Clement of Ohrid

Born around 830, Clement became one of the most prominent disciples of Cyril and Methodius, the brothers who first brought Christianity and writing to the Slavs. After their deaths, he carried their work into what is now North Macedonia, then called Kutmichevitsa, where his mission did more than convert—it transformed the population into Bulgarians through shared faith and script. He founded the Ohrid Literary School, a center that popularized the Cyrillic alphabet and trained generations of clergy and scribes. By the time of his death in 916, he had become the first bishop of the Bulgarian Or…