Saint Clement of Ohrid

November 25 is the feast of Saint Clement of Ohrid, a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius. In 893 CE, Clement was elected the first Bishop of what would come to be the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

 

 

 

St. Clement would have been important for Tamara for several reasons. First, he was a local saint and was the bishop for the region, albeit some years before she was born. Here's a regional map of the Kutmichevitsa administrative district for reference:

 

 

 

 

Today this area is in Macedonia (FYROM), not Bulgaria. Tamara and her family would have been influenced by Clement's teaching, since he was a founder of the Ohrid Literary School and was revered as a patron of education. He was an important writer in Old Church Slavonic and wrote the oldest church service dedicated to saints Cyril and Methodius.