Objections to the name of the Church of North Macedonia seem to be raised by the Bulgarian Patriarchate.
At the meeting of the Holy Synod that took place yesterday, the letters of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia, regarding the canonical status of the Church of Northern Macedonia were examined.
According to the communiqué of the Holy Synod of the Church of Bulgaria, a vote followed in which it was decided that the Bulgarian Patriarchate welcomed, with gratitude to God and spiritual joy, the decisions for the lifting of the schism.
In fact, it informs that it is entering into canonical and eucharistic communion with the Orthodox Church of Northern Macedonia.
“The name of the Orthodox Church in Northern Macedonia remains to be considered,” the statement said.
The latter point raises questions about any objections the Church of Bulgaria may have regarding the Ohrid Archdiocese, which the Ecumenical Patriarchate had rushed to clarify from the very beginning.
Specifically, the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the beginning of May had clarified that it recognizes as the name of the Church of North Macedonia, the “Ohrid” (meaning the area of this jurisdiction only within the territory of the state of North Macedonia), excluding the term “Macedonian” and any other derivative of the word “Macedonia”.
