Patriarch Kiril

Patriarch Kiril (Konstantin Markov) was a Bulgarian cleric, historian and a political figure, the first Bulgarian Patriarch after the Liberation 1878. He was born on January 3, 1901. From 1914 to 1918 he studied in the Sofia Theological School, and later Theology if the Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, then in Belgrade and Zagreb and graduated in Tchernovtsi. On December 30 1923 he became a monk under the name Kiril. In 1936 he was declared Stobiiski bishop. In 1938 he was elected for a metropolitan of the Plovdiv diocese. In 1943 he dared to oppose the authorities and to stop deportations of the Plovdiv Bulgarian Jews to the death camps. Metropolitan Kiril took care of the gathered Jews and stated that if they were embarked on the train he would lie in front of the train. That is why the Yad Vashem organization recognized him for saving Jews during the WWII and gave him a special award. On May 10 1953 the Third Church-People’s Meeting elected the Plovdiv Metropolitan Kiril to be the patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church after the restoration of the Bulgarian State and the Patriarch institute. Patriarch Kiril had a great public activity as well. He assisted the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to establish good relations with the other Orthodox and other churches and to stabilize the position of the Bulgarian Church. Patriarch Kiril died on March 7 1971 and was buried in the Bachkovo monastery.