Religion in the Republic of Macedonia Religion in the Republic of Macedonia In the Republic of Macedonia, the most common religion is Orthodox Christianity, practiced by most of the ethnic Macedonians. The vast majority of the Orthodox Christians in the country belong to the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which declared autocephaly from the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1967. Muslims are the second-largest religious group with almost one-third of the population adhering to Islam, mainly from the country's Albanian and Turkish minorities. There are also many other religious groups in Macedonia, including the Catholic Church, Protestantism, and Judaism. In 2011, through a survey carried out by Ipsos MORI
Kist people fighting. Vazha-Pshavela celebrates heroism of both peoples and underlines the senselessness of their conflict. During the Second World War, the Kists were the only Chechens in the Soviet Union who were not deported by Stalin in 1944. During the Second Chechen War, the Kists gave shelter to about 7,000 refugees from Chechnya. The majority of Kists adhere to religion made up of syncretized Sunni Muslim beliefs with animistic folk religion religion. Small pockets of Christian Kists still remain in Pankisi, Tusheti and Kakheti. To this day, the Kists worship the Khevsur sacred places ("jvari") and make sacrifices to the Anatori