Antim I

The first Bulgarian exarch was born in Lozengrad in 1816 as Atanas Mihailov Chalakov. He became a monk in the Hilandar Monastery in 1837 and then studied at the most reputed school in Greece. He graduated a master degree in theology from the Moscow Theological Academy. After returning from Russia he became a teacher and then a rector at the Theology School in Chalki Island. In 1861 he was appointed metropolitan of Preslav and in 1868 – of Vidin. In the same year he supported the Bulgarians in Constantinople in their struggle against the canonical obedience to the Ecumenical Patriarchate. On February 16, 1872 he was elected Bulgarian exarch. Antim I made great efforts against the Uniat influence and played significant role in the consolidation of the Bulgarian Exarchate and the cultural and educational renaissance of the Bulgarians. After the April Uprising in 1876 he did all his best to inform the international public and the foreign diplomats about the Ottoman iniquity and cruelty when repressing the uprising. In April 1877 the Sublime Porte insisted on his discharging and then he was imprisoned. In March 1878 after the Common Amnesty he was liberated and headed the Vidin diocese. He actively participated in Bulgarian politics, as in 1879 he chaired the Constituent Assembly and the First Parliament. Antim I died in Vidin on December 1, 1888.