Translation:Theodosius, the metropolitan of Skopje, to Pope Leo XIII

by Theodosius of Skopje

Theodosius, the metropolitan of Skopje, to Pope Leo XIII

4th December 1891

To the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII Rome

I, the undersigned Metropolitan of Skopje, Theodosius, by Gods Mercy head of the Skopje eparchy, am submitting this request both in my name and in the name of the whole Orthodox flock of Macedonia, with which we are begging His Holiness to accept us under the wing of the Roman Catholic Church, after he has restored the ancient Archbishopric of Ohrid, unlawfully abolished by Sutlan Mustapha III in 1767, and put it in canonical unity with the Roman Catholic Church. Our desire springs from the historical right of the Orthodox Macedonian people to be freed from the jurisdiction of foreign Churches - the Bulgarian Exarchate and Constantinople Patriarchate - and be united in its own Orthodox Church, acquiring all the characteristic features of a people who have a right to independent spiritual and cultural life and education.

Your Holiness, please have in mind the specific traits of the Orthodox religion, which the Orthodox people will never renounce; they are: independence as regards faith, the church services and the priests' attire.

I recommend myself to Your prayers and humbly bow to You, Your brother in Jesus Christ, who prays for You,

4th December 1891 Skopje

Theodosius, Metropolitan of Skopje