Transition of the Orthodox Eparchies in Vardar Macedonia under the Jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Church

Authors:

Pages: 418-421

Abstract:

During the First Balkan War Vardar Macedonia was occupied by troops of the Kingdom of Serbia, to which it was formally annexed after the Second Balkan War under the signed peace treaty of Bucharest on July 28, 1913. The fall of Vardar Macedonia under Serbia’s authority immediately reflects on the church situation there, since without concern to the aspirations and attitudes of the Orthodox population in the newly acquired Macedonian lands, the Serbian Orthodox Church took control of the local eparchies. Both the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Bulgarian Exarchate do not recognize the administration of the Serbian Orthodox Church over Vardar Macedonia. They continue to regard these eparchies as part of their diocese. By imposing a regime of total repression, Serbia, along with the imposition of its state authority over Vardar Macedonia, also imposed the church power of the Serbian Orthodox Church, including the complete replacement of the clergy as well. The official recognition of the affiliation of the eparchies in Vardar Macedonia to the diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church became possible after World War I, in which Serbia fought as an ally on the side of the Entente what places it in a favorable position. In March 1920, as a result of the agreement reached with the Holy Synod of Constantinople Ecumenical Patriarchate a single autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church with the rank of Patriarchate was established. In February 1922, the Ecumenical Patriarch Meletius IV issued the necessary Patriarchal tomos for recognition of the Serbian Patriarchate and the accession of the eparchies of Vardar Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to it. The cost of this recognition is the large sum of 1.5 million gold francs paid to the Ecumenical Patriarchate by the government in Belgrade.

Keywords:

Vardar Macedonia, Orthodox Eparchy, Bulgarian Exarchate, Serbian Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Kingdom of Serbia.

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