Sigillion of Despot Alexius Slav

Those who desire the well-being of temporal things and busy and delight themselves about transient and perishable matters quickly come to an end and pass away like a dream. But those who, together with well-being, care also for spiritual goods and love the beauty of the house of the Lord and the place where His glory dwells — according to David the Psalmist — will make their own glory abundant and will find some small gain for the soul. For He will not be deceived who said: “The Lord says: I will glorify those who glorify Me.”

So we too, after we had moved from Chepino to our possession here, Melnik, desired to raise from the foundations an honourable monastery and to gather in it a company of zealous men, in remembrance and prayer for us and for our parents and for all who think and believe piously; which monastery, by God's will, we swiftly built in one part of Melnik, raising a church and naming it in the name of our most pure Lady the Mother of God Spelaiotissa, and entrusting it to the then monk and archimandrite lord Paul of Claudiopolis, who, having later become a bishop too, left to be abbot in it the present monk Pachomios, called Kokiaris. To this monastery we gave the village called Katunitsa, together with its inhabitants, to hold from then and thereafter with all rights and privileges and with its surroundings and whole domain. Let the monks gathered in it in concord have the whole income from it for the ordering of all their needs and for every other service of theirs, and for the lighting of candles in this divine church and its every other need. In it we also placed holy images, sacred books and vessels, and certain other things and animals, which are to be set out in detail in an inventory — that our state too may have a yearly commemoration and our parents be remembered. Beyond these things we gave the said monastery also a garden in Zagoria, from the church lands, which had earlier been held by the said bishop lord Paul.

Since the monks dwelling in this honourable monastery asked that it be free and unsubject to the bishop and the praktor of the time, we too reckoned this necessary and command by this our sigillion that neither the bishop of the time nor the praktor have authority to enter this village or the monastery to seek anything whatsoever, or to demand any dues, whether for the levy, or for the giving of cattle, or for angaria, or parangaria, or psomozimia, or any other demand and rendering and burden, nor to subject the monks or the inhabitants of this village as liable to any and every fiscal and praktor's rendering. Nor may the bishop have the right to enter and lay hands on this monastery or the said village, advancing as bishop, on canonical grounds or on any other pretext, any demands — unless indeed some spiritual sin has been committed among them — except that, if summoned by the monks, he enter without charge and examine them justly and canonically and go out again without laying hands on anything. Let him, then, have no access to it, but only be commemorated and confirm the abbacy governing this monastery, which after our death is to be named by a ruler's hand an imperial monastery.

Moreover, those who at some time might wish to break the things consecrated and confirmed by us through this our sigillion, and the things that in future may be added by any other persons — whether nobles, or bishops, or boyars, or monks, or laymen, or simply any persons whatsoever — whatever those things may be: let the Judge of all and God repay them with avenging wrath, and let His sword flash justly in the drive of vengeance. For it is a shame and an offence that those who have chosen the more divine and better lot should be harmed and trampled by laymen. This monastery and what is in it is to be called, as was said, the despot's and imperial, and to depend on his (the despot's) person. But the bishop, unless he be my kinsman, may not interfere or claim hereditary rights over it; rather the monks are to hold the inheritance by succession, and to the office of abbot let the worthy man be appointed by the counsel and wish of all, receiving, as was said, confirmation from the bishop of the time. For this, then, having issued, signed and sealed this our present sigillion, we gave it to the monastery for eternal confirmation, in the month of January, the eighth indiction, the year 1220. “Written and signed, Alexius Despot Slav.”