Albanian Orthodox Church Recognized Macedonian Orthodox Church

https://orthodoxalbania.org/

OCP News Service – 08/03/2022

Tirana – Albania: Holy Synod of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania recognized Macedonian Orthodox Church on its synod session that was held on February 23, 2023. The synod was held on the presidency of His Beatitude Archbishop Anastasios, which welcomes the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, of last May 2022, that “She accepts into Eucharistic communion the Hierarchy, the clergy, and laity of the Church under Archbishop Stefan… She recognizes as the name of this Church “Ahridos” (meaning the area of her jurisdiction lies only within the boundaries of the territory of the state of North Macedonia)”.

According to the synodal statement, “During the intervening period the Orthodox Church in Albania did not proceed with any public statements, awaiting the fulfillment of the required ecclesiastical procedures. Fully agreeing that by the aforementioned decision, widely acceptable,  the wound of the existing schism is healed and that the peace and the unity of the entire pleroma are secured”.

Synod also stated that they are waiting for the Ecumenical patriarch to define the specific name of the church and regulation of the status of autocephaly.

The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church unanimously recognized the Autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church in June 2022. Later Antiochian, Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Czech-Slovak, and Polish Orthodox Churches also accepted the autocephaly of the Macedonian church. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Greek, and Georgia has recognized the Macedonian church but has not yet recognized the autocephaly given by Serbia, but has recognized the communion.

Source:
OCP News Service