Коя църква с патрон св. Георги е издигната през XVI век в Арбанаси?

Author(s): Hitko Vachev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2015

Nowadays in the south-western part of the village of Arbanassi there is a church whose patron is St. George. A lot of conservation and restoration work has been carried out in this church. Prior to this the church had been studied from an architectural point of view. It was established that the church was built during the first half of the 17th c. However, a recent study suggests that the church was built in the 16th c. Evidence in support of the earlier dating was found in the stylistic analysis of some of the mural decoration in the altar of the church and in the adjoining gallery. A more profound interpretation of the architecture of the church, the ascertained sequence of structuring the individual sections of the church, as well as the applied design solutions firmly refute the view that the first construction period of St. George’s Church can be dated to the 16th c. Indeed, in the 16th c. there was a church dedicated to St. George in the village of Arbanassi. This is the current chapel of St. Demetrius’ Church, which existed as an independent unit in the 16th c. This was attested during archaeological excavation works carried out inside the building and in the yard. The findings indicate that at about the mid-16th c. a church, consisting of an altar, nave and narthex was built. The studies of the surviving fragments from the earlier mural layer validate unambiguously the proposed dating. In the early 17th c. the existing St. George’s Church was reconstructed and was incorporated in the building of the newly erected St. Demetrius’ Church. As of 1621 the mural paintings inside were completed. Over the time the new patronof the church – St. Demetrius – gained currency. Therefore a new church, dedicated to St. George, was constructed lateron in the southwestern quarter of the village of Arbanassi.

An Unexpected Aspect of Slavery?

Author(s): Kremena Markova / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

This article states the hypothesis of the social origin of two representatives of the Eastern Orthodox Church clergy in the period between the 9th and 12th centuries. Bishop Sergii, who was a eunuch, took the Belgrade Bishopric during the rule of Knyaz Boris I. Mikhail, who was called Maxim, was a bishop of Ohrid in the 1120s. It is an indisputable fact that both of them were eunuchs, and this contradicts one of the basic rules of the Church about cheirotonia (ordination). It is specified in which cases persons with impaired “physical integrity” and disabilities were allowed to be elected and to hold senior Church positions. The sources analyzed point towards a slave origin of both of them. The author proposes the thesis that the ideal (desired) model of construction of the Eastern Orthodox Church has been corrected during its long-term history by practice through a real model, which, in some cases, radically contradicts the basic, declared rules.

Църковно строителство в Североизточна България през 50-те – 70-те години на ХІХ век

Author(s): Nevena Nedelcheva,Aldzhan Dzhafer / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2022

This report presents the construction of churches in Eski Juma, Osman Pazar, Hezargrad, and in several other settlements in the 1850s – 1870s. It also focuses on the procedures for building churches and on the reasons for their mass construction in the region under review during this period. The study analyzes the applications of the population, their reasons, and the ethnic composition of the settlements studied. In addition, the paper discusses issues concerning the construction of the churches themselves, their size, organization, and financing.

Recenzii

Author(s): Virgil Nistru Tiganus / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2021

Review of: Col. Constantin Gomboș, Pagini de istorie militară, Editura Eurostampa, Timișoara, 2020./ Luminița Cornea, Făclii arzând. File de istorie literară, Editura Eikon, 2019.

Kinship, Orthodoxy and Political Ideology: The Byzantines and the Balkans after the Catastrophe of 1204

Author(s): Vlada Stanković / Language(s): English Issue: 1-2/2022

The concept of the Byzantine Commonwealth, conceived by Dimitri Obolensky more than half a century ago, remains one of the rare innovative attempts to study the relations of Byzantine Empire with the wider Orthodox world that leaned toward Constantinople. However, Obolensky paid little attention to the idea of Romanness as the core identity marker of the Byzantines, focusing mainly on the second element of the Byzantine political identity, especially after the fall of Constantinople in 1204: Orthodoxy and its bonding potential. The present paper offers a new perspective by arguing that the bases of the gradually strengthening bonds between the Byzantine states, both the empire of Nicaea and the state of Epirus, with the Bulgarians and the Serbs, are to be found in the system of kinship networks established both within the now destroyed Byzantine empire, and beyond its borders, from the beginning of the twelfth century onwards.

The Church Slavonic Karpino Gospel Menology and Seven Close Greek Relatives

Author(s): Cynthia M. Vakareliyska / Language(s): English Issue: 1-2/2022

While some Slavic calendars of saints from the 12th through 14th centuries contain Church Slavonic translations of fragments of textual formulae from the Constantinople Typikon (hereafter “CT”), and while there are Church Slavonic translations of an entire typikon (viz., the Studite Typikon), it is highly unusual to come across a Slavic menology that constitutes for the most part a close translation of the commemorations in a more minor Greek menology tradition, without major mediation by Slavic ancestors. This study focuses on such a calendar, the full menology to the long lectionary Karpino Gospel, a manuscript with Macedonian dialect features which was produced in western Bulgaria and has been dated to the late 13th century (hereafter “KE”).

Наказания и санкции, налагани на православни свещеници и енориаши на Балканите през XVII–XVIII век (по османски документален материал)

Author(s): Krasimira Mutafova / Language(s): Turkish,English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2019

The study is focused on the ecclesiastical penalties and sanctions (one of the most sufficient aspects of the development of Christianity, since the formation of the Christian church, worship and cult), imposed on the Orthodox clergy and parishioners in the Balkans during the 17th and 18th cc., an еspecially dynamic and controversial period in the history of the Orthodox Church under the Ottoman rule. In the study are discussed unpublished documents from the “Piskopos kalemi” fund of Baюbakanlэk Osmanlэ Arюivi – Эstanbul – patriarchal and metropolitan pleas (arzuhals), public petitions (mahzars) and various types of sultan orders (fermans, hьkms, etc.), as well as a large part of the published Patriarchal and Metropolitan berats and others. The comparative analysis of this complete information and the cases of Orthodox canonical law, especially the nomocans of the 17th and 18th cc., gives the opportunity to comment in details the different types of ecclesiastical punishments and sanctions imposed on laymen and clergy (priests and bishops) concerning: problems encountered in collecting church taxes and charges; a different type of “deviations” from moral-ethical Christian norms and canonical requirements; the family-marriage relationships of the parishioners. The commented documents reveal not only the complete register of applied church punishments against the clergy and the laity – penances (fasting, prayer, pilgrimage), temporary and full excommunication, the significant “haircut” of the priests, but also the peculiarities and essential features of applied church law.

Енорийски мрежа и религиозност в региона на Попово през XVI–XVII в.

Author(s): Nevena Nedelcheva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2019

We will concentrate our attention on the smallest entity which shaped the infrastructure of the church organization – the parish in the region of Popovo. Analysis of the registers from the 16th century in (1524–1550; 1555–1556; 1598) shows us the presence of one complete parish network. The large number of priests and sons of priests in some settlements shows growth and consolidation of the parish network in a number of settlements – Dolne Kovachofche, Palamariche, Haydar, Ablanovo and Gagovo. This is probably due to the migration of clerics from other parts of the empire to these Christian villages. On the other hand, a large part of the villages remain without priests throughout the studied period. The reason for the “lack” of priesthood is not only the “deficiency” of priests but also the small number of the registered Christian population in these villages during 17th century. The widespread use of names borrowed from the Christian church shows the high degree of religiosity of people and the place of religion in their lives.

Религиозната почит към Рилския светец в контекста на османските завоевания на Балканите

Author(s): Venelin Grudkov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2019

The focus of the study are two texts from the hagiographic cycle for Saint John of Rila. The first one is Vladislav Gramatik’s Rila Story, which represents the act of return of the saint’s relics to the Rila Monastery in 1469 as the first attempt for Balkan Orthodox consolidation after the Ottoman conquest. The second text is The Life with a Short Encomium by Demetrius Cantacuzenus where the historical exposition examines the reasons for the destruction of the Balkan Orthodox civilization.

Лясковският манастир „Св. св. Петър и Павел“ и социалната дейност на Търновската митрополия през първата половина на XX в.

Author(s): Anka Ignatova,Lora Doncheva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2019

The article examines the social activity of Veliko Tarnovo Diocese in one of the oldest Bulgarian monasteries – the St. Peter and St. Paul Monastery of Lyaskovets in the first half of the 20th century. Within the period under consideration, the monastery was inhabited for a while by a monastic fraternity of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, but according to specific public needs, it opened its doors to various noble initiatives in favour of Russian emigrants and Bulgarian citizens.

СРПСКИ ПРЕВОД ХЕКСАБИБЛОСА ПЕТРА ВИТКОВИЋА

Author(s): Sima Avramović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 5/1984

A small number o sources still offer information that, in the last decade of the XVIII century, the Yegarian priest Petar Vitković translated the famous work of the Thessalonika jurist Constantin Armenopulos »Hexabybloss« in to the Serbian language by order of the Archbishop Stratimirović. Although this Serbian translation of the famous Vizantinian codex, unknown and virtually unrecorded in the Yugoslav literature of the history of law, has not been preserved, since the manuscript was burnt in Budapest in 1810, the author has made an attempt to analyse its legal and political significance, as well as the couse of its origin, on the basis of the scarce-direct and indirect- sources. Two groups of conditions can be distinguished as the possible motivation of the Serbian priests to decide upon this translation: firstly, clerical and legal factors; secondly, national and political factors. The disorderly and incomplete state of the Orthodox Canonian law, which was in use in the residence of the Archbishop, Karlovac, for the Serbian people in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, necessitated the systematic classification of especially the so-called authoritative church (clerical) sources. Whats more, the motive for this translation was also the necessity of the modernization of the Orthodox Church marriage and family law, simultaneously with the aspiration of preserving its authority. On the other hand, the translation of the Orthodox Vizantinian Codex, which at that time had been published in the new Greek and Bulgarian languages, and had successfully been in use among the Orthodox — religious people under the Otoman rule, was in agreement with the main policy of the Serbian Orthodoc Church clergy. That policy was, the struggle for the preservation of the Orthodox religion, the idea of national emancipation, and the discrete political inclination toward Russia. However, there are no absolutely verified facts to prove that there was also the aspiration inaugurate the implementation of Roman law in the process, and bring it closer to Austrian law, nor that it was the expression of the wish to enliven the Medieval Serbian State and legal tradition. The translation, however, does clearly represent an attempt to bring closer Greek and Vizantinian legal literature to the clerical and legal culture of the Serbian people in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the last decade of the XVIII century.

Софийските мъченици от XVI в. като продължение на „плана Кантакузин“

Author(s): Ancho Kaloyanov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 2/2021

The martyrdom feats of George the New of Sofia, George the Newest of Sofia and Nicholas of Sofia the New for the Christian faith are organised by the Athos School for New Martyrdom, established in 1500. Considering their sequence (in 1515, 1540 and 1559) and the chosen location, they appear to be a continuation of the Kantakouzenos Plan from the last three decades of the 15th century, according to which the Patriarchate of Constantinople made an unsuccessful attempt to separate the Rila Monastery from the Great Church of Tsarevgrad Tarnov. Through the Athos import of new martyrdom in Sofia in the first half of the 16th century, the Patriarchate aimed to discredit the authority of the Great Church in order to seize the diocese of the Sofia Metropolitanate. However, this attempt was not successful: with the third martyr, the Bulgarians recognised the robber and his feat remained unheard, and the Torture of Nicholas of Sofia the New became known as late as in 1879 when its only copy by the Russian Slavist Polychronios Syrku was discovered in the Sofia Metropolitan Church.

Националният църковен историко-археологически музей в социокултурното пространство

Author(s): Anka Ignatova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2017

The National Church Historical and Archaeological Museum is one of the biggest and oldest museums in Bulgaria and is in possession of a unique fund of movable cultural valuables belonging to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The aim of the present paper is to present the role of the museum in the socio-cultural space accentuating on the different forms of communication within the territory of the museum as well as outside it. The analysis of the museum’s activities shows that the National Church Historical and Archaeological Museum still remains a classical type of museum failing to be in line with the notion of a modern museum institution. In this connection, concrete suggestions are offered with a view to its wider opening to the audience.

Българското Черноморие през XIV век – контактна зона на православие и католицизъм

Author(s): Momchil Mladenov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2017

The paper presents the place of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast in the geography of religious contacts and conflicts in the 13th – 14th centuries. This area is characterized by ethnic and religious diversity. But the local ethnic and cultural appearance is determined by the Orthodox population – Bulgarians and Greeks. In the first part of the paper, the author presents the Venetian commercial activities in Varna, Messembria, Sozopol and Anhialo. In the 14th century, the West coast of the Black Sea was gradually caught up in Genoese trade expansion. That is why in the paper, the problem is posed about the role of the Italian colonies as a factor for Catholic propaganda in the Bulgarian lands in the 14th century. According to the author in this respect, Venetians and Genoese had limited influence. More significant factor were the Catholic bishoprics in the Black Sea area. Among them the bishopric of Kaffa (present Feodosia in Crimea) stood out where in 1317, a Latin prelate established himself. During same military conflicts on the Bulgarian Coast in the 14th century, separate cases of religious confrontation were observed. The paper also examines the role of the Orthodox episcopates and monasteries. In the 14th century, no elements of strong confrontation between Orthodox Christians and Catholics on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast could be traced. The conversion of particular individuals from Orthodoxy to Catholicism was due to concrete and extraordinary circumstances.

Православни архиереи, свещеници, енориаши в османски документи от фонда “Пископос калеми”

Author(s): Krasimira Mutafova / Language(s): Turkish,English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2017

The present paper is based on selected documents (sultan’s orders, patriarchal and metropolitan requests – arzuhal, requests by parishioners, collective petitions – mahzar – of metropolitans and bishops of various dioceses, different types of income and expense excerpts, etc.) from the partly published fund Piskopos kalemi of the Istanbul Ottoman Archives. The author focuses her research interest on the specificity of the relations between the representatives of the higher clergy as well as on the relations between the parish clergy and their dependent congregations, on the one hand, and the Orthodox bishops, on the other. The result of the intrigues and conflicts between the three sides of the Orthodox community (prelates, priests, and parishioners), eloquently attested in the commented documents, is the direct interference of the Ottoman authority in spheres, which were legally protected against such interference.

Поглед към имотното състояние и доходите на свещениците в Търновско през XIX век

Author(s): Gergana Georgieva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2017

The clergy was an important part of the local elite in the Balkans and performed variety of functions. The priests were not only religious leaders but also community leaders who united and lead the members of Christian communities. In some cases, they acted as mediators between the local communities and the official authorities; often they pursued teacher’s career as an additional occupation to priesthood; and they were the most educated people in a given area and formed the substantial part of the intellectual elite. Definitely, they were among those people who influenced the life of the local communities. Therefore, it is useful to develop their group portrait by exploring the financial status and everyday aspects of their life. The study explores as case studies two villages in the central part of the Balkan Mountains – Arbanassi and Lyaskovets. In the 19th c., they were villages de jure, but de facto they functioned as small prosperous towns. Those two settlements could be characterized not only by their economic activity, but also by their strong relationship with the Orthodox Church.

Бащите на Търновската конституция – духовниците между политиката и религията

Author(s): Milko Palangurski / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2017

According to the 1878 Berlin Treaty, the Bulgarian state is a constitutional monarchy. The establishment of the Organic Statute was entrusted to the Constituent Assembly summoned by the Provisional Russian Administration. The leaders of the Bulgarian Orthodox Exarchate, as well as representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Muslims and the Jews, occupied a special place in this task. The forefront of the meeting was given to the priests due to their great influence in forming the Bulgarian society. Their educational background was related to two of the most conservative structures of the nineteenth century – the Russian theological educational institutions and the Patriarchate in Istanbul. Their careers in the religious institutions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate defined them as followers of century old canonical rules, thus their inability to become a part of the progress. All this, plus their important role as teachers, writers and spiritual leaders, took them to the conservative sector of the gathering. They failed to enforce their vision for the constitutional arrangements, thereby creating conditions for reducing their role in the future political life of the country. For a very short period of time, a “political secularization” took place and all of the religious communities were removed from the political scene.

Благотворителност и Църква през 30-те – 40-те години на ХХ век в Търновска епархия (по документи от Държавен архив – В. Търново)

Author(s): Lora Doncheva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2017

The article is an attempt to reveal the charity activity of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the Tarnovo diocese in the second half of the 1930s and the late 1940s. The chronological limits of the study are determined by the election of Znepolski bishop Sophronius for Metropolitan of Tarnovo in 1935 and the adoption of the Law of Religious Denominations in 1949, that put an end to charity activity of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The article clarifies the relationship between the state and the Church in the sphere of charity activity before and after September 9, 1944.

Адаптация христианских имена карельским языком

Author(s): Denys Kuz'myn / Language(s): English,Russian Issue: 1/2018

FRANCO-ROMANIAN RELATIONS IN THE XIX CENTURY

Author(s): Ana Platon / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 18/2019

During the first two centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire Western Europe supported and elicited the emergence of new adjacent organizations. Up until the twentieth century Orthodoxy was seen as a foreign religious and spiritual practice. The contact between it and the Western culture, fostered within various Diasporas (e.g. Romanian, Greek, Russian) represents a spiritual event with one of the most far-reaching impacts in the nineteenth century. Cultivating the unity of faith and nation, the Orthodox Church supported the great historical events that had as their goal the national unity of the Romanians: the Unity of the Principalities (1859), Romania's independence (1877-1878) and the Great Union of 1918.