Macedonian in Spain

Introduction / History

Three different peoples call themselves Macedonians. The largest group are the Greek speaking Macedonians who live in the northern section of the nation state of Greece. A second people who call themselves Macedonians are a south Slavic speaking group who primarily live in the Balkan country of North Macedonia. A third group of Macedonians are ethnic Bulgarians who live in western and southern Bulgaria. In this profile we will look at the second group of Slavic speaking Macedonians. In the early Middle Ages, Slavic peoples came to the area we now know as North Macedonia. This area was part of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. In 1913 North Macedonia came under Serbian control.
Following WWII, North Macedon was a republic in the nation of Yugoslavia. North Macedonia became an independent country in 1991. A revised complete Macedonian Bible became available in 2017. Slavic Macedonians live in over 30 nations of the world besides North Macedonia. These include Greece, Australia, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, the USA, Serbia and Canada.

What Are Their Lives Like?

There is a very small number of Macedonians in Spain. There are certain cognates between their languages, and customs have similarities. For example, both groups eat bread and cake to celebrate Christmas. In both cases, they have a coin in the bread. Whoever gets the coin will have good luck in the coming year. Spaniards and Macedonians are both very social, and they like to socialize in public places.
Macedonians have a custom of placing a poster of the dearly departed on their homes and on the streets. This puzzles the Spaniards.

What Are Their Beliefs?

The large majority of Slavic Macedonians claim to be Christians and are members of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Most are married and buried in the church. Their babies are baptized by priests into the Easter Orthodox Churches. Unfortunately, the faith of Macedonians is more a part of their ethnic heritage than a vital part of their lives. Most don't attend church services on a regular basis. Macedonians tend to be more concerned with their economic situation and families than the teachings of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Evangelicals and Easter Orthodox Christians have much in common. They both believe in the inspiration of the Bible and the virgin birth, deity, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox priests can marry. There is no one leader of the Eastern Orthodox. Councils of bishops make decisions rather than the one Pope, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Rome.

What Are Their Needs?

Slavic Macedonians need to understand that they can have a personal love relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Christianity is not a set of rules or system of morality. Christians can know for certain that their sins are forgiven, and they have eternal life. According to Eastern Orthodox teaching, one cannot be assured of one's salvation. One's salvation is a product of faith and works in the Orthodox Churches.

Prayer Points

Pray for the Holy Spirit to revive the Eastern Orthodox Church in Spain so that it focuses on Jesus Christ.
Pray that the Lord sends disciple-makers to the Macedonian people in Spain.
Pray for spiritual hunger and a discernment that will keep the Macedonian people in Spain away from spiritual counterfeits.
Ask the Lord to raise up pastors in North Macedonia who know and love the Bible.

Text Source:   Joshua Project