SERBIAN SCRIPTORIUM IN SERRES AND SERBIANBYZANTINE POLITICAL AND CHURCH RELATIONS

The study examines the model of the establishment of a Serbian political, spiritual and scriptural center in Serres during three decades of Serbian rule (1345–1371). The model is considered against two circumstances: historical – the anathema of the Serbian ruler, patriarch and archbishops, and geographical – the proximity of Serres to Mount Athos and the Bulgarian Empire. There are three important focuses of the work: the Four Gospels of Metropolitan Jacob, the books donated to the Sinai monks and the activity of monk Isai in the circle of secular and ecclesiastical aristocracy in Serres. By pointing out certain characteristics of the book of Metropolitan Jacob, the unique program of the Serbian ruler and the Serbian church is sketched. Although exceptional individuals dedicated to literature stayed in Serres, the connection with the scriptoria on Mount Athos and those in the central part of the Serbian Empire raises the question to what extent we can speak of the existence of a developed Slavic scriptorium in Serres.