One year ago today, His Holiness Patriarch Porifirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church handed His Eminence Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid, primate of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric, a tomos of autocephaly from the Bishops’ Council of the Serbian Church. The joyous occasion came just three weeks after the Macedonian Church’s decades-long schism was healed. Today, in honor of the anniversary, Pat. Porfirije and Abp. Stefan and other hierarchs of both Local Churches are concelebrating again, this time at the St. Sofia Church in Ohrid.

The Liturgy also marks the formal implementation of the earlier decision of both the Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric and the Bishops’ Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church to dissolve the Ohrid Archbishopric of the Serbian Church and unite it with the Macedonian Church.

The Archbishopric had operated on the territory of North Macedonia since 2002 and continued to exist over the past year since autocephaly was granted. The four hierarchs of the Archbishopric, headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Jovan, are now hierarchs of the Macedonian Church.

The Liturgy was broadcast live by the Serbian Church’s TV Hram. (Quelle: www.orthochristian.com, 5. Juni 2023)