The United Methodist Church in Macedonia

The United Methodist Church in the Republic of Macedonia has a rich heritage. Missionaries who came from the US in the late 1800’s planted the roots of many of our congregations.  Among those missionaries was Ellen Stone who became a legendary figure in Macedonian history.  The social outreach center of the UMC in Macedonia is named in honor of Miss Stone.  Today’s United Methodist members and friends number about 4,000, with around 1,000 active participants.

With only a few exceptions, our churches remained open during the 50 years of communism when Macedonia was part of the old Yugoslavia.  Methodists remained faithful to the church despite persecution, abuse and even the imprisonment of several pastors.

Today the population of the Republic of Macedonia is just over two million people; about 65 percent of them identify with the Orthodox Christian Church.  One-third of the population follows the Islamic tradition; many of these people are ethnic Albanians living in Macedonia.  Catholics in Macedonia number about 12,000 (just over half of one percent).  The Jewish community is small, with less than 100 members.  The Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia officially recognizes five religious communities: Orthodox Christian, Islamic, Catholic, United Methodist and Jewish.  The United Methodist Church is the only Protestant church recognized because we are the oldest and the largest Protestant church in Macedonia.

Our church has been a leader in organizing the meetings and dialogue that have brought about improved relationships among all the religious communities.

Our churches have worship on Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings.  Most congregations have Sunday school for children on Sunday morning and Bible studies for adults on Wednesday evening.  Youth groups have one or two meetings each week.  Women’s groups (UMW) are also active in most of the congregations.

     - 2 Corinthians 8:1 (NIV)