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Republic of Macedonia
The Macedonian Language
The official language in the Republic of Macedonia
Language is one of the most important features of a people. As for the Macedonian people and its state are concerned, language is of extreme significance and offers confirmation of their historical continuity. Apart from being the official language in the Republic of Macedonia, Macedonian is spoken and cherished in many European countries, the United States, Canada and Australia, wherever Macedonians live. It is also the mother tongue and a language of everyday communication in those parts of the Balkan states populated by ethnic Macedonians , like Aegean in north Greece, Pirian in southwestern Bulgaria, Mala Prespa and Golo Brdo in southeastern Albania and in Serbia.
As the official language of the Republic of Macedonia, Macedonian is written using its Cyrillic alphabet. The Macedonian literary standard is a modern European language, which according to its characteristics is different from the neighboring and other Slavic and non-Slavic languages.
Macedonian is an Indo-European language from the family of Slavic languages belonging to the South-Slavic group. At the same time, it is a Balkan language. It is interesting to mention that there are instances in the world when two or more nations have a common language, and vice versa, when some nations have two languages. The Macedonian nation, however, is in this respect like the majority of nations in the world - its members have a separate language. This fact creates a feeling of independence in every member of the Macedonian nation and represents a significant contribution in the construction of Macedonian national consciousness.
The historical development of the Macedonian language dates back to the 9th century AD when Slavonic literacy began with a standard Macedonian language. The modern codification of the Macedonian literary language was as late as 1944, although from the 1860s onwards, attempts were made at creating a general Macedonian literary standard.
The Macedonian language has a rich history and has played a key role in the development of the spiritual culture, creative activity and the preservation of the distinctive national identity of the Macedonians. It developed from the dialect of the South Slavs who deeply penetrated the Balkan Peninsula. It has common features with the Bulgarian dialects to the east and Serbian dialects to the north. Located in the Slavic linguistic periphery within the sphere of Greek-Byzantine civilization and Roman-Balkan culture, Macedonian preserves numerous archaic features, such as the use of imperfect and aorist, and has made a number of innovations.
Today it occupies a central position on the Balkan Peninsula. It has common borders with Albanian, Greek and the Turkish spoken in Thrace, which makes possible the inclusion of a large number of Balkan characteristics into the Macedonian language. Some of the more characteristic Balkan features of Macedonian are the postpositive article, analytic declination (the loss of case forms), double object, da-constructions, kje-constructions, constructions with ima/nema, constructions with sum + deverbative, etc.
The grammatical structure of Macedonian was chiefly stabilized during the 15th century. The modern Macedonian literary standard is based on the central variants of the western dialect, west of the River Vardar, even though it contains features from the eastern dialect, to the east of the Vardar. A characteristic feature of the Macedonian literary standard is the three-syllable accent (the accent always falls on the third syllable from the end in words of three syllables or more), and the clear pronunciation of unaccented vowels.
As we have already mentioned, starting from the 9th century and the foundation of the well-known Ohrid Literary School, the standard Macedonian language was used in written documents for a long period: until the 11th century in the Glagolitic, and after that in the Cyrillic script. Of old written documents (until the 13th century), we should mention Dobromir's Gospel, the Ohrid Apostle (Work of the Apostles), the Slepche Apostle, Dobrejsho's Gospel, the Macedonian Gospel of Priest John, the Dechani Gospel, the Vraneshnica Apostle, Pogodin's Psalter, the Bologna Psalter, Radomir's Gospel and the Strumica Apostle.
The phonetic principle has been applied in contemporary orthography, which means that there is a separate letter for each sound, so that the Macedonian alphabet has 31 letters. The period since 1944 has led to a swift development and comprehensive affirmation of the Macedonian literary language within the country and abroad. The first grammar was published by Krume Kepeski in 1946. A detailed grammar in two volumes was published by Blazhe Koneski in 1952 (Volume 1) and 1954 (Volume 2), while the first Macedonian grammar by a foreign scholar was published by H. Lunt in 1952. An abundant literature has been written in Macedonian in all fields, while in the fields of linguistics, a comprehensive Dictionary of the Macedonian Language and many bilingual dictionaries have been prepared. A large number of works, from classical literature up to the contemporary literature of many people, have been translated into Macedonian.
There are a number of institutions in the Republic of Macedonia where the Macedonian Language has been studied. Macedonian is taught as a subject in several university centres in the world, at the appropriate faculties in Moscow, Voronyezh, Minsk, Ivanovo, Warsaw, Krakow, Katowice, Lodz, Krajova, Prague, Vienna, Halle, Lund, Paris, Naples, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Bradford, Portland, Budapest, Istanbul and Toronto. Munich, Regensburg, Zurich, Cologne, Cannes, Brno, Bucharest, Harvard, Chicago, New York, Nanking, Klagenfurt, Trieste, Bratislava, St. Petersburg, Kansas, Syracuse, Ohio and Canberra. Macedonian is being taught in all universities of the former Yugoslavia.
Findings from the study of the Macedonian language have been published in specialized editions. A large number of scholarly papers from the field of Macedonian studies have been published by Macedonian and foreign authors.
There are thirty-one sounds in the Macedonian language. In the Macedonian Cyrillic alphabet, there is one symbol for each sound, that is, there are as many letters as sounds (31), making it completely phonetic. Spelling in Macedonian does not present any difficulties since there is one symbol for each sound. Thus, Macedonian is surely one of the easiest languages to learn to read and write.
St. Clement of Ohrid
St. Clement of Ohrid, the City Patron
St. Clement of Ohrid was the best student of St. Cyril and Methodius, who moved on with their work. He was founder of the Slavic literacy and culture in Macedonia, also founder of the first Slavic university in Ohrid. St. Clement of Ohrid is the first Slavic writer.
St. Clement of Ohrid was in the row of those students of St. Cyril and Methodius who helped them in the mission of Moravia all to Rome. After the mission in Rome, he helped St. Methodius in his work in Moravia and Panonia and later he helped him in defensive way against the attacks of the Latin-German priests. After the death of St. Methodius St. Clement, St. Naum, Angelarius and St. Sava were in a get a way position from Moravia. After a long period of torturing they arrived in Pliska. They were welcomed by the bulgarian comes. But the stay in Pliska wasn't long. As soon as possible St. Clement went in the area called Kutmičevica. The love felt to the native country made him to leave Pliska and to go in Macedonia.
In Kutmičevica he stayed 7 years, from 886 to 893, as a teacher with duty of checking the church work. Here in the area of Kutmičevica, in Ohrid, St. Clement helped by his friend St. Naum established the first university of the Slavs and also of the Balkans, the Ohrid Literary School. The legend says around 3.000 students, who later became excellent teachers and priests. This success of St. Clement is - The First Slavic University. In the Ohrid literary school has been established rich school and literacy work. Himself, St. Clement has wrote around 50 arts, and also writer was and St. Naum. Their work was moved on later after their death by their students. One of the most important arts written in this school is "O Pismemeh" (on English - On Letters).
The fundamental characteristics of the Ohrid Literary School are:
1. Keeping of the St. Cyril and Methodius art; 2. Use of the Glagolithic alphabet (first Slavic alphabet); 3. Honest keeping of language on which St. Cyril and Methodius translated the first Slavic books and in which there is the base of language of the Macedonian Slavs; 4. Offensive play against the Greek language and also against the Hellenization of the Slavic population.
In 893 AD, bigger part of Macedonia went in the borders of Bulgaria, the bulgarian comes Simeon called a meeting so the question of the church and the language to be solved. After the voting procedure the majority voted for main language in Bulgaria to be the Slavic. But because Simeon was afraid if takes the Slavic language as official that he may start an reaction at Byzantine he said, Clement would make some changes at the alphabet. But from the opposite side St. Clement wanted the work of St. Cyril and Methodius to stay as it was made, by them originally. Because of all this St. Clement got back in Ohrid to do his vise-episcope work, joined by his friend St. Naum, who took his teachers place. St. Clement moved on with his work to organized the church and to spread the the work of the Ohrid School. During his work he had several not pleasure events made by the episcope Gavril who was by nationality Greek. After a short period he stop working. Tired of the hard work that he has done during his life he died in Ohrid in 916 AD. He was berried in the monastery St. Pantelejmon built by him, where he spent his last moments of his life
The Life and work of St. Naum of Ohrid
On December 25, 1970, by the Julian calendar, and January 5, 1971, by the Gregorian, it was exactly 1060 years since the death of St. Naum Ohridski (St. Naum of Ohrid). After Clement of Ohrid he was the most consistent and worthy of the pupils of the Salonica brothers Cyril and Methodius, a personality who devoted his whole being to the work of establishing Slav literacy and who was one of the founders of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
For over one thousand years he remained almost unnoticed and uncelebrated, just as he lived in the service of his people and the Church to which he belonged as a modest monk and great educator. The political and socio-religious conditions under which the Macedonian nation lived for much of this period and till recently, did not allow them to pay due tribute to their great men.
The enormous historical importance of the work of Ss. Cyril and Methodius naturally overshadowed the activity of their followers somewhat. Among the latter, however, St. Clement of Ohrid stands apart as the recognized and most authentic continuer of their work, so that the other pupils of the Holy Brothers seem of secondary importance.
This, in fact, was the historical fate of the great St. Naum of Ohrid as well. His greatness is unquestionable, for after more than ten and a half centuries, the people and national and church history jealously guard his place, figure and role. However, working in the shadow of the Holy Brothers and Clement, St. Naum of Ohrid has always been mentioned in fourth place in order of importance of those who engaged in the far-reaching task of creating Slav literacy and culture.
Now, however, on the occasion of the 1060th anniversary of his death, the Slav peoples, and above all the Macedonian nation, have a moral and historical duty to express their admiration and gratitude for his work. The reason for this is not simply pious respect, but because the work of St. Naum of Ohrid has been extremely significant in preserving Slavic, and particularly Macedonian, identity. It should also be mentioned that St. Naum was born in Macedonia, that he was active among the Slav peoples of Moravia and Panonia, and that he returned to his native land to spend tile last years of his life in intensive work there, wishing by this to repay debt to his own people in Macedonia.
St. Methodius and his students. St. Naum is depicted first from left, next to St. Clement Just as the Holy Brothers, Cyril and Methodius endured many hardships in their educational-missionary work, so their followers trod the same martyr’s path of suffering. St. Naum of Ohrid was no exception. In fact, from the departure for Moravia in 862 until the deaths of Cyril (869) and Methodius (885), Naum, together with Clement and the other pupils, was inseparable from his teachers. But their most difficult and fateful moment was after the death of Methodius, for, under the influence of German churchmen, the Franks attacked the pupils. And then, in the words of Clement of Ohrid’s biographer:
"Soldiers, stern men because they were Germans and by nature fierce, their fierceness being increased by their orders, took the priests, led them out of the town, pulled off their clothes and began to drag them along naked. Thus by one act they did them two wrongs: dishonored them and tortured them in the icy fog, which had descended on the Danube banks. Besides this, they put their swords against their heads, ready to cut them, and their spears against their breasts, ready to make them bleed, so they would not die a sudden death..."
"Subjected to cruel torture, some of the pupils succumbed, while the others, among them particularly Gorazd, Clement, Naum, Sava and Angelarius, were declared excommunicate by Bishop Vihing. Their books were seized or burnt. The younger pupils (about 200) were sold as slaves, while these five were driven out of the country."
On the way home to Macedonia, Clement, Naum and Angelarius (who died shortly after), stopped for a short time at Pliska in Bulgaria, at the request of the Bulgarian prince, Boris. There was great interest in them as followers of the Holy Brothers and they were very warmly welcomed here, being asked to stay to continue their educational work. Not wasting any time, Clement and Naum, aware of how much they had lost by the destruction of their books in Moravia, used this short break to write and translate service books from Greek into the Old Slav language.
Against the wishes of Prince Boris that they should remain in Pliska, Clement and Naum tried to set out for their native land as soon as possible. However, when Boris found that he could not hold both, he made the condition that if Clement went, Naum should remain. This was a very painful moment for the two inseparable teachers (some historians even consider that they may have been brothers), but they had no choice: if Clement was to go. Naum had to stay.
Although their biographers have not given us very precise details about the birthplace of Clement and Naum, most historian consider that it was in Macedonia, on the middle reaches of the River Vardar, near its confluence with the Bregalnica, or in the surroundings of Lake Ohrid. This is supported by a number of factors, one of them being their desire to go to Macedonia after the Moravian mission with Cyril and Methodius. Another biographer, however, says only: "That great and good Father Naum grew up in Moesia." Their Macedonian Slav origin, though, has not so far been questioned.
St. Naum is believed to have been born in 835 and to have been Clement’s inseparable companion from the earliest youth. As disciples of the Holy Brothers, they set out for Moravia together, worked as missionaries and suffered together there, and intended to work together when they returned to Macedonia. It was no wonder, then, that they were greatly moved when the time came for them to part, Clement setting off for Devol-Kutmicevica while Naum remained at Pliska.
At Devol-Kutmicevica, among his own people, Clement successfully continued the educational work of his teachers. Devol, Glavnica and Ohrid, the seat of Clement’s university, soon became centers at which very learned men — deacons and subdeacons, presbyters and monks — gained their education. Thus, this region in Macedonia became a true cradle of Slav education and culture.
And while Clement was engaged in the fruitful work, which earned him the indebtedness of the Macedonians and other Slav nations, his friend Naum was occupied with similar educational activity for which he had become famous in Pliska. In the monastery of St. Panteleimon he managed to gather around him and impart elementary and more advanced knowledge to a large number of young men. He thus became the founder of the famous Preslav educational center in Bulgaria.
St. Clement of Ohrid In scholarship and ability St. Naum of Ohrid was almost the equal of St. Clement, as can be seem from the fact that Constantine the Philosopher (St. Cyril) chose him, together with Clement, to accompany him to Moravia. Among the large number (over 200) of disciples of Cyril and Methodius, Naum, Clement, Gorazd, Sava and Angelarius were always set apart from the others, both by their teachers and by their enemies. For it is well known that while the rest of the Holy Brothers’ followers were sold as slaves, these five were imprisoned, tortured and finally driven from Moravia. And then came the moment when Clement wanted to leave for Macedonia and when Prince Boris determined to keep Naum:
"Clement long followed in Methodius’ footsteps and acquired his mastery of both preaching and writing in the Slav language. I part from him with sorrow. But his companion Naum will remain with us, and that is some consolation, for Naum is just as much a master of Slav scholarship. And Naum, like an eagle, will gather the young under his wings and continue with them the work already begun."
When Clement was nominated the first Slav bishop in the Balkans in 893, he made his acceptance of Episcopal office before Prince Simeon (son of Boris) conditional upon Naum’s return to Macedonia:
"Allow Father Naum to come with me (said Clement to Prince Simeon). If it please the Lord, for the good of the people, that I should take up a bishop’s staff, who will continue my teaching at Kutmicevica? Only Naum could do that."
It is not accidental that St. Naum is referred to during the liturgy by the expression "light of all the people of Moesia". According to some versions, it is assumed that St. Naum of Ohrid was in fact the author of the work of Crnorizec Hrabar (this view is held by the Czech Slavonic scholar Milosh Vajner and is cited by Blazhe Koneski in his work "The Ohrid Literary School"). It is well known, however, that Hrabar’s apology is the most clearly reasoned defense of Cyril’s work, not only as a continuation of the struggle against trilingualism, but as a protest against the Grecophile party, which aimed to impose its wishes with regard to the alphabet as well as gain control of church life.
During his seven-year stay (885-893) in Pliska, in the monastery of St. Panteleimon, Presbyter Naum managed to make literate and train many young men. He also translated a number of service books from Greek into Slavic. This was very important in view of the Fact that after the death of Methodius, the Franks destroyed all the Slav hooks, which the Holy Brothers and their followers had translated.
In 893, these two great men finally achieved their wish: Prince Simeon was obliged to let Naum go. Naum, now a bishop, returned to Macedonia together with Clement. While Bishop Clement was occupied with his duties of office in the Great Eparchy (thought to have covered the district of Kutmicevica which included, besides Ohrid, Devol and Glavinica, the towns of Kichevo, Prilep, Bitola, Prespa, Meglen, Voden, Kostur, Janina and others), Naum became the head of Clement’s university at Devol.
With the experience he had gained in educational activity during his stay in Moravia and in Bulgaria, Naum was able to replace Clement completely. True, he was now no longer alone. Inseparable since early childhood, Naum and Clement spent the last years of their fruitful hives together. As a result of their work, 3,500 pupils passed through this first Slavic university, whose curriculum was very wide: singing, Slav oratory, translation of books from Greek to Slavic, law, civil and ecclesiastical history, the study of nature, philosophy, medicine, etc.
However, Naum’s health was failing him, so he remained at the head of Clement’s university for only a few years. Wishing to spend the end of his days in peace and prayer, he arranged with Clement for the building of the monastery of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (now St. Naum of Ohrid). And while Naum was building his monastery at the source of the River Drim, below Mt. Galichica, Bishop Clement was building his — the monastery of St. Panteleimon (now the Imaret) — on the other side of the Lake, in Ohrid. According to the work known as "the second life of Naum", Presbyter Naum completed his monastery in 905, and Bishop Clement consecrated it.
The Monastery of St. Naum of Ohrid Shortly after, St. Naum took monastic vows and retired to his monastery, where he spent the rest of his file in peace, solitude and prayer. This act has been linked with the spread of monasticism in Macedonia, for which Naum is considered responsible. Having spent his last years in the service of God and his people, Naum of Ohrid died in his monastery on December 23 (January 5), 910. After the funeral conducted by Bishop Clement, he was buried in the monastery, and the relics of this worthy and great educator have remained there ever since
When Naum retired to his monastery, Clement transferred the teaching center from Devol to Ohrid. There, under his direct leadership, it continued to expand.
As a mark of his great affection for Naum, Bishop Clement, withdrawing into his monastery, where he spent his last years, wrote a panegyric upon the patrons of Naum’s monastery, the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, which, together with the famous panegyric upon St. Cyril of Salonica, is one of the great treasures inherited from that period.
Clement and Naum’s work and Clement’s university are not simply a continuation of the educational activity of Cyril and Methodius. Following the persecution in Moravia, which led to the destruction of almost all their writings the activity of Clement and Naum meant, in fact, the fulfillment of the mission of bringing enlightenment to the Slavs, or rather, the complete victory of Slav language over the theory of trilingualism. It is to their credit that Ohrid became and remained the "lighthouse" of Slav literacy, a real Slav Jerusalem, as many today consider it.
Many legends have survived about Clement, Naum and the Ohrid of their time. Ohrid was not simply an educational center nor is it just a treasury of great works of art created by human genius throughout the turbulent history of this people; Ohrid is also the place where the relics of these great Slays and Macedonians are preserved. In this way, the people expressed their enduring respect for Naum and Clement and defied the misfortunes that befell them in their history.
When speaking of Clement and Naum, it should certainly not be forgotten that they were the founders of the first Slav-Macedonian bishopric in Ohrid, which preceded the ancient Ohrid Patriarchate and Archbishopric. In the eight centuries of its existence, this institution brought much of benefit and contributed to the preservation of the national spirit of the Macedonian people. This role of the Ohrid Arch-bishopric was of particular importance when the Macedonian people where deprived of their national independence and statehood.
Commemorating the 1060th anniversary of Naum’s death, we recall also the history of the Ohrid Archbishopric, which was abolished in 1767 by Sultan Mustafa III and renewed in 1958 by decision of the Macedonian Church Assembly in Ohrid. In particular we recall July 1967 when in Clement’s town, Ohrid, the Holy Synod proclaimed the Macedonian Orthodox Church autocephalous.
On the anniversary of the death of Naum of Ohrid, the Orthodox of Macedonia and the Macedonian nation are paying due tribute to a great educator. The Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church has proclaimed 1971 a jubilee year, and among other events on the program of the Macedonian Archbishopric, there will be the main celebration in Ohrid on July 3, 1971, the feast day of St. Naum’s monastery. There, beside Naum’s tomb, the dignitaries of the Macedonian autocephalous Church, led by Dositej, Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, will conduct services and give visible expression in other ways to the gratitude and respect felt towards the enduring work of St. Naum of Ohrid.
Goce Delchev
The organized Macedonian national liberation movement emerged by the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, as a consequence of the political, national, economic and cultural oppression of the Macedonian nation, imposed by the social, economic, administrative and legislative crisis of the Turkish empire, and by other foreign states propaganda interfering in Macedonia.
The Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (MRO), became the newly established leader of the Macedonian national liberation and social revolution movement, struggling for national independence and social justice
Those were the turbulent times that created Goce Delchev, the extraordinary visionary and the ideological leader who organized and mobilized the movement.
His brief but brilliant career had been entirely dedicated to the cause of his nation.
Goce Delchev, the son of the Macedonian patriots Nikola and Sultana Delchevi, was bom on February 4th, 1872, in Kukush, a town 35 km north of Salonika. The intellectual development of Goce Delchev was influenced by several formative stages. He completed his elementary education in Kukush, expanded his knowledge through the high school in Salonika, with emphasis on science, literature and social studies, further developing his interest in several scientific disciplines at the Salonika Military Academy. He acquired an impressive amount of information on the Macedonian national affairs within the period. His active role in the political clubs of Salonika and Sofia, and his close contacts with the other ones, especially with the socialist and the "Lozari" clubs from Sofia, greatly contributed to the formation of his revolutionary profile.
Goce Delchev's involvement in the MRO determined the most significant course in the history of the Macedonian national liberation movement. The years between 1894 and 1903 represent the final and most efficient revolutionary sequence of his short life. They comprise of Delchev's public education career as a scholar in Novo Selo (near Shtip) and Bansko (1894-1896), and of his ultimate engagement with the revolutionary cause, pursuing the preparations for the armed uprising of the Macedonian people.
Taking the oath of the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization A decisive meeting of historic importance took place in Shtip, in early November 1894, between Goce Delchev and Dame Gruev, the founder of MRO. By that time, Dame had already witnessed the major impact of Goce upon the mobilized expansion of the movement, its organized network throughout Macedonia, and its animation of the remote rural areas of the entire Macedonian land. The ideal concept of Delchev saw the liberation of Macedonia as an exclusively domestic affair relying on an internally organized uprising, to which any other adverse opinion would be either a self-deceptive or a deceiving one.
A coded letter written by Goce Delchev The coverpage of the
Constitution of the TMORO (Secret Macedonian Odrin Revolutionary Organization The initial significant mission of Goce Delchev into the interior of the Macedonian land was recorded in April of 1895. He accomplished the establishment of local branches of the organization that spread the spirit of freedom widely among the population of the country. Goce's conviction was that the liberation objectives required a further awakening of the national sentiments for patriotic sacrifice, energized by a powerful motivation.
Goce was able to recognize and interpret the fatal danger descending upon Macedonia and coming from the Balkan monarchies and their unscrupulous aspirations for the Macedonian partition, openly promoted by their subversive propaganda. The most aggressive Bulgarian propaganda and its crucial instrument, the destructive fraction called "Vrhovism", became the target of Goce's severe opposition. Continuing his enormous influence, Delchev exercised an updated revision of the revolutionary districts in Macedonia in 1895, by strengthening the borderline ones, by providing adequate contacts for a reliable network, and by appointing branch leadership of the organization. Meanwhile, Goce continued maintaining his conviction that the revolutionary war was to be fought solely by Macedonian forces, that the purity of the liberation movement and of the Organization in particular, was the precondition for the proper outcome, and that Macedonia was to be protected from falling under any foreign domination of, or division between, the neighboring Balkan states. At the First Congress of MRO, in April of 1896, an updated organizational redistricting was introduced, MRO was renamed TMORO (Secret Macedonian Odrin Revolutionary Organization), its new Constitution and Charter adopted (drawn up by Goce Delchev and Gjorche Petrov), and an expatriate branch of TMORO established in Sofia. Goce and Gjorche became the first representatives of its expatriate branch, and assumed all the responsibilities regarding material supplies for the organization, including weapons, ammunition, revolutionary literature, and other publications.
Delchev's correspondence with the TMORO members covers extensive data on supplies, transport and storage of weapons and ammunition in Macedonia. Delchev initiated the idea for an independent production of weapons, which resulted in the bomb manufacturing in the Osogovo Mountains. The plant played a significant role in furthering the self-confidence and self-reliance within the revolutionary movement.
A sample of periodicals dispersed in Macedonia by Goce Delchev
A Macedonian Workshop for weapons at the beginning of the 20th century
Goce Delchev with his unit after a sabotage action near Angista
Goce Delchev accompanied by friends The inclusion of the rural areas into the organizational districts contributed to the expansion of the organization and the increase in its membership, while providing the essential prerequisites for the formation of the military power of the organization, at the same time having Goce Delchev as its military advisor (inspector). Delchev's work-style defied the discrepancy between words and deeds. It was the nature of this attitude that defined him as the majestic revolutionary organizer and ideologist of the national liberation movement.
The justifiable conspiracy period of TMORO was ended by the Vinica Affair of November 1897, when domestic and world opinion was exposed to the facts of TMORO's existence and extent.
That was the time of Delchev's campaign trips across Macedonia, inducing optimism, bright visions and firm confidence in the successful goals of the Macedonian national idea.
Gjorche Petrov, Nikola Maleshevski and Goce Delchev
The unity of the organization was increasingly challenged by the adverse infiltration of the Vrhovism fraction into the revolutionary districts of TMORO, followed by frequent subversions. These developments led to the subsequently reorganized structure of some revolutionary districts, implemented by Delchev during 1900-1902.
The primary question regarding the timing of the uprising in Macedonia implicated an apparent discordance among the representatives, at the Sofia Conference in 1903.
Goce Delchev and his followers kept warning that a premature uprising could be the ultimate crime a leader can inflict upon a nation and its history. The prevention of such a misleading initiative was the main objective of Goce's permanent mobility on the Macedonian territory.
A sample of the press coverage
of Goce Delchev's death On his way to the Congress of the revolutionary district of Ser (nowadays under Greece), that was to be held at Lovchan Grove of Ali Botush, Delchev stopped by the village of Banica. There, on the 4th of May 1903 Goce Delchev encountered his lethal opposition - betrayed and surrounded, he was killed in heroic defense. His tragic death cancelled many far-reaching visions this revolutionary giant identified with, during that period of the Macedonian history.
The death of this apostle of the Macedonian national liberation struggle was a powerful newsmaker for the Turkish government telegram networks, for the diplomatic corps reports in Turkey, and for the European press agencies. Delchev was only 31 when he left the Macedonian historic scene as the most dynamic personality of the Macedonian revolutionary and national liberation movement.
The international, cosmopolitan views of Delchev that elevated him far ahead of his time, could be summarized in his proverbial sentence:
" I understand the world solely as a field for cultural competition among nations".
Krushevo in 1903
Nikola Karev (1877-1905), head of the Krushevo branch of the MRO and president of the Krushevo Republic.
Although Goce Delchev strongly resisted the premature uprising, its date was nevertheless determined at the Smilevo Congress. The uprising was to begin on August 2, 1903, the orthodox Christian holiday of St. Elijah. The entire Macedonian territory got involved in the armed uprising, within which the most intense confrontations took place in the liberation of Neveska, of Klisura and of Krushevo, where the Krushevo Republic was proclaimed by its president, Nikola Karev. The Goce Delchev national liberation
detachment of partisan fighters in 1943 The Ilinden traditions found their expression during the National Liberation War (NOV) in Macedonia. Their climax occurred at the Second Ilinden, when the First Assembly of ASNOM took place on August 2, 1944.
After a mutual agreement between the government of the former federal republic of Macedonia and the Association of the Macedonian Fraternities in Bulgaria, the remains of Goce Delchev were transferred to the People's Republic of Macedonia, on October 10, 1946. The following day, they were solemnly embedded into a marble sarcophagus, displayed in the front yard of the "Sv. Spas" ("Holy Savior") church in Skopje.
Goce Delchev's life epitomizes the virtuous heroism of the proud Macedonian nation. The Macedonian people have been paying an extraordinary tribute and respect to Goce Delchev, expressing them by annual meetings and anniversaries, numerous scientific, folk and popular culture events, and other manifestations of admiration for his history-making personality, for his outstanding efforts.
Delchev's ideals are incorporated in the history of the Macedonian collective conscience perpetuated through the new generations of today. St. Elijah holidays of 1903 and 1944, as well as the 1991 break away of Macedonia from the Yugoslav federation, represent only a partial fulfillment of Goce's long awaited dream for a free and independent state of Macedonia.