The Church Holy Mary Perybleptos in the old part of Ohrid city near the Upper Gate was built before 1295 and is the oldest and most beautiful church in this city. The church was built by Progon Zgur who was a son-in-law of the Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II Palaiologus.
During the Turkish rule when St. Clement’s church St. Panteleimon was converted into a mosque, the relics of St. Clement were transferred to the church of Holy Mary Perybleptos, so the locals began to call this church St. Clement.
When later the biggest Ohrid church of St. Sofia was converted into a mosque, the church of St. Clement (Holy Mary Perybleptos) became a cathedral of the Ohrid Archbishopric and in it were moved a large number of icons, books, manuscripts, and ecclesiastical objects.
* Under the name St. Clement the church was known until 2002 when after the construction of the church dedicated to the Sts. Clement and Panteleimon on Plaoshnik, the relics of St. Clement were transferred to the new temple, and the church again received again its original name.
The base of the church Holy Mary Perybleptos is in form of an inscribed cross, and above the central part, there is a dome whose tomb is held on four pillars. On the east side, the church ends with an altar apse.
This church is among the most important medieval monuments in Macedonia, due to its frescoes created by two famous medieval painters: Mihailo and Evtihij.
Within the church complex especially interesting are the Gallery of icons, the grave of Grigor Prlichev, and the bell tower which is a donation from the famous scientist – Mihajlo Pupin. In the immediate vicinity of the church is the headquarters of the Debar-Kicevo eparchy of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
