On May 10 the Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks the 60th anniversary since the restoration of the Bulgarian Patriarchate, which ended its existence in the end of the 15th century after the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman rule. The restoration of the patriarchate is an event of historical importance. It was in the period of the Bulgarian Revival when Bulgarians started fighting for the cause. The first step was the establishment of Bulgarian exarchate in 1870.

After the coup in 1944 and the establishment of a pro-Soviet government the Bulgarian Orthodox Church became subordinate to the state. Previously two theological colleges used to exist in Sofia and Plovdiv, as well as a Christian school but only the seminary in Sofia remained in 1951. The faculty of theology in the Sofia University of St. Kliment Ohridski was turned into a separate academy. The subordination of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church reached its culmination in 1948 when Exarch Stefan of Sofia was forcefully removed from his home and sent to a village near Karlovo, stripped of the right for free movement.

The communist party was discussing the necessity of adopting new rules in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. After long discussions the church was forced to adopt the new rules and the Metropolitan of Plovdiv, Cyril became the new Bulgarian Patriarch. With the new rules the Bulgarian Orthodox Church officially became a Patriarchate.

Bulgarian statesman Stoicho Moshanov once wrote in his diary: “It becomes clear that the restoration of the Bulgarian patriarchate in 1953 had political aims.” In reality at the Church gathering, there were no representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Announcing patriarchate without the approval of the Ecumenical patriarch was one of the manifestations of the Cold War in the life of the church.

The newly-restored Bulgarian patriarchate was recognized by all Orthodox churches when establishing links with them through visits. The prestige of the Bulgarian Patriarchate grew and with the support of the Antioch Patriarchate and the Russian Patriarchate in 1967 the ecumenical patriarchate officially recognized the Bulgarian Patriarchate. In the spring of 1962 a Bulgarian church delegation headed by Patriarch Cyril made a historic visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as well to Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria and Mount Athos in Greece. 

After the death of the Patriarch Cyril in 1971 Patriarch Maxim headed the church and was to remain its patriarch for 41 years. Patriarch Maxim passed away on November 6, 2012. A few months later the Metropolitan of Russe – Neophyte was elected Bulgarian Patriarch by the church.

English  version: Alexander Markov