Methodism in Macedonia Between the Two World Wars

After World War I ended, the part of Macedonia commonly called Vardar Macedonia was incorporated into the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (subsequently renamed Yugoslavia). It was officially proclaimed to be a part of Serbia as the Serbian government did not recognize a separate Macedonian nationality. Some 10 stations of the American Board, including the Bitola Girls\u27 School, were in this area. The American Board attempted to maintain a semblance of unity in the Balkan Mission, but Greece, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia were on such unfriendly terms that this was not feasible. For a while the American Board was planning to establish a strong mission in southern Yugoslavia, and the missionaries in Bulgaria made various recommendations in this direction, primarily suggesting sending out a competent missionary Serbian-speaking couple speaking, since the new government insisted that Serbian be the official language of Macedonia, and tried to obliterate the Macedonian or Bulgarian languages even though they were spoken by the majority