Recovering Macedonia 11 - The Macedonian Revival I
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Recovering Macedonia Expiration of the Bucharest Treaty of 1913
Part 11 - The Macedonian Revival I
August, 2006
rstefov@hotmail.com
Website: www.Oshchima.com
[Macedonia will remain occupied as long as the Macedonian people are unrecognized, abused and made to feel like strangers on their own native lands. It is a well known fact that Macedonia was invaded, occupied and illegally partitioned by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria in 1912-1913 against the wishes of the Macedonian people. The Serbian occupied part, now known as the Republic of Macedonia gained its independence in 1991 and is today a sovereign state while the parts annexed by Greece and Bulgaria remain occupied.]
In spite of all that has been done to the Macedonian people to break their spirit, particularly by Greece in the last century or so, they still possess the desire to be Macedonian. Hidden like a spark in the ashes of an old fire the Macedonian spirit lives on looking for the next opportunity to ignite and shine again.
It is believed that Macedonia existed as a state from approximately 800 BC to 168 BC when the Macedonian king Perseus (Philip V's son) was defeated in battle by the Romans and Macedonia was annexed by Rome.
Ever since that day (June 22nd, 168 BC) the Macedonian people have made numerous bids to recover their Macedonia, some with partial and some with no success at all. Macedonians however are patient people determined to wait it out believing that the time will come when Macedonia will again belong to the Macedonians.
The first bid to free Macedonia took place in 153 BC when the pretender Andriscus claiming to be Philip VI, son of Perseus by Laodice, Seleucus IV's daughter who was also Demetrius I's sister, took the Macedonian throne.
Andriscus went to Rome to plead his case for the Macedonian people but the Senate was not interested in a hearing. Frustrated, Andriscus returned home and sought help from the Macedonian people who gave him what he needed including royal robes, a diadem, recognition and troops. He received recognition from Byzantium and troops from various Thracian chieftains.
Given the circumstances in Macedonia, rule by a pretender was preferable to being divided and ruled by Romans. When he was ready Andriscus advanced on Macedonia from Thrace and, after two battles in 149 BC, took control of Macedonia. Unfortunately Macedonia's freedom was short lived. Two Roman legions, under the leadership of Quintus Macedonicus, were dispatched and ironically ended Andriscus's career at Pydna in 148 BC.
After this unsuccessful revolt, the Macedonian people lost their independence entirely and Macedonia became a Roman province. To avoid this from happening again, the Romans partitioned Macedonia into four regions; Macedonia Terita, Macedonia Secunda, Macedonia Prima and Macedonia Quatra and the Macedonian people were forbidden from freely crossing region boundaries or leaving Macedonia. The Macedonian people of the 2nd century BC were literally divided just like the Macedonian people of the 20th and 21st century AD.
After that, even though Macedonians took part in ruling and administering the Roman Empire and later the Eastern Roman Empire, Macedonia remained under foreign control.
Macedonians suffered immensely under Roman rule especially during the first few centuries of the first millennium. To ease their pain, many turned to Christianity which recognized their suffering and offered them comfort with rewards in the afterlife.
The Macedonians were the first people in Europe to embrace Christianity and make it part of their daily lives. The Bible mentions Macedonia and the Macedonians numerous times including Apostle Paul's visit. Paul became an important factor in the spread of Christianity to Macedonia when he had a vision of a man, a Macedonian, urging him to "come to Macedonia and help us". Paul interpreted this vision as God's will to take the "Good News" of Jesus into Macedonia. "And when they had come opposite My'sia, they attempted to go into Bithyn'ia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; so, passing by My'sia, they went down to Tro'as. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedo'nia was standing beseeching him and saying, 'Come over to Macedo'nia and help us.' And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedo'nia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them." (Page 1044, The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, Holman, Philadelphia, 1952)
There are some who believe that the man in Paul's vision was the Apostle Luke. Luke was a Macedonian, a physician by trade, who Paul met for the first time in Troas. Luke may have had some connection to Philippi to have Paul sent there. It is unknown whether Luke was a Christian before he met Paul but he was certainly one afterwards. Luke was a great writer and composer of one of the gospels.
It was around 50 AD when Paul set foot on European soil for the first time. That was in the Macedonian towns of Philippi, Solun and Berroea where he preached the word of Jesus (Acta apos., XVI, id. XVII). Around 52 and 53 AD he sent epistles to the people of Solun (Epist. Thess); then in 57 AD he came back to Macedonia to follow up on his progress. In 63 AD he again sent epistles to Macedonia but this time to the people of Philippi (Epist. Philipp).
Even before Paul went to Macedonia legend has it that Macedonia was visited by Jesus' mother Mary. "The Blessed Virgin excluded all other women from Holy Mountain, when she claimed it as 'Her Garden' after she was driven ashore by storms near the site of the present monastery of 'Iviron' USPENIE." (Page 41, Vasil Bogov, Macedonian Revelation, Historical Documents Rock and Shatter Modern Political Ideology, Western Australia, 1998) Holy Mountain, or Sveta Gora as it is known in Macedonia, is the holiest place in Europe and one of the greatest monastic centers of Christendom.
Paul's first mission to Macedonia took him to Philippi where he met a woman named Lydia, a fabric dealer. Lydia was a widow who sold cloth and textiles and was a rare example of a free woman who lived and worked in Macedonia. For some time, Lydia was exposed to Jewish religious practices which she had observed at a colony of Jews who had settled near her home in Thyatira. Lydia, along with her household, is believed to be the first Christian in Macedonia to be baptized by Paul. After Philippi, Paul's missionary journey took him to the beautiful Macedonian city of Solun where, in 50 BC, he established what later came to be known as the "Golden Gate" church, the first Christian church in Europe.
Besides bringing faith to the people, Christianity also inadvertently introduced another factor into ordinary people's lives, "the written word" a factor rarely mentioned by historians. If the word of Jesus was to be taught directly to the ordinary people it had to be taught in the language the ordinary people understood. So to teach the multitudes, who spoke various languages, Christianity was compelled to create written languages and teach priests to read who in turn would spread the word of God by reading it from a holy book written in the language people understood. By creating a written language or an alphabet as we call it today, Christianity laid the foundation for written knowledge and modern education. In Macedonia's case it commissioned the resurrection and modernization of the written "Slav language" today known as the Cyrillic Alphabet, spoken by many millions throughout Eastern and Central Europe. I say resurrection and modernization instead of "creation" because there are indications that a written form of the Macedonian ("Slav") language did exist in prehistoric Macedonia before the written form of Koine was adopted by the ancient Macedonians. (Ilyov, Vasil. Macedonian Artifacts, Ancient Inscriptions and their Translations. http://www.unet.com.mk/ancient-macedonians-part2/index.html)
The Cyrillic Alphabet which by right should be called the "Macedonian Alphabet" was organized, promoted and presented to the world by Kiril and Metodi, two Macedonian brothers from Solun, Macedonia. Half the continent of Europe then looked to Macedonia for enlightenment and the spread of spiritual knowledge. For many centuries the need to educate the Slav Speakers compelled Macedonians to build educational institutions and the first university in Ohrid. Yes, the first university in Europe was built in Ohrid, present day Republic of Macedonia. This university was responsible for educating thousands of young priests who were willing to serve God and who were commissioned to bring the word of Jesus to the multitudes of Slav speakers.
By the turn of the first millennium Macedonia was the cultural and religious center of the entire Eastern European world, spreading not only Christianity but also Macedonian culture and the Macedonian Language, a Solun dialect, which later became known as Church Slavonic.
In spite of Macedonia being politically controlled by the Pravoslavs (Byzantines) and by the Bulgars, linguistically and culturally Macedonia remained Macedonian.
The next bid the Macedonian people made to free themselves militarily was during the 10th century AD after the collapse of the Bulgar empire in 969 AD due to a war they lost against Russia and while the Pravoslavs were fighting a war in Asia.
In the absence of Bulgar control, the Comitopoloi brothers, David, Moses, Aaron and Samoil sons of Duke-Comes Nikola, organized a successful uprising and freed parts of Macedonia.
The uprising was a result of excessive exploitation of the Macedonian people who were heavily taxed by both the Bulgars and the Pravoslavs at the same time. As the need for more resources increased in order to support both empires, which at the time were at war, so did Pravoslav and Bulgar control over Macedonian principalities. With the strengthening of Pravoslav and Bulgar control over Macedonia came decline of Macedonian tribal self-government. Foreigners from other parts of the empires were granted Macedonian lands and privileges to use the Macedonian population to do their work. Church and monastery land holdings were formed and in time increased through gifts and by means of confiscations. Many Macedonian peasants lost their lands to the church due to defaulting on loans or by being accused of religious crimes. After everyone took their cut, the Macedonian peasant was left with nothing. Pushed beyond the brink of starvation, the Macedonian peasants revolted in what later became known as the Bogomil movement. Even though it was religious in nature, the Bogomil movement was predominantly a class struggle between the poor Macedonian peasants and their rich foreign rulers. The Bogomil movement was initiated in Macedonia by a Macedonian priest named Bogomil.
It is said that at the dawn of medieval Macedonia two great Macedonian men arose, Kliment of Ohrid and a priest named Bogomil. The first was an educator and writer whose distinguished work is the pride of Macedonia. The second was an idealist whose heretical theory became a rallying cry for the oppressed in Macedonia and later throughout Europe.
Bogomil was the first to teach religious elements adopted from the Paulician and Marsalian teachings. These beliefs, which forbade taking sacraments, worshipping images, including the cross, and refuted much of the Bible, were probably introduced to Macedonia by the Armenian colonists deposited in Thrace by past Pravoslav emperors. Many of the dualistic, anti-ecclesiastical and anti-feudal characteristics of these movements found their expression in the Bogomil ideology. The Bogomils believed in the existence of a struggle between good and evil and that good would conquer in the end. They maintained that the rich were the servants of the devil and anyone who submitted to them was going against God. According to them, the entire visible world with all its laws and systems had been created not by God but by the devil. They opposed the existence of churches and monasteries, were against the use of crosses, icons and feasts and propagated the belief that man could pray to God without the aid of a priest. Much of the energy attributed to the rise of the Bogomil movement came from the unbearable exploitation from foreign rulers and the Church. Bogomilism was strongest in the territory defined by the triangle of the Vardar River, Ohrid and Mt. Shar.
In 976 AD, the four brothers, David, Moses, Aaron and Samoil were successful in establishing joint rule which unfortunately did not last. After the three brothers were killed, Samoil took the throne for himself and began a westerly campaign penetrating Thrace, Macedonia and Thessaly right down to the Peloponnesus. Just recovering from its last sacking, Solun was about to be sacked again but Samoil decided to continue south and in so doing he took a large number of towns, including Larissa. Samoil resettled the inhabitants of Larissa in the interior of his state and incorporated the Larissan soldiers into his own army.
From Larissa he removed the remains of St. Achilles and brought them to Prespa, to the island of Ail. Protected by the waters of Lake Mala Prespa, Samoil made Ail his capital and built a magnificent palace on it.
It was no accident that Samoil received his strongest support from the territory defined by the triangle of the Vardar River, Ohrid and Mt. Shar. Samoil's success was fueled by the Bogomil movement and its distaste for foreign rule. In Macedonia the Bogomil movement was particularly influential in the creation of favourable conditions for a liberation uprising and the formation of an independent state. Samoil took full advantage of the situation and established a Macedonian state.
In 989 AD Samoil invaded Dalmatia, captured young king Vladimir and made him a prisoner of war in his own castle in Prespa. While Samoil was plundering Dalmatia, his daughter Kossara fell in love with the young captive king Vladimir and wanted to marry him. Not to disappoint her, Samoil gave in and gave her his blessings thus introducing Macedonian blood into the royal European lines that live on to this day. Now that he was his son-in-law he gave Vladimir his former kingdom back. As a wedding gift he also gave the newlyweds Dyrrachium and all its territories. He even returned Trebinye to Vladimir's uncle, Dragomir. Samoil's good deeds not only earned him the respect of his son-in-law but Vladimir also became his ally and loyal vassal.
When Samoil died in 1014, his kingdom was vast and included the whole of Macedonia (except for Solun), Thessaly, Epirus, the coastal sclavenes of Oiocleia, Travunya and Zachlumia, the Neretva region (excluding the islands) as far as Cetina, Serbia, Bosnia and a considerable part of Bulgaria. For the most part, the majority of the population living in Samoil's empire was Macedonian, with large Slav pockets south of Olympus down to the Peloponnesus. To a lesser extent there lived Bulgars, Serbs, Croats, Romani, Albanians and Vlachs. Additionally there lived migrants such as Vardariot Turks and Armenians who were recently settled there by former Pravoslav emperors and some by Samoil. While many Armenians existed in Thrace, Samoil had also settled some in Pelagonia, Prespa and Ohrid. The Romani were known to exist mostly in coastal regions.
Samoil's kingdom was a newly created state with a completely different nucleus of people and with completely different domestic and foreign policies than any of his neighbours. The center of Samoil's state was in the far south of the Balkans, inside today's Republic of Macedonia. Samoil had a number of capitals, which he used from time to time. During his reign Samoil moved his capital to several places including Prespa, Ohrid, Prilep, Bitola, Pronishte and Setin, all of which were inside Macedonia.
According to ancient sources, very little is known about the socio-economic conditions and the organization of Samoil's state. It is likely that the majority of people in Samoil's kingdom were peasants, most of whom were freemen, but those working on the feudal estates were either serfs or churchmen. The serfs worked on both secular and church lands while churchmen worked exclusively on church lands. Being of a slightly better social class, the churchmen were exempt from heavy taxes. However, the churchmen were obliged to donate extra labour, probably in community service, in lieu of taxes.
The noble class in Samoil's state was made up mostly of feudal lords and aristocrats who were allied behind Samoil and supported his policies. After his death the alliances began to erode and the nobles went their separate ways in pursuit of their own interests which led them closer and closer towards the Pravoslavs.
Slavery was rarely practiced but on occasion slaves were captured and sold, usually outside the kingdom. The main source of slaves was prisoners of war. It is well known, for example, that Samoil enslaved the population of Larissa after their city fell.
Most of Samoil's income came from imperial land-holdings, sale of livestock, judicial fines and military plunder. Samoil's treasury contained many valuables including gold and money. Having no coins of his own minted, the currency circulated in Samoil's kingdom was Pravoslav.
As for his military makeup, Samoil was supreme commander and enlisted his forces almost exclusively from his own kingdom. He had an enormous army consisting of both infantry and cavalry. Samoil was an able strategist who personally took part not only in planning but also in executing battles. For the most part, Samoil's weaponry and military dress was similar to the Pravoslav. His soldiers wore a short outer tunic, trousers and a shirt of steel. They also wore a helmet with a pivoting extension which could be lowered down to the chin to protect the warrior's face. Each soldier was armed with a defensive shield, long spear and sword. Other accessories included bugles and standards. Besides his regular army, Samoil also employed his own bodyguards. Samoil had no navy or any type of war vessel.
The official language of Samoil's kingdom was Macedonian although Koine was also used occasionally as the language of diplomacy at the imperial palace.
Samoil built some of the most significant buildings in his kingdom including the Basilica of St. Achilles, his various palaces and a number of churches situated in the southern parts of his kingdom.
The famous and historic Archbishopric of Ohrid was created during Samoil's reign. Initially the Archbishopric was seated in Prespa but when Samoil moved to Ohrid, he brought it with him. Ohrid became his capital as well as his religious center. After its consolidation, the new archbishop was given authority over all bishops who fell under Samoil's jurisdiction. Unfortunately the Pravoslavs refused to recognize the Archbishop of Ohrid, probably because the Roman church which crowned Samoil had consecrated it. During Samoil's rule the Macedonian church was quite popular and the clergy, especially the bishops, enjoyed their privileged positions.
When Basil II, another Macedonian serving as Emperor of the Pravoslavs, found out that Samoil had died, he marched his army to Polog via Solun and razed Samoil's imperial palace in Bitola. His troops stormed Prilep and Shtip bringing devastation to everything that stood in their path.
In the spring of 1015 Basil set out for Voden and subdued an uprising and by 1018 he succeeded in destroying the last remnants of Samoil's forty-two year reign (976-1018) of his Macedonian kingdom.
After conquering Macedonia, Basil II made it a Pravoslav province and sub-divided it into themes installing a large army to keep the peace.
The Archbishopric of Ohrid was subordinated to Pravoslav authority and incorporated into the Patriarchate of Tsari Grad (Constantinople). Macedonia was reorganized into thirty-two eparchies. The Bulgarian, Serbian and Albanian eparchies were also incorporated into the Ohrid Archbishopric. An Archbishop and the Church Synod were given supreme authority over the Ohrid Archbishopric. The Synod met in Ohrid once a year to elect new bishops and discipline clergy accused of various breaches and misconduct.
The Archbishop of Ohrid was no longer elected by the Synod, as it had been under Samoil's rule, but was appointed by Tsari Grad and confirmed by the Pravoslav Emperor. The Archbishop remained autocephalous but was subject to the Pravoslav state and church authorities. He was a member of the principal administration of the Patriarchate of Tsari Grad, attended its sittings, defended the interests and prestige of the Pravoslav Church and participated in the resolution of disagreements with the western Church.
Basil II allowed the higher clergy of the Archbishopric to retain some privileges. By doing so he gained their support in strengthening Pravoslav rule over Macedonia. To appear sympathetic he also appointed John of Debar, a Macedonian, head of the Archbishopric.
After Basil II's death in 1025 his successor Leo attempted to tighten control over the Macedonian church by replacing the Slavonic language with Koine. Having encountered opposition, in 1037 he removed John of Debar, one of the strongest supporters of the Macedonian language. Henceforth the Archbishops of Ohrid and the bishops of the churches in the Ohrid Archbishopric were regularly elected from the ranks of the Koine speaking clergy. The lower clergy remained Slavonic speakers because they were closer to the people.
When Ohrid came under Pravoslav control the Koine speaking hierarchs began to eradicate all documents written in Slavonic. Many manuscripts which had been preserved in Ohrid were destroyed. In the churches Slavonic liturgy began to be preached in adaptations translated from Koine. The Slavonic names of rivers, towns, etc. were also replaced by either classical Koine or Latin names. The Archbishopric of Ohrid was slowly becoming a Koine speaking institution designed to destroy the Macedonian traditions, which had been nurtured over the years. Slavonic literacy could not, however, be totally destroyed. The adaptation of Koine did not succeed in taking any deep roots among the people who continued to communicate in their native Slavonic language.
Hard hit by this latest clampdown, the Macedonian people once again began to lose control of their Macedonia. After reaching a renaissance under Samoil, Macedonia, after its capitulation to the Pravoslavs again fell to foreign rule and began to decline. Even though Basil II was a Macedonian himself, his loyalties lay with the Pravoslavs. His obligation was to serve his own empire above the interests of the Macedonian people.
References:
Stefou, Chris. History of the Macedonian People from Ancient times to the Present. Toronto: Risto Stefov publications, 2005
You can contact the author at rstefov@hotmail.com
