Skopje, 9 May 2022 (MIA) – The Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, presided by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, decided Monday to remove the decades-long schism imposed on the Ohrid Archbishopric, restored in the image of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. The decision means that the Ecumenical Patriarchate recognizes the church hierarchy led by Archbishop Stefan as canonical and valid in the Orthodox world. The Ecumenical Patriarchate leaves it up to the Serbian Orthodox Church to regulate administrative matters with the church in North Macedonia. The Patriarchate recognizes Ohrid as the name of the church, “considering the area of its jurisdiction within the borders of the state North Macedonia”. In 2018, the Synod of the Ohrid Archbishopric sent a request for autocephaly to the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the decision was taken today. The decision does not merit a Tomos of Autocephaly, which officially regulates the international name and the status of the church, but an expression of fatherly love and care by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, announcing that the Ohrid Archbishopric is no longer in schism with the Orthodox world. Further talks will follow on the finalization of the church’s status. The move puts an end to almost seven decades of isolation of the Ohrid Archbishopric.