Archbishop of Ohrid

The Archbishop of Ohrid is a historic title given to the primate of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. The whole original title of the primate was Archbishop of Justiniana Prima and all Bulgaria (Greek: ἀρχιεπίσκοπὴ τῆς Πρώτης Ἰουστινιανῆς καὶ πάσης Βουλγαρίας).

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, Bulgarian, Serbian and Ottoman rule and continued to exist until its abolition in 1767.

Today, the primates of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric are both claimants 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.[1]

Archbishopric of Ohrid, 1018–1767
Map of the Archbishopric of Ohrid in 1020
Name Reign Birth Name Title
John I of Debar 1018–1037 Archbishop of Ohrid
Leo 1037–1056 Archbishop of Ohrid
Theodulus I 1056–1065 Archbishop of Ohrid
John II Lampinos 1065–1078 Archbishop of Ohrid
John III 1078–1079 Archbishop of Ohrid
Theophylact 1084–1107 Archbishop of Ohrid
Leo II Mung 1108–1120 Archbishop of Ohrid
Michael Maximos 1120 Archbishop of Ohrid
John IV 1139/43–1160 Adrianos Komnenos Archbishop of Ohrid
Constantine I 1160 Archbishop of Ohrid
John V Kamateros 1183–1216 Archbishop of Ohrid
Demetrios Chomatianos 1216–1234 Archbishop of Ohrid
Joannicius Archbishop of Ohrid
Sergius Archbishop of Ohrid
Constantine II Kabasilas before 1255–after 1259 Archbishop of Ohrid
Jacob Proarchius 1275–1285 Archbishop of Ohrid
Hadrian Archbishop of Ohrid
Gennadius Archbishop of Ohrid
Macarius Archbishop of Ohrid
Anthimos Metochites 1341–1346 Archbishop of Ohrid
Nicholas I 1346 Archbishop of Ohrid
Gregory II 1364/65 Archbishop of Ohrid
Matthew 1408 Archbishop of Ohrid
Nicodemus 1452 Archbishop of Ohrid
Dositheos I Archbishop of Ohrid
Dorotheos 1466 Archbishop of Ohrid
Mark Xylokaravis 1466 Archbishop of Ohrid
Nicholas II Archbishop of Ohrid
Zacharius 1486 Archbishop of Ohrid
Prochorus 1528–1550 Archbishop of Ohrid
Simeon 1550–1557 Archbishop of Ohrid
Nicanor 1557–1565 Archbishop of Ohrid
Paisius 1565 Archbishop of Ohrid
Parthenius I Archbishop of Ohrid
Sophronius 1567–1572 Archbishop of Ohrid
Gabriel 1572–1588 Archbishop of Ohrid
Theodulus II 1588–1590 Archbishop of Ohrid
Gregory III 1590–1593 Archbishop of Ohrid
Joachim 1593–1596 Archbishop of Ohrid
Athanasius I 1596–1598 Archbishop of Ohrid
Varlaam 1598 Archbishop of Ohrid
Nectarius I 1598–1613 Archbishop of Ohrid
Metrophanes 1614–1616 Archbishop of Ohrid
Nectarius II 1616–1624 Archbishop of Ohrid
Porphyrios Palaiologos 1624–1627 Archbishop of Ohrid
George 1627–1628 Archbishop of Ohrid
Joasaph 1628–1629 Archbishop of Ohrid
Abraham Mesaps 1629–1637 Archbishop of Ohrid
Meletius I 1637–1643 Archbishop of Ohrid
Chariton 1643–1650 Archbishop of Ohrid
Daniel 1650–1652 Archbishop of Ohrid
Dionysius I 1652–1653 Archbishop of Ohrid
Athanasius II 1653 Archbishop of Ohrid
Paphnutius Archbishop of Ohrid
Ignatius I 1660–1663 Archbishop of Ohrid
Arsenius I 1663 Archbishop of Ohrid
Zosimus 1663–1670 Archbishop of Ohrid
Panaretus 1671–1673 Archbishop of Ohrid
Nectarius III 1673–1676 Archbishop of Ohrid
Ignatius II 1676 Archbishop of Ohrid
Teophanes 1676 Archbishop of Ohrid
Meletius II 1676–1677 Archbishop of Ohrid
Parthenius II 1677–1683 Archbishop of Ohrid
Gregory IV 1683–1688 Archbishop of Ohrid
Germanus 1688–1691 Archbishop of Ohrid
Gregory V 1691–1693 Archbishop of Ohrid
Ignatius III 1693–1695
1703–1706		 Archbishop of Ohrid
Zosimus II 1695–1699
1707–1708		 Archbishop of Ohrid
Raphael 1699–1702 Archbishop of Ohrid
Germanus II 1702 Archbishop of Ohrid
Dionysius II 1706
1709–1714		 Archbishop of Ohrid
Methodius I 1708 Archbishop of Ohrid
Philotheus 1714–1718 Archbishop of Ohrid
Joasaph II 1719–1745 Archbishop of Ohrid
Joseph 1746–1752 Archbishop of Ohrid
Dionysius III 1752–1756 Archbishop of Ohrid
Methodius II 1757–1758 Archbishop of Ohrid
Cyril 1759–1762 Archbishop of Ohrid
Jeremy 1763 Archbishop of Ohrid
Ananias 1763 Archbishop of Ohrid
Arsenius II 1763–1767 Archbishop of Ohrid

Macedonian Orthodox Church

Autonomous, 1958–1967

On 4 October 1958, the Macedonian Orthodox Church was declared as the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid.[2] Archbishop Dositej II was enthroned as Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, continuing in the lineage of the Archbishops of Ohrid. The declaration was retroactively accepted by the Bishops' Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church on 19 June 1959, and was celebrated in a common liturgy by Archbishop Dositej II and Serbian Patriarch German in Skopje.

In 1962, Serbian Patriarch German and Russian Patriarch Alexy I visited the Macedonian Orthodox Church on the feast of Ss. Cyril and Methodius 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 Churches.

Name Portrait Reign Birth Name Title
Dositej II 1958–1967 Dimitrije Stojković[3] Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia

Autocephalous, since 1967
Main articles: List of heads of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and Macedonian Orthodox Church
Map of the dioceses of the Macedonian Orthodox Church between 1967 and 2013.
Map of the dioceses of the Macedonian Orthodox Church since 2013.

On 19 July 1967, in Ohrid, the Macedonian Orthodox Church declared autocephaly from the Serbian Orthodox Church, a move which was not acknowledged by the Serbian church and other Eastern Orthodox Churches.

Name Portrait Reign Birth Name Title
Dositej II 1967–1981 Dimitrije Stojković[3] Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia
Angelarij 1981–1986 Cvetko Krsteski Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia
Gavril II 1986–1993 Ǵorǵi Milošev Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia
Mihail 1993–1999 Metodi Gogov Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia
Stefan 1999–present Stojan Veljanovski Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia

In 2022, the disagreement between the Macedonian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church over the self-proclaimed autocephaly of the former ended.[4][5] The Macedonian Orthodox Church was recognized as autocephalous by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and some other Eastern Orthodox churches.

Serbian Orthodox Church

Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric (autonomous), since 2005
Main article: Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric
Map of the dioceses of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric.

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.

Name Portrait Reign Birth Name Title
Jovan VI 2005–present Zoran Vraniškovski Archbishop of Ohrid

References
  1. "Ще се превърне ли Охридската архиепископия в ябълка на раздора за православието?". bnr.bg (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  2. "YUGOSLAVS AVOID CHURCH DIVISION; Macedonians Restore Old Diocese, but Recognize Serbian Patriarch". The New York Times. 6 October 1958. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  3. Čairović, Ivica (2018-08-01). "The role of vicar bishop Dositej (Stojković) at the beginning of the church schism in Macedonia in 1958". Istorija 20. Veka. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  4. "BREAKING: Patriarch Porfirije announces autocephaly of Macedonian Church (+VIDEO)". OrthoChristian.Com. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
  5. "Patriarchate of Serbia recognizes the autocephaly of Archdiocese of Ohrid". Orthodox Times. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-24.
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