The head of Serbia's Orthodox Church recognized the independence of the Orthodox Church in North Macedonia, signaling an end to a religious dispute dating back more than 50 years.
Patriarch Porfirije, the leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church, announced the decision to recognize the Orthodox Church in North Macedonia during a joint liturgy on May 24 in Skopje.
“Brothers and sisters, we are here to bring you joy," Porfirije said. “God is one, his church is one, and our faith is one. That is why we are rejoicing today. A miracle is happening before us. We are part of that miracle.”
Believers at the joint service and around St. Clement of Ohrid Cathedral greeted the announcement with joy and thunderous applause.
The rift dates back to 1967 when the Orthodox Church in North Macedonia unilaterally announced its independence, or autocephaly, from the Serbian Church. At the time, the two predominantly Orthodox republics were part of Yugoslavia.
Serbian religious leaders condemned the move, and the breakaway church was not recognized by other Orthodox churches.
As he announced the reversal, Porfirije said the synod of Serbia's senior bishops unanimously accepted the change, and an official proclamation of the church's independence is being prepared. The proclamation will be followed by an invitation of acceptance to be sent to other Orthodox churches.
Porfirije expects that all local churches will accept the autocephaly status of the church, whose formal name is the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric.
Formal recognition of the autocephaly of the church is expected to be officially announced by Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians.
Bartholomew earlier this month acknowledged the Macedonian Orthodox Church as the Church of Ohrid, and the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate followed suit last week.
“We have been waiting to hear this news for a long time. This is the day,” said Archbishop Stefan, head of the Orthodox Church in North Macedonia, as he thanked Bartholomew and Porfirije for their support.
"Once again, we thank you, your holiness, and the members of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church on behalf of the monasticism and the faithful people of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric," Archbishop Stefan said.
The news was widely seen in North Macedonia as a historic event, and after the end of the joint liturgy the bells in the cathedral in Skopje continued to ring.
"It is good news that we are finally together after so many years, and the patriarch himself says in Serbian that this is a miracle that happened to us, so we thank God," said Blagica Blazeska, according to RFE/RL’s Balkan Service.
Donco Domazetovski, another worshiper, said it was “a miracle above the miracles” that the church’s autocephaly was recognized and its priests have the right to preach everywhere and build unity.