Traditional Contacts and Relations between Macedonia and Russia

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It is indeed difficult to study the roots of mutual relations between the Slavs in Russia and those in Macedonia, as most scholars believe that the Macedonians are a part that was separated from the main Slavic stock living beyond the Carpathian Mountains. Furthermore, the settlement of the Slavs in Macedonia took place over several centuries, ending as late as the 7th century, involving the southernmost regions of the Slavic migration wave, but there are no Slavic written testimonies whatsoever dating from that period. Hence discussion of this subject can start only with the Slavs’ conversion to Christianity and their literacy, which are linked with the mission of the Salonika brothers, Cyril and Methodius, and their disciples and followers. Regardless of whether Cyril and Methodius, on their famous mission, found some “Russian characters”, ^[1] meaning “Russian” literacy, which they could somehow use in their subsequent activity, it is important that they themselves came to the Russian regions towards the mid-9th century. ^[2] But what has been known to scholarship for certain is the fact that by AD 863 at the latest, at the request of the Moravian Prince Rostislav, for purely political and strategic reasons, they obeyed the order of the Byzantine Emperor Michael III and, on the basis of the vernacular of the Slavs living around Salonika, created a special alphabet (Glagoli- tic) which was later adopted as the sacral and state script of the Moravian state and church. The foundations were also laid of general Slav education and culture which developed in the subsequent course of history to a great extent as a result of the establishment of Clement’s and Naum’s Ohrid Literary School in Macedo- nia, which became the principle literary centre where the largest number and the most important monuments and records of Slavonic literacy and culture have been preserved. ^[3] The return of Clement and Naum to Macedonia, to the diocese which was still nominally under the jurisdiction of the Roman Church, provided a beneficial ground for the cultivation of Glagolitic literacy as a sacral script consecrated by the Pope and as the direct continuation of the traditions of Cyril and Methodius. Here we must not overlook the reference in Homatian’s Life of Clement that Pope Adrian (in Rome) raised Clement “to the bishop’s throne”, and later appointed Archbishop Methodius “as the bishop of the whole of Illyria and of the Bulgarian people who ruled the land”. ^[4] Only in this way does it become understandable why Clement abandoned the Bulgarian capital almost immediately, in 886, and returned to his diocese, and why as a bishop he maintained contacts only with the Bulgarian state leader and not with the existing Bulgarian Archbishop, the head of the Bulgarian Church. It is in this way that it becomes clear why even after Simeon’s reforms in 893, the Ohrid Literary School continued to use Glagolitic as its sacral script, despite the “composed” Cyrillic in Preslav, which brought about certain differences in linguistic and orthographic norms. ^[5] As far as our subject is concerned, of essential significance was the historical fact that in 972 Bulgaria came under the control of the Byzantine Empire, and the territories of the Bulgarian Patriarchate were once again placed under the direct jurisdiction of the Constantinopolitan Patriarch. Only four years later the uprising of the komitopouloi in Macedonia broke out, and Samuel established his vast empire in the Balkans with its centre around the Ohrid Literary School. In all probability he proclaimed himself the heir to the Bulgarian crown through the mediation of the Roman Church; he adopted Cyrillic as the state script, but showed tolerance towards the sacral Glagolitic written tradition. It is of essential signifi- cance that he raised (again with the mediation of the Pope) the Archbishopric of Ohrid to the rank of a patriarchate; being an internationally recognized state, his empire established relations with nearby and more distant countries and peoples. Of paramount significance was the fact that at the same time when the only Slavic Orthodox state was Samuel’s, ^[6] in Old Russia the Russians were converted to Christianity and received Slavonic literacy (988). ^[7] Hence in 1913 the Russian Slavic scholar M.D. Priselkov ^[8] put forward the thesis about the role of the Ohrid Church in the constitution of the Russian church hierarchy. In the person of the said metropolitan John in the story of the canonization of the first Russian saints Boris and Gleb he sees the Ohrid Patriarch John who (later demoted to archbishop) died in 1037. So Blaže Koneski is right when he reminds the reader that Valery Pogorelov wrote that the Old Russian language was more influenced by the Ohrid Literary School than by the school at Preslav. ^[9] These hypotheses have found full justification in the research work of Vladimir Moshin, who has established, on the basis of concrete data from written records, that there were well-developed links between Tsar Samuel and Prince Vladimir I at the time of the Russians’ conversion to Christianity and the organization of the Slavonic religious service in the Russian church. Moshin says: “In the widespread network of international relations at the time, of particular significance were the relations with the Westover the question of the establishment of an independent Patriarchate of Ohrid, on the one hand, and the relations with the other Slav countries, on the other, especially those with the Russian Prince Vladimir at the time of Russia’s conversion to Christianity and the organization of the church there.” ^[10] Elsewhere Moshin points out that it was from Macedonia that “Slavonic priests with Slavonic books were sent to the Eastern-Slav brothers in Christ”. ^[11] Relying primarily on the oldest surviving Cyrillic musical document, the Novgorod (Kiprian’s) folios, in the words of Dr Sotir Golaboski, ^[12] Moshin writes: “The Novgorod folios, as a Macedonian text from the end of the 10th century, still carry the tradition of the systematic use of the Greek ecphonetic notation of the time, and in the Russian Ostromir Gospel, from the mid-11th century, Deacon Gregory uses only the signs written within the text as punctuation, with rare instances of the use of diacritical marks after the example of the Macedonian manuscript in red ink.” ^[13] Studying the oldest Russian records and determining their origin, Mikhail N. Speransky had spoken early of their “Bulgarian-Macedonian origin”. ^[14] Moshin, however, goes even further, specifying that “the definitive affirmation of the South-Slavic influence on the Russian church coincides with the time of the conversion of Russia to Christianity and is connected with the diplomatic relations between Prince Vladimir and Samuel of Ohrid”. ^[15] Unfortunately, the relations between Samuel and Vladimir have remained as yet unstudied, as has the entire diplomatic activity of the Ohrid ruler. In connection with our subject, we would like to quote the highly provocative remark of Viktor B. Shklovsky in an interview that “the wife of Vladimir the Great was from Ohrid”. ^[16] The corroboration of this account may shed more light on the relations between Ohrid and Kiev at the time, as this might have been one of the ‘political marriages’ of the Kievan Prince. Thus the act of Christianization and the organi- zation of the Russian church, and especially the introduction of Slavonic literacy among the Russians, become more understandable as both state-diplomatic and cultural-civilizational acts. Yet the sources from this period are neither clear nor accurate. Let us pose the following question: when, how and why was there such a ‘political marriage’? Nikolay M. Karamzin points out that “even before Vladimir, polygamy was not considered illegal in pagan Russia”, ^[17] and then goes on to write that this did not stop Vladimir from “manifesting a noble devotion towards the pagan gods”, erecting silver statues of the God Perun and offering blood sacrifice— perhaps to appease his conscience and pacify the gods “irritated by his fratricide”. “But,” Karamzin writes, “this piety of Vladimir’s did not prevent him from sinking into sensual pleasures. His first wife was Rogneda, the mother of Izyaslav, Mstislav, Yaroslav, Vsevolod and of two daughters; having killed his brother, he took his pregnant sister-in-law as a hostage, who gave birth to Svyatopolk; by his second legal wife, a Czech or Bohemian, he had his son Vysheslav; by his third — Svyatoslav and Mstislav; by his fourth wife, born in Bulgaria — Boris and Gleb. In addition, if we are to believe the chronicle, he had 300 hostage wives in Vyshegorod, 300 in present-day Belogorotka (near Kiev) and 200 in the village of Berestovo. Every pretty woman or girl was afraid of his passionate eyes; he scorned the sanctity of marriage ties and innocence. In a word, the chronicler calls him the Second Solomon in love of women.” ^[18] These data, drawn from Nestor’s chronicle Povest vremennyh let ^[19] and his Skazanie o Borise i Glebe ^[20] show that Prince Vladimir indeed had several wives and twelve sons by them; that these wives came from various states and nationali- ties; that he concluded and broke marriages just as he concluded and broke international accords with various rulers; that his fourth wife was “from Bul- garia” ^[21] and that he had by her his sons Boris and Gleb, who became the first Russian saints in the church history of Russia. Of course, at least from the time of Vladimir’s conversion to Christianity (988) to his death (1015) there was no Bulgarian state or church, but probably it was Samuel’s state that bore that name (even though this question requires more detailed study), ^[22] and in all probability the reference is to that wife of Vladimir’s from Ohrid, to use the words of Shklovsky. When and how did this happen?

There are still no known direct references, but we can draw some conclusions from indirect accounts. According to the Armenian historian of the time, Asohik, Samuel made unsuccessful attempts “at becoming related to Basil”, ^[23] but failing to do this, in August 986 he attacked Byzantium and, in the battle near Ihtiman, Emperor Basil narrowly escaped, saving his head. Samuel’s enlarged state reached the shores of three seas and his contacts with Kievan Russia were now maintained easily. It is highly probable that the political marriage with Vladimir took place at that time. Engaged in difficult internal strife with Bardas Phocas, Basil II de- manded help from Vladimir. Vladimir gave him 6,000 soldiers, ^[24] but the Byzan- tine emperor had to give Princess Anne (Basil’s sister) as a wife to Vladimir, once the latter adopted Christianity. Prince Vladimir fulfilled his promise: he sent his soldiers and in the first months of 988 he was baptized, but the Byzantine emperor failed to abide by the agreement. Then Vladimir surrounded the town of Chersone- sus (Korsun) and after a six-month siege captured it and issued an ultimatum to the Byzantine emperor, demanding that he send his sister as Vladimir’s wife. Under pressure from Samuel’s attacks and unrest in Asia Minor, Basil II fulfilled the agreement, and Vladimir married Anne in Chersonesus. ^[25] Then Vladimir returned the town to Byzantium and went back to Kiev together with his new wife. Regardless of the fact that the chronology of events is not clear nor sufficiently accurate, it is certain that the conversion to Christianity took place sometime in 988, and with the participation of Constantinople at that. Vladimir Moshin, however, writes that after Vladimir captured Chersonesus, “he sent an envoy to Samuel of Macedonia with a proposal for an alliance and a request for the organization of a Christian church with a Slavonic service. All this was fulfilled by the dispatching of Bishop Leon to Russia, taking the postof Russian Metro- politan, who set off to take up this duty together with many missionaries — priests and deacons — and carrying a large number of Slavonic religious books. The Russian chronicle of the Novgorod prelates of 991 says: ‘The Beatific Vladimir adopted Christianitand he brought the Metropolitan Leon to Kiev, and Joachim of Korsun to Novgorod’.” ^[26] This was certainly possible, but probably only after Vladimir’s adoption of Christianity. It is not insignificant that Prince Vladimir assumed the name Basil ^[27] upon his baptism, and that the metropolitans in Kievan Russia were for a long time appointed by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. ^[28] But it is still not sufficiently clear what the relations between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Archbishopric of Ohrid were like in this period. Ioann Belevcev writes that the new “Russian Orthodox Church was subordinated, in terms of administration, to the Constantinopolitan Patriarch, and in terms of organization was one of the metropolitanates of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. ^[29] On the other hand, I.F. Oksiyuk points out that “the wise Prince Vladimir conducted a policy of his own and preferred to remain loyal to his alliance with Byzantium, through unity with the Slavonic Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid in Bulgaria”, as the church was still not divided at the time. ^[30] Another view which deserves attention is the highly disputed opinion of M.D. Priselkov, dating from 1913, that the Russian Church “received its hierarchy not from Constantinople or Rome, but from the Patriarchate of Ohrid”. ^[31] In connec- tion with this question, Lev Lebedev observes that “enlightenment in Russia started immediately in the Old Church Slavonic language, and that Byzantium sent to Russia, together with Princess Anne, not Greek, but Bulgarian clergy and religious books in the Old Church Slavonic language”. ^[32] Lebedev also says: “there are even views that the Russian Church was canonically, in principle, subordinated to the Bulgarian Church”, although immediately afterwards he adds that “these views are disputable”. This, however, does not prevent him from pointing out that the newly-arrived priests in Russia could have been called “Greek” or “Tsaritza’s” “because of their canonical affiliation with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and not in terms of their nationality”. In conclusion he writes: “Joachim’s chronicle and some hagiographies of Prince Vladimir say that the newcomer to Chersonesus and administrator of Russia’s conversion to Christianity, the Metropolitan Mi- chael, was a Bulgarian, whereas in the Nikon chronicle he is called a Syrian, and in other sources — a Greek. But probably in the right are those who believe that he was a Bulgarian”. ^[33] The ‘Short survey’ of the History of the Russian Orthodox Church, an official publication of the Patriarchate of Moscow, also confirms the fact that “teachers of the Christian faith who had a good command of the Old Church Slavonic language” were invited by Prince Vladimir “from Korsun and the Balkan lands”, and thus “established sound foundations for the development of the Russian Church”. Furthermore, the following is admitted from the mostofficial instance: “Modern historiographic data allow us to believe that the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Ohrid, the Bulgarian, was accepted under Prince Vladimir.” Here it is not so important that the authors call the Patriarch of Ohrid a ‘Bulgarian’, as this indeed was a part of his title (a historical relic), but it is much more important that there is another confirmation below: “In 1037, under Yaroslav Vladimirovich (the Wise), owing to the vacancy of the Bulgarian Patriarchate, the Russian Church came under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople as one of its Metro- politanates.” ^[34] Thus at the time of Tsar Samuel the diocese of the Archbishopric/Patriarchate of Ohrid included the Russian church (even after the conquestof Macedonia by the Byzantine Emperor Basil II). The demotion of the Patriarchate of Ohrid to the rank of archbishopric, and in particular the vacancy of the Ohrid see, was used to incorporate the Russian church under the direct jurisdiction of the Patriarchate. If we do not know precisely when the jurisdiction of Ohrid over Kiev was extended, it has been firmly established that its jurisdiction was revoked in 1037. This means that the relations between Macedonia and Russia were very strong and compre- hensive for about four decades. Vladimir’s marriage with the woman coming from Samuel’s court in Ohrid could only facilitate and encourage these relations. In conclusion, there is no doubt that Slavonic literacy was brought to Russia through the Archbishopric of Ohrid, because it was impossible to bring it from any other place at that time. The influence must have been strong even later, but it was prominent from the very beginning. Ioann Belevcev writes: “The conversion of Russia to Christianity — it was the day of the birth of the Russian Orthodox Church, for whose establishment all the necessary conditions were fulfilled: a large flock was formed, bishops from Byzantium appeared here headed by the metropolitan, priests came from Bulgaria with religious books in the Slavonic language, churches were built, religious schools were opened.” ^[35] Examining the religious and educational activity of the missionaries and the Novgorod School of Russian literacy, where precisely this ‘adaptation’ of South- Slavonic manuscripts into the North-Russian variant was carried out, and analys- ing Speransky’s arguments concerning the two Novgorod copies of the South-Sla- vonic Psalter (the Evgenii, 11th century, and the Tolstov, 11th or early 12th century), Vladimir Moshin concludes that “palaeographic linguistic and ortho- graphic analysis has undoubtedly established the origin of their example as being the Ohrid-Macedonian literary school. This analysis also confirms the Macedo- nian origin of the Novgorod folios, which are thought to be the remainder of a Macedonian imperial codex from the late 10th century, which in 991 was sent together with Joachim of Korsun to Novgorod and there, towards the mid-11th century, helped the deacon Gregory and his associate in the preparation of the Ostromir Gospel”. ^[36] Blaže Koneski quotes other examples illustrating the Macedonian influence on old Russian literacy. He points to Ohrid as the first religious and cultural centre of the southern and eastern Slavs at the time of Clement’s Ohrid Literary School, whose activity became particularly strong during the time of Tsar Samuel, when the Patriarchate of Ohrid was instituted with the help of Rome (it is not incidental that the frescoes in the Church of St Sophia in Ohrid include the portraits of six Roman popes, ^[37] which is a unique case in Slavonic fresco-painting), when, at least according to tradition, there was already the Zograph Monastery on Mount Athos, founded by Samuel, as the first Slavonic monastery in the “Monastic republic”. ^[38] This was undoubtedly the second religious and cultural centre in the Slavic Balkan south, which was also significant because of its relations with Russia and Russian literacy. The Russian skite monastery of Ksilurg (Xylourgos) was built there (sometime after 1016) “which is traditionally connected with Yaroslav the Wise, and even with Prince Vladimir”. ^[39]

Considerably later, in 1169, the second Russian monastery, St Panteleimon, was founded on Mount Athos, and it was as late as 1198, after the strengthening of the Serbian state in the Balkans, that the Serbian monastery of Chilandar was founded. This established an entire Slavonic Orthodox community maintaining all kinds of contacts which were not limited only to the areas of religion and culture. After the collapse of Samuel’s state, the reputation of the Russian monastery of Ksilurg grew substantially as it enjoyed the support (material and political) of the by now powerful Principality of Kiev. ^[40] This was already a period of reciprocal Russian influence in the Slavic south, although earlier links in the areas of language and orthography continued. A well-known historical situation was gradually created where Glagolitic records were being transliterated into Cyrillic, and, as these were mostly from Macedonia, they exerted a significant influence as basic patterns in the establishment of the Old Church Slavonic standard, which was to become the general Slavonic literary standard in the Eastorthodox Slavonic world over the coming centuries. In several of his works, Blaže Koneski points to the presence of monks from Macedonia in the Russian monastery of Ksilurg, and also to the fact that the monks of Mount Athos had closer contacts with the Sinai monastery of St Catherine — starting from the earliest centuries. Koneski quotes the example of the arrival of the Serbian religious figure and educator St Sava at the same time as the Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli was staying in the monastery. Such “monastic itineraries” were still frequent in the subsequent centuries; hence it is no chance that we find Hristofor Žefarovič from Dojran there in the 18th century, and the first Macedo- nian printer, in the 19th century, Teodosija Sinaitski, was even the abbot of St Catherine’s Monastery on Sinai (from which he received his surname). ^[41] Accordingly, Sinai was another centre of mutual Slavonic contacts — not only in the spiritual sphere — lying relatively close to Mount Athos, i.e. to the Macedonian cultural region. In the course of time many Russian manuscripts came to the monastery libraries on Mount Athos, which certainly exerted an influence on the writing activity in the Macedonian cultural and literary centres. This closeness between Russia and Mount Athos is also confirmed by the fact that the Monastery of the Annunciation (Blagoveshtensky) near Bialystok was built in the late 15th century for monks coming from Mount Athos. ^[42] There are already serious research works dealing with the Russian influence on South-Slavonic texts from the 12th to 14th century. In Macedonia it is once again Blaže Koneski who pays special attention to this question. He points not only to the attractiveness of Mount Athos for Russian monks when the Russian state was still powerful, but also to the large-scale forced emigration of monks and literate Russians following the Tartar invasion in the first half of the 13th century. There were Russian monks who came not only to the court of Stephen (Stefan) Nemanja and his funeral on Mount Athos, but they were to be found in what was then Sredec and in eastern Macedonia, in the already well-developed literary and transcription centre in the monastery of Lesnovo. The Kratovo hagiography of St Gabriel (Gavril) of Lesnovo from the Stanislav Prologue (1330), and also a longer text dealing with the life of this saint in a late transcription (1868), even though referring to tradition, speak of migrants from Russia to the monastic environment who “could have also contributed to the spreading of Russian influ- ence on South-Slavonic literacy at a period when there was need to fill the stock of books in South-Slavonic lands”. ^[43] Koneski demonstrates this in a highly illustrative manner by quoting examples drawn from the Macedonian Gospel of Priest John (Pop Jovan) and from the Stanislav Prologue. ^[44] Finally, the specific cult of saints is not without significance for the Slavonic cultural affirmation. There is a vast and representative gallery of Slavonic saints from Macedonia — in the period between the 9th and 18th centuries. ^[45] In this respect, of particular interest is the canonization of the first Russian saints Boris and Gleb. M.D. Priselkov points out very early that Metropolitan John, who is mentioned in the story of the canonization of these first Russian saints, was actually the Ohrid Patriarch (later Archbishop) John (of Debar) who “also came to Russia in the line of duty”. ^[46] All this makes us re-think some aspects of Macedonian-Russian relations in the 10th and 11th centuries. Firstof all, it is striking that Prince Vladimir’s sons by his “Bulgarian wife” from Ohrid bore the Christian names Roman (Boris) and David (Gleb), ^[47] and these were names taken directly from Samuel’s family, perhaps on the insistence of the children’s mother. Thus, in the light of this fact, it now becomes more clear why Metropolitan John was present at their canonization after their death, when they were killed by Svyatopolk — the son of Yaropolk and the Greek nun — who was full of hatred towards Vladimir I because he had killed Svyatopolk’s father (his own brother) and taken his pregnant widow as a hostage. ^[48] It would certainly not be insignificant (if supported by additional historical facts) that the first Russian saints were related by blood with Ohrid and Samuel, and spiritually with the Ohrid church as a Slavonic (and already Orthodox) church. Making certain comparisons within the general Christian history may also be relevant for our subject. For instance, St Clement of Ohrid is not only connected with the character of the activity of the Apostle Paul — who spread Christianity in Macedonia — but links may also be traced back to the Apostle Peter — through the activity of his brother, the Apostle Andrew. It is known that the Macedonian tradition abundantly uses the Apostle Andrew not only in written monuments, but also in sacral places of historical interest. We now know that Naum of Ohrid wrote a service for the Apostle Andrew, ^[49] and we cannot forget that Cyril and Methodius served a liturgy in the Slavonic language in the Church of St Andrew in Rome. ^[50] This is also reflected in the oldest fresco-paintings in Macedonia. For example, in the 13th-century Ohrid Church of the Holy Mother of God Peribleptos (Sv. Bogorodica Perivlepta, Sv. Kliment Novi), on the right side of the altar, the Apostle Peter is depicted as supporting Christ’s Church on his shoulder; beside him is his brother, the Apostle Andrew (opposite the frescoes on the other side of the altar), and there are the figures of the Ohrid Archbishop Constantine KabIsilas (as a counterpart to the Apostle Peter) and of St Clement of Ohrid (as a counterpart to the Apostle Andrew), emphasizing the significance of those who were active in Ohrid, and strengthening the early Christian heritage and tradition in Macedonia. ^[51] That the cult of St Andrew was also alive in Macedonia in the course of the ensuing centuries is shown by the Church of St Andrew (Sv. Andreja) near Matka, erected by Andrejaš — King Mark’s brother — in the 14th century. ^[52] According to tradition, however, the Apostle Andrew spread Christianity not only in Thrace, Macedonia, Thessaly and other regions of present-day Greece, where he was crucified, but he also appointed the first bishop of Constantinople, as a result of which his relics were moved to this city in the 4th century. ^[53] Yet it is of particular importance for us that, according to Povest vremennyh let, the Apostle Andrew preached on the shores of the Black Sea, in Sinope (Sinop) and Chersonesus (Korsun), along the Dnieper up to the location of the subsequent Kiev, and “he came to the Slavs, where Novgorod now stands”, in order to arrive in Rome, where he spoke of his achievements, and then returned to Sinope. This account of Nestor’s has been the object of recurrent debates over the past centuries, and special attention was paid to this question at the International Scholarly Church Conference in Kiev held July 21-28, 1986. In his extensive discussion entitled Ustanovlenie hristianstva na Rusi, the Metropolitan of Minsk and Belorussia, Philaret, quoted new information which indicates that the Apostle Andrew did indeed preach on Russian soil, introducing Christianity at the time of its incep- tion. Of course, it is now very difficult for serious scholars to rely on such arguments, but tradition has nourished certain ideas among the people for centuries, creating cults which have played an important part in history. Therefore it was not mere chance that as early as the 11th century the grandson of Prince Vladimir received the name of the Apostle Andrew as his Christian name, while at the time there were at least three shrines in Russia (in Kiev, Pereyaslav and Novgorod) bearing the name of this apostle. ^[54] Hence these words ascribed to Ivan the Terrible may become more understandable: “We received the Christian faith at the commence- ment of the Christian church, when Andrew, the brother of the Apostle Peter, came to these regions on his way to Rome; in this manner we in Moscow received the Christian faith at the same time as you did in Italy and since then we have kept it sacrosanct.” ^[55] Accordingly, it was not only Cyril and Methodius, and Clement and Naum, connecting the Southern Slavs and the Russians by way of their cults. In many respects, Macedonia was the focus of Slavonic literacy and Christian culture, and its more comprehensive and more profound study may open new horizons to scholars in getting to know the ancient history of Slavonic culture and its civili- zation better. But while we are still on the ground of Macedonian-Russian contacts at that important period of development, we must also mention the relatively little known Cyril’s Church in Kiev, built and painted in the 1170s with the participation of fresco-painters from Macedonia as well. The ensemble of frescoes in the northern apse, in the words of N.B. Sal’ko, are “closely connected with the South-Slavonic fresco-painting school in the Balkans”. ^[56] In fact, this composition in Cyril’s Church consists solely of “Macedonian saints”, including Cyril and Methodius, Clement of Ohrid, John of Macedonia and Joseph of Salonika. ^[57] The citizens of Kiev called this apse Makedonskij zal (Macedonian Hall) for centuries, but when we visited this church in 1983 there was a sign reading Balkanskij zal (Balkan Hall), and the chief guide explained it to us as Bolgarskij zal (Bulgarian Hall). This is just another example how some realities have been revised over time which now obscure our perspective of the past! Unfortunately the fresco-paintings in Cyril’s Church have still not been fully studied and presented to the public, and its significance is yet to be assessed in a scholarly manner, particularly from the aspect of Macedonian-Russian and Mace- donian-Ukrainian cultural links. One thing is, however, certain: the Russian and especially the Ukrainian people maintained an extremely clearly defined awareness of Macedonia, and also of the Macedonians, which was reflected in their rich epic folklore — in Ukrainian words which can still be heard accompanied by the bandora. ^[58] Of special significance in this respect was the formation of hussar regiments in Ukraine, which included the Macedonian Regiment in the 18th century, reflected in the toponomastics of a fairly wide belt in Ukraine up to the present day. ^[59] The links of Ohrid and Mount Athos with Kiev, Novgorod, Vladimir, Suzdal, Zagorsk and Moscow were maintained without interruption for centuries. It was not by chance that in 1905, in his journal Vardar, Krste P. Misirkov singled out the role of Slavonic studies in the identification of the Macedonians and the national awakening in Macedonia, ^[60] and the Macedonian Scholarly and Literary Society in St Petersburg, as early as its second session, on December 29, 1902, with a visibly strong enthusiasm in thought and action, passed a protocolar decision to work on the writing of a parallel four-language dictionary, with a view to informing the Russian public not only that Macedonian was an individual Slavonic language, but also that it was even closer to Russian than to Serbian or Bulgarian. ^[61] With these few extracts from the history of Macedonian-Russian links and relations in the early mediaeval period we only wish to point to the significance Macedonia had in the history of the Russian church, of the Russian state and in particular, of Russian literacy and culture. All this resulted in the establishment of a common standard of all Orthodox Slavs, which, with negligible variations, was long cultivated in the churches and monasteries, and not only there. This, in turn, can only help and facilitate the understanding of the role Russia played in the historical evolution and cultural development of Macedonia in the 19th and 20th centuries.

1. ↑ Kliment Ohridski , Sъbrani sъčinenija, III. P r ost r anni žitija na Kiril i Metodi ja. Podgotvi l i za pečat Bonž St. Angel ov i Hri sto Kodov, Sof ija, 1973, 127 and 150.
2. ↑ I .F . Oksi ž k, “P er vč e stol et i ja hr i st i anst va na Rusi i l at i nski ja zapad“, Bogosl ovski e t rudč, 28, Moskva, 1987, 194. It is suggested that as early as the second half of the 9th century and the early 10th century there was already a “Russian Metropolitanate” in Kievan Russia, which was listed in the catalogue of Emperor Leo VI as item 61, and in the survey of Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus as item 60 in the listof metropolitanates of the Constantinopolitan Patriarch (ibid., 195; M.V. Levčenko, Očer k po i stor i i r ussko-vi zant i jaski h ot noš eni ja, Moskva, 1956, 88). Even Princess Olga, the widow of Prince Igor, was converted to Christianity in the 950s, and there was already a Christian community in Kiev (I .F . Oksi ž k, op. cit., 195). The 967 Bull of Pope John XIII to Boleslav the Czech decrees, among other things, that the religious service in the Bishopric of Prague “should by no means be carried out in conformity with the rites of the Bulgarian or Russian peoples”, but in Latin (ibid., 196-197). Some even allow the possibility that some of Cyril and Methodius’s disciples might have reached Russia (after their banishment), so it was with their help that Christianity in Kiev took root and stood against the pressure of the pagan reaction. According to Russian chronicles, towards the mid-10th century the Christians in Kiev already had a church of their own, St Elijah the Prophet, where the Christians making the agreement with Byzantium took an oath of faithfully abiding by it, whereas Prince Igor and other delegates took an oath on the hill, where the idol of Perun stood. The “Russian bishop” Adalbert arrived in Kiev in 961 as the representative of Otto I and Pope John XII, even though he had to leave Russia soon afterwards (ibid., 196-197).
3. ↑ S l ovenski r akopi si vo Makedonija, I-Ioe , Skopje, 1971-1988; Vangel i ja Despodova – Li di ja Sl aveva, Makedonski sr ednovekovni r akopi si , I, P r i l ep, 1988.
4. ↑ Aleksandъr Milev, Žitija na sv. Kliment Ohridski , Sofija, 1961, 128.
5. ↑ Blaže Koneski , “Ohridskata knižovna škola“, in: Kni ga za Kliment Ohridski, Skopje, 1966, 69-85; D-r Blaže Ri stovski , Makedonski ot nar od i makedonskat a naci ja, I, Skopje, 1983, 110-115.
6. ↑ We suppose that Samuel’s state bore the Bulgarian national appellation because it was presented as a successor to the former Bulgarian empire, which was the necessary condition for receiving international state-constitutional recognition (by the Pope). Yet there is an interesting miniature published by Yeger Oskar (Vseobč aja i stor íja vъ čet č r ehъ t omahъ , 5-e i zdaníe, S.-P et er bur gъ , 1896, between pp. 144 and 145), taken from the collection Evangel i ski čet i va, which belonged to Emperor Henry II (1002-1024), from the time when the only Slavic empire was Samuel’s Empire (existing up to 1018). This miniature shows, allegorically, four Graces (‘countries/peoples’) offering gifts of gratitude to the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, dressed in imperial clothes and with imperial crowns on their heads, with clearly written signatures above their heads: Roma, Gallia, Germania, Sclauinia. This last Grace (Sclavinia) holds a golden globe in her right hand, which is a symbol of the sun and of light, and points with her left hand towards the sky. It is shown as a blonde girl dressed in white, with characteristic Slavic embroidery around her neck and bosom, and there is a dark-cherry (purple?) cape put over her dress — as a sign of imperial greatness. She wears a crown on her head in the form of a battlemented tower which differs from all other crowns in the miniature (P r ot oi er eja Lev Lebedev, Kreč eni e Rusi 988-1988, Moskva, 1987, 8-10). Can we thus assume that Samuel’s state bore the name Slavinia (Sclavinia)?
7. ↑ Although there are different views concerning the time of the Russians’ adoption of Christianity, it is believed that Prince Vladimir I himself was baptized in 988 in Chersonesus (Korsun), and that afterwards the whole of the country was gradually converted to Christianity.
8. ↑ M.D. P r i sel kovъ , “Očer ki po cer kovno-pol i t i českoja i stor íi Kíevskoja Rusi “, Zapi ski Istoriko-Filologičeskago fakulÅt et a SPb. universit et a, S P b., 1913, 23-76. We must note, however, that Priselkov’s opinion (that the Russian Metropolitanate was dependent on the Archbishopric of Ohrid from the very beginning and that it was as late as 1037, after the death of the Ohrid Archbishop John, that the ‘Greek’ Metropolitanate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople was established in Kiev) is bluntly rejected (as being unfounded) by a number of researchers (see: M.V. Levčenko, op. cit., 373, etc.; A. P oppæ, “Russki e mi t r opol i i Konstantinopol Åskoja P at r i - ar hi i v XI stol et i i “, Vi zant i jaski ja vremenni k, 28-29, Moskva, 1968-1969; Mi t r opol i t Mi nski ja i Bel or usski ja F i l ar et , “Kr eč eni e svjat ogo knjazja Vl adi mi r a i Russkoja zeml i , Bogosl ovski e t r udč , 28, Moskva, 1987, 71, etc.).
9. ↑ Blaže Koneski , “Kanoni zaci ja na slovenski svetci vo Ohridskata crkva“, Prilozi, MANU, I, 1-2, Skopje, 1976, 63.
10. ↑ 209 Vladi mi r Mošin, S pomeni ci za sr ednovekovnat a i ponovat a i stor i ja na Makedonija (P r edgovor ), Skopje, 1975, 11.
11. ↑ Vladi mi r Mošin, S l ovenski r akopi si vo Makedonija, 1, Skopje, 1971, 7.
12. ↑ D-r Sot i r Gol aboski , “Moš i n za r usko-makedonski t e vr ski za vr eme na pokr st uvawet o na Rus i t e “ , Kult uren ž i vot , HHXIII, 1-2, Skopje, 1988, 14-16.
13. ↑ Vl adi mi r Moš i n, “Novgor odski t e l i vči wa – ost at ok od car Samoi l ov kodeks – i ni vnat a ekf onet ska not aci ja“, Makedonska muzi ka, 5, Skopje, 1983, 13.
14. ↑ D-r Sot i r Gol aboski , op. cit., 14.
15. ↑ Vladi mi r Mošin, op. cit., 13.
16. ↑ čedo Cvetkovski, “Razgovor sa Viktorem Borisovičem Šklovskim“, Oko, Zagreb, 21.XII.1984.
17. ↑ N.M. Kar amzin, “I stor ija gosudar stva Rossijaskogo“, Moskva, 2, Moskva, 1988, 120.
18. ↑ Ibid., 121.
19. ↑ Pamjat ni ki l i t er at ur č dr evneja Rusi XI–načal o XII veka, Moskva, 1978, 94.
20. ↑ Ibid., 278.
21. ↑ In the sources: “ot bol gar č ni – Bor i sa i Gl õba“ (Povest Å, 94); “ot Å bъ l gar č nõ Bor i sa i Gl õ b a “ ( S kazani e, 278).
22. ↑ See note 205
23. ↑ Vseobč aja i stor íja S t epanosa Tar anskago, Asohi ka po pr ozvaníž , Moskva, 1864, 175.
24. ↑ According to the sources, this ‘Russian’ unit consisted of Varangians.
25. ↑ Pamjat ni ki l i t er at ur č dr evneja Rusi XI–načal o XII veka, 124-126.
26. ↑ Vladi mi r Mošin, “Novgorodski te l i včiw“, 11-12.
27. ↑ P r ot oi er eja Lev Lebedev, op. cit., 108.
28. ↑ The Russian church was dependent on Constantinople as late as 1448 (P r of essor pr ot oi er eja I oann Bel evcev, “Obr azovani e Russkoi ja pr avosl avnoja cer kvi “, Bogosl ovski e t r udč , 28, 1987, 84).
29. ↑ Ibid., 83.
30. ↑ I .F. Oksižk, op. cit., 201
31. ↑ Blaže Koneski , “Kanoni zaci ja na slovenski svetci vo Ohridskata crkva“, 63; M.D. P r i sel kovъ , op. cit., 109.
32. ↑ P r ot oi er eja Lev Lebedev, op. cit., 109.
33. ↑ Ibid., 159.
34. ↑ Russkaja P r avosl avnaja Cer kovÅ, I zdani e Moskovskoja P at r i ar hi i , Moskva, 1980, 9-10.
35. ↑ P r of essor pr ot oi er eja I oann Bel evcev, op. cit., 78.
36. ↑ According to D-r Sot i r Gol aboski , op. cit., 15; Vladi mi r Mošin, “Novgorodski l i stići i Ost r omi r ovo jevanŸeq e“, Ar heogr af ski pr i l ozi , 5, Beogr ad, 1983, 7-14; Vangel i ja Despo- dova – Li di ja Sl aveva, op. cit., I, 62. There is an interesting view proposed by Cvetan Grozdanov (Cvet an Gr ozdanov, “Or nament i kat a na r ascvet ani l i sja vo umet nost a na Ohrid vo XI-XII vek“, L ihni d, 6, Ohrid, 1988, 11-20)) that the ornamentation of blossom and leaves could be a relevant element in the determination of monuments and records, but only as a possibility, without specific answers. The absence of such ornamentation is still not a proof that it was not present in Ohrid during Samuel’s rule, especially when we know that Cyrillic was the state script in his state as well, and yet there is no surviving document from that time.
37. ↑ P et ar Mi q kovi Î-P epek, “Mat er i jal i za makedonskat a sr ednovekovna umet nost . F r eski t e vo sveti l i š teto na crkvata Sv. Sof ija vo Ohrid“, in: Zborni k na Ar heol oš ki ot muzej, Skopje, 1956, 22, t abl i HH-HXI.
38. ↑ Blaže Koneski , “Svet a Gor a i st ar oslovenski t e r akopi si “, in: Kliment Ohridski i ul ogat a na Ohridskata kni ž evna škola vo r azvi t okot na slovenskat a pr osvet a. Ma- t er i jal i od naučen sobi r odr ž an vo Ohrid od 25 do 27 sept emvr i 1986 godi na, MANU, Skopje, 1989, 97; Blaže Koneski , “O Mar i ji nskom jevanŸeq u“, Juž noslovenski f i l ol og, Hª II, Beogr ad, 1986, 68; Jordanъ Ivanovъ , Bъ l gar ski st ar i ni Izъ Makedonija, Sofija, 1931, 537-546.
39. ↑ Blaže Koneski , “Svet a Gor a i st ar oslovenski t e r akopi si “, 97; Vl adi mi r Moš i n, “Russki e na Af one i r ussko-vi zant i jaski e ot noš eni ja v XI-XII vv.“, Byzantinoslavica, IH, 1947, 57.
40. ↑ Blaže Koneski , “O Mar i ji nskom jevanŸeq u“, 69.
41. ↑ Blaže Koneski , “Svet a Gor a i st ar oslovenski t e r akopi si “, 99.
42. ↑ Ibid., 100; G. I l Åi nskíja, “Značeníe Af ona vъ i stor íi sl avjanskoja pi sÅmennost i “, Ž urnalъ MNP, XI, S P b., 1908, 14-15.
43. ↑ 242 Blaže Koneski , “Za r uskot o vl i jani e vr z juž noslovenski t e t ekstovi od XIII-XIoe vek“, in: Opuscula Polono-Slavica. Munera linguistica Stanislao Urbanczyk dedicata, WrocÂaw, 1979, 176.
44. ↑ Ibid., 176-177; Blaže Koneski , “Ruskot o jazi čno vl i jani e vr z makedonski t e t ekstovi od XIII-XIoe ve k“ , in: Ref er at i na makedonski t e sl avi st i za IH meJAunar oden sl avi st i čki kongr es vo Ki ev, Skopje, 1983, 25-28.
45. ↑ Cvet an Gr ozdanov, Por t r et i na svet i t el i t e od Makedonija od IH-Hoe III vek, Skopje, 1983.
46. ↑ Blaže Koneski , “Kanoni zaci ja na slovenski svetci vo Ohridskata crkva“, 63 — according to M.D. P r i sel kovъ , “Očer ki “, 39-43.
47. ↑ Pamjat ni ki l i t er at ur č dr evneja Rusi XI–načal o XII veka, 280 and 454.
48. ↑ Ibid., 88-94.
49. ↑ St ef an Kož uhar ov, “P esennot o t vor čest vo na st ar obъ l gar ski ja kni ž ovni k Naum Ohrid- ski “, Lit erat urna istorija, 12, Sofija, 1984, 3-19.
50. ↑ Kliment Ohridski , Sъbrani sъčinenija, III, 140.
51. ↑ Blaže Koneski , “Kult ot na svet i t el i t e i slovenskat a kult ur na af i r maci ja“, Prilozi, MANU, OLLN, H, 2, Skopje, 1985, 7; Cvet an Gr ozdanov, Port ret i na svet i t el i t e od Makedonija, 53-54.
52. ↑ Cvet an Gr ozdanov, op. cit., 86-87.
53. ↑ Blaže Koneski , “Kult ot na svet i t el i t “, 6.
54. ↑ Ibid., 36
55. ↑ Blaže Koneski , “Kult ot na svet i t el i t “, 8 — according to D.S . Li hač ev, Naci onal Ånoe samosoznani e dr evneja Rusi , M.–L., 1945, 100.
56. ↑ N.B. Sal Åko, Ž i vopi sÅ Dr evneja Rusi XI–načal o XIII veka. Mozai ki – F r eski – I konč , Leni ngr ad, 1982, 105-109. The author underlines: “In the 1170s the church walls were covered by frescoes. A clearer figure of Archangel Michael was depicted in the northern apse, and in the three zones there are the figures of twenty-five Balkan saints” (108-109).
57. ↑ D-r Kost a Bal abanov, “Ki evska Rusi ja i kult ur ni t e cent r i vo Makedonija vo XI i XII vek. Kultot na slovenski te prosvetitel i Kiri l i Metodija i nivni te učeni ci “, Gl asni k na UNES KO, HHHoe , Apr i l , 1982, 40.
58. ↑ The versified speech of the Zaporozhians to the Turkish Sultan of 1679, among other things, mentions makedonski ja kol esni k (Vol odomi r Gol obovcÅki , Gomi n, gomi n po díbraví, Ki ív, 1968, 174).
59. ↑ Al eksandar Mat kovski , Makedonski ot pol k vo Ukr ai na, Skopje, 1985.
60. ↑ K. Mi si r kov, “I zni knuvaín’et o i r azbor na bugar ckat a i sr pcka t eor i íi za nar odnost a na mak’edonci t e“, Vardar, I, 1, Odesa, 1.IH.1905, 8-16.
61. ↑ D-r Blaže Ri stovski , Di mi t r i ja čupovski (1878-1940) i Makedonskot o naučno-l i t er a- t ur no drugar st vo vo P et r ogr ad. P r i l ozi kon proučuvawet o na makedonsko-r uski t e vrski i r azvi t okot na makedonskat a naci onal na mi sl a, I, Skopje, 1978, 202.