The Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church will meet tomorrow to discuss the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarch to acknowledge the Macedonian church as part of the Orthodox churches.

It’s expected that the Serbian church, which has insisted for decades that the Macedonian Orthodox Church must return under its wing, will grant independence to the Macedonian church. Still, the exact form in which this will be done remains uncertain.

The Serbian Orthodox Church tried to take over the Macedonian church through Jovan Vraniskovski, former MOC bishop of Veles, who switched sides and joined the SOC. He did not gain much traction, and faced persecution in Macedonia, but the Serbian church still recognizes him as the Archbishop of Ohrid. It’s expected that Vraniskovski will retire, but that other priests close to the Serbian church will be elevated to the ranks of the Macedonian church in a merger of sorts. This would mean that Serbia did not fully lose the long lasting dispute.