Short History of the Macedonian Orthodox Church Part 3
SAMUIL16
meant losses in revenue and impoverishment of the bishoprics.
As a result of the Ottoman looting, the urban population started
abandoning their homes and retreating to the mountains. The same was
happening in flat-land villages. Moreover, there was massive
Islamization of Macedonians, especially around Ohrid lake and Prizren,
at the deltas of the rivers Drim and Radika. Whole villages accepted
Islam.
The Ohrid Archbishops could not be of help to their flock. They even
tried maintaining good relations with the Ottoman authorities, which
caused the Macedonian population to look upon the Archbishopric with
lack of trust. The stronger the Ottoman feudal system grew, the more the
position of the Christian population in Macedonia deteriorated. This in
turn undermined the position of the clergy. The Archbishopric was forced
to pay large taxes from which it was initially exempt.
In the second half of the sixteenth century, the Ohrid Archbishopric
lost territories from its jurisdiction. In 1557, the brother of the
Grand Vizier Mehemd Pasha Sokolovik, Makarij, succeeded in restoring the
Patriarchy of Pek. From then on, the Ohrid Archbishopric was relieved
not only of the Serb bishoprics, but also some in Macedonia, such as
Skopje, Mordozov, and the town of Razlog. At the same time, the
authority of the Ohrid Archbishopric was restricted by the
Constantinopole Patriarchy.
The difficult economic situation compelled the Ohrid Archbishops and
their Mitropolitans to go to Europe in search of charity. Most
frequently, they went to Rome where they appealed for material
assistance. But foremost, through Rome they sought to create ties with
the catholic states, in order to liberate themselves from the Ottomans.
This was especially the case during the time of Archbishop Atanasij.
Namely, towards the end of the sixteenth century, he visited the
European countries on two occasions, seeking military help for the
expulsion of the Ottomans, promising internal rebellion in Macedonia.
In the second half of the seventeenth century, the Russian influence in
Macedonia became stronger; and the clergy and the people placed great
hopes on Orthodox Russia. The Russian tsars, generously extending their
help to the churches and the monasteries on the Balkan Peninsula,
encouraged the enslaved Christians, and attempted to incite their
struggle against the Ottomans.
The Macedonian people and the Ohrid Arch-bishopric were in the same
difficult position throughout the eighteenth century. At that time,
physical torture increased and Ottoman fanaticism reached its peak. As a
result of the great terror over the unprotected population there was
massive Islamization in many villages in the Veles, Kichevo and Meglen
regions. Such conditions fully impoverished the population, and this was
reflected in the financial state of Arch bishopric. At this time the
Archbishopric incurred large debts it was not able to pay back.
The Non-Canonical Abolition of the
Ohrid Archbishopric
The Patriarchy of Constantinopole skillfully used the poverty and
weakness of the Ohrid Arch-bishopric. It attempted to prove before the
Sublime Porte that only the Patriarchy of Constantinopole could repay
the debts of the Ohrid Archbishopric, were the latter to be abolished
and annexed to the Patriarchy. It even succeed in appointing Ananij, a
man of the Patriarchy, at the head of the Ohrid Archbishopric. However;
the Macedonian bishops rejected him, hoping to preserve the
autocephality of the Archbishopric. At the regular meeting of the
Bishops' Council, instead of Ananij, they elected the Bishop of
Pelagonija, Arsenij, a Macedonian, Archbishop. He would be the last
Macedonian Archbishop before the abolition of the Archbishopric by the
Sultan's order.
The Patriarch of Constantinopole, Samoil, decided to deliver a final
blow to the Ohrid Arch-bishopric. He convinced the Ottoman authorities
that the Ohrid Bishops were the enemy of the Ottoman Empire and asked
the authorities in Constantinopole to call in Arsenij regarding the
debts of the Archbishopric. In Constantinopole, under the pressure of
the Ottoman authorities, and the detained bishops of the Ohrid
Archbishopric who supported the abolition of the Arch bishopric, Arsenij
submitted his written resignation on May 17,1767. His resignation marked
the abolition of the Ohrid Arch-bishopric. The Patriarch Samoil, with
the help of influential Greeks and Turks, arranged a Sultan's decree
that abolished the Ohrid Archbishopric, and its bishoprics were joined
to the Constantinopole Patriarchy. The Sultan's decree forbade any
appeals against the abolition of the Archbishopric, and any protest was
rendered impossible.
The Many Noble Fruits of the Ohrid
Arch bishopric
The extensive Christianization of the Macedonian people, and the
spiritual enlightenment that resulted from the apostolic activities of
the ancient Ohrid Archbishopric, based upon the missionary work of our
spiritual father and teacher Clement of Ohrid, bore a multitude of noble
fruits. The holy evangelic truths lightened and enlightened our ancient
fathers and great-grandfathers, ennobled their souls and hearts, and
inspired many devout authors to create spiritual and artistic values
throughout our holy Macedonian land. Numerous are our churches both in
towns and villages. Numerous are our monasteries and monastery churches
built in the most picturesque places, by lake shores and river banks, on
mountains and plains.
Of special beauty are the many cave churches and monasteries. There are
a multitude of frescoes and icons done by our excellent zographs, and
their masterpieces fill with exaltation the best connoisseurs of
medieval art, and are presented in art encyclopedias. The woodcarvings
that decorated our churches have been nurtured for centuries to reach
their peak at the end of the eighteenth and the first half of the
nineteenth centuries. The woodcarvings in the church of "St. Spas" in
Skopje, in the monastery "St. Jovan Bigorski", and in the monastery "St.
Gavril Lesnovski", rank among the highest masterpieces of woodcarving in
general. This centuries-old church-folk tradition is still alive today.
The Orthodox Macedonians were superb builders of churches and monastery
complexes which until recently hosted many monks, nuns, and devotees.
These servants of the Church dedicated their lives to their Savior Jesus
Christ and to their brothers and sisters in faith. They were teachers of
faith and patriotism. They successfully preserved the holy message of
the founder of the Holy Macedonian Church, and kept the holy
evangelistic truths and basic Christian principles for devout Christian
life. That's why the love towards the churches and monasteries, towards
priesthood and monastic life is so profound. That's why the churches
have been preserved and restored, and why new ones are being built,
particularly today when we are enjoying our free renaissance period.
Conditions in Macedonia Following the
Abolition of the Ohrid Archbishopric
Following the abolition of the Ohrid Arch-bishopric, the Patriarchy in
Constantinopole insisted on eradicating the whole pattern of life in
Macedonia based on church regulations and customs (tradition). First,
all local bishops were replaced by bishops phanariots, who did not speak
the language of the congregation. Church services in the Slav language
in bigger towns were banned. Domestic priests were replaced by those of
Greek origin, or sometimes by Greekophiles. They used their authority
for collecting church taxes, especially bishop's fees, to gather wealth.
This, of course, caused a strong revolt among the congregation and led
to justified protests. As a rule, these bishops and novice priests came
to Macedonia with just one aim:
to get rich and then return to some Greek Bishopric. They considered
themselves humiliated for having served in a nation that spoke a
Barbaric language.
Monks and priests in villages and smaller towns were Macedonians, as the
Greek clergy showed no interest in such less profitable positions.
Following tradition, the Macedonian clergy came from families of
priests. As a pattern, one son replaced the father thar was the only way
to preserve the domestic clergy in Macedonia. The young learned from the
elders who inspired them to persevere in a sincere and deep faith in God
and a strong patriotic feeling. During the two periods of
slavery,Ottoman and Phanariot, they carried the holy messages of Sts
Clement and Naum, the messages of the Ohrid Archbishopric. They
maintained church and popular traditions, strengthening the faith of the
people that freedom would come and with it the restoration of the Ohrid
Archbishopric.
Socio-Political Changes
in Turkey and the Position of the
Macedonian Church
In the immediate period following the abolition of the Oh rid Arch
bishopric in 1767, Macedonia was in a grave political and economic
crisis. In 1768 the Russian-Turkish War began. During this six year war,
the Russian Empress Katherine II called the people of the Balkans to an
uprising. However, the internal situation in Macedonia wasn't conducive
to any action of that nature. This was a period when the Macedonian
people were cruelly tortured and robbed by Turkish war deserters and
Albanian outlaw bands. Turkey turned to Macedonia for supplying its
army, and this completely impoverished the people. Many measures were
taken to prevent Macedonians from taking any part in the war on the
Russian side. In order to prevent the participation of the Christian
population in anti-Turk uprisings, Turkey called in Albanian volunteers
and sent them to Morea. Later, a part of these volunteers spread
throughout Macedonia and started their merciless raids. Soon after,
their leaders seized power and became independent from the central
Turkish authorities.
This hard situation remained unchanged during the wars between Austria,
Russia and the Ottoman Empire (1787-1792). These wars brought new outlaw
bands that consisted mainly of Turkish soldiers and mercenaries. Well
armed and mounted groups of several hundreds attacked unprotected towns
and villages, harassing both Christians and Muslims alike. These bands
caused real anarchy in Turkey, until Sultan Mahmud 11(1808 - 1839)
finally succeeded in eradicating them. Strong state authority enabled
Macedonian villagers to go about their field work, while in towns,
craftsmanship and trade gained new initiative. Soon, large fairs were
organized for domestic and imported goods, and conditions were created
for exchanging goods with western countries.
At the end of the eighteenth and in the beginning of the nineteenth
centuries, particularly after the signing of the peace treaty between
Russia and Turkey, the latter opened its doors to international trade.
The port of Thessaloniki once again become an important factor for the
economic prosperity of Macedonia.
The Wake of Patriotism of the
Macedonian People
Heavily oppressed by double, Turkish and Phanariot, bondage, the
Macedonian people were exposed to systematic Greek assimilation,
especially among the rich and the intelligentsia, where it was more
voluntary and conditioned by economic interests. Greek assimilation was
particularly fierce among the middle classes. Our scanty intelligentsia,
educated mainly in Greek schools, was a sincere devotee to Greek culture
and education. Those who later became Macedonian scholars, were at first
hellenophiles. To mention just a few: Dimitar and Konstantin Miladinov,
Rajko Zhinzifov, Janaki Strezov, Partenie Zografski, Kuzman Shapkarev,
Gligor Prlichev and others. The resistance against hellenization in
Macedonia came first from the monks of the Slav monasteries on Mount
Athos, the Hilander and the Zograph monasteries. The majority of the
monks in these monasteries were Macedo-nians. There exist numerous
sources to prove this. For example, Konstantin Atanasov from Shtip, in
his "Brief Account of 12 Monasteries on Athos" of 1866, states that the
Monastery of Hilander housed monks from Macedonia, many of whom had
contributed to the revival of Slav literature and culture. Also in the
monastery of Zograph lived monks from Macedonia who later became
revivalists.
Russian Slavophiles also contributed to the awakening of the Macedonian
feeling among the Slavs. This brought up the acute issue of the churches
of the Slav peoples and the restoration of their autocephality.
The Foundation of Macedonian
Church-School Communities
In Macedonia, this process first began by the founding of church, and
later of educational-church, communities. The Macedonian middle class
showed a special interest in church and social matters and took an
active part in their activities. The oldest record of this type of
church community is registered in Oh rid in 1758. It can be explained by
the fact that Ohrid was the administrative center of the Ohrid
Archbishopric and a ecclesiastic cultural center in Macedonia where new
social trends were reflected. There were many similar ecclesiastic
communities, such as in Prilep, Veles, Skopje, Shtip, Kriva Palanka,
Kukush, Tetovo, Nevrokop, Kumanovo, Gorna Dju-maja, Voden and Strumica.
There was practically no town in Macedonia without such a community.
In addition to the basic objectives of the Mace-don ian church and
school communities - to preserve the Macedonian element and the basic
traits of the Macedonian national Ohrid Archbishopribasic traits of the
Macedonian national Ohrid Archbishopric, their activities also extended
to repairing dilapidated churches in Maced
The Macedon ian middle class --the esnaf -- was well organized, and
prominent citizens together with the common people built wonderful new
spacious churches.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, the Macedonian church
educational communities in Prilep built the church of the Holy
Annunciation.
In 1816, the church community of Veles began the construction of the
church St. Panteleimeon.
As a result of the strong Greek influence, the Macedonian church-school
community in Bitola was organized somewhat later, towards the middle of
the 19th century in the churches St. Dimitrij and St. Nedela, where
strong church-educational activities developed and flourished. Renowned
Macedonian revivalist, such as Rajko Zhinzifov, Dimitar Make-donski,
Jordan Hadzi Konstantinov Dzinot, took part in the work of the schools
in Bitola church-school community.
The church community in Shtip was in existence from the beginnings of
the nineteenth century, and it was most active in the two churches --St.
Nikola in Stip and in The Dormition of the Virgin in the Shtip village
of Novo Selo.
In Kumanovo, the esnaf, organized in the local church community built
the wonderful church St. Nikola in just two years (1849-51).
Great activities were also developed by the Macedonian church-school
community in Tetovo, at the church St. Kiril and Metodij.
Same is the case in Resen, Krushevo, Kriva Palanka, Bansko and Enidze
Vardar.
In Kukush, the Macedonian church-school community was founded in the
thirties of the ninteenth century. Macedonian revivalist Dimitar
Miladinov and the Bishop of Kukush and Poljani, Partenij Zografski,
taught in these schools.
In Nevrokop, the Macedonian church-school community built the church of
the Ascension of Christ and opened a Macedonian school, while the
church-school community in Gornodzumaja built the church dedicated to
the Virgin.
The church-school community in Thessaloniki developed a particularly
significant church and educational movement.
In Serez, the church-school community appointed Hieromonk Teodosij
Gologanov as the Chairman of the community. Later, Gologanov became the
Bishop of Skopje and exerted enormous efforts for the restoration of the
Ohrid Arch-bishopric.
In Voden, the Chairman of the Macedonian church-school community was
Archmandrite Pave Bozigrobski, a celebrated translator of parts of the
Gospels in the Macedonian language. In the church community, he opened a
school, as well as a reading room.
As one can see, the activities of these Macedonian church-school
communities encompassed building town churches in Macedonia and
advancing significant educational, social and judicial activities.
The church-school communities and their church, cultural, educational
and patriotic activities were a confirmation that following the
abolition of the Ohrid Archbishopric the Macedonian people of the church
acted in the spirit of St. Clement's and St. Naum's messages. They
confirm that in the period of our church and national revival, the
desire to act as an independent people and independent church was alive
and strong. The work of our masons, zografs, wood carvers, teachers and
judges increased the awareness of the Macedonian people as an
independent ethnic and Church factor.
The period of the Macedonian church and national revival is, in fact, a
kind of autonomy within the Ottoman Empire.
The Revival Movement in Macedonia
and church related activities
The beginnings of the Macedonian revival are closely connected with
renowned activists in education within the church in the first half of
the nineteenth century. Schools in the Macedonian language and their
financial sustenance were to a large extent supported by Macedonian
monks from monasteries on Mount Athos. The first such school was opened
in the Zograph monastery on Mount Athos, and extended help to other
neighboring Macedonian towns to open their own schools. In the thirtees
of the nineteenth century, one of the most enlightened monks of the
Zograph monastery, Archmandrite Anatolij, made an attempt to open a
printing shop in his monastery, but failed.
Parallel with the opening of popular schools, the first men of letters
emerged, announcing the cultural revival of the Macedonians. Among the
many, we shall mention Joakim Krchovski and his younger contemporary
Kiril Pejchinovich-Tetoec, both coming from the midst of the church.
Joakim Krchovski, a modest monk, left no record of his life save his
works written in the vivid popular language of the time. We know nothing
about his birth nor his death. According to Kiril Pejchinovic, Hadji
Joakim Krchovski attended school at the monastery of St. Jovan Bigorski.
There he wrote his book "Razlicni poucitelni nastavlenija" ("Various
moral teachings"). He was a teacher in many towns in Macedonia and a
fervent preacher of the evangelic truths. He died c.1820. Legend has it
that he was married until 1817, and became a monk after his wife's
death.
Among Joakim's works are:"Povest za vtoroto strasno Hristovo prisestvie"
(The History of the Second Terrible Coming of Christ) and "Mitarstvata
cudata na Presveta Bogorodica" ("The Gifts and Miracles of the Holy
Virgin"). His desire was to elevate his people to a life worthy and
appropriate to righteous Christians, so that they may, in a befitting
manner, await the end of their earthly life. He openly criticized the
egotistic rich and favored the poor. He raised his voice against
superstition, and he judged it severely along with laziness and avarice.
He fought bitterly against fatalism and the belief that the events of
one's earthly life is predestined by God.
His works were printed with the help of Macedonian merchants and
craftsmen, which can clearly be seen from the list of subscribers.
Kiril Pejchinovic-Tetoec was born in the village of Tearce ('etovo). He
attended the monastery school of Presveta Bogorodica Precista, in the
vicinity of Kichevo. He continued his education in the monastery St.
Jovan Bigorski and completed it in the monastery of Hilander on Mount
Athos. He was raised in a very religious family, so as a child he was
almost predestined to become a monk. His father Perchin, together with
his uncle Dal mat, sold all their property in Tearce and left for Athos
to become monks. Kin left with them, took his monastic vows and received
the monastic name Kiril. There are no records why he left Athos, but at
the beginning of the nineteenth century, he was appointed abbot of the
monastery St. Dimitrij in village Sushica, in the vicinity of Skopje.
His first task there was to rebuilt and restore the looted monastery
complex. He also enriched and organized the monastery library. At that
time, he was engrossed in the idea of writing and printing his own
epitaph as a literary work. This was the time when he wrote his famous
book "Duhovno ogledalo" ("Spiritual Mirror"), a manual for the clergy.
The book was printed in Budim, in 1816, and was received with animosity
by the phanariot bishop from Skopje. The Bishop's animosity rose further
when Kiril Pejchinovich opened the Slav school in his monastery. Soon
after, he left Marko's monastery and headed for Athos to take counsel
with his uncle. In 1818 he returned to Macedonia and his native village
Tearce and set out to renew the monastery of Leshok. Having renewed the
monastery and its complex, he opened a Slav school. He was keen on
collecting old manuscripts and books and he set up a rich monastery
library. Here, he wrote two more books "Zitieto na Knez Lazar" ("The
Life of Knez Lazar") and "Uteshenie greshnim" ("Consolation for those
that have transgressed"). He died March 12124, 1845. Before he died, he
engraved his own headstone, which stands in his memory to this day in
the monastery of Leshok.
In his book "Ogledalo" ("Mirror") he clearly depicts the position of the
Macedonian people and their attitude towards the oppressors, the
Ottomans. At that time, religion was the only support that offered
consolation and salvation to the enslaved population. Very often, he
identified religion with nationality. His books were wriffen in the
vernacular and were very popular at the time.
The Printing Shop of Teodosij Sinaitski
Hadji Papa Teodosij, Archmandrite of Sinai, was born in Dojran in the
second half of the nineteenth century. He attended Greek schools in
Constantinopole. These facts come from his autobiography. His secular
name was Teohar. Upon returning to Dojran, he got married and became a
priest. However, his wife died early, so he started visiting Macedonian
monasteries. In 1828 he arrived on Sinai, in the monastery of St.
Catherine, where he took his monastic vows and received the name
Teodosij of Sinai, after the monastery. The Sinai monastery attracted
Macedonians for centuries, especially those who longed for spiritual
Christian deeds and for ascetic enlightenment. As early as eleventh
century, there was a large Macedonian colony there that cultivated the
old Macedonian literature. Significant Macedonian documents written in
glagolics have been found on Mount Sinai, such as the Sinai Psalter and
the Sinai ritual book. Teodosij rose to become Archmandrite of the
monastery. In the monastery, he started studying Macedonian literacy and
translating prayers from Greek into Slavic that he sent to his sons in
Dojran.
In 1831 he stayed in Thessaloniki, where in the church of St. Mina he
conducted services in the Church Slavonic language. While serving in
churches throughout Macedonia, he also collected alms for his monastery.
Then he met Kiril Pejchinovich Jovan Hadji Konstantinov Dzinot and other
revivalists. He was fully convinced that his people needed Macedonian,
not illegible Greek books. In 1838, he decided to open his Slavic
printing shop in Thessaloniki. In the first three years, three books
were printed. His printing shop was destroyed in the great fire that
ravaged the merchant center of Thessaloniki. Soon after the disaster,
with the financial support of Kiril Pejchinovich, the printing shop
started working again, printing new books; then a fire destroyed it for
the second time. Soon afterwards, Teodosij returned to his native Dojran
and became a miller. He e died in the fiftees of the nineteenth century.
Other books printed in Teodosij's printing shop included: "Nachalnoe
uchenie so molitvi utrenija" ("First Reader of Prayers"). This was a
kind of elementary reader, written by Anatolij Zografski of Lazaropole,
"Kratkoe opisanie na dvanaeset atonski manastiri vo Sveta Gora" ("A
Short Description Of The Twelve Monasteries On Mt. Athos"), was a guide
to Athos, un which a description of the monasteries was given. The book
is believed to have been written by Daskal Kamche (a teacher from the
village of Vatasha, Kavadarci). "Uteshenie greshnim" ("Consolation For
Those That Have Transgressed") by Kiril Pejchinovich was another good
example. The fifth book was a three language dictionary. In three
columns, words and sentences are given in Macedonian, Greek and Turkish.
Researchers have determined that the Macedonian and Greek texts had been
copied from the "Four Language Dictionary" by the priest Danail from
Moscopole, while the Turkish text was the work of the editor of the
book. The books printed in the printing shop of Teodosij of Sinai
greatly contributed to disseminate the idea that there was a need for a
vernacular Macedonian language. This meant victory of our spoken
national language over the dead Church Slavonic and foreign Greek
language.
New Churches Prosperity of Religious
Art in Macedonia
In the first half of the nineteenth century, due to the economic growth
of the middle class and the relative leniency of the Ottoman Turks, new
and bigger churches began to be built in Macedonia. These churches are a
true expression of the new Macedonian church architecture and the new
Macedonian renaissance painting. Wood carving that decorated the
interior of churches also flourished. One by one, new town churches
sprang up; two in Bansko, (1808,1835), two churches in Nevrokop,
(1811,1841); in Bitola (1830); in Kratovo (1836); in Veles (1837); in
Prilep (1838); in Shtip, Gorna Dzumaja and in other towns. Villages
followed suit and started building new, or renovating old, churches. In
1851 the monastery church St. Joakim Osogovski in Kriva Palanka was
built. The church has 12 domes. The main builder was Andrea Zografski -
Renzovski, assisted by craftsmen from Kriva Palanka and by people from
neighboring villages. As for this active building period, it is worth
mentioning the names of the renowned craftsmen and self taught
architects of the Renzovci family, Nedo Mijak and Stojan Vezenko, as
well as craftsmen from Krushevo, Prilep, Bansko, Kostur and other
places.
Fresco painting also flourished at that time. The best fresco painter at
the time was Dicho Zograph, from the Mijak village of Tresonche. His
icons are characterized by light tones, a baroque style, and golden
colors. From the eastern part of Macedonia came the icon painter Tomo
Visinov - Moler and his son Dimitar Molerov from Bansko. Also well known
were fresco painters Petre Filipovski- Garkata, from the village of Gari
and Makarij Frchkovski from Galichnik, who mastered their craft in the
workshops of the Venetian masters. In the beginning of the nineteenth
century, there were many groups (taifa) of fresco painters, mainly from
the Mijak district: Lazaropole, Gari, Tresonche, Osoj, Rosoki,
Galichnik, Bitushe and Trebishte.
For many years the woodcarver Makarij Frckovski worked together with
Petre Garkata; later he organized his own taifa, the members of which
were his brothers Gurchin and Trajan and his sons. He carved the
iconostasis in the church of St. Spas in Skopje, St. Nikola in Prishtina
and St. Bogorodica in Pazardzik, Bulgaria. The works of our wood carvers
throughout Macedonia, and wider on the Balkans are many.
National Church Struggle Against the
Constantinopole Patriarchy
The un-canonical abolition of the Ohrid Arch bishopric and its
submission under the jurisdiction of the Constantinopole patriarchy was
received unfavorably. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the
middle classes, now economically strong, were fully aware of the
oppression and injustice committed by the bishops appointed by the
Patriarchy. The memory of the glorious Ohrid Archbishopric, their Mother
Church, intensified their demands for its renewal.
The Patriarchy, sensing the danger of the growing resistance to its
presence, used increasingly harsh countermeasures. It activated all its
institutions in Macedonia in order to quell the national activities,
especially those calling for the introduction of the Slavic and
Macedonian languages into churches and schools.
In the sixtees of the nineteenth century, a very strong movement was
organized throughout all the towns in Macedonia. Its aim was to
overthrow the jurisdiction of the Patriarchy. However, the success was
only partial. The majority of the Macedonian people rejected the
jurisdiction of the Patriarchy, but they failed in restoring the Ohrid
Archbishopric, mainly because of the opposition of the Turkish
authorities. On the other hand, the powerful Bulgarian bourgeoisie in
Constantinopole succeeded in winning the favor of the Sublime Porte, and
in 1870 established the Bulgarian Church, known as the Exarchy.
The Macedonian people, having no other option but to chose between the
Constantinopole Patriarchy and the Bulgarian Exarchy, opted for the