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Theodosius of Skopje

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Theodosius of Skopje
Born
Васил Илиев Гологанов (Vasil Iliev Gologanov)

7 January 1846
Vathytopos, Ottoman Empire
Died1 February 1926 (1926-03) (aged 80)
Sofia, Kingdom of Bulgaria

Theodosius of Skopje (Bulgarian: Теодосий Скопски, Macedonian: Теодосија Скопски; 1846–1926) was a Bulgarian religious figure from Macedonia who was also a scholar and translator of the Bulgarian language.[1][2][3] He was initially involved in the struggle for an autonomous Bulgarian Church and later in his life, he became a member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Although he was named Metropolitan Bishop of the Bulgarian Exarchate in Skopje, he is known for his failed attempt to establish a separate Macedonian Church as a restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid.

Life

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Small bishop's preaching book. A Collection by the Metropolitan of Skopje Theodosius. Sofia. Synod of the Bulgarian Church, 1911.

Theodosius of Skopje was born as Vasil Iliev Gologanov (Bulgarian and Macedonian: Васил Илиев Гологанов)[4] on 7 January 1846 in the then Slavic populated village of Tarlis (now part of Kato Nevrokopi municipality, Greece) in the Ottoman Empire.[5][6][7] Theodosius was the son of the Reverend Iliya Ivanov Gologanov.[2] His brother Ivan Gologanov was a collector of folk songs, most famous for editing the book Veda Slovena. Theodosius studied in the classical Greek gymnasium in Serres.[2] In 1862 he became a monk under the name of Theodosius in the monastery of Saint John Prodromus near Serres,[2] and later was ordained as a hierodeacon from the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople. Sometime in 1867, he left for Hercegovina, where he worked as a protosingel of Metropolitan Prokopius. After he came back to Bulgarian lands in 1868, Theodosius became a priest in Plovdiv and then in Krichim. In Plovdiv (1867 – 1878), he contacted famous Bulgarian National Revival activists such as Yoakim Gruev, Nayden Gerov and Dragan Manchov. When the Bulgarian Exarchate was established in 1870 he joined it. While in the Krichim Monastery (1869 – 1873), he hid the founder of the Internal Revolutionary Organization, Vasil Levski, who at that time formed a revolutionary committee there.[8][better source needed]

From 1873 he headed the Bulgarian church community in Serres but under pressure from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, he was arrested by the Ottomans, tortured and received threats to his life,[9] In 1874 he was imprisoned in Sеrres by the Ottoman authorities on charges of his involvement in the Bulgarian revolutionary movement in the Plovdiv region. Later Theodosius was released with the assistance of the Greek Metropolitan, and due to the strong pressure to be set free, he renounced the Exarchate.[10] However, in the same year, after the Christian population of the bishoprics of Skopje and Ohrid voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining the Exarchate, Theodosius repentеd and the Bulgarian Holy Synod restored him to communion.[11][non-primary source needed] Between 1874 and 1875 Theodosius was the head of the local Bulgarian Orthodox Church organization in the region of Serres. He was ordained as an archmandrite in 1875 and became an assistant of the Metropolitan of Nish, who at the time was under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Exarch. In 1876-1877 he was in Istanbul again and served in the Bulgarian St. Stephen Church. Between 1878 and 1880 Archimandrite Theodosius performed there the duties of Exarch Joseph I, since the exarch was stuck in Plovdiv after the start of the Russo-Turkish War.

Afterwards, Theodosius continued to hold high-ranking positions within the Exarchate. From 1880 to 1885 he was a representative of the Exarchate at the Sublime Porte, and in 1885 he was chosen as a bishop of the episcopacy of Skopje. However, under the pressure of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople the Sultan issued an official ordinance only in 1890 and he had to wait five years to take office. As a bishop of Skopje (1890-1891), Theodosius renounced de facto again the Bulgarian Exarchate and attempted to restore the Archbishopric of Ohrid and to separate the episcopacies in Macedonia from the Bulgarian Exarchate.[12][non-primary source needed] His plan was to create a separate Macedonian church in which the Macedonian vernacular would be used in the religious service. He contacted the Patriarchate of Constantinople, attempting to convince its leadership to accept and promote the revival of the Ohrid Archbishopric under its patriarchate but as an autonomous church. The Exarchate initiated proceedings for his dismissal. Afterwards, he contacted the Vatican representative Augusto Bonetti with the plan to establish a Greek Catholic (Uniate) archbishopric in Ohrid.[13] Greek propagandists favorably regarded his activity.[14]

At the insistence of the Exarchate at the end of 1891, he was extradited by the Ottomans to Istanbul. Despite his repentance, the Exarchate fired him from his high position in 1892 because of his separatism. He was overthrown by the Exarchate and exiled to the Dragalevtsi Monastery near Sofia.[7] There he spent the period from 1892 to 1901, when he was engaged in translations of fiction and religious literature and as before demonstrated a pro-Bulgarian position on the Macedonian Question.[15][16]

As a result, he was rehabilitated and between 1901 and 1906 served as bishop of the Plovdiv eparchy, and then in the Bachkovo Monastery and in the Rila monastery. In 1910 he tried again to run for Metropolitan of Skopje, whose position was then vacant, but he was refused, despite the pro-Exarchate positions he demonstrated in the press.[17][non-primary source needed] During 1913 he participated on the Christianization of the Pomaks in the Rhodopes, a mission held from the Bulgarian Exarhate and IMORO.[18] Completely repenting his Catholic aspirations, he wrote the pamphlet The Orthodox Church and Catholic Propaganda, which the Synod printed and used in the struggle against the Uniate movement in 1914. During this period he served in Sofia, where in November 1915, when the Bulgarian army defeated Serbian troops in Macedonia, he performed a solemn prayer on the occasion of the Victory Day.[19] Theodosius also led the short-lived eparchy of Gyumyurdzhina, (Komotini) between 1915 and 1919, when the area was part of Bulgaria. He spent the last years of his life in Sofia in literary activity - writing books and translations of foreign literature.[20]

Theodosius was a member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences from 1910. He wrote articles on religion and translated into Bulgarian some of the works of Virgil, François-René de Chateaubriand, John Milton and others. In one of his articles, published in the newspaper "Mir", he first claimed that the forefather of the Bulgarian National Revival, Saint Paisius of Hilendar had been born in Bansko, Pirin Macedonia, contributing significantly to the construction of the image of Macedonia as a cradle of the Bulgarian National Revival.[21] He died on 1 February 1926 in Sofia.[5]

Legacy

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It is unknown when and how he got the idea to renew the Archbishopric of Ohrid.[13] Per Bulgarian historians, Theodosius' separatism stemmed from his personal hatred of Exarch Joseph I.[7][22] Petko Slaveykov, including his critics, believed his Macedonism was inspired by Greek propaganda.[14] Macedonian historian Slavko Dimevski considered the religious separatism of Theodosius a form of early Macedonian nationalism.[23][page needed] Theodosius is considered a Bulgarian in Bulgaria and an ethnic Macedonian in North Macedonia.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ Diana Mishkova, ed. (2009). We, the People: Politics of National Peculiarity in Southeastern Europe. Central European University Press. p. 132. ISBN 9786155211669.
  2. ^ a b c d Vladimir Dimitrov (2009). "The Minov Family of Zographs: Personalities and Works" (PDF). Scripta & e-Scripta. 7. Institute for Literature, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences: 269–270. Bishop Theodosius translated into Bulgarian works by Epictetus, Virgil, Milton and Chateaubriand.
  3. ^ Владимир Трендафилов, Александър Шурбанов, Преводна рецепция на европейска литература в България: в 8 тома, том 1, Академично изд-во "Проф. Марин Дринов", 2000, ISBN 9548712059, стр. 59-61.
  4. ^ Dimitris Stamatopoulos (2022). Byzantium after the Nation: The Problem of Continuity in Balkan Historiographies. Central European University Press. p. 17. ISBN 9789633863084.
  5. ^ a b Blaže Ristovski, ed. (2009). Makedonska enciklopedija: M-Š (in Macedonian). MANU. p. 1477. ISBN 9786082030241.
  6. ^ Григорович, Виктор. Очерк путешествия по европейской Турции, 1877, стр.124.
  7. ^ a b c Dimitar Bechev (2019). Historical Dictionary of North Macedonia (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. p. 289. ISBN 9781538119624. Theodossius of Skopje (1846–1926). Exarchist metropolitan of Skopje, born Vasil Gologanov in the village of Turlis near Serres. Theodossius (Teodosij) is credited by the Macedonian historiography for his attempt to restore the autocephaly of the Ohrid Archbishopric under the aegis of the Catholic Church in 1891. Bulgarian historians have explained this initiative with Theodossius's personal animosity toward the Istanbul-based Exarch Joseph. Removed from the Skopje See in 1892, he was exiled to a monastery near Sofia. From 1901 to 1906, Theodossius was the metropolitan of Plovdiv, and from 1913 to 1919 was the Bulgarian bishop of Maroneia in present-day Greek Thrace. Theodossius was also a member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
  8. ^ "Митрополит Теодосий: "Беше при мене Василий Левски…" Вестник ТРЕТА ВЪЗРАСТ, 21 октомври 2017 г." Archived from the original on 2021-05-22. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  9. ^ At the insistence of the Greek metropolitan of Serres, the chairman of the Serres Bulgarian ecclesiastical community, Theodosius (later Metropolitan of Skopje), was arrested in the village of Frashteni, where he served on January 4, 1873, and, despite protests from the whole village, was taken to Serres. On the way he was very tortured and beaten. The Greek priest in the village advised him to recognize the Patriarchate, because otherwise he would have suffered badly in Serres and he could have been killed. In Serres, the mutesarifin Haidar Bey released him, but due to Greek threats, Theodosius moved to a Turkish house. Because even after that. Theodosius went to serve in the Bulgarian villages, he was summoned before the Greek metropolitan and other Greek leaders to give explanations why he went to the villages to serve in Bulgarian and was threatened with imprisonment. Иван Снегаров. Отношенията между Българската църква и другите православни църкви след провъзгласяването на схизмата. по "Църковен архив", книга III-V, София — печатница "П. Глушков" — 1929.
  10. ^ Борис Цацов (2003). Архиереите на Българската православна църква: Биографичен сборник (in Bulgarian). Принцепс. p. 297. ISBN 9548067757.
  11. ^ 141-во засед. на Св. Синод, 16 януари 1874 г., стр. 316.
  12. ^ Theodosius of Skopje Centralen D'rzhaven istoricheski archiv (Sofia) 176, op. 1. arh.ed. 595, l.5-42 - Razgledi, X/8 (1968), p.996-1000.
  13. ^ a b Balázs Trencsényi; Michal Kopeček, eds. (2007). "Letter on the renewal of the Archbishopric of Ohrid". National Romanticism: The Formation of National Movements. Discourses of Collective Identity in Central and Southeast Europe 1770–1945. Central European University Press. pp. 188, 190. ISBN 9786155211249.
  14. ^ a b Roumen Daskalov; Tchavdar Marinov (2013). Entangled Histories of the Balkans - Volume One: National Ideologies and Language Policies. BRILL. p. 288. ISBN 978-9004250765.
  15. ^ Theodosius of Skopje. Memories from the times of the Bulgarian political and religious revival (Otalamci). A collection honouring Metropolitan Simeon, Metropolitan of Preslav and Varna, Sofia 1922, 212-19. (in Bulgarian: Теодосий Скопски. Спомени от епохата на българското духовно и политическо възраждение (Отъломци). Сборник в чест на Варненский и Преславский Митрополит Симеон, София 1922, 212-219.)
  16. ^ „Беззащитно във всяко едно отношение, българското население, онеправдано от местните власти и бедно от материална и умствена страна, то представляваше твърде удобна почва за насаждането и възприемането на всякакви пропагандистични идеи. На това се дължеше и успехът на чуждите пропаганди в такива чисто български градове в Македония като Воден, Ресен, Лерин, Неврокоп, Щип и пр., където български училища нямаше, или ако имаше те бяха незначителни, а гръцки училища имаше по градове и по села и добре бяха наредени." Теодосий Гологанов - бивш митрополит Скопски, вестник „Ден", София, 20 септември, 1910 год., бр. 2322.
  17. ^ „Беззащитно във всяко едно отношение, българското население, онеправдано от местните власти и бедно от материална и умствена страна, то представляваше твърде удобна почва за насаждането и възприемането на всякакви пропагандистични идеи. На това се дължеше и успехът на чуждите пропаганди в такива чисто български градове в Македония като Воден, Ресен, Лерин, Неврокоп, Щип и пр., където български училища нямаше, или ако имаше те бяха незначителни, а гръцки училища имаше по градове и по села и добре бяха наредени.“ Теодосий Гологанов – бивш митрополит Скопски, вестник „Ден“, София, 20 септември 1910 г., бр. 2322.
  18. ^ Елдъров, Светозар. Православието на война. Българската православна църква и войните на България 1877-1945, София 2004, с. 112.
  19. ^ Празникът на победите– 27 ноември, непознатата история на бойния празник на Българската Армия. Светлозар Елдъров, проф. д.и.н. списание Военноисторически сборник, ISSN 0204-4080, бр. 4, 2004 г.
  20. ^ Писма и изповеди на Иван Гологанов: Веда Словена, Христо Спирев, ВУДУТЕК ООД, 2015, 5 стр.
  21. ^ Alexander Vezenkov (2015). "The Concept of National Revival in Balkan Historiographies". In Tchavdar Marinov (ed.). Entangled Histories of the Balkans - Volume Three. BRILL. pp. 450–451. ISBN 978-9004290365. Although he was named Bulgarian metropolitan bishop in Skopje, in 1890–1892 Gologanov tried to establish a separate Macedonian Church, an activity that resulted in his dismissal and temporary marginalization. Thus after this short period as an early Macedonian national ideologist, Gologanov again became a Bulgarian bishop, as well as a writer and a member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. As we have seen, he contributed significantly to the construction of the image of Macedonia as "cradle of the Bulgarian Revival" through his "data" about Paisiy Hilendarski's birthplace.
  22. ^ Simeon Radev. "Early Memories" (Симеон Радев. „Ранни Спомени")
  23. ^ С. Димевски, Присуството на Теодосиј Гологанов во развојот на македонската национална мисла во епохата на национално - револуционерното движење, Скопје, 1976.
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