Romanian Synod: Tomos of new autocephaly must be signed by all Primates

The Romanian Orthodox Church recognized the autocephaly of North Macedonia. Photo: basilica.ro

The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church, after recognizing the initial synodal Tomos issued on June 5, 2022 by the Serbian Patriarchate, on granting autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in the Republic of North Macedonia, awaits initiation (consultations) from the Patriarchate of Constantinople in order to express a pan-Orthodox consensus on this issue. This is reported by Basilica.ro.

On February 9, 2023, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church approved the recognition of the autocephaly granted to the Orthodox Church in the Republic of North Macedonia by the Patriarchate of Serbia in its Synodal Tomos of June 5, 2022.

“The Holy Synod of the mother Church is the canonical authority that can grant autocephaly to a daughter Church through a synodal tomos signed by the Primate of the mother Church together with all the bishops of that Holy Synod. The recognition of the new autocephaly belongs to the entire Orthodox Church, achieved through a tomos of recognition of autocephaly signed, without any distinction, by all the Primates of the autocephalous Orthodox Churches, in the order of the Diptychs, within the Synaxis of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches.”

Given this information, the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church respected the decisions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to receive into Eucharistic communion the hierarchs, clerics, monastics and believers pastored by Archbishop Stefan and to leave it to the Patriarchate of Serbia to regulate the administrative aspects between the two Churches.

As reported by the UOJ, the Romanian Patriarchate recognized the autocephaly of the Macedonian Church. The Synod decided to name the new fraternal Church "The Archbishopric of Ohrid and North Macedonia with headquarters in Skopje", and its Primate – "His Beatitude Stefan, Archbishop of Ohrid, Skopje and North Macedonia".

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