Six Vraniskovski’s associates ordered detention

Tanjug
23/5/2012

A Macedonian court issued orders for six people suspected of involvement in money laundering together with Serbian Orthodox Church Archbishop of Ohrid Jovan Vraniskovski to be remanded in custody, while thirteen more people had their travel documents taken away from them after a hearing before an investigative judge.

A Macedonian court issued orders for six people suspected of involvement in money laundering together with Serbian Orthodox Church Archbishop of Ohrid Jovan Vraniskovski to be remanded in custody, while thirteen more people had their travel documents taken away from them after a hearing before an investigative judge.

Five of the six suspects who were ordered to detention are at large. Vraniskovski was sentenced to two and a half years in prison over charges of abuse of EUR 325.000 church money while he served as a bishop of the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MPC).

Jovan Vraniskovski, whom the SPC appointed Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje, was arrested at a border crossing while entering Macedonia from Greece on December 12, 2011.

The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) on May 16 condemned the ruling of the court in the Macedonian town of Veles whereby Archbishop Jovan was sent to prison.

The statement urges all sister and other churches in the world, the World Council of Churches, Conference of European Churches and other Christian organizations to provide spiritual, moral, legal and any other possible support to the prisoner of conscience, Archbishop Jovan, and contribute to his release from prison as soon as possible.

The status of the Orthodox church in Macedonia has been a matter of controversy between the SPC and MPC for several decades. In the 1950’s of the last century, the MPC was given autonomy by the SPC but its self-proclaimed autocephaly, in 1967, is not recognized by other Orthodox churches.

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