The spring of the national revival of the Macedonians was manifested at the beginning of the 19^th century. The main advocate of the Macedonian conscience was the middle class, organized into parishes practising different forms of local self-management. In that respect the Macedonian intellectuals excelled, led by the teachers. During the 60s and 70s the process of national cognizance emerged as a perpetual struggle of the Macedonian middle class for exclusion of the Constantinople Patriarchite representatives and their replacement with the Macedonian ones. Introduction of the Macedonian language into churches and schools was advocated, as well as the renewal of Ohrid Archbishopric as Macedonian independent church. The first printing houses were opened, textbooks and books were written in Macedonian with Old Church Slavic features.

A large number of Macedonian national and cultural revivalists compiled folk songs and created literary and didactic works in local dialects as an affirmation of the Macedonian cultural and national conscience. Among them the most eminent were Yoakim Krchovski, Kiril Peychinovich, Yordan Hadji Konstantinov - Djinot, the brothers Dimitar and Konstantin Miladinov, Kuzman Shapkarev, Grigor Prlichev, Parteniya Zografski and Gjorgjiya Pulevski.