The fourth trial for Archbishop Jovan, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia, began in Veles on 29 September. Only six days earlier, the court found him guilty of embezzling 57,180 Euros donated for church reconstruction when he was bishop of the Macedonian Orthodox Church three years ago. Archbishop Jovan’s two-year sentence will be in addition to the two and a half year sentence he has already received. He is expected to be in a prison in Skopje for four and a half years. Goran Pavlovski, spokesperson for the cabinet of ministers, refused to explain to Forum 18 why his government is so hostile to Macedonian parishes of the Serbian Orthodox Church and declined to say if Macedonian citizens are allowed to belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Serbian Orthodox Church has called its followers to a week of fasting in response to the third sentence in a row against Archbishop Jovan. (Forum 18 News)
