27
July 916 A.D. Clement of Ohrid Buried—Founder of St.
Pantaleimonth’s Monastery.
Graves,
Dan. “Clement of Ohrid Was Laid in the Earth.” Christianity.com. Jun 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/901-1200/clement-of-ohrid-was-laid-in-the-earth-11629772.html. Accessed 13 May 2014.
The grief at St. Pantaleimonth's Monastery was
deep. On this day, July 27, 916, the
founder of their monastery was to be laid to rest. All recognized that a mighty
man had passed from among them.
Clement of Ohrid (in what is now the Republic of
Macedonia) had died just a few days earlier. With his passing went a link to
the heroic age of Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavs. Clement was one
of the five faithful disciples Cyril and Methodius had entrusted with carrying
on their mission before they died. The others were Nahum, Gorazd, Angelarius
and Sava, all "of equal learning and maturity as apostles..."
Equal they may have been, but if so, Clement was
the first among equals. This was because of his immense learning. Clement wrote
over fifty books. He is considered the first Slavic writer. Much of his work
consisted of translations of psalms, chants, moral writings and church
material. But Clement also wrote the biographies of his teachers Cyril and
Methodius, lives of other saints and church poems. He translated portions of
scripture. Much of the Slavonic liturgy (church service) was based on his work.
In the tenth century, Ohrid was considered a
backwater of Bulgaria. Because of a disagreement with Prince Simeon of Bulgaria
over modernization of the alphabet, Clement was not appointed as a royal
advisor in 893. Instead, the Prince showed that he was unhappy with him by
sending him to Ohrid.
The source of the falling out was that Clement
opposed revising the alphabet on Greek lines [that is adapting a
"Hellenic" form]. He wanted to stick with the alphabet developed by
Cyril and Methodius. The majority of Simeon's advisors voted with Clement.
Prince Simeon, however, was afraid there would be a backlash from the powerful
Byzantium empire that ruled the east if his country persisted with in its new
nationalistic culture. He ordered Clement to make some changes in the
Glagolitic script (an ancient Bulgarian script), but Clement was not willing.
As a consequence, Clement suffered attacks from the
Greek party.
Great men do not let defeat sideline them
completely. Neither did Clement. He opened a school in Ohrid, in which St.
Nahum also taught. This attracted large numbers of students and grew into the
first Slavonic university. Clement and Nahum employed the Glagolitic script.
Ancient traditions say the two friends trained over three thousand students,
many of whom became priests, thus forever stamping the Balkans with the
personal imprint of their two famous teachers.
Near the end, Clement stopped working. He was
exhausted from a life of hard labors and Greek opposition. Perhaps he was not
unhappy to lay down his work when he died on July 17, 916. Shortly after his
death, he was named a saint. He is still one of the most revered figures in
Bulgarian history.
Bibliography:
1. Obolensky, Dimitri. Six Byzantine
Portraits. Oxford: Clardenon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
2. "St. Clement of Ohrid."
http://www.mymacedonia.net/language/clement.htm
3. Various internet articles such as
the Patron Saints Index and Macedonia FAQ.
Last updated June, 2007
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