 Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid | |
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| Македонска православна црква – Охридска архиепископија | |
 Coat of arms of the MOC, with the Church of St. Sophia, Ohrid, the historical seat of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, depicted on it | |
| Abbreviation | AO, MOC, MOC-AO |
| Type | Eastern Orthodox |
| Theology | Eastern Orthodox theology |
| Primate | Stefan, Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia |
| Region | North Macedonia |
| Language | Church Slavonic, Macedonian |
| Territory | North Macedonia |
| Possessions | United States Canada Australia European Union |
| Independence |
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| Recognition |
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| Separated from | Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) |
| Official website | mpc.org.mk/ |
| Part of a series on the |
| Eastern Orthodox Church |
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| Overview |
The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-AO; Macedonian: Македонска православна црква – Охридска архиепископија), or simply the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) or the Archdiocese of Ohrid (AO), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in North Macedonia. The Macedonian Orthodox Church claims ecclesiastical jurisdiction over North Macedonia, and is also represented in the Macedonian diaspora. The primate of the Macedonian Orthodox Church is Stefan Veljanovski, the Metropolitan of Skopje and Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia.
In 1959, the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church granted autonomy to the Macedonian Orthodox Church in the then-Socialist Republic of Macedonia, as the restoration of the historic Archbishopric of Ohrid;[1] the MOC was united with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) as a part of the SOC. In 1967, on the bicentennial anniversary of the abolition of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, the Macedonian Holy Synod unilaterally announced its autocephaly from the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Serbian synod denounced the decision and condemned the clergy as schismatic.[2] Thenceforth, the Macedonian Church had remained unrecognized by all mainstream Eastern Orthodox churches for 55 years.[1][3]
The Macedonian Orthodox Church was formally reintegrated into the mainstream Eastern Orthodox community in 2022. The Ecumenical Patriarchate accepted the MOC into communion and recognized North Macedonia as its canonical territory. The schism between the Serbian and Macedonian churches ended, while the MOC was restored as an autonomous part of the Serbian church according to its 1959 status. Afterwards, the Serbian Orthodox Church officially granted autocephaly to the MOC, though all autocephalous churches have not recognized this autocephaly.
- ^ a b Erwin Fahlbusch; Geoffrey William Bromiley, eds. (1999). The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 3. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 381. ISBN 9780802824158. OCLC 39914033.
- ^ "РУССКАЯ ПРАВОСЛАВНАЯ ЦЕРКОВЬ XX ВЕК. 10 ОКТЯБРЯ". Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ "Συλλείτουργο Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη-Αρχιεπισκόπου Αχρίδος στο Φανάρι" [Ecumenical Patriarch, Archbishop of Ohrid in the Phanar]. Ορθοδοξία News Agency (in Greek). 2022-06-12. Retrieved 2022-06-13.