Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski welcomed the decision of the Serbian Orthodox Church to accept the independence of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, and said that it is recognizing an authentic portion of the Macedonian identity.

This is a great, historic day, when we honor Ss. Cyril and Methodius and we receive the autocephaly of our church, equal to other churches, with the recognition of its legacy and the spiritual greatness of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, as authenting part of the Macedonian identity. We rejoice together on the historic news, Kovacevski said from Rome, where he is honoring the sainted brothers Cyril and Methodius.