Here stands Saint Kliment Ochridski. This church carries a story far beyond its physical presence. Saint Kliment Ochridski is an Orthodox Parish. It resides in Schaerbeek. The church belongs to the Eparchy of Western and Central Europe. This Eparchy is under the Patriarchate of Bulgaria.
The pastor of Saint Kliment Ochridski is Archpriest Dimitri Dimitrov. You can find this church on Rue Victor Hugo 8. It is in Schaerbeek Brussels. The postcode is 1030 Belgium. You can contact them by phone at 02/734.57.89.
Saint Kliment of Ohrid was one of the first medieval Bulgarian saints. He was a scholar and writer. Also, he was an apostle to the Slavs. Saint Kliment was one of the most prominent disciples of Cyril and Methodius. He is often associated with the creation of the Glagolitic and Cyrillic scripts. These scripts became popular among Christianised Slavs.
Saint Kliment founded the Ohrid Literary School. Some Slavic people regard him as a patron of education and language. He is considered the first bishop of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. He is one of the Seven Apostles of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Since the 10th century he has been one of the premier saints of modern Bulgaria.
His mission was crucial. It transformed the Slavs in Kutmichevitsa into Bulgarians. Kutmichevitsa is present-day Macedonia. Saint Kliment is also the patron saint of North Macedonia. He is the patron of the city of Ohrid. Also, he is the patron of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
Saint Kliment joined Methodius as a young man. He followed him to a monastery. This monastery was on Mysian Olympus. According to Theophylact of Ohrid, Clement knew Methodius’s life well. Most scholars think he was born in the Byzantine Empire. This was in the territory where Methodius served. It means he was a Slav from Southern Macedonia. Some researchers suggest Thessaloniki as his birthplace. Others say the area of Southern Macedonia was part of the First Bulgarian Empire when he was born.
Between 830 and 840 most of Macedonia became part of Bulgaria. That’s when Saint Kliment was born. Theophylact of Ohrid calls him the first bishop in the Bulgarian language. Demetrios Chomatenos describes him as one of the European Moesians. They were commonly known as Bulgarians. Some scholars label him a Bulgarian Slav. Dimitri Obolensky calls him a Slav inhabitant of the Kingdom of Bulgaria.
Saint Kliment participated in the mission of Cyril and Methodius to Great Moravia. In 867 or 868 he became a priest in Rome. He was ordained with two other disciples. Their names were Gorazd and Naum. They were ordained by bishops Formosus and Gauderic. After Cyril’s death, Saint Kliment went with Methodius to Pannonia and Great Moravia.
After Methodius died in 885 Saint Kliment led the struggle against the German clergy. He did this with Gorazd. After jail time, he was expelled from Great Moravia. In 885 or 886 he reached Belgrade. It was then in Bulgaria. He was with Naum of Preslav and Angelarius. Boris I commissioned them to teach the future clergy of the state in Slavonic. They established two schools. These were the Ohrid Literary School in Ohrid and the Preslav Literary School in Preslav.
Naum stayed in Pliska. He worked on the Pliska Literary School. Saint Kliment was commissioned to teach theology to future clergymen. He taught in Old Church Slavonic. This was in Kutmichevitsa. He founded the Ohrid Literary School. Between 886 and 893 Saint Kliment taught about 3500 disciples. He taught them the Slavonic language and the Glagolitic alphabet. Saint Kliment translated Christian literature into Old Church Slavonic. He and his co-workers laid the foundations of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
In 893 he became archbishop of Drembica. This was a bishopric. He died in 916. He was buried in his monastery Saint Panteleimon in Ohrid. Soon after, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church canonized him as a saint. The development of Old Church Slavonic literacy prevented the assimilation of South Slavs into Byzantine culture. It promoted a distinct Bulgarian identity.
Saint Kliment of Ohrid was a prolific writer in Old Church Slavonic. He is credited with the Panonic Hagiography of Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius. He translated the Flower Triode. He is believed to have written the Holy Service and the Life of St. Clement of Rome. He is also believed to have written the oldest service dedicated to Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius.
The Cyrillic alphabet is usually ascribed to him. However, it was likely developed at the Preslav Literary School. That was at the beginning of the 10th century.
The life of Saint Kliment is a testament to faith and education. It shaped the history and culture of the Slavic people. Saint Kliment Ochridski in Brussels stands as a symbol of his enduring legacy.