Public Communique
The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Ochrid
The Holy Synod of Bishops of the Orthodox
Archdiocese of Ochrid, meeting for its regular monthly assembly, the
first since the release from detention of the Head of the Holy Synod,
the Rt. Rev. Metropolitan of Veles and Povardarje and the Exarch of
Ochrid Kyr Jovan, has decided to express in writing its thanks to His
Holiness the Archbishop of Pec, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovac,
and Serbian Patriarch Kyr Pavle, as well as to the heads of local
Churches, who sought from the state authorities in the Republic of
Macedonia, as well as before international government and
nongovernmental organizations the immediate release from detention of
Metropolitan Jovan, whose only "transgression" is using his right to
freedom of confession, guaranteed by international conventions as well
as by the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia.
The Synod resolved to again inform the
international civilized community of the uncivilized pressure being
applied by legislative, executive and judicial authorities in the
Republic of Macedonia on members of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Ochrid.
Toward that end a protest will be addressed to the Government and
Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia regarding the adoption of the
"Declaration of support for the autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox
Church", passed by the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia on
January 23, 2004. A protest will also be addressed to the Republic
Judicial Council, as well as to the Supreme Court of the Republic of
Macedonia, for their participation in the political persecution of
members of the Orthodox Archdiocese. The Synod also discussed
information provided by two abbots, David and Maksim, who met with the
head of the Commission for Relations with Religious Communities. The
Synod learned that the same does not have the intention of responding to
a request addressed to it by the Orthodox Archdiocese of Ochrid for its
opinion on the registration of the Church. As a result it was decided to
send a new request, and that the Head of the Synod of Bishops,
Metropolitan Jovan, should meet with them as soon as possible in order
to request the registration of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Ochrid.
The Synod concludes with regret that because of seven schismatic bishops, who
have managed to convince the government that it should protect their
skins, the Republic of Macedonia is losing much of its international
respect, especially now when a decision on its ascension to the European
Union is to be made. By supporting seven schismatic bishops, who do not
enjoy any support among Orthodox Christians, the government is exposing
itself to the risk of not being admitted to the Union due not only to
repression and disregard for human rights, as the government has been
conducting against the members of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Ochrid,
but also because of the same sort of treatment toward foreign citizens
of Orthodox confession who wish to enter the Republic of Macedonia or
who seek to pass through it in transit, which they are being forbidden
to do upon the urging of the aforementioned schismatics. In this manner,
the acceptance of the Republic of Macedonia into European civilization
and European institutions is excluded.
The Holy Synod of Bishops also discussed a
letter addressed to it by the Protate of the Holy Mt. Athos, giving its
clear support for the activities of the Orthodox Archdiocese of Ochrid
in the service of the unity of the Church and approving the manner of
bearing witness practiced by its members. The letter also states that
the "schismatic Metropolitan Naum" is falsely presenting himself. He has
no ties with the Holy Mt. Athos and the
Grigoriou Monastery.
On the contrary, he fled from that monastery without the blessing of his
abbot, was ordained in Romania, and subsequently elevated to the rank of
bishop by schismatics in Macedonia. On several occasions he requested a
meeting with Abbot Georgije Kapsanis; however, the latter rejected any
sort of meeting until Naum publicly repents for his schismatic
activities.
February 20/07, 2004
In the Monastery of St.
John Chrysostom
From the Office of the
Holy Synod of Bishops of the
Orthodox
Archdiocese of Ochrid
TOP
Balkan church leader blames Macedonian officials for attack
Ecumenical News
International
Daily News Service / 24 February 2004
By Clive Leviev-Sawyer
Sofia, 24 February (ENI)--Metropolitan Jovan of the Serbian Orthodox
Church in Macedonia has accused Macedonian government officials of
attacking a monastery loyal to his archdiocese, the Oslo-based Forum 18
News Service reported on Tuesday.
"Somebody from them did it, if you ask me," the metropolitan told the
news service, which campaigns to promote religious freedom. "Who else
would dare to walk 200 metres on a snowy, dark mountain slope, armed
with automatic guns?"
Five masked men armed with machine guns were reported to have broken
into the monastery, located at a house in the village of Nizepolje near
the southern town of Bitola, in the attack on 20 February. The report
said the attackers smashed most of the religious items, stole a dozen
icons, and attacked two nuns.
The attack follows numerous legal cases brought by the Macedonian
authorities in recent months against clergy and nuns of the Serbian
church, and at a period of heightened tension between the Serbian and
Macedonian Orthodox churches.
The two churches have been in dispute since 1967, when the Macedonian
church unilaterally declared its independence from the Serbian church.
The Macedonian church's independence has not been recognised by any
canonical Orthodox jurisdiction.
Tensions between the two churches reached a new level in 2003 when the
Serbian church moved against the Macedonian church by setting up an
autonomous archbishopric of Ohrid under Jovan, who had previously been a
bishop of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
In a message at Christmas, Patriarch Pavle of the Serbian Orthodox
Church blamed the separation of the two churches on the machinations of
the Communist regime in the former Yugoslavia and appealed for unity.
"Discussions will continue only when the Serbian Orthodox Church
withdraws all of its subordinates from Macedonia, and all its decisions
which refer to the territory of Macedonia and the jurisdiction of the
Macedonian Orthodox Church," said Macedonian
church head Archbishop Stefan, rejecting Pavle's appeal.
At the same time, Macedonian prime minister Branko Crvenkovski entered
the fray, saying that a new law on religious communities was to be
introduced, and said that the Macedonian church could count on the
support of the government.
Soon after Jovan was arrested along with some of his followers on 11
January, in connection with the "spread of religious hatred", and most
of those arrested were released to appear in court later.
Meanwhile, Macedonian church officials backed up by police took control
of four monasteries whose monks and nuns had declared themselves loyal
to Jovan and the Serbian church.
Mirjana Konteska, spokesperson for the Macedonian interior ministry,
said on Tuesday that claims of state involvement in the most recent
attack were "speculation" on the part of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
She said: "The investigators and the courts will determine the accuracy
of the reports."
* * *
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TOP
FORUM 18 (OSLO,
NORWAY)
This article was published by F18News on: 24 February 2004
MACEDONIA: Who attacked, armed with machine guns, an Orthodox monastery?
By Branko Bjelajac, Balkans Correspondent, Forum 18 News Service
Metropolitan Jovan (Vranisskovski) of the Serbian Orthodox Church in
Macedonia, has accused Macedonian state officials of attacking a
monastery loyal to his archdiocese. The "infamous Lions, a paramilitary
state security unit, which was established in FYR Macedonia under
supervision of former Milosevic paramilitary instructors", has been
accused of responsibility by the Kosovo diocese. During the attack, five
masked men armed with machine guns men broke in, smashed most of the
religious items, stole a dozen icons, poured petrol on the furniture and
set it alight. They alos attacked two nuns, Renata Mizhimakovska and
Dana Stojanovska, cutting their hair. The perpetrators escaped into the
dark. The attack follows numerous legal cases brought by the Macwedonian
authorities in recent months against clergy and nuns of the church,
including an accusation that Metropolitan Jovan is a spy of a foreign
state. Metropolitan Jovan denies all the accusations.
Archdiocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia, has accused
state officials of organising the 20 February attack on a monastery
loyal to his archdiocese and based in a remote, private house. "Somebody
from them did it, if you ask me," he told Forum 18 News Service from the
southern Macedonian town of Bitola on 23 February. "Who else would dare
to walk 200 metres on a snowy, dark mountain slope, armed with automatic
guns? Where does their courage come from? Were and are they not afraid
that the nuns would report them or that they may've been seen by others
in the neighbourhood?"
The Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate issued a strongly-worded condemnation
in the Serbian capital Belgrade. "It is almost certain that the real
target of the attackers was not only the monastery building, the nuns
and church vessels," it declared in a 21 February statement, "but
apparently the intent was to carry out the physical liquidation of all
the canonical bishops in this region." The Serbian Orthodox Church
questioned what use anyone would have for "stolen church items and
liturgical books".
The Serbian Orthodox diocese in Kosovo went further, accusing the
Macedonian authorities and the Macedonian Orthodox Church of engaging
the "infamous Lions, a paramilitary state security unit, which was
established in FYR Macedonia under supervision of former Milosevic
paramilitary instructors", which was officially disbanded last April.
However, Mirjana Konteska, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, said
such claims of state involvement in the attack were "speculation" on the
part of the Serbian Orthodox Church. "There is no proof that any members
of the ex-Lions were involved and I can't speculate on that," she told
Forum 18 from the capital Skopje on 24 February. "The investigators and
the courts will determine the accuracy of the reports." She said the
Interior Ministry would announce the results of the investigation "after
a few days".
The weekend house on a hilltop in the village of Nizepolje ten
kilometres (six miles) from Bitola, which was attacked in the evening of
20 February, has housed the Serbian Orthodox monastery of St John
Chrysostom since 2002. Five masked armed men broke in, smashed most of
the religious items, stole a dozen icons, poured petrol on the furniture
and set it alight and cut the hair of two nuns, Renata Mizhimakovska and
Dana Stojanovska. The nuns were later released, while the perpetrators
escaped into the dark.
Metropolitan Jovan told Forum 18 that on the day of the attack he and
his fellow bishops Marko and Jovan had been holding a synodal meeting at
the house, together with the synod secretary, Father Superior David. "We
have to hold synodal meetings in extraordinary conditions. We meet in
this adopted weekend house because the Macedonian state and executive
power (government) attacks us, as does the so-called Macedonian Orthodox
Church."
He said that after 4 pm Bishops Marko and Joakim left for Skopje, while
he and Father Superior David left at about 6 pm, when it was already
dark. Only 15 minutes after reaching Bitola, Metropolitan Jovan received
emergency calls from both nuns. "Strangely, my phone was not working
properly only at the time of the attack - after some time, it was all
right," he told Forum 18. "The nuns ran in different directions.
One of them stopped a car and called me from a mobile phone. The other
reached the village and called from a neighbour. They told us that five
armed men had entered the house, that they are destroying property, set
fire, and desecrated them by cutting their hair."
Metropolitan Jovan went back immediately and found that the fire had
burnt out inside the house. "It was a miracle from God that the house
did not burn to the ground." He said damage came to at least 15,000
Euros (131,670 Norwegian kroner or 18,860 US dollars). "It was a
terrible scene."
The next day, the police and a local investigative judge made a
reconstruction of the attack, attended also by officers from Proxima, a
European Union (EU) mission to observe, mentor and advise the Macedonian
police to help bring it up to European standards, though with no
executive power.
"I can confirm that two Proxima officers visited the site and were at
the reconstruction of the incident," EU spokesperson Sheena Thomson told
Forum 18 from Skopje. "We observed no breach of EU standards and the
conduct of the police officers was quite adequate. The only remark is
that some documents in Macedonian were seized at the scene, but this is
accepted under local law, and we will continue to monitor their use in
the continuation of the investigation. So far there were no other
investigative activities." Bitola police are protecting the house, while
the incident is still under investigation.
Numerous legal cases have been launched in recent months against clergy
and nuns of the church (see for example F18News 28 January 2004
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=238 ).
In the wake of a baptism service last summer and unity liturgy with the
monks and nuns who left the Macedonian for the Serbian jurisdiction last
month, two legal cases against Metropolitan Jovan are continuing. Two
more have been announced: one that he is a spy of a foreign state, and
another that, during his reign as Macedonian bishop of Veles before he
joined the Serbian Church, he misused one million Denars. Metropolitan
Jovan denies all the accusations
"I have not received the two last charges yet," Metropolitan Jovan told
Forum 18. "But this is very symptomatic of the state of religious
freedom in Macedonia: firstly the state (parliament) denies our rights.
Then the executive power (police) arrests us and bans our services,
questions us as if we are the criminals. And now the judicial system is
producing a mass of accusations and allegations." He said all he and his
followers can do is to sue the Macedonian state for what it claims are
violations of its rights under Article 9 (1) of the European Convention
on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which guarantees free
religious practice.
The local MIA agency reported on 9 February that the Interior Ministry
pressed robbery charges against monks who joined the Serbian Church in
January. They are accused of taking five liturgical books and two seals
valued at 150,000 Denars (21,577 Norwegian kroner, 2,458 Euros or 3,090
US dollars).
Earlier this month, the Greek Orthodox Synod issued a strong protest
over the refusal of the Macedonian border police at the Bogorodica
border crossing to allow two Greek priests to enter Macedonia. The two
planned to meet clergy of the Ohrid Archdiocese.
The Serbian and Macedonian Orthodox Churches have been in dispute since
1967, when the Macedonian Church unilaterally declared its independence
from the Serbian Church. The Macedonian Church's independence has not
been recognised by any canonical Orthodox jurisdiction.
After several attempts to resolve the schism, the Serbian Orthodox
Church established the Ohrid Archbishopric in Macedonia in 2002, and
ordained former Macedonian Bishop Jovan to be Metropolitan of the
diocese and a patriarchal representative. In late 2003 two more bishops
were consecrated, Marko and Joakim. In early 2004, about 30 monks and
nuns in Macedonia left the Macedonian Church and joined the Serbian
Orthodox.
Despite the tensions, Metropolitan Jovan maintains that his Church's
religious life is normal. "We have regular liturgies in Bitola, where
people are attending the services. Unfortunately, only 60-70 people can
enter my father's apartment, which we adapted into a chapel," he
reported.
He said his Church is planning to press charges against the Macedonian
state because of parliament's 23 January declaration of support for the
Macedonian Orthodox Church. "Within the first two sentences, our
religious and human rights are wiped out. They do not recognise our very
existence," Metropolitan Jovan told Forum 18. "The state is permitting
neither Greek nor Bulgarian Orthodox clerics to enter Macedonia for fear
that the people will see with whom they have canonical unity."
But Konteska denies that the Macedonian authorities have anything
against the Serbian Church's adherents in Macedonia. "They can practice
their faith freely," she told Forum 18, "but not to have private
churches in their homes and disturbing people of other faith by singing
and making noise." She said the Interior Ministry is not interested in
internal church matters "but only in people who break the law". She
pointed out that Metropolitan Jovan is facing numerous criminal charges,
but rejected suggestions that such charges were motivated by any
official hostility to the Serbian Church. "We don't punish him for his
faith, but for breaking the law."
Konteska also denied that the authorities prevented foreign Orthodox
priests from visiting Macedonia. "But no foreign priest can come in
wearing priestly vestments and serve in a church unless they have an
official invitation from a religious community - it's the same for
Catholic priests or Muslim imams." She said the Ohrid Archdiocese is
free to invite foreign clergy.
TOP
*Remark by ERP KIM Info-Service:
The
statements by Ms. Kontevska do not only correspond to the true situation
on the ground but are blatant attempts to falsify the truth and hide
responsibility of Skopje Government and the group of Bishops who falsely
present themselves as "Macedonian Orthodox Church". Many Serbian and
Greek clerics have openly testified that they were not allowed to enter
FYR Macedonia. The writer of these lines remembers that even in 1996 a
group of monks from Serbia were humiliated by Skopje border authorities
and were offered a scandalous choice, either to take off their priestly
robes and Christian insignia or to turn away and travel to Greece via
Bulgaria. Of course, the monks decided to leave the border pass and
travel along several hours longer route through Bulgaria.
ERP KIM Info-Service is
the official Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Raska
and Prizren and works with the blessing of His Grace Bishop
Artemije.
Our Information Service is
distributing news on Kosovo related issues. The main focus of the
Info-Service is the life of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Serbian
community in the Province of Kosovo and Metohija. ERP KIM Info Service
works in cooperation with www.serbian-translation.com
as well as the Kosovo Daily
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The views
expressed by the authors of newspaper articles or other texts which are
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do not necessarily represent the views of the Serbian Orthodox
Church
Additional information on
our Diocese and the life of the Kosovo Serb Community may be found at:
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Copyright 2004, ERP KIM Info-Service
