Saint John Vladimir's Church

St. Jovan Vladimir's Church
Native name
Kisha e Shën Gjon Vladimirit (Albanian)
LocationShijon
Coordinates41°07′06″N 20°01′21″E / 41.118333°N 20.0225°E / 41.118333; 20.0225

Saint Jovan Vladimir's Church (Albanian: Kisha e Shën Gjon Vladimirit) is a church in Shijon, Elbasan County, Albania. It is dedicated to the Dukljan prince and saint Jovan Vladimir, the son-in-law of the Bulgarian Tsar Samuil. It became a Cultural Monument of Albania in 1948.[1] The first temple is the oldest large Orthodox basilica from the times of Tsar Samuil, rebuilt as present church by the Thopia family in 1381.[2] Karl Thopia, the Prince of Albania, passed away in 1388 and was buried in Saint John Vladimir's Church.[3]

During the 18th century Kostandin Shpataraku painted the walls of the church.[4] 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; the manuscript is also notable for being the only document in the Albanian Elbasan script.[5] Later on, in the late 18th and early 19th century, the monastery became an important center for writing the Albanian language in another original script known as the Todhri alphabet.

  1. ^ "Religious buildings with the "Culture Monument" status". Republic of Albania National Committee for Cult. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  2. ^ Anamali, Skënder (2002), Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime (in Albanian), vol. I, Botimet Toena, p. 294, OCLC 52411919
  3. ^ E. Jacques, Edwin (2009). The Albanians: An Ethnic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present - Volume 1. McFarland & Company. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-7864-4238-6. ...Upon his death in 1388, Karl was buried in the monastery of St. John which he had built in Elbasan...
  4. ^ Zeqo, Moikom (22 May 2006). "Gjeniu më shqiptar i ikonografisë Kostandin Shpataraku". Koha Jone (in Albanian). Nikolle Leska. pp. 10–11.
  5. ^ Elsie, Robert (1995). "The Elbasan Gospel Manuscript ("Anonimi i Elbasanit"), 1761, and the Struggle for an Original Albanian Alphabet" (PDF). Südost-Forschungen. 54. Regensburg, Germany: Südost-Institut. ISSN 0081-9077.