Primate of Macedonian Church Marks 60th Anniversary of Ohio Parish
Visit to Columbus parish was part of His Beatitude Abp. Stefan's wider U.S. and Canada pastoral tour.
COLUMBUS — His Beatitude Archbishop Stefan of Ohrid, primate of the Macedonian Orthodox Church–Ohrid Archbishopric, celebrated the Divine Liturgy on August 28 at the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos in Columbus, Ohio, marking the parish feast and the 60th anniversary of its first consecrated church building.
Archbishop Stefan, on a pastoral visit to the American-Canadian Diocese since August 21, was joined by parish priest Fr. Radovan Cekovski and visiting clergy from the Skopje Diocese. The anniversary service capped decades of the community’s role as one of the founding Macedonian Orthodox parishes in North America.
The Archbishop’s tour, hosted by Metropolitan Metodij, included parish jubilees and the 51st Diocesan Church-National Assembly in New Jersey. Perhaps the most notable aspect of his visit was Tuesday's joint Liturgy in Washington, D.C. with Metropolitan Tikhon of the Orthodox Church in America, which recently recognized the Macedonian Church’s autocephaly. Archbishop Stefan then traveled to Canada for the 60th anniversary of Toronto’s St. Clement of Ohrid parish.
