-- FIRST MILENEUM --

-- FIRST MILENEUM --

51 A.D. - Apostle Paul preaches Christianity (Acta apos., XVI, id. XVII) for the first time on European soil, in the Macedonian towns Philippi, Solun and Beroia. In 52 and 53 he sent epistles to the people of Solun (Epist. Thess). In 57 he came to Macedonia again, and in 63 he sent epistles to the people of Philippi (Epist. Philipp).

It cannot be said that Paul created Gentile Christianity but he was responsible for giving it impetus. Paul became an important factor in the spread of Christianity to Macedonia when he had a vision of a man, a Macedonian, urging him to “come to Macedonia and help us”. Paul interpreted this vision as God’s will to take the “Good News” of Jesus into Macedonia. “And when they had come opposite My’sia, they attempted to go into Bithyn’ia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them; so, passing by My’sia, they went down to Tro’as. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedo’nia was standing beseeching him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedo’nia and help us.’ And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedo’nia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Page 1044, The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, Holman, Philadelphia, 1952)

There are some who believe that the man in Paul’s vision was the Apostle Luke. Luke was a Macedonian, a physician by trade, who Paul met for the first time in Troas. Luke may have had some connection to Philippi to have Paul sent there. It is unknown whether Luke was a Christian or not before he met Paul but he was certainly one afterwards. Luke was a great writer and composer of one of the gospels.

It was around 50 AD when Paul set foot on European soil for the first time. That was in the Macedonian towns of Philippi, Solun (Thessalonica) and Berroea where he preached the word of Jesus (Acta apos., XVI, id. XVII). Around 52 and 53 AD he sent epistles to the people of Solun (Epist. Thess); then in 57 AD he came back to Macedonia to follow up on his progress. In 63 AD he again sent epistles to Macedonia but this time to the people of Philippi (Epist. Philipp).

Even before Paul went to Macedonia legend has it that Macedonia was visited by Jesus’ mother Mary. “The Blessed Virgin excluded all other women from Holy Mountain, when she claimed it as ‘Her Garden’ after she was driven ashore by storms near the site of the present monastery of ‘Iviron’ USPENIE.” (Page 41, Vasil Bogov, Macedonian Revelation, Historical Documents Rock and Shatter Modern Political Ideology, Western Australia, 1998) Holy Mountain, or Sveta Gora as it is known in Macedonia, is the holiest place in Europe and one of the greatest monastic centers of Christendom.

Paul’s first mission to Macedonia took him to Philippi where he met a woman named Lydia, a fabric dealer. Lydia was a widow who sold cloth and textiles and was a rare example of a free woman who lived and worked in Macedonia. For some time, Lydia was exposed to Jewish religious practices which she had observed at a colony of Jews who had settled near her home in Thyatira. Lydia, along with her household, is believed to be the first Christian in Macedonia to be baptized by Paul. After Philippi, Paul’s missionary journey took him to the beautiful Macedonian city of Solun where, in 50 BC, he established what later came to be known as the “Golden Gate” church, the first Christian church in Europe. According to the Bible, Paul, along with his friend Silas, spent about three weeks in Solun in a synagogue debating the “Good News” of Jesus with the Solun Jews. But much to his disappointment he could not sway them to see things his way. He persuaded some to join but the majority would not join and became hostile towards him. The real surprise, however, was that many non-Jewish Macedonians accepted the “Good News” of Jesus and embraced Christianity as their new faith.

The start of the new millennium witnessed the death of the Roman Republic and the birth of Imperial Rome. The Augustan emperors may have brought peace to the empire but with it they also brought neglect, decline and decay. As mentioned earlier, by 180 AD there

were unmistakable signs of decay. Besides the agricultural and economic decline, the empire opened its doors to anarchy when the adoptive system of choosing emperors was abandoned in favour of personal appointments.

247 A.D. - Goths enter Aegean coastline

The Goths were a maritime people who lived in southern Russia and controlled the waterways from the Baltic, across Russia to the Black and Caspian Seas.

Unable to withstand their advance, the Romans lost the eastern seas and allowed the Goths to enter the Aegean coastline and advance on Macedonia. Another group crossed the Danube in a great land raid in 247 AD, defeating and killing the Emperor Decius.

270 A.D. - Romans push back the Goths

The Romans eventually did muster enough strength and in 270 AD Claudius defeated the Goths, driving them back to where they originated.

Further east, under the powerful Sassanid dynasty, the Persian Empire was revived and it too attacked the Romans, capturing the Roman Emperor Valerian in 260 AD.

276 A.D. - Goths return to raid coasts of Asia Minor. Then in 284 AD Diocletian, an Illyrian born general, seized power in Rome and ruled for the next twenty years.

313 A.D. - Emperor Constantine - During the year 313 AD, from the great imperial city of Milan, Emperor Constantine, together with his co-Emperor Licinius, dispatched a series of letters informing all provincial governors to stop persecuting the Christians, thus revoking all previous anti-Christian decrees. All properties, including Christian places of worship, seized from them in the past were to be restored. This so called “Edict of Milan”, by which the Roman Empire reversed its policy of hostility towards Christians, was one of the most decisive events in human history. What brought on this sudden reversal?

Rational thinkers believed that Constantine had the foresight to realize that Christianity was a growing power and could be harnessed to work for the good of the empire. Christianity was a result of changing times and harnessing its power was of far greater benefit than following the current policy of attempting to destroy it.

Christianity at that time was disorganized and existed in cult form in sporadic pockets spread throughout the empire. Yet Constantine still had the foresight to see potential in it.

Christianity was a peripheral issue in Constantine’s mind when he and his co-Emperor Licinius were about to face Maxentius and Maximin Daita in the greatest battle of their careers. It was at this decisive moment that Constantine experienced a vision which, not only changed his life but, was the turning point for Christianity.

Immediately after his victory over Licinius in 324 AD, Constantine began the construction of his new capital, the “City of Constantine”. This would be a Christian city fit for Kings that would not only rival, but would surpass the glory of Rome.

Power was where the Emperor was, and the Emperor was now in his own city in the hub of activity just at the edge of Macedonia. Although this was not purely a Macedonian city, it had the elements of Macedonian culture and tradition. It was a very un-Roman city in language and culture and not only imitated the Macedonian cities of Alexandria and Antioch but with time surpassed their cultural and academic achievements. Constantinople or Tsari Grad (“City of Kings”), as it was known to the Macedonians, was going to be the power base of a new empire, a revival of Alexander the Great’s old empire with a Christian twist. “This ‘Eastern’ or Byzantine empire is generally spoken of as if it were a continuation of the Roman tradition. It is really far more like a resumption of Alexander’s.” (Page 414, H.G. Wells, The Outline of History, Garden City Books, New York, 1961).

While Constantine was building his new city, his mother Helena undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and was instrumental in

the building of the Churches of the Nativity at Bethlehem and Eleona on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives.

324 A.D. - Constantine lays out Tsari Grad boundary

November 8, 324 A.D. - Constantine formally lays out the boundaries of Tsari Grad (Constantinople), his new city, roughly quadrupling the territory of old Byzantium. While his architects were designing his new city, Constantine and his army, numbering about 120,000 troops, were established in Solun. Even before moving to Solun in 324 AD, Constantine had the old Solun harbour renovated and expanded to fit his fleet of 200 triakondores galleons and about 2,000 merchant ships.

328 A.D. - Walls of Tsari Grad are up

Walls of Tsari Grad up and the new city formally ready for dedication in May 330 AD. Soon after the city was opened, Constantine ordered the construction of two major churches, Sveta Sophia (Holy Wisdom) and Sveta Eirena (Holy Peace) and began laying the foundation of a third church, the Church of the Holy Apostles.

Before they were known as the Byzantines or were called the Eastern Orthodox and even before they were barely a separate empire, they were known to the Macedonians as the Pravoslavs; an ancient people unified by a common (Eastern Christian) faith which has survived to this day and carries a strong meaning for the faithful.

434 A.D. - Huns invade Macedonia. The Huns attack at the beginning of the century.

478 A.D. - Ostrogoths invade Macedonia. In 447 Ostrogoths attack and demolish Stobi (P. Gradsko) and Heracleia Lynkestis (Bitola). Macedonia is divided into Macedonia Prima and Macedonia Secunda.

500 A.D. - Christianity in Macedonia

Christianity had become the standard religion in Macedonia and the Macedonian language and culture re-emerged with it. As mentioned earlier, the Latin language began its decline about four hundred years earlier and the Koine language was the language of administration and commerce, far from the reach of the common Macedonian.

Christianity’s humble beginnings may have begun with the Koine language but in order for Jesus’ message to be understood by the masses it had to be spoken in the language they used. It is well known today that the language of Christianity in Macedonia was the Macedonian language, the language of enlightenment made world famous by Kiril and Metodi.

518 A.D. - An earthquake demolished Scupi (today’s Skopje).

559 A.D. - Bulgars invade Macedonia. A horde of Huns, or proto-Bulgars, crossed the frozen Danube and advanced into the Balkans