RFE/RL - 8 July 2002
Posted 13 July 2002 on Religioscope

The Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church stripped Metropolitan Jovan of the Veles-Vardar region of his church functions and ordered him to retire to a monastery, RFE/RL's South Slavic and Albanian Languages Service reported from Skopje on 6 July.

See also our list of websites of the Macedonian Orthodox Church at the end of the article!

Jovan, who recently reached an agreement recognizing the authority of the Serbian Orthodox Church, said he does not recognize the Macedonian Church's decision or its jurisdiction over him.

Irinej, who is the Serbian Orthodox bishop of Nis, said the Macedonian synod's treatment of Jovan shows that further talks with the Macedonian Orthodox Church are pointless.

The Macedonian Orthodox Church declared its independence of the Serbian body in 1967 in a move designed to strengthen Macedonian national identity and weaken Serbian influence there. The breakaway church has not been recognized by any other Orthodox church.

Talks have been underway recently between the Serbian and Macedonian churches in hopes of reaching an understanding and ending the Macedonians' isolation.

In the Macedonian emigration in the United States, some churches owe allegiance to the Macedonian Orthodox Church, while others are linked to that of Bulgaria.