A service of intercession was held Thursday on the tomb of St. Cyril in the church of St. Clement in Rome. The service was also attended by a state delegation, led by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.
PM Gruevski congratulated the Slavonic Enlighteners’ Day to the citizens of Macedonia from the sacred place where the remains of St. Cyril are laid to rest, MIA reports.
"This is a great day for Macedonia and that's why we are here in Rome on the tomb of St. Cyril to honor the enlighteners’ mission. We are pursuing the tradition established on this day. This year for the 44th time we have the chance to attend the service of intercession and together with many Macedonians living in Italy to mark the day,” Gruevski said.
The service on St. Cyril’s tomb in Rome is the main event marking the Day of Ss. Cyril and Methodius. It was organised for the first time in 1969 to observe 1.100 years since the death of Saint Cyril and it is marked annually by a state and church delegation. As of 2007, the Slavonic Enlighteners’ Day is a national holiday in Macedonia.
Earlier, the PM meet with Pope Benedict XVI at an audience in Vatican for talks on various issues.
"I informed him about the situation in Macedonia, its church policy, about EU and NATO and our efforts in improving the economy. We also discussed other issues that connect us, first and foremost St. Cyril and Mother Teresa," Gruevski stated.
He told the Roman pontiff that in addition to the Mother Teresa Memorial House in Skopje, the clinics in the Macedonian capital would be renamed to bear her name in honor of her mission.
Gruevski also held a meeting with the State Secretary of His Holiness the Pope, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone for talks on topics of mutual interest.
The state delegation visiting Rome on the occasion of the manifestation "Macedonia in Honor of St. Cyril", includes Vice PM for Economic Affairs Vladimir Pesevski, foreign and culture ministers, Nikola Poposki and Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska, minister without portfolio Vele Samak, the director of the Agency for Foreign Investments and Export Promotion, Visar Vida and the director of the Commission for Relations between Religious Communities and Groups, Valentina Bozinovska. The church delegation is made up of Metropolitan Timotej of Debar and Kicevo, European Metropolitan Pimen and Skopje Bishop Kiro Stojanov.
FM Poposki is scheduled to meet with his Italian counterpart Giulio Terzi to discuss the outcome of the recent NATO summit in Chicago, Macedonia's EU integration process, bilateral ties and cultural cooperation.
On Wednesday, Poposki met in Vatican with Dominique Mamberti, the Secretary for Relations with States in the Holy See. They upheld the favourable relations between Macedonia and the Holy See and discussed ways for further cooperation.
At a business forum in Milan on Wednesday, PM Gruevski and his economic team presented Macedonia's economic potentials before 80 representatives of Italian companies and attended a working dinner organised by the US Chamber of Commerce in Italy.
In the frameworks of the cultural program in honor of St. Cyril, the Macedonian delegation will attend the opening of an exhibition titled "Ancient Terra-Cotta Figurines from Macedonia", organised by the Museum of Macedonia at the Montemartini Museum in Rome.
Nearly 200 terra-cotta figurines dating from the pre-Roman and Roman period will be displayed at the exhibition, which runs till May 30.
The cultural program also includes a concert by opera singers Ana and Igor Durlovski, who will perform pieces by Verdi, Handel, Mozart and by several Macedonian composers.
