The American Orthodox Church (AOC), which is not recognized by any of the local Orthodox churches, has decided to recognize the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) as autocephalous. In its official statement, the AOC said that the decision was taken at the request of Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, BGNES reports.

Porfirije referred to the tomos issued by the SOC recognizing the autocephaly of the MOC.

The APC was established by Russian refugees after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. It was recognized as a church institution during the Soviet era in 1979. No local Orthodox church recognizes the APC's autocephalous status.

All local churches, including the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, have officially announced that a tomos can only be issued by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. It is interesting to note that the Russian Orthodox Church itself has not recognized the autocephaly of the APC. І BGNES