Skopje, 4 February 2025 (MIA) - North Macedonia marks 153 years since the birth of the revolutionary Goce Delchev, the visionary who over a century ago said he understood the world as an arena for nations to compete in culture.

The central event marking the birth of the prominent figure of the Macedonian revolutionary cause and statehood will take place in the courtyard of the St. Spas church in Skopje, where flowers will be laid by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, representatives of the Parliament, delegations from other institutions, political parties, and civil society organizations.

The anniversary of Goce Delchev’s birth will also be marked in Shtip. A flower-laying ceremony will be held at the memorial bust in the courtyard of the Rectorate of Goce Delchev University in Novo Selo, followed by a lecture on the Macedonian revolutionary by Prof. Dr. Ana Vitanova-Ringacheva. The event will feature performances by the Academic Choir of the Music Academy at Goce Delchev University - Shtip and the University Ensemble "Macedonia."

An official delegation from Bulgaria is not expected to attend this year’s observance.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev said on Monday that the 153rd anniversary of Goce Delchev’s birth on February 4 will not be jointly observed, as Bulgaria has not received an invitation from North Macedonia.

"If the question is why there is no joint observance, it's because we have not been invited for such an event. The last joint observance took place after the signing of the Friendship Treaty in 2017. However, as of now, there is no invitation from the Republic of North Macedonia for joint observance," says Georgiev.

Asked if the joint observance could lead to a repeat of 2023 tensions, he says "history should unite, not divide us", while adding that Sofia - Skopje relations are "specific".

Goce Delchev was born to Sultana and Nikola Delchevi in Kukush on Feb. 4, 1872. After attending the Thessaloniki High School, he graduated from the Sofia Military Academy.

Delchev worked as a schoolmaster in Shtip. He was also a member of the Central Committee of the Secret Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, founding a network of bases, committees, and rebel bands.

He participated in the 1896 Thessaloniki Congress of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization and served as its foreign representative in Sofia until 1901.

On May 4, 1903, Delchev was killed by the Turkish army in the village of Banica, on his way to Serres.

His remains have been kept in the St. Spas church in Skopje since 1946.

Photo: MIA archive