Archbishop of Ohrid

The Archbishop of Ohrid is a historic title given to the primate of the Archbishopric of Ohrid.

The archbishopric was established in 1018 by lowering of the rank of the autocephalous Bulgarian Patriarchate and its subjugation to the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The autocephaly of the Ohrid Archbishopric remained respected during the periods of Byzantine, Bulgarian, Serbian and Ottoman rule over the region of Macedonia and continued to exist until its abolition in 1767.

Today, the primates of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric are both claimants to the title of Archbishop of Ohrid.

First Bulgarian Empire Bishops, 893–997

Archbishopric of Ohrid, 1018–1767

Dorotheos, the Archbishop of Ohrid, and his clerks and boyars were expatriated to Constantinople in 1466 because their anti-Ottoman activities during Skanderbeg's rebellion.^[1]

Macedonian Orthodox Church

Macedonian Orthodox Church (autonomous), 1959–1967

In 1959, the Macedonian Orthodox Church was declared as the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. The declaration was celebrated in a common liturgy by Macedonian priests and the Serbian Patriarch German in 1959 in Skopje. The Archbishop Dositheus II was enthroned as Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, continuing in the lineage of the Archbishops of Ohrid.

In 1962, the Serbian Patriarch German and Russian Patriarch Alexius I visited the Macedonian Orthodox Church on the feast of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius in Ohrid. The two patriarchs and the Macedonian Archbishop Dositheus II celebrated Holy Liturgy marking the first occasion where the leader of the Macedonian church met with heads of other Orthodox churches.

Macedonian Orthodox Church (self-proclaimed autocephalous), since 1967

On 19 July 1967, in Ohrid, the Macedonian Orthodox Church declared autocephaly from the Serbian Orthodox Church, a move which was not acknowledged by the Serbian church and most other Orthodox Churches.

Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric, since 2005

The Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric was formed in 2002 following a failure in negotiations between the Macedonian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church. Whereas the Holy Synod of the Macedonian church rejected an agreement where the Macedonian church could enjoy recognition as autonomous under the control of the Serbian church, one bishop broke ranks and agreed to form another church under the tutelage of the Patriarchate of Peć.

The Macedonian Orthodox Church has had issues with the Serbian Orthodox Church after the separation and declaration of autocephaly in 1967. After the negotiations between the two churches were suspended, the Serbian church recognized the group led by Archbishop John of Ohrid, a former bishop of the Macedonian church. The Serbian church recognized Vraniškovski's breakaway group as the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid and gave him the title of John VI, Archbishop of Ohrid.

References

1. ↑ Shukarova, Aneta; Panov, Mitko B.; Georgiev, Dragi; Bitovski, Krste; Katardžiev, Ivan; Stojchev, Vanche; Veljanovski, Novica; Chepreganov, Todor (2008), Chepreganov, Todor, ed., History of the Macedonian People, Skopje: Institute of National History, p. 133, ISBN 9989-159-24-6, OCLC 276645834, retrieved 26 December 2011, deportation of the Archbishop of Ohrid, Dorotei, to Istanbul in 1466, to-gether with other clerks and bolyars who probably were expatriated be-cause of their anti Ottoman acts during the Skender-Bey’s rebellion. 

See also

• Archbishopric of Ohrid