Macedonian Orthodox Church - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric or just Macedonian Orthodox Church is the body of Christians

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

who are united under the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia

Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia

The Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia is the title given to the primate of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. The Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia exercises jurisdiction over the Macedonian Orthodox Church members in the Republic of Macedonia and in exarchates in diaspora...

, exercising jurisdiction over Macedonian Orthodox Christians in the Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

and in exarch

Exarch

In the Byzantine Empire, an exarch was governor with extended authority of a province at some remove from the capital Constantinople. The prevailing situation frequently involved him in military operations....

ates in the Macedonian

Macedonians (ethnic group)

The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...

diaspora

Macedonian diaspora

The Macedonian diaspora consists of ethnic Macedonian emigrants and their descendants in countries such as Australia, Italy, Germany, Canada, the United States and others. It is a result of historical and modern day emigration. It is claimed that the diaspora numbers over a million people...

.

In 1959, the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church

Serbian Orthodox Church

The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...

gave autonomy to the Macedonian Orthodox Church as the restoration of the historic Archbishopric of Ohrid. and remained in canonical unity with the Serbian Church under their Patriarch. In 1967, on the bicentennial anniversary of the abolition of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, the Macedonian Orthodox Church unilaterally proclaimed its autocephaly

Autocephaly

Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...

and independence from the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Serbian Holy Synod denounced the decision and condemned the clergy as schismatic. Since then, despite various Orthodox and ecumenical efforts, the autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church is not recognized by other national Orthodox churches in defense of Serbian opposition, or by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople

The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...

Origins

After the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire

First Bulgarian Empire

The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...

, Emperor Basil II

Basil II

Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...

acknowledged the autocephalous status of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church

Bulgarian Orthodox Church

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...

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

Bulgaria (theme)

For other uses, see Bulgaria The Theme of Bulgaria was a province of the Byzantine Empire established by Emperor Basil II after the victory over Samuel of Bulgaria and the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire in 1018. It was based on the wider regions of Skopje and Ohrid...

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

Bulgarian Exarchate

The Bulgarian Exarchate was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953....

. The Christian population of the bishoprics of Skopje

Skopje

Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

and Ohrid

Ohrid

Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...

voted in 1874 overwhelmingly in favour of joining the Exarchate, the Bulgarian Exarchate became in control of most of the Macedonian region.

As Vardar Macedonia

Vardar Macedonia

Vardar Macedonia is an area in the north of the Macedonia . The borders of the area are those of the Republic of Macedonia. It covers an area of...

became part of Serbia after World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, since 1918 and before the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

several of the Bulgarian Exarchate's dioceses were forcefully taken over by the Serbian Orthodox Church

Serbian Orthodox Church

The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...

. While the region of Macedonia was occupied by Bulgaria during World War II

World War II

the local dioceses came temporarily under the control of the Bulgarian Exarchate

Bulgarian Exarchate

Struggle for autocephaly

The very first modern assembly of Macedonian clergy was held near Ohrid in 1943. In 1944 an Initiative Board for the organization of the Macedonian Orthodox Church was officially formed. In 1945 the First Clergy and People's Synod met and adopted a Resolution

Resolution (policy debate)

In policy debate, a resolution or topic is a normative statement which the affirmative team affirms and the negative team negates. Resolutions are selected annually by affiliated schools....

for the restoration of the Ohrid Archbishopric as a Macedonian Orthodox Church. It was submitted to the Serbian Orthodox Church

Serbian Orthodox Church

The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...

, which since 1919 had been the sole church in Vardar Macedonia. The resolution was rejected, but a later one, submitted in 1958 at the Second Clergy and People's Synod, was accepted on June 17, 1959 by the Serbian Orthodox Church under pressure from the Socialist authorities. Dositej Stojković, a Serb, was appointed the first archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Macedonia. The Macedonian Orthodox Church at that time only held autonomous status.

After the Serbian Orthodox Church

Serbian Orthodox Church

The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...

agreed with the decisions in the resolution, the agreement was celebrated in a common liturgy

Liturgy

Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...

by the Macedonian priests and the Serbian Patriarch German in Skopje

Skopje

Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

, a sign that the Serbian church recognized the autonomy of the Macedonian church. In 1962 Serbian Patriarch German

Patriarch German

Patriarch German was the 43rd Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church from 1958 to 1990. Nicknamed the red patriarch by his opponents, he was successful in revitalizing the Serbian Orthodox Church to a certain extent during the Communist period, despite two schisms that occurred during his...

and Russian Patriarch Alexy visited the Macedonian Orthodox Church during the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius. It was on this occasion that the Macedonian Archbishop celebrated his first liturgy with heads of other Orthodox churches.

At its third synod in 1967, on the bicentennial anniversary of the abolition of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, the Macedonian Orthodox Church proclaimed its autocephaly

Autocephaly

and independence from the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Serbian Holy Synod denounced the decision and condemned the clergy as schismatic. Despite various Orthodox and ecumenical efforts, the autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church is not recognized by other national Orthodox churches in defense of Serbian opposition.

Today

Today, the Macedonian Orthodox Church has about 1200 churches in Macedonia organized in 10 eparchies, whose bishops make up the "Holy Synod of Bishops", headed by the "Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia". At its session in 1994, the Holy Synod stated that

After Archbishop Mihail was elected in as head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church in 1993, he stated that the church wanted to cooperate with neighboring Greek, Bulgarian, and Serbian churches. He hoped that:
The church also pays special attention in preserving the national identity and cultural traditions among Macedonian expatriates in Western countries. Many Orthodox churches who are recognized with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople admit the faithful of the Macedonian Orthodox Church to holy communion. The hierarchy of some churches serve with the Macedonian Orthodox priests, but will not serve liturgically with the hierarchy.

Relations with the Serbian Orthodox Church

Since the breakup of Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

, the Serbian Orthodox Church

Serbian Orthodox Church

The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...

has been seeking to restore its control over the Macedonian Orthodox Church. The Macedonian church sees these efforts, supported by other Orthodox churches, as closely connected to the Serbian government agenda. The main issue of dispute mainly revolves around the church's autocephaly, although there are some other minor issues including Macedonia's Serb

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

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 shrine

Shrine

A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....

s from the medieval Nemanjić period.

The two Churches had been negotiating the details of a compromise agreement reached in Niš

Niš

Niš is the largest city of southern Serbia and third-largest city in Serbia . According to the data from 2011, the city of Niš has a population of 177,972 inhabitants, while the city municipality has a population of 257,867. The city covers an area of about 597 km2, including the urban area,...

, Serbia in 2002, which would have given the ethnic Macedonians

Macedonians (ethnic group)

de facto independent status just short of canon

Canon law

Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...

ical 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

Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric

The Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox archdiocese in the Republic of Macedonia...

, its embattled branch in the Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

, in late May 2005 and appointed Jovan as its Archbishop.
The later chain of events turned into a vicious circle

Vicious Circle

Vicious Circle is an album released in 1994 by L.A. Guns. Most of the songs have Phil Lewis on lead vocals, but the track "Nothing Better to Do" features Kelly Nickels on lead vocals, and "Tarantula" is instrumental. MC Bones drums on several songs. Lewis and Bones also played together in the band...

of mutual accusations and incidents involving SOC and, partly, the 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

Forum 18

Forum 18 is a Norwegian human rights organization that promotes religious freedom. The organization's name is based on Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights...

News Service. The government has denied registration of his Church, 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

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...

, he was arrested, and sentenced to 18 months in prison and jailed with "extremely limited visitation rights". On March 19, 2006, after spending 220 days in prison, archbishop Jovan was released http://freearchbishop.com/?p=46.

In turn, SOC denied a Macedonian delegation access to the monastery of Prohor Pčinjski

Prohor Pcinjski

Prohor Pčinjski is an 11th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery in the deep south of Serbia, located in village Klenike, Pčinja District near the border with Macedonia...

, which was the usual site of Macedonian celebration of the national holiday of Ilinden (literally meaning St. Elijah Day) on August 2 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.

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

Republic of Macedonia

. He presides over the Holy Synod of Hierarchs of the church, consisting of 9 metropolitan

Metropolitan bishop

In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...

s and titular bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

s.

Diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

s on the territory of Republic of Macedonia:

Diocese of Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...

, headed by Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid and Macedonia;
Diocese of Polog
Polog
Polog also known as the Polog Valley , is located in the north-western part of the Republic of Macedonia near the border with Serbia.It is divided into Upper and Lower Polog...

and Kumanovo
Kumanovo
Kumanovo is a city in the Republic of Macedonia and is the seat of Kumanovo Municipality which is the largest municipality in the country. Municipal institutions include a city council, mayor and other administrative bodies.-Name:...

, headed by Metropolitan Kiril;
Diocese of Debar
Debar
Debar is a city in the western part of the Republic of Macedonia, near the border with Albania, on the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality.-Geography:...

and Kičevo
Kicevo
Kičevo is a city in the western part of the Republic of Macedonia, located in a valley in the south-eastern slopes of Mount Bistra, between the cities of Ohrid and Gostivar. The capital Skopje is 112 km away. The city of Kičevo is the seat of Kičevo Municipality.-Population:The municipality...

, headed by Metropolitan Timotej;
Diocese of Prespa
Prespa
Prespa is a region in Republic of Macedonia. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is Resen with 9,000 inhabitants....

and Pelagonia
Pelagonia
This is about the geographical plain between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. For the political unit in Macedonia, go to Pelagonia Statistical Region....

, headed by Metropolitan Petar;
Diocese of Strumica
Strumica
Strumica is the largest city in eastern Macedonia, near the Novo Selo-Petrich border crossing with Bulgaria. About 100,000 people live in the region surrounding the city. The city is named after the Strumica River which runs through it...

, headed by Metropolitan Naum;
Diocese of Bregalnica
Bregalnica
Bregalnica is the second largest river in the Republic of Macedonia. It starts as a spring near the mountain city of Berovo and it passes near the cities of Makedonska Kamenica, Kočani, Vinica and Štip, before joining the river Vardar on its way to the Aegean Sea...

, headed by Metropolitan Ilarion;
Diocese of Povardarie
Povardarie
Povardarie is a geographic region in the central part of the Macedonia, and includes all of the canyons, mountains and valleys through which the river Vardar flows....

, headed by Metropolitan Agatangel

Dioceses outside the Republic of Macedonia:

American-Canadian Diocese
American-Canadian Macedonian Orthodox Diocese
The Macedonian Orthodox Diocese of America and Canada is one of 13 dioceses of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Operating a total of 22 churches in Canada and the United States, the diocese is headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Methodius. There are also 5 new churches currently in the process of...

, headed by Metropolitan Metodij
European Diocese, headed by Metropolitan Pimen
Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, administered by Metropolitan Petar of Prespa and Pelagonia

Outside the country, the church is active in 3 dioceses in the diaspora

Diaspora

A diaspora is "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands".The word has come to refer to historical mass-dispersions of...

. The 10 dioceses of the church are governed by ten Episcopes, with around 500 active priests in about 500 parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

es with over 2000 churches and monasteries

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

. The church claims jurisdiction of about twenty living monasteries, with more than 100 monks.

Church calendars follow the old Julian Calendar

Julian calendar

The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...

, and use the archaic names of the months of the year instead of the common Latin-derived names

External links

Dioceses

Churches and Monasteries

St. Kiril i Metodij, Dortmund, Germany
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

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