This is a huge step for the identity of the Macedonian people. After this decision of the Gate in the Orthodox Christian church world, our identity is in canonical unity with other Balkan nations and at the same time is different from other Balkan nations and has a centuries-old history and tradition, said VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski, commenting on social media.
“With this, Bulgaria’s thesis of a nation formed in 1945 loses ground, as well as the thesis for the second Bulgarian empire, which is based on the challenge of the Macedonian identity and its assimilation as Bulgarian. The acceptance of the centuries-old history and tradition of the Ohrid Archbishopric is only a confirmation of the Macedonian Orthodox identity different from the Bulgarian, Serbian, Greek and others with which we are now in canonical unity. As for the name, I would like to clarify that neither the Russian Patriarchate is Russian but the Moscow Patriarchate, etc.,” said Mickoski.
