| Summary/Abstract |
This article examines the issue of overlapping national histories in the Balkan setting. It shows how this phenomenon was applied in the construction of master narratives, which was a multifaceted process of nationalizing the past. In this context, it also discusses the multiple nature of the past in order to provide a contribution to the theoretical study of nationalism and ethnic politics. Focusing on the case of the Bulgarians and Greeks in the 19th century, it aims to demonstrate how the common ecclesiastical legacy of the Orthodox community in the Ottoman Empire was perceived by two national activists, Grigor Părlichev and Margaritis Dimitsas, who, for totally different reasons, propagated the restoration of the Archbishopric of Ohrid: the former because he considered it an ecclesiastical institution that promoted Bulgarian nationality in Macedonia, and the latter because he regarded it as the stronghold of Hellenism in the same area.
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