Macedonian Orthodox Church forbids use of Facebook by its clergy and monks

SKOPJE, Macedonia – The Macedonian Orthodox Church has banned it clergy from using Facebook to protect against abuse and “new phenomena of confessions and intimate conversations with young people,” local media report.

Reports on Saturday said the Holy Synod, the executive body of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, took the decision after one bishop’s complaint.

Local media say the decision has already created tensions between older church dignitaries who do not use the Internet and are hostile to it, and younger clergy and even bishops who make use of social media.

Nearly two-thirds of Macedonia’s two million people are Orthodox Christians.

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