Skopje, North Macedonia, February 22, 2023
Photo: mpc-spe.mk
The Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric has every intention of guarding and maintaining both its name and its autocephalous status.
The hierarchs of the Synod gathered in a regular session yesterday, February 21. Among the topics discussed was the Church’s relations with other Local Churches.
The hierarchs “welcomed the decisions of those who have recognized the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric as an autocephalous Church or received it into Eucharistic and canonical communion,” reads the Synodal report.
The majority of Local Churches have formally entered into communion with the Macedonian Church since it was granted autocephaly by the Serbian Orthodox Church last June, though not all have recognized its autocephalous status.
Most recently, the Churches of Romania and of the Czech Lands and Slovakia explicitly recognized Macedonian autocephaly, while the Holy Synod of the Georgian Church chose to simply enter into communion with it, without explicitly recognizing its autocephaly.
Moreover, the name of the Macedonian Church remains a contentious issue, but its Holy Synod states clearly:
The Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric is the guardian of the statutory order and norms that refer to its statutory name of MOC-OA and its autocephalous status, and is guided by the holy canons, dogmas, the Holy Scriptures, and the Holy Tradition. The primate and bishops—the members of the Synod of the Holy Macedonian Orthodox Church categorically keep them, maintain them, and do not renounce them.
In general, the Hellenophone Churches reject to the Macedonian Church’s use of the title “Macedonia,” as that is also the name of the bordering region in Greece, while the Bulgarian Church objects to the use of the title “Ohrid,” as it understands itself as the historical continuation of the ancient Ohrid Archbishopric.
The tomos of autocephaly granted by the Serbian Church explicitly refers to the “Macedonian Orthodox Church-Orchid Archbishopric,” while calling on the MOC to work out its name in fraternal dialogue.
Meanwhile, the Patriarchate of Constantinople announced in May that it accepts the Macedonian Church into communion only under the name of “Ohrid”—the word “Macedonia” or any variation thereof may not be used in the name of the Church in Constantinople’s view. Likewise, the Church of Greece accepts the Macedonian Church into communion, while rejecting its autocephaly and its name.
In a spirit of compromise and reconciliation, the Macedonian primate, His Eminence Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid, said in an interview in July that the Greek-speaking Churches are welcome to refer to them as the Church of Ohrid, but they will continue to refer to themselves as Macedonian.
The Bulgarian Church accepted the MOC as canonical already in June, but it took the further step of accepting its autocephaly in December, although stipulating that its primate will be commemorated as “His Beatitude Stefan, Archbishop of North Macedonia,” until a pan-Orthodox consensus can be reached about its name.
Similarly, the Antiochian Patriarchate has entered into communion with the MOC, though with the “aspiration that the general Orthodox consensus about the name and legal status of this Church will be reached as soon as possible.”
The announcements of the Church of Poland, the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia and the Georgian Church all refer only to the “Orthodox Church in North Macedonia,” though they don’t specify how Abp. Stefan will be commemorated in the Divine services.
The Romanian Church accepts the autocephaly of the MOC under the name of the “Archdiocese of Ohrid and North Macedonia, with headquarters in Skopje.”
The Russian Church explicitly refers to the MOC as the “Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric” in its announcement, while the Ukrainian Church announcement refers to the “Macedonian Orthodox Church” and specifies that its primate will be commemorated as “His Beatitude Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid and Macedonia.”
The Macedonian Synod ends its announcement with a brief message about the upcoming fast:
Standing before the Holy Quadragesima (Great Lent), the Holy Synod of the MOC-OA calls its faithful children to mutual forgiveness and blesses their fasting, so that we can worthily welcome the Bright Resurrection of Christ.
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