St. Jovan Vladimir's Church

St. Jovan Vladimir's Church
Native name
Albanian: Kisha e Shën Joan Vladimirit
Location Shijon
Coordinates 41°07′06″N 20°01′21″E / 41.118333°N 20.0225°ECoordinates: 41°07′06″N 20°01′21″E / 41.118333°N 20.0225°E
Cultural Monument of Albania

St. Jovan Vladimir's Church (Albanian: Kisha e Shën Joan Vladimirit) is a church in Shijon, Elbasan County, Albania. It is dedicated to the son in law of the Bulgarian Tsar Samuil - Saint Jovan Vladimir. It became a Cultural Monument of Albania in 1948.[1] The first temple is the oldest large tzar Samuil times orthodox basilica, rebuilt as present church by the Topia family in 1381.[2] During the 18th century Kostandin Shpataraku painted the walls of the church.[3]

An Orthodox monastery grew around the church, and became the seat of the newly founded Archdiocese of Dyrrhachium in the 18th century. Gregory of Durrës, the archbishop of Dyrrhachium from 1768 to 1772, wrote there the Elbasan Gospel Manuscript, the oldest work of Albanian Orthodox literature.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Religious buildings with the "Culture Monument" status". Republic of Albania National Committee for Cult. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  2. ↑ Anamali, Skënder (2002), Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime (in Albanian) I, Botimet Toena, p. 294, OCLC 52411919
  3. ↑ Zeqo, Moikom (22 May 2006). "Gjeniu më shqiptar i ikonografisë Kostandin Shpataraku". Koha Jone (in Albanian) (Nikolle Leska). pp. 10–11.
  4. ↑ Elsie, Robert (1995), "The Elbasan Gospel Manuscript ("Anonimi i Elbasanit"), 1761, and the Struggle for an Original Albanian Alphabet" (PDF), Südost-Forschungen (Regensburg, Germany: Südost-Institut) 54, ISSN 0081-9077