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Venerable Ancestry

The citizens of Macedonia are predominantly Orthodox Christians. Their church is the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Although it has proclaimed its independence, or autocephaly, only in 1967, the origins of the church are much older. Institutionally, it draws its lineage from the ancient Ohrid Archbishopric that has been continuously active for over a millennium. The beginning of the Ohrid Archbishopric is associated with the reign of Samuil, who established an independent kingdom on the vast territory from the Danube to Thessaly and from the Black to the Adriatic Sea. He proclaimed himself tsar in 997 receiving the crown from the Roman Pope. Before the sacrament he elevated the Ohrid Church to the rank of Patriarchate assigning Metropolitan Philip to be its head. The church was leaning on the legacy of St. Clement and St. Nahum, and the Slavic literary tradition established in Ohrid. The Patriarchy grew as the realm of Samuil spread. But it also followed the destiny of its founder when his kingdom was defeated by his rival the Byzantine Emperor Basil II, who overtook and destroyed Samuil’s state. Basil II who had a reputation for cruelty and impunity proved himself quite moderate in religious matters. He preserved the autonomy of the Ohrid Church while reducing its rank from Patriarchy to Archbishopric. The archbishopric rights were defined by a few chrysibulls (golden sealed decrees). Ohrid remained its center, and the archbishopric stretched over vast territories including Epirus, Thessaly and other not primarily Macedonian lands. The Archbishopric consisted of 17 eparchies, only a few less than at the time of Samuil. Read more …