In these holy and blessed days of the Great Lent, given by God for earnest ascetic struggle and virtuous spiritual progress, we, the members of the monastic community of the Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric, send a clear and unequivocal appeal to the entire Orthodox oikoumene, and particularly to the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches, for the immediate resolution of the status of our Church and its recognition as an autocephalous Church within the pan-Orthodox communion—a position which it rightfully and without any historical or canonical obstacles deserves, as the restorer of the ancient Ohrid Archbishopric, and not as a newly established Church. This appeal is especially directed towards the hierarchs of the Serbian Orthodox Church, who, after many historical and dark tribulations of our people, still hold the key—and the responsibility before God—for resolving this issue.
We believe that this fabricated problem, which is more political than ecclesiological, is unnecessary and harmful to Orthodox unity, especially in these dramatic times when Orthodoxy, and indeed all of humanity, is facing severe trials.
The recognition of the Ohrid Archbishopric as an autocephalous Church within the assembly of Orthodox Churches would not only correct a historical injustice but also bring spiritual support and joy to our clergy, monastics, and faithful, who are weary and disheartened by the continued disregard of their Church as equal with the others, simply due to political and worldly motivations that have nothing to do with spirituality and the Gospel message. As monastics, we deeply feel the problems and conditions that arise due to the unjustly unresolved status of our Church, which only adds to the many trials faced by the faithful in the Republic of Macedonia. Therefore, with humble hearts, we address You, our beloved fathers in God, to promptly recognize the Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric as an autocephalous Church within the Orthodox oikoumene, thus healing the long-standing wound in the body of Orthodoxy.
We are not asking for anything new or fabricated, but simply for the application of the 17th canon of the Fourth Ecumenical Council in Chalcedon, which commands: “…with the civil and governmental order, let the order of the Church’s parishes follow.” This principle, which has always been in force, was reiterated, confirmed, and applied by the holy Patriarch of Constantinople, Photius the Great, according to whom: “The ecclesiastical rules concerning boundaries must always correspond to the rules of the states” (cf. Φιλαρέτου Βαφείδου, Ἐκκλησιαστική Ἱστορία, vol. 2, p. 53). This same principle was upheld by the Most Holy See of Constantinople even to this day, as evidenced by the recognition of the Church of Poland in 1924, the Albanian Church in 1937, and the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia in 1998.
The path we have walked for over fifty years is the same path that all sister Churches have walked, and in the end, each in its own time received what was expected—to have their own local Church within their own borders, rather than a spiritual center in a foreign country, perhaps a brotherly and friendly one, but still foreign.
We pray that the All-Merciful God may accept this act as a pleasing sacrifice and as an act of total love towards Him and our neighbor.
