The importance of Mount Athos and the Ohrid Archbishopric for the policy of Basil II in the Balkans

Abstract

The essay ascertains that the monastic center located on Mount Athos and the Ohrid Archbishopric played a very important role in the policies pursued by Basil II. It was during his rule that the first foreign monasteries, which later Greek sources refer to as monastic communities διφόρωυ γλωσσωυ (Iveron and Amalfi), were established. The third monastery displaying this characteristic was the Serbian monastery Hilandar. Since Hilandar had been established after the Bulgarian and Russian monasteries, the question arose why sources dating from the late 12th century do not mention Zographou and St. Panteleimon’s monastery among the διφόρωυ γλωσσωυ monasteries. The answeris to be found in the circumstances surrounding the establishment of Slavic monasteries on Mount Athos. The essay also assesses the importance of Mount Athos and the Ohrid Archbishopric for the process of deeper integration of Slavs into the Byzantine religious and political-ideological system. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177032: Tradicija, inovacija i identitet u vizantijskom svetu]

Keywords

• Basil II
• Mount Athos
• Ohrid Archbishopric
• Iberians
• Russians
• Bulgarians