Macedonian Orthodox Church - News & Updates

[maco2envy]

And it's a lose in all three scenarios...

Given that BOC is discussing the matter with the other orthodox churches, I wouldn't be surprised if BOC makes a counteroffer to recognise it as the Vardar Slav church or something instead.

[Tomche Makedonche]

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonian-church-asks-bulgarian-brethren-for-backing-11-20-2017

Macedonia's Lonely Church Seeks Bulgarian 'Parent'

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, BPC, faces a dilemma over whether to accept an unusual appeal from the unrecognised Macedonian Orthodox Church to assume parental authority over it.

Macedonia's unrecogised Orthodox Church has startled the Orthodox world - and possibly started a new conflict with the Church in Serbia, by asking the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to assume a form of parental authority over it.

The Bulgarian Church told BIRN on Monday that it will probably discuss the unusual request from the Macedonian Orthodox Church at a meeting set for November 27.

“Taking a decision would not be that easy,” the spokesperson for the Bulgarian Holy Synod, Alexandra Karamihaleva, warned.

On Sunday, media in both countries revealed that the Macedonian Church had sent an official written request earlier this month for the Bulgarian Church to become its "mother" Church and so encourage its acceptance as an equal among the other Orthodox churches.

If the Bulgarian side agreed, the Macedonian Church would “recognise the Bulgarian Patriarchate as its mother church, which would be the first to accept and recognise its [Macedonian Church’s] autocephaly [independence] and declare, promote, represent and stand for it before the Ecumenical Patriarchate [of Constantinople] and the other churches,” the letter of the Macedonian Church said.

The Macedonian Church remains unrecognised by other Orthodox Churches due to a long-lasting dispute over its ecclesiastical independence from the Serbian Orthodox Church, to which it was formerly united.

The two churches have remain locked in conflict over the right of the Macedonian Church to be accepted as an equal to the other Orthodox churches.

The Serbian Church, which has close ties with other Orthodox churches, has blocked recognition of the Macedonian Church ever since it unilaterally declared "autocephaly", or ecclesiastical independence, in the late 1960s.

The Serbian Church claims the decision was uncanonical – ecclesiastically illegal – and was pushed by Yugoslavia's then communist government for political reasons.

The latest diplomatic offensive of the Macedonian Church could in theory help it circumvent its isolation, and secure closer official ties with the rest of the Orthodox world under Bulgarian patronage.

However, observers say the initiative risks markedly worsening relations with the Serbian Church, which is bound to oppose the move.

“If this move succeeds, those who stand behind it should be publically congratulated. But if the attempt to ‘bypass’ the Serbian Church fails, the Macedonian Church will face even greater mistrust among its sister orthodox Churches,” Macedonian journalist Branko Geroski wrote for the Sloboden Pecat daily on Monday.

Unlike the Catholic Church, which is governed by one central figure, the Pope, authority in the Orthodox world is more diverse.

Many mainly Orthodox countries have de-facto national churches led by patriarchs and while the Patriarch of Constantinople enjoys theoretical primacy, real power in the Orthodox world rests much more with the Patriarch of Moscow who runs the world's biggest Orthodox Church – by far.

As Church officials from Bulgaria and Macedonia for now remain largely silent about the new development, some Bulgarian politicians and activists have hailed the move.

Bulgarian nationalists have long had aspirations towards Macedonia, and still tend to view Macedonians as brothers separated by an artificial border.

Moreover, in the last decades of the Ottoman Empire, the Bulgarian Church controlled most Macedonian dioceses until the Balkan wars of 1912-13, when Serbian seized Macedonia.

In an interview for the Bulgarian Newspaper Monitor, Andrey Kovachev, a Bulgarian MEP from the European People’s Party, called the letter “revolutionary” and urged the Bulgarian Synod to accept the proposal.

Milen Vrabevski, chairman of the “Bulgarian Memory” foundation, told Bulgarian National Television on Sunday that it was "a very brave move of the Macedonian Church”.

“I appeal to the Bulgarian Patriarch to take his place of an ecclesiastical father and to realise that on the other [side] of the border live our spiritual brothers. Supporting the people of Macedonia is the proper thing,” Vrabevski noted.

He said that he had put a lot of effort into facilitating dialogue between the two Orthodox churches in recent months, including series of meetings between Bulgarian and Macedonian bishops.

The Macedonian intiative comes just months after Bulgaria and Macedonia started warming their at times tense political relations with the signing of a friendship treaty in August.

[vicsinad]

It's the comment section of these articles that always amuse me the most, until I realize that the Macedonians are probably the only people on Earth facing this type of assault from without and within:

1) We have what would can only be considered a typical Greek instinctual reaction: The real Macedonians already have a church-the Greek Orthodox Church. The western Bulgarians can join the Bulgarian church, but they ain’t Macedonians.

2) Then, there is a clarifying statement from the Serb who, just like the Bulgarian and Greek, loves the theory that Tito created the Macedonians: The majority of the churches in FYROM built before 1945 were built by the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC).

3) Finally, there is the self-capitulating Macedonian, who is passionately against Greece and still yet manages to indirectly support the Greek line of reasoning (which, by the way, I had no idea "Macedonian Slav" was a reality within our community when Tomche mentioned it in the statelessness thread): I'm sick and tired of Bulgarians patronizing us, teaming up with Slavo-phobic greeks, to destroy our identity as Macedonian slavs. We are not connecting with their stupid mongolic origins. Never, ever. Why can't everyone LEAVE US ALONE AND LET US BREATH. What happened in the past is not our damn fault.

Soon an Albanian will chime in about the plight of Albanians in what is really Ilirida, and then a Bulgarian about how Macedonians are Bulgarians at heart, and we will have the modern, digital-age rendition of the Macedonian Question on display.

[Risto the Great]

Sadly, after decades of seeing this kind of bullshit, you tend to expect it all and it's a little numbing.

[Pelagonija]

Is it just me all is it too quiet on Macedonian front..?

15 years ago there would have been riots, VMRO would have blew it up for there own political gains.

I remember walking past the Bulgarian drustvo club in Ohrid recently.. this staff just didn't happen..

[Odi Zvezdo]

The light at the end of the tunnel is showing now Pelagonija...the European Union is slowly appearing...their almighty saviour which is their ticket to freedom..

Their souls have been removed...they are Europeans now...

[Pelagonija]

The light at the end of the tunnel is showing now Pelagonija...the European Union is slowly appearing...their almighty saviour which is their ticket to freedom..

Their souls have been removed...they are Europeans now...

Very sad OZ, let's hope that when we go back we can at least still enjoy our culture before it completely disappears.. you know.. listen to nice Macedonian music whilst enjoying a rakija or Dab with a shopska salata whilst the kevapi are cooking vo seloto with good company on a warm sunny day..

[VMRO]

The irony in this is that Macedonia will not join the EU till 2030 or later.

[Starling]

Where does that date come from?

[Risto the Great]

Is it just me all is it too quiet on Macedonian front..?

15 years ago there would have been riots

15 years ago, it was precisely the same as now.
Imagine a cowboy movie with tumbleweeds blowing across the landscape.

[Pelagonija]

Ok maybe 20 years ago?

I think Macedonia still was independent in 1997 when the coppers went hard in gostivar and took the Albanian flag down and shot up a few lads?

[Risto the Great]

Sorry to sound pessimistic.
I think Macedonians fought for Macedonia well over 100 years ago.
Not much to be completely proud of since then.

[Karposh]

Ok maybe 20 years ago?

I think Macedonia still was independent in 1997 when the coppers went hard in gostivar and took the Albanian flag down and shot up a few lads?

I was into my second week of my three month holiday in Macedonia back in early July of 1997 and I watched it all unfold on TV.

Bitola was the most festive that I'd seen it in a a long time the next day after the successful police operation to tear down the shiptar flags off of public buildings in Tetovo & Gostivar. People were literally dancing in the street while old men played their bagpipes on Shirok Sokak. It was uplifting, to say the least, and a real pleasure to see that brief rise of the constantly downtrodden Macedonian spirit that day. And, I must admit, I joined in the dancing too.

Although we now know the Albanians were simply biding their time to fight another day, when they were much more prepared (thanks to the US and Arab Jihadists), I still think the hard line Macedonians displayed back then should have been maintained to the bitter end and at all costs. Even back in 1997, it was never about minority rights. Albanians, back then had more rights than most minorities could ever boast about having anywhere in Europe. This was nothing more than a brazen display of separatism. Something that was obvious to everyone in the Balkans except to the rest of Europe, who saw the police operation as an attack on Albanian Human Rights by Macedonian authorities.

But the Albanian flags on Macedonian public buildings was more than a show of Albanian nationalism back in 1997. It was half testing the waters, to see the how the Macedonians would react, and half giving them the middle finger, with the loud and unmistakable message that the flags were meant to convey – Up yours Macedonia, this is Albania now!

Displaying a foreign country's national flag on public buildings of another country is not only shameful for any incumbent government to continue to turn a blind eye to but it is also treasonous. It basically admits to its citizens and the world at large that it has lost sovereignty of an integral part of its territory. That is not a good look for any government to have on its record. Yet, that record stands to this day and growing in intensity on the portfolios of successive Macedonian governments post 1997. Shame, shame, shame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfG0BWMtYPA

[Pelagonija]

Karposh good story re the celebrations in Bitola..

We had hope and independence up until 99/01.. that all ended for good once the west took the side of the siptari..

Unfortunately us orthodox people will always be the enemy to the west, that is unless Zaev completes the bending over process and turns us into modern day nation whore like CG, Greece, Albania and BG.

[VMRO]

Where does that date come from?

Been a hot topic lately.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/most-eu-hopefuls-might-not-be-ready-to-join-before-2050-study-finds/