Visits to Religious Facilities and Services
Students, members of the religious communities, Orthodox, Islamic, Catholic, Protestant and Jewish priests as well as all interested citizens had an opportunity to visit the facilities of different religious communities and to get to know the religious customs and practices in the churches, mosques and synagogues in the country and abroad.

Though the visits were focused on the religious facilities of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and the Islamic Religious Community, also visits were paid to the facilities of the Catholic Church, Jewish Community in Macedonia and the United Methodist Church.

In the period between 2003 and 2007 total of 20 visits were organized for 350 participants. So far the following religious facilities were visited: The Orthodox  Temple “St. Clement of Ohrid” in Skopje, Mustafa Pasha Mosque in Skopje, “St. Mother of God” in Kicevo, orthodox monasteries “St. Clement” and “Plaoshnik” and the Catholic Church in Ohrid, “Mustafa Chelebi Mosque” and the “Hasan Baba Hajati Teke” in Struga, the Cathedral Church “The Sacred Heart of Jesus” in Skopje, United Methodist Church in Strumica, the synagogue “Bet Jaakov” in Skopje, religious facilities and services in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the orthodox monastery “Zrze”, the “Colourful Mosque” in Tetovo, monastery “St. Jovan Bigorski” and the Catholic Church in Ohrid, three monasteries in Polog-Kumanovo diocese (monasteries “St. Gjorgji from Deljarovce, St. Gjorgji from Nagoricane and St. Joakim Osogovski from Kriva Palanka region) as well as the most important religious facilities in Istanbul, Turkey.

The students and the citizens attending these visits learned more about the main characteristics of the religious communities, the architecture of the temples, the meaning of the ceremonies etc.

During each visit, the priests welcomed the guests, explaining the thought underpinning their religion. The guests were also allowed to ask questions. Although the project faced resistance at the beginning it proved to be very successful both in terms of its realization and the interest of the visitors.

The visitors shared their impressions in questionnaires. A student of the Islamic Faculty, after the visit to the Gathering Temple - St. Clement of Ohrid, said: “The achieved cooperation deserves nothing but praise. The visit was well organized. The priest and the other employees gave us warm welcome. In fact, the visit was designed to allow us to learn something more about the church and the work of the priests inside the churches and their work with the people. I am really happy with this visit. I have learnt a lot thanks to our mutual communication. I hope that our cooperation would not end here”.

Another visitor said: “The visits to religious facilities represent positive event that enable us to value the heritage of our country”.

After the visit to the Mustafa Pasha Mosque, a visitor said: “I am more than happy with the visit; I would like to underline the warm welcome extended by the Dean. All participants at the service were completely open, hospitable and considerate. I had a true feeling of visiting a spiritual facility”. 

As regards the visit to the monastery of St. Mother of God, one visitor pointed out: “The fresco-painting left a particular impression on me. The people make their way under the fresco of Mother of God; it is believed to bring health and happiness. This was another fruitful spiritual experience for me”.

One of the visitors of the United Methodist Church pointed out that he was glad to meet the hosts and learn many new things.

All visitors agreed that this type of cooperation was necessary and useful, ensuring mutual communication and reducing the religious intolerance.


Gallery:
 

Acronyms:
MCIC – Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation
MOC – Macedonian Orthodox Church
OTF – Orthodox Theology Faculty
IRC – Islamic Religious Community
FIS – Faculty of Islamic Science
CC – Catholic Church
UMC – United Methodist Church
JCRM – Jewish Community in the Republic of Macedonia