The Serbian Orthodox Church will accept any name for the MOC-OA, which will be the result of a pan-Orthodox consensus because, with the Tomos of the SOC on autocephaly, that question is left open and not resolved. This is how the bishop of Bačka, Irinej Bulović, in an interview with Serbian “Pecat”, explains the positions of the SOC regarding the issue of the name of the MOC-OA, which is interpreted by the public here in Macedonia as a settled and closed issue.

The SOC believes that although it has decided to recognize the autocephaly of the MOC-OA, it is still de facto, not an autocephalous church and that the situation it is in is complex, characterizing it as a “newly formed church”.

The current situation is as follows: practically all local Churches have established liturgical and canonical communion with the newly formed Church, some have already recognized it as autocephalous, and some have postponed it until an agreement on its official name is reached. And the Bulgarian Church found a Solomonic solution by recognizing its autocephalous status and common (general) name “Church in Macedonia” (meaning neither “Macedonian” nor “Ohrid”). Our Church leaves the issue of the name open and will accept any name that is the fruit of a general agreement and consent, until then it accepts the name with which the sister church calls itself, “Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric”. I hope, dear friends, that with this answer I have at least somewhat clarified the canonical approach of the SOC to this complex, as well as an important issue, says Irinej Bulović in the interview.

The current status of the MOC is such that it is still waiting for the tomos from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, but there is no deadline for when and if that will happen. On the contrary, Kovacevski’s government claims to have solved the church issue.