Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid

{{Other uses|Ohrid Archbishopric (disambiguation)}} The '''Archbishopric of Ochrid''' was an autonomous [[Orthodox Church]] under the tutelage of the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople]] between 1019 and 1767. It was established following the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria in 1018 by lowering the rank of the autocephalous [[Bulgarian Patriarchate]] due to its subjugation to Constantinople. ===Circumstances leading to establishment=== In 972, Byzantine Emperor [[John I Tzimisces]] conquered and burned down [[Preslav]] capturing Bulgarian [[Tsar]] [[Boris II]]. The Patriarch Damyan managed to escape, initially to [[Sofia|Sredetz]] in western Bulgaria. In the coming years, the residence of the Bulgarian patriarchs remained closely connected to the developments in the war between the next Bulgarian monarchist dynasty, the [[Comitopuli]], and the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Thus, the next Patriarch German resided consecutively in [[Aridaia|Moglen]] and [[Edessa, Greece|Voden]] - (in present-day [[Greece]]), and [[Prespa]] (in present-day [[Republic of Macedonia]]). Around 990, the last patriarch, Philip, moved to [[Ohrid]] (in present-day Republic of Macedonia), which also became the permanent seat of the Patriarchate. [[Image:Archbishop Ohrid mantle.jpg|thumb|right|Mantle presented to the Archbishopric of Ohrid from the [[Byzantine Emperor]], [[Andronikos II Palaiologos]], with an inscription, saying that the Archbishop was the spiritual shepherd of the [[Bulgarians]] - [[Bulgarian National Historical Museum]].]] ===History=== The Archbishopric of Ochrid was a Byzantine resurrection of the [[Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima]]. After 1018 it was the church of the Byzantine Slavs; Bulgarians and Serbs. The Archibishopric was seated in Ohrid in the [[Byzantine]] [[Theme (Byzantine administrative unit)|theme]] of [[Bulgaria (theme)|Bulgaria]] and was established in 1019 by lowering of the rank of the previously autocephalous [[Bulgarian Patriarchate]] and its subjugation to the jurisdiction of the [[Patriarchate of Constantinople]]. Although the first appointed archbishop ([[Ivan I Debranin|John of Debar]]) was a [[Bulgaria]]n, his successors, as well as the whole higher clergy, were invariably Greeks, the most famous of them being Saint [[Theophylact of Bulgaria]] (1078–1107). After the forming of the [[Latin Empire]] in 1204, and the poor authority of the Orthodox church in the Balkans (the Crusaders set up their own Patriarchs, after the Greek clergy refused to recognize papal authority), the [[Empire of Nicaea]] was established as a Byzantine successor. The Greek Patriarchs held the titles in exile. In the 13th and the first half of the 14th century, the Archbishopric was contested by the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire, [[Second Bulgarian Empire]] and Serbia. With the forming of the [[Serbian Kingdom]], the whole Archbishopric of Ochrid was united under the Serbian Patriarch. Only in 1368, the Lord of [[Serres]], [[Jovan Uglješa]], ''de jure'' re-established the Archbishopric for the independence of his realm. In 1371 the Serbian Empire slowly dissolved, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate once again gained jurisdiction of the southern eparchies. In 1376 however the Archbishopric became part of the Serbian Patriarch, during the rule of [[Lazar of Serbia]]. When the last Serbian Patriarch died in 1463, there were no technical options to elect a new one, so the Ohrid Archbishopric had laid its claim over many of the Serbian Patriarchate's eparchies on the basis of its old 1019 territorial rights, predating the 1219 autocephaly. By the 1520s, the Archbishopric of Ohrid had managed to put practically the entire Serbian Church under its jurisdiction, however by intervention of [[Mehmed-paša Sokolović]] in 1557, the latter was renewed and reorganized. ===Abolition=== The autocephaly of the Ohrid Archbishopric remained respected during the periods of Byzantine, Bulgarian, Serbian and Ottoman rule and 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 church in Istanbul, and was placed under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople. ==Language== The [[Greek language]] quite early replaced [[Old Church Slavonic]] as the official language of the Archbishopric. All documents and even hagiographies of Bulgarian saints, for example the hagiography of Saint [[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 was under the [[Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople]]. The following bishoprics (''diocese'') are mentioned in 1019: *[[Bishopric of Ochrid]] *[[Bishopric of Kostur]] *[[Bishopric of Strumica]] *[[Bishopric of Pelagonia]], seat at [[Bitola]] *[[Bishopric of Velbazhd]] *[[Bishopric of Ras]], seat at [[Stari Ras]], formed by 878 (as of 1219 part of [[Serbian Orthodox Church]]/SOC ). *[[Bishopric of Prizren]], formed in 10th century (as of 1219 part of SOC) *[[Bishopric of Niš]], formed by 343 (as of 1219 part of SOC) *[[Bishopric of Braničevo]], formed by 878 (as of 1219 part of SOC) *[[Bishopric of Vidin]], *[[Bishopric of Sredets]], *[[Bishopric of Servia]], formed in 5th century (as of 1882 part of [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]]) ==See also== * [[List of archbishops of the Archbishopric of Ohrid]] * [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]] * [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] ** [[Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric]] * [[Macedonian Orthodox Church]] ==External links== The history of Achrida (Ohrid) according to the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' (1913). History of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church according to the ''Catholic Encyclopedia''. {{Bulgarian Empire}} {{coord missing|Macedonia}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Bulgarian Archbishopric Of Ohrid}}