The supervision of the church of Thessaloniki on the Greek orthodox community of Veles in 1876

No abstract The Greek orthodox community of Veles was the most northerly centre of Macedonian Hellenism on the borders between Macedonia and Dardania. The life of this community during the second half of the 19th century was trou­ bled because of considerable interplay of various national movements during this period, as a result of which the community felt the need of special protection and supervision. This supervision was put in the hands of the Church of Thessaloniki in 1876 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The study remarks on the connection between Thessaloniki and Veles on ecclesiastical and national matters.In the first part new information is given concerning the Christian and Mussulman inhabitants of Veles. According to the official records of the town and administrative area of Veles in 1878 the Greek community was over 2.000 strong (903 families). The second part discusses the process of the official re­ cognition of the supervision of the Diocese of Thessaloniki on the greek orthodox Community of Veles. The third separates for discussion three particular matters of primary importance to religious and national history in the support given by the Church of Thessaloniki for the public and private concerns of the inhabitants in Veles during the period 1876-1913: i) the ecclesia­ stical and religious life of the community, ii) the smooth running of the various educational establishments, and iii) the continual confrontation of foreign propagandas, especially Bulgarian, Serbian, and Rumanian. In this part there is special mention of the activities of the Metropolitans of Dibar and Veles Anthimos (1880-1887), Methodios (1887-1891), Anthimos (1881-1900,) Poly- karpos (1900-1907) and Parthenios (1907-1913).In the fourth and final section twelve letters are published for the first time, from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Metropolitans of Debar and Veles and the Council of elders of Veles, to be found in files N°s 22 and 60 of the historical archives of the Diocese of Thessaloniki