With expressed joy for the established liturgical and canonical unity of the Ohrid Archbishopric with the other Orthodox churches, which removes the decades-long schism imposed on our Church, yesterday Ecumenical Patriarchate Bartholomew and Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid held their first joint patriarchal and synodal divine liturgy at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. George in the Phanar in Istanbul.

The five-day visit to Phanar of the church delegation, led by the head of the Ohrid Archbishopric, Archbishop Stefan, and which also includes the Metropolitan of the Diocese of Debar and Kichevo Timotej and the Metropolitan of Prespa and Pelagonija Petar, Bishops Kliment of Heraclea and Partenij of Antania, several deacons, as well as monks from the Bigorski Monastery “St. John the Baptist” and nuns from the Rajcica Monastery “St. George the Victorious”, ends today with a service in the Church of Holy Trinity near Taksim Square in Istanbul.

The service will be held by HH Stefan in the concelebration with bishops of the Ohrid Archbishopric, and Patriarch Bartholomew will stand on the throne without serving, ie he will attend the liturgy that will be held by our Archbishop.