List of patriarchs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church

Emblem of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church

The following is a list of patriarchs of All Bulgaria, heads of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church was recognized as an autocephalous archbishopric in 870. In 918 or 919 the Bulgarian monarch Simeon I (r.  893–927) summoned a church council to raise the Bulgarian Archbishopric to a completely independent patriarchate.[1][2] With the Byzantine–Bulgarian Treaty of 927, which affirmed the Bulgarian victory over the Byzantine Empire in the War of 913–927, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople recognized the Bulgarian Patriarchate.[2]

List

Title Primate Portrait Birth name Reign Seat
Archbishops of Bulgaria (870–918)
Archbishop Joseph
870–c. 877 Drastar/Pliska
Archbishop George
c. 877–c. 893 Drastar/Pliska
Archbishop Gregory Presbyter
John the Exarch (?)
c. 893–s. 917 Drastar/Preslav
Archbishop Leontius
c. 917–c. 918/919 Preslav
Patriarchs of Bulgaria (918/919–1018)
Patriarch
uncanonical; not recognized
by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 		Leontius
c. 918/919–927 Preslav
Patriarch
canonical; recognized
by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 		Demetrius
c. 927–c. 930 Drastar/Preslav
Patriarch Sergius
c. 931–c. 940 Drastar/Preslav
Patriarch Gregory
c. 940–c. 944 Drastar/Preslav
Patriarch Damian
c. 944–c. 972 Preslav/Drastar, Sredets
Patriarch Germanus
c. 972–c. 990 Sredets, Voden, Moglena, Prespa
Patriarch Nicolaus
c. 991–c. 1000 Prespa (?)
Patriarch Philip
c. 1000–c. 1015 Ohrid
Patriarch David
John of Debar c. 1015–1018 Ohrid
After the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire under Byzantine domination in 1018 the Church was deprived of its patriarchal title and reduced to the rank of an autocephalous Archbishopric of Ohrid; in 1767 it was put under the tutelage of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
A separate Bulgarian Church was created with the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1186.
Archbishops of Bulgaria (1186–1235)
Primate
title was canonically recognized
by Pope Innocent III in 1204 		Basil I
1186–1232 Tarnovo
Primate Saint Joachim I
1232–1246 Tarnovo
Patriarchs of Bulgaria (1235–1394)
Patriarch
title was canonically recognized
by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs in 1235 		Saint Joachim I
1235–1246 Tarnovo
Patriarch Vissarion
c. 1246 Tarnovo
Patriarch Basil II
1246–c. 1254 Tarnovo
Patriarch Basil III
c. 1254–1263 Tarnovo
Patriarch Joachim II
1263–1272 Tarnovo
Patriarch Ignatius
1272–1277 Tarnovo
Patriarch Saint Macarius
1277–1284 Tarnovo
Patriarch Joachim III
1284–1300 Tarnovo
Patriarch Dorotheus
1300–c. 1315 Tarnovo
Patriarch Romanus
c. 1315–c. 1325 Tarnovo
Patriarch Theodosius I
c. 1325–1337 Tarnovo
Patriarch Joannicius I
1337–c. 1340 Tarnovo
Patriarch Symeon
c. 1341–1348 Tarnovo
Patriarch Theodosius II
1348–1363 Tarnovo
Patriarch Joannicius II
1363–1375 Tarnovo
Patriarch Saint Euthymius
1375–1394 Tarnovo
Exarchs of the Bulgarians (1872–1915)
Exarch
title was granted by a decree (firman) of Sultan Abdulaziz,
promulgated on 28 February 1870.
Unrecognized by
the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 		Ilarion [bg]
Ivan Ivanov 12 February 1872 – 16 February 1872 Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Exarch Anthim I
Atanas Mihaylov Chalakov 16 February 1872 – 14 April 1877 Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Exarch Joseph I
Lazar Yovchev 24 April 1877 – 20 June 1915 Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Sofia, Bulgaria
Vicars – Chairmen of the Holy Synod [bg] (1915–1945)
Metropolitan Parthenius [bg]
Petar Popstefanov Ivanov Popov 1915 – 20 June 1918 Sofia
Metropolitan Vasilius [bg]
Vasil Mihaiylov June 1918 – 22 October 1921 Sofia
Metropolitan Maxim [bg]
Marin Penchov Pelov 22 October 1921 – 28 March 1928 Sofia
Metropolitan Clement [bg]
Grigoriy Ivanov Shivachev 28 March 1928 – 3 May 1930 Sofia
Metropolitan Neophyte [bg]
Nikola Dimitrov Karaabov 4 May 1930 – 15 October 1944 Sofia
Metropolitan Stefan I
Stoyan Popgeorgiev Shokov 16 October 1944 – 21 January 1945 Sofia
Exarch of the Bulgarians (1945–1948)
Exarch
canonical; recognized
by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 		Stefan I
Stoyan Popgeorgiev Shokov 21 January 1945 – 6 September 1948 Sofia
Vicars – Chairmen of the Holy Synod [bg] (1948–1953)
Metropolitan Michael [bg]
Dimitar Todorov Chavdarov 8 November 1948 – 4 January 1949 Sofia
Metropolitan Paisius [bg]
Alexandar Raykov Ankov 4 January 1949 – 3 January 1951 Sofia
Metropolitan Cyril
Konstantin Markov Konstantinov 3 January 1951 – 10 May 1953 Sofia
Patriarchs of Bulgaria (1953–present)
Patriarch
title was recognized
by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople 		Cyril
Konstantin Markov Konstantinov 10 May 1953 – 7 March 1971 Sofia
Patriarch Maxim
Marin Naydenov Minkov 4 July 1971 – 6 November 2012 Sofia
Patriarch Neophyte
Simeon Nikolov Dimitrov 24 February 2013 – 13 March 2024 Sofia
Patriarch Daniil
Atanas Trendafilov Nikolov 30 June 2024 – present Sofia

Timeline since 1953

Daniil of BulgariaNeophyte of BulgariaMaxim of BulgariaCyril of Bulgaria

See also

Citations

  1. ^ Zlatarski 1972, p. 389
  2. ^ a b "Patriarchs of Preslav". Official site of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016.

Sources