Life
Saint Naum of Ohrid, wonderworker and enlightener of the Slavic south, was one of the closest and most faithful disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius. His origin has not been established with complete certainty — tradition connects him to the Slavic tribe of the Brsjaci from the region around Ohrid and Prespa — but it is beyond doubt that from the earliest days of his missionary life he was at the side of the holy brothers, sharing with them all the labors and joys of apostolic work.
Naum participated in the great Moravian mission — he accompanied the holy brothers to Great Moravia in 863 and was a witness to the birth of Slavic literacy and worship in the vernacular language. After Cyril’s death in Rome (869) and Methodius’s continuation of the mission in Moravia, Naum remained with his teacher to the end. After Methodius’s death (885) the Frankish bishops expelled his disciples from Moravia, suppressing the Slavic Liturgy. Naum was expelled together with Clement of Ohrid and the other disciples.
The expelled disciples arrived in the Bulgarian Empire, where Tsar Boris-Michael received them with honor. Naum spent the first years in Preslav and Pliska, instructing the Bulgarian clergy and spreading Slavic literacy and liturgical tradition. Not until around 893 to 900 did Naum move to Ohrid — by then under the protection of the Bulgarian Empire — where Clement of Ohrid had been installed as the first Slavic bishop.
On the shore of Lake Ohrid, at the place still called Sveti Naum today, Naum built a monastery dedicated to the Holy Archangels, which remains to this day one of the most significant sanctuaries of Slavic Orthodoxy. From that monastery he continued an intensive missionary and enlightening activity — he instructed the clergy and monks, copied and multiplied church books, performed works of charity, and healed the sick. Tradition attributes to him numerous miracles, especially the healing of the mentally ill, which is why the faithful still come to his relics today seeking healing of soul and body.
Naum reposed on December 23, 910, in his monastery, surrounded by his brother-monks to whom he had given the monastic image and planted the name of God in their souls. He was buried in the monastery itself, and above his tomb a multitude of miracles soon began to appear, so that the Church quickly proceeded to his glorification.
Saint Naum, alongside Clement of Ohrid, is the pillar of the Slavic Orthodox south. Together they constitute a pair of heirs of the enlightening heritage of Cyril and Methodius in the Macedonian and Serbian lands. The Archbishopric of Ohrid — the spiritual mother of the Serbian Church — cannot be conceived without Naum’s monastic and enlightening labor.
Naum is the patron of all those seeking healing from mental illness and of all who have lost the strength of faith. The monastery of Sveti Naum on the shore of Lake Ohrid is a place of pilgrimage for Orthodox faithful from across the region and one of the most beautiful and peaceful monastic complexes in the Balkans.
Tropar (Tone 4)
O holy God-wise Father Naum, enlightener of the Slavs, bearing the monastic image and shining as a servant of Christ with miracles — by thy life and teachings strengthen the Church, intercede with Christ God to save our souls.
Kontakion (Tone 2)
O blessed Father Naum, enlightening star, disciple of Cyril and Methodius — thou didst found a monastery on the water and through it gained heavenly riches. Intercede with Christ God, the enlightener of the Slavs, for all who come to thee in faith.