The Diocese of Strumica, headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Nahum covers the territory of the Strumica municipality, including the municipalities of the towns Dojran, Berovo, Pehčevo with their parishes.
Today, there are monastic communities under the spiritual guidance of Metropolitan Nahum of Strumica in the monasteries:
- The Most Holy Mother of God Eleusa, village of Veljusa
- St. Leontius, village of Vodoča
- The Holy Archangel Michael, Berovo
- The Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, Berovo
- St. Parthenius of Zographou's monastery complex, Star Dojran
- Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste, village of Bansko
- Sts. Clement and Nahum of Ohrid, Hamzali
- Saint Anthony the Great, Novo Selo
About the diocese
With the return of the monk Nahum from the Gregoriou Monastery of the Holy Mountain , in August 1995, with his enthronement as Strumica Metropolitan a renewal of the entire church and spiritual life in the diocese took place. The ecclesiastical administration and clergy vigilantly have been making efforts to meet the spiritual needs of the devout people. In the last years of the twentieth century, the Strumica diocese became a nursery-garden of the renewed monasticism in the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
Along with the monasteries of the Most Holy Theotokos Eleusa in the village of Veljusa, as a female and of St. Leontius in the village of Vodoča, as a male one, in only seven years (1995–2002) monastic life was renewed in these monasteries: of the Holy Archangel Michael , as a female and of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, as a male one in Berovo; then part of the monastery complex of St. Parthenius of Zographou, as a female monastery in Star Dojran, and the monastery of the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebaste in Bansko, as a male one; and in the beginning of 2003 also the monastery of Sts. Clement and Nahum of Ohrid in Hamzali, as a male one. In 2004, the monastery complex dedicated to St. Anthony the Great and the Holy Great-martyr George in Novo Selo was renewed, which on the day of the holy Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos started functioning as a male monastery with two hieromonks and few novices.
In the period between 1998–2002 a number of completely new churches was erected: the church of St. Gregory Palamas and the Holy Great-martyr Demetrius in Strumica; the monastic church dedicated to St. Gregory Palamas in the Vodoča monastery; the chapel in the monastic residential quarters in the Veljusa monastery, dedicated to the Holy Apostle Paul and to St. Gregory Palamas; the monastery church of Sts. Clement and Nahum of Ohrid in Hamzali; the small monastery church dedicated to St. Parasceva in the Bansko monastery complex; the two monastery churches – of the Holy New-martyr tsar Nicholas Romanoff with his family and of St. Gregory Palamas and St. Maximus the Confessor – within St. Parthenius of Zographou's monastery complex in Star Dojran; the monastery church of the Holy Great-martyr George and of the Holy New-martyr Elizabeth in the village of Tri Vodi; the small church dedicated to St. Triphon and to St. Gregory of Gregoriou within the skete in the vicinity of the Vodoča monastery; the monastery church of the Venerable Parasceva near Pehčevo.
In its central monasteries, Veljusa and Vodoča, Strumica diocese has developed an independent, complete yet selective ecclesiastical publishing activity. Over twenty books have been published, among which are: original pastoral texts and essays with ascetical themes, translations of counsels on the prayer of contemporary 20th century Elders, texts from the history of hesychasm , translated editions from contemporary world theology, apologetic texts in response to the reactions of the public towards the renewed monasticism etc. In August 2000, on the occasion of the 2000th anniversary of the nativity of the Godman Jesus Christ, in the residence of the Strumica metropolitan Nahum, in the Vodoča monastery, a scientific symposium was held on the subject of Christianity in the Culture and Art of Strumica Diocese, at which took part academics, professors, art historians, theologians, and architects with over twenty scientific works, published in the collection by the Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities and Museum – Strumica.
Strumica diocese is the initiator, founder and prime-mover of the magazine Premin (Passover).
This diocese is the founder and patron of the Centre for prevention and cure of addiction illnesses "St. Elizabeth the New-martyr" in Strumica.
