On this day, we celebrate the holiday dedicated to St. Clement of Ohrid (around 840 AD - 916 AD), teacher, saint and spiritual leader of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. This first Slavic bishop in the Balkans was a speaker, translator, and progenitor of Slavic literature and sermons. As a student of the All-Slavic brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius, he participated in their mission among the Khazars and in Moravia, and then founded the Ohrid School, or in science known as the "First Slavic University", through which about 3500 students passed.
In the "Short hagiography" written by Dimitar Homatian about Saint Clement, it is said that he "invented other forms of letters with clarity than those invented by the wise Cyril.” Based on this, scientists conclude that St. Clement is the creator of the Cyrillic alphabet, and he established the first monastery library in Ohrid in the monastery "St. Panteleimon", thus becoming the founder of librarianship in these areas. In honor of the saint, in our country many institutions and facilities bear his name because in this way the memory of his work is preserved in the collective memory of the generations. With his personal dedication in several fields (ecclesiastical, educational, literary) he is worthy not only of the Macedonian people but also of all nations that use the Cyrillic alphabet. The words of St. Clement were aimed at the ethical ennoblement of human behavior. He asked “with humility and non-hypocrisy, with true love to respect one another”. By Decision of the Assembly in 2007, December 8, was declared a public holiday for all citizens.
