On the dating of "Hagia Sophia" chirch in Ohrid

 

When reading the books of Assen Chilingirov, the Bulgarian reader involuntarily asks himself the question: What History of Bulgaria did we learn in school and does it have anything to do with the true history of our lands? The professor from the University of Leipzig and the Humboldt University in Berlin puts the history of Southeast Europe and specifically the early history of Bulgaria in a completely new light. Church struggles from the 4th-5th-6th-7th centuries, closely related to the political history of these lands. Byzantine emperors of Thracian origin, Justiniana Prima, Goths, who are actually Getae, Slavs, Thracians, Bulgarians – peoples of the same origin, etc. are just some of the most interesting topics covered in the professor’s scientific and art-historical research. Of course, the key word here is Continuity. Continuity of the population in our lands from the 1st-2nd-3rd-4th-5th-6th-7th-8th-9th-10th centuries, etc.

Accustomed to think free in free Germany, the professor does not hesitate to share thoughts which seem downright startling and heretical for native Bulgarian historians and archaeologists. But they are unfortunately closely related to Bulgarian history.

In fact, Assen Chilingirov's theses are unlikely to find a place in Bulgarian history textbooks any time soon, for no other reason, than the deep sacredness of many of them, which makes them directly inaccessible to a wide range of readers.

In the book “Ohrid's Hagia Sophia and its Dating” professor Chilingirov, with indisputable evidence and a well-argued approach, examines the most important periods of the existence of this Ohrid church, one of the shrines of the First Bulgarian Kingdom.

He proves that the most valuable and impressive frescoes in the church are the work of the Bulgarian school of painting from the end of the 10th century, i.e. the time of Tsar Roman (977-991) and Tsar Samuil (991-1014). At that time, when the center of the Bulgarian state moved westward to Serdika, Skopje, Strumica, Ohrid, Kostur, Prespa, this cathedral church reached the limit of its splendor with a large central dome, destroyed at the beginning of the 11th century, and two small side domes, at the southern and northern ends of the narthex.

Rebuilt in the first half of the 11th century, it acquired its present appearance, with the not particularly impressive gable roof of typical basilicas, with its simple external and internal decoration, etc.

Assen Chilingirov once again raises the question of the independent archbishopric of Justiniana Prima, closely connected with the history of the Bulgarian state, for several reasons. The main reason is that it was founded by the hereditary Thracian Justinian the Great (527-565) to serve the population of his compatriots inhabiting the provinces of Eastern Illyricum, which became the scene of a struggle for influence between the Eastern and Western Churches.

The second main reason is that the greater part of the diocese of Justiniana Prima became part of the territory of the Bulgarian state in the Middle Ages and predetermined the claims for independence of Bulgarian spirituality and church life.

The explanation of the Bulgarian and Slavic invasions of the Balkans in the 4th-7th centuries, which is given by Professor Chilingirov, is also very interesting.

The books of the great scholar and researcher Asen Chilingirov bring a new perspective on late antique and early medieval life in the Balkans, largely explaining in a convincing manner important processes in the political and spiritual life of these lands.

https://macedonia.kroraina.com/tschilingirov/bab/index.htm