Message from Priest Blazhe

Hello. I am pleased to see you visiting our website. Please read on and get to know who we are and what services we offer. My commitment and staff at St. Ilija Macedonian Orthodox Church will be at your service.

Our Mission is: "To reach one person and one family at a time, nourish the faith and strengthen the spiritual health of our community."

This Mission is at the heart of what makes us a life-loving and thriving community. We are dedicated to strengthening the impact of our church on people's lives.

I  encourage you to stay in touch, get involved, and be a part of our community.

​Priest Blaze Petrov

 Personal Profile and Education 

Priest Blaze Petrov was born in Kavadarci, the Republic of Macedonia. He studied theology at St. Kliment Ohridski, Macedonian Orthodox Theology School in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. He graduated in 2012 with a degree in Theology. 

​In 2012, he was appointed as a Deacon at the St. Pantelejmon Cathedral, overseeing multiple churches. Priest Blaze devoted significant time during the first eight years of his career to monastery restoration. He actively participated in the revival of the Monk’s life at St. George Poloski Monastery, built between 1331-1335 during King Dushan. This monastery is one of the largest and most significant in the Povardarie Diocese. In addition, he actively participated in forming the church choir at the St. Dimitri Cathedral in Kavadarci, which is still in existence and functioning extremely well. Priest Blaze was in charge of the library and managed all inventory of the church. 

In 2013, he was appointed as a Priest at the St. George Cathedral in Valandovo, and the very next year, he received the appointment of Parochial Priest at Holy Trinity in Rosoman. In this role, he served and managed eight churches and one monastery in several different villages. His vision in this role was to establish a clear role for the church in nurturing and reviving the spiritual life of the community.

 Under Priest Blaze's leadership, the construction of two churches was started, one in the village of Ribarci and one in the village of Trstenik. The project of these two churches was recently completed and opened to serve the community.

At Holy Trinity, Priest Blaze designed and implemented an education program focused on teaching Bible Studies to children and adults. The educational program he established continues to be an integral part of the church's function in reviving the spiritual lives of the community even after he departed from his leadership position.

In progress is a construction of a funeral home within the function of the Holy Trinity church. This addition is critical in serving the local community who otherwise would have to travel a distance to attend to their departed loved ones, often time in cold winters or hot summers. 

In 2021, he joins St. Ilija Orthodox Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. His vision encourages involvement and curiosity about the church's teaching at St. Ilija's parish. Establishing a formal process to teach our faith, hope, and love for all ages is a key objective for Priest Blaze. "We must know what stands in the way of our people visiting our church more regularly. We have to help remove the obstacles to eventually achieve our central mission, Nourish the faith and strengthen the spiritual health of our community of St. Ilija's church," remarks Priest Blaze with passion. His urgent priorities for 2021 are 1) design a website that will help him with the outreach to our community and members and 2)  establish the first St. Ilija Bible School.

Priest Blaze is married to his wife Ljubica of 10 years and has three children, Eftimij, Sofija, and Vasilija. He spends his free time alongside his wife, guiding and helping his children with schoolwork and extracurricular activities, such as swimming, walking, and exploring various parks around Cincinnati. He loves to hang around young people so he can talk about what matters--God, Family, Work--with the hope of instilling these sacred values to the next generation of leaders.