Macedonian and Serbian hierarchs concelebrated on September 3, 2023 the Divine Liturgy and enthronement of His Eminence Metropolitan Jovan as the ruling hierarch of the newly created Diocese of Kruševo and Demir Hisar in North Macedonia.
The Liturgy, in which Met. Jovan was joined by Their Eminences Metropolitan Petar of Prespa and Grigorij of Kumanovo, and Their Graces Bishop Joachim of Deljadro, Marko of Del?evo, David of Dremvit, Kliment of Heraklej, and Jacob of Stobi of the Macedonian Church, and His Eminence Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro and His Grace Bishop Pachomije of Vranje of the Serbian Church, was celebrated in the St. Nicholas Cathedral in Kruševo, reports tvhram.rs.
At the end of the Liturgy, Met. Petar of Prespa served the rite of enthronement of Met. Jovan. The newly enthroned hierarch then offered a sermon about life in eternity as “constant communion, without division, without schism, without self-satisfaction.”
His words about overcoming division are especially relevant, as Met. Jovan was previously a hierarch of the Macedonian Church while it was still in schism. But in 2002, while the rest of the Macedonian Church ultimately rejected the Niš Agreement that would have seen it return to autonomy within the Serbian Patriarchate at that time, he resolved to reunite with the Serbian Church, which then established its Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric and elected him its ruling hierarch.
He then faced serious persecution from the state, being imprisoned for many years on trumped-up charges of “inciting national, racial and religious hatred, schism and intolerance.” At times he was placed in solitary confinement, and he was allowed few visitors from the Serbian Church. He was ultimately released from prison on February 2, 2015, although new proceedings against him began soon afterwards.
Nevertheless, he greeted the Macedonian Church’s reunion with the Serbian Church in May 2022 and its subsequent reception of autocephaly with great joy.
A year later, the Serbian Church’s structure in North Macedonia was dissolved and its hierarchs were received into the Macedonian Church.
Source: www.orthochristian.com