Macedonian Orthodox Church


Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid
Македонска православна црква – Охридска архиепископија
Coat of arms of the MOC, with the Church of St. Sophia, Ohrid, the historical seat of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, depicted on it
AbbreviationAO, MOC, MOC-AO
TypeEastern Orthodox
TheologyEastern Orthodox theology
PrimateStefan, Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia
RegionNorth Macedonia
LanguageChurch Slavonic, Macedonian
TerritoryNorth Macedonia
PossessionsUnited States
Canada
Australia
European Union
Independence
  • Self-proclaimed autocephaly in 1967 from the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC)
  • Returned to autonomous status under the SOC on 16 May 2022
  • Autocephaly granted on 5 June 2022 by the SOC
Recognition
  • Recognized as an autonomous church under the SOC 1959–1967, and mid-May–early June 2022
  • Autocephaly recognized by several Eastern Orthodox Churches
Separated fromSerbian Orthodox Church (SOC)
Official websitempc.org.mk/

The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-AO; Macedonian: Македонска православна црква – Охридска архиепископија), or simply the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) or the Archdiocese of Ohrid (AO), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North Macedonia. The Macedonian Orthodox Church claims ecclesiastical jurisdiction over North Macedonia, and is also represented in the Macedonian diaspora. The primate of the Macedonian Orthodox Church is Stefan Veljanovski, the Metropolitan of Skopje and Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia.

In 1959, the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church granted autonomy to the Macedonian Orthodox Church in the then-Socialist Republic of Macedonia, as the restoration of the historic Archbishopric of Ohrid;[1] the MOC was united with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) as a part of the SOC. In 1967, on the bicentennial anniversary of the abolition of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, the Macedonian Holy Synod unilaterally announced its autocephaly from the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Serbian synod denounced the decision and condemned the clergy as schismatic.[2] Thenceforth, the Macedonian Church had remained unrecognized by all mainstream Eastern Orthodox churches for 55 years.[1][3]

The Macedonian Orthodox Church was formally reintegrated into the mainstream Eastern Orthodox community in 2022. The Ecumenical Patriarchate accepted the MOC into communion and recognized North Macedonia as its canonical territory. The schism between the Serbian and Macedonian churches ended, while the MOC was restored as an autonomous part of the Serbian church according to its 1959 status. Afterwards, the Serbian Orthodox Church officially granted autocephaly to the MOC, though all autocephalous churches have not recognized this autocephaly.

  1. ^ a b Erwin Fahlbusch; Geoffrey William Bromiley, eds. (1999). The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 3. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 381. ISBN 9780802824158. OCLC 39914033.
  2. ^ "РУССКАЯ ПРАВОСЛАВНАЯ ЦЕРКОВЬ XX ВЕК. 10 ОКТЯБРЯ". Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Συλλείτουργο Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη-Αρχιεπισκόπου Αχρίδος στο Φανάρι" [Ecumenical Patriarch, Archbishop of Ohrid in the Phanar]. Ορθοδοξία News Agency (in Greek). 2022-06-12. Retrieved 2022-06-13.

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