John of Debar (Bulgarian:Йоан Дебърски;fl. 1018–1037) was an 11th-centuryBulgarianclergyman.[1] He was a bishop underEmperor Samuel of Bulgaria.[2] According toSrđan Pirivatrić he became the last Bulgarian patriarchDavid in 1016.[3] He remained in office, becoming the firstArchbishop of Ohrid, after the fall of theFirst Bulgarian Empire toByzantium.[4] When in 1018 EmperorBasil II managed toconquer Bulgaria, he issued a decree to downgrade the Patriarchate of theBulgarian Orthodox Church to theArchbishopric of Ohrid, which remained autocephalous and corresponded to the newly formedtheme of Bulgaria. John was chosen to be the first Archbishop of Ohrid by Basil II.[5][6] According to 17th-century French historiandu Cange, John was born in a village around the town ofDebar in todayNorth Macedonia and had been ahegumen in a Debar monastery.[7] He remained head of the Archbishopric until his death in 1037.[5]
John of Debar is canonized as a saint by theBulgarian Orthodox Church as Saint David of Bulgaria and is commemorated on June 26th.[8]
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