Писмата на българския архиепископ в Охрид Паисий до Италийския митрополит Тимотей
The Letters of the Bulgarian Archbishop in Ohrid Paisiy to the Italian Metropolitan Timothy

Summary/Abstract: During the 16th century to the diocese of the Bulgarian Archbishopric in Ohrid were added the lands of southern Italy, namely: Puglia, Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, the island of Sicily, as well as the island of Malta, Dalmatia and all western countries. In the Bulgarian monastery Saint George – the Zograf Monastery on Mount Athos are kept four letters – charters written by the Archbishop of Bulgaria Paisius to the Italian Metropolitan Timothy, who was appointed by him to rule these lands. From these letters we see that in the diocese of Metropolitan Timothy some ferment and discontent arose, caused by “Greeks and Albanians”. Based on the content of these documents and the fact that these lands were handed over under the spiritual management of the Archbishop of Bulgaria, an answer is sought to the question of: what is the reason for these lands to be passed under the spiritual care of the Bulgarian archbishop, and what is the reason for the dissatisfaction of Greeks and Albanians? Based on a number of source documents and data, as well as on the basе of modern research that studies the languages spoken by the local population, the author of the article shows the serious presence of Bulgarian and Slavic population in the region, which many times exceeds the number of Greek and Albanian. This is most likely the leading reason for these lands to be handed over under the spiritual care of the Archbishopric of Bulgaria in Ohrid.

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