Saint Clement of Okhrida
Saint Clement of Ohrid (also Kliment of Ohrid, Kliment Ohridski; born c. 840 AD in Macedonia; died July 27, 916 AD in Ohrid, North Macedonia) was a Bulgarian missionary bishop and scholar, a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius, and one of the Seven Apostles of the Bulgarian Church. He is considered the first bishop to minister in the Old Bulgarian language and the founder of the Ohrid Literary School — a major center of Slavic Christian culture and the Cyrillic writing system. He is patron of North Macedonia. His feast day is July 27.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Clement of Okhrida
| Saint Clement of Okhrida | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | July 27 |
| Profession | Bishop; missionary; scholar; founder of the Ohrid Literary School; teacher; author |
| Rel. Affiliation | Bulgarian Orthodox Church (primary); Eastern Catholic veneration; Roman Catholic (local) |
| Patronage | North Macedonia; Bulgaria; Slavic culture; Cyrillic alphabet; education |
| Attributes | Bishop's vestments; book (the Glagolitic/Cyrillic script); Ohrid Lake; Slavic cross |
| Birthplace | Macedonia (probable); possibly Berat, Albania or southwestern Bulgaria |
| Death Place | Ohrid, Lake Ohrid region, North Macedonia |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes; holy death after decades of ministry |
| Primary Shrine | Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon, Ohrid, North Macedonia — built on the site of his monastery and church; his relics here |
| Liturgical Class | Not included in Roman Calendar; celebrated in Bulgarian, Macedonian, and Slavic Catholic churches |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Clement of Ohrid was a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius, who had created the Glagolitic alphabet to write the Old Church Slavonic language and had led the mission to Great Moravia in the 860s. After the deaths of Cyril (869) and Methodius (885), and the subsequent expulsion of the Slavic clergy from Moravia by Latin-rite bishops, Clement — along with Saints Naum, Angelarius, Gorazd, and Savaas — fled south into the Bulgarian Empire.
Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria welcomed them and recognized the immense value of having the Gospels and liturgy in the Slavic language. He assigned Clement to the southwestern regions (Macedonia). Clement traveled throughout the region teaching, preaching, and — crucially — training teachers. Over seven years, he is said to have trained 3,500 disciples who went out as teachers and priests.
In 893, Clement was consecrated the first Bishop of Dremvica (an early episcopal see in the Ohrid region), and the liturgy was formally established in Old Bulgarian (Church Slavonic). He founded the Ohrid Literary School, which produced a vast number of manuscripts in both Glagolitic and Cyrillic scripts. Clement is credited with contributing to the development and spread of the Cyrillic alphabet, which derived from the Glagolitic of Cyril and Methodius and became the script of the Slavic Orthodox world.
He built the Monastery of Saint Panteleimon at Ohrid and composed numerous writings in Old Bulgarian: lives of saints, sermons, hymnody, and other liturgical texts. He died at Ohrid on July 27, 916. His relics are in the church built over his monastery, which today is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Macedonia (probable); possibly Berat, Albania or southwestern Bulgaria
Death location: Ohrid, Lake Ohrid region, North Macedonia
Notable location: His episcopal see as Bishop of Dremvica and later Bishop of Ohrid; site of his famous literary school and his main church; his relics enshrined here (Ohrid, North Macedonia)
Notable location: The early Bulgarian capital where he ministered after expulsion from Great Moravia; he began the great work of Slavic literacy here (Pliska, Shumen Province, Bulgaria)
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Parishes
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Shrines
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Known shrines
- Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon, Ohrid, North Macedonia — the main church and museum built over his monastery; UNESCO World Heritage site.
- Church of Saint Clement (Sveti Kliment), Ohrid — another church in the old city associated with his ministry.
Feast day
July 27
Veneration
Saint Clement of Ohrid is venerated in the Bulgarian Orthodox, Macedonian Orthodox, and other Slavic Orthodox churches, as well as in Eastern Catholic and Latin Catholic churches with a Slavic heritage.
Prayers
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