History of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church

[ImperiaBG]

History of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church I. Conversion to Christianity of the Bulgarian people and foundation of the Bulgarian Church The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has its origin in the flourishing Christian communities and churches, set up in the Balkan Peninsula as early as the first centuries of the Christian era. The incursions of the Slavs and Proto-Bulgarian in the Balkan lands (6th-7th century) damaged considerably the ecclesiastical organization and created difficulties for the mission of christianization, but were not of a decisive significance for its further development. Byzantine writers testify to many contacts of the Eastern Empire with the new settlers-Slavs and Proto-Bulgarians, as well as to the relations of the conquerors with the christianized native populations. The Christian religion infiltrated the population of Bulgarian Slavs (the ancestors of the Bulgarian people) as early as the 6th and 7th century. The continuous process of Christian influence gradually enfolded the Proto-Bulgarians, too (7th-9th century). The internal development and the international relations of the Slav-Bulgarian State (founded in 681) favored the successful penetration of Christianity, which infiltrated even the Khan's court (9th century). The local population, the Bulgarian Slavs who had already adopted Christianity, the steady contacts with Byzantium, the exchange of prisoners of war, the use of the Greek language and other factors paved the way for the mission of christianization in the First Bulgarian State. Pope Nicholas I was informed that as early as the beginning of the 60s of the 9th century "a great majority of the Bulgarians were converted to Christianity". After the adoption of the Christian faith by Prince Boris I (865), Christianity became the official religion in the Bulgarian State. Joseph Genesius wrote that "elect high clerics were sent from Constantinople to Bulgaria to consolidate the Christian faith there". The word of the Gospel yielded plenty of fruits.
Prince Boris was in favour of an enlightened and zealous clergy and an improved and autocephalous church, even with the status of a Patriarchate, witch would be in a position to meet the needs of the time: to help the unification of the people and to promote the cultural advancement of the State, to strengthen the new social order and the sovereignty and prestige of Bulgaria. Bearing all this in mind and using skillfully the historic situation, the favorable conditions and prospects, he started negotiations with Rome, which lasted for three years, then again renewed his old connections with the Byzantine Empire. From October 5, 869 to February 28, 870 an ecclesiastical council was held in Constantinople to discuss Patriarch Photius' question. Here came the Bulgarian envoys, who were welcomed very heartily and with due respect. At a special session (on March 4), with the participation of Rome's envoys and of representatives of the four Eastern Patriarchates, the council discussed the question of church jurisdiction in Bulgarian. After prolonged debates, which disclosed the deepening contradiction between Rome and Constantinople, it was decided that the Bulgarian nation was connected in church matters to the Christians East. That representative forum created on March 4, 870 a separate diocese and laid the foundations of the Bulgarian Church, which was thus bound forever with the Eastern Orthodox community. Chronologically it was the eighth one in succession (after the four Eastern Patriarchates: those of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, and the three ancient archbishopric of Cyprus, of Sinai and of Georgia) in the then organic community of the Orthodox sister-churches. At the beginning the Bulgarian Church was an autonomous archbishopric under the jurisdiction of the Constantinople Patriarchate, from which it obtained its first primate, its clergy and theological books. It enjoyed, however, a full internal autonomy. The conditions were soon ripe for its flourishing and for its receiving an autocephalous status.

II. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the middle ages (First and Second Kingdom of Bulgaria) In 886 the most distinguished followers and disciples of the Holy Slav Educators Cyril and Methodius came to Bulgaria. Preslav and Ohrid became literary centers where schools were opened. As a result of their activities there ensued the so-called "Golden Age" of Old Bulgarian literature and learning. As early as the end of the 9th century the Bulgarian language became the official language of the Church and the State. The building of churches and monasteries promoted the development of Bulgarian art. From a thorny pagan corn-field, overgrown with weeds, Bulgarian turned into a true spiritual nursery and a mighty beacon of Slav culture. The Bulgarian Church already had its own hierarchy, it grew in strength and spiritual maturity, and successfully consolidated the Orthodox faith, piety and education and guided the people towards a creative upsurge.
In the 10th century the First Bulgarian State reached the summit of its development. Christianity gave a impetus to the progressive for that time process of feudalization and consolidate the central state power. The Church made its contribution toward the external political stability of the State, towards the creation of a national, religious and spiritual unity, towards the cultural flourishment of the people and the homeland. After the victories at the battlefields at Acheloe (a river near Anchialus) and Katassyrti (near Constantinople), the Bulgarian ruler Prince Simeon proclaimed himself a king. The status of the Church had to correspond to that of the increased international prestige of the Bulgarian State. At the time the theory created in Byzantium predominated that a close relation should exist between Kingdom and Patriarchate: " Imperium sine Patriarcha non staret ". By virtue of that concept, about 919, the Bulgarian Church was proclaimed autocephalous at an ecclesiastical and national council and was elevated to the rank of a Patriarchate. In 927, as a result of a treaty, the relation between Bulgaria and Byzantium improved. As can be seen from the historical source "Archbishops of Bulgaria"(the so-called Catalogue of Ducange), the autocephalous status of the Bulgarian Church was then recognized and its patriarchal dignity acknowledged.
During the second half of the 10th century, following some military and political development, the Bulgarian Patriarchal see was successively moved from the capital Preslav to Dorostol, and then to Triaditsa (Sofia), Voden, Muglen, Prespa, and at the end to Ohrid, the capital of the Western Bulgaria State under King Samouil (976-1014).
After the fall of Bulgaria under Byzantium domination (1018), Emperor Basil II acknowledged the autocephalous status of the Archbishopric of Ohrid and by virtue of special charters (royal decrees) set up its boundaries, dioceses, property and other privileges, but deprived it of its Patriarchal title. The second charter of the Emperor and the catalogue of Ducange clearly show that the Archbishopric of Ohrid was the successor and continuator of the ancient Bulgarian Patriarchate. In spite of the fact that it had been under different political rules (those of Byzantium, of the Latin Empire, of Bulgarians, Serbs, Turks), its autocephalous status was respected for almost eight centuries - until its unlawful destruction in 1767. Despite of the fact that it passed along a road of serious trials and that for a long time it was guided by a foreign clergy, the Archbishopric of Ohrid successfully carried out its church mission, kept up the Slav liturgy, made its contribution towards the development of Slav literature and strengthened the political consciousness of its flock, and then later on it served as a banner to the fighter for independent Bulgarian Church.
As a results of the successful uprising led by the brothers Peter end Assen (1185-1186), the foundation of the Second Bulgarian State were laid with Turnovo as its capital. Due to the bonds of continuity between the religious centers of Preslav and Ohrid and mainly to the principle of linking up the sovereignty of the State with the autocephality of the Church, both the clergy and the believing people in Bulgaria striven for the restoration of the Bulgarian Patriarchate. At the beginning an independent archbishopric was established in Turnovo (1186). Soon steps were taken for its recognition, according to the existing canonical order, and for raising it to the rank of a Patriarchate. As a result of the connections of the Bulgarian King Kaloyan (1203-1204) with the Pope, which he had established mainly with a political purpose, the first Archbishop of Turnovo, Vassily, was proclaimed Primate by Pope Innocent III. His title was "Primate and Archbishop of all Bulgaria and Wallachia".
The Church of Bulgaria consolidated its position both in external and internal affairs. Soon conditions were created for the general recognition of its autocephalous status and for elevating it to a Patriarchate. In 1235 a big Church Council was convened in the town of Lampsakos presided over by Patriarch Germanos II of Constantinople. Many Greek and Bulgarian church dignitaries, abbots of monasteries and monks from Mount Athos took part in it. With the consent of all Eastern Patriarchs the council confirmed the Patriarchal dignity of the Bulgarian Church. Headed by distinguished primates, it was well organized, had a large diocese, was active and has in general left behind a bright trance in history. Under the wing of the Bulgarian Patriarchate the Turnovo literary and educational school was organized whose representatives were such outstanding men of learning and enlightenment as St. Theodosy of Turnovo, St. Patriarch Euthymy and a host of other eminent scholars. Thus it became a zealous champion of the cause of the Ohrid and Preslav schools. Considerable upsurge was noted in the field of literature, architecture, painting, etc. Religious and theological literature flourished. The greatest writer and scholar, exemplary clergyman and ardent patriot was Patriarch Euthymy of Turnovo (died ca. 1404).
After the fall of Turnovo under Ottoman domination (1393) and Patriarch Euthymy was sent into exile, the autocephalous church organization was destroyed once again. The Bulgarian diocese was subordinated to the Constantinople Patriarchate. The other Bulgarian religious center - Ohrid - managed to survive a few centuries longer (until 1767), as a stronghold of faith and piety.

III. The Church a the protector of the Bulgarian people during the five-centuries-long political and spiritual yoke At the end of the 14th century the Bulgarian people lost its political and spiritual independence. The hard condition of this double subjugation hampered their cultural end political development. The suppression, the merciless exploitation and the atrocities compelled thousand of Bulgarians, along with the majority of the intelligentsia who survived, to emigrate to Wallachia, Moldavia, Russia, Serbia and Austria. Mass-scale emigration of Bulgarian from their motherland were frequent after the uprising, and after each one of the Russia-Turkish Wars.
Many people were converted to the Islam by force, banned from their home and killed by the Ottoman oppressors. Thus for instance, by order of the Grand Vizier Mehmed Kuprulu the Chepino Bulgarians were Mohammedanized in 1657. Methody Draginov, a priest of the village of Korova, informs that those who refused to accept the Islam were killed, while the houses of those who fled to the woods were burnt down. In the 16th and 17th centuries many Bulgarian from the districts of Lovech, Teteven, Svishtov, Nikopol and Turnovo were Mohammedanized in the same way. The Deliorman region, which in the 16th century was still Bulgarian, after the 17th century acquired a Mohammedan aspect through colonization and forceful conversion of the Christian population to the Islam. Thus the Christians merged with the dense Ottoman masses and lost their native language. During the 17th century many other Bulgarians from Razlog, Kroupnik and from the valley of the River Bregalnitsa suffered a similar fate. In the 18th century the population of the villages of Turnovti and Cherkovna in the Preslav District was also Mohammedanized.
Part of the Mohammedanized Bulgarians lost for ever their national consciousness and their native language. Another part, the so-called Pomaks or Bulgarian-Mohammedans, preserved their native Bulgarian language and customs, but lost for centuries the consciousness of being part of the Bulgarian people.
The conquerors did not spare even the Christian sanctuaries and the cultural monuments. In Turnovo the Patriarchal Cathedral church of the Holy Ascension and the St. Petka Court Church were destroyed. The conquerors of Turnovo Bulgaria razed to the ground 18 Boyar churches at the Trapesitsa Hill. The Church of the 40 Holy Martyrs was turned into a mosque, while the Church of the Holy Virgin in Turnovo was reconstructed as a Turkish bath. In the Plovdiv diocese Chepino Pomaks destroyed 218 churches and 33 monasteries. In the town of Vidin the Cathedral Church of the Holy Virgin was destroyed. Many Churches in various parts of the country were turned into mosques.
The blow dealt on the Bulgarian church organization was also a heavy one, since it was made subordinate to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Greek clergy pursued an assimilatory policy. At the beginning the high Bulgarian clerics were replaced by Greek ones, who officiated the churches and celebrated mass in the Greek language of which the Bulgarian population was completely ignorant. They opened Greek schools which conducted assimilatory activities. Such schools were organized in Turnovo, Svishtov, Kotel, Sliven, Plovdiv, Andrianople, Strouga, Bitolya, Voden, Stroumitsa, Melnik, Seres and other towns.
The Ottoman conquerors granted extensive civic and judicial rights to the Patriarch of Constantinople. He became a high-ranking officer of the Sultan and the head of all Orthodox Christian in the Ottoman Empire. Civic and judicial function were also granted to the diocesan metropolitans, mostly of Greek origin, who imposed on the Bulgarian population heavy taxes which they collected by force with the help of the local authorities.
The tormented Bulgarian people were eager to have their own independent church and to enjoy political freedom for which they fought whit might and main. During this hard time the Church proved to be the staunchest defender of the faith of the ancestors, the protector of the national spirit and the propagator or patriotism. Among those who took part in the first Turnovo uprising, organized in 1598,were some high church dignitaries, such as Metropolitan Dionissy of Turnovo and the bishops Theophan of Lovech, Jeremiah of Rouse, Spiridon of Shoumen and Methody of Roman (of Thracia), as well as 23 priests from Nikopol and 12 priests from Turnovo.
In the second half of the 16th century Archbishop Athanassy of Ohrid was prominent as an organizer of the liberation movement.
During the 17th century the Roman-Catholic Priest Peter Parchevich organized an uprising against the Ottoman authorities.
In 1737 Metropolitan Simeon of Samokov was hanged for his patriotic activities.
The Church gave quite a numbers of martyrs for faith and kin. Stunning are the feats of St. Georgi of Kratovo (+1515), St. Nikolay of Sofia (+1515), Bishop Vissarion of Smolen (+1670), Damaskin of Gabrovo (+1771), St. Zlata of Muglen (+1795), St. John the Bulgarian (+1814), St. Ignaty of Stara Zagora (+1814), St. Onouphry of Gabrovo (+1818) and of many others.
The monasteries played a great part in the preservation of the Orthodox faith and the national consciousness of the Bulgarian people during the year of foreign domination. Scattered all over the Bulgarian lands, the monasteries satisfied the religious demands of the people in the place, where they were neither churches, not priest. They preserved the Christian and national consciousness, they taught the population how to write and read in their schools, they trained the future priest, propagated piety and carried out literary and education activities. This was true especially of the monasteries of Zograph and of Hilendar on Mt. Athos, of the Rila Monastery, the Troyan, Etropole, Dryanovo and Cherepish Monasteries, as well as of the Kouklen Monastery near Assenovgrad, the Lessnovo, Glozhene, Dragalevtsi and other monasteries. Famous scholars of that epoch were Vladislav Grammatik (15th century), Dimiter Kantakouzin (15th century), Father Peyo (16th century), Mathey Grammatik (16th century), Father Todor of Vratsa (18th century) and others.
Besides them traveling monks (taxidiotes) toured the country, opened cell schools, taught the illiterate people how to read and write and carried out educative activities. They were the predecessors of the Bulgarian National Revival. An untiring taxidiote and scholar was Yossif Bradati (Joseph the Bearded) (18th century).
During the yoke primary school attached to churches and monasteries were opened in Tryavna, Elena, Vratsa, Gabrovo, Sofia, Plovdiv, Pirot, Skopie, Samokov, Kalofer, Sopot, Koprivshtitsa, in the villages in the Strandja Mountain and elsewhere.
A series of uprisings against the oppressors were organized in the monasteries. The first ardent call for a national awakening came also from a monastery. St. Paissy of Hilendar (second half of the 18th century) was the first who headed the Bulgarian National Revival. The program for an independent church and political freedom he outlined in his "Slav-Bulgarian History". This wonderful book attracted other active workers for a national awakening. Among the followers of St. Paissy were the following clergymen: St. Sophrony of Vratsa (1739-1813), hieromonk Spiridon of Gabrovo (18th century), hieromonk Yoakim Kurchovski (+1820), hieromonk Kiril Peichinovich (+1845) and others. The power of resistance of the people was stirred to action. A struggle for religious and national independence began, which brought
IV. The Bulgarian Exarchate (Third Kingdom of Bulgaria) For several centuries the Bulgarian Church was under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Greek Church organization, in which the Bulgarian were included, and the fact that the conquerors regarded as one the religion and the nationality of the Bulgarian living in the Ottoman Empire, resulted in due time in an association of the Bulgarians with the Greek, so that they became to be known under the common name of "Roum-Milet", i.e. Greek people. Thus the Bulgarian gradually ceased to be considered a separate nation.
For five centuries the conquerors directed their principle attacks against the Orthodox-Christian faith of the Subjugated population and tried to assimilate them. The firm abiding of the Bulgarian people by the faith of their ancestors helped them to preserve their nationality. The spiritual strain of this long period of firm resistance raised many people to the glory of sanctity. The Bulgarian people, linked in destiny and historic mission with the other Balkan nation, made their contribution towards arresting the Islamic invasion into Western Europe, which would have had unfavorable consequences for its development and would have delayed the Renaissance. That is why the part played by the Bulgarian people in this respect has an all-European and hence a world-wide cultural and historic significance.
In the second half of the 18th century, along with the economic revival of the Bulgarian people, the Bulgarian monk, St. Paissy of Hilendar, laid the foundation of the Bulgarian National Revival with his book "Slav-Bulgarian History". St. Paissy pointed out that the restoration of the independent Bulgarian Church, which would mean the recognition of the Bulgarian population as a Bulgarian nationality and as a Bulgarian nation, separate from the Greeks, was the first and absolutely necessary prerequisite for the restoration of the independent Bulgarian State. The cultural and educative activities of Bishop Sophrony of Vratsa gave a mighty impetus of the realization of this idea. When all the strata of the Bulgarian people embraced the idea, the struggle broke out for the restoration of the independent Bulgarian Church and against the power of the Greek clergy. In the course of four decades the Bulgarian population of Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia united this struggle in one ethnic body with a well-defined national consciousness as a Bulgarian nation. In 1870, by a decree (firman) of the Sultan, the Ottoman government restored the once unlawfully destroyed Bulgarian Patriarchate under the name of "Bulgarian Exarchate". According to art. 10 of the firman, it included in its diocese all Bulgarian Regions. Thus the conquerors officially recognized before the world the Bulgarian nation and authoritatively determined their ethnic boundaries. The Bulgarian Church thus won the international juridical recognition of this nation before the world and consolidated it ethnically, spiritually, culturally, historically, territorially and, to a certain degree, also politically.
In 1871 a Council of the Church and the People took place with representative of the dioceses in North Bulgaria, Thrace and Macedonia. A total of 12 clerics, among them 5 prelates, and 36 laymen took part in it. The Statute of the Bulgarian Exarchate was adopted. Both the Council and the Statute were profoundly penetrated by the synod principle. The Statute established two supreme organs for the central management of the Church: The Holy Synod, consisting only of prelates, with a competence in purely ecclesiastical affairs, and the Supreme Secular Exarchate Council, comprising of six laymen under the chairmanship of the Exarch, with a competence in the non-religious affairs; for the diocesan management - a prelate and a mixed council of three clerics and 5-7 laymen; for the vicariates (church country) - a vicar and a mixed council of three clerics and 5-7 laymen; for the perish - the perish priest aided by the entire church community. The Statue installed the electoral principle: the respective principle organs of church management were appointed to their posts only by the way of election (by the bishop, the clerics and the people). Beside their direct church work it entrusted these organs with schoolmanaging activities, with cultural and educational work and social-ethical activities, which they developed on a large scale.
Freed from outer dependence, the Bulgarian Exarchate devoted itself wholly to a useful service of the people. It gave, in fact, the first political education to the Bulgarian people in a spirit of profound patriotism. Its diocese became the criterion for the Great Powers in determining the ethical boundaries of the Bulgarian people immediately after the April Uprising (1876). Until 1913 it governed quite a number of dioceses, in Northern and Southern Bulgaria, in Macedonia and Adrianople Thrace. Only in Macedonia and in the Andrianople Region alone the Bulgarian Exarchate disposed of over seven dioceses with prelates and eight more with acting chairmen in charge, with 38 vicariates, 1 218 parishes and 1 212 parish priest, 64 monasteries and 202 chapels, as well as 1 373 schools with 2 266 teachers and 78 854 pupils.
After World War I, by virtue of the peace treaties, the Bulgarian Exarchate was deprived of its dioceses in Macedonia and Aegean Thrace. As early as 1913 Exarch Joseph I transferred his offices from Istanbul to Sofia. After His death (1915) the Church was for long time not in a position to elect its regular head. It occupied itself instead with its direct task to intensify its educational and social-ethical activities. Religious printed publication were issued regularly, the distribution of the Holy Bible and of theological literature was increased and the struggle against foreign religious propaganda was intensified.

V. Restoration of the Bulgarian Patriarchate (Republic of Bulgaria) The establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate (1870) represents a transitory historical stage leading to the restoration of the Bulgarian Patriarchate, which ceased to exist at the end of the 14th century.
As early as the National Revival period the Bulgarian clergy thought of realizing the idea of St. Paissy of Hilendar of a restoration of the Bulgarian Patriarchate.
The dependence of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the difficulties, caused by the foreign political domination and by other factors, compelled them to carry out the realization of this ideal of the National Revival step by step.
After the victory in Bulgaria from 1944 possibilities were created for the See of the Bulgarian Exarchate, which for 30 years was left without a regular primate, to have again its head. With the help of the Orthodox Sister-Churches (especially the Russian one), and thanks to the favorable attitude of the Bulgarian Government, on February 22, 1945 the schism was lifted, which for the several decades had impeded the normal inter-church relation of the Exarchate. The Patriarchate of Constantinople recognized the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Church with a special thomos.
In 1950, the Statute of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was worked out, which further paved the way for the restoration of the Patriarchate. Already in the opening paragraph of the Stature (art. I) "the self-governing Bulgarian Orthodox Church" was called a "Patriarchate".
In its sessions on January 3, 1953 the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church decided to convene a Council of the Church and the People on May 8 the same year, with the aim to restore the Patriarchal dignity of the our Church and to elect a Patriarch. All Orthodox Churches were informed about this decision and invited to send their representative for the ceremonies of enthronement of the newly-elected Patriarch.
Delegations of the following Orthodox Churches arrived in the capital city of Sofia for the great religious and national festivities: Russian, headed by Metropolitan Grigory of Leningrad (Sank-Petersburg) and Novgorod; Romanian, headed by Patriarch Justinian; Polish, headed by the Primate Metropolitan Makary; Czechoslovak, headed by the Primate Metropolitan Elevtery. Besides them the following Churches took part with their own representatives at the festivities or cabled their congratulations: the Church of Alexandria, of Antioch, of Jerusalem, of Georgia, of Serbia and the Church of Hellas.
The Third Council of the Church and the People convened according to the stipulation of the Statute (May 8-10), restored the Patriarchal Status of the Bulgarian Church and on May 10 elected His Grace Metropolitan Cyrill of Plovdiv, Chairman of the Holy Synod and Chairman of the Council, as Patriarch of Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia.
The enthronement took place immediately after the election in the Patriarchal Cathedral, the St. Alexander Nevsky Memorial Church, in the presence of representatives of the Bulgarian Government, of figures active in cultural life, foreign delegation and a numerous congregation.
The newly-restored Bulgarian Patriarchate was recognized by all Orthodox Churches. Its Primate established close ties with them by means of fraternal messages and visits. With his arch-shepherdly, religious, educational, peace promoting and scientific activities he won wide popularity with the Christian world, as well as cultural spheres in Bulgaria and abroad. The prestige of the Bulgarian Church rose both among the Orthodox and other Christian Churches and organizations and among the general public in the world.
After the death of His Holiness Patriarch Cyrill (March 7, 1971), at its session on May 19, 1971, and by virtue of Art. 16-23 of the Statute of the Bulgarian Church, the Holy Synod decided to carry out the election of a new Patriarch.
The Council of the Church and the People for the Election of a Patriarch, convened on July 4, 1971, unanimously elected His Grace Metropolitan Maxim of Lovech, then Deputy Chairman of the Holy Synod and Chairman of the Council, as Patriarch of Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia.
Immediately after that the ceremonial enthronement of the new Patriarch took place in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in the presence of representatives of the Government and the Bulgarian public, foreign delegation and many worshippers.
The following Churches and inter-Christian organization took part in the festivities with their delegation or cabled their congratulation: the Ecumenical Patriarchate, headed by Metropolitan Spiridon of Rhodes; the Patriarchate of Alexandria, headed by Archbishop Imenios of Lydia; the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by Patriarch Pimen of Moscow and All-Russia; the Georgian Church, headed by the Patriarch-Catholicos Ephrem II; the Serbian Church, headed by Bishop Emilian of Slavonia; the Romanian Church, headed by Patriarch Justiniyan; the Church of Cyprus, headed by Chorbishop Chrysostomos of Constance; the Church of Hellas, headed by Metropolitan Stefan of Triphilia; the Polish Orthodox Church, headed by its Primate Metropolitan Vassily of Warsaw; the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church, headed by its Primate Metropolitan Dorothey; the Finnish Church, headed by Rev. Olli Bergman; the Russian Orthodox Church in the United State of America, headed by Archbishop John of Chicago and Minneapolis; the Japanese Orthodox Church, headed by Archbishop Vladimir; the Armenian Church, headed by Bishop Dirrir Mardkyan; the World Council of Churches, headed by Pastor Jens Thomson, Assistant Secretary General; the Christian Peace Conference, headed by its Secretary General Dr. Janus Makovsky; the "Pax" organization, headed by Mieczislaw Stahura. Present were also representatives of the Bulgarian Dioceses of Akron and Detroit, headed by Protoierey Boris Vagnev.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church seen in the person of the His Holiness Patriarch Maxim, its father, who with profound faith and purity, with love, wisdom, will power, tenacity and farsightedness, guides it, with the help of the Holy Synod.

[ImperiaBG]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3MbIGDkjiI&feature=related[/media]

[ImperiaBG]

Rila Monastery

It was founded in the l0th century by the Bulgarian monk St. Ivan of Rila and was rebuilt in the l3th -l4th century. From that time are the fortress tower (1334), the bishop's throne, richly carved doors and some manuscripts, icon-paintings and church plates. In the l5th century, when Bulgaria fell to the Ottoman Turks, the monastery was abandoned for a short time but in the second half of the same century it was restored to a new life. The Rila Monastery has been listed as a world monument of culture. There is an interesting legend surrounding Rila monastery and its Saint, Ivan, who lived in the 10th century. After his parents' death, he gave away all of his material items, left his village and went to live in a cave in the Rila mountains. One can visit the cave today. Ivan lived without material possessions and grew healthier and stronger than he had ever been. For many years people visited him in his cave when they were sick in order to be healed. Upon Ivan's death, his body was wrapped in a shroud and buried. His body did not decay, however, and all those that visited his tomb were cured of their sicknesses.

Bachkovo Monastery

Bachkovo Monastery is located 28 km South-West of Plovdiv city. It was built in 1083 by Grigor Bakuriani, a military in the Byzantine Empire, a Georgian by origin. The ossuary with its exquisite architecture and wall-paintings dates from that time. The winter church of the Archangels dates in all likelihood to the l2th century. In the early l6th century the monastery was destroyed by the Turkish conquerors to be restored in the late l6th century. Of great interest are the monastery refectory (1601 ), the church of the Assumption (1604) with murals dating from 1643, and the domed church of St Nicholas (1837), decorated in 1840 by the Revival Period painter Zahari Zograph.

Trojan monastery

Trojan monastery must have been in existence long before the l5th century, as legends suggest. It flourished again about the year 1600. From the oldest church it is only the throne stone that has been preserved. Towards the beginning of the l9th century the monastic brotherhood re-erected the monastery. In 1835 master Konstantin built a wonderful main church which was painted by Zahari Zograph in 1847-1849. The spacious residential wings with roomy verandas were built in 1835-1855. In 1865 a tower was raised in the monastery courtyard with a winter church and a belfry on the last floor.



Dryanovo Monastery

Dryanovo Monastery of St. Archangel Michael was founded in the l2th century and is in close proximity to the summer residence of the Bulgarian rulers from the Assen dynasty. It was destroyed several times during the Ottoman domination. In its present-day site the monastery exists since 1845. The main church was built in 1861. Almost ruined after the Ottoman Turks' invasion, the monastery buildings were restored in 1880. Next to the church there is the ossuary raised in memory of the perished insurgents. In the monastery you can also find a museum collection with exhibits from all historical epochs including neolithic finds from a nearby cave.

[ImperiaBG]

Batoshevo Monastery

The Monastery of Batoshevo was founded in the 13th century under the reign of King Mikhail Asen. It is located in the hearth of Balkan Range mountain, near the village of Batoshevo. The monastery had been burned to ashes during the Ottoman slavery. Years of abandonment had followed. In 1831 its restoration had began and new wings with monastic cells had been built up. However, in 1876 the monastery has been burned down again having been a constant hiding place of one of the leaders of the Bulgarian organized revolutionary activity - Angel Kanchev. After the liberation the monastery has been fully restored.
Aladja Monastery

This is one of the few preserved and accessible rock monasteries in Bulgaria, dating from the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (12th -14th century) and it was most likely inhabited until the 18th century. Monastic cells and a small church have been dug into a sheer rock, 14 km from the city of Varna and close to the Black Sea resort of Golden Sands. Differently colored 13th-14th century frescoes are still discernible on its walls, but only few of them are preserved. The church has a wood-carved iconostasis.
Zemen Monastery

This monastery is to be found amidst the picturesque Zemen Gorge on the bank of Strouma River about two kilometers south-west of the town of Zemen. The oldest building in the monastery is its church, built of shapely cut tufa blocks. It is a cruciform structure almost resembling a giant cube with a central cupola that stands on four huge pillars of solid masonry; arcades connect them with the exterior walls. According to various sources this temple was built in the 11th century.
Glojen Monastery

The Monastery of Glojen is situated above Glozhene village, 12 km north-east of the roadside complex "Pravets". It is founded in 1224 by the Russian knyaz Georgiy Glozh. The small church, dating back to 15th - 16th century, has been destroyed by the earthquake in 1913, and later a new one has been built up. Medieval and Renaissance icons, as well as religious books have been preserved to the present day. The monastery had been a hideout of the famous Bulgarian revolutionist Vasil Levski.
Kapinovo Monastery

The Monastery of Kapinovo "Sveti Nikola" is to be found 6 km southwest of village of Kapinovo ( 20 km southeast of Veliko Turnovo). It is founded in 1272 by tsar Konstantin Asen Tih. The church is renewed in 1835. Outside in the open narthex one can see the work of Yoan Popovich "Day of Judgement" - one of the biggest mural-painted compositions in Bulgaria. The monastery wings, built anew in 1856, have wide balconies facing the yard and smooth stone walls facing Veselina river. The woodcarvings of the iconostasis and the altar doors are of high artistic value.

[ImperiaBG]

St. Ivan Rilsky

A short biography

St. Ivan Rilsky. Icon from Rila Monastery.

The greatest saint on Bulgarian land ever, revered Ivan Rilsky was born around 876 in Skrino, hidden in the Osogovska Mountain near river Struma (near Dupnitsa). He was a contemporary of kniaz Boris (852-889) and of his son Vladimir, Tsar Simeon the Great and Simeon’s son Tsar Petar. Till his 25-year-age he was a shepherd. In this fragile age in the soul of Ivan began to grow and develop his religious faith. At those times there were building churches and monasteries around the whole Bulgaria.
The new monasteries became not just centres of the Christianity but literary and educating centres. The desire of the young man was to devote himself to God. He wished to go a monastery and became a monk. Firstly Ivan went to the close monastery “Saint Dimitrii” under mount Ruen. There he didn’t just develop his talent in the religious meditation, but educated and studied many of sacred, liturgical and religious books. He accepted the title monk but didn’t stay for too long in the monastery and devoted his life to an absolute loneliness, prayers, fasts and destitute.
Revered Ivan Rilsky lived in many places, until at last he settled down in the gorgeous Rila Mountain, where he stayed to the end of his life. There he has founded a monastery, which has survived more than a thousand years till nowadays. He made many miracles during his lifetime and after his death: he fed shepherds, cured with his pray a madman, healed and still healing from different sicknesses many pious people and being defending the monastery with his noble power.

St. Ivan of Rila and king Peter I.

The fame of the hermit spreaded soon among the Bulgarian people and reached the capital. While traveling to Sofia, Tsar Petar the I-st, made a 120 km detour to see the pious old man. Ivan Rilsky however didn’t allow Tsar Petar to come close to him but just bowed to the ruler from far and so did Tsar Petar. The recluse, of course, returned the sent gold as a gift from Tsar Petar. That action increased even more Ivan Rilsky’s glory and many students joined him, who built huts for them. That was the beginning of the most famous Bulgarian monastery.
Before his death revered Ivan went in full privacy and made his “legacy”. He holidayed on 18 august 946 at almost 70-year age and was buried in the narthex of a little church in a stone tomb. The stone tomb still exists. His assumption the Church celebrates each year on the same date.
The revered Ivan Rilsky is declared for and exceptional celestial sentinel of the Bulgarian nation and is being held in respect from all Bulgarian people. .::Rila Monastery::Beginning::St. Ivan Rilsky::.

[ImperiaBG]

History and general information

Watch the clip!!!

General information

General view of Rila Monastery.

The Rila Monastery is located in 1147 meters altitude in the middle of the fragrant coniferous forests of Rila Mountain.
The monastery is a complex of cultural, dwelling and farming buildings which take about 8800 square meters. The Rila Monastery has an unique architecture. Outside, the monastery looks like a fortress. It has 24-meter stone walls which forms irregular pentagon. That’s why when some tourist enters the monastery’s yard from some of the two iron gates he is surprised by its architecture: arches and colonnades, covered wooden stairs and carved verandas and the 300-400 monastic cells. The Hreliov’s tower and the main church “The Nativity of the Virgin” cohabit at the center of the yard. This tower was created by the local feudal lord Hrelio in 1334-1335. A small church stays next to it and it is only a couple of years younger (1343). A bell-tower was added to the tower in 1844. The main church “The Nativity of the Virgin” was built in these times. Its architect is a master Peter Ivanovich, who worked on it in 1834-1837. The temple has five domes, three altars and two chapels. Maybe the most important thing in the church is the iconostasis which has incredible wood-carving. The wall-paintings were completed in 1846 by many masters from Bulgaria, but only Zahary Zagraph signed his paintings. In the church there are lots of icons created in XIV-XIX.

One of the expositions of the Museum.

The monastery has also its own library which is very rich in literally material. There are stored lots of important Bulgarian written records – about 250 manuscript books from XI-XIX, 9000 old-printed books, manuscripts and so on. The museum, located in the monastery has a rich exposition – historical collection of 35 000 exponents, rich collections of icons, wood-carvings, cultural and ethnographical items. The museum has an unique work of art, called the Cross of Rafail. It is made of a whole piece of wood (81-43 centimeters) and it’s called to its creator. The monk used fine chisels, small knives and lentils to carve 104 religious stages and 650 small figures. It took him more than 12 years to complete his work. It’s completed in 1802 – then its creator lost his eyesight.
In spite of the big area which the monastery has, it is not able to show its treasures at the same time – that’s why there are lots of temporary expositions in the monastery and out of it.
History

Rila Monastery . Painter I. Petkov. Stained glass in Sofia University.

The Rila Monastery was founded in the 30-th years of X century on the place of the Old Anchoress in Rila Mountain. While the monastery has been existing, it was many times rebuilt, destroyed and reconstructed. Today the Rila Monastery has had this appearance since the middle of the previous century. It is the biggest and the most respected Bulgarian monastery.
It is considered that the creator of the Rila Monastery is the first Bulgarian hermit Ivan Rilsky (876-946), he chose to live in this way as a method of spiritual perfection and a way to express his protest against the suppression of the high moral rules of the real Christianity. The Bulgarian saint was born in the 70-th years of IX century. He was a witness of the decline of the First Bulgarian Kingdom at the time of king Peter I and Saint Ivan Rilsky became the most respected saint in the Orthodox Christianity in that time. At the time of the Byzantine slavery the established brotherhood was turned into a monastery. At the beginning of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom the relics of Saint Ivan Rilsky was displaced to the capital of the country Veliko Tarnovo as the most important relic for the Bulgarians.
That the monastery has been existed for a millennium and that the Rila monks has been aware of the mission of books are the factors that produced the monastery library which can rival Europeans counterparts. The abundant collection comprise works that have been written in the monastery, works that have been commissioned to eminent men of letters and books and manuscripts that have been donated or bought.
Fot centuries the Rila Monastery has been the centre of intensive literacy activities. Outstanding educators, anonymous copyists, manuscript illuminators and book-binders spent years working there. As a result of their work today the library collection is one of the richest in the Balkans.
Among the men of letters who worked at the Rila Monastery were the grammarian Spiridon, hieromonk Anastasy, Vladislav Grammaticus, Nikifor, Yossif Bradati and the great National Revival educator and champion for secular education Neophit Rilski who brought to light all manuscripts, catalogued the library and invested a lot of effort to make it a public library which was open to the numerous pilgrims visiting the monastery.
The National Revival Period transformed the Rila Monastery into a major educational and cultural centre of the Bulgarian lands. The literary school evolved into an educational institution where some of the most prominent enlighteners of the nation received their education. The library opened its gates to inquisitive pilgrims and this is testified by the numerous marginal notes found in the old books. Thus very naturally it acquired the functions of a public library and paved the way to the community centre libraries which became very common during the National Revival.
The Rila Monastery Library manuscript collection comprises Slavic and Greek records dating from the 11th to mid-19th century. In addition to their literary merit these records have artistic merits. Most of them have illuminations which show the Bulgarian tradition in that art. It is noteworthy that despite the large number of service books in Greek, the monastery churches and chapels never heard service in Greek although it is evident the monks had good knowledge of the language which they could speak and in which they could read and write.
The Rila Monastery collection of printed books the earliest of which date from early 16th century comprises valuable items: a Tetraevangelia from 1512 that was published I Turgovishte, books that were printed in the Venice printing house which was established in 1619, many Russian old printed books, several of very rare editions that were printed in Vilno, of the Kievan-Pechora Laura, Moscow printed prologues.
The long history of the buildings in the Rila Monastery goes back to late 10th century when the monastic community that the Rila hermit had founded put up the first buildings not far from the cave which he occupied.
Since the 15th century and particularly during the Bulgarian National Revival the numbers of pilgrims increased significantly and a large group of service buildings appeared around the monastery. The reception buildings of the metochia and the sketae along the river Rilska where there were places associated with the patron saint’s worship were renovated during the same period. In this way several architectural ensembles appeared whose purpose was to provide shelter and also to prepare worshippers mentally for their encounter with the holiest place in Bulgaria.
The first thing that the visitors of the monastery see as they set foot on the Rila Mountain is the Orlitsa metochion which in the course of almost five centuries has been receiving pilgrims coming from the western parts of Bulgaria. In 1469 the Church of St. Peter and Paul was built to lay the relics of St. Ioan of Rila after they had been returned to the monastery. In 1491 a group of icon painters decorated the church which had been redesigned in 1478.
The next metochion which is closer to the monastery is called Pchelino. It was here that the Church of the Dormition of the Virgin was put up in the late 18th century and decorated with frescoes in 1835 by Dimiter Molerov.
The Hermitage of St. Ioan of Rila is northeast of the monastery and farthest. It stands where the cave in which the hermit lived is and where he was initially buried. For this reason the Church of the Assumption of St. Ioan of Rila was built in 1746. It is a single nave, single apse building with narthex. In 1820 it was rebuilt and became what it is today.
A path leads from the Hermitage to the monastery. Along the path there are several picturesque buildings built down a steep slope. This is the Steke of St. Luke, also known as the New hermitage. The oldest building here is the late 17th century Church of St. Luke the Evangelist. It was painted in 1798-1799 when carvers from Bansko carved wooden iconostasis. The surviving frescoes are a product of the Toma Vishanov's brush , called Molera from Bansko who had studied in the Central Europe and introduced baroque elements in the Bulgarian ecclesiastical art, creating expressive and ethereal paintings which were new for those times.
The second church of the ensemble, the Shroud of the Virgin, was put up in 1805 over the holy fountain by the builders Mihail and Radoitsa from the village of Rila. It has a large semi-open exonartes with an outdoor structure whose walls were painted by Toma Vishanov in 1811.
A small group of buildings that are enclosed by a stone wall is very near to the monastery. It includes the cemetery church and the monastery ossuary, several buildings with living premises and the monastery cemetery. The cemetery church of the Presentation of the Virgin where the brethren served their funeral service dates probably from the early 17th century. Like most medieval ossuaries it is on two levels and is a small lavishly decorated one-aisle church. Its frescoes from 1795 are characteristic of the style of a group of Bulgarian artists who worked on Mount Athos during the 18th and 19th centuries. Its iconostasis is noted for its elegant proportions and beautiful wood encarving.
Between the 10th and 14th centuries the Monastery changed places several times.
In the 14th century Hrelyo Dragovol, a feudal lord whose domain comprised the lands around the river Strouma, transformed the monastery into a solidly fortified and imposing architectural ensemble. This is proved by the remains of solid walls in the southwestern corner of the monastery courtyard unearthed during archeological excavations and also by the prominent tower which still stands in the courtyard and by the paintings in the monastery church built by the feudal lord and surviving until the mid-19th century.
Large-scale building work began some time during mid-18th century and after 1816 the monastery already had high solid residential buildings which enclosed the courtyard in the shape of an irregular quadrangle.
January 13, 1833 was one of the most tragic days in the long history of the monastery. The fire which broke out during the night destroyed almost completely the residential quarters. That was a national calamity and soon people began sending donations for the monastery’s restoration. Thousands of masons, carpenters and auxiliary workers arrived to work and did not get payment for their work. Only for a couple of years the buildings were restored.
Three Bulgarian master builders (purvomaistori) were in charge of the construction works whose scale was unprecedented in those times. They were Alexi from the village of Rila, called Alexi Rilets, who built the northern parts of the east and the west wings, Milenko from the village of Radomir who built the south wing ‘architecton’ Pavel from the village of Krimin who built the church which at the time was the largest in the Balkans. The decoration of the main church, the chapels and the visitors’ rooms was completed by 1870. at that time the monastery looked as we know it today.
The church of the Nativity of the Virgin is the monastery’s main church and the core of the architectural ensemble. Its construction began in 1835. That was an event of paramount importance for the entire Bulgarian nation. The innovative daring and the flexibility with which tradition has been interpreted in the architectural design of its imposing church reveals the nature of art during the National Revival Period.
This church building is unique in the Balkans. It was built by the then widely known master builder Pavel from the village of Krimin who had worked on Mount Athos and from where he borrowed the original spatial design of the church. The compositional scheme includes medieval elements and baroque spatial principles, an approach which distinguishes Bulgarian church architecture and whose features are observed in the art of the epoch.
The wall paintings in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin were made by the most prominent Bulgarian painters at the time. Most of them were from Samokov where the artists of the Zograph (Painter) family, Zahari Zograph, Dimiter H. Zograph and Stanislav Dospevski, worked. In the 1840s they were joined by Ivan Obrazopissets and his son Nikola Obrazopissets. There was a group of artist of Bansko led by Dimiter Molerov, and many other unknown assistants. In the course of several years, at the cost of great effort, to quote Neophit Rilski, they completed the church interior walls, the domes, the facades hidden under the arcade and its small domes and produced 40 large icons for the iconostases and many other smaller ones.
The central iconostasis is the work of a group of woodcarvers who worked under the supervision of Atanas Teladour. They spent three years working on it, from 1839 to 1842, investing it with experience of several generations of carvers who founded the Bulgarian school of wood carving. The size and composition of the iconostasis are unrivaled in the Balkans. Same as architecture it follows the traditions of the school combining time-honoured element of space and as a unifying element emphasizing the centre of the basilica.
The carving which covers it from end to end is somewhat different from the carving on other iconostases. Here everything is bigger to harmonize with the large space inside the church. The carving differs from filigree miniature and is more like sculpted rather than carved.
The colours of this huge iconostasis are in harmony with the rich colours of the interior. In the dim church space frames by the painted walls, illuminated by the hundreds of candles burning in the candleholders, the iconostases’ gilded carved surfaces glitter and reflect upon the brightly coloured icons merging with the church space forming a complete artistic whole.
The monastery which was visited by many people had to provide accommodation and amenitites to the pilgrims. Some Bulgarian towns had their own guest rooms offering accommodation only to their notables. The Koprivshtitsa, Chirpan, Gabrovo and Teteven rooms have been presented to this day. They are in the north wing which is like an ethnographic exposition.
The monastery kitchen is on the ground floor of the same wing. The food for pilgrims was cooked there. The kitchen is large and has an overhead opening in the shape of the huge stone chimney which goes through all the levels to take smoke from the fire to the roof and out. It is in the shape of a hollow pyramid whose walls are built by octahedrons which grow smaller. The spaces between them have been filled up by semicircular arcs. The result is an ideally balanced self-supporting 22 meter high construction whose lightness and strength have been provided in the course of more than a century.
The prints, graphic impressions upon copper plates of wood, were of special significance for the popularization of the monastery and the history of its founder. There were two common types: St Ioan of Rila with miniature scenes from his life, and the monastery itself with the main sketae and metochia along the rive Rilska. Those prints were available even to the poorer pilgrims and thus popularized the Rila Monastery across the Balkan lands, serving as books for the illiterate who could learn from them the legends about the monastery and St Ivan of Rila. Initially the monastic community commissioned the prints in Moscow or Vienna. However, as demand for such prints was growing during the 19th century, a monk Kalislearn the craft of print-making and in 1856 the monastery acquired a large iron press and opened its own workshop for the production of prints. The output of the latter was large. Nevertheless the prints that it turned out were not inferior and some even could view with art primitives.
The printing press that the monastery bought the 1860s from Vienna is also on display in the monastery museum. The repositories keep most of handmade copper printing plates and prints produced with them.
The Rila Monastery museum collections trace its history over the countries and reveal its role in Bulgaria’s cultural history. In the course of the centuries the Rila Monastery maintained lively relations with the countries of the Eastern Orthodox world; the metochia that were scattered in all Balkan Peninsula lands with Bulgarian population did educational work; the monastery repository holds records, books, church plate, icons and gifts from pilgrims.
The Rila Monastery History Museum possesses a rich collection of extremely valuable exhibits both in the exposition halls and in the monastery vaults. The exhibits are thematically grouped and trace the evolution of the monastery and its cultural, religious and nation-consolidation role.
The exposition includes the early historical and ecclesiastical collection of the monastery, some books of the monastery library and many copies of wall paintings that have been destroyed, icons, prints, vestments and church plate.
In 1980 the International Federation of Travel Writers and Journalists (FIJEST) distinguished the Monastery with Golden Apple, the highest award for familiarization and cultural tourism. Ion 1983 the Rila Monastery was recorded on the List of World Cultural Heritage as a world cultural value. Again at that time it got the status of a national museum, so the government started subsiding the museum collections, conservation and restoration of the wall paintings and the architectural heritage. A decree of the Council of Ministries of the Republic of Bulgaria reinstated the monastic status of the Rila Monastery in 1991, so today it is again the largest religious centre in the Bulgarian lands. .::Rila Monastery::Beginning::History::.

[ImperiaBG]

[ImperiaBG]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H9kBQ5PrL8[/media]