Skopje, 29 June 2023 (MIA) – The Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric (MOC-OA) held a protest rally Thursday against the Law on Gender Equality and the Law on Registries. The rally was addressed by the head of the Church, HH Stefan, who said they gathered “to say yes to life and the holiness of a family formed by one man and one woman.”

“We fully understand the concerns and fear, especially of parents over the future of their children, if these two laws or new similar laws become a compulsory reality. The disfigurement of the educational system with gender ideology and the sexualization of our youngest must end. How long will our children learn from textbooks dictated by foreign countries and foreign centers,” said HH Stefan.

The head of MOC-OA said he doesn’t believe “the women in Macedonia want fake equality and fake rights, nor do they want to be freed from the Church, in which they live their true freedom.”

At the rally, HH Stefan urged believers to stand in defense of the family.

The Orthodox Church’s protest against the Law on Gender Equality and the Law on Registries was held under the slogan “We Have a Responsibility”.

Earlier on Thursday, Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Jovanka Trenchevska, said the Law on Gender Equality enhances the position of women in all walks of life and regulates what the state should do in order to strengthen their position in society, highlighting that the Law is neither in parliamentary nor in government procedure. 

The Minister said it is a legitimate right of all to stage a protest but it is also a legitimate right to tell the truth.

Photo: MIA