Press release to the media and the public

The Commission for Relations with Religious Communities and Groups with great joy congratulates to the faithful Macedonian Orthodox people and to His Beatitude the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia Mr. Mr. Stefan and the whole clergy of the Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archbishopric, for the decision of the First Ecumenical Patriarchate which recognizes and receives in canonical unity our holy Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archbishopric.

The long-awaited decision of the Ecumenical Patriarch is the final justice for our Church, which never wished for anything that does not belong to it, was an example of meekness and Christian ethos, suffered, but did not inflict injustices. This is recognition that we have never had a church problem, much less a spiritual problem, but administrative misunderstandings. We express gratitude to His Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew for the paternal care for Orthodoxy. We express gratitude to the many generations of state and church authorities who have left their contribution in the process of resolving the Macedonian church issue.

We express hope that in the spirit of Orthodox ethics and love, other secondary issues will be resolved in talks with the sister Orthodox Churches. The state will continue to support all the efforts of the Holy Synod of Hierarchs of the MOC-OA in order to recognize and preserve the Macedonian church autocephaly.