Politicians, entrepreneurs, Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) bishops took part Tuesday in a donor conference for the completion of “Ss. Constantine and Helena” church in Skopje, whose construction began two years ago.

“Ss. Constantine and Helena” church was built in 1927, but it was levelled by a devastating earthquake in 1963. An appeal for donations to complete the construction of the church in downtown Skopje was conveyed by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and the Head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, H.H. Stefan at today’s conference.

“Let us resume the beautiful building tradition in Macedonia. Let us pursue the actions of our predecessors and finish what we have started in 2012,” PM Gruevski said in his address.

Our deed, he noted, will also contribute to the Macedonian Orthodox Church – Archdiocese of Ohrid, which is our centuries-long spiritual mother and a pillar of our statehood, protector of the people’s piety and articulator of the public moral of present and future generations.

“With yet another magnificent temple we will help in protecting the family from some deviating values and from attacks on traditional and moral values that have been preserved by our families and our people even in times of major temptations and threats. Now is the time for our mission,” stressed Gruevski.

A time, he added, when our people are facing numerous challenges, including the biggest one of them all – demographics and recession of the nation. “This is also the time when we can give answers by doing deeds of our own.”

Memories of demolished temples and thoughts and wishes for their reconstruction have never gone away, according to MOC Head H.H. Stefan.

“The temple itself from an architectural point of view with the planned interior and external design will be a work of art in the modern sacral construction in which orthodox tradition has been extensively observed. We believe it will be a temple of pride in Skopje and Macedonia in general,” H.H. Stefan stated.

The donor conference was organized by the “Ss. Constantine and Helena” Foundation. By constructing “Ss. Constantine and Helena” church, Macedonia is marking the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, signed by Emperor Constantine to establish toleration for Christianity in the Roman Empire.