Mitropolia e Beratit në shekuj

Abstract

The Metropolitanate of Berat originates from the apostolic years. The southern branch of the Egnatia Road passed through Apollo at the station the Romans called Clodiana. The Christianization of Apollonia is thought to have been done in the first century after Christ by the apostle Paul, who handed Marin to the episcopal rank. In the Codex of the Jerusalem Library, Marini is ranked 56th after St. Qesar, the bishop of Durrës. At the time of Diocletian, in the c. II AD the city of Berat was included in the province of New Epirus. In the 5th century, Pulqeria, the sister of Theodos the Great, ascended the throne of the Byzantine Empire. She married the elder Marcian and they visited the city of Antipatrea (Beratin), which she baptized with her name Πουλχεριούπολις (Pulqeriopolis), which means the city of Pulqueria. In 860 Berat was engulfed by the first wave of the Bulgarian invasion, which lasted until 927. Despite the invasion by the barbarians, the population continued to preserve the Christian faith. The greatness of Christianity in the lands of Illyria made even the Bulgarian conquerors embrace the Christian religion. After this year, Byzantine rule returned to Berat, which continued until 969. After this year, the second wave of the Bulgarian invasion began, which continued until 1018. At this time, the Bulgarians called Berat Belgrade, which means city of white. In the letter that the Pope of Rome John XII sends to Boris of the Bulgarians, he appreciates Belgrade as an important episcopal seat. While Theophylact of Ohrid appreciates the bishop of Berat as "a man who shines with knowledge". With the establishment of the Archbishopric of Ohrid in 1020, Berat came under the jurisdiction of this bishopric. With the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1204, Berat became one of the most important seats of the Despotate of Epirus. In 1417, Berat was conquered by the Ottomans during the reign of Sultan Mehmet Ngadhenjimtar. Berat got its name in 1431, at the time of the Ottoman occupation. So first it was called Antipatrea, then Pulqeriopolis, Belgrade and finally Berat.