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The Archbishop of Ohrid is a historic title given to the
primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...
of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. The whole original title of the primate was ''Archbishop of Justiniana Prima and all Bulgaria'' (). The archbishopric was established in 1018 by lowering of the rank of the autocephalous Bulgarian Patriarchate to the rank of archbishopric. The autocephaly of the Ohrid Archbishopric remained respected during the periods of
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
n, Serbian and Ottoman rule and continued to exist until its abolition in 1767. Today, the primate of the
Macedonian Orthodox Church The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-AO; ), 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 ...
is claimant to the title of Archbishop of Ohrid. According to the statutes of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the current Bulgarian Patriarchate is the successor of the Ohrid Archbishopric.


Archbishopric of Ohrid, 1018–1767


Macedonian Orthodox Church


Autonomous, 1958–1967

On 4 October 1958, the
Macedonian Orthodox Church The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid (MOC-AO; ), 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 ...
was declared as the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. Archbishop Dositej II was enthroned as Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, continuing in the lineage of the Archbishops of
Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...
. The declaration was retroactively accepted by the Bishops' Council of the
Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...
on 19 June 1959, and was celebrated in a common liturgy by Archbishop Dositej II and Serbian Patriarch German in
Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...
. In 1962, Serbian Patriarch German and Russian Patriarch Alexy I visited the Macedonian Orthodox Church on the feast of Ss.
Cyril and Methodius Cyril (; born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (; born Michael, 815–885) were brothers, Population of the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Christian theologians and Christian missionaries, missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs ...
in Ohrid. The two patriarchs and the Macedonian archbishop celebrated Holy Liturgy, marking the first occasion where the leader of the Macedonian church met with heads of other
Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
es.


Autocephalous, since 1967

On 19 July 1967, in Ohrid, the Macedonian Orthodox Church declared
autocephaly Autocephaly (; ) is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The status has been compared with t ...
from the Serbian Orthodox Church, a move which was not acknowledged by the Serbian church and other Eastern Orthodox Churches. In 2022, the disagreement between the Macedonian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church over the self-proclaimed autocephaly of the former ended. The Macedonian Orthodox Church was recognized as autocephalous by the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...
and some other Eastern Orthodox Churches.


Serbian Orthodox Church


Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric (autonomous), 2005–2023

The Serbian Orthodox Church had a disagreement with the Macedonian Orthodox Church after its separation and declaration of autocephaly in 1967 and did not recognize it, along with all of the other Eastern Orthodox churches. After the negotiations between the two churches were suspended, the Macedonian church had withdrawn from the 2002 agreement where the Macedonian church would enjoy recognition as autonomous under the control of the Serbian church, the Serbian church officially recognized the group led by Jovan Vraniškovski, a former bishop of the Macedonian church, as leaders of the Archbishopric of Ohrid under the tutelage of the Serbian Patriarchate in 2005. The Serbian church recognized his group as the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid and gave him the title of Jovan VI, Archbishop of Ohrid. In 2023, after the reconciliation of the Serbian church and the Macedonian church, the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric was integrated into the Macedonian church. On 28 June 2023, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric made an official announcement, stating that it has fulfilled its mission, and noting that its hierarchs have collectively joined the Macedonian church.OOA (2023): Communique of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric (mk)
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References

{{reflist Eastern Orthodox archbishops Lists of bishops and archbishops in Europe