Historical figure Clement of Ohrid

St Clement of Ohrid was a distinguished Bulgarian scholar and the first bishop to preach in Old Bulgarian. He founded the Ohrid Literary School and is honoured by Orthodox Christians as one of the Seven Saints associated with the Slavic mission.

According to the lives of Cyril and Methodius, Clement had been Methodius's pupil from his youth. If 'youth and adolescence' means the ages of sixteen to eighteen, their acquaintance would date to about 856–858. He became Methodius's pupil in a monastery on Mount Olympus in Bithynia. Soon after Methodius arrived, his brother Constantine, later known as Cyril, joined them.

The ruler Simeon summoned Clement to Preslav and appointed him bishop. According to Theophylact, he was the first bishop to serve in the Bulgarian language. The location of his diocese remains debated: proposed sites include central or southern Macedonia and the western slopes of the Rhodopes. He nevertheless maintained links with the monastery he had founded in Ohrid.

As bishop, Clement continued educating local clergy and promoting Bulgarian. He also encouraged the planting of new varieties of trees. He may have belonged to Cyril and Methodius's linguistic circle and contributed to creating the Slavic alphabet, particularly given his knowledge of Old Bulgarian and Greek.