Macedonian Orthodox Church - News & Updates

[Amphipolis]

Thanks and don't shoot me. That was clarifying enough.

[vicsinad]

According to Greek Lies.

And stop posting crap we can't read.

MOC-OA denies: We do not ask the Ecumenical Party to delete the term "Macedonian"

The Synod of the MOC-OA denies all information to the public that the Ecumenical Patriarchate was asked to recognize the status of the church by deleting the Macedonian.

https://telma.com.mk/mpts-oa-demantira-ne-barame-od-vselenskata-partijarshija-da-go-brishe-terminot-makedonska/

Timothy: MOC-OA seeks recognition of autocephaly, not change of name of church

A month ago, we sent a request to the Ecumenical Patriarchate requesting recognition of the autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archbishopric. Nobody demanded, nor dreamed of any deletion of the name. The church does not give up its name, the bishop Timotej, spokesperson of the MOC-OA, told MKD.mk.

https://www.mkd.mk/makedonija/politika/timotej-mpc-oa-bara-priznavanje-na-avtokefalnosta-a-ne-promena-na-imeto-na

[Amphipolis]

According to Greek media and an announcement by the Patriarch, it seems that the Macedonian Orthodox Church is returning to the Patriarchate under the name Archdiocese/Archbishopric of Ohrid.

[Bill77]

Not sure if anyone is following this but basically the Russian church had threatened the Bulgarian church not to recognize the Macedonian church (to the satisfaction of Greece and Serbia).

However today it was revealed that the Russian church also sent a threatening letter to the Church of Greece not to recognize the Ukrainian church.

Christ would be shaking his head in dismay.

What a moronic rabble this Eastern Orthodox org is. Christ preached about these hypocrites. If only they read the bible.

[Niko777]

Not sure if anyone is following this but basically the Russian church had threatened the Bulgarian church not to recognize the Macedonian church (to the satisfaction of Greece and Serbia).

However today it was revealed that the Russian church also sent a threatening letter to the Church of Greece not to recognize the Ukrainian church.

[Tomche Makedonche]

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/bulgarian-orthodox-church-pressured-not-to-back-macedonian-church-s-independence-05-15-2018

Bulgarian Clerics Retreat from Support for Macedonia Church

The Bulgarian Holy Synod decided not to take part in a showpiece celebration with the unrecognised Macedonian Orthodox Church after receiving a letter of complaint from the Serbian patriarchy

The Bulgarian Holy Synod decided late on Monday to refuse an invitation from Macedonian Archbishop Stefan and not attend celebrations for the 1000th anniversary of the creation of the Ohrid Archbishopric on May 27 in Macedonia’s second city.

The decision divided the Synod, with eight members of the governing body of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church voting against, and five members backing participation.

It came against a backdrop of rapprochement between the Bulgarian and the Macedonian clergies over the past six months, ever since the Holy Synod of the Macedonian Church asked the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to assume parental authority over it in November 2017 and encourage its acceptance as an equal member of the Orthodox churches family.

The Macedonian Church is currently unrecognised by other Orthodox Churches due to a long-running dispute over its ecclesiastical independence from the Serbian Orthodox Church, to which it was formerly united.

Later in November, Bulgarian Patriarch Neofit said that the Bulgarian church ought to “take the hand extended by our Macedonian brothers”, and the Holy Synod announced the formation of a committee to lead talks with other Orthodox churches on the status of the Macedonian Church.

There are signals that the sudden change of mind by the Bulgarian church might have been made under pressure.

On Tuesday, the speaker of the Bulgarian Synod, Bishop Kyprian of Stara Zagora, was quoted by Bulgarian newspaper Monitor as saying that the church had received “angry letters” from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church Bartholomew I, and from the Serbian Patriarchy.

But the Holy Synod press office told BIRN that the Bulgarian church received only one letter of complaint, from the Serbian Synod.

The Serbian Church has blocked recognition of the Macedonian Church ever since it unilaterally declared "autocephaly", or ecclesiastical independence, in the late 1960s.

The Serbian Church claims the decision was uncanonical – ecclesiastically illegal – and was pushed by Yugoslavia's then Communist government for political reasons

While the Bulgarian Church seems to be backtracking on its support for its Macedonian counterpart, Bulgarians meanwhile seem more positive about Sofia’s relations with Skopje.

A poll published on Tuesday by the Sofia-based sociological agency Trend showed overwhelming support within Bulgaria for Macedonia’s bid to join the EU.

According to the poll, 70 per cent of respondents backed Skopje’s bid for EU membership, with only 15 per cent opposed.

Overall, 61 per cent of the respondents said they believed the expansion of the EU in the Western Balkans would benefit the country, while 58 per cent thought Bulgaria ought to help its neighbours in their membership efforts.

[Tomche Makedonche]

http://www.ekathimerini.com/227616/article/ekathimerini/news/patriarch-rebukes-church-of-bulgaria-over-macedonia

Patriarch rebukes Church of Bulgaria over 'Macedonia'

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomaios issued a strong rebuke to the Church of Bulgaria over its support for the schismatic church in the Republic of Macedonia.

The strong worded statement by Vartholomaios, who is spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, was made on Wednesday evening after the Bulgarian Church agreed to acknowledge and be the “mother church” of “Macedonia,” which is considered “schismatic” by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul.

“The action of the sister church of Bulgaria was wrong. It complicates matters. The mother church of all Balkan nations is that of Constantinople,” he said, adding that this is what history says and that the Bulgarian church has no right to normalize the “Macedonian” one.

Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria has repeatedly claimed that Bulgaria should support the church of “Macedonia” in its attempt for recognition and integration.

[Tomche Makedonche]

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/bulgarian-church-to-examine-macedonian-plea-for-aid-11-27-2017

Bulgarian Bishops Agree to Lobby for Macedonian Church

Following the Macedonian Orthodox Church’s plea for help in escaping its isolation, the Bulgarian Church has set up a committee to launch talks with the rest of the Orthodox world

Following a meeting on Monday, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church’s Patriarchate announced that it has formed a committee to lead talks with other Orthodox churches on the status of Macedonian Orthodox Church, which remains unrecognised as a result of a long-lasting dispute with Serbian Orthodox Church.

The move came after Macedonia’s Orthodox Church asked the Bulgarian Church to assume a form of parental authority over it.

The Patriarchal website stated that, that following the Macedonian request, the Bulgarian Church felt it had a “sacred duty” to offer its full support for Macedonia's Orthodox Church and to advocate among the other Orthodox Churches for recognition of its canonical status.

“The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has never been indifferent to the sufferings of Macedonian Orthodox Church,” the Bulgarian Patriarchal website wrote.

Patriarch Neofit had restated his position that Bulgaria should support the Macedonian Church, as they are “our brothers and our people”, it added.

However, in a Sunday interview for 24 hours newspaper, one of the appointees to the committee intended to lead the talks with other churches, Metropolitan Gavrail of Lovech, warned that if Bulgaria recognized the Macedonian Church unilaterally, “we won’t help our Macedonian brothers and will harm ourselves”.

Earlier this month, the Macedonian Church sent an official request for the Bulgarian Church to become its “mother” Church, and so encourage its acceptance as an equal among the other Orthodox churches.

The Macedonian Church remains unrecognized by other Orthodox Churches owing to a long-lasting dispute over its ecclesiastical independence from the Serbian Orthodox Church, to which it was formerly united.

The two churches remain locked in conflict over the right of the Macedonian Church to be accepted as an equal to the other Orthodox churches.

The Serbian Church, which has close ties with other Orthodox churches, has blocked recognition of the Macedonian Church ever since it unilaterally declared its “autocephaly”, or ecclesiastical independence, in the 1960s.

The Serbian Church claims the decision was uncanonical – ecclesiastically illegal – and was pushed by Yugoslavia's then communist government for political reasons.

The announcement from the Bulgarian Holy Synod follows pressure on the Bulgarian Church from different stakeholders.

Last week, Bulgaria’s Patriarch discussed the letter with President Rumen Radev.

After the meeting, they released a joint statement, agreeing that both the “Bulgarian state and the Bulgarian Church are united in their willingness to develop further and deeper the relations between Bulgaria and Macedonia”.

On Monday morning, while the Holy Synod was discussing its position, dozens of people gathered for a silent vigil in front of the Synod headquarters in Sofia to support the bid of the Macedonian Church.

“I hope they [the Synod] take the right path, so we can become the mother church of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. This fold is ours and we need to take care of it, as we care for our own – our Orthodox Church is theirs, too,” Milen Vrabevski, chairman of the “Bulgarian Memory” Foundation that actively supports the Macedonian bid, told a TV station.

Defence Minister Krassimir Karakachanov also commented on the Synod’s dilemma to the TV, complaining there was too much “outside pressure for our Church to not recognize the Macedonian [Church]”.

[Pelagonija]

Bulgarian & Macedonian church edge closer

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bulgaria-macedonia-church/bulgarian-macedonian-orthodox-churches-edge-closer-despite-thorny-history-idUSKBN1DR1YN?il=0

Zoran Zaev is happy..

http://meta.mk/zaev-kako-pravoslaven-vernik-radosen-sum-za-odlukata-na-bpts/

Interesting times in MKD..is Zaev now paying back his external supporters for helping him to gain power and saving him from prison?

We are likely to get a new name soon, mkd to become bi national, Bulgarian minority recognised in Albania, global roaming charges dropped for mkd and BG.

Is this a coincidence or am I just an old dinosaur who is out of touch with modernity?

[Stevce]

Clearly doesn't know his history. The Ohrid Archbishopric came about due to Samoil getting regonigition from the pope of the Western Roman empire. Secondly upon his death the church acted directly under Basil of Macedon. We were never really part of the Eastern Roman empire under Constantinople. Macedonia is best by independnce not joining nations or religous organisations trying to destroy them.

[Tomche Makedonche]

Been a hot topic lately.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/enl...0-study-finds/

Gave the article its own thread

[VMRO]

Where does that date come from?

Been a hot topic lately.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/most-eu-hopefuls-might-not-be-ready-to-join-before-2050-study-finds/

[Pelagonija]

Karposh good story re the celebrations in Bitola..

We had hope and independence up until 99/01.. that all ended for good once the west took the side of the siptari..

Unfortunately us orthodox people will always be the enemy to the west, that is unless Zaev completes the bending over process and turns us into modern day nation whore like CG, Greece, Albania and BG.

[Karposh]

Ok maybe 20 years ago?

I think Macedonia still was independent in 1997 when the coppers went hard in gostivar and took the Albanian flag down and shot up a few lads?

I was into my second week of my three month holiday in Macedonia back in early July of 1997 and I watched it all unfold on TV.

Bitola was the most festive that I'd seen it in a a long time the next day after the successful police operation to tear down the shiptar flags off of public buildings in Tetovo & Gostivar. People were literally dancing in the street while old men played their bagpipes on Shirok Sokak. It was uplifting, to say the least, and a real pleasure to see that brief rise of the constantly downtrodden Macedonian spirit that day. And, I must admit, I joined in the dancing too.

Although we now know the Albanians were simply biding their time to fight another day, when they were much more prepared (thanks to the US and Arab Jihadists), I still think the hard line Macedonians displayed back then should have been maintained to the bitter end and at all costs. Even back in 1997, it was never about minority rights. Albanians, back then had more rights than most minorities could ever boast about having anywhere in Europe. This was nothing more than a brazen display of separatism. Something that was obvious to everyone in the Balkans except to the rest of Europe, who saw the police operation as an attack on Albanian Human Rights by Macedonian authorities.

But the Albanian flags on Macedonian public buildings was more than a show of Albanian nationalism back in 1997. It was half testing the waters, to see the how the Macedonians would react, and half giving them the middle finger, with the loud and unmistakable message that the flags were meant to convey – Up yours Macedonia, this is Albania now!

Displaying a foreign country's national flag on public buildings of another country is not only shameful for any incumbent government to continue to turn a blind eye to but it is also treasonous. It basically admits to its citizens and the world at large that it has lost sovereignty of an integral part of its territory. That is not a good look for any government to have on its record. Yet, that record stands to this day and growing in intensity on the portfolios of successive Macedonian governments post 1997. Shame, shame, shame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfG0BWMtYPA

[Risto the Great]

Sorry to sound pessimistic.
I think Macedonians fought for Macedonia well over 100 years ago.
Not much to be completely proud of since then.