By Gregory Jenkins
The
Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric (MOC-OA) is an independent
Church centered in Skopje, North Macedonia. It was formed as a division from
the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1967. Although the MOC-OA is not in communion
with any of the fifteen autocephalous Orthodox Churches, priestly
concelebrations do occur.
The
current primate of the MOC-OA is His Beatitude Stephan who holds the title
"Metropolitan of Skopje and Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia and of
Justiniana Prima." He was ordained to the episcopate in 1986 and elected
primate in 1999. With around 2,000,000 faithful, his Church is the largest Christian
Church in North Macedonia.
Historical Background
The
historic Ohrid Archbishopric was established in 1019 by Emperor Basil II, after
he had abolished the patriarchal status of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The
primates of the Archbishopric were elected by the local Church synod. Ohrid had
remained an autocephalous Church until 1767, when the Ecumenical Patriarch
revoked it's autocephaly. In 1874, the Orthodox Christians in Skopje and Ohrid
had joined the schismatic Bulgarian Exarchate. In 1913, the Serbian Orthodox
Church took control over the Orthodox Christians in the North Macedonian region
and, in 1919, became the sole Church presence there.
In
1945, Macedonian clergy had appealed to the Serbian Orthodox Church to organize
an independent Macedonian Orthodox Church as a restoration of the Ohrid
Archbishopric. Initially the Serbians refused, but in 1959 they accepted the
appeal. Dositheos II was appointed as the Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan
of Macedonia. The Macedonian Orthodox Church was granted autonomy but not
complete autocephaly. At a Synod held in 1967, the Macedonian Church
unilaterally declared autocephaly. In response to this the Serbian Church
suspended the Macedonian bishops and condemned the Macedonian Church as
schismatic.
Wanting
to regain jurisdiction over North Macedonia, in 2002, the Serbian Church
offered the North Macedonians a broad autonomous status. Initially three
bishops accepted the offer, but backed down, leaving only Archbishop Jovan as a
supporter. In 2005, Jovan was made "Archbishop of Ohrid" for the
Serbian Orthodox Church. The MOC-OA accuses Jovan of inciting ethnic division
and embezzling money, whereas the Serbians accuse the MOC-OA of persecuting
Jovan.
Recognition
In
2017, because of the historical connection between the Ohrid Archbishopric and
Bulgaria, the MOC-OA appealed to the Bulgarian Holy Synod for the
re-establishment of full communion. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church accepted the
appeal and agreed to work towards recognition of the MOC-OA. Since then, Bulgarian
and North Macedonian hierarchs have met and attended each others' divine
services.
In
2018, the Ecumenical Patriarchate agreed to examine the appeal of the MOC-OA
and issued the following statement: "The Holy Synod, gathered under the
presidency of His All-Holiness, examined the request of the Schismatic Church
of Skopje ... that the Ecumenical Patriarchate take the initiative of the
return of this Church in the canonicity, under the name of Archdiocese of
Ohrid..."
His
All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met with the Prime Minister of
North Macedonia Oliver Spasovski and his predecessor Zoran Zaev on January 13,
2020. They discussed the issue of Church division in the country and the matter
of autocephaly. The Ecumenical Patriarch announced that he would invite Serbian
and North Macedonian hierarchs to discuss an acceptable future for the MOC-OA.
But
the question is, will the Serbian Orthodox Church accept the invitation?
Numerous North Macedonian hierarchs, including Archbishop Stephan, have
expressed their gratitude towards the Ecumenical Patriarchate and their hope
that they regain canonical autocephaly. With the granting of autocephaly to the
Orthodox Church of Ukraine and recent developments in Montenegro, the Serbians
do not seem on board. If they do not cooperate, the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as
the first throne of Orthodoxy and Mother Church of the Balkans, may have to
utilize her canonical and historic prerogatives for the unity of the Church. Is
the Ohrid Archbishopric next?
Πηγή: orthodoxukraine.org
