IOverview
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is the autocephalous church of Bulgaria, seated in Sofia. Its head holds the title Patriarch of Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia. On 30 June 2024 Metropolitan Daniil was elected patriarch, following the death of Patriarch Neofit on 13 March that year.
The church has used the Revised Julian calendar since 1968, so it celebrates Christmas on 25 December. Its services are in Church Slavonic and Bulgarian. Bulgaria takes pride in being the place where the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius developed Slavic letters, from where the Cyrillic script spread to Serbia and Russia.
IIHistory
In 864, under Khan Boris I, the Bulgarians were baptised into Eastern Christianity. In 886 the disciples of Cyril and Methodius, expelled from Moravia, found refuge in Bulgaria and, with royal support, founded the literary schools of Preslav and Ohrid. There Slavic letters flourished and the Cyrillic alphabet took shape.
- 870Autonomous archbishopricA council in Constantinople grants the Bulgarians an autonomous archbishopric.
- 927Patriarchate recognisedConstantinople recognises the Bulgarian patriarchate, the first among the Slavic peoples.
- 1393 to 1394Autocephaly lostThe Ottomans take the capital Tarnovo and the church passes under Constantinople.
- 28 February 1870The Bulgarian ExarchateA decree of the Sultan creates the Bulgarian Exarchate within the Ottoman Empire.
- 1872Declared schismaticA council in Constantinople condemns the Exarchate. The schism lasts until 1945.
- 1953Patriarchate restoredMetropolitan Kiril is elected patriarch. Constantinople recognises the patriarchate in 1961.
- 2024Patriarch DaniilElected on 30 June.
The nineteenth century struggle for the Exarchate was both a church matter and part of the Bulgarian national movement. Constantinople condemned it on the grounds that it organised the church by ethnicity rather than territory. Under communism the church was tightly controlled. Files released in 2012 showed that 11 of the 15 members of the Holy Synod at that time had collaborated with the State Security service. From 1992 into the early 2000s the church also went through an internal split, with a rival alternative synod.
IIITradition and Distinctives
Its doctrine is the common faith of the Orthodox communion. What sets it apart is cultural tradition:
- 24 May, the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius, is a national holiday for Bulgarian letters, education and culture.
- Saint John of Rila, a tenth century hermit, is the patron saint of the Bulgarians. The Rila Monastery that bears his name was inscribed by UNESCO in 1983.
- The long struggle for the Exarchate ties the church closely to the national memory of independence.
The church sees itself as the keeper of Bulgarian faith and letters through nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule, carried by monasteries such as Rila and Bachkovo.
IVWorship and Daily Life
The Divine Liturgy is celebrated every Sunday. Many folk customs follow the church year. On Theophany, 6 January, a priest throws a cross into a river or lake and young men plunge into the icy water to retrieve it. On Palm Sunday, called Tsvetnitsa, people named after flowers celebrate their name day. At Easter families knock red-dyed eggs together. Regular churchgoing is much lower than self-identification, a pattern common across post-communist Eastern Europe. Even so, major feasts such as Easter night still fill churches and squares across the country.
VStructure and Distribution
Supreme authority rests with the Holy Synod of diocesan metropolitans under the patriarch. According to Wikipedia the church has 13 dioceses in Bulgaria and 2 abroad, one for Western and Central Europe and one for the Americas and Australia, with around 2,600 parishes, though the year of the figures is not given. In the 2021 census about 4.1 million people in Bulgaria identified as Orthodox, or 62.7 percent of the population. The Bulgarian constitution names Eastern Orthodoxy as the country's traditional religion.
In its relations with other churches the Bulgarian church has tended to be cautious. It withdrew from the World Council of Churches in 1998 and did not attend the Holy and Great Council in Crete in 2016. Its largest church is the Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, completed in 1912 in memory of the Russian soldiers who died in the war of 1877 to 1878 that led to Bulgarian independence. The cathedral is now one of the landmarks of the capital, and its crypt houses a museum of icons.
VIIn Vietnam
This library has found no source for an organised Bulgarian Orthodox parish or community in Vietnam. During the Cold War many Vietnamese studied and worked in Bulgaria, but no record has been found of Vietnamese people becoming Orthodox through that route. Bulgarians living in Vietnam can attend services at the parishes of the Russian church, since the two churches share communion.
VIISymbol of the Branch
No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.
VIIIOther Branches of Orthodox Christianity
Russian Orthodox ChurchРусская православная церковьThe largest autocephalous church, de facto independent from 1448 and a patriarchate from 1589, seated in Moscow.
Romanian Orthodox ChurchBiserica Ortodoxă RomânăThe only Orthodox church worshipping in a Romance language.
Church of GreeceΕκκλησία της ΕλλάδοςThe autocephalous church of Greece, seated in Athens.
Serbian Orthodox ChurchСрпска православна цркваAutocephalous since 1219 under Saint Sava, seated in Belgrade.
Ecumenical Patriarchate of ConstantinopleΟικουμενικό Πατριαρχείο ΚωνσταντινουπόλεωςOne of the five ancient sees, first in honour among Orthodox churches as first among equals, seated in Istanbul.Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antiochبطريركية أنطاكية وسائر المشرق للروم الأرثوذكسThe ancient see where disciples were first called Christians, based in Damascus since 1342.Uses the common symbol of the pathBulgarian Orthodox ChurchБългарска православна църкваA patriarchate since the 10th century, re-established as autocephalous in the 19th and 20th centuries, seated in Sofia.Uses the common symbol of the path
Georgian Orthodox Churchსაქართველოს მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესიაOne of the oldest churches, its faith brought to the kingdom of Iberia by Saint Nino in the 4th century, with Georgian tradition dating autocephaly to the 5th century.
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of AlexandriaΠατριαρχείο Αλεξανδρείας και πάσης ΑφρικήςAn ancient see traditionally founded by Saint Mark, overseeing Orthodox communities across Africa.
Oriental Orthodox ChurchesOriental OrthodoxyA second family also called Orthodox but outside the communion above.IXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
Did the Bulgarians invent the Cyrillic alphabet?
Saint Cyril created the Glagolitic script in the ninth century. The Cyrillic alphabet emerged afterwards in the literary schools of Bulgaria, developed by the disciples of Cyril and Methodius. That is why Bulgaria regards itself as the homeland of Cyrillic.
When do Bulgarians celebrate Christmas?
On 25 December, because the Bulgarian church has used the Revised Julian calendar since 1968. Easter is still reckoned by the Julian calendar, as in other Orthodox churches.
How many Bulgarians are Orthodox?
In the 2021 census about 4.1 million people identified as Orthodox, 62.7 percent of Bulgaria's population. The number who attend church regularly is far lower.