Serbian Orthodox Church

Information Service of
the Serbian Orthodox Church
February 13, 2007

BISHOP MARKO BEATEN UP BY THE SECURITY OFFICERS OF THE SCHISMATIC PRIESTS, AT THE PUBLIC GRAVEYARDS IN BITOLA

On 10th February 2007, at the public graveyards in Bitola, while praying and performing religious service for the members of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric, Marko, Bishop of Dremvitza and Administrator of Bitola, was beaten up by the members of a security agency engaged by the schismatic priests of MOC. After serving the Divine Liturgy, Bishop Marko, together with the faithful, went to the public graveyards to pray and perform a religious service

on the graves of the deceased. On the arrival at the graveyard he was awaited by paid bullies, employed by a security agency, and beaten up. The police was called, but it took the side of protecting the security officers, thus acting against article 399 of the Law of R. Macedonia and becoming collaborator of those who were obstructing the religious ritual.

No one has the right, not even the chief of the Police in Bitola, to determine what bishop of what priest will commemorate at the graves of the relatives of the members of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric. It is the basic religious right and freedom of everyone to decide which religion to belong to, which priest to respect and which to consider a schismatic or heretic.

It is unseen that by the police people are forced to call a certain priest at the graves of his or hers ancestors.

Several years ago, his Beatitude Archbishop of Ohrid and Metropolitan of Skopje kyr kyr Jovan was sentenced to one year imprisonment for entering a temple which MOC is usurpating, but from this day on, there is a prohibition for the bishops, priests and the faithful of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric even to visit the graves of their relatives on the public graveyards!

The renomated institution that treats the questions on respect of the human rights and religious freedom, Forum 18, has on several occasions written about the discrimination on religious basis that is performed against a big number of the citizens of R. Macedonia. This recent article treats the dilemma whether the new law will finally put an end on the discrimination on religious grounds in R. Macedonia.

Information Service of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric