Dragi Gjorgjiev, head of the Macedonian team in the joint historic commission with Bulgaria, said that they have reached some progress during their meeting last week on the historic narrative about the Ohrid Archbishopric. The two teams are aligning the historic narratives of the two countries – generally using the Bulgarian narrative as baseline, as Bulgaria blocks Macedonia’s EU accession talks until their nationalist requests are met.

We had some alignment. But we didn’t reach a full joint recommendation. There are still some misunderstandings, an areas where the role of the Archbishopric is seen differently. We insist to emphasize its role in the spread of Christianity, rather than some political moments of the history of the institution, Gjorgjiev said.

Bulgaria wants the important church to be represented as Bulgarian in character and its role in spreading Christianity across the world to be seen as a Bulgarian contribution.