Public announcement in regard to the latest state-police persecution of the members of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric

We inform the domestic and the international community that numerous police forces today, May 21 2012, at 7 hours in the morning, in an organized and violent manner entered many monasteries and homes of the members of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric.

In Stip the police sought for His Grace Bishop Marko of Bregalnica and Administrator of Bitola, and not finding the Bishop, they arrested nun Pelagia.

In Skopje numerous police forces entered the Monastery Dormition of the Theotokos, looking for Bishop David of Stobi and Administrator of Strumica, and since they did not find him, they arrested the abbess of the monastery, nun Kirana. It should be mentioned that the police was brutal towards the nuns and harassing them performed a detailed search of the monastery, while filming everything with a video camera.

Also, the police entered the monastery St John Chrysostom in Bitola, looking for the superior of the monastery, nun Olimpiada, and because they did not find her, behaved rudely and harassed the rest of the nuns.

The police also entered the monastery Dormition of the Theotokos in Prilep and arrested hieromonk Mojsej.

In all mentioned monasteries the police seized all computers, as well as the other material property, and they do all this stating that they are arresting for “tax evasion”. Also, the police deprived of liberty the closest relatives of the Bishops, as well as the other believers of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric.

The court authorities of the Republic of Macedonia refuse to register the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric, it has no companies of its own, and it practically lives of the help of its faithful, so it is very transparent that the state under the guise of tax evasion is performing, together with the verdict against Archbishop Jovan, the most severe persecution and police harassment on religious basis, a persecution not remembered by the democratic countries of Europe and the world.

After the sentence for two-and-a-half years of imprisonment which Archbishop Jovan of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje is already serving in the central prison “Idrizovo”, protecting the religious monopoly of the schismatic organization MOC (Macedonian Orthodox Church), the state authorities in R. Macedonia have begun a campaign to literally exterminate the canonical Orthodox Church in our country.

We appeal to their Excellences, all members of the foreign embassies of the democratic states, to the embassy of OSCE, to the institutions and the organizations for protection of the  human rights and religious freedom to provide any means of protection and support, in order to put a stop to the persecution against Archbishop Jovan and all detained abbesses, monks, nuns and faithful people and to finally stop this pogrom of the religious freedoms which the state authorities in R. Macedonia are performing upon the members of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric.

Source: poa-info.org