Skopje, 4 May 2023 (MIA) - The Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archbishopric held a memorial service while delegations and citizens laid flowers at Goce Delchev’s grave in the Skopje-based St. Spas Church on Thursday, to honor the memory of the Macedonian revolutionary and freedom fighter on the 120th anniversary of his death.  

President Stevo Pendarovski, Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski, a parliamentary delegation led by Parliament Vice-Speaker Goran Misovski, VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski, and many other delegations laid flowers at Delchev's grave.

No official delegation from Sofia arrived at this year's commemoration. On April 27, 2023, Bulgaria's caretaker Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov said no agreement has been reached with North Macedonia for a joint commemoration of Delchev's death on May 4, although there have been such agreements and practices in previous years.

In addition, the Parliament is set to present on Thursday at noon the "Goce Delchev" state award for outstanding contribution in the field of science in the interest of the Republic of North Macedonia. 

Also, a history corner will open within the Faculty of Education Sciences at Goce Delchev University, honoring the patron's teaching activities, vision and mission.

A visionary inspired by revolutionary ideals, Goce Delchev was born in Kukush on February 4, 1872, and was active in revolutionary movements.

He attended the Thessaloniki high school and the Sofia Military Academy. As the member of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, Delchev worked on the establishment of a network of committees and fighting units of the organization.

Goce Delchev, who understood the world as a field for cultural contest among nations, was killed by an Ottoman unit on May 4, 1903, in the village of Banica, near Serres.