Kiril Peychinovich

Kiril Peychinovich or Kiril Pejčinović (, , , Church Slavonic: Күриллъ Пейчиновићь; – 12 March 1845) was a Bulgarian cleric and writer. He was one of the early figures of the Bulgarian National Awakening.

Life

Peychinovich was born in the large Polog village of Tearce in the Ottoman Empire (present-day North Macedonia) in 1771. He studied in the nearby village of Lešok. Together with his father Peychin and his uncle Dalmant, he went to Mount Athos, at the monastery of Hilandar, where all three became monks. In 1801, he became abbot of Marko's Monastery near Skopje. Peychinovich wrote in the Tetovo dialect and with less Church Slavonicisms than fellow contemporary Yoakim Karchovski. His Sermon for the Holidays (Slovo za praznicite) was written in a vernacular with a high amount of Turkisms, although there are many Church Slavonic words. According to Slavist Peter Hill, his purpose was to promote religious works among believers, thus Peychinovich's aims were religious, rather than linguistic. With his teachings, he wanted, among other things, to protect his readers from so-called superstition, i.e. from non-Christian mythical beliefs and rituals. Futhermore, in his letter to Miloš Obrenović, he mentions that he dared to address him "out of spiritual love and our Serbian fatherland", after which he invokes the prayers of Serbian saints, just as he does at the end of his "Ogledalo". Per Blaže Koneski, these details demonstrate that he and his contemporaries lacked a clear sense of national belonging. It was printed in 1816 in Budapest. Apart from defining his language as Bulgarian, he defined the region he lived in as Lower Moesia. At the end of the book, he honoured Serbian saints Simeon and Sava. In the third letter, Peychinovich wrote that he dared to address the Serbian prince "because of spiritual love and our Serbian fatherland". The book was sent to Kragujevac to be printed, The Metropolitanate of Belgrade also disliked the simple terms that Peychinovich used about divine matters. At the beginning of 1836, Peychinovich was informed that his book will not be published.

Epitaph

In 1835, Peychinovich composed an epitaph for himself, which was engraved on his tombstone.

(Tearce is his birth Prechista and Hilendar monasticism Leshok is his upbringing Under the slab his resting From his own departure Until the second coming of Christ I beg you, his beloved brothers Whoever wants to read this Say that God would forgive him Because at the grave worms visited him)

Овде лежи Кирилово тело У манастир и у Лешок село Да Бог за доброе дело In North Macedonia, he is considered an ethnic Macedonian and a founder of modern Macedonian literature. Bulgarian critics consider such statements to be a , noting that claims that he was one of the to print directly contradict Peychinovich's own words that he was writing . In Serbia, he is considered as a Serbian cleric and writer.

Peychinovich's remains were reburied four times. His original tombstone was hidden from the Serbian army during the First Balkan War and then returned after the war, until it was replaced with one in Macedonian in 1967 and moved to the memorial room in Lešok Monastery. His grave was partially damaged during the armed conflict in 2001 but it was renewed. In October 2022, he was canonised by the Macedonian Orthodox Church as a saint under the name Kiril Lešočki, setting 25 March as the day of celebration. In response, Bulgarian historian Plamen Pavlov referred to his canonisation as a as deeply disrespectful of Peychinovich's real life and work and bordering on blasphemy, given that Thou shalt not lie and Thou shalt not steal are among the core tenets of Christianity.

References and notes