Archbishopric of Ohrid

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Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid (ancient)
)
This article is about the historical archbishopric that existed from 1019–1767. For the autocephalous Macedonian Orthodox Church, see
Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric. For the former autonomous archbishopric in North Macedonia, see Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric. For other uses, see Archbishopric of Ohrid (disambiguation)
.
Map depicting the Archbishopric of Ohrid in c. 1020 (1917).

The Archbishopric of Ohrid, also known as the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid

Patriarchate of Constantinople
.

Name

The initial title of the archbishopric was simply "Bulgaria" (

Patriarchate of Constantinople, but in the early 13th century it was revived by the ambitious Demetrios Chomatenos (1216–1236) to support his claims of quasi-patriarchal status in his clash over authority with the patriarchs of Constantinople in exile at the Empire of Nicaea. The designation finally became accepted by Constantinople and the Byzantine imperial chancery after 1261, and a fixed part of the archbishops' titulature; in the fullest form, the see was hence known as the Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima, Ohrid and all Bulgaria (ἀρχιεπίσκοπὴ Πρώτης Ἰουστινιανῆς Ἀχριδῶν καὶ πάσης Βουλγαρίας).[3]

"Archbishopric of Ohrid" is the most common term of reference for the see because for the duration of its existence; from 1020 to 1767, its seat was in the city of Ohrid.[4]

History

Background

Shortly after 934, the

Byzantine emperor Romanos I Lekapenos recognized the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Damian, to the rank of patriarch, following the terms of the peace treaty that ended the Byzantine–Bulgarian war of 913–927.[5] In 971, Emperor John I Tzimiskes dismissed Damian after annexing the capital city of Great Preslav and parts of northeast Bulgaria, but the Bulgarian patriarchate was probably restored under Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria.[6] During his rule, the residence of the Bulgarian patriarchs remained closely connected to the developments in the war between Samuel and the Byzantine emperor Basil II. Thus, the next Patriarch German resided consecutively in Moglena (Almopia), Vodena (Edessa) and Prespa. Around 990, the last patriarch, Philip, moved to Ohrid
.

History

Following his

church synod. In three sigillia issued in 1020 Basil II gave extensive privileges to the new see.[7]

Although the first appointed archbishop (John of Debar) was a Bulgarian from Kutmichevitsa, his successors, as well as the whole higher clergy, were invariably Byzantine, the most famous of them being Saint Theophylact (1078–1107).[8] The Archbishops were chosen from among the monks in Constantinople. Adrianos Komnenos, under his monastic name of John (IV) (1143–1160), was the cousin of Emperor John II Komnenos and was the first Archbishop who held the title of Archbishop of Justiniana Prima. The later archbishop John V Kamateros (1183–1216) was a former imperial clerk.

In the 13th and the first half of the 14th centuries, the territory of the Archbishopric was contested by the Byzantine Empire, the

Kaloyan (1197–1207) did not succeed in putting the Ohrid Archbishopric under the jurisdiction of the Tarnovo Archbishopric but nevertheless managed to expel the Greek bishops and install Bulgarians instead. The next Bulgarian rulers were constantly trying to reunite the Ohrid Archbishopric with the Tarnovo Archbishopric. The Latin conquests, the restoring of the Bulgarian Empire and the formation of an independent Serbian state reduced the jurisdiction of the Ohrid Archbishopric immensely, but it did not disappear. During the time of Archbishop Demetrios Chomatenos, the autocephaly of the Archbishopric was confirmed with the act of anointing the despot of Epirus, Theodore Komnenos Doukas
, as Emperor and in correspondence with the Patriarch.

The southward expansion of the Serbian state in the second half of the 13th century was also followed by changes in ecclesiastical jurisdiction of some sees. After the successful Serbian campaigns against the Byzantine empire in 1282–1283, cities of Skopje and Debar were annexed and local eparchies transferred to the jurisdiction of Serbian Archbishopric of Peć.[9]

Serbian expansion reached its apogee at the time of king and tsar

Simeon of Bulgaria and other hierarchs and dignitaries, including monastic leaders of Mount Athos. The assembly proclaimed the raising of the autocephalous Serbian Archbishopric to the rank of Patriarchate. The Archbishopric of Ohrid was not annexed to the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć and kept its autonomy, recognizing only the honorary seniority of the Serbian Patriarch.[11][12]

After the

Bulgarian Patriarchate in 1394, some of the bishoprics under its jurisdiction also entered the Ohrid Archbishopric. Thus, at the beginning of the 15th century, the Archbishop of Ohrid, attached the dioceses of Sofia and Vidin
to the Archbishopric. In 1408, Ohrid came under Ottoman rule. Still, the Ottomans did not reach after the Ohrid Archbishopric, mostly because of their tolerance for monotheistic religions, and left the people to govern themselves regarding religion.

When the last medieval

Veroia, however, at the beginning of the 17th century, it gained the Diocese of Durazzo from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
. Since then and until its abolishment in 1767, the Archbishopric neither lost nor gained a diocese under its jurisdiction.

Abolition

The autocephaly of the Ohrid Archbishopric remained respected during the periods of Byzantine, Bulgarian, Serbian and Ottoman rule; the church continued to exist until its abolition in 1767, when it was abolished by the Sultan's decree, at the urging of the Greek Eastern Orthodox leaders of Istanbul, and was placed under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople.

autochthonists which occurred among the diocesan bishops of the Ohrid Archbishopric and, the difficult financial position of the Ohrid Archbishopric over a longer period of time, contributed to its abolishment. Just a year before, the Patriarchate of Constantinople abolished the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć
in the same manner, and its dioceses adjoined to the Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Language

The

hagiographies of saints, for example the hagiography of Clement of Ohrid
, were written in Greek. Despite this, the Slavonic liturgy was preserved on the lower levels of the Church for several centuries.

Administration

The Archbishopric of Ochrid was an

autocephalous church, with full internal ecclesiastical self-governance. Only after the Ottoman conquest, as part of the millet system, did it come under the supreme ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
.

At the time of its establishment, the archbishopric comprised 32

Sigida or Belegrada (Belgrade), Bidine (Vidin), Sirmion (Sremska Mitrovica), Lipenion, Rhasos (Ras), Selasphoros or Diabolis (Devol), Slanitza or Pella, Illyrikon or Kanina, Grebenon (Grevena), Drastar (Silistra), Deure (Debar), and the Vreanoti (Vranje), called also "bishopric of the Vlachs".[15]

See also

References and notes

  1. ^
  2. ^ Prinzing 2012, p. 363.
  3. ^ Prinzing 2012, pp. 363–364.
  4. ^ Prinzing 2012, pp. 355–356.
  5. ^ Prinzing 2012, p. 358.
  6. ^ Prinzing 2012, pp. 358–359.
  7. ^ Prinzing 2012, pp. 358–362.
  8. ISBN 978-0-8108-5846-6
    .
  9. ^ Fine 1994, pp. 261.
  10. ^ Ćirković 2004, pp. 63.
  11. ^ Fine 1994, pp. 309.
  12. ^ Ćirković 2004, pp. 64–65.
  13. ISBN 978-0-7864-0228-1
    . Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  14. ^ Prinzing 2012, p. 364.
  15. ^ Prinzing 2012, pp. 364–365.

Sources

External links

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