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History of the Macedonian Orthodox Church  
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The '''Macedonian Orthodox Church''' or '''MOC''' (in Macedonian: 
 
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'''Македонска Православна Црква''' or '''МПЦ''') is a [[jurisdiction]] in the Republic of Macedonia which declares itself to be [[autocephaly|autocephalous]]. It separated from the [[Church of Serbia]] in 1967. Its self-proclaimed autocephaly is not officially recognized by other Orthodox churches, nor is it in communion with any of them.
  
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==History==
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Formerly known as [[w:Vardar Banovina|Vardarska Banovina]] (Province of the river Vardar), in March 1945, the People's Republic of Macedonia was created, as one of republics of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, governed by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. In Skopje, a Resolution to create the Macedonian Orthodox Church was submitted to the Serbian patriarchate which had since 1919 exercised sole jurisdiction in the area. This resolution was rejected. During World War II there was also an initiative to create an Armenian-Macedonian Church in the territory  of occupied Greece, but this plan was supported only by few ethnic Armenians and Aegean Macedonians in the zone of Kastoria. After the war another resolution, submitted in 1958, proposing the Ohrid Archdiocese of St. [[Clement of Ochrid|Clement]] as a Macedonian Orthodox Church, was accepted ([[June 17]], 1959) under strong pressure from the Communist authorities. Dositej Stojković, auxiliary bishop of the Serbian patriarch, left Belgrade and was proclaimed the first Metropolitan of Skopje. In order to prevent schism, the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church granted autonomy to three Dioceses in Macedonia. A Macedonian was consecrated bishop. But two of them soon consecrated new bishops who were without the proper qualifications. Soon Macedonians started to organize churches in diaspora without approval of the Patriarch and bishops who were responsible for the dioceses in diaspora. During the so-called Third Clergy and Laity Assembly on [[July 19]], 1967, in Ohrid, the Macedonian Orthodox Church was proclaimed as autocephalous with strong public support.  
According to the sources in the Acts, Saint Paul, Christ's disciple, began spreading Christianity in Macedonia and elsewhere on the Balkan Peninsula towards the mid 1st century AD. He visited this region on two occasions during his journeys through Europe and Asia. He was followed by Timothy and Silas, who remained in Macedonia after his departure. At that time, as a Roman province Macedonia often changed its borders and its ethnic composition. As a result of the Christianization in the first three centuries, the Christians in Macedonia at the beginning of the 4th century already had an organised Church with an established ecclesiastical hierarchy, whose bishops regularly participated at the ecumenical councils.
 
  
In the 5th century the Church had several metropolises and dioceses. The metropolises of Thessalonica and Skopje were the most distinguished among them. Several Christian basilicas originate from this period, including the one near the village of Bardovci, in the western outskirts of Skopje.
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Since the breakup of Yugoslavia and the end of Communist repression of the Church, the Serbian patriarchate has been in conflict with the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which has yet to gain recognition from the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]] or any other autocephalous church. The issue of dispute is the allegedly anti-[[canonical]] method used to gain autocephaly, the issue of the Serbian Orthodox minority (at least some 40,000 strong) and the question of some hundreds of Serbian Orthodox [[shrine]]s from the medieval Nemanjić period. It is also presumed that the name ''Macedonian'' is a matter of dispute regarding the [[Church of Greece]].
  
During the reign of the emperor Justinian I (527-565), who came from the village of Tauresium in the Skopje region, a new town was built near the emperor's birthplace, named Justiniana Prima after him. The Metropolitan of Skopje was appointed an autocephalous Archbishop. Cathellian was the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese Justiniana Prima. The other archbishops were: Benenat, Paul, John I, Leon and the last one John IX, who in 680-81 took part at the Trullo Council in Constantinople.
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===Relations with the Autonomous Archdiocese of Ohrid===
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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. However, the agreement, signed by Metr. [[Jovan VI (Vraniškovski) of Ohrid|Jovan (Vraniskovski)]] from the Macedonian side, was rejected by the Macedonian government and the MOC's holy synod. In turn, the Serbian Orthodox Church granted full autonomy to the [[Autonomous Archdiocese of Ohrid|Archdiocese of Ohrid]], its embattled branch in the Republic of Macedonia, in late May 2005 and appointed Jovan as its archbishop.  
  
The Slav colonisation of Macedonia began in the 7th century, when the Slavs were assimilated with the native inhabitants. Their Christianization began in the 9th century with the life and work of the holy brothers, Saints Methodius and Cyril, who came from Thessalonica. They created the Cyrillic alphabet and translated the Holy Bible and several other scriptures so that the church services could be held in the vernacular. Their mission was continued by Saints Clement and Nahum of Ohrid at the end of 9th and in the beginning of the 10th century. Saint Clement founded the first University of the Slavs in this region, and Saint Nahum founded the first Slavic monastery on the shore of Lake Ohrid. In the second half of the 10th century, within the borders of Samuel's state, the autocephalous Ohrid Archdiocese was established with the rank of patriarchate. After the fall of Samuel's state, the Ohrid Archdiocese was reduced to a lower rank of church hierarchy (archbishopric) and it existed as such for eight centuries, until its abolishment in 1767 by the Turkish sultan Mustapha III, and its dioceses were annexed to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. From this moment on Macedonian people made all possible efforts to restore the Archdiocese. Its dioceses were under several jurisdictions of the neighbouring Orthodox Churches and this struggle became particularly fierce in the second part of the 19th and the first part of the 20th century. Convenient conditions for restoration of the independence were created not earlier than during World War II (1941-1945). Right before the end of the war, in 1944, in the village of Gorno Vranovci, an Initiative Board for Organisation of the Macedonian Orthodox Church was formed. In March, 1945, in Skopje, a Resolution to restore the Archdiocese of Ohrid as Macedonian Orthodox Church was made at the First Clergy and Laity Assembly. This decision was submitted to the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, since before World War II several dioceses in Macedonia were under the United Orthodox Church of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians, known later as Serbian Orthodox Church. The Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church did not accept this decision, which resulted in the following actions of the Initiative Board: instead of as an autocephalous, the Board insisted on the Church being recognised as autonomous. This request was also rejected. In 1958, the Second Clergy and Laity Assembly was held in Ohrid and the proposal for restoration of the Ohrid Archdiocese of Saint Clement as a Macedonian Orthodox Church was accepted and Dositheus was appointed the first archbishop.
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The later chain of events turned into a vicious circle of mutual accusations and incidents involving the patriarchate and, partly, the Serbian government on one side, and the MOC, backed by the Macedonian government on the other. 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.<ref>[http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=579 MACEDONIA: Why is state interfering in Orthodox dispute?]</ref> The government has denied registration of his church<ref>[http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=418 MACEDONIA: Serbian Orthodox "will never get registration"]</ref>, 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<ref>[http://www.iwpr.net/?p=bcr&s=f&o=257037&apc_state=henibcr200508 Church Rivalry Threatens to Brim Over]</ref> and jailed with "extremely limited visitation rights."<ref>[http://www.southeasteurope.org/subpage.php?sub_site=2&id=14827&head=hl&site=5 The head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia was put in Jail]</ref>
  
The Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church agreed with the decisions of the Macedonian Clergy and Laity Assembly in the resolution AS. No 47/1959 and 6/1959, minutes 57 of June 17/4, 1959.  
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In September 2005 he was also accused of embezzlement of church funds at the time when he still was MOC clergyman.  In turn, the patriarchate denied a Macedonian delegation access to the monastery of Prohor Pćinjski, which was the usual site of Macedonian celebration of the national holiday of Ilinden (St. [[Elijah]]) on [[August 2]]).<ref>[http://www.lobi.com.mk/default-en.asp?ItemID=A24A3FEA12A7AF4795442CFA3295E658 Macedonian delegation is not going to Prohor Pcinjski]</ref> Macedonian border police often deny Serbian priests entry into the country in clerical garb.<ref>[http://www.hrw.org/wr2k/Eca-14.htm MACEDONIA: Human Rights Developments]</ref>
  
As a sign of agreement, a Liturgy was concelebrated with the Serbian Patriarch German, on July 19, 1959, in Skopje, in the church of Saint Menas. At the same time, Clement was ordained the bishop of Prespa and Bitola. This meant that the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church gave autonomy to the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which remained in canonical unity with the Serbian Church under their Patriarch. Few days later, in the church of St. Nicholas in Štip, H.E. Nahum was ordained the bishop of the diocese of Zletovo and Strumica. The Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church was established together with other administrative bodies in the Archdiocese and the dioceses in conformity with the Constitution of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. In May, 1962, accompanied by Patriarch German and other representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexis of Moscow visited the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Among them were Metropolitan Nicodemus, Bishop Pimen and other dignitaries of the Russian Orthodox Church. On the feast of Saints Methodius and Cyril, in the church of the Holy Mother of God Kamenska, in Ohrid, Patriarch Alexis of Moscow, Patriarch German and the Macedonian Metropolitan Dositheus concelebrated Holy Liturgy. It was the first Holy Liturgy to be concelebrated by the head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church with heads of other autocephalous Orthodox Churches.
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On [[March 19]], 2006, following a successful court appeal, Abp Jovan was released after spending 220 days in prison.<ref>[http://freearchbishop.com/?p=46 Archbishop kyr kyr Jovan (John) VI is released from prison]</ref>
  
In 1966 the relations with the Serbian Church got worse again. Due to the conflicts and misunderstandings, the Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church summoned the Third Clergy and Laity Assembly on July 17, 1967, in Ohrid. At the formal session in the Ohrid church of St. Clement, the Holy Synod proclaimed the Macedonian Orthodox Church as AUTOCEPHALOUS. The act of proclamation was made by the Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church during the Holy Liturgy celebrated in the church of St. Clement of Ohrid on July 19, 1967, or exactly on the second centennial after it had been banned by the Ottoman authorities.
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In August 2006, Abp Jovan was again convicted of embezzlement of MOC church funds and voluntarily surrendered himself to imprisonment after a short period in hiding. An appeal has been lodged on his behalf with the International Court of Justice at The Hague.  
  
The jurisdiction of the Macedonian Orthodox Church spreads not only throughout Macedonia, but also in the church communities abroad.
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Despite public appeals from both churches for "Christian brotherhood and unity," both sides have failed to settle the dispute.
  
According to Article 17 from the Proclamation of Autocephaly, the Macedonian Orthodox Church as an administrative part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church is to observe the Holy Scriptures and the Holy tradition, the Canons of the Apostles and the decrees of the ecumenical councils and is to follow them and the Constitution of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
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==Organization==
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Since 1999, the Macedonian Orthodox Church has been headed by Archbishop [[Stephen (Veljanovski) of Ohrid|Stefan of Ohrid]] and Macedonia. He presides over the Holy Synod of Hierarchs of the MOC, consisting of himself, and nine [[metropolitan]]s and assistant [[bishop]]s.
  
Praying humbly for the other ones, the Macedonian Orthodox Church will always rely on the prayers, blessings and assistance of the elder sibling holy local Orthodox Churches.
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The 10 dioceses of the MOC are governed by ten bishops, with around 500 active priests in about 500 [[parish]]es with over 2000 churches and [[monastery|monasteries]].  The church claims jurisdiction over about 20 active monasteries, with more than 100 [[monk]]s.
  
www.mpc.org.mk
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===[[Diocese|Dioceses]] in the territory of Republic of Macedonia===
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#[[Diocese of Skopje]], headed by Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid and Macedonia;
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#[[Diocese of Tetovo and Gostivar]], headed by Metropolitan [[Josif (Todorovski)(metropolitan)|Josif]];
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#[[Diocese of Kumanovo and Osogovo]], headed by Metropolitan [[Joseph of Kumanovo and Osogovo|Josif]];
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#[[Diocese of Debar and Kičevo]], headed by Metropolitan [[Timothy (metropolitan)|Timotej]];
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#[[Diocese of Prespa and Pelagonia]], headed by Metropolitan [[Peter (metropolitan)|Petar]];
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#[[Diocese of Strumica]], headed by Metropolitan [[Naum (metropolitan)|Naum]];
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#[[Diocese of Bregalnica]], headed by Metropolitan [[Hilarion (metropolitan)|Ilarion]];
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#[[Diocese of Povardarie]], headed by Metropolitan [[Agathangelos (metropolitan), Povardarie|Agatangel]]
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===Dioceses abroad===
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#[[Macedonian Orthodox Diocese of America and Canada|Diocese of America and Canada]], headed by His Eminence Metropolitan [[Methodius (Zlatanov) of Toronto|Metodij]]
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#[[Macedonian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand|Diocese of Australia and New Zealand]], administered by His Eminence Metropolitan [[Peter (Karevski) of Prespa|Petar]]
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#[[Macedonian Orthodox Diocese of Europe|Diocese of Europe]], headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Pimen of Europe
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==References==
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<references />
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==Source==
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*[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Macedonian_Orthodox_Church&oldid=55478105 Wikipedia:Macedonian Orthodox Church]
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==See also==
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*[[:mk:Главна_страница|Православна-енциклопедија Главна страница]]
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*[[w:Macedonia naming dispute]]
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==External links==
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*[http://www.mpc.org.mk Macedonian Orthodox Church], official site
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*[http://www.svpetaripavle.org Macedonian Orthodox Cathedral Sts Peter and Paul-Crown Point, IN, USA]
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*[http://www.stclementofohrid.com/ St. Clement of Ohrid Cathedral in Toronto]
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*[http://www.macedonianchurch.org/HistoryofMacedonianOrthodoxChurch.htm History of Macedonian Orthodox Church from MOC's point of view]
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*[http://www.macedonianchurch.org Macedonian Orthodox Cathedral of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary ("St. Mary") - Greater Columbus, Ohio, USA]
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*[http://www.poa-info.org/frameset.php?l=en&r=history Failed agreemment between SOC and MOC]
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[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
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[[fr:Église orthodoxe macédonienne]]

Revision as of 03:38, November 5, 2014

MOC logo.png

The Macedonian Orthodox Church or MOC (in Macedonian: Македонска Православна Црква or МПЦ) is a jurisdiction in the Republic of Macedonia which declares itself to be autocephalous. It separated from the Church of Serbia in 1967. Its self-proclaimed autocephaly is not officially recognized by other Orthodox churches, nor is it in communion with any of them.

History

Formerly known as Vardarska Banovina (Province of the river Vardar), in March 1945, the People's Republic of Macedonia was created, as one of republics of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, governed by the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. In Skopje, a Resolution to create the Macedonian Orthodox Church was submitted to the Serbian patriarchate which had since 1919 exercised sole jurisdiction in the area. This resolution was rejected. During World War II there was also an initiative to create an Armenian-Macedonian Church in the territory of occupied Greece, but this plan was supported only by few ethnic Armenians and Aegean Macedonians in the zone of Kastoria. After the war another resolution, submitted in 1958, proposing the Ohrid Archdiocese of St. Clement as a Macedonian Orthodox Church, was accepted (June 17, 1959) under strong pressure from the Communist authorities. Dositej Stojković, auxiliary bishop of the Serbian patriarch, left Belgrade and was proclaimed the first Metropolitan of Skopje. In order to prevent schism, the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church granted autonomy to three Dioceses in Macedonia. A Macedonian was consecrated bishop. But two of them soon consecrated new bishops who were without the proper qualifications. Soon Macedonians started to organize churches in diaspora without approval of the Patriarch and bishops who were responsible for the dioceses in diaspora. During the so-called Third Clergy and Laity Assembly on July 19, 1967, in Ohrid, the Macedonian Orthodox Church was proclaimed as autocephalous with strong public support.

Since the breakup of Yugoslavia and the end of Communist repression of the Church, the Serbian patriarchate has been in conflict with the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which has yet to gain recognition from the Ecumenical Patriarchate or any other autocephalous church. The issue of dispute is the allegedly anti-canonical method used to gain autocephaly, the issue of the Serbian Orthodox minority (at least some 40,000 strong) and the question of some hundreds of Serbian Orthodox shrines from the medieval Nemanjić period. It is also presumed that the name Macedonian is a matter of dispute regarding the Church of Greece.

Relations with the Autonomous Archdiocese of Ohrid

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. However, the agreement, signed by Metr. Jovan (Vraniskovski) from the Macedonian side, was rejected by the Macedonian government and the MOC's holy synod. In turn, the Serbian Orthodox Church granted full autonomy to the Archdiocese of Ohrid, 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 patriarchate and, partly, the Serbian government on one side, and the MOC, backed by the Macedonian government on the other. 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[3] and jailed with "extremely limited visitation rights."[4]

In September 2005 he was also accused of embezzlement of church funds at the time when he still was MOC clergyman. In turn, the patriarchate denied a Macedonian delegation access to the monastery of Prohor Pćinjski, which was the usual site of Macedonian celebration of the national holiday of Ilinden (St. Elijah) on August 2).[5] Macedonian border police often deny Serbian priests entry into the country in clerical garb.[6]

On March 19, 2006, following a successful court appeal, Abp Jovan was released after spending 220 days in prison.[7]

In August 2006, Abp Jovan was again convicted of embezzlement of MOC church funds and voluntarily surrendered himself to imprisonment after a short period in hiding. An appeal has been lodged on his behalf with the International Court of Justice at The Hague.

Despite public appeals from both churches for "Christian brotherhood and unity," both sides have failed to settle the dispute.

Organization

Since 1999, the Macedonian Orthodox Church has been headed by Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid and Macedonia. He presides over the Holy Synod of Hierarchs of the MOC, consisting of himself, and nine metropolitans and assistant bishops.

The 10 dioceses of the MOC are governed by ten bishops, with around 500 active priests in about 500 parishes with over 2000 churches and monasteries. The church claims jurisdiction over about 20 active monasteries, with more than 100 monks.

Dioceses in the territory of Republic of Macedonia

  1. Diocese of Skopje, headed by Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid and Macedonia;
  2. Diocese of Tetovo and Gostivar, headed by Metropolitan Josif;
  3. Diocese of Kumanovo and Osogovo, headed by Metropolitan Josif;
  4. Diocese of Debar and Kičevo, headed by Metropolitan Timotej;
  5. Diocese of Prespa and Pelagonia, headed by Metropolitan Petar;
  6. Diocese of Strumica, headed by Metropolitan Naum;
  7. Diocese of Bregalnica, headed by Metropolitan Ilarion;
  8. Diocese of Povardarie, headed by Metropolitan Agatangel

Dioceses abroad

  1. Diocese of America and Canada, headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Metodij
  2. Diocese of Australia and New Zealand, administered by His Eminence Metropolitan Petar
  3. Diocese of Europe, headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Pimen of Europe

References

Source

See also

External links