Skopje, North Macedonia, March 18, 2025
Photo: mpc-spe.mk
The Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric issued a statement yesterday expressing its profound grief over the tragic fire in Kočani that claimed many young lives. While acknowledging the impossibility of adequate human consolation, the hierarchs offer spiritual comfort through faith that the deceased will exist eternally with God.
A fire broke out the Pulse nightclub in the town east of Skopje early on Sunday morning, killing 59 people and injuring more than 150 others. The victims range in age from 16 to 24, CNN reports.
The Macedonian Synod’s statement reads:
Grieving parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends—grieving Macedonia,
The Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church-Ohrid Archbishopric received with exceptional sorrow and grief the tragic news of the enormous tragedy in Kočani, in which a large number of our young children lost their lives, and many more are fighting for life.
But, even in these moments of inconceivable grief, let us not forget that God is the God of the living and that in Him there are no dead. Hence, although it’s impossible to find human words for consolation, nevertheless, may the families and loved ones, and all of us, find comfort in the faith that the memory of the righteous is eternal and that they will eternally exist in the ever-living God.
We pray to the Triune God, the God of love, to receive the souls of His children who have innocently suffered in the Garden of Eden, and to give comfort and strength to their loved ones, sending them His Heavenly protection.
To the injured, may God, the Physician of all, grant quick recovery and healing.
The Macedonian Church and state have also received messages of prayer and condolences from other Local Churches, including Patriarchs Porfirije of Serbia, Daniil of Bulgaria, and Bartholomew of Constantinople.
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