There are so many reasons to be proud of this country. Macedonia has the oldest and the most beautiful churches and monasteries in the region.
It is told that saints left trail оn this historic country. And it's not accidental. The large number of churches and monasteries are only a part of this certificate. We know that here the sun shines with a special glow and every stone silently testifies about our existence.
Christianity in Macedonia and the Balkans, as witnessed in the Acts of the Apostles, was first preached and expanded by Apostle Paul in his missionary journeys. He was accompanied on these trips by his apostles Luke, Timothy, Silas and Tychicus who also independently worked on Christianization in this area. Around the country was also preaching and the Holy Apostle Andrew who named the Apostle Urban as the first bishop in Macedonia. Apostle Silvanus was the first bishop of Solun (today Thessaloniki), and Epaphroditus in Adria or Adrijakija (border area of Thrace). It means that bases of the organized Church are set even then. I would mention here that the Apostles Aristarchus and Secundus were from Solun, Epaphroditus was from Philippi, and Gaius from Dober which was located between Strumica and Valandovo. At that time, Macedonia was under Roman rule so its borders were often changed. As a result of Christianization in the first three centuries, Christians in Macedonia had already an organized Church with ecclesiastical hierarchy at the beginning of IV century, whose bishops regularly participated at the ecumenical councils.
But do you know that Macedonia has the most beautiful churches and monasteries? From architectural, spiritual, cultural, aesthetic, historical and archaeological aspect...we live in a small but beautiful country, with the most beautiful holy places that bring people closer, especially for holidays.
Ohrid - In the Orthodox Christian world, Ohrid is called Jerusalem of the Balkans. According to the legend, the city in the past had 365 churches - for each day of the year. Art historians are looking for hard evidence for that.
I'm sharing some of my pictures for this article and the list of churches will be updated as soon as I have new pictures.
St. Clement’s Church (Plaoshnik) - Ohrid
The church was built by St.Clement in 893 year on the foundation of an early Christian basilica, and dedicated to St. Panteleimon. It was here that the Ohrid Literary School, a center of Slavonic literary and cultural activity where it was educated more than 3,500 disciples. St. Clement was buried in this monastery, in the tomb which was built by his own hands.
After the advent of the Ottoman Turks, St. Clement’s Church was converted into a mosque.
Apart from the monastery's many reconstructions during the Ottoman empire, it has recently undergone extensive reconstruction and excavation. Reconstruction started on 8 December 2000 and the physical church was fully reconstructed by 10 August 2002. Most of Saint Clement's relics were returned to the church.
Monastery Treskavec - near Prilep
Treskavec Monastery, a medieval pilgrimage site founded in the twelfth century, sits atop a remote mountain in southern Macedonia, a steep eight-kilometer hike from the town of Prilep. The monastic complex includes the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin. Both the church and other structures underwent periods of growth from the twelfth to fourteenth centuries.
Monastery St. Jovan Bigorski - Near Debar and Gostivar
St. Jovan Bigorski is a 19th century monastery standing on the slopes of Debar’s Mt. Bistra, above the banks of the River Radika. While relatively new, St. Jovan was constructed over the remains of an older church dating from 1021.Built on a steep slope surrounded by dense woods and rocky hills, St. Jovan is reminiscent of the cliff top monasteries of Mt. Athos in Greece.
Since the monastery is dedicated to St. Jovan the Baptist, worshippers believe that icons with his image are blessed with a miraculous healing power.
The monastery has a small silver coffin containing alleged relics of St. Jovan. The monastery complex includes a dining room and an old monastic dormitory, tower, charnel house and two fountains over spilling with fresh mountain water.
Church St. Kaneo - Ohrid
Most known for its scenic location, standing on a cliff over Lake Ohrid. Located in the town of Ohrid (near the quarter of Kaneo and not far from Plaosnik) is the church dedicated to St. John Bogoslov, St. Kaneo, one of the most magnificent churches in Macedonia. Significant to the architecture of the church is the exquisite combination of Byzantine and Armenian elements, which creates very favorable space for examining the medieval monuments in Ohrid. This Byzantine church was built during the 13th century on a rectangular stone base. The walls are brick, stone with ceramic decorations. It contains only some fragments of fresco, in particular: the Communion of the Apostles and the portraits of St. Clement. There are only few frescoes left inside, but the feeling of standing in centuries used sanctuary is worth the entrance.
Church St.Sofia - Ohrid
The church of St. Sofia is one of the largest medieval churches on this territory. For a long time it was the cathedral church ("Great Church") of the Ohrid Archiepiscopate whose ecclesiastical authority covered the territories up to the river Danube to the north, the Albanian coast to the west, and the Bay of Thessalonica to the east.The church was probably used as a cathedral way back in the past, in the period of the Car Samuel who, in the late X century, moved his throne from Prespa to Ohrid. The other assumption is that there used to be another church on the same site during the reign of the Macedonian Czar Samuel, and that later on this church was ruined for unknown reasons. The date of the construction of that church is uncertain because there are no inscriptions that help reveal it. It is also mentioned that today's church was either built or restored during the period of the Archbishop Leo who was on the throne of the Church in the period between 1035-1056.
Church Holy 40 Martyrs - Bitola
Holy 40 Martyrs church is located in the Krkardash Smilevski Bitola Bair. It was built 150 years ago, the place where the former monastery ” St. Athanasius ”. When the Turkish army had conquered Bitola, monks from the monastery offered no resistance fierce fighting so that on one hand carrying a cross and sword on the other. In honor of the 40 monks, erected a monastery ” St. 40 Martyrs ” as the glory of the church is every year on the first day of spring.
Monastery Holy Transfiguration (Monastery of Toshe Proeski) - Krushevo
Near Krusevo in the locality „Bela Voda” (Бела Вода, transl. White Water)is located the Monastery Holy Transfiguration(Свето Преображение)
also known as Toshe Monastery (Тошев Манастир), which is built on the initiative of the Macedonian pop icon Tose Proeski, who tragically died in a car accident on Oct 16, 2007
To the monastery leads an asphalt road and there are also beautiful mansions in which each visitor can stay. Within the mansions, a memorial room of Tose Proeski is located.
Church Holy Transfiguration (Preobrazenie) - village Gopesh
Church St.Preobrazenie is situated in the village called Gopesh, near Bitola.
Church St. Nikola - Mavrovo
New church near Mavrovo
Local church in village Bukovo - Bitola
Monastery "St. Naum"
Set amidst lush verdure where the River Crn Drim tumbles into the lake, the monastery of St. Naum is a refuge of tranquility at the very southwestern corner of the Macedonian Republic. Situated 29 km (18 m) from the town of Ohrid and only 1 kilometer (0.6 m) from the Albanian border, the monastery brings the Macedonian experience to a dramatic culmination.
As with most Byzantine churches, St. Naum was chosen primarily for its location - on a high, rocky outcropping over the lake, above deep forests and life-giving springs of the river Crn Drim. The monastic complex and church of St. Naum were built originally at the turn of the tenth century by the monk that beared the same name; Macedonians believe you can still hear the saint's heartbeat by pressing an ear to his stone coffin inside the church.The monastery has been renewed and enlarged several times over the centuries. While most of its iconostases and frescoes date from the 16th and 17th century, earlier etchings in the Byzantine Greek vernacular also remain. But numerous orthographical mistakes indicate that they were written by Slavic-speaking local monks. Other inscriptions in the church make up some of the oldest epigraphic evidence of Slavic literacy.
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