by Emilios Polygenis
An interview with one of the most popular Serbian newspapers, Večernje Novosti, was given by Archbishop John of Ohrid.
Asked if the “Prespa agreement” between Athens and Skopje could lead to the recognition of the schismatic so-called “Macedonian” Church, Archbishop John stressed that “the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Ecumenical Patriarch have already stated that the region of Skopje, by aTomos, is under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church.”
“The schismatics of the so-called ‘Macedonian’ Church first called for the Bulgarian Church to be their Mother Church, and then asked for recognition of their ‘autocephally’ by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Under the new circumstances, it seems difficult for the Ecumenical Patriarchate unilaterally to recognize the schismatics and at the same time not to create a schism,” Archbishop John added.
The Archbishop of Ohrid also said that “The schismatics, when in Constantinople, say they will accept a new name, but in Skopje they say they will never change the name ‘Macedonian’, meaning they will not change their schismatic mindset.”
In closing, Archbishop John stressed: “The new name -Northern Macedonia- is not accepted by almost any clergyman in Greece, not only by the Metropolitans of Greek Macedonia, but also by the Archpriests of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”