Metropolitan of Piraeus rejects Macedonian-Ohrid clergy despite Greek Church recognizing them

Piraeus, Greece, November 11, 2022

    

Though it takes issue with its name and autocephalous status, the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece officially recognized the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric as canonical at its session in June.

Greek and Macedonian hierarchs and clergy have concelebrated several times since then, most recently in Orestiada, Greece, on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, a hierarch of the Greek Church, rejected the request of Macedonian clergy, whom he refers to as “Skopje ‘clergy,’” to venerate and celebrate a supplicatory service before the Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos, which is currently in the Church of St. Nicholas in Piraeus.

“I don’t accept them for canonical reasons,” Met. Seraphim writes in his explanation, published on Romfea.

According to Met. Seraphim, he can’t accept the Macedonian Church because it “was a fraudulent construction of … the bloodthirsty dictators Joseph Stalin and Josip Broz (Tito),” aimed at looting Greek Macedonia of its land and history “with the myth of so-called ‘Macedonianism.’”

The Macedonian Church unilaterally separated from the Serbian Church in 1967, while Joseph Stalin died in 1953.

Further, the Church can’t be called the “Macedonian Orthodox Church” because Churches aren’t defined by ethnicity. Rather, he says, there is “an Orthodox Church in the region of Skopje, as there is an Orthodox Church in Greece.”

According to the 2018 Prespa Agreement between Greece and the then-Republic of Macedonia, the country is now known as the Republic of North Macedonia, while the adjective form remains “Macedonian.”

However, for Met. Seraphim, “The recognition of Macedonian nationality and the Macedonian language by the Treaty of Prespa was a criminal act against the Greekness of our Macedonia and the extraordinary struggles of its martyr defenders, because there is no Macedonian nationality.”

In an interview in July, His Eminence Archbishop Stefan, the primate of the Macedonian Church, explained that they have no objections to the Greek Churches referring to them solely as the “Ohrid Archbishopric,” though they will continue to refer to themselves as the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric. At the same time, the Bulgarian Church takes issue with the name “Ohrid Archbishopric,” as it understands itself as the continuation of this ancient Archbishopric.

Further, according to the Greek hierarch, the Macedonian language is a Bulgarian dialect with some Serbian words mixed in.

The Orthodox Church is the pillar and ground of truth; conversely, the devil is the father of lies, Met. Seraphim writes. Therefore:

those who persist in falsehood with stubbornness and fury, with a multitude of statements and actions—these Skopje “clergy,” such as their alleged “Archbishop” Stefan, can’t be the Church of Christ, and for this very reason it’s manifestly incorrect for our Ecumenical Patriarchate to accept them without repentance into Church communion, and of course the attribution of “Autocephaly” to this formation by the Serbian Patriarchate and its recognition by the Russian Patriarchate is criminal, anti-canonical, anti-evangelical, and unacceptable.

Such things happen because the primates of the Orthodox Churches aren’t calling for a pan-Orthodox council, he says.

Given the above, the Greek Holy Synod should reject ecclesiastical communion with the Macedonian Orthodox Church, Met. Seraphim insists, and therefore he personally rejects them.

Thus far, the canonicity of the MOC has been formally recognized by (in addition to the Patriarchate of Serbia) the Synods of the Patriarchates of Constantinople, Bulgaria, Russia, Antioch, and the Churches of Greece and Poland.

MOC hierarchs and clergy have also concelebrated with hierarchs and clergy from the Churches of Jerusalem, Ukraine, Romania, the Czech Lands and Slovakia, and the Orthodox Church in America, though their Synods have not formally addressed the issue.

Thus far, there have no been Synodal decisions from or concelebrations with hierarchs or clergy of the Churches of Alexandria, Georgia, Cyprus, and Albania.

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11/11/2022

See also
Greek Churches can call us “Ohrid,” but we will call ourselves “Macedonian”—MOC primate Greek Churches can call us “Ohrid,” but we will call ourselves “Macedonian”—MOC primate Greek Churches can call us “Ohrid,” but we will call ourselves “Macedonian”—MOC primate Greek Churches can call us “Ohrid,” but we will call ourselves “Macedonian”—MOC primate
Despite the joy of a previously schismatic Church of millions of people returning to the fold of the Orthodox Church, the issue of the Church’s name often takes center stage. Macedonian Church hierarch serves in Greece for first time since its autocephaly Macedonian Church hierarch serves in Greece for first time since its autocephaly Macedonian Church hierarch serves in Greece for first time since its autocephaly Macedonian Church hierarch serves in Greece for first time since its autocephaly
The Liturgy was sung in both Greek and Macedonian. Greek Synod objects to name and territory of Macedonian Orthodox Church Greek Synod objects to name and territory of Macedonian Orthodox Church Greek Synod objects to name and territory of Macedonian Orthodox Church Greek Synod objects to name and territory of Macedonian Orthodox Church
The Permanent Holy Synod of the Church of Greece welcomes the Patriarchate of Constantinople’s decision to recognize the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric as canonical, but has “serious objections and reservations” about the Serbian Church’s decision to grant it autocephaly.
Comments
Philip12/12/2022 4:48 am
Yes!!! As always, blessed Metropolitan Seraphim is on the CORRECT side of the matter! He is truly such a gift from God to stand up for the TRUTH without compromising with falsehood! Forget all the ignorant people who do not understand this issue, we always expect this great loyalty and courage from Met. Seraphim for the truth, thank you! Axios! Glory to God!
Macedonia is Greek Only 11/21/2022 11:45 am
God bless you Metropolitan Seraphim. We support you, millions of us. Continue to stand up for basic reality and the historical truth, which now scandalizes the ignorant and brainwashed. May God open their eyes so they renounce their errors and forgeries. Macedonia is Greek only, Macedonia is in Greece only.
Αλέξανδρος ο Μακεδόνας 11/15/2022 11:20 am
@Ioann Therefore, as I have shown below, even the greatest Saints of Orthodoxy spoke against this issue, as they hated all matter of lies, forgeries, and falsehood, because they loved Christ, Who is Truth. In the same way, Holy Mount Athos, given as a gift to the Mother of God by the Lord Jesus Christ, is concerned with the Truth, which is why the Skopians attempting to steal our Greek Macedonian identity brings “great sadness and sorrow” to the Holy Community of Mount Athos and the Holy Athonite Saints who fought against this foreign propaganda. Indeed, as this website OrthoChristian reported in one of their articles, the Sacred Community of Holy Mount Athos has united its voice with us, the great many hierarchs, clergy, and millions of faithful of the Greek Orthodox Church. As the Garden of the Theotokos Holy Mount Athos said, “We do not accept that the Macedonian identity be given away to a language and people having no relation to the ancient Macedonian Greek dialect and the Greek origin of the ancient Macedonians” and that everyone should be careful about “taking positions contrary to academic truth and historical reality.” Holy Mount Athos prays that “The Defender of the Holy Mountain, the Most Holy Theotokos, enlighten those involved, that they might realize their mistakes, and that they might correct them.” Holy Mount Athos is the Center and Heart of Orthodox Christianity on earth and the Garden of the Mother of God. This statement of Holy Mount Athos ends by noting that the heads of all 20 of the Holy Monasteries of Mount Athos are in agreement on this matter. And, as shown below, even some of the holiest Saints of Orthodox Christianity agree, who were personally visited by the Lord Jesus Christ and the Theotokos. So humble yourself and put aside your own understanding and acknowledge you are the silly one here, unaware of this issue.
Αλέξανδρος ο Μακεδόνας 11/15/2022 11:05 am
@Ioann Wow, you are very wrong and ignorant. First of all, when there is a consensus about something on Holy Mount Athos, the Center of Orthodox Christianity, the first thing you should be doing is putting aside your own view in complete humility and thinking, “Looks like this is an important matter that I am not aware of, since I am a sinful man in the world, but these Holy Monks live in uninterrupted communion with God through constant prayer and fasting on the Garden of the Theotokos.” But no, instead you take your own false view and insult them with horrible words. Shame on you! You do not even know who these Holy Monks are; among them are actual disciples of the Saints of God who knew the Saints personally. But it is clear that you are clueless on how even the Holy Orthodox Saints sent by God viewed this issue. I repeat, one of those who spoke about this is the great Saint Paisios, a Saint so holy that he was personally visited by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Theotokos, and Angels numerous times on Holy Mount Athos. He spoke against the false republic of “North Macedonia,” and even prophesied that it will collapse one day due to their wicked lies and forgeries. The following passages are from his book “The Life of Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain” written by his close disciple Hieromonk Isaac: “As the Prophets of Israel actively participated in the life of their nation in their own way, they prayed, mourned, moved kings, preached repentance, and prophesied about the coming sufferings, the Elder was also not indifferent and apathetic to the issues of the Fatherland. The Prophet was not a nationalist who said: ‘For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, I will not remain quiet (Isaiah 62:1).’ Likewise, the Elder's attitude was pure and spiritual. Though he lived outside the world, he fought like few others for the good of the Fatherland. Admirable was his activity and contribution to our external national issues. He spoke against the anti-Hellenic currents, the forgers of the historical truth, and above all against the unjust territorial claims made against Greece by the Skopians . . . He pointed out ethnic dangers before they even appeared. It helped many to clearly see the foreign propaganda against the Fatherland, and those who had positions and sensitivity, took the appropriate measures. ‘In the year 1992,’ reports a Hagiorite, ‘we visited Elder Paisios with a monk from another country who was a monk in our Monastery. I hastened to introduce him because he was visiting the Elder for the first time. We did not even have time to sit down when Elder Paisios began an intense reprimand on the brother. I was surprised and intervened, saying that the man has forgotten his homeland and is not dealing with ethnic issues, but only with his spiritual training. But Elder Paisios, in a rather intense tone, turns to me and says: "Be quiet, you do not know what you are talking about." Indeed, as it turned out in hindsight, the Elder had well diagnosed the hypocrisy. He predicted the monk’s course. His end was his secret and unblessed departure in the year 1999, after secret negotiations preceded it, and now he is a leading member of the schismatic church of his country. He (Saint Paisios) likened the state of Skopje to ‘a building that is built of bricks and jelly, which are cut into the shape of bricks, and that one day it will collapse.’ The book of the former minister of Northern Greece, Mr. Nikolaos Martis, called "The Falsification of Macedonia History", made the Elder enthusiastic when he read it. "Glory to God", he said, "there are also patriots". He took many books and distributed them with a blessing. The Elder also wrote a praise poem [for Greek Macedonia], which Mr. Martis included in a new edition of his book.” ^ See, the Saint of God had great love for the true Greek Macedonia, and to those who distributed free Orthodox books, he was telling them to also do the same with the book on the true Greek Macedonian history.
Αλέξανδρος ο Μακεδόνας 11/15/2022 10:54 am
@Antiochene Son And since you are Orthodox, you will notice that the Holy Orthodox Saints sent by God on Mount Athos deeply cared about this issue, and that it mattered to them. They hated all matter of lies, forgeries, and falsehood (which is exactly what Vardarska and the Skopians are spreading) because the Saints are lovers of Christ, Who is Truth, and they also loved and defended the Greek Fatherland.
Alex11/15/2022 3:59 am
This is a disappointing take from Met. Seraphim of Piraeus, who is usually on the correct side in most controversies and debates. He is on the wrong side this time. Surely the NAME chosen by a Church for itself does not matter. If a Local Church decided to name itself the "Orthodox Church of Mars", despite being on Earth and not on Mars, would that make them non-canonical, and would it mean that we should reject communion with them? Of course not. It would be weird, and we should tell them in a brotherly way that their name is confusing and mistaken, but it would not lead to any major conflict or break in communion. If they really want to call themselves the "Orthodox Church of Mars" for some reason, well, so be it. It is the same thing here.
Antiochene Son11/14/2022 6:46 pm
@Αλέξανδρος ο Μακεδόνας The only identity that matters is Christ. We are all Orthodox. Nothing else matters.
Ivan to Alexandros11/14/2022 11:59 am
Thank you, Mr. Alexandros, for responding. I bow down to the great saint Paisios; he is one of my favorite saints, and his prayers are felt everywhere. But then, the question arises: the people (including my relatives as well) who were persecuted by the Greeks and other nations, my ancestors who gave their lives for defending the people in this region from the Ottomans and the Nazis, who were massacred by the Bulgarians for not accepting that they were Bulgarians, and countless other examples prove the humble and unique character of the people in this land, and the question now is: How are we allowed to call those people, including myself? We feel the sacrifice of our orthodox ancestors deep within us, and let me emphasize: above all, we feel orthodox and thank God for that, but we can't relate to any other name than Macedonian because that's not some invention of ours, it's historic reality for us.   You guys took our land, remember? The Bucharest agreement, remember? I go to northern Greece, and in many parts they understand my language. How is that, and why is the Macedonian language not recognized in Greece as the language of a minority? Why are you not allowing the priests to baptize Christians with Slavic names? Why did you destroy the churches of God built by "Slavs"?   Forgive me, I don't understand this. It's not our intention to steal from you or harm you Greeks; this is our reality. It's hard to understand since you were not born in these lands. Anyways, everything is God's will; only salvation is important; forgive us for offending you and not understanding you fully; and it is what it is; we are limited by knowledge, and only God knows our hearts. God bless! 
Panagiotis11/14/2022 3:42 am
The Metropolitan is the Bishop of his diocese and he has every right to make that decision, every right. Let us not be hypocrites. There is a diocese in the Donbas that recently decided to join the Russian Orthodox Church, and thereby leave the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. I stated, in my comment to that article on this website, that they and their Bishop have every right to do that! Obviously ethnicity played a role in that decision since the Donbas I believe was once part of Russia, and there is a large Russian population there, and it is majority Russian speaking. Same exact thing happened in the Crimean Dioceses. Their Bishops decided it was best to join the Russian Orthodox Church, and leave the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Again ethnicity obviously played a role in this, since the overwhelming majority of the people of Crimea are Russian, and Crimea was once part of Russia, and they have every right to join the Russian Orthodox Church! Both Crimea and Donbas are now part of Russia, I.E. they have returned to Russia. I love my Macedonian Orthodox Brothers in North Macedonia. They are very intelligent people and I respect them. I was one of the few people who supported their right to an independent Orthodox Church when just about everyone else opposed this, including my Greek Brothers, Serbian Brothers, Russian Brothers, Bulgarian Brothers, etc. But my North Macedonian Brothers have to be realistic and have to accept historical truth. I know they are proud to have their own Nation now, but they must not make exaggerations and inaccurate statements. This is why the Serbians, Bulgarians, and Greeks have issues with North Macedonia. My Orthodox Brothers in North Macedonia should be more concerned about the large Muslim Albanian population within North Macedonia. There have been problems in the past, and I believe they came close to a civil war. I hope North Macedonia does not become another Kosovo. If it does, then I guarantee you ALL Orthodox will support our North Macedonian Brothers regardless of whether we are Serbs or Bulgarians or Greeks. We argue among each other, but we are one large Orthodox Family, and when others unjustly attack our Orthodox Family, then we rightfully defend each other. That is one of the reasons why I urge all of my Orthodox Brothers, regardless of ethnicity, to support our Russian Orthodox Brothers in this war. The internationalists hate Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church because they are conservative and they speak the truth! Do not believe what the Western masters of lies and deception are saying. I have studied history and ethnic groups for years. Believe me when I tell you my friends, the West Power Elite and the internationalists hate ALL Orthodox People! All of us, including our Ukrainian Orthodox Brothers. The internationalists are using the Ukrainian People to advance their own agenda, employing divide and conquer techniques to keep our Orthodox Brothers fighting and killing each other. The truth will come out one day, just like the truth has come out about what the internationalist Monster Communists and Bolshevik satanic animals did to our people. Don't be brainwashed. Educate yourself and put the pieces of the puzzle together. Wake up, straighten up, and be a strong conservative Orthodox Christian! Glory be to our God! Just my humble opinion.
anonsayswhat11/14/2022 2:51 am
@Αλέξανδρος - I agree w/ most of what you said, but I disagree with not communing with them. They are not schismatic. Are they also participating in lies by calling themselves the MOC? Possibly, but to what extent and method - only the Lord knows. The dubious creation of the false state of Macedonia which serves the purpose of dividing and destroying the Greeks, to down the line break apart the Greek nation in separate smaller countries are all plans that will be resolved by the Lord. I know St. Paisios mentioned this. When asked about FYROM, he brushed it aside quickly and responded that if there is any concern for the Greeks, it would from Albania. Even in that instance he didn't even mention Turkey as an issue. On one hand, I believe strongly in confessing the faith, but when this geo-political issue which has no bearing on authenticity of their Church and the validity of their mysteries (unless I'm completely wrong and the Saints have spoken otherwise which again I'm unaware of) - then it would have been proper to set these issues aside. It doesn't help when I remember this very same triple-dosed-up (possibly more now) Metropolitan called those who are unvaccinated guilty of fatricide.
Ioann11/13/2022 8:00 pm
Αλέξανδρος ο Μακεδόνας : It is indeed silly for the monasteries of Mount Athos to make political statements against a nation, the Republic of North Macedonia. Not only do these statements reveal the impotence of the monks in worldly matters, but they reveal to us, the Orthodox Christian laity, the double-mindedness of these monks who have not truly left the world.
Antigoni, Larnakas11/13/2022 5:05 pm
Ο Άγιος Παΐσιος είχε απαντήσει σε όσους με αγωνία τον ρωτούσαν για την προκλητική στάση των Σκοπίων και τη βούλησή τους να καπηλευτούν το όνομα της Μακεδονίας μας. Το ψέμα έχει κοντά ποδάρια και ο Αγιορείτης μοναχός παρομοίαζε το κράτος των Σκοπίων με οικοδόμημα που είναι κτισμένο με τούβλα και με φαρσαλινούς χαλβάδες, που είναι κομμένοι σε σχήμα τούβλων, και που φυσικό είναι κάποτε να καταρρεύσει. Έλεγε μάλιστα περιπαικτικά στους ανήσυχους Έλληνες, που τον ρωτούσαν με περισσή αγωνία, και τα εξής εύθυμα σε ό,τι αφορά τα Σκόπια και τις ενδόμυχες επιδιώξεις τους: «Βρε παιδιά… Ο τσιγγάνος αν βάλει φουστανέλα γίνεται τσολιάς»; Μια φορά μάλιστα ο Άγιος Παΐσιος επικαλέστηκε και τον Άγιο Πατροκοσμά τον Αιτωλό στο θέμα της Μακεδονίας. Ήταν όταν και πάλι ρωτήθηκε τι άραγε θα γίνει με την τύχη της ελληνικότατης αυτής περιοχής και τότε ο Γέροντας είπε τα εξής: «Το είπε και ο Άγιος Κοσμάς. Φως φανάρι είναι! Αυτοί ούτε δύναμη έχουν ούτε δίκιο έχουν. Πολλά χωριά θα καταστραφούν, αλλά στις τρεις χώρες μια θα μείνει»! Λυπάμαι τους καημένους τους Σκοπιανούς που οι «μεγάλοι τυχοδιώκτες» εδώ και δεκαετίες τους εμπαίζουν και τους χρησιμοποιούν για τις δικές τους επιδιώξεις, αλλά πιότερο λυπάμαι τους νεοραγιάδες συμπατριώτες μας που ζουν μέσα στην πλάνη μακριά από την Αλήθεια.
Αλέξανδρος ο Μακεδόνας 11/13/2022 2:24 pm
@Ivan I see your good intentions, however there are a lot of people in this comments section who are ignorant on what the Holy Orthodox Saints of God have said about this topic. They say “who cares,” or “there are more important things” or “this is silly,” or continue to spread lies, and yet they are totally unaware of how the Orthodox Saints saw this issue. You too do not know, as you think this is causing unnecessary division due to pride, which is not true at all. The truth is that the Athonite Saints fought against the foreign propaganda made against Greece and defended the Greekness of Macedonia. One of those who spoke about this is the great Saint Paisios, considered by Orthodox Christians to be the greatest Saint of the last century, a Saint so holy that he was visited numerous times by the Theotokos, Angels, and Saints on Holy Mount Athos, and even our Lord Jesus Christ Himself visited him personally. Since you say you love the Saints and venerate them, pay attention to their words. The following are quotes from the book of Saint Paisios called “The Life of Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain” written by his close disciple Hieromonk Isaac: “As the Prophets of Israel actively participated in the life of their nation in their own way, they prayed, mourned, moved kings, preached repentance, and prophesied about the coming sufferings, the Elder was also not indifferent and apathetic to the issues of the Fatherland. The Prophet was not a nationalist who said: “For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, I will not remain quiet (Isaiah 62:1).” Likewise, the Elder's attitude was pure and spiritual. Though he lived outside the world (on Holy Mount Athos), he fought like few others for the good of the Fatherland. Admirable was his activity and contribution to our external national issues. He spoke against the anti-Hellenic currents, the forgers of the historical truth, and above all against the unjust territorial claims made against Greece by the Skopians . . . He pointed out ethnic dangers before they even appeared. It helped many to clearly see the foreign propaganda against the Fatherland, and those who had positions and sensitivity, took the appropriate measures. Regarding the Macedonian issue, a senior officer reported: “I was in the middle of doing some things and had not received any news. The Elder opened my eyes. At first I was puzzled and said: ‘What are these things that the Elder says, and how does he know them? Then I understood.’” Already in 1977, when he went to Australia, the Elder mentioned the Macedonian issue. Defending the Greekness of Macedonia, he posted in his Archontariki the text of the Prophet Daniel referring to the King of the Greeks, Alexander, (Daniel 8:20-21; 10:20) next to it a large paper image of an Angel from a Serbian Monastery to show the text. He likened the state of Skopje to a building that is built of bricks and jelly, which are cut into the shape of bricks, and that one day it will collapse. The book of the former minister of Northern Greece, Mr. Nikolaos Martis, called "The Falsification of Macedonian History", made the Elder enthusiastic when he read it. "Glory to God", he said, "There are also patriots". He took many books and distributed them with a blessing. The Elder also wrote a praise poem [for Macedonia in Greece, the only true Macedonia], which Mr. Martis included in a new edition of his book.” ^ This is from the book of Saint Paisios. The Saint had great love for the true Greek Macedonia, and to pilgrims who distributed free Orthodox Christian books, he was telling them to also buy and distribute the book by historian Mr. Martis on the true Greek Macedonian History. Also, skopians stealing our Greek Macedonian name has already been condemned by all 20 Monasteries of Holy Mount Athos, the Center of Orthodox Christianity on earth and the Garden of the Theotokos. So, this is a very serious issue, and those who think it is silly are totally ignorant. God bless Met. Seraphim.
Αλέξανδρος ο Μακεδόνας 11/13/2022 12:30 pm
@Antiochene Son Who cares? The entire Mount Athos cares, which is why all 21 of the Holy Monasteries of Mount Athos have condemned anyone else using the name of Macedonia except for Greece, because it is our identity and heritage. Not only that, but even the most revered Orthodox Saints of all time such as St. Paisios spoke against the foreign propaganda and lies made against Greece, and he specifically defended the Greekness of Macedonia. Read his book and biography. If it seems silly to you, but it is serious to Mount Athos and literal Saints, then you are ignorant and need to learn more. Also, Macedonians never disappeared, they were and are Greeks and still live today in northern Greece, so that example with Egypt is utterly irrelevant. Stay out of a topic you know nothing about.
Αλέξανδρος ο Μακεδόνας11/13/2022 12:17 pm
@Александар Македонски This is absolutely ridiculous. It really proves you have no idea what you are saying. Why do you do this to yourselves? You are very very confused, and you are believing in lies. If you want to be an Orthodox Christian, then you must be willing to reject lies and seek the Truth, not spread more lies due to ignorance and jealousy. First of all, Macedonia is OUR name and it has always been Greek. Macedonians are Greeks, not slavs, because the ancient Macedonians were not slavic, they were Greek. Every historian knows that Alexander the Great was a Greek who spread Greek culture throughout the world, it is universally acknowledged that he was a Greek and everything he touched he made it Greek. His father Philip was also a Greek, and the ancient Macedonian language was the Greek language. Basic facts. You cannot steal our Macedonian name or identity from us. Yes, you are copying and pasting the Holy Scriptures, but you are ignorant on the very verses you are posting. You want to copy and paste Acts 16 which says “Macedonia,” but you don’t realize that the Macedonia in these verses you are posting is the GREEK Macedonia in northern Greece. It has nothing to do with the former yugoslavic republic you are living in now, the Holy Apostle traveled to the real Macedonia which is in northern Greece. Acts 16–17 gives the account of the Holy Apostle Paul’s church-planting activities in Macedonia. They are ALL cities in Greece, and they were always ancient Greek cities, because Macedonia is Greek only and only in Greece. The churches planted were Philippi (Acts 16:12–40), Thessaloniki the capital of Macedonia (Acts 17:1–9), and Veria (Acts 17:10–14). Wherever the Bible mentions Macedonia, it is all located in Greece. So even from the time of the Holy Bible, it is proved in the Scriptures themselves that this region of northern Greece was always called Macedonia. Greece DID NOT “decide” to “change” the name in 1987, who do you think you are fooling? We are not uneducated like you. Stop your cheap propaganda as you are simply humiliating yourselves, nothing else. What you are saying is simply false, it is utterly ridiculous how you can believe such LIES. Even from 1977, when Saint Paisios the Athonite went to Australia, he mentioned the Macedonian issue and defended the Greekness of Macedonia, and he is considered one of the holiest and greatest Saints of Orthodox Christianity. Also, the Greeks in Macedonia have always been proud of their Macedonian identity and have always called themselves Macedonians. The Greeks who took up arms to fight for the liberation of Macedonia were called Makedonomakhoi or “Macedonian fighters” as far back as 1903. After the Balkan Wars, Greece was the first modern state to use the name Macedonia as an administrative unit in 1912, whereas Yugoslavia only did this as late as 1944, and this was literally a puppet state of Nazi Germany in the territory of Yugoslavia that had been occupied by the Kingdom of Bulgaria following the invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941. Your country was known as Vardar Banovina (Vardarska) during the time of the nine banovinas of Yugoslavia, and this is the real name of your state, it is NOT Macedonia, because Macedonia is Greek only and only in Greece. Why do I need to explain such basic history to you? Seriously, read a history book. Greeks called the northern Greece area Macedonia and called themselves Macedonian people since 2000 BC. We even have Greek newspapers from as far back as the 1870s showing that Greece has ALWAYS called our northern region as Macedonia. All the evidence is available for you to see with your own eyes, so you have no excuse to be ignorant or believe in foolish lies. Stop this wicked propaganda, how dare you invoke the Name of the Holy Trinity after spewing such lies and nonsense! Repent and see for yourself here: https://www.quora.com/Did-Greece-change-the-name-of-Northern-Greece-to-Macedonia-after-1988/answer/Alexandros-Kallares
Aaron M V 11/13/2022 11:43 am
I think churches need to stop stressing on ethnicity and boundaries as by doing so they are killing the basic principle of Christianity, "to love thy brother as thyself" and tearing the body of Christ. Instead of actually preserving unity they are tearing apart the body of Christ to satisfy their needs.
Ivan to Alexandros11/12/2022 11:19 am
Mr. Alexandros, there are many of us who do not consider Alexander the Great to be Macedonian by nationality. We called him that because of the region. We the people didn't install the monument in Skopje, the politicians took big money out of that project. However, politics aside, if you are an Orthodox Christian, you have to accept the fact that God gave us free will and accept us. By the canons, the Church-Ohrid Archbishopric is as canonical as it gets. So, why are you trying to divide the body of Christ because of your pride in your national identity? And also, please don’t ignore our personal experience, since my grandfather and great-grandparents all come from what we call Aegean Macedonia; they were all persecuted and their homes seized, just because they spoke Macedonian. They always spoke the language they called "Macedonian", it's not anything new to us. Hundreds of thousands of people still speak or know this language in Aegean Macedonia. My ancestors from Aegean Macedonia were simple peasants and never read a book about history; they just knew what their fathers had taught them. They didn’t teach them to act superior to others or to act like "Macedonian" is something reserved only for Greeks or only for Slavs. There is physical material that proves the existence of the Slavic Christians who were calling themselves Macedonians in these regions, and that’s completely natural because this whole region was always known in history as "Macedonia." So I don’t understand how you can make a name Greek, Serbian, or Macedonian. A name is a name and can be translated into many languages and used by all; you can’t "own" a name. Did you receive something that God didn’t give you? If God gave you this, which you consider a treasure, then why don't you share it with others? Why do you hate us? I’m telling you once again, my grandparents and great-grandparents spoke Macedonian, and they worked the land all of their lives. They didn't steal your precious name out of hatred, they just lived their lives. They were people born on the land of Macedonia and spoke the Slavonic alphabet. The people of the past were not preoccupied with their national identity like today. You can call us as you wish, and we can call ourselves as we wish. Comparing ourselves to Bulgarians or Serbians or, I don't know who, is primitive because everybody knows who they are and where they come from; we are not that stupid; you know, we also have a brain as a gift from God. I don’t mind being called a Bulgarian or any other name; I will forgive you in the name of God, but that simply isn't the truth and you believe in a lie because I don’t know any of my ancestors who spoke Bulgarian, identified as Bulgarians, or taught me that I'm Bulgarian, Serbian, or anything else. And let's remember that first of all we should identify ourselves as ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS(if we are members of the Church) and only then we can mention the place where we are from, etc. We respect you Greeks very much, especially your great saints, we love them, venerate them. Let's be brothers and sisters in Christ, amen. 
Zac11/12/2022 5:04 am
Yikes. This is silly. If we stopped communing with Orthodox Churches on the basis of the fact that their administrative structures were formed by or with the permission of secular authorities with whom we disagreed, there'd be no one left.
Panagiotis11/12/2022 4:31 am
Let me preface my remarks by stating that I was one of the few people who supported an independent Orthodox Church in North Macedonia when my Serbian Brothers, Greek Brothers, and others opposed it. One of the reasons for this is I did not want our Macedonian Brothers to become Uniate Traitors. But what this Metropolitan has stated is true. The Macedonian Slavic People are descended largely from Bulgarian People, and that is why their language is a dialect of Bulgarian. There were no Slavic Macedonians at the time the Bible was written. All references in the Bible to Macedonia are references to Greek Macedonia. All of the Macedonians at the time the Bible were written were Greek. Alexander the Great and all of the ancient Macedonians were ALL Greek. There were NO Slavs living in the southern Balkans until centuries after the death of Alexander the Great. And yes the Imposter Tito was largely responsible for creating this myth of so-called Macedonia. My Serbian Brothers have stated this many times. The real Josip Broz Tito died in the Spanish Civil War, and was replaced by an imposter from a wealthy family from Poland, whose real surname was Weiss, or variation thereof. NSA did a study on speeches of imposter Tito, and indeed stated that he did NOT speak Serbo Croatian like a native inhabitant of Yugoslavia, but instead spoke Serbo Croatian like someone from POLAND or Russia. The imposter was installed by the internationalists, just like they installed their puppets in the so-called USSR. Most of the early TOP Bolsheviks and early TOP communists were NOT of Russian origin, and many of them changed their surnames to conceal their NON-Russian ethnicity from the Russian People. Three of the TOP Soviet communists were the "Satanic Three" from the UKRAINE, I.E. Leon Trotsky (born Leiba Bronstein), Lazar Kaganovich, and Genrikh Yagoda. Now years later, we see that the internationalists are still up to their sinister deeds in the Ukraine. They planned the coup in the Ukraine, and they planned this war in the Ukraine. Take a look at three of the top leaders of Ukraine, and you will see that they are apparently not only NOT Orthodox Christians, but apparently they are NOT even of ethnic Ukrainian descent! President of the Ukraine is apparently of pure Ashkenazi Jewish descent, I.E. his ancestors apparently originated in German speaking lands far west of the Ukraine. The Ashkenazi traditionally spoke Yiddish, which is a German based language. The assassin guards from Hungary who killed Holy Tzar Martyr Nicholas II and his family allegedly spoke Yiddish and/or German, and that is how they communicated with the head assassin Yankel Yurovsky, who was allegedly of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and allegedly spoke German and/or Yiddish. Let us PRAY to Almighty GOD, the Panagia, and Holy Tzar Martyr Nicholas II to protect our Russian Orthodox Brothers! Glory be to our True God Jesus Christ! Just my humble opinion.
Александар Македонски11/12/2022 2:29 am
My dear Greek friend, I am just copy pasting the holy scriptures, don't be jealous of our name, you have your own name: Greece, isn't it a beautiful name? Please tell me I am currently writing you in English, does that make me an English native? Same if Alexander spoke the Greek language does that make him a Greek native? I invite you to take cautiously the "truth" of the world ("winners" write "history"). Unlike Romans, Macedonians were deeply respectful of other cultures and civilisations. While the Romans were systematically imposing their culture and destroying others, Macedonians were respecting others to the extend they were adopting everything good in them eventually rejecting the rest. For example they respected philosophers like Aristotle, but rejected well known Greek homosexuality (despite the world "truth" this is something cool). Greek natives were ruling the seas and the trading harbours, therefore once Philip, Alexander's father, conquered the Greek cities (a Greek state did exist at that time) he just kept the same language already in place for trading, like English nowadays. Alexander was the king of many people Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, Indians ... but he called himself Macedonian, not Greek, nor gypsy or something else. They are not many archeological artefacts left of the antic Macedonia as the Roman empire destroyed it on purpose, but you probably heard about the Rosetta Stone. There are 3 texts: the upper one in Ieroglyphs, the lower one in ancient Greek, and the middle one in Etruscan alphabet but Macedonian language. You can find a doctorate thesis in English on this matter online from Tentov and Boshevski who deciphered the middle text like Champollion deciphered the upper text 2 centuries ago. Bulgarians were originally native Tatars from the Asian steps who adopted the "local mother" tongue eg Macedonian, after several centuries of mixing with local women. Macedonians are Slavic native Europeans like Cyril and Method from Solun (you call it Thessaloniki) for example who evangelized all Slavic people. Regarding politician and their declarations or agreements, this has no special meaning, the Truth remains what it is. About the names, MAK is the poppy crop. Until nowadays the finest poppy crop in the world is from Macedonia 99,9% purity while Afghan poppy is barely 90%. In your language Makedon it is probably a synonym for tall, as Macedonian are tall while Greek are short. Aleksandar had certainly several surnames in the various languages he conquered. Certainly Alexandros in the Greek language suits him well, as he was truly protecting people. Do you know what is the meaning of "Russian" in Macedonian language? It means blond. Do you know what is the meaning of "Ukraine" in Macedonian? It means "towards the end". Do you know what "Sloven" means in Macedonian? It means lettered. My friend in reality, after the Roman empire defeated the remainings of the Macedonian empire, many Macedonians moved towards current Ukraine. The Roman empire settle strongly in current Roumania to prevent them from coming back in their homeland. Nevertheless some certainly came back especially during the barbarian invasions of the 6th century. A recent genetic research from Igenea Institute in Switzerland showed clearly that current Macedonians are the closest people from antic Macedonia. Now please tell me, how did the Greek state use to call their Northern region until 1987 ? Have a look, it use to call it officially "new territories" until 1987 when they changed it and decided to name it Macedonia. Another point, why are there so many cities with the prefix NEA (which means NEW) in the current Northern Greece region? NEA Potidea, NEA Vrasna, NEA Pori aso... ? It seems to me the Asian Greek refugees hosted there were maybe nostalgic from their Asian roots... Glory be to the holy Trinity. Luke 10:20 [20]However, do not rejoice that the spirits are subjected to you but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
Alex11/12/2022 1:28 am
@Αλέξανδρος ο Μακεδόνας Actually the oldest version of the name Alexander is not Alexandros. It is Alaksandu. (Hittite, 13th century BC) In Romanian the name is Alexandru and in short we also say Sandu. Both versions being more similar to Alaksandu than Alexandros. Also, the population of the Byzantine Empire called their land Romania.
Antiochene Son11/12/2022 12:24 am
@Αλέξανδρος ο Μακεδόνας ... who cares? There are no original Egyptians in Egypt, yet they're all called Egyptians. There are many cases in history of the original nation disappearing or moving while the new inhabitants take the old name for themselves. This fervor seems silly to the rest of us.
Αλέξανδρος ο Μακεδόνας 11/11/2022 11:28 pm
@Александар Македонски Why are you falsely twisting the Scriptures in such a way to make it agree with your jealousy and pride? It is disgusting. You want to accuse others of ignoring the Holy Spirit-inspired Scriptures while at the same time twisting them in such ignorance? How terrible! Your condemnation falls upon yourself. Where is the “Macedonia” located in the verse you cited? It is in GREECE. Indeed, the Holy Bible says that the Holy Apostle Paul traveled to Macedonia in northern Greece. Acts 16–17 gives the account of St. Paul’s church-planting activities in Macedonia. They are ALL cities in Greece, and they were always ancient Greek cities, because Macedonia is Greek only and only in Greece. The churches planted were Philippi (Acts 16:12–40), Thessaloniki the capital of Macedonia (Acts 17:1–9), and Veria (Acts 17:10–14). Wherever the Bible mentions Macedonia, it is all located in Greece. Furthermore, the Holy Prophet Daniel in the Old Testament prophesies Alexander the Great as the “King of Greece” and his coming empire as a Greek Kingdom (Daniel 8:20-21; 10:20). Greek became the universal language, and Greek culture was required in all parts of Alexander the Great’s Empire. Everyone knows this. The Greekness of Macedonia is the basic accepted world truth, and the Greekness of Macedonians is universally acknowledged, according to literally every legitimate study and research. The word “Macedonia” itself is literally a Greek word, from Μακεδόνες meaning the “highlanders”, and the name Alexander is also from Greek, ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, from two ancient Greek words, αλέξειν (alexin) “to defend, protect” and ἀνδρός (andros) “man.” Alexander the Great was Greek, spoke Greek, the ancient Macedonians were Greeks and the ancient Macedonian language was the Greek language, and King Alexander spread Greek Hellenic culture throughout the world. These are the basic facts, as even Holy Prophet Daniel wrote. This is why the Old Testament Scriptures were translated into the Greek Septuagint used by our Holy Orthodox Church, and is why the New Testament is written in Greek. As Saint Paisios said, “As a people, we (the Greeks) have a great responsibility to God. From ancient times, God has shown us His special favor. It was in His providence the creation of the infinite state of Alexander the Great, in order to transmit the lights of Greek Civilization to the barbarians and, in particular, the Greek Language, in order to spread more easily, in the middle of it, the Holy Gospel.” On the other hand, the current citizens of the former yugoslavic republic speak a Slavo-Bulgarian dialect, use Serbian Cyrillic, and are in fact Bulgarians, genetically, linguistically, and culturally. As even your own first president, Kiro Gilgorov (1991-1999), admitted himself: “We are slavs who came in this area in the 6th century AD, there is no connection between us and Alexander the Great, we are not the descendants of the ancient Macedonians.” Also, Ljubčo Georgievski, your 3rd prime minister, said, “In every place where Alexander left a trace of his presence, it was a trace of his Greek origin, and today we have and can see hundreds of monuments from his time period where he starts with the words: ‘I, the Hellene (Greek) Alexander…’ and after the death of Alexander, the world that he builds and leaves behind is a Greek world and is called ‘the Hellenization,’ and these are the clear indicators that the entire world science has recognized. Why don’t we want to understand that?”
Александар Македонски11/11/2022 8:36 pm
Macedonia welcomed many Greeks as refugees from Asian to save them from the Turks, after a while they stole the land and expelled the Macedonians, finally now they pretend Macedonians do not exist. Glory be to the holy Trinity. Act 16 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: There was a certain Macedonian man, standing and beseeching him, and saying, Pass over into Macedonia and help us. 10 And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go forth to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to announce to them the glad tidings. Matthew 12:32 And whosoever shall have spoken a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming [one].
Alex11/11/2022 8:11 pm
Geez, give it up Met. Seraphim (of Piraeus)...you have more important things to worry about other than who can use 'Macedonian' in front of their churches official title.
Antiochene Son11/11/2022 6:58 pm
"Churches aren’t defined by ethnicity" ... "the Treaty of Prespa was a criminal act against the Greekness of our Macedonia" ... sounds like a contradiction.
Basil11/11/2022 6:43 pm
This is stupid. We expect better from Metropolitan Seraphim.
Steve11/11/2022 6:36 pm
Sounds like the Russian Church really jumped the gun on this one.
James11/11/2022 6:19 pm
And thus the good Metropolitan finds himself in the dubious position of being in communion with those who are in communion with a non-church? Same problem with the Moscow Patriarchate. Some will rush to terms like “messy,” “not black and white,” etc. Except the tradition is really simple: if one is consistent, you can’t (knowingly and openly) have a chain of communion to non-churches, heretics, and schismatics. Sometimes the reality is messy, but it’s simply not here: the Metropolitan knows well who accepts the Macedonian Church and who doesn’t. Just like the MP knows who serves with (1) those who serve with (2) the false new church in Ukraine.
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