From the nineteenth century to the end of World War 11, Serbia actively pursued an expansionist policy in Macedonia, calling it "Southern Serbia", and claiming that Macedonians were Serbs.

After the Balkan Wars, the Macedonian Church came under the administration of the Serbian Patriarchate, and Serbian was declared the official language in the administration and schools.34

Between the two world wars, the Yugoslav authorities eliminated the name "Macedonia". Yugoslav Macedonia became "South Serbia" or, after King Alexander's administrative reforms, the "Vardarska Banovina". The Macedonians were oppressed and began to be called "South Serbians", thus their ethnic identity was denied. However, the only thing that this policy of oppression was able to achieve was to prompt hostility, animosity and fear against the Serbians which will never fade.35

Like the Greeks and Bulgarians, the Serbs resorted to medieval historical legacies to justify their territorial ambitions over Macedonia. Projecting the rather vague geographical name of "Old Serbia", they sought to substantiate their territorial claims to Kosovo, the Sanjak of Novi Bazar and the central and northern zones of Macedonia, by reference to Stefan Dushan's medieval empire.36

Serbia claims it has "historical rights" over Macedonia, since the Serbian King Stefan Dushan (1331-1355) had established a kingdom comprising all Macedonia and Albania. He had been crowned in Skopje, as the "King of the Serbs and the Greeks".

On the Autocephalous Macedonian Orthodox Church issue: The Macedonians had conceded to Christianity in the 9th century, and a Patriarchate was founded at Monaster in 893. However, it was downgraded to the level of Episcopacy during the Byzantine reign in Macedonia. The Serbians, after the Byzantines, tried to reduce the influence of the independent Macedonian Church.

The Macedonian Church was re-established in 1958, and became independent from the Serbian Church in 1967. It was not officially recognized by either the Serbian or the Greek Church. However, it became firmly established within Macedonia and also in overseas countries where Macedonian emigrants had settled. Nevertheless, the issue continues to be another apple of discord. In May 1993, the Serbian Orthodox Church unilaterally appointed Archimandrite Jovan as its administrator of the diocese of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which was protested by the Macedonian Church and Government.

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