Patriarch of All Bulgaria facts for kids
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| Established | 918/919 (Medieval) 1953 (Modern) |
The Patriarch of All Bulgaria is the main leader of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. This important church leader is officially called Patriarch of All Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia. The current patriarch is Daniel. He started in this role on June 30, 2024.
Contents
A Look Back: History of the Patriarch
Early Days: The Medieval Patriarchate
After two big wins against the Byzantines, the Bulgarian church became self-governing. This means it could make its own rules. It was also raised to the rank of a patriarchate (a church led by a patriarch). This happened at a special meeting in 918 or 919.
A peace agreement in 927 confirmed Bulgaria's victory. Because of this, the Patriarchate of Constantinople (another major church) agreed that the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was self-governing. They also accepted its patriarch as a high-ranking church leader.
This made the Bulgarian Patriarchate the first national patriarchate in Europe. It was the sixth self-governing patriarchate overall. The others were Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Constantinople. These five were known as the Pentarchy.
The main office of the patriarchate was in the new Bulgarian capital, Preslav. However, the patriarch likely lived in Drastar (Silistra). This town was an old Christian center.
In 990, the patriarchate's main office moved to Ohrid. This happened after the Byzantines took over many parts of Bulgaria. When the First Bulgarian Empire was destroyed in 1018, the patriarchate lost its high rank. It became an archbishopric instead.
Later, in 1186, a new archbishopric was started in Tarnovo. This was during the Second Bulgarian Empire. Other churches officially recognized it as a patriarchate in 1235.
Under Ottoman Rule
In 1393, the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, Tarnovo, fell to the Ottomans. Patriarch Euthymius was sent away. This led to the self-governing Bulgarian Church being destroyed. The Bulgarian church areas then had to report to the Patriarchate of Constantinople again.
Modern Times: The Patriarchate Returns
After World War II, things changed. It became possible to bring back the Bulgarian Patriarchate. In 1945, the Patriarch of Constantinople officially recognized the Bulgarian Church as self-governing again.
In 1950, the church leaders made new rules. These rules helped bring back the patriarchate. In 1953, they chose Cyril, who was the metropolitan of Plovdiv, to be the Bulgarian patriarch.
Patriarch Cyril passed away in 1971. The church then chose Maxim, the metropolitan of Lovech, to take his place. Patriarch Maxim led the church until he died in 2012.
After his death, Metropolitan Cyril of Varna and Veliki Preslav was chosen as a temporary leader. He helped organize the election for a new patriarch. On February 24, 2013, Neophyte of Bulgaria was chosen as the new patriarch. Patriarch Neophyte passed away on March 13, 2024.
See also
- List of patriarchs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
- Official visits by the Patriarch of Bulgaria
