched a criminal case against him. He was arrested, removed from his bishopric and then expelled from the country. He returned in 2005 and, after attempting to perform a baptism, he was arrested, sentenced to 18 months in prison [3] and jailed [4] with "extremely limited visitation rights" [5]. On March 19th, 2006, after spending 220 days in prison, archbishop Jovan was released [6].

Also, a much greater impact for the decision of Jovan's arrest made his financial malversations, that is, his inappropriate usage of the church fund. In September 2005 he was also accused of embezzlement of church funds at the time when he still was MOC clergyman.

In turn, SOC denied Macedonian delegation access to the monastery of Prohor Pčinjski, which was the usual site of Macedonian celebration of the national holiday of Ilinden (literally meaning St. Elijah Day) on August 2[7] and the site where the First Session of ASNOM was held. Macedonian border police often denied Serbian priests entry into the country in clerical garb [8].

Despite public appeals from both churches for "Christian brotherhood and unity", both sides did little to settle the dispute.

Organization

As of 2005, the Macedonian Orthodox Church is headed by Archbishop Stephen of Ohrid and Macedonia. He presides over the Holy Synod of Hierarchs of the MOC, consisting of 9 metropolitans and titular bishops.

Dioceses on the territory of Republic of Macedonia:

1. Diocese of Skopje, headed by His Beatitude Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid and Macedonia;
2. Diocese of Polog and Kumanovo, headed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Kiril;
3. Diocese of Debar and Kičevo, headed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Timotej;
4. Diocese of Prespa and Pelagonia, headed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Petar;
5. Diocese of Strumica, headed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Naum;
6. Diocese of Bregalnica, headed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Ilarion;
7. Diocese of Povardarie, headed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Agatangel

Other bishops include the Most Reverend Metropolitan Metodij of the American-Canadian Diocese; the Most Reverend Pimen of the European Diocese; the Most Reverend Gorazd, former head of the European Diocese, and the Reverend Bishop Kliment, Auxiliary Bishop of Heraclea.

Outside the country, the MOC is pastorally active in 6 dioceses in the diaspora. The 13 dioceses of the MOC are governed by ten Episcopes, with around 500 active priests in about 500 parishes with over 2000 churches and monasteries. The church claims jurisdiction of about twenty living monasteries, with more than 100 monks.

Church calendars use the archaic names of the months of the year instead of the common Latin-derived names

Gallery

• 
  Church of Saint Jovan, Kaneo - Ohrid
• 
  Monastery of Holy Mother - Kichevo
• 
  A small church above the Bitola dedicated to Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste
• Saint Panteleimon on the site of Saint Clement’s monastery, Plaošnik, Ohrid
  Saint Panteleimon on the site of Saint Clement’s monastery, Plaošnik, Ohrid
• 
  Saint Jovan Bigorski monastery near the city of Debar

See also

• Eastern Orthodox Church
• Macedonian Greek Catholic Church

External links

• Official Website Template:Mk icon Template:En icon
  • History
  • Calendar
  • News and Events
• I thank you, God Template:Mk icon Template:En icon Template:De icon
• Premin Portal Template:Mk icon

Dioceses

• Diocese of Australia and New Zealand
• Diocese of Europe
• Diocese of Strumica - News

Churches and Monasteries

• Sts. Peter and Paul, USA
• St. Stephen, Netherlands
• St. Clement of Ohrid, Germany
• St. Naum of Ohrid, Sweden
• St. Naum of Ohrid, Switzerland
• Macedonian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary ("St. Mary") - Greater Columbus, Ohio, USA Oldest congregation of the American Canadian Macedonian Orthodox Diocese, chartered September 17, 1958. Please see the official records of the Ohio Secretary of State at these links: Ohio Secretary of State Business Filings