MACEDONIA: Serbian Orthodox Archbishop arrested again

Serbian Orthodox Archbishop Jovan has again been arrested by Macdonian police, along with four monks, seven nuns, and a Bulgarian theology student from Bulgaria currently studying in Greece, Forum 18 News Service has learnt. The Archbishop and the monks and nuns have been held in jail, and the theology student has been deported and banned for two years from entering Macedonia. The latest arrests took place when police interrupted a church service, and appears to be linked to moves by some within the Macedonian Orthodox Church, including some monasteries, to be reconciled with the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Macedonian government has told Forum 18 that "entering spiritual and canonical unity with the Archbishopric of Ohrid", which the government claims is "non-existent in Macedonia", constitutes "the dissemination of religious hate."

During a church service in Bitola, southern Macedonia, last Sunday (11 January), Macedonian police interrupted the service and arrested Archbishop Jovan (Vraniskovski) of the Serbain Orthodox Church, four monks, seven nuns, and a theology student from Bulgaria currently studying in Greece. The arrests took place in the apartment of Archbishop Jovan's father, where the service was taking place. The apartment had been adapted into a small chapel with the name "The Ascension of the Lord".

All those arrested were held in custody for 24 hours, and an investigative judge questioned them about what he described as the ''alleged service''. After his release, Archbishop Jovan was re-arrested and sentenced to 30 days "investigative detention" and, in what the Macedonian Interior Ministry described as a "protective measure", the Bulgarian student was deported and banned from entering Macedonia for two years.

The Deputy Public Prosecutor has charged Archbishop Jovan with "dissemination of national, racial and religious hate, disorder and segregation" under article 319 of the Criminal Code. Mirjana Konteska, a spokeswoman of the Macedonian Interior Ministry, told Forum 18 from Skopje on 13 January that all 13 people arrested during the service were suspected of "spreading religious hatred", and that this was why investigative judge Slobodanka Bakevska ordered police to enter the premises and "detain the perpetrators". Speaking of those arrested, Konteska said that they "defended themselves by silence" and that the monks and nums arrested "will be charged before the Magistrates court with disturbance of public peace and order."

"Among more than thirty people present in that apartment when police arrived, there were representatives of four monasteries in Macedonia which previously announced that they will enter spiritual and canonical unity with the Archbishopric of Ohrid," says Konteska of the Interior Ministry. "This was the grounds for a prosecutor to charge them with the dissemination of religious hate. They were in the process of admitting these monks and nuns into the Archbishopric of Ohrid, which is non-existent in Macedonia."

Archbishop Jovan was put into solitary confinement last year for baptizing a relative in an active Macedonian Orthodox Church (see F18News 24 July 2003 http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=113 ) On 31 October 2003 he was sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years on condition that he did not commit what the Macedonian authorities would consider to be further offences. The Interior Ministry spokeswoman told Forum 18 that during Archbishop Jovan's current detention "a judge will investigate whether this act is a repeat, in which case the two cases might be charged together.''

Archbishop Jovan was a Bishop of the Macedonian Orthodox Church who responded to a call for re-union of the Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox Churches by Serbian Patriarch Pavle in 2002. Jovan was then was installed as the Serbian Orthodox bishop and patriarchal egzarh for all of the dioceses of the Ohrid archbishopric. The Macedonian Orthodox Church in 1958 responded to heavy pressure by the then government of Marshal Tito by gaining autonomy within the Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1968 the Macedonian Orthodox Church claimed autocephaly (complete independence from the Serbian Orthodox Church), also with very heavy interference by the then government, but no Orthodox Church in the world recognizes this autocephaly.

The Serbian Orthodox Church has issued a strong condemnation of the renewed arrest of Archbishop Jovan, and has condemned the interference of the state with the religious freedom of clergy and believers.

''The real reason for his [Jovan's] arrest should be looked for in moves by half of the monastic population of Macedonia towards reconciliation with the Serbian Orthodox Church," Ana Kostic-Dimitrijevska of KIM Radio told Forum 18 from the Macedonian capital Skopje. "Three monasteries joined the Serbian Orthodox Church, some sources say four, and this was the reason for all of the upheaval in Macedonian Orthodox Church and Macedonian government."

When the names of the four monasteries were released, Macedonian Orthodox Bishop Timotej stated that "All churches and monasteries on territory of Macedonia are part of Macedonian Orthodox Church (...) Monks have free will to join anybody, but monasteries and their properties belong only to the Macedonian Orthodox Church." All hieromonks in charge of these monasteries were dismissed the same day and replaced by others, with the assistance of the uniformed police forces.

"When the police entered the apartment, they seized Abp's mobile phone, PC and other personal communication devices" Fr. Nektarije of the Serbian Orthodox diocese of Raska and Prizren told Forum 18 from Gracanica (Kosovo) on 13 January 2004. Fr Nektarije is a close friend of Archbishop Jovan. ''The last time I was in contact with him, a day before arrest, he was aware that the troubles might arise again. In a previous year he was arrested for serving [the liturgy] in a church, this time they arrested him for serving [the liturgy] in a home that was adapted in a small chapel."

BETA news agency reported on 13 January 2004 that the Serbian Patriarch Pavle has written to the Macedonian President Trajkovski (who is visiting Portugal) asking for an urgent meeting with him. However, the Macedonian government the same day issued the statement that '' the preservation and defense of the autocephalous status and the entirety of Macedonian Orthodox Church, defense of its name, which is directly linked to the national identity of the Macedonian people and the Macedonian state, is the strategic interest of the church, people, state and the Government. Macedonian Orthodox Church and the Government stand behind these joint positions in defense of the integrity, identity and dignity for preservation of the Macedonian Orthodox Church honor."

Despite police interrupting a service to arrest Bishop Jovan, Koneska of the Interior Ministry has insisted to Forum 18 that 'it is not true that religious communities are not permitted to held religious services outside church buildings. This requirement has been banned," says Konteska "and there is no legal obstacle for clergy of other countries to enter Macedonia." In the past, numerous instances have been reported of Bulgarian, Greek and Serbian Orthodox clergy not being permitted to enter Macedonia in their priestly garments.

Earlier this year, Macedonian Prime Minister Crvenkovski, stated that the government will soon adopt a new draft law for religious communities, and that the first draft had been evaluated by the Ministry of Justice.

A printer-friendly map of Macedonia is available from http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/index.html?Parent=europe&Rootmap=macedo

Note that the formally recognized name of Macedonia in international law is "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia".

The Macedonian Orthodox Church in 1958 responded to heavy pressure by the then government of Marshal Tito by gaining autonomy within the Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1968 the Macedonian Orthodox Church claimed autocephaly (complete independence from the Serbian Orthodox Church), also with very heavy interference by the then government, but no Orthodox Church in the world recognizes this autocephaly.

As you may know, the Yugoslav communists invented an ethnicity for people in the South who speak a Bulgarian dialect to keep these people from breaking away. To prevent them from having any link with Serbs and the Bulgarians and the Greeks the Yugoslav communists also made them create an independent or autocephalous church. The people claim they are Macedonians as in Alexander the Great Macedonians not just Slavs living within the geographic region of Macedonia. They also need a church to help sell this myth to their own people.

To me their claims are like the claims of Black Israelites in America who claim to be the real Hebrews based on no evidence but conviction.

Foreign policy angle? The USA under Clinton did all it could to keep this deluded situation because as long as these people called themselves Macedonia they isolated themselves to everyone but the USA.

The Greeks were irritated by their claims to the name, history, ethnicity and even to claims in Greece by this nation. The Bulgarians were angered that their Bulgarian brothers denied their ancestry, the Serbs were cut off because of the church issue. This way "Macedonia" was isolated and without allies. Macedonia thus served as a wall preventing Serbia and Greece from having a common border. Serbia and Greece according to thinking in Washington cannot be allowed to have a shared because the threat of Greece and Serbia forming an alliance that they can use to pressure Turkey. Threats from Turkey at the request of the State Dept. is what keeps Greece in line.

In addition Macedonia serves as a servile route for any east to west pipelines from the Black Sea.

This isolation backfired on Skopje when the Albanians ran riot and neither Bulgaria, Serbia or Greece were willing to help. Only the USA/NATO came to their aid (Condi Rice forced the Ukranians to stop arming the "Macedonians" during the most heavy faze of the war) and the price for NATO's aid in stopping the Albanians was very high indeed.

The story is simple: there is no such country as Macedonia and no autocephalous Macedonian Orthodox Church. There is obviously no freedom of religion in that country either, and its human rights record has been questionable, but you won't read about it because Macedonia is a willing vassal of ours. So, don't feel bad being in the dark -- we made sure you are.

The so-called Macedonia was created by Yugoslav communist regime in 1945. It was an attempt of the Communist authorities to deny Serbia and Bulgaria claims to the area, based on various historical reasons too complex to go into at this point. Suffice it to say that the eastern part of the country speaks a dialect that is Bulgarian and the western part is more akin to Serbian, two very close Slavic languages.

In order to provide the new nation with a lnaguge and an alphabet, Yugoslav communists and Bulgarian communists decided to "help." A Bulgarian drafted the grammar based on the Bulgarian model, and a Serbian the alphabet based on Serbian Cyrillic.

In order to fracture Serbian national influence as much as possible, and considering the Church as "reactionary" and dangerous for the regime, Yugoslav communists pulled an oxymoron -- communist atheists created the so-called Macedonian Orthodox Church in the 1960's by a decree.

The "church" is not recognized as such anywhere in the world but in "Macedonia." The international community has steadfastly refused to recognize a country by the name of "Macedonia" as well as its communist-crafted political "church."

Officially, the church in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the official name of the country, is administratively part of the autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church. The Serbian Orthodox Church was administratively under the Greek Orthodox Church until it became autocephalous -- through a legal canonical process in the 12th century. The Chuch in FYROM is an autonomous, but not independent Church, until such time that it is found to fulfill canons to become autocephalous (independent). This is nothing outside of the ordinary: the Orthodox Church of Japan is autonomous, but administratively part of the Russian Orthodox Church.

These divisions, and any disputes arising from them, are not theological but administrative. There is no "schism" in Orthodoxy. Eastern Orthodoxy is one theology and one form of worship, i.e. catholic or universal.

The only crime is the one committed by the so-called Maceodnian government in arresting the clerigy and violating basic human rights of religious worship. Anyone even faintly familair with the beautiful Orthodox Holy Liturgy will immediately realize that there is not a trace of hate, or intolerance and that such charges are done by desperate and depraved authorities of a depraved nation which exists on make-believe name, language and "church" and that the only people spreading intolerance are the very government officials and their "church" cohorts in Skopye.

Okay. In the Balkan Peninsula, we have Serbs, Croats, "Macedonians", Bosnians, Bulgars, Albanians, Greeks, Rumanians, Ukranians... What have I left out?

Some are Orthodox, some Roman Catholic, some Muslim. Which are what?

Also which are ethnic, which national, which both or neither? Which are in alliance, which hostile, which compatible, which incompatible?

I know the Russians tend to ally themselves with the Serbs.

Whom do the Turks ally themselves with? Are the Balkan Muslims descendants of Ottoman subjects? Are they ethnically Turks, descendants of janissaries, or what?

It's all very confusing. Thanks. ~SB

The Macedonian church is the mother of all orthodoxy. Do you want proof. Read the bible and learn. St. Paul was embraced in Macedonia and established one of the first christen churches there. Greece, known as Achia then, was a polytheistic Roman province. Lydia was the first gentile woman (macedonian) to convert to Christianity. In the New Testement, as per St. Pauls letters to the Corinthians, he writes explicidly on how difficult it was to convert (greeks) to Christianity. Unlike his visits to Macedonia.
The biggest problem facing Macedonia and the MOC is the politics of Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia. Lets leave Albania out of this for now. If we look at our best source of history, the Holy Bible, the facts are there.
I hate to get in any deeper that this, but I must. We Macedonians, along with the rest of the Orthodox christians use the term Pravo-slav in our native Slavic languages. The true interpritation from slavic to english is not Orthodox but True-Glory. Sts. Cyril and Methodia spread christianity to the north and east of europe. They were born in Thesolonica, which from up untill the time of there birth was NEVER Greek, Bulgarian, or Serbian. Only east Roman. St Cyril is buried in the Vatican. Every year the Pope has a service commemorating his life works. So behold, this is how the term Slavs came about. So as long as Macedonians are "slavs" and there true identity is hidden, present day nations like Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia could exist. All there histrory centers in MACEDONIA. The oldest "Slavic" language is Macedonian, so how is it that we speak Bulgarian when there own history states that they are Tartar (mongols) who settled on the shores of the Black Sea with the hoards of Ghengis Khan.
Come on guys, cant we all just ge along. Just recognise Macedonia and we can all move on and bring some prosperity to the Balkans and stop the Islamo-terroists from getting a foot back in the door.

"Macedonians are and have always been a GREEK tribe"

Ha, you make me laugh. The closest language in Europe to Greek is ...... NONE. Your closest kin is ARABIC. Dont bother with the facts. As for Macedonia being a Greek tribe, what where the Greek civil wars over. Also, tell us your version of the Metaxas papers. You Greeks are nothing but Arab migrates and you were nothing but Turkish slaves before the British colonized the Greek mainlands. These are facts. You say what you will but the facts are available regardless how hard you try with your lobbing and money to alter the truth.

"Bulgarian-Slavs of Skopje have no claim to a think before the Middle Ages. If the Church was born in Macedonia it is funny how it spoke Greek and that Sts. Cyrill and Methodius have Greek names rather then Slavo-Bulgarian ones."

Another lie, Cyrill is about as Greek a name as Jacob or Alexander. And Methodius is your version of the true name Metodija. What, just because you add an "s" and "h" to the name its Greek. Ha Ha. Where is the "s" in Cyrill.
Its just a cruel shame how fare you have come. But remember, what goes around comes around.

"Worship in your commie origin church all you want. Live your lie."

Our religious tradition are nothing imaginable to any western Christian. This is proof of how long we have had these tradition. They are many and woderful, if only you pagans would understand the true-meaning of them.
What right do the Serbs of Greeks have to contol our church. I dont recall the Greeks as the chosen people. If you were true christians this would never be happening. So hide behind your money and so called communist bull, but you will never make peace if you "covent they neighbor".

"Dont waste your time with people who forget who taught them to read and write and brought the light of the world to them. Its about a pipeline"

If what you say is true, then please do explain to me how Greek is such a well know language in, say, 1/3 of Europe like (slavic)Macedonian. Or if you were so sucsessful with Macedonia back in the middle ages, then what happend to Serbia, Bulgaria and so on. We should all be speeking Greek right now.
I just cant get for the light of me how Serbs, are so easily manipulated by you Arabs. I must say though, those English really did a number on your mentality. But in the end it always come down to divide and concure.

1. What written language did Alexander the Great write in? (Greek)
2. What language did he and Aristotle converse in? (Greek)
3. When St. Paul landed in the Roman province of Macedonia what language did he speak?(Greek, Latin, maybe Hebrew?)
4. Why did Sts. Cyril and Methodius have to convert the Slavs to the North in the 9th century (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04592a.htm) if they supposedly were already Christian? What happend during those 8 centuries after St. Paul? Why did they have to invent an alphabet based of the Greek?
5. If you look at the earliest coins from the Macedonian region you can see the Hellenic culture from Macedonia. I know you may dispute this website http://alexander.macedonia.culture.gr/2/21/211/21116/21116ek/e211pn02.html (the Greek Ministry of Culture), but most scholars look to coinage as an accurate record of cultural activity as reflected by commerce. The dominant culture creates the coinage, language, and civilizing forces.

Greece is not a perfect country, and I will admit it is xenophobic and has suppressed its Slavic minorities in the past, but I can not sit idly while history is distorted out of ignorance.

Isn't time to abandon these ridiculous claims and work to create more unity in the region. Our common enemies are stronger than our differences. Greece wants a stable trading partner to the north. FYROM acts as though they are on a mission of self-distruction.

Here let me help you out.

Q. 1. What written language did Alexander the Great write in? (Greek)
A. 1. Yes but he spoke Macedonian. Because latin is used by Americans, British, Germans, French, etc.. it doesnt make them latin. Or maybe by your standerds.

Q. 2. What language did he and Aristotle converse in? (Greek)
A. 2. You are so wrong pal, you better take a refresher coarse on ancient Greece.

Q. 3. When St. Paul landed in the Roman province of Macedonia what language did he speak?(Greek, Latin, maybe Hebrew?
A. 3. If you travel to Macedonia today, you would definately need to speek English, French, or German to comunicate.

Q.4. Why did Sts. Cyril and Methodius have to convert the Slavs to the North in the 9th century (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04592a.htm) if they supposedly were already Christian? What happend during those 8 centuries after St. Paul? Why did they have to invent an alphabet based of the Greek?
A. 4. Sts. Kiril and Metodija where the first to create an alphabet that was meant to be used by the "slavic" speaking world. This happened to be 1/3 of the European population. If you truelly were a Macedonian you would have known that they based this alphabet on Gligorica, which outdates cyrillic by 7 centuries. Which throws your theory on slav migration out the window. Also, the latin alphat is based on Greek. I dont see Greece claiming the whole westen world belongs to them.

Q. 5. If you look at the earliest coins from the Macedonian region you can see the Hellenic culture from Macedonia
A. 5. see answers 1-4.

"Greek not only resembles 99% of all European languages - it is in fact one of the mother tongues of the Indo-European peoples. The rest of your claptrap is what I would expect from communist inspired bilge that distorts history. Your ancestors entered the Balkans as pagans and were converted by Greek missionaries that tought you to behave like human beings 0 for a while at least."

Destro, you better go back to school, study history and religion, especially the New Testament. And please stop with that commi marshal tito crap. You have to do better than that if you expect us Macedonians to give up the rest of our land, church, and soul. I think your Greek is really getting to your head. You need to become a human before you want to behave like one.

Destro, I didnt make this up, this is from a real greek source, unlike the present day garbage.

Primary Source: Demosthenes on Philip of Macedon

Demosthenes (384-322 BC)
Continuing our series of articles based on book excerpts, we present a portion of the Third Philippic by the ancient Greek statesman and master orator Demosthenes (384-322 BC), with an aim to incite our readers to look through the primary sources, which are supposed to be used in writing of history. This may become mighty useful considering the PR opportunities offered by making of 3 new motion pictures about Alexander the Great.

Excerpt from the Third Philippic (italics added):

[30] Ay, and you know this also, that the wrongs which the Greeks suffered from the Lacedaemonians or from us, they suffered at all events at the hands of true-born sons of Greece, and they might have been regarded as the acts of a legitimate son, born to great possessions, who should be guilty of some fault or error in the management of his estate: so far he would deserve blame and reproach, yet it could not be said that it was not one of the blood, not the lawful heir who was acting thus. [31] But if some slave or superstitious bastard had wasted and squandered what he had no right to, heavens! how much more monstrous and exasperating all would have called it! Yet they have no such qualms about Philip and his present conduct, though he is not only no Greek, nor related to the Greeks, but not even a barbarian from any place that can be named with honor, but a pestilent knave from Macedonia, whence it was never yet possible to buy a decent slave.
[32] Yet what is wanting to crown his insolence? Not content with the destruction of cities, is he not organizing the Pythian games, the common festival of the Greeks, and if he cannot be present in person, sending his menials to act as stewards? [Is he not master of Thermopylae and the passes into Greece, holding those places with his garrisons and his mercenaries? Has he not the right of precedence at the Oracle, ousting us and the Thessalians and the Dorians and the rest of the Amphictyons from a privilege which not even all Greek states can claim?]

Excerpt end. This text is based on the following book:

Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by J. H. Vince, M.A. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William
Heinemann Ltd. 1930.
OCLC: 10903499
ISBN: 0674992636

Written by an enemy of Philip. Sort of like how Southerners called Lincoln a negro as an insult, as any true lover history would know. Thus with that you prove you have no clue as to history nor does that qoute link Skopje to Macedon. Such distortions of history are common from communists. Reminds me of how the Black Isrealites and the Black Muslims distort history to provide a fictitous origin and history for nationalistic purposes.

Written 4 centuries before Demosthenes was born: Hesiod (Hsiodos), c.720 BC

Magnes and Macedon

The district of Macedonia took its name from Macedon the son of Zeus and Thyia, Deucalion’s daughter, as Hesiod says:
‘And she conceived and bare to Zeus who delights in the thunderbolt two sons, Magnes and Macedon, rejoicing in horses, who dwell round about Pieria and Olympus.’(1) (Hesiod, c.720 BC)

Magnhta Makhdona

Makedonia h cwra wnomasqh apo Makedonos tou Dios kai Quias ths Deukaliwnos, ws fhsin Hsiodos: h d’ upokusamenh Dii geinato terpikeraunw uie duw Magnhta Makhdona Q’ ippiocarmhn, oi peri Pierihn kai Olumpon dwmat enaion. (1)

Alternate sources and tranlsations: Fragment #4- Plutarch, Mor. p. 747; Schol. on Pindar Pyth. iv. 263:

The district Macedonia took its name from Macedon the son of Zeus and Thyia, Deucalion's daughter, as Hesiod says:

`And she conceived and bare to Zeus who delights in the thunderbolt two sons, Magnes and Macedon, rejoicing in horses, who dwell round about Pieria and Olympus....

((LACUNA)) ....And Magnes again (begot) Dictys and godlike Polydectes.'

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