Bishop Partenij from the Bigorski monastery is visiting Istanbul where he met with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Partenij comes to Istanbul from Athens, where he met with the Archbishop of Greece Ieronymos II.

Partenij is accompanied by the monks and nuns from the Bigorski monastery and the monasteries in Rajcica, Precista and Knezino. The Macedonian Orthodox Church is trying to get the Ecumenical Patriarch to recognize it as independent, as the Serbian church continues to block this move.