Istanbul, 12 June 2022 (MIA) – You know well the longing of our hierarchy and our Orthodox people – to see the Ohrid Archbishopric restored and regulated as an autocephalous church, Archbishop Stefan said in his address to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew after Sunday’s joint patriarchal and synodical divine liturgy at the Church of St. George in the Phanar in Istanbul. “But the Lord is our witness, that the greater our hope, the greater our complete trust in Your holding, in Your judgement of the time when the arrangement of these issues should take place. We leave the judgement of the time to You, but please – do not forget about us, help us grow…” HH Stefan said among other. He told His All Holiness Bartholomew that with him is the responsibility of the Mother Church for the welfare and prosperity of the Orthodox family, MIA reports from Istanbul. “With You is the competence and right, and we do not ask for more and for other than what you did with the granting of autocephaly throughout history, even in modern times,” said Archbishop Stefan. He vowed for commitment and patience for the auspicious time and joyful proclamation of the Great Church of Christ. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said at the end of today’s historic service with Archbishop Stefan “we destine our word, our mind and heart for all our beloved children of the Most Holy Ohrid Archbishopric in the country of North Macedonia, for those who are the leaders and for those who are led, for those present here and for those who are there.” “We are particularly gratified for the personal presence of the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovachevski along with the ministers and other officials, as well as for the large number of faithful from the Church of this blessed country, who filled this glorious Temple and gave another dimension to today’s Pentecost holiday,” Patriarch Bartholomew added. He voiced confidence that this event means full understanding on our part of the greatness of the gift of the Mother Church to our people, but also of the responsibility that is borne joining as of today the all Orthodox world. The joint liturgy was also attended by a government delegation led by Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski, and also including Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, Defense Minister Slavjanka Petrovska and Minister of Interior Oliver Spasovski, as well as Commission for Relations with Religious Communities Director Darijan Sotirovski, and around 700 of believers from the country who arrived in Istanbul to attend this historic event in the ancient Phanar. During the joint patriarchal and synodical divine liturgy, PM Kovachevski read the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer in Macedonian. In addition, an evening service is to take place on Sunday, which is held only once a year on the occasion of today’s Pentecost holiday – the Descent of the Holy Spirit.