User:Antarese 12/Macedonian Orthodox Church
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The Macedonian Orthodox Church (Macedonian: Македонска Православна Црква) is that body of Christians who are united under the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia. It is an autocephalous ("self-headed") Eastern Orthodox Church, which is not in communion nor is its autocephaly recognized by other Orthodox churches.
The Church exercises jurisdiction over Orthodox Christians in the Republic of Macedonia and Macedonians in neighboring countries, as well as exarchates in the diaspora.
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[edit] History
[edit] Origins
During the Turkish administration of Macedonia, the Archbishopric of Ohrid was abolished and annexed to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. When Turkish rule ended following the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), Macedonia was divided among the victors. Northern Macedonia (Vardar), present day Republic of Macedonia, was incorporated into the newly formed Kingdom of Yugoslavia. By agreement with Constantinople, the Orthodox population was integrated into the Patriarchate of Serbia.
[edit] Struggle for autocephaly
When the communists took power in Yugoslavia following World War II, they decided to reorganize Yugoslavia on a federal basis and provided for the creation of a separate Macedonian Republic in March 1945. During the same period, the government supported efforts by the Orthodox population in the newly formed Macedonian Republic to establish a separate Macedonian Orthodox Church. [citation needed] In 1944, in Skopje, a Resolution of restoration of the Archdiocese of Ohrid as the Macedonian Orthodox Church was submitted to the Serbian Orthodox Church who had since 1919 been the sole titulary. This resolution was rejected.
In October 1958, an Ecclesiastical and National Council of 220 priests and laity was held in Ohrid which proposed the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid and the autonomy of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
It elected three new bishops for the three dioceses of the church. This was considered an irregular election, as only one bishop was present. But the new church declared itself in canonical unity with the Serbian Orthodox Church in the person of the Serbian Patriarch. In June 1959 the Serbian Holy Synod accepted this fait accompli, and the next month the three bishops-elect were consecrated by Serbian Orthodox bishops.
The Serbian church agreed with these decisions in the resolution AS. No 47/1959 and 6/1959, minutes 57 of June 17/4, 1959. That agreement was celebrated in a common liturgy by the Macedonian priests and the Serbian Patriarch German in 1959 in Skopje, as a sign that Serbian church recognizes an autonomy of the Macedonian church. In 1962 Serbian Patriarch German and Russian Patriarch Alexius I visited the Macedonian Orthodox Church. On the feast of Saints Methodius and Cyril in Ohrid two patriarchs and the Macedonian Metropolitan Dositheus II concelebrated Holy Liturgy as the first liturgy of the head of the Macedonian church with heads of other Orthodox churches.
During the Third Clergy and Laity Assembly on July 19, 1967, in Ohrid, the Macedonian Orthodox Church was self-proclaimed as autocephalous, which was the official public will of the people in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia.
Many Orthodox Churches admit the faithful of the Macedonian Orthodox Church to communion. The hierarchy of some Churches serve with the priests of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, but will not serve liturgically with the hierarchy of the Church. Some also recognise the need for Macedonian clergy to be able to serve with hierarchs from outside the Macedonian church, and to provide an open channel for the resolution of various pastoral problems Macedonian clergy cannot resolve within the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
[edit] Relations with the Serbian Orthodox Church
Since the breakup of Yugoslavia and the end of Communist repression of the Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church has been in conflict with the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which has yet to gain recognition from the Patriarchate of Constantinople or any other autocephalous church. The issue of dispute is the method used to gain autocephaly, the issue of the Orthodox Serb minority (according to the last census, there are 40,000 citizens of the country declared as ethnic Serbs) and the question of some hundreds of Serb Orthodox shrines from the medieval Nemanjić period.
The two Churches had been negotiating the details of a compromise agreement reached in Niš, Serbia in 2002, which would have given the Macedonians de facto independent status just short of canonical 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 Kičevo; and Metropolitan Naum of Strumica). After political officials exerted pressure on the clergy of the Macedonian church for accepting the agreement, [citation needed] the Bishops later reneged on the agreement, leaving only Archbishop Jovan of Ohrid (Zoran Vraniškovski) from the Macedonian side in agreement. Suddenly the signed agreement was rejected by the Macedonian government and the Holy Synod of the Macedonian church. In turn, the Serbian Orthodox Church granted full autonomy to the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric, its embattled branch in the Republic of Macedonia, in late May 2005 and appointed Jovan as its Archbishop.
The later chain of events turned into a vicious circle of mutual accusations and incidents involving the Serbian church and, partly, the Serbian government on one side, and the Macedonian church, backed by the Macedonian government on the others. 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 News Service [1]. The government has denied registration of his church [2], 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, he was arrested, sentenced to 18 months in prison [2] and jailed [3] with "extremely limited visitation rights" [4]. On March 19th, 2006, after spending 220 days in prison, Jovan was released [5].
Also, a much greater impact for the decision of Jovan's arrest made his financial malversations, that is, his inappropriate usage of the church fund. In September 2005 he was also accused of embezzlement of church funds at the time when he still was clergyman of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
In turn, the Serbian church denied Macedonian delegation access to the monastery of Prohor Pčinjski (within the traditional borders of Macedonia), which was the usual site of Macedonian celebration of the national holiday of Ilinden uprising (the feast of St. Elijah) [6]. Macedonian border police often denied Serbian priests entry into the country in clerical garb [7].
Despite public appeals from both churches for "Christian brotherhood and unity", both sides did little to settle the dispute.
[edit] Doctrine and practices
As with other Orthodox Churches, the Macedonian Orthodox Church places the emphasis on preservation rather than evolution or adaptation of its doctrine and practices. The Church celebrates its feasts according to the Julian calendar (old style). Church Slavonic is used for the majority of religious ceremonies, while standard Macedonian is commonly used for non-scripted events such as sermons and confessions.
[edit] Organization
As of 2005, the Macedonian Orthodox Church is headed by Archbishop Stephen of Ohrid and Macedonia. He presides over the Holy Synod of Hierarchs of the MOC, consisting of 9 metropolitans and titular bishops.
Dioceses on the territory of Republic of Macedonia:
- Diocese of Skopje, headed by His Beatitude Archbishop Stephen of Ohrid and Macedonia;
- Diocese of Polog and Kumanovo, headed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Cyril;
- Diocese of Debar and Kičevo, headed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Timothy;
- Diocese of Prespa and Pelagonia, headed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Peter;
- Diocese of Strumica, headed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Naum;
- Diocese of Bregalnica, headed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Hilarion;
- Diocese of Povardarie, headed by the Most Reverend Metropolitan Agatangel
Other bishops include the Most Reverend Metropolitan Methodius of the American-Canadian Diocese; the Most Reverend Pimen of the European Diocese; the Most Reverend Gorazd, former head of the European Diocese, and the Reverend Bishop Clement, Auxiliary Bishop of Heraclea.
Outside the country, the MOC is pastorally active in 6 dioceses in the diaspora. The 13 dioceses of the MOC are governed by ten Episcopes, with around 500 active priests in about 500 parishes with over 2000 churches and monasteries. The church claims jurisdiction of about twenty living monasteries, with more than 100 monks.
[edit] Gallery
 Church of Saint Jovan - Ohrid |
 Monastery of Holy Mother - Kichevo |
 A small church above the Bitola dedicated to Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste |
Plaosnik1.jpg
St Panteleimon on the site of St. Clement’s Monastery, Plaosnik, Ohrid |
 Saint Jovan Bigorski monastery near the city of Debar |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ The Macedonian Orthodox Church claims continuity with historical Archbishopric of Ohrid, an autonomous Eastern Orthodox Church under the tutelage of the Patriarch of Constantinople, which existed between 1019 and 1767, but these claims are not recognized by other Orthodox churches.
- ^ The Macedonian State Religion Commission denies the group to be registered as a religious group saying that only one group may be registered for each confession and that the name was not sufficiently distinct from that of the Macedonian Orthodox Church
[edit] External links
- Official Website (Macedonian) (English)
- Premin Portal (Macedonian)
[edit] Dioceses
- Diocese of Australia and New Zealand
- Diocese of Europe
- Diocese of Strumica - News
- Diocese of Bregalnica
[edit] Macedonian Orthodoxy outside Macedonia
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Category:Macedonian Orthodox Church Category:Eastern Orthodoxy
