Nathanael of Ohrid, Nathanael of Plovdiv or Nathanael of Zograf, born Nesho Stanov Boykikev; ( Bulgarian/; 26 October 1820 – 18 September 1906) was a BulgarianA letter of bishop Nathanail to Petko Voyvoda about the organization of the struggle of the Bulgarians who have remained under Turkish domination September 25th, 1878
/ref> cleric, writer and revolutionary from

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, one of the first supporters of literature in modern Bulgarian (as opposed to

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...

) and one of the early figures of the

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian Revival (, ''Balgarsko vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and ), sometimes called the Bulgarian National Revival, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian pe ...

Biography

Nathanael was born as Nesho (Nedyalko) Stoianov (Stankov) Boykikev in the village of

Kučevište Kučevište () is the largest village in the municipality of Čučer-Sandevo, North Macedonia. Demographics As of the 2021 census, Kučevište had 4,119 residents with the following ethnic composition: *Macedonians 2,404 *Serbs 1,323 *Persons fo ...

, near

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

, then the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He studied at the Kučevište monastery, and in 1835 went to study in

Samokov Samokov ( ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in Samokov Valley between the mountain ranges of Rila, Vitosha and Sredna Gora, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due ...

. Then he continued his education in

Prilep Prilep ( ) is the List of cities in North Macedonia, fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. According to 2021 census, it had a population of 63,308. Name The name of Prilep appeared first as ''Πρίλαπος'' in Greek (''Prilapos'') in 1 ...

, where along with teacher George Samurkashev translate into

Bulgarian language Bulgarian (; , ) is an Eastern South Slavic, Eastern South Slavic language spoken in Southeast Europe, primarily in Bulgaria. It is the language of the Bulgarians. Along with the closely related Macedonian language (collectively forming the ...

the treatise "The Ceremonies of Jews and their evil", published in 1839 by Theodosius of Sinai. In 1837 Boykikev become a monk in

Zograf Monastery The Saint George the Zograf Monastery or Zograf Monastery (, ''Moní Zográphou''; ) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos (the "Holy Mountain") in Greece. It was founded in the late 9th or early 10th century by three ...

, named Nathanael. One year later he went to Chişinău, to study in the local theological school. He continued his education at the Theological Seminary in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. In 1840-1841 he took part in translating of "Christian Mirror", printed in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1847. He graduated from

Kiev Theological Academy The Kiev Theological Academy (1819—1919) was one of the oldest higher educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church, situated in Kiev, then in the Russian Empire (now Kyiv, Ukraine). It was considered as the most senior one among simila ...

in 1851 with a thesis on the medieval

Bulgarian Orthodox Church The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction based in Bulgaria. It is the first medieval recognised patriarchate outside the Pentarchy and t ...

history. Nathanael published the book "A friendly letter by Bulgarian to Greek" in 1853 (

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Church Slavonic language Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...

). He was a ministry of Dobrovets Monastery in

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

in 1854-1869. In 1863 along with Ivan Seliminski arhimandrit Nathanael was a Bulgarian delegate in

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

in the celebration of 1000 years of work of

Saints Cyril and Methodius Cyril (; born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (; born Michael, 815–885) were brothers, Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are ...

. Nathanael published in 1865 "Slav-Bulgarian primer" (

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

) and "Incident in Skopje Eparchy" (

Brăila Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The Sud-Est (development region), ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila. According to the 2021 Romanian ...

), which describes anti-Greek clerical and cultural movement of the

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

in northern

. Within the

Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate (; ) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953. The Exarchate (a de facto autocephaly) ...

, Nathanael was bishop in

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

in 1874-1880. He was also one of the leaders in the Kresna-Razlog Uprising. Nathanael was bishop of

Lovech Lovech (, ) is a city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast from the capital city of Sofia. Near Lovech are the towns of ...

from 1880 to 1891, and from 1891 until his death was Metropolitan of

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

. Nathanael was a full member of the Bulgarian Learned Society (

Bulgarian Academy of Sciences The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; , ''Bŭlgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated БАН) is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy, with headquarters in Sofia, is autonomous and consists of a S ...

Enternal links

Writings (in Bulgarian)

Notes

Sources

* Енциклопедия "Българската възрожденска интелигенция. Учители, свещеници, монаси, висши духовници, художници, лекари, аптекари, писатели, издатели, книжари, търговци, военни..."(Съставители: проф. д-р Николай Генчев, Красимира Даскалова), С. 1988, с. 446-447 * Натанаил Охридски - Борба за България, Веска Топалова, Издател:УИ "Св. Климент Охридски", 200

Biography

Enternal links

Notes

Sources

See also